[RTodd]

I think of art as a kind of philosophical expression, so perfectly on topic for me. Share the works you liked best and we will take a look deep inside your skull.

drftr

Okay, not sure about the like best, part.
A tremor of my anima.

 

[fidgeraldo]

we will take a look deep inside your skull.

With a drill machine.

Cheers!

 

[maegnificant]

From the opening post on page 1: "While discussion will obviously be centred around portable audio and everything relating to it there is no “off topic” here so long as the tone is respectful and and the vibe sincere."

Well my vibe is sincere, at least...
I have dug through the vault and found quite a few I liked. So I will just occasionally drop one or two of them on random days. Here was what I posted as my avatar (it was called: can't get enough/despair) and my motto:

Nice light this morning.

Okay, not sure about the like best, part.
A tremor of my anima.

Some real art right there!

 

[goldwerger]

It was produced in a very small batch and was discontinued a long time ago. I know of 2 Origa SEs, but probably more were made.
It also works with 6DJ8 type tubes and their equivalents, which greatly expands the possibilities for sound tuning.

Having both lots of 12 and 6v amps and tubes, this would’ve been perfect. Why do I find about this when it’s no longer being made.. another, not the first nor last, unobtainium search begins…

Needless to say, if anyone has a Pico Origa SE they’d be willing to depart with, I’m your man

 

[Scubadevils]

Two of three toys that landed today…

Impressions to follow

 

[theintention]

Two of three toys that landed today…







Impressions to follow

would love to know how the Navigator performs next to the RU7 and DC-Elite, neat looking device!

 

[Allears79]

By reference I mean neutral - possibly with some clean subbass boost, but not too much. And at least good technicalities. My top of the line reference IEMs:

5. Tralucent Plus5.2. Dead flat neutral with funky treble peaks. Tubeless creates great imaging. Not very well known.

4. Empire Ears Zeus XRA. Colored neutrality. Neutral bass with very colored mids. Still very high technicalities even in 2023.

3. Aroma Audio Jewel. A bit warm because of recessed highs (with an hole at 6kHz) and boosted sub lows, but has a tendency towards neutrality. Superb technicalities.

2. Vision Ears Erlkonig setting IV. Slightly warmed neutral. Especially the mids are perfect neutral. My golden standard.

1. Ambient Acoustics MAD24. Crazy electrostatic like technicalities with 24 BA drivers. Overall neutral tuning. Untouchable. No hype for this yet is a very strange social phenomenon.

0. Wavaya Octa. Vocal-first neutral. Or neutral for vocalists. Partially tubeless 4BA + 4EST. The only CIEM made from porcelain (!!!). Just an honorable mention: the company no longer exists. I loved it so much that I got two pairs just in case.

I also can’t understand why nobody talks about the MAD24. Ambient Acoustics doesn’t invest in marketing and they are a fairly small company from Ukraine, but their Mad24 is an incredible, even transcendental experience. Just got mine this week and it is making me waking up in the middle of the night and reaching out to listen and rediscover details on some of my favorite tunes.
It is seriously a much more developed IEM than the Storm itself and they deserve more exposure!

 

[wolfstar76]

I also can’t understand why nobody talks about the MAD24. Ambient Acoustics doesn’t invest in marketing and they are a fairly small company from Ukraine, but their Mad24 is an incredible, even transcendental experience. Just got mine this week and it is making me waking up in the middle of the night and reaching out to listen and rediscover details on some of my favorite tunes.
It is seriously a much more developed IEM than the Storm itself and they deserve more exposure!

I first learned MAD24 from YouTube when I was still new in this hobby several years ago, and the YouTuber reviewer is a European guy who always wears sunglasses even in a dim lighted room. He raved about MAD24 as the best IEM and that was the last exposure I know. Later when I bumped into this thread and started to participate, I mentioned MAD24 once just out of curiosity, and there are coolers here who had demoed the MAD24 and turned out they are not impressed.

There is no reason that a true gem TOTL IEM exists for years, without being talked about here. The only logic conclusion therefore, MAD24 is probably not considered as "more developed IEM than Storm".

PS, just checked the reviewer is convincemeaudio, and he was sitting by the side of @jude during CanJam London in a panel discussion and his review of MAD24:

 

[drftr]

There is no reason that a true gem TOTL IEM exists for years, without being talked about here.

If the company feels it's way better than Storm but decides not to put any marketing into it and keep it a secret we should respect that. I will do my part in not talking about it going forward, and I'm sure you'll do yours.

drftr

 

[Amadeo Nospherathu]

I also can’t understand why nobody talks about the MAD24. Ambient Acoustics doesn’t invest in marketing and they are a fairly small company from Ukraine, but their Mad24 is an incredible, even transcendental experience. Just got mine this week and it is making me waking up in the middle of the night and reaching out to listen and rediscover details on some of my favorite tunes.
It is seriously a much more developed IEM than the Storm itself and they deserve more exposure!

That's because they don't rely on marketing. It's a really great IEM. I listened to one of the earlier versions of these IEMs, I think about 3-4 years ago, and at the time I was impressed, but it wasn't my sound, so I didn't dream about them. Now they have become much better technically, but unfortunately it's still not my sound, so I prefer other IEMs. However, the MAD24s also deserve some good words. I have a few good friends who would never give up their MAD24s, even though they have listened to other great IEMs, but the ability of the MAD24s to deliver a recording technically, accurately, but emotionally remains unsurpassed for them. So MAD24 may not be as luxuriously presented, but their build quality speaks for itself. Recently, they also started adding a luxurious leather case to the set, which improved the presentation a bit. However, I still think the model is underrated.

 

[Zachik]

Having both lots of 12 and 6v amps and tubes, this would’ve been perfect. Why do I find about this when it’s no longer being made.. another, not the first nor last, unobtainium search begins…

Needless to say, if anyone has a Pico Origa SE they’d be willing to depart with, I’m your man

Some great gear is like artists of old... appreciated only long after their death...

 

[emdeevee]

Just finished my week with the Bonneville thanks to the Watercooler Tour. Can I just say that as a concept the gear tours are a great idea. At first I was a little put off because of the length of membership and number of posts requirement, but it's totally understandable. The vetting process is part of what makes it work so well. Is there any data that correlates an increase in sales based on the additional mentions tour gear get in these threads? Might be something that would encourage manufacturers to participate. Of course a lot of what makes it work is @Rockwell75. Hopefully the admin part of it isn't too time consuming. I know its a labor of love though.

I kept trying to do comparisons of a few songs each between the Bonneville, Black Star and Ara. Except I often forgot to switch and just wanted to "one more song" regardless which IEM I had in. The Bonneville fit was great though. They're so light, and my ears must be just slightly larger than average shape, because they fit well with an almost uniform air gap. It almost felt like they weren't there. I used SpinFit CP145 tips to start with because those are the tips that were already on Black Star. They worked well enough that I just skipped tip rolling completely.

I know I have read others' reviews about the differences in bass presentation and articulation between Bonneville and Black Star, and I just don't have much to add. It's all already been said better that I can articulate. I just don't listen analytically or critically enough. It's making a mountain out of a mole hill really. Yes they are different, and you could write pages about the subtle nuances, but they really aren't that different. They are the same bass driver with slight tuning differences. I'm not a basshead, but I didn't think Bonneville was bombastic or over the top at all. It seemed a little too impactful on some lighter fair, but really shines on House or NuJazz. Bonneville definitely nudged my musical selection toward it's strengths. All the buzz is deserved. That being said, already having Black Star, there won't be a Bonneville in my future. The more I listen to Black Star and compare it to others, the more I realize how lucky I got on the blind buy

I went thru the exact same process while testing Bonneville, having already blind bought Black Star. I agree they are more similar than not. I think the biggest differences were in midbass and staging, with BS having a bit less midbass than Bonneville, but having a taller and more holographic stage where Bonneville sounded more linear across the stage. Both awesome, but too similar to own both, I agree. And also very happy I ended up with Black Star.

 

[baneand]

New Violectric

Cool amp gets even cooler with vu meters and front pre-gain knob, taken from their fb page

 

[Yarbles]

What makes them lightyears ahead of others like the sp3000 to you?

Could you describe a comparison in regions like bass, mid, high, soundstage etc?

Would much appreciate it

Have you ever heard a Mojo 2? IMO (and the opinion of many others) it's the single best piece of truly portable audio gear that exists. I wrote a thing on the SP3000 earlier and I'll just cut n paste it.

I'll make some audio comments first.

I don't think the sound is bad - I just don't see it as being much better than even an L&P W4 dongle with my phone ... maybe I'm totally & utterly spoiled by the Mojo 2 on a daily basis. For my ears - it's absolute perfection. Before I had one, I had various similar products that were around the same price, some significantly more expensive (ifi Diablo). They all got sold immediately after I got the Mojo 2 and that was a year ago.

Fortunately, the 450 GBP Mojo 2 has, for me, raised the bar so high that nothing comes close. I would have paid 3000 USD for it had that been the price. Mojo 2 has a pitch black background. You only hear the music. This makes for/adds to incredible imaging, to the point that if you're listening to a well recorded jazz album, it's like you're in a room with incredible acoustics listening to the band. Some people complain that the Mojo 2 can sound sharp with cymbals etc. Have you heard a cymbal in real life? I've put on over 1200 music shows & produced music - they're supposed to sound sharp! I understand that some people will want to temper this for day to day listening - and they can wity the absolutely superb onboard DSP. This thing is magic. If you want a little extra sub, you're a few clicks away from non compromising (to the rest of the sound) added sub. You want to take the edge of those cymbals? Same thing. It's amazing how many people think the DSP is nothing more than some EQ presets, with presets for different shelves. Try using a software EQ to get the same sound as the Mojo 2 DSP. Good luck!

I'm not adverse to dropping thousands on items if I think they are truly worth it. I worked in music & sound for circa 25 years at a pretty high level & this all stems from a love of sound & music since a very young age. I used to perform, promote, produce, book & act as an agent to many big artists. I did it all. I'm pretty confident in my ability to know at least what I love immediately I hear it... and also what I believe is a very poor value product - this is what the SP3000 is. There is not much to say about the sound. It's extremely generic. It doesn't do anything special & it doesn't do anything particularly special either. It's the sort of sound I'd expect from a $500 DAP.

Someone asked about A&K DAP's. This was my response.

Let's start with the exterior. This is where a lot of that money is going because they used very expensive metal, that a lot of luxury watchmakers use. It looks super luxury.

If people want to pay a premium for luxury stuff like this, that's absolutely fine. But (a) the ergonomics were not just bad - they were dangerous. The edges were so sharp that you could not even hold it properly without your hands getting very sore very quickly.

Even worse - the corners are VERY sharp and if you put it your jeans pocket your will very likely hurt yourself.

Even if it does not have these sharp edges & it was comfortable to hold... this specific type of metal looks super luxurious - until you touch it. It is an absolute fingerprint magnet & looks dirty even if you just hold it in your hand for a few seconds.

Anyway - they include a case. A green, leather looking case. It's quite a decent looking case, but it covers all of that expensive metal except the volume control knob. And the case is so poorly designed, you can't use the buttons on the side of the device as they are covered up and you can easily hit the wrong one... in fact you probably will. So what's the point of using all these fancy metals you've paid probably around 1200 USD for (a friend who makes luxury watches estimate), if you can't even see them?

Then there is the device.

Very average screen. Slow OS. Closed android. No EQ and you cannot download EQ software.

The sound is ok. But not any better than my phone with an L&P W4 dongle.

For $3800, It's a disgrace. The VERTU of DAPs.

Fortunately I only effectively paid $1100 (through various exchanges I've done - I like to keep my audio gear 'habit' pretty sustainable) for it & I am so glad I was able to exchange it for a new pair of Elysian Annihilator (something else I personally don't like but are much better 'currency' for trading/selling)

 

[AxLvR]

Ambient Acoustics MAD24 >>>>>> Subtonic STORM ??