[uckexk]

Ehhh try hooking up a headphone like the Abyss 1266TC to a decently powerful DAP - you can get the volume to where you need it but you can also clearly tell how underpowered it is

With these headphones it's a different story - you are reaching the limits of the circuit, the DAP might only get loud enough in certain frequencies, but underpowered in other regions (typically bass), so it ends up sounding distorted.

A decent DAP would have more than enough power to drive any iem. A deviation from unit gain really brings nothing more than distortions. I always try different gain settings on new iems/headphones. With iems on the DAP, and with headphones on desktop amps. Not once did I end up preferring higher gain settings. Actually once I accidentally toggled gain from low to med on M8 without knowing, and for the entire week I was trying to figure out what went wrong.

 

[uckexk]

Hi everyone. Vocals on my Elysium definitely don't sound in the middle of my head. They are slightly closer to the right side. On my cayin N6 mk2, when I turn the "channel balance" to L10 (most possible), it moves the vocals close to the middle of my head.
When I connect them to my desktop rig, and compare to my focal clear on the same song (that what I have to compare with), the vocals on the clear are right in the middle, while on Elysium slightly to the right.
Is there a problem with them? A channel imbalance? Or that's how it is?


Example song where lyrics are not in the middle.

Thanks for helping.

Hey it sounds leaning to the right side for me as well, if that helps. Also with DDs they tend to have a slight channel imbalance, especially at lower volumes. With Elysium there are only three drivers on each side so you'd almost know immediately if one of the drivers has a problem.

 

[Skullar]

C'mon guys that's just not true... gain is simply multiplication. Dynamic range literally doesn't change. If anything, signal-to-noise ratio and noise floor are likely to take a hit when using gain levels above unit gain.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/study-headphone-amp-gains-low-or-high.5495/

If you listen to reasonable loudness, at high gain it would be extremely difficult to wiggle the volume control.

Every single dap i owned i always ended up using high gain because low gain just sounded too soft and less controlled, slower. HG always gives edge in staging dimensions and more articulate treble. And its regardless on how low the volume is.

In regards of volume control, honestly its not a smartphone. Most of decent daps have a 150 step control, so there is no way you will struggle to control it even if you only use 3rd of power.

 

[uckexk]

Every single dap i owned i always ended up using high gain because low gain just sounded too soft and less controlled, slower. HG always gives edge in staging dimensions and more articulate treble. And its regardless on how low the volume is.

In regards of volume control, honestly its not a smartphone. Most of decent daps have a 150 step control, so there is no way you will struggle to control it even if you only use 3rd of power.

For me I only use 40% on low gain, so yes at high gain it would be near impossible to juggle the volume wheel.

I'm quite young so I might hear things somewhat differently compared to the demographic on head-fi. But at less than half volume low gain is more than enough for me to appreciate the details and delicacy. At higher volumes/gain levels it gets exciting for a short while but soon enough I'd lose interest because too many details are drowned out. Personally I don't hear the qualities many people describe using higher gains, to me they just sound louder (so might appear better), and instrument separation suffers a little (might be due to added distortion).

Although this is backed by experiments, I didn't know any of the experiments when I first started using high-end equipment. So when I used my DAP for the first time, I spent a few hours just playing with different settings. I heard people put their "power-hungry" iem on high gain so I tried it (loudness-matched of course). No matter how many times I switched low gain just sounded better to me. These days I realise some distortion can sound pleasing, but I still appreciate a clean reproduction of music in the recording room. Hence my favourite headphone and reference is DCA Stealth.

Experiments show distortion w.r.t. gain settings:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/study-headphone-amp-gains-low-or-high.5495/
Intuitive explanation on how volume works (and why high volume low gain is preferred):




Now enough ramblings from me, back to topic

 

[Frankie D]

For me I only use 40% on low gain, so yes at high gain it would be near impossible to juggle the volume wheel.

I'm quite young so I might hear things somewhat differently compared to the demographic on head-fi. But at less than half volume low gain is more than enough for me to appreciate the details and delicacy. At higher volumes/gain levels it gets exciting for a short while but soon enough I'd lose interest because too many details are drowned out. Personally I don't hear the qualities many people describe using higher gains, to me they just sound louder (so might appear better), and instrument separation suffers a little (might be due to added distortion).

Although this is backed by experiments, I didn't know any of the experiments when I first started using high-end equipment. So when I used my DAP for the first time, I spent a few hours just playing with different settings. I heard people put their "power-hungry" iem on high gain so I tried it (loudness-matched of course). No matter how many times I switched low gain just sounded better to me. These days I realise some distortion can sound pleasing, but I still appreciate a clean reproduction of music in the recording room. Hence my favourite headphone and reference is DCA Stealth.

Now enough ramblings from me, back to topic

I hear you. For me though, on my Cayin N8, I prefer the High Gain setting. It still allows me enough volume control to set it where I like it and the bass felt a touch more crisp when I had compared it. Nothing overly dramatic though.

 

[Wild Boar]

Does high gain setting will help to drive IEM well?

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Does EXT very difficult to drive? I’m using Cayin N6ii E02

No, and that surprised me because the Elysium was hard to drive for an IEM, I'm finding the EXT, EVO, and LX are set from 45-56 depending on the recording on the N6ii R02 (set on high).

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Hi everyone. Vocals on my Elysium definitely don't sound in the middle of my head. They are slightly closer to the right side. On my cayin N6 mk2, when I turn the "channel balance" to L10 (most possible), it moves the vocals close to the middle of my head.
When I connect them to my desktop rig, and compare to my focal clear on the same song (that what I have to compare with), the vocals on the clear are right in the middle, while on Elysium slightly to the right.
Is there a problem with them? A channel imbalance? Or that's how it is?


Example song where lyrics are not in the middle.

Thanks for helping.

I'm listening to that track right now and Bob is two paces back, center stage on both the EVO and EXT, so you may want to check your cable or EXT.

 

[Nvain]

I'm listening to that track right now and Bob is two paces back, center stage on both the EVO and EXT, so you may want to check your cable or EXT.

Hi. Thanks. I will send them in. Pretty sure it is channel imbalance.

 

[Gavin C4]

Three Stars have aligned and met each other. Both Evo and EXT are very different to each other. While both IEMs are bass boosted, Evo definitely has the most bass. The bass on the Ext should be slightly more controlled and the decay is faster if directly compared to the Evo. They excel in different areas and could be a complement to each other too. But in terms of technically, EXT would edge out the Evo. EXT is much more detailed and the vocals are more solid have more emotion to them. Micro details are easier to pick up on the EXT, this must be due to the electrostatic driver. The electrostatic drivers are very well implemented, it does not have any sharpness. EXT is all dynamic and electro stats driver, you can put as much juice into the portable player section to get the most out of them.

 

[Cmills33]

Three Stars have aligned and meet each other. Both Evo and EXT are very different to each other. They excels in different area and could be a complement of each other too. But in terms of technically, EXT would edges out the Evo. EXT is much more detailed and the vocals are more solid has more emotion to it. EXT is all dynamic and electro stats driver, you can put as much juice into the portable player section to get the most out of them.

Would you say EXT has more treble extention than the EVO? It seems the EVO starts to taper off around 5k then dips.

 

[tawmizzzz]

Three Stars have aligned and meet each other. Both Evo and EXT are very different to each other. They excels in different area and could be a complement of each other too. But in terms of technically, EXT would edges out the Evo. EXT is much more detailed and the vocals are more solid has more emotion to it. EXT is all dynamic and electro stats driver, you can put as much juice into the portable player section to get the most out of them.

I'm surprised (yet excited) to hear that EXT may beat EVO technically, because I consider EVO very technical, probably just a shade under Odin when it comes to layering and pinpoint imaging.

Do you mind comparing the soundstages? Width/depth/height/imaging? Thanks!

 

[gnahra]

Three Stars have aligned and meet each other. Both Evo and EXT are very different to each other. They excels in different area and could be a complement of each other too. But in terms of technically, EXT would edges out the Evo. EXT is much more detailed and the vocals are more solid has more emotion to it. EXT is all dynamic and electro stats driver, you can put as much juice into the portable player section to get the most out of them.

Yep, for me, I would agree the edge goes to the EXT for vocals, which I'd attribute to the DD for mids...the level of layering and detail I hear in vocals is really excellent IMO, some of the best I've heard.
I think I've mentioned this in the past, but just to underscore, I also find the EXT's upper mids/lower treble much much smoother and less fatiguing than the Evo. Bass quantity goes to the Evo, no doubt, but otherwise I prefer the EXT.

 

[gLer]

Looking forward to reading EXT vs Traillii comparisons. I think that's more a like for like comparison, even though the driver complement is different, because they're targeting similar audiences, whereas EXT and EVO are not.

 

[Imusicman]

Looking forward to reading EXT vs Traillii comparisons. I think that's more a like for like comparison, even though the driver complement is different, because they're targeting similar audiences, whereas EXT and EVO are not.

Me too. These are on my shortlist to partner my Erl. Decisions, decisions