[ranfan]

Whoaaa, that looks really nice indeed! Beautiful pairing!

Thanks! I really like the colour combination.

How do you find the bass impact so far? Is it a bit light?

The bass of Prelude if simply beautiful. But paired with Ares 2+ cable, I feel that the bass becomes more dominant, note-size larger, and transition-speed slower, bleeding to the midrange by a bit. Somewhat sounds like a dynamic-driver of the Oriolus 2 I had, but with less sub-bass rumble. I'll have to listen more, and pair with another cable to describe better. Bass instruments are excellently placed though, it supports the midrange very well with their beats, and less-forward positioning.

Ares II will probably be a better match then:

Yep, I'm still waiting for the Ares 2 to arrive hopefully this week/weekend. You know how the Ares 2 sound better than me Wyville, hehe. So imagine pairing it with a warm, intimate, and smooth IEM like your CA.

 

[Wyville]

Yep, I'm still waiting for the Ares 2 to arrive hopefully this week/weekend. You know how the Ares 2 sound better than me Wyville, hehe. So imagine pairing it with a warm, intimate, and smooth IEM like your CA.

Yes, I think the Prelude is quite similar to my Ei.3 in the sense of being warm, intimate and smooth, be it on another level altogether.

Ares II works very well for that, as it maintains that sense of intimacy. At least with my Ei.3. With the U6 the APEX module helps to increase the stage a lot more and pushes the listener a few rows back. Still very nice, but not the intimacy the U6 give with the stock cable. (Having Madeleine Peyroux's voice whisper in your ear is something very lovely indeed. )

I have the Eros II coming in for a review and that cable might push out the stage a bit further still, so my Ei.3 could loose some of their intimacy as well and thus might not be the best option for the Prelude either. For the U6 I expect it will work very well. Not sure about it, so I can't wait until Friday!

 

[hamhamhamsta]

This is just preliminary review of Warbler Prelude.

It sounds absolutely beautiful with male vocal. Music speed is a little slower, but lower notes are beautiful. Male vocals sound full of emotion. Clarity and resolution I would consider very good, a bit better than Andromeda. Andromeda sounds bold and a little rough, while Prelude sounds smooth. i think Wyville may be right from his description(I never heard it), it may sound like his iem, Custom Art Ei3, but at higher level. I choose stock silver cable, it sounds just ok. Vocals are forward, music sounds a little behind. Prelude has good bass and excellent treble, but you need matching cable for it. However, it is a little lacking is sub bass.

Prelude matches well with PW1960 4 core, I still feel its lacking a bit in subbass, but maybe I'm used to SE5U. Prelude is a little hard to judge for me, I know I like it, though don't know why, and couldn't tear it away.


If I am forced to live with Prelude and give up SE5U, I suspect I wouldn't be too sad losing SE5U. However, having matching cable is a must for Prelude. It shines with good cable and DAP. I'll report when I have more.


Meanwhile, we need to hear it from other Prelude owners for more impressions.




Hamhamhamsta

 

[TAsme]

Mine is still somewhere between turkey and austria. This can zötake a while damn...

 

[ranfan]

This is just preliminary review of Warbler Prelude.

It sounds absolutely beautiful with male vocal. Music speed is a little slower, but lower notes are beautiful. Male vocals sound full of emotion. Clarity and resolution I would consider very good, a bit better than Andromeda. Andromeda sounds bold and a little rough, while Prelude sounds smooth. i think Wyville may be right from his description(I never heard it), it may sound like his iem, Custom Art Ei3, but at higher level. I choose stock silver cable, it sounds just ok. Vocals are forward, music sounds a little behind. Prelude has good bass and excellent treble, but you need matching cable for it. However, it is a little lacking is sub bass.

Prelude matches well with PW1960 4 core, I still feel its lacking a bit in subbass, but maybe I'm used to SE5U. Prelude is a little hard to judge for me, I know I like it, though don't know why, and couldn't tear it away.


If I am forced to live with Prelude and give up SE5U, I suspect I wouldn't be too sad losing SE5U. However, having matching cable is a must for Prelude. It shines with good cable and DAP. I'll report when I have more.


Meanwhile, we need to hear it from other Prelude owners for more impressions.




Hamhamhamsta

Thank you for sharing your impression. I quite agree with what you said. Let me ping @Kerouac to obtain more about his view for Prelude-SE5U comparison.

I'll post more sound description later when I receive the Ares 2 cable.

 

[hamhamhamsta]

More on Warbler Prelude...

Prelude sounds really beautiful. Each note sounds captivating. It feels like there is a glow from each note, a shimmer. This is one of the ultimate emotional ciem. Clarity and resolution is very good. It feels like there is a veil of warmth that makes music sounds so inviting. This ciem does not provide extremely sharp divisions between instruments and vocals, they feel slightly rounded. Music & vocals just sounds so natural and smooth. Beautiful, delicate, full of emotion. Men's vocal is golden on Prelude, the best I have ever heard, effortless, full of power, persuasion . This definitely dethroned Andromeda from my favorite iem. But there's a caveat, don't judge Prelude based on stock cable. Prelude is extremely dependent on your DAP and cable. Good cable give the much needed extension on both bass and treble. Please judge Prelude only after trying with good cable. The only thing lacking is subbass.

 

[hamhamhamsta]

With Prelude, I don't give a damn if it's only one driver. It sounds so full and sooo good that I thought, how can this be only one driver, that's not possible. But yet, here it is. For those who are still confused about Prelude, go back to 1st page Jelt's review, it's spot on.

 

[Ofenlicht]

Being a fan of the Etymotic ER4S single BA driver IEM, I am curious if anyone has compared the two and how the prelude stacks up to the ER4S.

 

[ranfan]

Here is my brief impression of the Prelude + Ares II pair, after around a day of listening. I think the Ares II should be the Prelude's stock cable. The current stock cable I feel is slightly warm, and somewhat less suitable to pair with Prelude. This IEM has so much potential, it is perhaps the most beautiful sounding I've heard thus far - provided with a good pairing of cable, and source.

For sure! If you ever listened to a live acoustic performance in a small quiet cafe, or studio. The Ares II + Prelude combo sounds very close to that. It has a highly accurate timbre, beautiful tone, and clean presentation. I've never heard a better realistic potrayal of acoustic instrument, and vocals than with this pair.

The Ares II cable seems to be THE perfect pair for Prelude. It adds that needed sparkle, and air that are missing with the stock cable. It helps control the low-frequency, and give more emphasis on the upper-mids. There is no more bass-bleed, or excessive warmth that is hindering the midrange to shine. The missing sweetness of female vocals from the stock cable is now restored, and highlighted better. Imaging of each note is clearer now, and released with such smoothness, that is never fatiguing. Note size is now leaner, and separation much improved. It's simply the perfect pair for any warm IEMs IMO. Wearing it feels very comfortable as well, with or without glasses. The cable is well-made, supple, and pretty flexible to move around with.

Spoiler: Photo

 

[ranfan]

For listening with dark/warm-neutral sources, or to female vocals, this EQ I find helps add that sparkle, and air. YMMV.

Spoiler: EQ

DP-X1:

~5 kHz @ +5 dB, ~500 Hz @ -5 dB

 

[Ofenlicht]

For listening with dark/warm-neutral sources, or to female vocals, this EQ I find helps add that sparkle, and air.

Spoiler: EQ

DP-X1:

That's adding a whole lot of treble. Can you describe how you arrived at this EQ?

What was the process?

 

[ranfan]

That's adding a whole lot of treble. Can you describe how you arrived at this EQ?

What was the process?

I've edited it a bit. Mind you, YMMV. I added this EQ because I felt the dip in the 5-6 kHz frequency; it is especially important for producing that sweetness in female vocal tracks. Additionally, in order to emphasize the upper-mid better, and leave some 'air', I reduced the low-frequency area around 500 Hz which is largely responsible for creating that warmth in the stage, and instrument notes. Basically: ~5 kHz @ +5 dB, ~500 Hz @ -5 dB. But this is just my personal preference. Yours might differ.

Another reason why I added it, is because my DP-X1 has a neutral, with slight mid-bass bump sound character.

 

[proedros]

@Kerouac seems to b in love with prelude , i think his wallet is gonna cry some more soon

 

[hamhamhamsta]

Prelude is amazing. I was listening to Flac Andrea Bocelli's Champagne, his voice has so much power, yet he sings it effortlessly. Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, in the beginning there's heartbeat, it sounds so realistic. Kansas Carry on My Wayward Son, Prelude does it justice. In my book, Prelude is a step higher than Andromeda. I think Prelude scales up real good. The better your DAP, cable and files, the louder you play your music, the better the sound. It's just so intoxicating. Damn, even Tears for Fears Everybody Wants to Rule the World sounds so good. Wow, just wow. I think I get this now.

 

[normie610]

Prelude is amazing. I was listening to Flac Andrea Bocelli's Champagne, his voice has so much power, yet he sings it effortlessly. Michael Jackson's Smooth Criminal, in the beginning there's heartbeat, it sounds so realistic. Kansas Carry on My Wayward Son, Prelude does it justice. In my book, Prelude is a step higher than Andromeda. I think Prelude scales up real good. The better your DAP, cable and files, the louder you play your music, the better the sound. It's just so intoxicating. Damn, even Tears for Fears Everybody Wants to Rule the World sounds so good. Wow, just wow. I think I get this now.

Interesting....would it help to EQ the sub-bass to a point it doesn’t feel lacking anymore?