[Kerouac]

I often wonder what today's summit-fi Head-Fiers would think of yesteryear's treasures. Objectively speaking, there is more technology to work with these days in sculpting sound signatures, but there's still some old stuff out that that is very unique. For example, what would people now think of a Tralucent 1p2 with the silver+gold cable? The staging on that thing was insane!

Now you've done it . I've just dusted off the Tralucent 1Plus2 but the original silver+gold has been reterminated for my FitEars so the only decent cable I have for 2-pin is the Brise UPG001Ref1 8-wire.

I should have brought the 1+2 along to compare with the 2024 TotLs. Really the 1+2 blew my mind back in the day.

Blast from the past! Yeah... Tralucent did have great IEMs and cables!

I remember listening to this off the Bryston BHA-1 and the Cavalli Liquid Gold. And boy did it scale up!

Oh wow... another nostalgic trip down memory lane

I had the Tralucent 1+2 myself back in 2015/2016 and for me it ended up (for budget reasons only) as part of a trade deal with an original Lotoo Paw Gold

I remember that I mainly used it with a Rhapsodio 2.98 SG (98% silver & 2% gold) cable back then...

Such great synergy and a superb (3D) holographic soundstage indeed!

Thanks for the sweet memories

 

[darveniza]

Took some time while it's raining and pair up the Trifecta +MIAD01

No dongles or adapters, just plug and play. No lack of power output.

One thing that showed up as a positive byproduct is that I did not need to worry about on board memory limitations and SD cards,etc. plugged this to my laptop,selected explorer mode and moved 100 GB. Still have 150 GB of room, for other media.

Bluetooth is limited to AAC, SBC and LDAC and found zero issues switching around , including using multipoint on some of my TWS.

The lightweight and screen size and resolution of this device is quite an upgrade after carrying other DAP's with me .

After a few days having a fully functional phone with all my required outputs, 256 GB of onboard, a large screen, lightweight and power for $399.

Is a good option for Head fi enthusiast's when compare what when you have dongles that sell at that price point.

My Trifecta like this

 

[Scubadevils]

This was a very satisfying combo earlier today when I met with @armstrj2 for coffee, chats, and listening… Mass-Kobo 475 with the N3Ultra - smooth, addictive listening experience and truly fantastic with my precious DDs.

The N3Ultra was a lot more compact than I expected and comfortably pocketable - sounds fantastic even minus the additional amplification.

Very impressed also by the A&K SP3000T - beautifully built machine with a wonderful snappy and intuitive UI, plus sounded fantastic on dedicated tube mode.

 

[AnakChan]

Oh wow... another nostalgic trip down memory lane

I had the Tralucent 1+2 myself back in 2015/2016 and for me it ended up (for budget reasons only) as part of a trade deal with an original Lotoo Paw Gold

I remember that I mainly used it with a Rhapsodio 2.98 SG (98% silver & 2% gold) cable back then...

Such great synergy and a superb (3D) holographic soundstage indeed!

Thanks for the sweet memories

Aw....any regrets letting it go!? I have to say the 1+2 was ahead of its time and still holds strong 11-12 yrs later.

 

[wolfstar76]

Took some time while it's raining and pair up the Trifecta +MIAD01

No dongles or adapters, just plug and play. No lack of power output.

One thing that showed up as a positive byproduct is that I did not need to worry about on board memory limitations and SD cards,etc. plugged this to my laptop,selected explorer mode and moved 100 GB. Still have 150 GB of room, for other media.

Bluetooth is limited to AAC, SBC and LDAC and found zero issues switching around , including using multipoint on some of my TWS.

The lightweight and screen size and resolution of this device is quite an upgrade after carrying other DAP's with me .

After a few days having a fully functional phone with all my required outputs, 256 GB of onboard, a large screen, lightweight and power for $399.

Is a good option for Head fi enthusiast's when compare what when you have dongles that sell at that price point.

My Trifecta like this

Unless this will completely replace the regular phones, the entire concept of audiophile phone also being a DAP will be a failed attempt.

 

[Yarbles]

I am absolutely baffled that the Prestige Ltd was not even in the top IEM's of 2023 on here. It's my favourite IEM of all time - and funnily the cheapest - out of my five main IEM'S (I have a 6th... Hype 4... but that's my out and about headphone;absolutely tremendous value all rounder for a a very noisy city - Bangkok - environment) - the most expensive of those is the 2nd place ranked Annihilator (getting sold on hear soon as I've barely used it) & I think the Prestige Ltd is so, so much better.

 

[Kerouac]

Aw....any regrets letting it go!?

Oh my... if only I could go back in time

I have to say the 1+2 was ahead of its time and still holds strong 11-12 yrs later.

Luckily I can still use it in my (day)dreams

 

[wolfstar76]

I am absolutely baffled that the Prestige Ltd was not even in the top IEM's of 2023 on here. It's my favourite IEM of all time - and funnily the cheapest - out of my five main IEM'S (I have a 6th... Hype 4... but that's my out and about headphone;absolutely tremendous value all rounder for a a very noisy city - Bangkok - environment) - the most expensive of those is the 2nd place ranked Annihilator (getting sold on hear soon as I've barely used it) & I think the Prestige Ltd is so, so much better.

I guess most of us did not have a chance to demo it. However, that being said, Thieaudio as a vendor turned IEM company, its reputation still need time to prove. I have the Monarch OG when I first entered in this hobby, and I have to say if Monarch is the example of Thieaudio, my impression is: their tuning is mostly good, not bad for beginners if their IEMs are priced very competitively. However, I found the issue with Thieaudio is: unlike most the established brands or new brands that are more discussed here, their tuning just lacks character. Overall good is not enough in this thread, you need to have something to grasp the attention, something unique, if not the best.

 

[theveterans]

Thieaudio tuning for me at least with the Monarch MK2 is a generalist but not a specialist. Music sounds great but never goes beyond what's neutral/Harman. Gets boring after a short listen to me at least

 

[3Sandwich]

Hi Watercooler friends! I’d like to drop some impressions on MA Alter Ego’s upgraded cable (the one Mark brought to Canjam SG).

Just got the cable earlier this week. Interestingly, AE sounds really different on the upgraded cable (Silver Alloy) compared to the stock one (OCC).

My listening setup: Sony WM1Z + Alter Ego + Final Type C ear tips


Impressions:

The upgraded cable provides better resolution & dynamic. There’re noticeable improvements in detail retrieval and texture. The bass is tighter and the highs are clearer & more crispy in both modes. In default mode AE becomes more aggressive and transparent. While the bass is more weighty yet with less rumble in bass mode.

For me, I would name this upgraded cable Superego.
P.S. The price is not decided yet.

 

[wolfstar76]

Thieaudio tuning for me at least with the Monarch MK2 is a generalist but not a specialist. Music sounds great but never goes beyond what's neutral/Harman. Gets boring after a short listen to me at least

I totally agree, and I believe one of the good examples of the opposite is your current choice, Bonneville, which is so much more exciting.

 

[theveterans]

I totally agree, and I believe one of the good examples of the opposite is your current choice, Bonneville, which is so much more exciting.

Yes! Within 5 seconds from hearing it at the headscape meetup, it captivated me like how I was with the Andro long time ago. Really impressive in all fronts on excitement factor

 

[drftr]

Unless this will completely replace the regular phones, the entire concept of audiophile phone also being a DAP will be a failed attempt.

That may hold true, but probably only because of demand. LG had a fantastic setup with incredible phones (best screens and top DACs). Such a shame they didn't make it and prioritized fatter profits instead.

drftr

 

[baneand]

https://www.techradar.com/audio/spe...and-now-i-cannot-save-dollar560k-quick-enough

After this the 10k iems sound cheap

 

[wolfstar76]

https://www.techradar.com/audio/spe...and-now-i-cannot-save-dollar560k-quick-enough

After this the 10k iems sound cheap

You also need a multi million dollar home to have the treated room to house this $0.56 million speaker.


PS, when I read the article closely, I found some potentially fishy crap: 28mm diamond-coated beryllium-diaphragm tweeter. Is this to justify the high price, or indeed diamond can improve DD performance?