Dear Watercoolers,
Having attended the 2024 Shenzhen Hi-End Audio and Headphone exhibition over the past few days, I would like to share some of my personal highlights with you all
Source: LPGT
AAW Canary Pro. I find it to occupy a warm U-shaped tuning. Different from iems that occupy this signature as well, I find it to be pretty warm, allowing baritones to shine. One may find it too thick for sporanos, but overall I find it to sound pleasing on pop music with more than sufficient resolution.
qdc Emperor and Empress. Yeah your usual qdc iem. Still sounds clinical, with excellent technicalities and TOTL staging (and I mean that is really ACCURATE). The Empress is clinical, while the Emperor is warmer, probably due to more mid bass. Bass extension of both iems is sufficient.
qdc x Fitear Superior EX. Boy this guy loves power. Literally power-hungry, reminding me of Fitear DC variants. I find it to be U-shaped with excellent technicalities as a single DD, though accompanied with some sibilance. Considering its price though, its a killer. Definitely on my watchlist.
Oriolus Trailli and Trailli Ti. These birds can sing, and boy how beautiful they sound. Trailli OG is warm neutral, with TOTL resolution and staging. Bass actually does sound good as a BA, with solid texture and good extension. I can understand why it is the holy grail of many audiophiles - it just does everything so well. If I really have to nitpick I would say it could have more soundstage depth, but honestly as a TOTL released multiple years ago it still stands firm, not being outclassed by swarms of flagships. Trailli Ti sounds more neutral than Trailli, probably due to less bass. Technical wise I find it to have much improved soundstage depth, proving its worth as a super TOTL. Considering the absence of BCD drivers, having that depth is actually impressive. Overall I would say both birds are fantastic, both are all-rounders, choosing which one depends on your taste. OG is warmer, the overall soundscape sounds more romantic. Ti is 'cleaner', it presents music as how you would expect in real life. For personal enjoyment I prefer OG, but boy its not easy to get over Ti's depth.
Oriolus Percivali Pro. Your typical mid-forwardish Oriolus iem. Compared with Percavali OG, I hear Pro to have a grander soundstage with more accurate imaging. In fact technicalities are pretty impressive, challenging iems at the ~$2500 mark. Awaiting to see more reviews on it!
Canpur CP74E. My personal best among the Canpur lineup. Neutral sounding as usual, with pinpoint soundstage and imaging. Of course it could give more depth, but I consider it to be fair enough already. Bass does well with excellent texture and extension, not reaching the BCD bass of CP622D but one of the best BA bass I have heard. Price seems fair to me and I am looking forward to re-demo it!
AME Gaia. As a treble-sensitive person I dislike bright iems. Yes the AME Gaia is bright, on the kinds of Viking variants, yet I hear it to be pretty smooth despite being bass-light. Nonetheless it has one of the widest stages I have heard - being cuboidal-shaped instead just spreading horizontally. The only iems comparable are probably UM flagships and Oriolus Trailli Ti. Monsterous.
NG Audio Metis. Upper-mid-forwardish neutral iem with decent technicalities. It actually reminded me of Aroma Jewel, with much improved resolution and staging based on Jewel's stock cable. I can expect Jewel lovers to enjoy it as well.
Dunu Glacier. I actually like this iem, showcasing a neutral signature with accurate imaging. Shell actually feels lighter than you expect, and cable is pretty soft as well. Overall a well-done iem, with more refinement I actually do see it standing at the $2000-2500 range.
Unqiue Melody Mason FuSang Nuit Etoilee. I personally preferred it over Amber Pearl and Multiverse Mentor, sounding more effortless and refined. Though of course all 3 are super TOTLs, you can't really go wrong with any of them.
Not a big exhibition, but I find myself enjoying a lot of gear
I thought I was out of the rabbit hole, but seems I'm falling deeper right now