Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by DaEMoNteNTAcLe

[wts] furutech gt2 usb

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:39:56 +0800

Item(s):
Furutech GT2 A-B 0.6meter USB Cable

Package includes:
cable, box

Price:
RM220 firm

Warranty:
nyaa...

Dealing method:
cod/postage

Location of seller:
bangi.

Contact method/details:
pm

Age of item:
> 1 yr.

---

Item(s) conditions:
8/10, since connector got plugging/unplugging marks.

Picture:

Reason for sale:
selling lavry.

Poor attitude from AudioHub

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

Poor attitude from AudioHub

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

A Farewell note to LYN..

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 07:30:00 +0800

A Farewell note to LYN..

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 23:03:10 +0800

Dear fellow audiophilers.

Since my actions to associate with wrong people have led to serious complication
and big problem, I have thus decided to withdraw from this forum, thus cutting any
further possibly damaging contact and/or decision that I might still make in the
future.

A special apologies, thanks and gratitude to my guru, mentor and friend PcWork for
the time, knowledge, and trouble he has thus shared with me for so long . Thank you
very much to Yuheng for helping me out way earlier, and now still. Thank you
akabane@drjackal for introducing me to ath woodies, it was still what introduced me
to quality level headphone. Thanks also to sieg, tri[a]ll, theng_ye, for sharing a
lot with me.

To those wondering, my rig will remain with me, I have no wish to part with them,
and I will continue to improve it. I simply have found that I have gone beyond common level
and I have nothing more to learn from people who has not lived with better musical
level. (yes Im level 70+ and you noobs are still level 10. ) I already know what I want, what I need,
and regrettably what I have lost from spending the extra unnecessary time in this forum.

Farewell to all. Hopefully, all of you will find good music, and will not harm any
people or hardware in the process.

current rig as of now.
Top;
PcWork tweaked Lavry DA-11, Senn HD650 Symphonica.

2nd
Travagan, powered by RM10k+ back-end, setup assisted by PcWork.

3rd
PcWork recabled KSC-75, go-vibe ppk, PcWork stereo interconnect.

Previous rig.
Sansa Clip+, Sansa Fuze, Xitel Mp3 streamer usb soundcard,
Linearossa, hippo amp, go-vibe single, Lovely cube linear.

ATH W10vtg, ATH ck10, AD300, HD201, Thinksound rain, FA DBA-02, Crossroad Quattro, Hippo VB,
Crossroad Woody2, Hippo White, Hippo Groove, FA Eterna V1, Crossroad Bijou.

Speakers personally heard in private sessions.
Wilson Audio Sasha W/P. - more than RM600k setup.
Sonus Faber Elipsa. - more than RM400k setup.

Reference Sound for Speakers
Sonus Faber Elipsa,
Sonus Faber Concertino Domus.

Rigs personally tested from gath.
ATH AD300, ATH AD700, ATH AD900, ATH AD2000, ATH ESw9, ATH EW9, ATH ESW9JPN,
ATH W10JPN, ATH W2002, ATH W1000x, ATH W5000, ATH W1000, Alessandro Msi, Sony SA5000,
Grado PS1000, Akg K702, k701, Darth Beyer, Beyer DT770, DT880 600ohm, DT880 250ohm,
DT990, T1.
Senn IE7, Atrio, RE0, Shure SE530.
Maverick D1, Audio-Gd Compass, Darkvoice SE337, Yamamoto HA-02, Rudistor RP8.

Best headphone heard, listed in what I consider similar level of refinement.
Grado PS1000, HD800.
HD650, ATH W10VTG, ATH W2002, Sony SA5000.

Headphones that made my garbage list. (Fuk YEAH!)
Beyer T1 - wrong tone, wrong sound, broken instrument.
Darth Beyer - everyhing bassy, including female vocal.
ATH AD2000 - too thin, too shrieking highs.

IEM in garbage list.
FA DBA-02 - tweeter bass.

Cheap headphone I would have chosen to live with.
ATH AD300, AD500 (requires amp capable of pushing AT woodies), or HD555/595.

Most serious problem found in audio.
People tend to try improve some aspect of sound, and losing the music in the process.
They ends up with personally preferred sound, which is not correct, and usually not
appealing to the ladies, because ladies hear wierd sound instead of music.

Best ideas ever heard in this forum.
Flagship headphone are the best, can only be compared with other flagship headphone.
reads : Flagship Steelseries siberia, Monster flagship Beats by Dr Dre, are
comparable to beyer T1 and Akg K702.
... i would agree.

End.

pre-amp vs power amp

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 11:23:56 +0800

hi,
wanna about pre-amp and power amp..

whats the difference?
when to use? why?
can i use with my headphone?
hope all the sifu can show a newbie some..

thanks.

My IEM Impression thread

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:07:42 +0800

Hippo Groove

One of the latest addition to the hippo family. Body seems to be made from aluminium, with plastic lining, and a hippo logo at the back having some rubbery texture. Body feels solid enough. My only gripes is that i have some sharp edges from it's simplistic shape, can sometime hurt the ear, but not really a problem because of small size and can be sanded down without problems tho.

Burnin :
Initial impression, there is good balance, sounds a bit muddy, especially in lower bass and lower mids, overall sound is also somewhat messy, but there's not really much fault.
also have good body in sound, nice vocals that's not dry, but mids can sometime feel a bit recessed, possibly leaning towards bright ever so slightly. Overall the signature is similar to Crossroad Woody 2.
. Minor and micro details are smeared.
It cleaned up quite a bit after 50 hr; and still improving in clarity after 100. recommended at least around 50hr.

Hippo White

Also another latest addition to the hippo family, i would guess its also made of aluminum, with plastic coating. no comment on the housing, other than nice shape.

Burnin :
Initially very bassy, extra midbass, with bass punch. bass are mostly controlled, but bass details are somewhat smeared. Slightly dark sounding, vocals are sligthly recessed, trebles slightly lack sparkle.
bass tightness and control, along with clarity improves quite a bit after 50hr to 100hr, similar to Hippo Groove. recommended at least around 50hr.

both are similar here..
Package - IEM, 3 single flange tips (S, M, L), 3 red-blue flange tips (S, M, L), soft pouch.
Fit and Comfort - easy fit with the stock single flange, sharp edges can sometime be annoying.
Preferred tips - stock med-flange.

SQ
Groove
Balance :
Bass - 2 just slightly lesser amount of bass up to the mid-bass, but quite enough to be heard and not missing.
Mids - 3
Treble - 3

White
Bass - 3 Forward, quantity is actually about the same to mids and treble overall, but the forwardness makes it slightly more prominent.
Mids - 2
Treble - 2

Quality :
Groove
Bass - 1 - bass amount is just enough to give presence when needed, but lacks good beat and body, especially in the lowest end. Kinda similar to single BA bass since its quite fast in speed. most people who have not heard low end and layered bass such as on the hippo vb, crossroad woody, dba-02, and some good bassy dual ba will not miss anything, except the lower quantity (vs mids and highs) and maybe the bass rumbling. since bass is quite fast.
Mids - 2 - mids still feels slightly recessed, possibly a because it lacks the mid-bass/low-mids, and also because its a bit emphasized on the mid-high. piano and female vocal are sweet. good clear vocals, and very clean highs. small details are just slightly below clear, but can be picked up just by paying attention. quite forward overall presentation.
Treble - 3 - Clean, clear and sweet treble presentation. Minor details are not really obvious, but can still be heard.

Soundstage - Average soundstage width/depth and overall size but just enough space between instruments, enough to provide good imaging without congesting sound.
Signature - Similar to Woody2, leaning towards mid-hi, vocal centric iem, ever so slightly bright.

White
Bass - 3 - good amount of layering and details. Texture can be heard if given attention. Not boomy at all. bass details are somewhat smeared compared to VB. positioning is slightly forward, which can become annoying.
Mids - 2 - probably better body than the groove due to better mid-bass, but sounded recessed compared to the bass.
Treble - 2 - slightly muffled, otherwise quite good and detailed. minor details are not so obvious.

Soundstage - Average soundstage width/depth and overall size but just enough space between instruments, enough to provide good imaging without congesting sound. forward bass actually kills a bit of the soundstage.
Signature - Slightly dark, leaning towards bassy but clean, similar to hippo VB.

Comparison
Vs CK10 - lol? CK10 kills my woody2, enuff said.

Groove Vs Woody2 - Most difference is in technical strength, especially from the low mids to the lowest bass - Woody2 have wider soundstage, slightly better positioning and imaging, slightly more space between instruments, clearer minor and micro details, better frequency response from mids to sub-bass, more bass punch and better bass body. Vocals, mid-high, and treble of the hippo groove can be considered quite close or similar, with the groove having slightly better sparkle in the treble, but also sounding more thin.

White Vs Woody2 - Here, woody2 seems to have all the advantage of the bass on Hippo White, but also have the advantage of the better vocals that the white lacks compared to the groove. The balance is more in between bright of hippo groove and dark of hippo white. Bass on the Hippo white is more forward, and sometimes does drown the mids and highs slightly. Woody2 bass is more sensible behind the vocalist, giving a good presentation that doesnt lack instrument sounds, with vocals that is never drowned, and highs that are also cleaner than the slightly muffled sounding hippo white. Woody2 also have the soundstage size to provide enough separation and enough air / breathing room, it never sound congested compared to hippo white, or groove.

Groove Vs Hippo White - groove is brighter, white is darker. white also have emphasis on the bass, with better detailing at the low end. instruments have better weight on the white. vocals are clearer on groove, although a bit thin. treble are more sweet and sparkly on the groove. can be summed up as difference between bright (groove) and dark sounding(white), light footed(groove) and solid footed(white) note. Technically white is slightly above the groove, but groove is more easier sounding and good for long listening.

White and Groove Vs Music Valley SP1 - SP1 is very heavy sounding overall by comparison to the white (slightly thin) and groove (very thin). positioning, for SP1 is slightly better than groove, since bass is not really forward, but it has a too much bass quantity that is intruding and taking a lot of space in the limited soundstage. width/depth is similar to groove and white. otherwise, it can be considered as a hippo white with more quantity on the bass and bigger sound body, but not necessarily better than the white.

White Vs Fischer Audio Enigma - more bass boom than hippo white, otherwise, i would consider hippo white to have more texture and layer in the bass, and also goes lower. vocals and mids on the enigma is very recessed. Details are clearer on the white compared to Enigma, since enigma's bass boom and recessed mids drowns a lot of details.

[/b]Groove Vs Fischer Audio Enigma[/b] - different sound signature, enigma is very dark, and groove is bright. bass seems to be missing when comparing the groove to enigma, since the groove doesnt have bass boom. mids on the enigma is recessed, vocals, piano, anything in the mids sounds better on the groove, and sounds muffled on the enigma. treble sparkle is more pronounced on enigma due to the dark signature.

Ranking:
1st tier : - IEMs that falls in 1st tier are impressive overall. Sound quality is more fluid with better or unique musical presentation not found in lower tiers, giving a combination of more satisfying experience.
- Audio Technica CK10 - Most similar to my ATH-W10VTG, that's comparing IEM to full size headphone.

2nd tier : - IEMS in this category are very good performer, with just some faults lowers overall impression. Otherwise, sound quality of IEMs at this level is already quite good, moving higher does not improve much in sound quality compared to musical presentation.
- DBA-02, more defined soundstage that potrays position very clearly, and also have very clear texture above others. I decided that DBA-02 can not be in 1st-tier, since it doest impress me as much as CK10 does, and also i have a hard time choosing between ck10, eq7, se535 and um3x, but not a hard decision to sell DBA-02. otherwise, this can sit at the top here. (ranking remains since i no longer have this iem)
- Crossroad Woody2 - Sweet female vocals, and natural tonal accuracy. More musical than Hippo VB.
- Hippo VB - Technically very good, able to present a very good amount of detail overall. Harsh treble gave it a lower rank. (ranking remains since i no longer have this iem)
- Sherwood SE-777 - somewhat congested without amping, so more or less below VB. (ranking remains since i no longer have this iem)
- Fischer Audio Eterna - very good impression, just lacking technical strength and also off-tone vocals, for me to ranked higher. (ranking remains since i no longer have this iem)

3rd tier :
Hippo White - Technically better than Hippo Groove, but bass is dominant.
Hippo Groove - good overall performer.
Music Valley SP1 - Good and solid sounding, but small and congested sounstage that is not able to cater for the size and weight of the sound.
Fischer Audio Enigma - Boomy bass, recessed mids, sparkly treble.
Crossroad Bijou3 - fun sounding IEM.

Conclusion:
both the new Hippo, especially the Groove is quite a bargain at its price point. It will not be able to beat the 2nd-tier iems, but the sound quality and performance from them are already on a level that is quite good. The largest thing missing is the size of the soundstage that makes presentation a bit messy on complex passages, but otherwise there is not much to fault. I would have no problem recommending them especially the groove for vocal lover, and the white for those who prefer more bass and are style conscious.

My IEM Impression thread

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 02:56:10 +0800

Fischer Audio Enigma
yes the manual says silver bullet

pitcahs..

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Won this IEM from lucky draw even thanks to WS Trading.
The IEM is very small, it dissapears when worn, nice but also a bit worrisome because theres simply nothing to hold onto, i have to tug the cable to remove it. it also comes with a huge L-shaped plug that seems to come from headphone instead of earphone.
when i first tried it.. i was hit with a very loud boom. This IEM is hard EQ'd to be very bassy, with abundance of mid-bass. If u need some boominess from FA, this is likely to be it. despite the ambient boom, the treble still have a distinct sparkle, but mids and vocals are overshadowed by the huge mid-bass every now and then. This IEM is definitely not in the same level as Eterna, SE777, Hippo VB, Woody2. So I took out my long kept SP1 to make comparison, and it fits at that level, along with bijou3.

Burnin : Straight out of the box, the mids and trebles are often drowned by the bass. After 50hr, bass is more controlled. I found vocals to be clearer at about 150hr, and theres some improvement in overall clarity (but not eterna clarity), up to 200hr+. not much changed afterwards.

Package - Fischer Audio Enigma IEM, 3 single flange tips, carrying case.
Fit and Comfort - easy fit with the stock single flance, comfortable as well.
Preferred tips - stock med-flange.

SQ
Balance :
Bass - 3
Mids - 1
Treble - 1

Quality :
Bass - 2 - Bass does seem texture, but not very defined and also missing sub-bass and layers. 80Hz EQ on the gumstick doesnt give any difference compared to VB, which is very audible. It is also fast enough to keep up with most songs, faster than Eterna, but not as full bodied and well-presented.
Mids - 1 - Vocals are affected by midbass; it's like EQ'ing any iem to bump the mid-bass such that vocals are also affected. Otherwise, mids are presented well, bit a bit muffled on extension. It is also recessed, but probably along the same line with trebles.
Treble - 2 - Nice treble definition with nice sparkles. probably slightly better than Eterna's treble in terms of fine definition.

Soundstage - Average sized, which i found not enough to cater for the excessive bass. Eterna's soundstage is very very wide by comparison, and allows more 'breathing' room. It does have a better separation vs SP1 soundstage which is more crammed imho.
Signature - Dark, bassy with recessed vocals and treble, but have enough sparkle in the treble to be heard well. Somehow i do found it to work well with trance. I is actually similar with Eterna, but is well below Eterna in terms of overall performance.

Comparison
With SP1, SP1 have better bass impact and control, and better vocals, but SP1 soundstage is flat and small, lacks width, and lacks dynamic. minor details are also muffled in sp1, but still can be heard on enigma.
Vs Eterna, Eterna does better in overall sound, clarity, bass presentation, vocals, and mids. Treble is probably slightly better on Enigma, but Enigma sounds muffled or veiled compared to Eterna, and also sounds very crammed in the head.
Vs Hippo VB. VB has a very clean bass presentation, not boomy, very textured and layered, and doesnt intrude into mids or treble. Soundstage is wider on VB even on bass port 1 (smallest soundstage), and separation and depth is also better on VB. Vocals is a bit dry on VB, and treble is more detailed. It cant be compared directly because it is not boomy, but more because of its dark signature.
DBA 02 and woody2 are different signature with more focus on vocals and brighter sounding.

Ranking:
I decided to change my ranking system, and group close performing IEMs in a similar tier instead. Will also revise the overall review later.
1st tier : possibly dba-02, because it has a more defined soundstage that potrays position very clearly, and also have very clear texture above others. I will decide after having an IEM rated in the top-tier.
2nd tier : Hippo VB, Crossroad Woody2, Sherwood SE-777, Fischer Audio Eterna
3rd tier : Music Valley SP1, Fischer Audio Enigma, Crossroad Bijou3.

Conclusion:
I would actually prefer both SP1, and Bijou3 over the Enigma, since bijou3 is more fun sounding to me. Otherwise i can rate it above bijou3 in terms of overall SQ. Otherwise, the Enigma can be considered a lower level of FA Eterna, with the eterna having a enough room for it's bass and retains a clear vocals and trebles which is not shadowed by the warmth of the bass. I would recommend it to those looking for a boomy IEM and listen to a lot of trance track. Again everyone's preference might be different, but at least this review can serve as a guide. Thank you for reading.

My IEM Impression thread

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 10:46:27 +0800

Hippo VB

m04r pitcahs..
sry for the poor color and image sharness/details.. i sold off my macro lens, stuck with cheap lens now.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

I was offered to try the VB quite a few months back before getting the se777.. back then, i was not impressed. The problem was im listening to very low volume.. personal preference here, so i only heard a mess of very harsh trebles with very lacking bass and mids. After having several iems however, i do notice some iems are not quite balanced like the dba02.. or probably a few others.. some iems needs some amount of volume to bring out enough amount of bass and mids. After having my woody2 for sometime.. which probably shares the same driver (both are same specs 18-22kHz, 32ohm 105db etc..), i got curious again with the VB..

I bought the VB and tried again on 50% volume on my Fuze. Yes, mids, bass, are not lacking at all.. and apparently.. it have some good dynamics.. wide soundstage too, still very harsh trebles tho. I have to give it about 5 hr before it becomes bearable, probably because im used to sharper sounding trebles on BA iems, i dont need long, but i would recommend at least overnight. Otherwise, it is a very good IEM, tight punchy(port variable) bass, good sounding mids, sweet trebles that sparkles well when needed, except with slightly dry sounding vocals, and any hissing or splashy trebles are a bit messy. I also noticed immediately after comparing with dba02, and my woody2.. that this is a dark sounding iem, similar to bijou. A nice signature of its own.

I do notice that amping the VB, using either the Hippo Amp or W1, even when on hippo gumstick, would give an added improvement, especially on the bass and treble definition. Both bass and treble becomes cleaner, and clears the messy splashings. Vocals are also slighly improved, a tiny bit wetter. The difference is slight, but noticable, at least to my ears.

Bass ports : I'm using the stock port (no mark) for the review. changing the port will change mostly the character of the bass and trebles, not much on the sound quality. Port 1 (no mark) have very punchy bass. Port 2 is more relaxed, with slightly better air in soundstage. Port3 has a thin bass impact, and brighter sounding trebles. The bass quantity does not vary much between 1 and 2.. but the punching is better on 1. Those looking for Boomy bass should look elsewhere, bass here is very tight and detailed.

Burnin : I already gave about a 100hr on VB.. and i would say it is quite nice sounding compared to 20hr+. Probably similar with woody2, this IEM needs time to mature. I would believe that the messy trebles and bass will clear out after 300hr, and bring more details.. similar to my woody2. Time will tell, and i will update accordingly.

Package - Hippo VB IEM, 3 single flange tips (not standard), 3 pair of bass ports, shirt clip, carrying case.
Fit and Comfort - easy fit with the stock single flance, comfortable as well.
Preferred tips - stock med-flange.

SQ
Balance :
Bass - 3
Mids - 2, simply because im used to iems with vocals just slightly forward compared to other instruments.. some might consider this balanced.
Treble - 3

Quality :
Bass - 3 - Very tight beat, and rumbles a lot, only when called for.. Clean sounding bass with very good body and details with some texture.
Mids - 2 - Not quite as good bodied as i'd like.. especially on the vocals.. its actually quite good, but im just more used to more forward mids on woody2 and dba02.
Treble - 3 - Very nice treble definition with nice sparkles. Splashing trebles can sometimes become a mess.

Soundstage - Wide, especially on port 2, which is more airy. Very good separation of instruments, with good positioning.
Signature - Dark signature, reminds me of bijou3. Also presentation is closer, and more intimate. VB puts some good weight on the songs it plays, which is involving and nice.
SQ Ranking - I would rate this above eterna, below dba02.. but the ranking have to be revised, since after quite some hours of burning, I found my woody2 better than my eterna overall. I also no longer have my se777 or bijou3, and my eterna is not with me at the time of review, so their ranking stays, along with sp1 and bijou3.
so.. now its dba02 -> woody2 -> VB -> eterna -> se777 -> sp1 -> bijou3. VB is 3rd/7.

IEM Impression Fischer Audio DBA - 02

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 21:02:46 +0800

Muehehee...
just arrived today, bought from Audiohub, thx weib.
Initial impression.. straight out of the box..
smooth, detailed, sharp treble but still smooth, good body, good bass definition, but no bass rumbles, produces details from very low volume. It sounds similar to my se777, being a BA driver, but is more refined and balanced. I also found all songs to be... different.. all songs are now presented distinct and differently. I guess this is what's meant by transparency? relaxed songs are even more relaxed.. heavy songs sounds as heavy as it should.
zero hissing heard with w1.
It sounds slightly smoother now after 1 day+ running.

pitcahs belows..
heavy bandwidth warning

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

very interesting warranty card..
reads

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Package - DBA-02, Soft Pouch (not leather ), flanges (S, M, L), Earclips (similar to eterna).
Fit and Comfort - Cables are weightless.. iems doesnt intrude once worn.. now using stock mid-flange. Microphonics are not audible below the y splitter. Very comfortable.. can wear to sleep.
Preferred tips - not tested yet.. currently just using stock mids, as came in package.

SQ
Balance :
Bass - 2
Mids - 2
Treble - 2
trebles are sharp.. so kinda makes it seems more.. but i think it's about the same.. nothing stands out above the others.. similar amount of details can be heard at very low volume vs loud volume. i have to consider it very balanced.

Quality :
Bass - 2 since im missing the bass rumble.. i kinda find bass to be incomplete, but its very textured and detailed nevertheless. low notes are well presented and heard. Quality sound without rumbles.
Mids - 3 full and sweet, the clarity of sound make it feels kinda thin, but its actually quite full. vocals also on the edge of being sibilant, like woody2.
Treble - 4 bright and sharp, but very clear and defined. better than se777.

Soundstage - good width and depth.. relaxed and clean presentation. the clearness of the sound makes soundstage feels very spacious. superb separation.
Signature - Very neutral, and very clear sounding.. nothing seems to be bumped or colored.. not warm, not bright.. have very sparkling trebles, detailed but still musical.
SQ Ranking - (vs my other iem) slightly above eterna, since it delivers both bass and details, with better vocals.
so, its dba-02 -> eterna -> se777 -> woody2 -> sp1 -> bijou3.

finalized..

Linearossa amor'

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Wed, 05 May 2010 11:09:49 +0800

The Linearossa portable amplifier

Hi all,
this thread is dedicated for our love and appreciation of the Linearossa amp, which is very neutral and superb for the size/price/performance
calling out all Linearossa users, kindly support this thread

Specs

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Pitcahs (lots )

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Reviews by ClieOs

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

W1
W1 is unique in many ways. In first listen, I thought it shares a rather cold, very much uncolored sound signature like the Go-Vibes Derringer. With further listen I changed my mind and thought it has some T4 characteristic in its sound. Now that I think more of it, W1 really isn't quite like any other ultra-portable that I have.

W1 has better treble extension than T4, but not quite reaching the level of T3D's aggressiveness in presenting detail. Mid is not quite as forward as T3D or T4 but it is not recessed. Bass isn't quite as impactful nor as abundance as T3D or T4, but rather more neutral and slow. There seems to be some distinct smoothness in W1 presentation that takes away any emphasis in the music and makes it more mellow. In fact, the same mellowness can be detected throughout the whole frequency range and yet it doesn't feel particularly slow to me as I would to T4. One thing that W1 is very good at is its lateral soundstage. It sounds like there is a Dolby surround sound decoder trying to fill every inches from left to right within the lateral soundstage and actually doing a fairly good job at it.

This 'fullness' in soundstage and the smoothness in presentation do make W1 sounds less 'correct' and not quite transparent, but much more musical. It is a special flavor that makes me want to reach back to W1 more than T3D even though I got them both at the same time. I also notice W1 has extremely good synergy with more mid and bass centric IEM, such as Ortofon e-Q7, UM2 and my newly acquired Sherwood SE777. The combination of W1 and SE777 actually transcends both onto an entirely new level of sound that is very different from each of them individually, but I will leave that part of the discussion later to my SE777 review.

As far as RF interference rejection is concern, I think W1 is quite good consider it is in a plastic housing. It does pick up RF noise almost as far as T4, but less in quantity and doesn't 'pop' like T4, making it a lot more tolerable. Obviously I still won't recommend placing W1 next to a cellphone.

impressions by PcWork

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

List of Owners:

1. DaEMoNteNTAcLe - W1
2. Akabane@DrJackel - W1
3. PcWork - W3
4. Yuheng - W1
5. Walabies - W1
6. jsnkok - W1.
7. ..

My IEM Impression thread

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 22:18:27 +0800

These r my personal impressions and ratings of iems i've owned so far, just thought i'd put it all in one place and share my opinion. Plus its a good learning experience for me to try put it into words.. I actually learn to listen and grasp better.
There are some that i no longer owns, but i'll just put them here for everyone's reference.
The ratings value are just means of quantifying them.. according to my opinion, or personal scale, so take it with a grain of salt..
it's just opinions anyways.

I'll continuously update this thread with more info, and pictures (maybe)
A little bit about me and my setup :

sound preference:
I like bass. it doesnt have to be loud, but it should be well presented, not shadowed by other frequencies, prefer it to be
overwhelming rather than underwhelming.
I really like female vocals.. iems/cans that excels with this traits wins..
treble, i cannot take harsh trebles.. this is automatically rejected in my book. most of the time, rolled off trebles are fine.
Personal favourite cans - Audio Technica ATH-W10VTG (got! )
Personal favourite iems as of now - Crossroad Woody2.
IEM i have auditioned and in consideration - Head Direct RE0, Audio Technica CK10, Ortofon eq-7.
I also listen to all the iems i have every now and then, and will update this review accordingly.
Current IEM owned :
Fischer Audio Eterna, Crossroad Woody2, Music Valley SP1.
No longer own :
Crossroad MylarOne Bijou3, Sherwood SE777.

signature preference - warm, sweet vocals, clear sounding, but not so bright.
sound level - i listen to very low volume, (20-30% from my clip+), and would drop it lower whenever i can.
burn-in - i am a believer of burnin headphones.. will also post remarks on changes as i encounter them.

source,
Sansa Fuze, mostly without amping.. to be fair, since amping may slightly change the character of iems.
Amp Hippo Amp, previously Linearossa W1.

ratings,
higher figure are better, i would put the best i have (in possession) as the highest..
i have no definite limit on what's the highest value yet so far.

Package Content-sometimes paying a lot and receiving less might be dissapointing.
Fitting - comfort, how hard to wear/get good seal.
Preferred Tip - Preferred stock tips that comes with the IEM.
balance - the amount/quantity of the sound frequency produced by the iem. value 1 to 3, a same value would indicate the iem providing
the same amount of volume level of all frequency.
Quality - how good the representation of the frequency, this is subjective, and according to reference of iem that I have in my possession.
Soundstage - narrow, normal, wide. representation of how wide (lateral) of the iem in sound production.
Signature - warm, bright, dark, etc. I would also put any special opinion i have on the iem have here.
SQ Rank - personal ranking of IEM based on 'overall sound quality' alone. first being the top out of all IEMs i have. I judge this based mostly on how refined sound detail is being delivered from all frequency.
So here it is.

Crossroads MylarOne Bijou 3

My first audiophile IEM. was previously using cheap Sony IEM (rm50) ..
I no longer have this IEM, but i've used it for at least 5 months, before changing. Since i didnt really have much to compare this with back then,
this rating is more subjective to my personal opinion and memory. IEM takes quite some time to settle down. I burned for a full week, and I still notice some changes after 1 month using this. Good for techno/trance kind of music, where it excels the most.
Very minor hissing on my K800i, not noticable on clip+. I recently re-audition this unit (gave my eldest bro..), and if i have to review it again, i might have to add the quality ratings. This thing needs lots of burnin to perform, 1st 100hr is very harsh, and smoothen after.. changes can still be noticeable after 300hr.. but small changes only. bass seems more tight last i tried.

Package Content : IEM, 4 single flange (smallest, small, medium, large), 1 Bi-Flange, Softcase, Airport Plug, 3.5->6.5 converter.
Fitting : Normal shaped, easy to plug in. I have no problems whatsoever.
Preferred Tip : Normal single flange.

SQ
Balance:
Bass = 3
vocals = 2 (slightly lower than both treble and bass)
treble = 3

Quality:
Bass = 2, solid only if you get a good seal, otherwise, will sound flabby. details are there.
vocals = 2, sounds a bit dark.
treble = 2, sparkles, sometimes a bit harsh.

Soundstage - Normal.
Signature - Dark. mostly because of the slightly recessed vocals. Fun sounding, and i would recommend it.
SQ Rank - 7th/7.

Music Valley SP1

My Second IEM. Impulse purchase from GodLuvXs offer. I burned in this IEM for at least 150hr, before i find the treble bearable. It is very sharp.
Apart from the build quality which feels very cheap (plastic, and thin cable), i find that this is quite a good IEM minus the small soundstage (unbearably small to me).
I would say the sound quality of bass and treble is a step up from the bijou3. No hissing heard with w1.
first 150hr doesnt really have bass.. sounds very solid afterwards, and not much different afterwards.

Package Content : IEM, 3 single flange (similar looking to Sony Hybrid Tips), 1 foam flange (similar to olives, but very hard).
Fitting : I have problems fitting this because of the shape the protruding part hurts my earcups., end up wearing them upside down, angled.
Preferred Tip : Stock medium single flange.

SQ
Balance:
Bass = 2
vocals = 2
treble = 2

Quality:
Bass = 3, very solid and defined. lacks rumble, it is tight.
vocals = 2, good, but recessed, underwhelmed perhaps compared to bass and treble.
treble = 3, sharp and defined, but can be overwhelmed by the bass sometimes.

Soundstage - Narrow. everything seems too forward and crowded.
Signature - More towards dark, as bass slightly overwhelms the highs. I stopped using this for quite some time.
SQ Rank - 6th/7.

Fischer Audio Eterna

Bought this after reading ClieOs review. Was very pleased with the sound, it does everything better than both my previous two IEM, especially in the bass department.
Currently my highest rated SQ IEM. Easily hiss with high powered source (laptops, phones). W1 gives slight hissing, not very discernible when playing. Recommended for any songs with drums positioning, and average speed bass, where it gives enough body and impact. however Eternas are slow, fast drums will sound slow.
at least 50hr is needed to reduce bass booms, and good solid bass at about 150hr. not much change on mids and treble, and also beyond 200hr.

Package Content : IEM, bi-flange, 2 single flange (small, medium), softpouch.
Fitting : Takes sometime because of the earguide and big size but no problems getting good seal and comfort.
Preferred Tip : Stock bi-flange for isolation, medium flange for balance in sound.

SQ
Balance:
Bass = 3 change tip to the normal medium can help reduce the boominess a bit.
Vocals = 2 feels a bit recessed, due to large bass.
Treble = 2

Quality:
Bass = 4, currently best sounding bass i have. Drums have full body, and bass are slightly wet.
vocals = 2, nice presentation, but a bit off.. some may find it, wierd. EQ cant fix this. Im tempted to give this a 1, but its still quite good.
treble = 2, very smooth and quite detailed, but maybe a bit smeared. re-adjusted to 2, since i find treble lacks micro details and depth, but overall nice sounding still.

Soundstage - Very wide, spacious, and able to present drums location very well. Lacks soundstage in the highs, highs are not so defined and positioned.
Signature - Neutral. I consider eterna with single medium flange as neutral. with the bi-flange, it is bass are boomy and bleeds into mids/highs, darker. Very good and liquid blending of sounds from all frequency, nothing seems even a bit out of place.
SQ Rank - 4th/7.

Sherwood SE-777

Very relaxing sound because of the clean representation of sound. No hissing with W1 at all. And as mentioned by few others, amping with the W1 really improves it a lot, especially helps to define all the sound delivery and positioning. vocals are also very clean forward and natural, kinda like center of the performance, with instruments supporting the vocals, which makes it very relaxing to hear. I always find the se-777 vocals top notch compared to other iems, and being vocal centric, it also has the most clarity of my iems. Se777 presents sounds quite correct and nicely, with exceptions of drums. Needs very good isolation to hear the lower bass clearly.
I would say it is very good for electronica and electric guitars because of the crispiness.
i'd say needs about 150hr to remove the harsh peak and smoothen the highs, but very minimal changes on the sound.

Package Content : IEM, bi-flange, 3 single flange (small, 2 medium).
Fitting : A bit problematic because of it's large size and housing shape, I wear it cable angled forward and upward (about 45degree), and cable over the ear.
Preferred Tip : Stock bi-flange. Comply T400x (the earguard tames a bit of the highs, which i find too crisp).

SQ
Balance
Bass = 2
Vocals = 3
Treble = 3

Quality
Bass = 2, dry, comes and goes quite fast, some bass frequency are hard to discern, i would say the bass lacks body, drums doesnt sound quite right.
Vocals = 3, Very clean and forward. I would say it is very natural or similar (accurate?) compared to normal desktop speakers. very pleasing.
treble = 4, very detailed. Amping with W1 really improves the details and separation a lot. Currently my highest detailed IEM, 3 if not amped.

Soundstage - Maybe a bit wide, have some good depths. Highs sparkles, crispy and separated. mids/vocals slightly positioned forward. empty space are hollow empty. feels spacious, despite not having wide width compared to eterna.
Signature - Bright, Has a hollow clean atmosphere, similar to bijou3. I suspect because of the alu housing. very relaxing and quite detailed sound.
SQ Rank - 5th/7.

Crossroad Woody Two

Woods! Currently my favourite IEM. this has very sweet female vocals. I tried both Woody1 and 2, and prefer this one. very slight hissing, on W1, not heard unless in
quiet place. The sound can be considered colored, some will like it and some wont. Details are not as good or clear as both se777 or eterna, even sound quality is not on par, but the presentation is very natural and.. right, to my ears. It may not sound quite correct, but just right natural. Any wooden instruments will sound lively, electronics and synthesized sounds may not sound quite as nice as from plastics/alu bodied iems. I'd say woody2 strength would be presentation of layered vocals.
1st impression, highs are very painful and piercing.. smoothened down after 100hr.. after 150hr, soundstage seems to improve a bit.. and after 300hr.. more details seems to be visible, and highs are very smooth and not piercing at all.

Package Content : Wooden Box, IEM, 4 single flange (smallest, small, medium, large), bi-flange.
Fitting : the big housing cause a bit of problem to wear it. I have to readjust the position every now and then. Slightly harder to wear than SE777.
Preferred Tip : Stock single flange.

SQ
Balance
Bass = 2
Vocals = 2
treble = 2

Quality
Bass = 3, nice rumble and decay, and juicy also. Texture is noticable.
Vocals = 4, considering the female vocals alone this is a 4, or 3 overall.90% of my songs r female vocals.. this rating may be (or is) biased.
treble = 3, Initially, not as smooth as eterna, or as defined as se-777. Treble improves quite a bit after burnin, now very smooth and defined. Initially was 2, now re-adjusted to 3.

Soundstage - Slightly small, however it seems to echo or color all sounds in a way that makes separation clear. the highs, however sometimes sounds a bit separated from
mids and lows.
Signature - Warm, bright. Acoustic strings sound very real and natural. Female vocals are very clear and sweet. I also found i heard some back vocals clearly in some of my tracks.
SQ Rank - 4th/7.

Fischer Audio DBA - 02

Initial impression.. straight out of the box..
smooth, detailed, sharp treble but still smooth, good body, good bass definition, but no bass rumbles, produces details from very low volume. It sounds similar to my se777, being a BA driver, but is more refined and balanced. I also found all songs to be... different.. all songs are now presented distinct and differently. I guess this is what's meant by transparency? relaxed songs are even more relaxed.. heavy songs sounds as heavy as it should.
zero hissing heard with w1.
very sharp cutting treble spike initially.
It sounds slightly smoother now after 1 day+ running.
and seems to be quite smooth after 50hr.. not much change is noticable as of now.

Package - DBA-02, Soft Pouch (not leather ), flanges (S, M, L), Earclips (similar to eterna).
Fit and Comfort - Cables are weightless.. iems doesnt intrude once worn.. now using stock mid-flange. Microphonics are not audible below the y splitter. Very comfortable.. can wear to sleep.
Preferred tips - not tested yet.. currently just using stock mids, as came in package.

SQ
Balance :
Bass - 2
Mids - 2
Treble - 2
trebles are sharp.. so kinda makes it seems more.. but i think it's about the same.. nothing stands out above the others.. similar amount of details can be heard at very low volume vs loud volume. i have to consider it very balanced.

Quality :
Bass - 2 since im missing the bass rumble.. i kinda find bass to be incomplete, but its very textured and detailed nevertheless. low notes are well presented and heard. Quality sound without rumbles.
Mids - 3 full and sweet, the clarity of sound make it feels kinda thin, but its actually quite full. vocals also on the edge of being sibilant, like woody2.
Treble - 4 bright and sharp, but very clear and defined. better than se777.

Soundstage - about average, good width and depth.. relaxed and clean presentation. the clearness of the sound makes soundstage feels very spacious. superb separation. Dba mainly scores point here.
Signature - Very neutral, and very clear sounding.. nothing seems to be bumped or colored.. not warm, not bright.. have very sparkling trebles, detailed but still musical.
SQ Ranking - 1st/7. So, its DBA-02 Woody2 -> VB -> Eterna -> SE777 -> sp1 -> bijou3.

more details here

Hippo VB

I was offered to try the VB quite a few months back before getting the se777.. back then, i was not impressed. The problem was im listening to very low volume.. personal preference here, so i only heard a mess of very harsh trebles with very lacking bass and mids. After having several iems however, i do notice some iems are not quite balanced like the dba02.. or probably a few others.. some iems needs some amount of volume to bring out enough amount of bass and mids. After having my woody2 for sometime.. which probably shares the same driver (both are same specs 18-22kHz, 32ohm 105db etc..), i got curious again with the VB..

I bought the VB and tried again on 50% volume on my Fuze. Yes, mids, bass, are not lacking at all.. and apparently.. it have some good dynamics.. wide soundstage too, still very harsh trebles tho. I have to give it about 5 hr before it becomes bearable, probably because im used to sharper sounding trebles on BA iems, i dont need long, but i would recommend at least overnight. Otherwise, it is a very good IEM, tight punchy(port variable) bass, good sounding mids, sweet trebles that sparkles well when needed, except with slightly dry sounding vocals, and any hissing or splashy trebles are a bit messy. I also noticed immediately after comparing with dba02, and my woody2.. that this is a dark sounding iem, similar to bijou. A nice signature of its own.

I do notice that amping the VB, using either the Hippo Amp or W1, even when on hippo gumstick, would give an added improvement, especially on the bass and treble definition. Both bass and treble becomes cleaner, and clears the messy splashings. Vocals are also slighly improved, a tiny bit wetter. The difference is slight, but noticable, at least to my ears.

Bass ports : I'm using the stock port (no mark) for the review. changing the port will change mostly the character of the bass and trebles, not much on the sound quality. Port 1 (no mark) have very punchy bass. Port 2 is more relaxed, with slightly better air in soundstage. Port3 has a thin bass impact, and brighter sounding trebles. The bass quantity does not vary much between 1 and 2.. but the punching is better on 1. Those looking for Boomy bass should look elsewhere, bass here is very tight and detailed.

Burnin : I already gave about a 100hr on VB.. and i would say it is quite nice sounding compared to 20hr+. Probably similar with woody2, this IEM needs time to mature. I would believe that the messy trebles and bass will clear out after 300hr, and bring more details.. similar to my woody2. Time will tell, and i will update accordingly.

Package - Hippo VB IEM, 3 single flange tips (not standard), 3 pair of bass ports, shirt clip, carrying case.
Fit and Comfort - easy fit with the stock single flance, comfortable as well.
Preferred tips - stock med-flange.

SQ
Balance :
Bass - 3
Mids - 2, simply because im used to iems with vocals just slightly forward compared to other instruments.. some might consider this balanced.
Treble - 3

Quality :
Bass - 3 - Very tight beat, and rumbles a lot, only when called for.. Clean sounding bass with very good body and details with some texture.
Mids - 2 - Not quite as good bodied as i'd like.. especially on the vocals.. its actually quite good, but im just more used to more forward mids on woody2 and dba02.
Treble - 3 - Very nice treble definition with nice sparkles. Splashing trebles can sometimes become a mess.

Soundstage - Wide, especially on port 2, which is more airy. Very good separation of instruments, with good positioning.
Signature - Dark signature, reminds me of bijou3. Also presentation is closer, and more intimate. VB puts some good weight on the songs it plays, which is involving and nice.
SQ Ranking - I would rate this above eterna, below dba02.. but the ranking have to be revised, since after quite some hours of burning, I found my woody2 better than my eterna overall. I also no longer have my se777 or bijou3, and my eterna is not with me at the time of review, so their ranking stays, along with sp1 and bijou3.
so.. now its dba02 -> woody2 -> VB -> eterna -> se777 -> sp1 -> bijou3. VB is 3rd/7.

more pics here

Fischer Audio Enigma
yes the manual says silver bullet

Won this IEM from lucky draw even thanks to WS Trading.
The IEM is very small, it dissapears when worn, nice but also a bit worrisome because theres simply nothing to hold onto, i have to tug the cable to remove it. it also comes with a huge L-shaped plug that seems to come from headphone instead of earphone.
when i first tried it.. i was hit with a very loud boom. This IEM is hard EQ'd to be very bassy, with abundance of mid-bass. If u need some boominess from FA, this is likely to be it. despite the ambient boom, the treble still have a distinct sparkle, but mids and vocals are overshadowed by the huge mid-bass every now and then. This IEM is definitely not in the same level as Eterna, SE777, Hippo VB, Woody2. So I took out my long kept SP1 to make comparison, and it fits at that level, along with bijou3.

Burnin : Straight out of the box, the mids and trebles are often drowned by the bass. After 50hr, bass is more controlled. I found vocals to be clearer at about 150hr, and theres some improvement in overall clarity (but not eterna clarity), up to 200hr+. not much changed afterwards.

Package - Fischer Audio Enigma IEM, 3 single flange tips, carrying case.
Fit and Comfort - easy fit with the stock single flance, comfortable as well.
Preferred tips - stock med-flange.

SQ
Balance :
Bass - 3
Mids - 1
Treble - 1

Quality :
Bass - 2 - Bass does seem texture, but not very defined and also missing sub-bass and layers. 80Hz EQ on the gumstick doesnt give any difference compared to VB, which is very audible. It is also fast enough to keep up with most songs, faster than Eterna, but not as full bodied and well-presented.
Mids - 1 - Vocals are affected by midbass; it's like EQ'ing any iem to bump the mid-bass such that vocals are also affected. Otherwise, mids are presented well, bit a bit muffled on extension. It is also recessed, but probably along the same line with trebles.
Treble - 2 - Nice treble definition with nice sparkles. probably slightly better than Eterna's treble in terms of fine definition.

Soundstage - Average sized, which i found not enough to cater for the excessive bass. Eterna's soundstage is very very wide by comparison, and allows more 'breathing' room. It does have a better separation vs SP1 soundstage which is more crammed imho.
Signature - Dark, bassy with recessed vocals and treble, but have enough sparkle in the treble to be heard well. Somehow i do found it to work well with trance. I is actually similar with Eterna, but is well below Eterna in terms of overall performance.

Ranking:
I decided to change my ranking system, and group close performing IEMs in a similar tier instead. Will also revise the overall review later.
1st tier : possibly dba-02, because it has a more defined soundstage that potrays position very clearly, and also have very clear texture above others. I will decide after having an IEM rated in the top-tier.
2nd tier : Hippo VB, Crossroad Woody2, Sherwood SE-777, Fischer Audio Eterna
3rd tier : Music Valley SP1, Fischer Audio Enigma, Crossroad Bijou3.

Conclusion:
I would actually prefer both SP1, and Bijou3 over the Enigma, since bijou3 is more fun sounding to me. Otherwise i can rate it above bijou3 in terms of overall SQ. Otherwise, the Enigma can be considered a lower level of FA Eterna, with the eterna having a enough room for it's bass and retains a clear vocals and trebles which is not shadowed by the warmth of the bass. I would recommend it to those looking for a boomy IEM and listen to a lot of trance track. Again everyone's preference might be different, but at least this review can serve as a guide. Thank you for reading. More pics here

Thank you for reading. Hopefully this will be useful to you as much to me as well.
Will add more later as i see fit, or requested, any comments are welcomed.

oh no! my woody2 broken

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:43:41 +0800

dunno how.. but when i pluck it out from my ear.. it pops opened...
maybe my ear kemut kuat sgt i dunno...
dunno whether this can get warranty oso or not.. coz im not sure it's properly sealed after i put it back.. also dowan to trouble yuheng again if possible..
to woody users, handle them with care.. i did mine, but this happened

so here's the discussion..
1. can someone tells me why those two wires (red and copper) are exposed and touching? wouldn't that cause current to pass and distort?
2. isnt the exposed cable touching the metal plate on the driver not a good thing?
3. - sry akabane.. i know ur against this but i had to ask... what happens if i untie the cable relief knot, and place it outside the wooden housing? would having more room inside the housing improves soundstage? or just add unnecessary echo?
4. to bro PcWork (i just have to ask).. got any recommended cable to replace these ...

oh i put them back again.. but i have a feeling it can pop open again after this.. doesnt seem to have a snap or lock.. dunno what glue to use oso..

@darthmaus
i guess i oso buas wan..

xbox360 audio setup

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:01:27 +0800

hi, asking on behalf of a fren, wondering how to set this up..
xbox360 connected to HDMI LCD Acer monitor w built in speakers (ACER H233H)...
so.. i got display over there, and poor quality sound...
then there's the audio out from my LCD... with a normal line out jack...

need some advise on what i can use to output to a normal speakers.. seems like i need a dac over here..
will need recommendations on what to spend on.. just a dac with line in, or.. use different cable so that i have more choice of dac?
speaker to be used will be a normal 2.1 pc speaker.. i just dont want to plug the line out to my pc onboard, and need to turn on my pc just to play the xbox with sound..

budget arnd rm500..

thx.

(omg 500th p0st.. imma "on my way" )

impedance adaptor

DaEMoNteNTAcLe — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:07:12 +0800

hi all,
i cant really seem to find much info on this..
apart from what it does is that it adds impedance on the output.. forcing player to output higher power giving cleaner signals.. and possibly removes hissing noise from circuits (is it?)

but there are those headphone with very high impedance,
there's also customs, ksc also has impedance modding..
so..

what i'd like to know is.. how does having the adaptor.. or changing the impedance affect the sq, eq, or signature actually?
is higher better or...?
what about impedance matching? what is so significant about matching it? how do i match my player to iem's impedance?

thx in advance for any contributions on this questions..