The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.
May 9, 2024 at 6:01 AM Post #88,651 of 97,582
Indeed. There's also recency bias which definitely has a big influence on my own list, along with all the other subjective factors I mentioned previously. Hence why I don't put stock in any "ranking" list anymore.

My bro, how dare you rank Storm as number 1, it's obviously Ambient Acoustic Mad24

ha-smirk.gif
 
May 9, 2024 at 6:03 AM Post #88,652 of 97,582
It's certainly music. Too deep for most.

Apologies, this sounded condescending in this context. I often tend to say what I think - if it's about music or sound, it's usually just quick & instinctive.

Although I do actually mean what I say, there are probably ways of saying it that don't sound so snooty.
Indeed. There's also recency bias which definitely has a big influence on my own list, along with all the other subjective factors I mentioned previously. Hence why I don't put stock in any "ranking" list anymore.
 
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May 9, 2024 at 6:24 AM Post #88,654 of 97,582
Questyle products look so amazing it’s really hard to resist the urge to press that checkout button. Too bad they forgot the goal is to play music and not to gauge the technical capabilities of your transducers :)
 
May 9, 2024 at 6:34 AM Post #88,656 of 97,582
What do you mean exactly? What is the problem? I don't understand.
Compared to my Walkman, the M15i sounds like dynamite and broken glass. It goes boom and occasionally broken shards of glass cut you.
 
May 9, 2024 at 6:40 AM Post #88,658 of 97,582
Please don't be like that, I don't know what happened, but that sounds mocking to me, and that's not nice. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and I apologise.

It's just a joke that I made, I'm not trying to mock anyone, obviously IEMs are subjective to everyone's ears and tastes and anything can be ranked as number 1 depending on who made the ranking list. That's all.
 
May 9, 2024 at 6:40 AM Post #88,659 of 97,582
Well, perhaps this is simply a conscious tuning decision? I think it's good to have complementary stuff.
Definitely. Variety is good.
 
May 9, 2024 at 6:53 AM Post #88,662 of 97,582
Questile CMA18 and FiiO K19 in the house. Here are just a few impressions for those who want to know. I don't want to be detailed. Here are some impressions as they came into my head, so they are not systematic, but rather mixed up. If you have more specific questions, just ask.

What makes the N30 so special compared to the CMA18 and K19 is the timbre. Even in SS mode, it is very realistic, lively, vivid and emotional. Bass and mids sound lifelike/authentic, whereas with the others they are comparatively more artificial. Another impressive feature of the N30 is the depth of the stage and general holography. It is clear to hear that the music is multidimensional. I hear a special, unique plasticity, bass and mids stand out. The scene is more forward and this is due to the fact that the N30 has more tone weight. The CMA18 has less weight in the low mids and is brighter in the upper mids. In this respect, the N30 is smoother, but at the same time more detailed in its macrodynamics. In terms of microdynamics, the K19 has the upper hand, but I'm not sure about the CMA18. Perhaps the CMA18 has a little more instrument separation, as the note is not as thick as the N30. There is more space between the instruments compared to the N30, but that would probably be all. The N30 has more texture, especially in the bass and mid range. Taken together, the N30 is absolutely unbeatable for timbre.

Both the CMA18 and the K19 are amazingly good for the price. I bought the K19 for gaming with the PC and Playstation 5. I was very surprised by the technical capabilities of this thing. I really didn't expect anything and I had to realise that it undoubtedly beats the N30 in analytical listening. It reminds me a lot of the DX320Max, but without the weakness/dealbreaker I felt compared to the N30 in terms of bass (little texture), mids (recessed) and stage (narrow). So the K19 definitely has texture in the bass range, the mids are more at the front and the stage is significantly wider than the N30 (but which has more depth). The K19 has less note decay and less fuller low mids than the N30. Both areas can be separated more clearly so that more information can be extracted from the music.

The K19 and N30 are very complementary and per se, i.e. really at a very high level in their respective categories. The K19 wins for neutrality, analyticality and technicality. The N30 wins for musicality, emotionality and immersion. For gaming with the Playstation 5, there is undoubtedly no better device on the market that is UAC 1.0 compatible. In contrast to the N30, the K19 also has no (notably) delay (I'm quite sensitive here), so unfortunately the N30 is not ideal for the PC.


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Nice impressions! Wow if N30 has more note weight than CMA18P it must have MASSIVE note weight indeed. I must have a listen one of these days.
 
May 9, 2024 at 7:02 AM Post #88,663 of 97,582
Nice impressions! Wow if N30 has more note weight than CMA18P it must have MASSIVE note weight indeed. I must have a listen one of these days.
I don't know if the note weight is "massive", but it's certainly there and it's all part of what I referred to earlier as "plastic", "stand-out", "lifelike" etc.; these are the descriptors that come to mind here. I only really started to appreciate the DD-bass with the N30 and I'm realising more and more from these comparisons that I don't want to do without it anyway, so that also applies to the N30. As a DD lover, you really need to hear the N30. The bass that comes out is so special. The same goes for the mids.
 
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May 9, 2024 at 7:06 AM Post #88,664 of 97,582
M15i is a dongle. Comparing it to a Sony DAP is like apples and oranges.
Didn’t you know? Apple dongle is all you need™ :)
 
May 9, 2024 at 7:52 AM Post #88,665 of 97,582
This is why ranking lists shouldn't be taken seriously unless it's your own, and why I don't advertise or talk about my one anymore. I use it purely to track what I've heard, with my music, my preferences, my sources, my ear anatomy, my volume levels, my cables...

If it doesn't make sense to you or you don't agree with it, then maybe its best not to look at it to save you any confusion.
This. I.E just because certain people can love Fei Wan so much i can see why some people will rank it so low due to its treble and overly engaging nature. Audio gear is purely taste for example there are vocal head, bass head, treble head,etc. We all have different taste on how we want our music to sound like. I used to own Grand Maestro for me it was beautiful sounding set but some might not agree due to various reason and it is okay. Maybe what we can critizise and easier to agree on are accesories, packaging, customer services, design, naming, etc.

Anyway finally i receive my Feiwan what a beautiful engaging set musical yet technical. BUT!!! THE CABLE! OMG! Why such an expensive set include such lowly cable?! It is so microphonic and doesnt sound the best with Feiwan and boring design. Not fair for the price. Sorry for ranting i have to say it.
 

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