The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
Mar 13, 2024 at 1:01 PM Post #83,656 of 87,703
What a beautiful picture with the different hue's of pink. Even in the tea cup!
Going to send all my IEMs to @Leonarfd and @domq422 for their introductory photoshoots, absolute mad men behind the lens of a camera.

Best I can do is this, I let the iPhone 15 pro max just take the wheel and drive 😂
IMG_6891.jpeg
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 1:26 PM Post #83,657 of 87,703
Going to send all my IEMs to @Leonarfd and @domq422 for their introductory photoshoots, absolute mad men behind the lens of a camera.

Best I can do is this, I let the iPhone 15 pro max just take the wheel and drive 😂
IMG_6891.jpeg

I can worst that :smile:,


20240313_165249.jpg


I bought these iem's just for the tips (yes I know I could probably get them on AliExpress but that's too easy) and thought I'd try them with one of my balanced cables, and Wow really impressed especially for the cost.
Has anyone else bought an iem for the tips, or am I a trend setter? :thinking:😂
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 1:29 PM Post #83,658 of 87,703
I can worst that :smile:,


20240313_165249.jpg

I bought these iem's just for the tips (yes I know I could probably get them on AliExpress but that's too easy) and thought I'd try them with one of my balanced cables, and Wow really impressed especially for the cost.
Has anyone else bought an iem for the tips, or am I a trend setter? :thinking:😂
I think the OG Chu was the go to way to get Moondrop Spring tips and people would just give the Chu away.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 1:34 PM Post #83,659 of 87,703
I can worst that :smile:,


20240313_165249.jpg

I bought these iem's just for the tips (yes I know I could probably get them on AliExpress but that's too easy) and thought I'd try them with one of my balanced cables, and Wow really impressed especially for the cost.
Has anyone else bought an iem for the tips, or am I a trend setter? :thinking:😂
hahaha no but i do enjoy using the corier on the quietsea... and always laugh at how they are the same friggin price lmao
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 1:36 PM Post #83,660 of 87,703
That he does. He knows more adjectives than I do.
So watercooler needs a reference link to a thesaurus?
Aroma Jewel: Expansive, airy, wispy, floaty, albeit a bit lethargic - sleepy, unexcited - at times.
Aroma Fei Wan: Crisp, open, dynamic and textbook-TOTL, held together by a strong, substantial midrange.
FIR Radon6: Plain Jane with appropriately-placed doses of punch, but may suffer from mismatched textures or awkward humps in tone with the wrong pairing.
FIR Xenon6: An admirable distillation of a big, live venue's weighty, slam-y, arena-filling PA system.
64Audio Volur: Crisp and earthy, reminiscent of decently-sized near-fields with a solid, discrete woofer.
Campfire Bonneville: A thump-y play on neutrality with a colored, 2kHz-emphasized midrange compensating for said extra bass energy.
Campfire Trifecta: Grand, expansive and steeped in mushy, vintage, analog warmth with somewhat-disparate pokes of treble peeking through.
Canpur 54E: An in-ear tiramisu; as silky, smooth and refined as it is caffeinated-ly peppy (or energetic, or zingy).
Canpur 622B: Reference-adjacent (ranging from U12t-like to lightly, organically wet, depending on the chain) with class-leading BA lows and mids that genuinely move.
Subtonic STORM: A near-perfectly calibrated scalpel that only veers off to slight dryness in the treble; a leading tool in analyzing music, albeit perhaps not for making it.
Nightjar Singularity: A steady-eddy EDC with a downward-trending FR curve, satisfying DD lows and technique that can scale beyond what's expected of a single-DD.
Noble Viking Ragnar: An energizer bunny that almost force-feeds you detail with a clean, polished, metallic spoon.
Empire Ears Raven: Animals As Leaders in IEM form; punchy and exhilarating, but in a tight, controlled, almost-robotically-precise way.
VE Phonix LE: Clean and blasé; a blank slate; almost as if you're listening to music in black-and-white.
VE EXT: Earthy, muscly, sinewy, gravelly notes topped off with spritz and etch up top, placed in a rowdy, involving venue.
VE VE X: The personification of clear analog; full, meaty and warm, yet precisely etched, tactilely textured, effortlessly agile and addictively soulful.
Elysian Anni '23: The once-popular U18t, Andro, Jomo, AAW sorta sound, perfected; just the right amount of everything for a pleasing, clear and open-yet-meaty sound.
Sony Z1R: Like an important board meeting in a high-rise; huge, open space with prim, tidy, business-suit-wearing instruments; everyone sat far apart, only peripherally linked by their echoes.
Oriolus Traillii: Near-perfectly tuned for involved, emotive, yet technical listening, only slightly hampered by the familiar timbre of its off-the-shelf drivers.
UM Amber Pearl: An IEM directed by David Lynch; stylized, saturated and colorful with un-reference, cross-feed-y imaging and every instrument pushed to their expressive extremes, but belying outstanding technique underneath.

I don't feel like listing any more after writing all that. :D
Thank you for the concise review.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:10 PM Post #83,661 of 87,703
So watercooler needs a reference link to a thesaurus?
Not necessarily but it helps.
There’s one on the first page of the thread. Helpful if you’re trying to figure out what’s going on here in terms of descriptions. There’s also a glossary on Head Fi.

Common language for discussing gear: It is very important for those of us posting impressions to have something resembling a common language. I would suggest that for the purposes of this thread that J Gordon Holt's Audio Glossary and the definitions therein serve as our baseline.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:24 PM Post #83,662 of 87,703
Aroma Jewel: Expansive, airy, wispy, floaty, albeit a bit lethargic - sleepy, unexcited - at times.
Aroma Fei Wan: Crisp, open, dynamic and textbook-TOTL, held together by a strong, substantial midrange.
FIR Radon6: Plain Jane with appropriately-placed doses of punch, but may suffer from mismatched textures or awkward humps in tone with the wrong pairing.
FIR Xenon6: An admirable distillation of a big, live venue's weighty, slam-y, arena-filling PA system.
64Audio Volur: Crisp and earthy, reminiscent of decently-sized near-fields with a solid, discrete woofer.
Campfire Bonneville: A thump-y play on neutrality with a colored, 2kHz-emphasized midrange compensating for said extra bass energy.
Campfire Trifecta: Grand, expansive and steeped in mushy, vintage, analog warmth with somewhat-disparate pokes of treble peeking through.
Canpur 54E: An in-ear tiramisu; as silky, smooth and refined as it is caffeinated-ly peppy (or energetic, or zingy).
Canpur 622B: Reference-adjacent (ranging from U12t-like to lightly, organically wet, depending on the chain) with class-leading BA lows and mids that genuinely move.
Subtonic STORM: A near-perfectly calibrated scalpel that only veers off to slight dryness in the treble; a leading tool in analyzing music, albeit perhaps not for making it.
Nightjar Singularity: A steady-eddy EDC with a downward-trending FR curve, satisfying DD lows and technique that can scale beyond what's expected of a single-DD.
Noble Viking Ragnar: An energizer bunny that almost force-feeds you detail with a clean, polished, metallic spoon.
Empire Ears Raven: Animals As Leaders in IEM form; punchy and exhilarating, but in a tight, controlled, almost-robotically-precise way.
VE Phonix LE: Clean and blasé; a blank slate; almost as if you're listening to music in black-and-white.
VE EXT: Earthy, muscly, sinewy, gravelly notes topped off with spritz and etch up top, placed in a rowdy, involving venue.
VE VE X: The personification of clear analog; full, meaty and warm, yet precisely etched, tactilely textured, effortlessly agile and addictively soulful.
Elysian Anni '23: The once-popular U18t, Andro, Jomo, AAW sorta sound, perfected; just the right amount of everything for a pleasing, clear and open-yet-meaty sound.
Sony Z1R: Like an important board meeting in a high-rise; huge, open space with prim, tidy, business-suit-wearing instruments; everyone sat far apart, only peripherally linked by their echoes.
Oriolus Traillii: Near-perfectly tuned for involved, emotive, yet technical listening, only slightly hampered by the familiar timbre of its off-the-shelf drivers.
UM Amber Pearl: An IEM directed by David Lynch; stylized, saturated and colorful with un-reference, cross-feed-y imaging and every instrument pushed to their expressive extremes, but belying outstanding technique underneath.

I don't feel like listing any more after writing all that. :D
I think I'm getting ASMR sensations for reading this ^^
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:33 PM Post #83,663 of 87,703
Aroma Jewel: Expansive, airy, wispy, floaty, albeit a bit lethargic - sleepy, unexcited - at times.
Aroma Fei Wan: Crisp, open, dynamic and textbook-TOTL, held together by a strong, substantial midrange.
FIR Radon6: Plain Jane with appropriately-placed doses of punch, but may suffer from mismatched textures or awkward humps in tone with the wrong pairing.
FIR Xenon6: An admirable distillation of a big, live venue's weighty, slam-y, arena-filling PA system.
64Audio Volur: Crisp and earthy, reminiscent of decently-sized near-fields with a solid, discrete woofer.
Campfire Bonneville: A thump-y play on neutrality with a colored, 2kHz-emphasized midrange compensating for said extra bass energy.
Campfire Trifecta: Grand, expansive and steeped in mushy, vintage, analog warmth with somewhat-disparate pokes of treble peeking through.
Canpur 54E: An in-ear tiramisu; as silky, smooth and refined as it is caffeinated-ly peppy (or energetic, or zingy).
Canpur 622B: Reference-adjacent (ranging from U12t-like to lightly, organically wet, depending on the chain) with class-leading BA lows and mids that genuinely move.
Subtonic STORM: A near-perfectly calibrated scalpel that only veers off to slight dryness in the treble; a leading tool in analyzing music, albeit perhaps not for making it.
Nightjar Singularity: A steady-eddy EDC with a downward-trending FR curve, satisfying DD lows and technique that can scale beyond what's expected of a single-DD.
Noble Viking Ragnar: An energizer bunny that almost force-feeds you detail with a clean, polished, metallic spoon.
Empire Ears Raven: Animals As Leaders in IEM form; punchy and exhilarating, but in a tight, controlled, almost-robotically-precise way.
VE Phonix LE: Clean and blasé; a blank slate; almost as if you're listening to music in black-and-white.
VE EXT: Earthy, muscly, sinewy, gravelly notes topped off with spritz and etch up top, placed in a rowdy, involving venue.
VE VE X: The personification of clear analog; full, meaty and warm, yet precisely etched, tactilely textured, effortlessly agile and addictively soulful.
Elysian Anni '23: The once-popular U18t, Andro, Jomo, AAW sorta sound, perfected; just the right amount of everything for a pleasing, clear and open-yet-meaty sound.
Sony Z1R: Like an important board meeting in a high-rise; huge, open space with prim, tidy, business-suit-wearing instruments; everyone sat far apart, only peripherally linked by their echoes.
Oriolus Traillii: Near-perfectly tuned for involved, emotive, yet technical listening, only slightly hampered by the familiar timbre of its off-the-shelf drivers.
UM Amber Pearl: An IEM directed by David Lynch; stylized, saturated and colorful with un-reference, cross-feed-y imaging and every instrument pushed to their expressive extremes, but belying outstanding technique underneath.

I don't feel like listing any more after writing all that. :D
Loved this read. Thank you.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:34 PM Post #83,664 of 87,703
Going to send all my IEMs to @Leonarfd and @domq422 for their introductory photoshoots, absolute mad men behind the lens of a camera.

Best I can do is this, I let the iPhone 15 pro max just take the wheel and drive 😂
IMG_6891.jpeg
Send em' over, brother, I got you 😎
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:37 PM Post #83,665 of 87,703
Aroma Jewel: Expansive, airy, wispy, floaty, albeit a bit lethargic - sleepy, unexcited - at times.
Aroma Fei Wan: Crisp, open, dynamic and textbook-TOTL, held together by a strong, substantial midrange.
FIR Radon6: Plain Jane with appropriately-placed doses of punch, but may suffer from mismatched textures or awkward humps in tone with the wrong pairing.
FIR Xenon6: An admirable distillation of a big, live venue's weighty, slam-y, arena-filling PA system.
64Audio Volur: Crisp and earthy, reminiscent of decently-sized near-fields with a solid, discrete woofer.
Campfire Bonneville: A thump-y play on neutrality with a colored, 2kHz-emphasized midrange compensating for said extra bass energy.
Campfire Trifecta: Grand, expansive and steeped in mushy, vintage, analog warmth with somewhat-disparate pokes of treble peeking through.
Canpur 54E: An in-ear tiramisu; as silky, smooth and refined as it is caffeinated-ly peppy (or energetic, or zingy).
Canpur 622B: Reference-adjacent (ranging from U12t-like to lightly, organically wet, depending on the chain) with class-leading BA lows and mids that genuinely move.
Subtonic STORM: A near-perfectly calibrated scalpel that only veers off to slight dryness in the treble; a leading tool in analyzing music, albeit perhaps not for making it.
Nightjar Singularity: A steady-eddy EDC with a downward-trending FR curve, satisfying DD lows and technique that can scale beyond what's expected of a single-DD.
Noble Viking Ragnar: An energizer bunny that almost force-feeds you detail with a clean, polished, metallic spoon.
Empire Ears Raven: Animals As Leaders in IEM form; punchy and exhilarating, but in a tight, controlled, almost-robotically-precise way.
VE Phonix LE: Clean and blasé; a blank slate; almost as if you're listening to music in black-and-white.
VE EXT: Earthy, muscly, sinewy, gravelly notes topped off with spritz and etch up top, placed in a rowdy, involving venue.
VE VE X: The personification of clear analog; full, meaty and warm, yet precisely etched, tactilely textured, effortlessly agile and addictively soulful.
Elysian Anni '23: The once-popular U18t, Andro, Jomo, AAW sorta sound, perfected; just the right amount of everything for a pleasing, clear and open-yet-meaty sound.
Sony Z1R: Like an important board meeting in a high-rise; huge, open space with prim, tidy, business-suit-wearing instruments; everyone sat far apart, only peripherally linked by their echoes.
Oriolus Traillii: Near-perfectly tuned for involved, emotive, yet technical listening, only slightly hampered by the familiar timbre of its off-the-shelf drivers.
UM Amber Pearl: An IEM directed by David Lynch; stylized, saturated and colorful with un-reference, cross-feed-y imaging and every instrument pushed to their expressive extremes, but belying outstanding technique underneath.

I don't feel like listing any more after writing all that. :D
Congrats you have now been assigned to do this on a yearly basis lol!
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:41 PM Post #83,666 of 87,703
N8ii and 320Max sound nothing alike. The N8ii has a very weak tube implementation. To me, it is characterized by clarity and detail. That comes through with the PB5 and it gives more space by expanding the stage and enhancing the bass response.

IMHO, the PB5 is the best portable audio product under $1000.
Ah, hold on, getting mixed up with running full stack (D16 in the chain). Comparison would have been interesting using both as source through full stack.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:41 PM Post #83,667 of 87,703
I can dig that description of the Volur. I think more people need to try them.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:50 PM Post #83,668 of 87,703
Ah, hold on, getting mixed up with running full stack (D16 in the chain). Comparison would have been interesting using both as source through full stack.
I would think of D16 + Source as a separate DAP.
 
Mar 13, 2024 at 2:53 PM Post #83,669 of 87,703
Audio-Technica Stay updated on Audio-Technica at their sponsor profile on Head-Fi.
 
https://www.audio-technica.com/
Mar 13, 2024 at 3:26 PM Post #83,670 of 87,703

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