I’m not a big fancy audio descriptor type guy, but to me (people can certain tell me I’m nuts), these can sound like turning an overdrive pedal up a bit too much on a guitar. Great for certain genres or if you vibe with the effect, but when I’m listening to an already hot recording or want a...

Yeah. I think you you had a large collection of iems you’d be able to to justify these more (assuming the same listening preferences and hearing), since they’re kind of a specialty sound for me, like having a specific knife for a single type of meal. But I’m looking more for an all purpose...

After a solid week of listening, I returned mine. The sound is good, but it’s a bit harsh and there are very very specific genres, even artists within genres, that these sounds good to me with. When they’re good, they’re amazing, but because of the slightly edgy nature, they are deeply...

I’d definitely say I prefer Grado X sound to E sound, but as far as how these sound, they’re definitely treble forward neutral ish. Mids are a bit recessed, but not in a bad way. Definitely just feels like counter-clockwise rotated harmon target for over ear headphones. I was listening a lot...

Present, controlled, bit of a roll off in the sub-base, not that different then how Senn HD 6 series bass is.

I was an owner of 2020 Andros about a year ago. They were far less treble extended to my memory, and more bass heavy. Andro 2020 are closer to what I'd want in a Harmon target for over-ear headphones, neutral ish with a bit of a base shelf. These are definitely more like Grados, high energy and...

Finally listening to these (the fine folks at the postal service decided they didn’t need to bother delivering them). Initial impressions are good! They seem to be more counterclockwise tuned than v shaped as such, and live Jazz tracks from Cecile Mclorin Salvant had incredible detail and...

I’ll see if I can get a pair cheap used and then compare :) potentially could work.

Very true, if seemingly almost begrudgingly 🤣

It’s trickier when I’m routinely traveling (and about to be deployed). Sometimes you just need it to be right. And I don’t want to buy, have to hang onto the packaging of, and subsequently return half the iems in their line just to find one set 🤷‍♂️ Call me lazy I guess.

Definitely let us know how they compare once they’re all on the desk!

I’ve not a/b tested andro and Holocene, and I think I’d want to do that before a blind buy, since part of andro’s charm is the imaging and staging, and I’ve heard that’s where the Holocene falls apart a bit.

That’s such a bummer. I feel like CA is really missing something with strong mids below andro in the price bracket, and I don’t really use iems enough to justify their price tag. I don’t really enjoy the fit of most chi-fi stuff and would rather give a smaller, more local business my earnings...

Lol, he’s certainly a marmite figure in the community

Oh boy. Not the most promising. Hopefully that’s a limited issue. I feel like way too many iems are rough with female vocals.

Yeah, it’s pretty clear he doesn’t like their differing sonic signatures. He’s made it pretty clear he’s only really interested in one very specific sound signature, which, while I don’t have an issue with, I think would be terribly boring in a hobby where differences in sound are both what draw...

That’s awesome! Seems like a win win win if the fit is good. I was hoping that some review pairs had made it out into the market, but it seems like that has been fairly limited. Or that the big time reviewers don’t like CA 🤔 or maybe both

Oh yeah! Love your Micro iDSD Signature, so thanks for keeping up with doing your thing!

Yeah I could see them not including it just for simplicity in a diagram, but ultimately I don’t mind too much. Mine shipped today, so I’ll be finding out soon enough!

Yeah I don’t think we have definite confirmation that it’s lacking electronic crossover, but as you mentioned with the Ara, CA doesn’t tend to like them, so I highly doubt they used one here.

I guess I got a very different read. The low mid/upper base bar could change it depending on how accurate it is, I saw more of a diffuse field with a bit of a low mid bump. Which is definitely different for a dd dominant IEM. But it’s always hard to tell with their very cryptic bar chart.

Exactly! They’re less interested in chasing the same “tri-hybrid”, Harmon targets, reviewer approval, etc. Some of their stuff I love, some I really don’t like, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It makes them stand out in the vast sea of sameness in the IEM world.

Yeah! I’ve got nothing against CA, I’ve got some Polaris II that I like and Satsumas that I find fine for running with, I’ve tried 2020 Andros as well. They seem to have models that have very unique tunings, and, Andro aside, are sounds that seem to be critically panned for being “too different”...

It’s definitely a CA IEM, polarizing sonic profile seems to be their raison d’etre. At least it seems like they’re innovating a bit!

I’ve got one on order as well. Seems interesting enough to be worth a punt. Maybe a Grado ish sounding “live energy” IEM from CA? I’m glad the mids finally get their own driver in a CA IEM below Andro.