So, how is the CP100 with your Mangird TEA? Or, do you use something else with them?
Perfectly fine. I LOVE the Mangird Tea.
Iāve tried quite a few tips with the TEA - Azla, Final E, Spinfits, the KZ Starline-like tips that came with the TEAs, and misc ones from other iems.
Oddly enough, I found the supplied semi-transparent silicones work the best for meā¦ best seal, excellent dynamics, and deep tight sub-bass.
I own a lot of tips. Hereās a pic of the collection of just my favoritesā¦
I just tried a few different tips with the Lokahi and the Final E helped but of course, they donāt seal as well as the CP100. The Lokahi also has a thinner diameter nozzle than most IEMs. It also has no filter over it. Itās quite unique.
3 Likes
Canceled JH Jolene order.
Saw a graph taken by a person who tried demo unit in Tokyo. Not going for that. Maybe another time.
Might grab LOLA again 
2 Likes
This is a long shot, but I have the original universal lola if you want to buy. I barely used it, but had it since 2018
Thanks. Iām deep into the MEST MKII right now so Iāll pass but thanks. Looking to get Lola later. If you still have it Iād be interested in grabbing later maybe
2 Likes
I think thatās the updated fearless S8P/S8F
2 Likes
Yes the updated Fearless S8F
2 Likes
3 Likes
3 Likes
I recorded my screen while listening and then went back and watched and noted what i was ACTUALLY doing. Bass is left of library to right (A-Z). Mids are end of library back to start (Z-A) and Treble scrolls left to right again (A-Z). This list is actual order of tracks and what I listen for besides entire song. My O.C.D/Aspergers rages constantlyā¦
6 Likes
Iād be very curious what you think about running the Bifrost 2 into a tube amp as a comparison to the solid state Jotunheim 2.
Iāve tried the xDuoo TA-30 at a reduced price from Drop and prefer it over the 789 and Jot 2 for the HE6SE v2. Oh and thank you by the way for highlighting the HE6SE as a top headphone. I got it on your recommendation and absolutely love it more than every other headphone recommendation Iāve tried from other critics (Arya from Josh Valour for example).
I use two Mullard 12AU7 tubes and a Jan CHS 5931 rectifier to replace the stock tubes. Absolutely enjoying it more than the solid states.
Any chance you would try it out in the future? Who knows if youāll like it as much as Iāve liked it, but damn do I get a stronger engagement with just about every instrument and sound coming out of the TA-30, with those tubes, running from the Bifrost 2. Decay of instruments, what I perceive as more natural reverb or timbre, and how the sound smooths out just enough to feel more natural and immersive overall. I havenāt taken a micro-critical look at specific moments of tracks to pin down what Iām hearing yet, but I do simply enjoy it more than the solid state and feel it has something more engaging to it one way or another. Iād be very interested to hear what your take would be if you get your hands on the same amp and tubes.
(see attached and please ignore my 789 haha. I tried the Jot 2 but came away from it actually preferring the 789 somehow - and I know you called the 789 shit, so already we diverged somewhere there in preferences)
3 Likes
Glad you like the HE6se. It was an underground hit that is now finally widely known.
789 isnāt shit. Mine was thoughā¦a lemon. It happens.
I would like to try and emulate your rig. If it makes the HE6se even more amazing than it already is, I am likely going to try 
1 Like
Sorry about that. Youāre right, you only said negatives in your video on the 789ās quality control issue, or design of the unit in general (mine too has a lot of wiggle on the buttons). The springs or something in there could fail over time maybe 
So I looked at the track test list you made and typed it up on my own Google sheet, if for nothing else but to try and see if I could hear differences using tracks you already have handy. Makes talking about this stuff easier just a bit. I sat there trying to make notes after A/Bāing and, after volume matching the 789 and TA-30 to 77 dB, and Iām actually having a very hard time hearing differences.
I had thought I heard differences when I first posted about the TA-30 earlier, but it may have been largely a volume matching issue, or it was because I usually have these amps up louder. I ran 77 dB to try and keep it to where you try these things, but I usually listen above 80 dB (I donāt listen too long each day).
Iām going to try running the TA-30 and 789 at a volume match again, but something higher. Maybe Iāll notice those differences again up there. But maybe, if theyāre so hard to hear a difference on these tracks and at 77 dBā¦then you may not need to really bother with trying it. Or maybe you do it anyway just to see for yourself.
Maybe my ears are poorly trainedā¦who knows.
All I know is that I thought I heard more differences before, but volume matching at 77 dB is not so clear to me. Going to try my own reference playlist now though, before I try to test a higher dBā¦
Ok Iām really struggling to notice the differences now. Manā¦ I donāt know whatās up and whatās down anymore. Even if they are volume matched and my human error reduced, I should hear SOME difference between two brands - even if they were both solid states - let alone when one of those amps has tubes in the circuit.
Sorry for hyping up the TA-30 before. I thought I heard something unique in it when compared to the 789, but now I donāt honestly know!
2 Likes
Thanks for trying 77dB
It is just a variable i thought was easy to control and share. I will still try the tube route as itās all about learning and I appreciate you trying some of the tracks and cited portions. I really appreciate that.
1 Like
Okā¦after going nuts a bit there, and trying a bunch of tracks, back and forth, back and forth, I went back to your list at a higher dB while keeping volume matched, and when playing Kill Jill at the bass dropā¦I felt the TA-30 more. If there was error in the dB matching, it wouldāve been maybe half a dB at most.
The TA-30, for lack of a better way for me to describe it, simply felt harder hitting with the bass. Or thatās how it felt. Maybe Iām hearing great dynamic range or separation between the instruments in the mix, or maybeā¦I donāt know.
But I canāt escape the feeling, however itās happening, that the music is somehow richer, fuller, wider, more dynamic, or hitting harder somehow on the TA-30 (but only noticing this at higher volume).
Or maybe my volume matching pre-trial was messed up! hah! Error, bias, placeboā¦this hobby is a funny thing.
Well, I hope you or someone else can try this out too - if for nothing else but to have a second pair of ears on this.
EDIT: Added a picture of the HE6SE with those mods you suggested. Much better in fit, aesthetics, and sound compared to original.
1 Like
Yeah there is SOOOO much that a graph or a meter cannot pick up or begin to describe. Iām going to grab that and some tubes 
1 Like
@hawaiibadboy I know itās a lot of money, but ever considered buying this? Oriolus Traillii JP New Generation Electrostatic Hybrid IEM ā MusicTeck