So now my Sakura Plus extended (or actually Akazakura Plus to be more accurate) has had about 140 hrs burn in since I had it last Friday. I must say by now I've forgotten how it sounded like last week. Anyway, if one believes in burn in, hopefully it has settled by now and if one doesn't, well it's just been a 6 day wait.
I'm comparing it to the Dita Truths as those are my other dynamic drivers I listen to.There is a good fast mid-bass response on the Sakuras then the upper bass/lower midrange seems to mellow before coming back up in the upper midrange extending to the treble range. At least to my ears, I somehow wouldn't call this a warm earphone. I'll have to compare it again to the demo Kaede's to see if it's warmer than the Kaedes - however if I trust my memory from last week, I personally wouldn't call this "warm".
This is one speedy earphone though and with its signature, I'd even dare call it aggressive. I feel like I'm "running" trying to catch up whenever I listen the Sakura's. With the Dita's it's to me more relaxing yet not dull. But with the Sakura's I'm more on the edge of my seat. The instrument separation is phenomenal especially percussions. It also sounds spacious compared to the Dita Truths which feel more intimate by comparison. However, I don't feel the Sakuras have much depth in terms of imaging. It's also quite revealing (but not to the KSE1500 extent naturally) - having a good source helps.
I'm still not certain what to make out of them yet. I wouldn't say the Sakura's are better than the Dita Truths nor the Truths over the Sakura's. It's rather mood and genre specific.