[pkcpga]

I actually thought Storm compared favourably with the LCD5 (with the MitchB convolution filter and had the Norne cable at the time)

Could I be happy listening to Utopia? Or LCD5? Heck yes. At the moment I’m enjoying Spartacus heaps which is significantly less money than Storm. I enjoy the tuning, the envelop of BCD sound and engagement. Trailii was the one that took me to the summit IEM back in the day

Sometimes have to remind myself that as much as I enjoyed the nuances of that $200 meal… I’m pretty satisfied with that excellent $50 dinner.

Not sure I always see it that way Trailli was over hyped for myself, great vocal but missing the low end for its price point. Sound is personal, for myself the Storm missing DD bass will it sound off to me or natural enough? Will the natural decay and weight be present as claimed or missed like on the bird. I listen to a lot of music with instruments over electronic music, until the last few years I was a annual pass holder at Carnige Hall, so I appreciate instruments having their own note weight, tone and decay. And some IEMs just miss this while others excel here and do not do well with my son’s rap he listens to.

 

[Rolu]

Lol, the Trailli was a miss for me, like the RN6 and Anni better. The Bird has nice vocals just was a miss everywhere else for my personal taste. Sold it after 3 months. Sound is so personal.

Of course everything comes with an IMHO in parentheses, but except the bass quantity I couldn't give the upper hand to Rn6 over the Bird in anything.

 

[1oad3r]

Late to the party on these but x-posting anyway….these made my Easter.

Some thoughts on these after 100hours or so…Beautiful aesthetics, superb imaging and stage, dynamic & quite punchy although can sound rather thin particularly in the low end. Pretty natural and neutral sounding overall, and highly resolving. Superb, airy treble that I don’t find sibilant in the slightest (but I am late 40’s so…). And I kept having to remind myself of their price - these are bonkers good for $300. The shell design and finish is exquisite - at any price IMHO.

On pairings, they sound great with RS8 where a combination of class a, turbo mode and a very slight dark tuning via MSEB adds some weight to mid/low end. Also tried with the iFi Go Blu which has great synergy with the M - the slightly warm tilt of Burr Brown plus xbass makes for a very fun listen.

 

[Crazeee]

Hey friends! It has been a while since my last post here. Have bought and sold some stuff recently, and glad to welcome my two new beasts to join my collection.

Both of these are among the best summit-fi IEMs that I've experienced so far, while to my ears it’s complementary enough to own them both.

Let's start with what they share in common - Both benefit from UM’s latest BCD tech, offering a very special 3D spherical soundstage that I haven't experienced with other IEMs, including the Viking OG. While the Viking OG does offer higher technicalities and a larger horizontal soundstage, but it still lacks a bit the immersive wrap-around feeling these two provide.

Mason FS Solei Tombé tilts its tuning more towards the midrange, particularly vocals. It's somewhat more relaxed in its detail retrieval compared to the Amber Pearl, eschewing excessively sharp details in favor of a velvety, warm, and thick presentation of vocals that are simply top-tier. Combined with its already strong sense of space and the density of the midrange found in the u6w, I personally find that pairing it with an N30le setup is the ultimate combo for listening to vocals and Pop tracks. This full-bodied and moist vocal expression is something I just can't find in any other IEMs.

Amber Pearl on the other hand focuses a bit more on detail retrieval and a sense of speed in sound. Driven by the N30LE, it excels at rendering various music genres, from large-scale classical to ACG and Jpop/Kpop, with vigor and precision, maintaining excellent three-frequency dynamics. Relatively speaking, while its vocals are formidable among flagship IEMs, they can come off a little bit dry and less emotionally engaging to my ears, compared to the Mason FS ST. The PW original cable slightly smoothens the Amber Pearl's signature, but I still prefer switching to the Beat Audio Obitsaga cable, maxing out the detail and energy. If I can choose to own only one IEM, the Amber Pearl would be my absolute go-to.

It’s also worth noting that these two IEMs are particularly sensitive to eartip pairing. Their tuning already leans slightly towards the lower mids, and since the bone conduction requires a close fit to the ear, using eartips that boost the lower frequencies can muddy the sound and overwhelm the bass. Conversely, long, loose-fitting metal eartips can substantially reduce the sense of space. I’ve found the perfect match with Azla's Xelastec II, which sits snug in the ear while enhancing the upper mids and controlling the bass, thus perfectly balancing and maximizing the performance of both IEMs.

Lastly, I've included my own frequency response charts for reference. Whether it’s worth to own both is entirely up to you

 

[Leto Dal]

I have to say after seing all those IEMs in person during Amsterdam Meetup including OG Storm, I really adore the design of UM. Those simply look like art pieces to me, completly different level from most other brands.

 

[Frankie D]

Hey everyone, we would just like to clarify some things. The design of the shell is not final and is the latest revision we had on hand to give a rough idea of the adjustments that will be made. The canvas case in the video is also not the regular edition case and is a simple case we use internally. The final leather case is similar in design to the launch edition case, using olive Badalassi Carlo Minerva Box instead of the Pueblo that that was used for the launch edition for a more robust feel. It will be on display at CanJam Singapore. The "dirty" finishing is one of the main issues we have been facing with the PVD coating and we have rejected around 5 sample runs of faceplates. Entirely our bad for not communicating this to Head-Fi team better, so we beg your pardon for the confusion.

As for the design we hear you, there are definitely still adjustments that we want to make but we wanted to get feedback on the general idea of the clear enamel over the black anodised backing plate. For those attending CanJam SG we'd still like your feedback on the clear enamel + backing plate combination when you see it in person. There were a lot of limitations with the current CNC suppliers that forced us to simplify the design, and we are not entirely happy with it ourselves. Given the struggles we are facing with the finishing and machining we will probably go back to the drawing board to make further adjustments.

We have been going through some internal restructuring recently which has also led to some delays and communication interruptions, but now that we are past that we hope that we can expedite things and serve everyone better. Honest feedback is always appreciate but regardless we are still sorry for the confusion. Thanks again to everyone for your continuous support and we hope to have more news on the STORM Regular Edition soon. Do drop by the Zeppelin and Co. room during CanJam Singapore to give the STORM a go if you haven't. Mass-Kobo will also be in the same room as us so you can give the awesome combination of the STORM + 465 a go as well. Aside from that, Titan, Crimson and Meteor will also be available for demo alongside the Singularity, Duality prototype and all our cables. Drop by for a listen, or even just to say hi, see you there!

Since you mentioned re-do of the faceplate, I was thinking all silver ( titanium) with engravings. If you want to add black to the engravings that might look good as well. All silver would be tasteful and stylish. Anyway…..

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

Late to the party on these but x-posting anyway….these made my Easter.

Some thoughts on these after 100hours or so…Beautiful aesthetics, superb imaging and stage, dynamic & quite punchy although can sound rather thin particularly in the low end. Pretty natural and neutral sounding overall, and highly resolving. Superb, airy treble that I don’t find sibilant in the slightest (but I am late 40’s so…). And I kept having to remind myself of their price - these are bonkers good for $300. The shell design and finish is exquisite - at any price IMHO.

On pairings, they sound great with RS8 where a combination of class a, turbo mode and a very slight dark tuning via MSEB adds some weight to mid/low end. Also tried with the iFi Go Blu which has great synergy with the M - the slightly warm tilt of Burr Brown plus xbass makes for a very fun listen.

As you can see, I use them with the AR-M2 or Hiby R6 Pro2, if we're talking about more modern devices. And if the first one has issues with usability, etc., then the combo with Hiby is something that can be considered an audiophile's endgame. If I had to choose some inexpensive combo under $1k that would satisfy all my needs, it would definitely be Project M + R6 pro2.

 

[pkcpga]

Of course everything comes with an IMHO in parentheses, but except the bass quantity I couldn't give the upper hand to Rn6 over the Bird in anything else.

Trailli is a more technical than the RN6 just didn’t have what I was looking for. The Jewel hit more of what I was looking for with similar technical ability.

 

[MRT-Man]

Just thought I'd post the results of some interconnect rolling. I currently own the Orpheus, Yatono and Shirogane ICs.

In general, IC rolling, at least among these three ICs, seems to have a less dramatic impact than cable-rolling. This is perhaps because of where the IC is situated in the chain, being pre the amp rather than post-amp. Nonetheless, the differences are noticeable. If a great IEM cable can make a 20-25% difference (I know some would disagree, but that's how I hear the impact of a TOTL cable like the Orphy), the IC is more like a 10% difference. And maybe even a little less than that for the purposes of this comparison, as these are all TOTL ICs.

Orpheus IC: Mids are slightly more forward, and have a bit of extra magic to them. This is most noticeable with vocals, which have just a little bit more warmth and realism. Transients seem just a touch more incisive, detail seems a tad better than the other ICs. Bass is just a bit less impactful than with Yatono or Shiro, but still good. Treble is slightly smoother but not overly smooth. This would be my favorite IC if not for the mid-forwardness.

Yatono IC: Slightly better tonal balance than Orphy, as the mids aren't as forward. This cable has the most bass of the three, with the mid-bass, in particular, being thicker/more impactful. Mids are a tad less warm than Orphy. When I put on this IC after the Orphy IC, relatively speaking I feel like I added a hint of Rn6/Fei Wan-style tuning (more bass, a tad more treble, mids pushed a little back). Treble is a tad less smooth than with the other two.

Shirogane IC: Shares the nice tonal balance of the Yatono, but with less mid-bass. Sub-bass seems similar. Mids are the coldest of the three (not overly cold, but colder). Best air and transparency of the three.

I'll again emphasize that we're talking about subtle differences, although many of us here are sensitive to such differences. All three sound great and I doubt anyone would be displeased with any of these.

Synergy matters, as with everything. The audio characteristics above can be better/worse depending on the IEM and amp being used, and the ICs represent an additional option for sculpting the sound to meet personal preferences.

 

[bukumurah]

I guess copying design idea is easy but copying common sense proves to be a lot more difficult (Taiwanese Spinfit W1 and Japanese JVC Spiral Dot++ tips are chosen as illustrations only)

In this case, JVC pioneered the use of coloured stems to differentiate tips sizes.. other companies then followed suit.. however, while JVC seems to have the common sense to not putting similar colours (for instance blue-green, red-orange) on adjacent sizes, Spinfit decided to deliberately put those similar colours on adjacent colours to make life difficult for everyone, especially when trying to differentiate tips that are only 0,5mm smaller or larger..

What amazed me even more is that, while Azla Sedna (another brand, also used only as an illustration) has a good habit of labeling tips with their corresponding sizes, albeit in a very small font size, Spinfit (again) in their latest offering, the Spinfit Omni, decided instead that it is a lot more important to stamp "SPINFIT" on their tips.. an information that most users already know and does not improve QoL (quality of life) at all..

Come on people/manufacturers, have more common sense please.. don't just focus on copying designs but also spend some time understanding why they are designed in such a way too..

 

[mark88888]

What amazed me even more is that, while Azla Sedna (another brand, used only as an illustration) has a good habit of labeling tips with their corresponding sizes, albeit in a very small font size

Wow, I just checked mine and indeed they do. Never noticed, yeah lol it is tiny... but that is useful for sure. Thanks.

 

[nikbr]

When a cover is a whole other thing but just as powerful as the original ...
Prepare to be mindblown.

 

[zlayde]

Mine was just one example.

And whether Traillii is better than Rn6, Anni etc. is an open question. First of all, it's about defining the "better". Secondly, it's about subjective perception. Personally, I'm not a fan of the Traillii and for me the Rn6 is "better" than Anni, but Anni is "better" than Traillii, so the latter is for me not "better" than the Rn6 and Anni despite the much higher (the double?) price .

By the way: I didn't like the Z1R at all, not even close to the Rn6/Anni.

I am fortunate enough to own both the Anni and the bird. Asking which is better is like asking if that sushi restaurant is better than the steakhouse across town. I think what it highlights is that there is no one uniform way to deliver a musical experience. Trying to score them is silly in my opinion. I think that's what makes this hobby a hobby. The engineers keep inventing and we keep bringing our human opinions and emotions to decide on what's great.

Some people hate all sushi, no matter how "incredible" it is.

 

[Andricop]

Finished my review on the LAVRiCABLES MASTER SILVER 22AWG

Good silver cables always impress me, and its my faovorite type of cable to use on almost every IEM.
Lavricables deliver something that is probably one of the best cables you can get at the price.
No bull___t approach where you pay for the cable and not premium presentation and accessories.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/lavricable-master-silver-v4.27143/review/33426/

I agree with you, I had 4 cables from them and always very happy.
Good service, cable is very comfortable and built quality is great.

 

[Andricop]

U12t in 2017: 1999 US dollars



U12t in 2024: 1999 dollars



after all these years, same price yet better.
as a consumer I hope brands could be more like @64Audio

Same with Earsonics.
I bought the EM3-PRO CIEM in 2010 for 900 euros and they still sell them for 790 euros now.