The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[He_Is_Emil]

Something better than the Terra?! I'm fell in love with that IEM. Hopefully Lime Ears will be at CanJam SoCal, so I can try a few of their other IEMs out? @He_Is_Emil, will you or a rep for LE be at CJSoCal?

My oh my, I just started to get used to the thought that this year I'm gonna my experience my first US CJ in NYC and now we're talking about SoCal as well? Well, I just looked up my calendar and it will be... around my 40th birthday, so I might wanna give myself that gift!
But, nevertheless, I'm gonna make sure that both Incognita and Maris will be there to try out!

I will bring them with me to Canjam NYC, so find me, you can listen to your heart's content. I will say this, I too fell in love with the Maris, and that's coming from someone with both Rival and Macbeth! And Maris is beautiful!

Second, while I had low expectations, the Incognita was beautifully tuned and, at its price point, should be spectacular for the hobby! It's a definite Clara competitor at a few hundred less!


I'm not kidding when I say Lime Ears is back with a vengeance!

My oh my! Hah, now I know where the sun went (this winter in Warsaw is really gray and gloomy)! It’s shining on your Incognita! It's the first time I’m seeing the green reflections on the faceplates! I thought it only had red, and here you go it keeps surprising!

 

[warrenpchi]

Legendary track… much prefer this version of Porter up to his “Worlds” album compared to most of his newer stuff.

Yeah, I think Language and Shelter are my favorites.

This swimming girl vibes remembered me another legendary track from my childhood:

Chem is classic, always!

 

[MasterZen]

 

[Erkil]

Gaudio Tödi Impressions



The Tödi is supplied to Audio Geek Europe for touring amongst its members by Gaudio. A big thank you to them for this opportunity.

A little bit about myself: I am certainly no reviewer! I am merely a 52-year-old music lover, which IEM’s as the preferred transducer. I prefer more neutral leaning sets, with some or a lot of bass boost, but have a wide tolerance for different sound profiles! I also have a fondness for all BA or BA+EST IEM’s, but overall sound and fit is the important part, not the tech’s. The following is my short subjective take on this IEM!


The Tödi match my taste in sound good with it’s smooth low pinna and big sub bass tuning. (Please don’t misunderstand, this is not a bass-head set)! I can enjoy it on any genre music, it is no possibility for listening fatigue with this kind of tuning. For vocal lovers this tuning might not be preferable, but to me it is more than good enough. Where Tödi really shines is with instrumental, classical and orchestral music, and OST’s, with a wide stage and good imaging. Tödi have played good on all sources I have used it with, but with 8 ohm impedance, and 103 dB sensitivity, it benefits from good well built amps with a bit of power.

Tödi is a beautiful, high craftsmanship build in 3D printed resin and with an aluminium alloy face plate. It is Swiss made, so no surprise regarding looks and quality! It has 2DD + 2 Knowles BA drivers. Excellent fit in my ears. The cable is a modular high-purity 6N-OCC copper build with 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced terminations, in addition to the 3.5mm single ended jack. It looks like SPC, but I am not able to confirm this. It is really comfortable and nice both in build, look and feel. The set comes with a black leatherette case, 5 sizes of Symbio silicone tips, and three sizes of foam tips. Everything is packed in a compact box without any wasteful stuffing.

I have had the pleasure of auditioning several excellent IEM’s over the holidays and in to 2025. Letshuoer Cadenza 12, Dunu Glacier, Craft Ears Omnium, Lime Ears Terra, Symphonium Audio Crimson, Moritz Audio Dragon and more. All of these are great IEM’s, and soundwise all of them is a blast! I named Terra as my favorite of 2024, but Tödi is in fact closer to my over all sound preference. If someone said I could only have Tödi as my single IEM, I wouldn’t be sad at all. And… with a simple EQ Tödi becomes just as fun as…... But just as they are, they are more or less perfect! So, Tödi have my heartfelt recommendation, but as always:

Try to get an audition before buying. Only your own ears can tell you if it’s the one for you!

 

[warrenpchi]

It doesnt seem too farfetched now...once these houses realize there is a market they can exploit and the people are willing to pay upwards or 4-5 figures we will see the usual culprits enter the market. But IMO i think we are not there yet, the segment isnt that big yet that they can market their efforts the way they do for other accessories.

From my perspective they (luxury brands) would have to pay me to carry around their brand on any device of mines ...
... this said this is not the case of my girlfriend, possibly this would be a way yo get her to have lots of IEMs as a new type of accessory ..

I don't think that will happen. Haute couture (I used to work in that field) is vastly different from audiophilia: It's an outward expression whereas audiophilia is inward consumption. Fundamentally, they appeal to entirely different aspects of our nature.

 

[drftr]

I don't think that will happen. Haute couture (I used to work in that field) is vastly different from audiophilia: It's an outward expression whereas audiophilia is inward consumption. Fundamentally, they appeal to entirely different aspects of our nature.

You forget there's enormous potential for the über rich in countries like for instance China and Russia where showing off your vast wealth is a real thing, no matter whether you even understand what you're listening to. I've seen incredibly expensive cars in both countries I didn't even know existed. Also think about IEMs with gold, diamonds, et cetera that a handful of companies have built already. That's not because there's no demand.

I do agree that the trend for audiophiles won't change too much though.

drftr

 

[warrenpchi]

You forget there's enormous potential for the über rich in countries like for instance China and Russia where showing off your vast wealth is a real thing

I'm aware, but that will be like Beats fashion, just with a higher price tag. And like Beats, we won't care.

 

[salwani8888]

You forget there's enormous potential for the über rich in countries like for instance China and Russia where showing off your vast wealth is a real thing, no matter whether you even understand what you're listening to. I've seen incredibly expensive cars in both countries I didn't even know existed. Also think about IEMs with gold, diamonds, et cetera that a handful of companies have built already. That's not because there's no demand.

I do agree that the trend for audiophiles won't change too much though.

drftr

After Coach Restaurant, Hermes Apple Watch, and Jason Derulo branded apartments, I wouldn't be surprised to see lux brands trying....

 

[RTodd]

You forget there's enormous potential for the über rich in countries like for instance China and Russia where showing off your vast wealth is a real thing, no matter whether you even understand what you're listening to. I've seen incredibly expensive cars in both countries I didn't even know existed. Also think about IEMs with gold, diamonds, et cetera that a handful of companies have built already. That's not because there's no demand.

I do agree that the trend for audiophiles won't change too much though.

drftr

Could go either way on that one.
What matters most function or status.
The products ability to make music extremely enjoyable, can a set be so so at that, but have extremely rare and expensive looking cache that drives significant market share. There are certainly examples of this with limited editions with fancy faceplates, that sell out.

Think we have already arrived at this strategy and there are plenty of our little community that buy those limited editions, at least owning them for a while.

Do we think $10,000.00 is not already a status level price for an IEM? Especially one that sounds exactly the same as one that costs considerably less.

 

[drftr]

I'm aware, but that will be like Beats fashion, just with a higher price tag. And like Beats, we won't care.

After Coach Restaurant, Hermes Apple Watch, and Jason Derulo branded apartments, I wouldn't be surprised to see lux brands trying....

I should probably consider myself very lucky not having the slightest clue what these brands are and do and it's probably best to keep it this way

drftr

 

[dleblanc343]

Anyone compared the Alter Ego to the Dunu Glacier ? Although the price bracket and shells are a bit different, especially with the open design of the AE, they're quite alike regarding their tribrid architecture, and I'm curious about a comparison between the two

Hey there! I've heard and graphed both. They couldn't be more different!

The Glacier is hyper dynamic with a Harman-esque tuning and very crispy/ energetic treble. It is bright. The bass quality is superb too, tons of kick and impact.

The Alter Ego is very spacious and more on the lush/ relaxed side. I found it a bit dynamically challenged in terms of transients and microdynamics, but it does have a good amount of physicality to it. The bass is more on the full/ midbass side which is very well done but less contrasted.

Glacier sounds like fast studio monitors with a separate subwoofer and lots of high frequency sparkle and bite. Tuning is very much fun and exciting but can be fatiguing.

Alter Ego is more so like a pair of vintage speakers playing vinyl. Tuning is more "correct" but sometimes a tiny bit dull/ too softened.

Graph below (B is bass; N is neutral switch)

 

[raylu]

if anyone interested about p6 pro 10 AE, I organized and post it again as a small review. thanks !

Luxury Precision P6 Pro 10th Anniversary Limited Edition (Black Gold)

The P6 Pro 10th Anniversary Edition builds upon the P6 Pro’s already well-regarded R2R architecture, but with exclusive tuning for LP’s 10th Anniversary Series. Since there are two editions with different sound profiles, let’s break them down: Black & Gold Edition (Classical Sound Profile)...

• raylu
• Feb 4, 2025
• 5.00 star(s) 1 ratings
• Reviews: 1
• Category: iPod, iPhone, Android, DAP, Player Dock Cables

 

[Ike1985]

Could go either way on that one.
What matters most function or status.
The products ability to make music extremely enjoyable, can a set be so so at that, but have extremely rare and expensive looking cache that drives significant market share. There are certainly examples of this with limited editions with fancy faceplates, that sell out.

Think we have already arrived at this strategy and there are plenty of our little community that buy those limited editions, at least owning them for a while.

Do we think $10,000.00 is not already a status level price for an IEM? Especially one that sounds exactly the same as one that costs considerably less.

$10,000 should be entry level for IEMs, ceiling should be around 30K IMO.

I love analog tuning, meaning tuning done through tubes, tips, various gear, I despise EQ. Another reason why I love tubes. These new Brimars sound great and are a welcome change from the previous tubes I was using. Definitely not an overkill setup for IEMs at all.

Now I will conduct shootout between Chord Dave vs Playback Designs MPD8 + MPSX to decide which Dac will be paired with my Envy. Who will win and be the victor in the ultimate headphone/IEM setup?

 

[Aetherhole]

$10,000 should be entry level for IEMs, ceiling should be around 30K IMO.

Sorry, gonna have to resoundingly disagree with you there. Absolutely not. The price of status level IEMs is getting out of hand. Fugaku brings something unique to the table, sure, but other IEMs, including our similarly favorite APX SE, are just something else. But the price is a big pill to swallow, both for something so small, but also something that is possibly going to be irrelevant in 6 months. Then talking about the UM flagships and one offs. Then there’s the whole cable/jewelry aspect of it, too. It’s absurd, honestly.

 

[cagix]

Why 10000? I have albums where i can easy listen to cantor. Yes abyss diana dz is best headphone i listen to but still can listen to cantor.