Posted it here since it's the right thread.
UE 18+ Pro
Finally, was able to listen to them after busy schedule. Did a 10hr break-in before I made my listening sessions.
Finding the right ciem/iem for me took so many years. After having auditioned and owning some TOTL iems and HPs I did find what I was looking for in the 18+, but of course nothing is perfect. Now, I'm a believer, more drivers doesn't always mean the better.
What I did like on these, is that they sound so spacious and open to my ears. the bass have the right amount of quantity for me. Not too much and not too soft. At times, depending on the song it gives me a lot of bass and rumble. Mid bass have the right amount of punch but won't give me more which is fine for me. Mids are the highlight to me, I always wanted a very very natural sounding vocals(which I find on DDs, fx700, 1+2 & ex1000) without sounding too distant and too forward and not mid centric. Sometimes depending on the song setting or mix, the vocals would be a bit distant or forward (not too forward). I hear a lot of micro details in the vocals which I didn't hear before even on high end HPs. The vocals really sound like the're coming out of the throat and from the diaphragm and best of all, the layering on the tones of the vocals. I could tell if the artist is raising its vocals or playing with it. This kind of details is what I was looking for as they make it sound really natural to me. Every song sounds like the vocals are being performed live, warm but not overly so. I feel like I want to test this on a tube amp to make the vocals sound more romantic and emotional. the highs on this reminds me of the Focal Utopia, correct me if I'm wrong but they sound really alike and identical to me. The highs on these has lot of extension but not much spark. I am lucky that this never sounded sibilant on any of my flawed tracks. Nitpicking, one gripe would be the high mids, sometimes left me wanting a bit more but I understand maybe they tuned it this way to be fatigue free and it is. The presentation is just about right to my ears, one thing that did catch my attention was the focus on the instruments without being analytical. I was looking for this kind of sound. No, they are not too mid forward but enough to be upfront, it is very impressive on how they present the instruments to my ears like they are being played next to me and close. For that, I even feel more the dynamics of the instruments adding to the emotions of the song.
I had issues with the mids of to go 334, 335, lcd 3 as the vocals sound too much in my face giving me the feeling of being choked. With 18+ tbh, this was my first time to hear a very natural sounding vocal out of a BA. Over the past, the JH13FP was close but not enough, as it sounded sibilant to me that killed it. Was impressed by the bass on the Roxannes but that's just it. I also did like the Layla ll but still did not fulfill me and was also sibilant. the U18 sounded very impressive and fast for me, full of dynamics, but still something was missing. I almost lost hope of finding the right one for me after so many years of search. So I went back to my Sony MDR EX1000. This to me has a very nice tonality and natural sounding vocals and bass. Until, I was able to accidentally audition the demo of 18+ in Jaben and then surprised me, auditioned the UERR first and i was impressed and thinking of pulling the trigger but my gripe was the soundstage and then I turned to the 18+ and everything changed there.
But still, I would like to audition someday the Phantom and legend X.
Hope you all appreciate my impressions.
Lastly, fitting is kind of tricky in my case that the sound response changes. I realized that I didn't had the right insertion the past few days that's why I'm having issues with its bass that on some songs seems too much especially with Hugo2. the bass overpowering issue I mentioned on the other thread was because my wrong insertion and there was none after playing and finding the right insertion for me. It takes time to find the right fit on my right ear because I have a bend on my right ear canal.
Using it alone with Sp1000 is fine, but with Hugo 2 compared to sp1k alone, the presentation is very well balanced and no instrument is overpowering the other. Vocals sound clean with an added fullness to it. So I prefer using it always with the Hugo 2 which I find the improvements huge.
and I ordered my PW Audio Single Crystal Silver cable from Music Sanctuary.
