Vision Ears and Rhines Custom Monitors (formerly Compact Monitors)

[tupac0306]

Great video DF. Many thanks!

 

[DigitalFreak]

Ok guys, as promised final review is up. The Stage samples will be in the mail tomorrow afternoon headed off to Tupac
 

 

[H20Fidelity]

Very well done DF, you managed to juggle through all four in front of you very smoothly! You did a pretty good job taking them all in with only a week so hats off to you my friend. Did you write it down and read from notes or just free style it? 

 

[DigitalFreak]

  Very well done DF, you managed to juggle through all four in front of you very smoothly! You did a pretty good job taking them all in with only a week so hats off to you my friend. Did you write it down and read from notes or just free style it? 

Thanks, a bit of both actually. I wrote down the more important stuff to be sure I wouldn't forget to mention it and threw in the smaller stuff to fill out the video. The biggest problem i had was trying to get through it fast enough to avoid a 30 plus minute video. Meh, it still came out to just under 14 minutes, not bad I guess. Nowadays I'm trying to keep all my videos to under 10 minutes. Considering i had 4 IEM's and a AK120 in the video I was a little pushed trying to keep the video time under 10 considering I had so much to cover.

 

[Mimouille]

Great video DF, and thanks for taking the time. One of the great pluses of these in custom form is going to be build quality I think.

 

[FullCircle]

I have to say, those are absolutley Gorgeous Cocobolo CIEMs
 

 
 

 

 

[Mimouille]

Thanks for them Wizard. They do have top notch quality.

 

[precsmo]

 
here is mine. Not gonna comment much as already did a while ago I can only say I absolutely love the sound. It is Stage 3. The carbon fibre is not the real insert though, it is just a sticker but it absolutely looks very close to the real deal but saved tons of money!

 

[TimOgawa]

 
 
here is mine. Not gonna comment much as already did a while ago I can only say I absolutely love the sound. It is Stage 3. The carbon fibre is not the real insert though, it is just a sticker but it absolutely looks very close to the real deal but saved tons of money!

Is it Resin Filled?

 

[Mython]

Is it Resin Filled?

 



I think I recall someone mentioning that the canal portions are resin-filled, but not the main cavity of the shell.

I'd also like to know for sure, though.

 

[lee730]

Looks very nice from the pics. 

 

[tupac0306]

Ok guys... Here are some initial impressions. I haven't got excited over IEMs/CIEMs for a long time. Last time I got excited was because of 1+2. But now I can say I am soooo glad I can hear these bad boys.
 
Source: Anedio D2. 
Tips: I tried several, I find the stock one to be decent enough, will try more later.
 
 
I will skip all the fancy words and get straight to the point. But THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.
 
Stage 4: 
I talk about it first because I found 4 demo is the the most colored IEM out of the three. Overall it's more like a fun sounding IEM to my ears. I agree with most people here, Stage 4 is slightly V shaped. But overall it's detailed and smooth in terms of sound signature. It has a slight lifted mid-treble (11- 14k Hz) which doesn't bother me much as it makes Stage 4 sounds detailed and sparkle. But the hump at upper bass - lower mid is where the majority of the unnaturalness comes in. It not only enhanced the drums, but also makes every vocal I listen to cover with a extra layer of vocal bass. Bass extension is decent. Although overall the bass is definitely enhanced, it didn't impressive me much. Another reason why Stage 4 is V shaped is because of it's recessed upper mids. The vocal didn't have much presence/clearness compared to the other two. IMO, 4 is more suitable for stage use rather than listening to music.
 
Stage 3:
Stage 3 demo is a very neutral IEM to my ears. Definitely the clearest in the group as Joe said, but also the thinnest too. It has a very spacious and clean sound signature. Mid and treble are much more linear compared to Stage 4. Treble extension is on par with 4 too. It integrated beautifully with the mid resulting in accurate/neutral imaging, soundstage and depth. There is just really nothing I dislike about the mid and treble. However the bass is on the lighter side of neutral to my ears which might be because of the demos? I didn't get that "hollow bass feeling“ in JH13 due to its imbalanced between sub-bass and mid-upper bass, it's just not dominant overall. Extension is OK. But in terms of capacity and impact, it's not on par with other neutral CIEMs like NT6 or SE5. If Stage 3 has NT6's bass and more mid presentation, I would call it the most accurate sounding CIEM (above NT6) I have ever heard.
 
Update: the bass improved a lot with smaller tips that go deeper~ But still the lightest within the three.
 
Stage 2:
From Stage 3, I realized that number of driver doesn't mean anything in CIEM world. Stage 2 really shocked me how much potential two drivers can deliver.  Maybe it's source I use, I don't know. It sounds absolutely incredible as a 2-driver CIEM! It's as balanced as the 3 to my ears if not more. 3 is more like mixing/reference type of IEM, while 2 is more like a music listening IEM. The bass impact is decent. Mid is closer to 3, treble is extended and detailed sharing both 3 and 4's characters. I don't want to hype joe's comment, but this proves once again how accurate he can hear things. Stage 2 just place you right in the music without knowing you are listening to a CIEMs. It just sounds so right. I don't know if I can pick any flaw in terms of frequency balance. It just fits my taste so well. If I have to pick anything, the presentation a little bit more forward than "neutral". Technically, of course it's not on the level of SE5 or NT6 in terms of ultimate extension, detail, bass control and resolution. However it would be such a good choice for daily music listening.
 
 
Overall I would rate Stage 2 > Stage 3>>>>Stage4.  THAT'S JUST MY OPINION.
Take my word with a pinch of salt because sound can vary a lot upon different tips.

 

[Mimouille]

Thanks for the feedback Tupac. It's really great to have so many different opinions on these bad boys. I am wondering if I was ton listen to them again now, I might like them differently. I do agree that Stage 3 is neutral like the NT6, but without the brightness. Also not as detailed, but most of all, not as liquid and musical as the NT6. It still sounds very nice though. I did not find Stage 4 as colored as that and did enjoy them quite a bit. But anyhow, I am starting to think that I am not so a stickler for accuracy.

 

[tupac0306]

Thank you Michael.  

 

[lee730]

I felt the Stage 2 was the most neutral of all 3. I liked the Stage 2 the second best .