[bmichels]

I think I finally landed on the Fusion1 for the AP. Very well balanced, a bit tighter yet plentiful bass impact, and a slightly smoother yet detailed treble. Nice, wide and natural soundstage. More importantly (to me), it brings the beautiful mids slightly forward and creates a more W shaped balance than the other cables I tried. At least, to my ears!

Thanks for your advice.

So from your signature I see you also own Orpheus, but with the AP you prefered the Fusion1... which cost 5 times less. Is this correct ? This is a good news for my wallet

 

[LFC_SL]

I agree. IPX has been my favorite non-proprietary connector for a while now. The only hurdle it faces is the sheer ubiquity of 2-pin. It’s almost like 2.5mm balanced in a way; an objectively weak connector that happened to become the norm just because it came out first. Even when 4.4mm debuted and was easily miles better in all aspects, it took years and 5-10 of the biggest brands adopting it to finally usurp 2.5mm. What IPX needs is more brands championing it to become the new standard.

That might be the hurdle to IPX taking over as the brands that have adopted IPX have professional clientele. For example Ultimate Ears thought using a connector rated for 500 connections was good enough. UE were finding professionals were changing cables sometimes twice a day so on a connector rated for up to 500 connections the connector could still breakdown inside a year, which the IEM manufacturer is obliged to fix. So UE went to IPX, rated for 3,000 connections. Manufacturers serving consumers might not have the same business need to change connector and pay estron. And then as mentioned above you have outliers like JHA or Fir Audio creating their own connector or Fir Audio creating a "rigid 2 pin" rated for 1,000 connections

I will stop now

 

[Deezel177]

That might be the hurdle to IPX taking over as the brands that have adopted IPX have professional clientele. For example Ultimate Ears thought using a connector rated for 500 connections was good enough. UE were finding professionals were changing cables sometimes twice a day so on a connector rated for up to 500 connections the connector could still breakdown inside a year, which the IEM manufacturer is obliged to fix. So UE went to IPX, rated for 3,000 connections. Manufacturers serving consumers might not have the same business need to change connector and pay estron. And then as mentioned above you have outliers like JHA or Fir Audio creating their own connector or Fir Audio creating a "rigid 2 pin" rated for 1,000 connections

I will stop now

That's true, but there are also brands like 64 Audio that cater to both and have adopted IPX as well. JH actually had IPX for their new flagship Sharona too, but they eventually pulled the option because their IPX socket vendor apparently started suffering QC issues. That could be another hindrance to widespread IPX adoption.

You mentioning FiR's rigid 2-pin has reminded me, though, that there are more premium versions of the 2-pin connector; ones that actually have springs in them to hold the pins in place, rather than relying on pure friction. I know 64, FiR, Nightjar and Subtonic use them for sure, and their sockets are some of the best and longest-lasting I've personally used. The STORM's, specifically, is unique in that the initial insertion has quite a bit of resistance, but then it just slides in and locks into place, almost with a click. So, that's probably where I see the future of 2-pin going; not necessarily replaced outright, but improving in design and durability.

 

[fiascogarcia]

Thanks for your advice.

So from your signature I see you also own Orpheus, but with the AP you prefered the Fusion1... which cost 5 times less. Is this correct ? This is a good news for my wallet

The Orpheus creates a vast soundstage and beautiful tonality, as you would expect. Timbre is natural and spot on to me. The difference is that the spaciousness that the Orphy creates between vocals and instruments gives me the effect of sitting further back from the performance with the AP. To me, the AP has great mids with such texture and clarity, and I think I prefer a more intimate presentation with them, where you feel a little closer to the vocalist or instruments that are front and center. Also, I've spent most listening time with the DMP, which conveys a larger and more spacious soundstage to begin with. All said, I try to be careful making recommendations since we all have personal preferences, so of course, YMMV!

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Yeah I do actually really like the xe6 2 pin lol I feel much more confident cable swapping with them then any resin shell 2pin

 

[stacey]

Yeah, I’m not sure what the standalone price is. Storm owners have an upgrade offer with Nightjar to trade in your existing Mira 2 or 4-wire. I think the standalone Sovereigns are yet to be made available.

By the way, have you ever got a chance to try Sovereign Symphony with all your other IEMs?

 

[Sajid Amit]

On my recent travels, I brought with myself the best portable chain I have tried with the Jewel. The chain is as follows:

Sony WM1ZM2 with DSD remastering >

PW Audio Orpheus >

Jewel with Spinfit CP240

First of all, the PW Audio Orpheus on its own adds a very interesting flavor to the Jewel with its weighty, mid-bassy and spacious presentation. The cable itself is weighty, literally, but this is no dealbreaker.

However, the Jewel with the Orpheus on the WM1ZM2 can sound a tad lacking in air, despite sounding punchier, more spacious and probably more resolving than the Jewel does with any other cable.

That said, the WM1ZM2 is no one trick pony. Other than its filters and EQ which suitably introduce/adjust flavors, the DSD Remastering works like a charm on this chain.

Once switched on, the sound immediately becomes airier with a more extended yet sweeter treble and a deeper stage, and above all, a significantly more cohesive and coherent presentation one comes to expect from single DD sets. I am quite taken with the Sony DSD remastering with this chain.

Lastly, the final part of the puzzle, the lovely CP240, albeit somewhat intrusive, add a finishing touch, a chef’s kiss, to the Jewel’s bass, rendering it more textured and better-extended. What an experience!

In any case, very pleased at having tweaked and tinkered my way to this particular combo and highly recommended for Jewelheads!

 

[MatW]

On my recent travels, I brought with myself the best portable chain I have tried with the Jewel. The chain is as follows:

Sony WM1ZM2 with DSD remastering >

PW Audio Orpheus >

Jewel with Spinfit CP240



First of all, the PW Audio Orpheus on its own adds a very interesting flavor to the Jewel with its weighty, mid-bassy and spacious presentation. The cable itself is weighty, literally, but this is no dealbreaker.



However, the Jewel with the Orpheus on the WM1ZM2 can sound a tad lacking in air, despite sounding punchier, more spacious and probably more resolving than the Jewel does with any other cable.



That said, the WM1ZM2 is no one trick pony. Other than its filters and EQ which suitably introduce/adjust flavors, the DSD Remastering works like a charm on this chain.

Once switched on, the sound immediately becomes airier with a more extended yet sweeter treble and a deeper stage, and above all, a significantly more cohesive and coherent presentation one comes to expect from single DD sets. I am quite taken with the Sony DSD remastering with this chain.

Lastly, the final part of the puzzle, the lovely CP240, albeit somewhat intrusive, add a finishing touch, a chef’s kiss, to the Jewel’s bass, rendering it more textured and better-extended. What an experience!

In any case, very pleased at having tweaked and tinkered my way to this particular combo and highly recommended for Jewelheads!

Great, now you can remove the Jewel from your classified listings!

 

[bmichels]

The Orpheus creates a vast soundstage and beautiful tonality, as you would expect. Timbre is natural and spot on to me. The difference is that the spaciousness that the Orphy creates between vocals and instruments gives me the effect of sitting further back from the performance with the AP. To me, the AP has great mids with such texture and clarity, and I think I prefer a more intimate presentation with them, where you feel a little closer to the vocalist or instruments that are front and center. Also, I've spent most listening time with the DMP, which conveys a larger and more spacious soundstage to begin with. All said, I try to be careful making recommendations since we all have personal preferences, so of course, YMMV!

thanks a lot for your reply.

 

[linux4ever]

I paired Fat Freq MSE with Sony WM1A M2 today. MSE is power hungry and Sony WM1A M2 is not known for power, so had to keep the volume at 100 on high gain to make MSE sing.

But sing it does. A lovely pairing and could end up being a good portable option to carry around.

 

[shznn]

At the very least Con-X needs to be the standard going forward. I'm grateful it exists, especially given a good many of my favorite IEMs are mmcx.

I have to disagree tho; conx may be very convenient but I personally went to EA and had them cut my conx off my Horus+Cleo / Horus8 and put ordinary connectors. Needless to say the dynamics improved at the spot

 

[Piotr Michalak]

Jewel with Spinfit CP240

Great, now you can remove the Jewel from your classified listings!

Hahah!
Aaaand... get em reshelled into custom to relieve yourself from these crazy spinfits!

 

[jude]

At the very least Con-X needs to be the standard going forward. I'm grateful it exists, especially given a good many of my favorite IEMs are mmcx.

I'm definitely a big ConX and TermX fan, too.

I have to disagree tho; conx may be very convenient but I personally went to EA and had them cut my conx off my Horus+Cleo / Horus8 and put ordinary connectors. Needless to say the dynamics improved at the spot

Thankfully, I haven't noticed any sonic issues with ConX/TermX, but, admittedly, I also have not yet had a set of ConX/TermX cables re-terminated to cut them off to make that comparison. Since I think it'd be too painful for me me to do that, I'll have to remain personally ignorant on this matter!

 

[warrenpchi]

I personally went to EA and had them cut my conx off my Horus+Cleo / Horus8 and put ordinary connectors. Needless to say the dynamics improved at the spot

Thankfully, I haven't noticed any sonic issues with ConX/TermX, but, admittedly, I also have not yet had a set of ConX/TermX cables re-terminated to cut them off to make that comparison. Since I think it'd be too painful for me me to do that, I'll have to remain personally ignorant on this matter!

Interesting that you guys should mention this. Like Jude, I have not been able to compare the delta between them by varying connectors destructively. However, I have been told by EA that a performance difference does exist, and it is the primary reason why the Centurion (their flagship cable) does not utilize TermX, but is hardwired at the source end. Luckily, they do make pigtails for the Centurion.

 

[gLer]

Thankfully, I haven't noticed any sonic issues with ConX/TermX, but, admittedly, I also have not yet had a set of ConX/TermX cables re-terminated to cut them off to make that comparison. Since I think it'd be too painful for me me to do that, I'll have to remain personally ignorant on this matter!

Interesting that you guys should mention this. Like Jude, I have not been able to compare the delta between them by varying connectors destructively. However, I have been told by EA that a performance difference does exist, and it is the primary reason why the Centurion (their flagship cable) does not utilize TermX, but is hardwired at the source end. Luckily, they do make pigtails for the Centurion.

I've had a Cardas Clear/1950s clone re terminated with ConX, and while audio memory is of course unreliable, I heard no appreciable difference. If there is a very slight difference in A/B testing, my guess is that it's not going to be enough to worry me personally. TermX, on the other hand, I'm not really a fan. Not because of any SQ difference, but I think the mechanism isn't great. I much prefer a twist lock system, a-la the brilliant cable HiBy supplies with the new $239 Yvain.