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

[aaf evo]

Yeah, but it's five pole, so just need a 4.4 adapter (which is included).

 

[Mcleenx]

Let's re-define portable: anything that you don't need to plug in the power outlet on a wall is portable.

Thinking about a DAP/AMP, my definition of portable is something you can carry easily.
Regarding the @drtfr's question, I believe the Fugaku and a DAP are uncomfortable portable equipment. I will include headphones in the same list.

 

[warrenpchi]

The cool part of the XM10 for me is the thinness. I use it without the case, so it's only 11 mm and thus very pocketable.

 

[Echo42987]

hey guys , I wrote a reivew on QDC King, feel free to take a look if anyone is interested on those set. thanks !

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/qdc-king-musicteck-special-edition.28113/

The faceplate is a big part why I am possibly going to purchase this unit lol.

 

[twister6]

Many know that CanJam SGP revealed several new releases, including Jack's latest Volk Audio project. I listened briefly to the final prototype during CanJam NYC, and was jealous reading SGP's show impressions of the final unit. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to hear it for 2-3 hours, literally, received it Friday afternoon, and had it packed and shipped back to Jack early Saturday morning. Here are my first impressions based on this short yet meaningful audition. Enjoy the read

 

[Yifang]

I don't want to offend anyone, but remain respectful: I've read comments like that so, so... so many times, and in the end it turned out to be almost always wishful thinking or at least nonsense for me personally. I have so often run after the hype only to be disappointed.

Hm? Sure its not about someone finding it significantly better than Mentor?))

I am indeed a firm believer of this
Sonically, I easily put the Spectrumica above most IEMs available, at almost at any price.

Many people here would know how critical I am of products, and Spectrumica has been extremely hard to find flaws with, even when being nitpicky. The sound might not be enjoyed by everyone, but you just know that across the board, this product exudes effort & refinement. Needless to say, this seems to be the general consensus based on feedback in the past couple of pages. It seems we all agree that this is a product hard to dislike, even if not perfect, because nothing is.

One thing I really want to reiterate is to try reduce price prejudice as much as possible towards a product. There's too much behind the scenes activity and differing methods of operation between target markets that affect our perceptions. You'd be surprised at the varying degrees of effort & margins between brands & products.

Just my own thoughts, but if Spectrumica was a UniqueMelody IEM, I have no doubt this would be priced at 4000 USD minimum, perhaps with a resin shell too.

I previously had the Prismatica on loan from @tfaduh, which I liked, appreciated, but didn't love. However, it was enough to show me that at least Icelab was putting in the work. Now come Spectrumica, also on loan from another friend in Australia, Icelab's place in my heart & how I view them as a brand has instantly shot up into the highest tier possible. The improvement from Prismatica to Spectrumica is drastic, and also shows the time & effort behind the scenes that Ice would have put in to improve his own skills as a manufacturer.

This isn't just about the sound, but the entire package. From the build quality, components (or at least transparency of components used), shell design, attention to detail & craftsmanship, packaging & presentation, stock cable, all of which is already exceptional, then factoring in the retail price? Absolutely insane. If you were to then compare how the market trend with pricing has gone, this really is above & beyond.

To me, this shows that Ice is trying his best to create a great product rather than rake in money. I believe this is high effort, low margins, and reminds me of brands such as Symphonium. I don't own a single Symphonium product yet, because nothing in their line-up has quite hit me enough in differing regards, but I rate them extremely high across the Spectrum regardless. Recognizing and appreciating effort is independent to whether or not it subjectively then appeals to me.

I will always be a supporter of high effort, regardless of whether the specifics are for me or not.

I do not know Ice, I have never spoken to him (missed the chance at CJ SG, partially because I dismissed Spectrumica as well & had no interest in this prior). I have no affiliation with Icelab either, and the above is just simply my thoughts from the product.

Please do not take this as mindless hyping or advertising for them. It just so happened that Icelab & what they have accomplished with Spectrumica has ticked every single box I asked for, and then some. Whether or not these points are of value to you, is for you to decide.

 

[vaporsynthwave]

I am indeed a firm believer of this

One thing to note is to try reduce your price prejudice as much as possible towards a product. There's too much behind the scenes activity and differing methods of operation between target markets that affect this.

Just my own thoughts, but if Spectrumica was a UM IEM, I have no doubt this would be priced at 5000 USD minimum.

Icelab's place in my heart & how I view them as a brand has instantly shot up into the highest tier possible.

Agreed. Spectrumica were my 2nd favorite set i heard at canjam ny, behind only STORM. There were plenty of sets twice it's price that did nothing for me. There's one in the classifieds right now tempting me, but i need to sell a few things first to avoid any gluttonous feelings

 

[Sifo]

Many know that CanJam SGP revealed several new releases, including Jack's latest Volk Audio project. I listened briefly to the final prototype during CanJam NYC, and was jealous reading SGP's show impressions of the final unit. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to hear it for 2-3 hours, literally, received it Friday afternoon, and had it packed and shipped back to Jack early Saturday morning. Here are my first impressions based on this short yet meaningful audition. Enjoy the read

As usual wonderful impressions, last paragraph is especially excellent and exciting to read.

 

[THE 001 Music]

I never did a Canjam post, but if I had, I would have mentioned Spectrumica as one of my three main show takeaways. The others being Legion and Mefisto.

We have IDENTICAL taste in earphones!

 

[audionewbi]

Many know that CanJam SGP revealed several new releases, including Jack's latest Volk Audio project. I listened briefly to the final prototype during CanJam NYC, and was jealous reading SGP's show impressions of the final unit. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to hear it for 2-3 hours, literally, received it Friday afternoon, and had it packed and shipped back to Jack early Saturday morning. Here are my first impressions based on this short yet meaningful audition. Enjoy the read

Having dealt with EE Raven once, the housing really felt fragile, to the point that one wrong knock could have it broken in two pieces. I really liked the tunning. I wish the industry move away from using acrylic for their high end items. This is where Noble audio and to a certain extend VE got it right as their flagship item feels more robut and premium.

On sound alone, Etoile feels right up in my alley.

 

[Tabikinoya Cephas]

Many know that CanJam SGP revealed several new releases, including Jack's latest Volk Audio project. I listened briefly to the final prototype during CanJam NYC, and was jealous reading SGP's show impressions of the final unit. A few days ago, I had the opportunity to hear it for 2-3 hours, literally, received it Friday afternoon, and had it packed and shipped back to Jack early Saturday morning. Here are my first impressions based on this short yet meaningful audition. Enjoy the read

I felt that the bass was light. I love the mids and highs, but the bass is on the softer side.

 

[AudioDuck]

It is pretty incredible for a sub $1k iem! Not a reference set by any stretch, but a basshead dream for sure !

The helpful and well-written reviews of the Legion, as well as the great interview of Aries Sales by @EnigmaFotos and @MakeItWain , convinced me to give the Legion a go. I stumbled over a fairly-priced pair from a reputable seller on USAM, and bought without a demo.

I’m listening to them now powered by my Sony WM1A, and for me they may be the perfect counterpoint and companion for my 64 Audio U18s.

The design and driver complement is nearly the opposite of the 18-driver BA set in the U18s, which is more polite, refined, and more of a “reference” sound, minus some airiness and detail- the U18s excels with a more intimate sound.

The Legion’s broader, airier soundstage coupled with its ability to reach subwoofer-like depths when called for makes for a fun, engaging listen. I plan to use it for pop, EDM, rap, funk, rock, and other bass-heavy/faster music. The U18s remains the winner for jazz, folk, and other vocal-heavy or acoustic music.

It’s striking, though, what value the Legion represents. The price-to-performance ratio seems exceptional, though with my limited experience with higher-end IEMs I can’t render a well-informed review per se. But for me it’s a winner, and I’d be very surprised if others didn’t find that as well.

 

[FreeWheelinAudioLuv2]

thanks @Dandelion777 for bringing up this topic and staring a little so called "constructive criticism" about the Legion

I owned the set as well for a few days, unfortunately it was an underwhelming experience when it comes to sound

It has some positive aspects, don't want to be unreasonable, but they sound decent at best IMO
... beautiful shell design, nice stock cable, even the pouch in which the IEMs are inserted in the packaging screams quality BUT other than the large stage which is as well hollow and feel somehow empty , I as well cannot say this is a good sounding IEM
Bass is just loose and the BC implementation is just not helping it , mids are somehow veiled , high end is ok...although not the best either

I expect this will trigger some upcoming discussions, but being part of the community and sharing what we experience with a certain product is the core of this platform...at least that is what I think
As a closing note, I bought this as a result of the many positive reviews and endorsements ... as a regular guy tryings out as much stuff as I can, I can confidently say this is at most a mediocre sounding set (subjective opinion)

You picked out the hollow midrange too. You picked out pretty much each con I picked out. I enjoyed it for what it is, but then again, I DID NOT use the stock cable, as I used a brighter silver/graphene cable in 4.4mm.

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[szabb27]

You picked out the hollow midrange too. You picked out pretty much each con I picked out. I enjoyed it for what it is, but then again, I DID NOT use the stock cable, as I used a brighter silver/graphene cable in 4.4mm.

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Using a better cable might help bring them 1 step up on the ladder it wasn’t worth for me
If I use a better cable, than i do that with a set which sound i already like and want to eventually improve
ex: UM Stardust is a similarly priced IEM than Legion with an indestructible and cool design
I would pick Stardust 10 out of 10 times over Legion for any music i would listen to
I want to also add that Stardust is as well not a perfect IEM and has it’s own flaws
I am only writing this because impressions and reviews are very often big decisions factors in purchase decisions and if I read most of the hype, i have the feeling that maybe i listened to another set of?!
The soundstage is massive, but hollow with a vailed mid-range underwhelming treble
PS: l liker reading your review especially the comparison section and conclusion
#keepupthegoodwork

 

[MakeItWain]

My Flipears Legion arrived and it sounds glorious, zero sibilance treble, the same amount of glorious BCD super bass that pierces your skull and rattles your brain like only a BCD can - pure earthquake vibes. Rich and forward midrange that isn't shouty, no piercing treble, insane bass. Fit is great. Basically everything i wanted out of the ZE51B which made me wince because of the treble peak, the Legion has the same bass but overall it is a much more refined version. I can't think of any reason why HBB did praise the ZE51B so much, but was only lukewarm about the Legion. The unboxing experience is also awesome. The tips are very good Divinus eartips and work, i don't need to tip roll further. For me personally the case is too large, i'll store it somewhere seperately. I'll also use an even nicer cable (just because i have one lying around), but the standard cable is already very good, it's soft and flexibel. Highly recommended IEM, deserves all the hype.

I think it was the Electret driver in this case. I think Aegis will probably work better for him.

ZE51B definitely has that bit more energy that needs either a warmer cable or warmer source to tame.

I was really waiting for his review, even asked if it vibrated like the ZE51B but he didn't mention it in his review nor did I get a reply

Anyway, hopefully I'll get to demo it soon, sounds like something I'd love.

As someone with an OG ZE51B (before the bass tuning i believe was changed) I can comment.

Legion does not shake/rumble on the desk at the same level as the ZE51B but that's likely also due to the metal shell on the Legion. If you hold the Legion, though, it will vibrate and give you that feedback in your hand to a similar level as the ZE51B.

So many strong contenders for up to $1000 (most of them price exactly at $800 too!): Dita Mecha, Jomo Onyx, UM Stardust, Flipears Legion, and Fatfreq Quantum.

So far I quite like UM Stardust, a bit surprised even for myself, as usually I don't really prefer their sound tuning, especially on higher end model. Will do more extensive comparison with Flipears Legion around next week. As far as I remembered, they both tuned really differently though.

Excited to see what you think of Legion but they're definitely not in the same realm of tuning. Re: Jomo, Nautilus is a great set, too, honestly... Lot of good competition out there.

The helpful and well-written reviews of the Legion, as well as the great interview of Aries Sales by @EnigmaFotos and @MakeItWain , convinced me to give the Legion a go. I stumbled over a fairly-priced pair from a reputable seller on USAM, and bought without a demo.

I’m listening to them now powered by my Sony WM1A, and for me they may be the perfect counterpoint and companion for my 64 Audio U18s.

The design and driver complement is nearly the opposite of the 18-driver BA set in the U18s, which is more polite, refined, and more of a “reference” sound, minus some airiness and detail- the U18s excels with a more intimate sound.

The Legion’s broader, airier soundstage coupled with its ability to reach subwoofer-like depths when called for makes for a fun, engaging listen. I plan to use it for pop, EDM, rap, funk, rock, and other bass-heavy/faster music. The U18s remains the winner for jazz, folk, and other vocal-heavy or acoustic music.

It’s striking, though, what value the Legion represents. The price-to-performance ratio seems exceptional, though with my limited experience with higher-end IEMs I can’t render a well-informed review per se. But for me it’s a winner, and I’d be very surprised if others didn’t find that as well.

Death Cab - "Black Sun" on Legion with the bass line.

It's an absolute winner.