The discovery thread!
May 15, 2024 at 9:53 PM Post #101,356 of 131,437
Oh Aliexpress, why must you taunt me with fake deals

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May 15, 2024 at 10:25 PM Post #101,357 of 131,437
Oh Aliexpress, why must you taunt me with fake deals

1715824424355.png
That would be a great deal. The ear tips you get with those IEMs cost more than $30 lol.
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:33 PM Post #101,358 of 131,437
I hate when super experienced people hype something... it always results in these strangely red numbers on my account and I have no clue what they mean.

@Admins: Please put a frickin disclaimer on this thread! ...like "Before entering the Discovery Thread, check your finances!" or "Enter at your own risk,"
Once you get your post count up, you’ll be afforded a BS filter option :imp:
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:43 PM Post #101,359 of 131,437
AFUL Explorer (P3) is good. Imagine taking the Magic One, improve its bass, whilst keeping everything else mostly the same. That’s would be a good description of Explorer.

The bass quality is better than the P5 (more textured). The bass quantity is more indulgent than P8. I love cellos and doublebass on this IEM.

P8 is still the king of resolution in AFUL line up.
Sounds very promising! Will most likely be ordering one as soon as it's avaliable. MagicOne with more bass and cheaper (if rumors of the price tag can be trusted)? Count me in!
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:47 PM Post #101,360 of 131,437
That would be a great deal. The ear tips you get with those IEMs cost more than $30 lol.
Crazy right? I think the deal must be bogus as the buy button is disabled, sadly.
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:47 PM Post #101,361 of 131,437
I guess it depends on the amp design. Topping G5 sounds noticeably different between gain modes. Later I learned that G5 changes the amp circuitry to implement gain. Regardless, I’m not listening to that DAC/amp on low and high gain. They are yucky 😂

But I think I have seen a manufacturer implementing “gain” by changing the volume curve of the pot. Joe @ HiBy told me that most of time gain is implemented by volume limiting (implying I was hallucinating when I asked whether R4 sounds different between gain modes 😂)
Do you mean G5/NX7 gets separate circuits for low, mid and high gains?
Also, if low and high gains are yucky, do you leave them at mid gain mostly?
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:48 PM Post #101,362 of 131,437
Sounds very promising! Will most likely be ordering one as soon as it's avaliable. MagicOne with more bass and cheaper (if rumors of the price tag can be trusted)? Count me in!
It sounds impressive with this album out of my L&P W4, especially the bass and the stage.


I don't have the Magic one with me at the moment, but from memory, the P3 feels boomier than Magic One, so that's something to consider. And the resolution has not been improved. It sits at the level when I say "I don't mind" (3/5) but not noteworthy (4/5) or TOTL (5/5). But anyhow, it's an easy going IEM with natural but dynamic and satisfying bass. I have been listening to nothing but Anni 2023 and EA1000, so listening to P3 is like sitting back and relax next to a heater in the winter.

Now, if AFUL can keep the same tuning, same bass quality, and bump up the resolution to 5/5 with the Cantor, it's going to be great.
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:52 PM Post #101,363 of 131,437
Do you mean G5/NX7 gets separate circuits for low, mid and high gains?
Also, if low and high gains are yucky, do you leave them at mid gain mostly?
Now, I'm not an engineer so I cannot verify these claim, but a reader explained to me that G5/NX7 changes the amount of feedback to implement gain. To my ears, the low gain sounds ... "dead", like not much "up and down" going on in the dynamic whilst the high-gain is overly excited and edgy. So, yeah, mid-gain only.

I also ignore the internal DAC and only use the amp, which is quite good. Oh, and I need to ensure that I put it away from any thing that emits or receives wifi signal, otherwise it will pick up interference.

To think about it, it's a pretty annoying device :dt880smile: But it's okay. I like it.
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:55 PM Post #101,364 of 131,437
It sounds impressive with this album out of my L&P W4, especially the bass and the stage.


I don't have the Magic one with me at the moment, but from memory, the P3 feels boomier than Magic One, so that's something to consider. And the resolution has not been improved. It sits at the level when I say "I don't mind" (3/5) but not noteworthy (4/5) or TOTL (5/5). But anyhow, it's an easy going IEM with natural but dynamic and satisfying bass. I have been listening to nothing but Anni 2023 and EA1000, so listening to P3 is like sitting back and relax next to a heater in the winter.

Now, if AFUL can keep the same tuning, same bass quality, and bump up the resolution to 5/5 with the Cantor, it's going to be great.

Hope @Jaytiss does a comparison between explorer and hydro. To chaff out the weakest link! Want to buy just one of em.

Btw, in what way is the P3 different from P8 ? If I have P8, does P3 make sense?
 
May 15, 2024 at 10:58 PM Post #101,365 of 131,437
If you would have another, additional BC sound transmitter behind your concha which puts some good pressure onto your mastoid region and when this device works perfectly along with your inserted IEM, yes, then you likely have a unique -for us here- new sound experience... but built into an IEM, my professional opinion on this is: marketing.
You could be the pioneer to build such a futuristic IEM for us. It will be an odd design but the recent earclip designs are weird already
 
May 15, 2024 at 11:02 PM Post #101,366 of 131,437
You could be the pioneer to build such a futuristic IEM for us. It will be an odd design but the recent earclip designs are weird already
Yes please to do. Else that Melbourne PhD chap will keep blowing his money on these weakarse alternatives, slapping his face, hearing sound and convincing himself that all this is some great wizardry.
 
May 15, 2024 at 11:04 PM Post #101,367 of 131,437
Btw, in what way is the P3 different from P8 ? If I have P8, does P3 make sense?

Just wait for Cantor :dt880smile:

Personally, I think I can finally let my P8 and Magic One rest in the ziplock bag with others. I mean, noticeably better resolution (P8) vs not-in-your-face soundstage and more conventional tuning (P3)? I think I can live with less resolution since I'm just going to bring this IEM to the gym and outdoor walks.

But we will see how I think when I finally write the review.
 
May 15, 2024 at 11:49 PM Post #101,368 of 131,437
Here's a review of the Celest Relentless: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/celest-relentless.27144/reviews#review-33905

Relentless 11.jpg


This is a technical bright V-shaped pair, very good soundstage and micro-detailing.

Even has a touching backstory:
This legend hails from the ancient Chinese tome of the Classic of Mountains and Seas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingwei

In bygone times, a girl named Nüwa drowned while swimming in the East China sea. Thereafter, she was reborn into a spirit guardian bird called Jingwei.

This diety bird swore to not let her tragic fate befall anyone else, and everyday, she picked up twigs and rocks in her beak from a nearby mountain, in an attempt to deposit these into the sea. The bird was determined to fill up the sea, one stone at a time!

Concluding the story, the sea mocked her, saying that she will never succeed in a million years. Jingwei replied stoically that she will spend ten million years - even a hundred million years - to accomplish her dying wish of not letting anyone else perish in the same manner. Thus came about the Chinese idiom of Jīngwèi tián hǎi (精衛填海) - which translates to relentless resolve even in the face of hopeless odds.

In fact, as we will read below, this IEM's shells and packaging feature a beautiful sea wave motif - in addition to a golden bookmark of the Jingwei bird - tying in nicely with this heart-rending folk story.

Relentless 6.jpg




Pros:
Princely accessory line-up, including modular cable for balanced and unbalanced sources
Beautiful shells
Comfortable despite larger shells
Technical powerhouse, expansive soundstage and nice micro-detailing in particular
Decent timbre despite packing multiple BAs
Well-extended treble with lots of air
Good mix of bass quantity and quality

Cons:
Moderate driving requirements
Treble is bright and occasionally sibilant, may not be the best option for treble-sensitive folk
Slight recession in lower midrange

Celest Relentless.jpg





I thought you are a professional musician in Singapore 🤔

Nah, my full time job is boring audiometry and occupational medicine stuff. I really wished I could work as a musician but it doesn't make much money in Singapore, which is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. So needs be, have to be pragmatic about it. On the weekends I do some stage gigs in a band as a hobby though (and always look forward to this!)
 
May 15, 2024 at 11:51 PM Post #101,369 of 131,437
Some IEMs just can't be saved LOL I spent the day tip and cable rolling a good portion of my top 8-10 IEMs? Then I ran into the Tri Star River. I cannot believe I paid what was it? $60? $70 for this thing? Or was it more? It currently sits for $40.00 on Amazon. Dual DD (Bery + Titanium) with two switches. How could the tuners fumble this so badly? I even thought there might be a saving grace, when I found a nice Copper cable and the NF Audio NM2+ Bass tips. These tips, which I kept when I sold the IEM, are amazing for lifting bass and decreasing treble energy, as the NM2+ was kind of bass neutral with some spicy treble, so these tips really gave it a nice neutral sound. I remember they had a really expansive stage, and were very technically adept. So I figured, hey, this sounds just like the Star River's signature, so I tried them. Nope. Nothing can save these things. What kind of cheap ass drivers did KBear choose with this gear? The bass came up some, but the details, the technical aspect of the IEM, is such a middling one, that it made no difference. Playback was passing at best, if not boring. Not like I can sell these things, so I guess they go back in the box to collect dust. Here's hoping the Merga is better than things things? It has to be?!
 
May 15, 2024 at 11:53 PM Post #101,370 of 131,437
BTW, what happened to NF Audio? They had so much potential, and seemed to come out of the gate strong, but then faded like a tattoo on a stripper's butt.
 

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