Ever thought of going for custom tips from ADV Sound?
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I had not considered that, as I didn’t know it was a thing. Makes sense as a concept though
It sure is a thing! 
Go to their website if you want to check out the processes 
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Based on the discussion started in the IEM thread, someone only just introduced me to chatgpt so I put it to work.
Write a poem in the style of Byron, ending with the phrase “It’s buttcheeks with a little plug up the hole!“
In the style of a bygone age,
When lords and ladies took the stage,
I’ll spin a tale of passion and woe,
Of loves lost and hearts laid low.
Once upon a time, in days of old,
A maiden fair, with hair of gold,
Was caught in the grip of Cupid’s dart,
And fell into a lover’s heart.
But alas, the fates were not kind,
And tore the lovers apart,
Leaving the maiden alone and bereft,
With nothing but a broken heart.
She wandered the world, forlorn and sad,
Searching for a love to make her glad,
But all she found was heartache and pain,
As one lover after another proved untrue.
At last, in despair, she cried aloud,
“Is there no one who can make me proud?
Is there no one who can fill this hole,
And make my heart whole once more?”
But just as she was about to give up hope,
A stranger came and offered her a rope,
A lifeline to a love that would never fade,
A love that was strong and unafraid.
And so she took the stranger’s hand,
And stepped into a brighter land,
Where love was true and hearts were whole,
And happiness could be her own.
But even in this land of joy,
There was a catch, a little ploy,
For the love that she had found
Came with a price, a little sound.
For every time she felt its warmth,
She heard a noise, a little quirk,
A reminder of the love she’d found,
It’s buttcheeks with a little plug up the hole!
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I didn’t ask for this, but I feel like in some substantive way, I asked for this.
The generosity of this community knows no bounds!
@MMag05 @nymz @rattlingblanketwoman @domq422 @Sonofholhorse (sorry if I missed anyone I should’ve tagged):
I’ve been listening to the XBA-N3s a bunch since I got them (Saving the EX800STs for when I hook up with Dom. I want to have a shared experience with the Bass Gods) and these are DELIGHTFUL. The tonality is so good, and I’m kinda in love with the mid-bass these deliver. It’s so good.
Then I realize these are a 5 years old set that were $300 and I have two competing thoughts that both make me want to cry:
- If you’ve had the Sony XBA-N3s for years, you invested well because the game has not evolved past these. Especially if you didn’t pay full MSRP to get them. Chasing the Dragon doesn’t really get you anywhere, does it?
- The way the hobby has evolved, I have found that if you are just cutting your teeth in this hobby, you can get N3 quality for a fraction of it’s MSRP. If I’m being
I’m struggling even more than ever to see why the $300-600 category should exist right now.
Of course, this is where gaining experience in that range will help flesh out this thought process. But thank you @MMag05 for this first step in my education, because it is enlightening.
Side note for Nymz: Remember how you were like “Are you sure Cadenza’s tonality is ALL THAT?” And I was like “Yeah, it sounds like it’s all that to me”?
After A/Bing the Cadenzas with the N3s, now I hear the timbre and tonality issues you were bringing up…
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I’m absolutely looking forward to Sunday, dude. I can’t wait to get my ears on such royalty.
There’s a weird feeling when you have a set that’s been hyped up but not hyped up in the sense that it’s the flavor of the year (or week most recently with the way this hobby has treated us…), but hyped up in way where it reaches a certain status, a certain … reputation if you will. It’s hard not to be biased.
Anyways - rant over. I’m glad you’re digging them, my dude 
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I was asking on the preference side, not picking up on your take 
everyone likes different things and that’s the beauty of it.
N3 conquered my heart for sure. Glad you like it as well. It’s tastefuly done.
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…Well I did answer that question too, but I definitely listened to that A/B more critically.
I haven’t A/B’d Olina to N3, but for what it’s worth I sneakily dropped Cadenza from B+ to B after hearing N3 and the JD7. They’re that good.
I wanna get my hands on Dom’s Hexa REALLY bad right now, to compare/comfirm my thoughts. Because Fiio made a good freaking set
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Yup, the N3s have joined the pantheon of classics where the community writ large has decided that they have a particular sound to them that just doesn’t go out of style. I definitely love mine. They aren’t perfect, but they do what they do oh so well.
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Tonight for some listening while reworking the midterm, I picked up the N3 over the Fan 2, Cadenza, and even… the Serial. The N3 just sounds more neutral and like it isn’t cramping the style of any track that comes up. Not in a boring way, I’m very interested and engaged by the different music playing, and “feel” the mood of each without problem.
We all have little caveats that irk us when we’re about to reach for a set:
- Fan 2 - sometimes lacks some bite in the middle, things like snare hits / percussion emphasis at that level can seem off, maybe the dip it takes late in the FR is a bit much to leave out.
- Cadenza - still my “I’m showing you grace” set, so not my first choice, mostly due to the way upper mid and treble energy is (affecting timbre). Hard to fault the sub-bass, and the lovely way the bass “blooms” (not into the midrange, where it should be blooming).
- The Serial - not always, but sometimes, it just comes off a little too relaxed, and it means I have to alter the volume a few steps between tracks for each track to really shine. When it is in the sweet spot for the track playing, it’s really special.
- N3 - for the lowest sub-bass, it will be described rather than shown. If it could rumble out the lowest notes I know are there in some tracks, but when they should come up I only hear them softly pronounced, there isn’t a single thing I can fault it for. Doesn’t require any messing with volume, doesn’t skip any part of the FR, works with nigh on everything so far.
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Glad I could help out Goober’s Journey. I enjoy reading your write ups and following the journey. Can’t wait until @domq422 gets a chance to hear them and see what his thoughts are.
Can’t say I’m chasing a dragon. I’ve found many sets I really enjoyed and couldn’t fault them hard. I like to think of it more as riding them. Even if I owned a dragon there’s no way in hell I wouldn’t want to ride another. Especially if it was possible upgrade to mine in a key area while offering something else. That is the N3 to Meteor for me. Better textured midbass is the upgrade and the offer is the sweet treble that’s so crisp and extended.
This is awesome it’s so soon. I’m probably just as excited as you two are. Can’t wait to hear back some thoughts. Y’all better block off a whole day for all that’s coming and prepare your minds to possibly be blown.
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Riding the dragon… love it!
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Helmet on.
5 point harness has been clicked in.
Fuel levels full.
Tires are warmed up.
Track is empty.
And it’s lights out at … Boston, MA, Copley Square public library 
I’ll make sure to take some notes and some photos at the library to share my thoughts, brother! Thank you again! 
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I suppose “chasing the dragon” would be the way to say it if we didn’t have self-control and discipline to handle the ride 
I was thinking about the journey here so far, and how much further there is to go, and while I ask a rhetorical question like “why should the $300-600 price category exist right now?” I’m sure that as I go along I’ll get a good answer to that. Because if $35 can compete with $100, $100 can compete with $250 and $220 can compete with $500, what can $600 compete with?
Looks like it’s time to tighten up the gloves and get a good grip cause the ride is gonna keep getting crazy
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Day One Impressions of the Dark Magician and the Rikubuds Horde (pt. 1)
So Dom and I had to rain check our library music date, but to make it up to me, he left me all of the above, so I’m currently cycling my way through Dark Magician, Berserkers 1 & 2, Saber, Assassin, and Lancer (sorry, the PK buds were not my thing).
I’ll come around to the Rikus because there’s a lot happening there, but my early impressions are Lancer and Saber trade blows, but I’m actually most into Berserker 1 after first listens. What???
But the Rikubuds really have to wait because I’ve got the fucking OG Dark Magicians in my ears. Like, yeah wait your turns. I do have some thoughts about them, due to bouncing between them, the Rikus and my modded KZ ZAS’ while I was out running errands (cause I’m not wearing these out on the streets!).
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First thing first. I’ve had two MAGICAL IEM experiences so far with midrange performance: The P1 Max and now the Dark Magicians. I love the Fan 2s but their special sauce is in their consistency and versatility. P1 Max and DM are just midrange monsters.
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One thing that is sticking with me was while I was out with the ZAS, I was feeling them. Feeling them like “if I A/B them with the DMs am I gonna have to pretend on the forums because nobody will believe the silly shit I really believe” levels.
Then I got home and did A/B them. The last sentence of that paragraph really was silly shit.
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BUT it’s NOT some blowout. ZAS really trades blows with bass and treble tuning, and it’s mids tuning is a bit V-shaped and recessed but they’re tuned fine for a V-shape. Do see the first bullet point though for the gap between the two. Also, there’s a giant gap in technicalities. DM sounds like a very good hybrid, in one driver. ZAS sounds like a good enough hybrid. But one isn’t a hybrid at all.
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I can say the following without a doubt though; If you ever see the words “I’m ready to buy a $5000 IEM like UM Multiverse Mentor” in a post, you’ve just heard my “I’m being held hostage, call for help” safeword. Or I hit the lotto. But more likely the safeword. Dark Magician is materially better than ZAS, but talking myself into buying it with my own money feels like such a hard sell (when I haven’t tried more things to rule out what I want). Like the $500+ purchase I make with my own money is my cash-out endgame. My hat is off to the people that ride the mid/hi-fi dragon. I dunno if I could ever have the stones for that!
All of that said. If you consider yourself a mid-range aficionado, but don’t want to compromise your bass or treble performance. Yeah…
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Never A/B expensive stuff against some cheap shit - you would feel sad about your money every single time…
But then, there are those quality of life (sound) features (clarity, microdetails, separation) you miss every now and then when listening to those budget sets consciously.
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Counterpoint: A/Bing expensive stuff against cheap shit keeps me honest from spending money I shouldn’t on toys!
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That is all true what your are saying. I am just GooberBM from the future
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