Same, and if we can’t lock one on I’ll lend mine.
4 Likes
8 Likes
Kinera Imperial Loki or It’s Your Party and You Can Cry if You Want to
So good ol’ Goober is taking a foray into the rarified air of Summit-Fi. Let’s find out if I choke on it or not.
THE SOUND
That’s When She Said I Don’t Hate You Boy, I Just Wanna Save You While There’s Still Something Left to Save; That’s When I Told Her I Love You Girl, But I’m Not the Answer to the Questions That You Still Have
Rise Against- Savior
(IEM Tuning Style: V-Shape)
The Loki took me a minute to come around to, because the first hurdle to clear is simply the price: That will color everything about your opinion in two main directions; either you’ll think they can’t possibly be worth the price and you’ll judge them accordingly or you’ll pay the $3000 to buy them and have some amount of copium to justify their cost. I was in the first camp for nearly the entirety of my time with them, but finally, at the end here I had a moment when they clicked for me.Having said all that, lets go through the sound, before we have the existential conversation.
Loki puts it’s sauce into the bass performance. Sub-bass is emphasized over midbass and you get a VERY good sub-bass rumble. It didn’t impress me much at first, I though it was good but not great. But when spending time with Loki without A/Bing it with my personally preferred sets or the sets that blow everything out of the water, I can appreciate the fact that Loki has great bass performance on its own merits. This stuff is good.
The midrange is what can be divisive or a sticking point for someone putting this kind of money out there. There’s no real lower-mid emphasis. That’s not to say the V-shape sucks all the lower-mids out, but it is easy to tell that of the different parts of the signature, the low-mids are the area least emphasized. Vocals are solid, voices have good tone and timbre and they’re balanced in the mix. The upper-mids are energetic. I don’t have any struggle with the upper-mid timbre like I did with T4. I find these mids smooth and clear with proper emphasis.
The treble is clear and energetic with very good resolution. This doesn’t hit me like it’s groundbreaking or astounding, but it isn’t missing any marks for me. It’s great, but short of special. The soundstage has oodles of depth, and good enough width so you get a good sense of headspace. This set has enough of a bubble around my head: No full 3D effect, but The sound is fuller than if it was coming from “between the ears”. This is very good, by IEM standards. Frankly, I’m not impressed by the technicalities. Outside of the sub-bass, there’s not a lot of dynamic range I’m picking up, in my technicality checks. Swashers absolutely plays as a “transducer playing back water swashing” versus “sounding like I’m listening to water swashing”. Bubbles was in that same vein:It’s not that I heard the balls bouncing with no change in dynamics, but the transducers that do this best pull something extra that tugs at my brain. Loki doesn’t do that. They sound fine but they don’t sound great in that way.
THE GOOD
- Sub-bass performance is great
- Energetic V-Shape tastefully done
- Smooth treble with nice presence
THE BAD
- V-Shape sound signature means the mids (in this case lower) will suffer from lack of emphasis
- Technicalities are not anything special
- Price
WHO IS THIS SET FOR?
- Someone who wants a pretty well refined V-Shape IEM
- Someone who wants the Kinera unboxing experience
- I did not personally get to enjoy this, but it was described as “What you would expect and should get when you spend this kind of money”
WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?
- Broke ass hoes
- Don’t whine about this one. You know it ain’t for you
- Neutralheads
- Don’t whine about this one. You know it ain’t for you either
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Okay, so gather around kiddies. It’s story time with Uncle Goober. In listening to the Loki, I had a conversation with my tour group, including @sonofholhorse, who was generous enough to share these with me in the first place. I was still in space of struggling with my feelings about these for the price and I started working out an analogy. About jeans, which grew into an analogy about jeans and stores in general:
- Budget IEMs are like your department store jeans; mass produced to work for the vast majority of people and get the job done in a utilitarian way
- Your $200-500(ish) IEMs are like higher-end branded jeans; Quality can have a bit of a jump but the real step up comes in fit and comfort (possibly literal fit, but particularly in tuning). This is where reputation and house sound starts to really set in as important to each purchase
- Up to (and a little past) $1000 is where IEMs really cross into boutique jeans territory: You are expecting a big jump in quality and experience on department store/branded jeans. Expectations are to get more personalization, better sound quality, and impeccable quality assurance/control. Talk to @VIVIDICI_111 about his Elysian excursions, to see how hitting this bracket can go wrong.
- Summit-Fi and CIEM sets are where I bring the analogy to fully tailored clothes. You are paying the full premium for the absolute pinnacle of customer service, getting a product that is going to be made unique to you, or a product that is remarkably exclusive and only a small amount of lucky people could even contemplate dropping bread on that
In playing within this analogy, Loki is a set that sits in the Summit-Fi category, but comes off more like a boutique store product for me. I did not, at any point, have that feeling that either this product is blowing me away on the experience or that something in the quality or tuning goes completely above and beyond what I can get in lower tiers. It wasn’t until my most recent session with Loki that it really did click in for me. Particularly at this price you do get a lot of homogenous tuning, but also get a fair amount of sets that are trying to deliver the best version of many types of tuning styles. That is what is happening with Loki, and they do a pretty good job. These don’t slap, like they’re the absolute pinnacle of a V-Shape tuning, but they’re doing very good things with it. They are an extremely good IEM, and if you have the money to go into this tier to shop, GOOD FOR YOU! I’ll just see you later, down where the broke bitches live! And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Kinera Imperial Loki: B+
Rank With Personal Bias: B+
Recommendation Level: Not Recommended Relative to Other Options (V-Shape)
Rank As a Food: Apple Butter
8 Likes
Oh no LOL, there goes my expectation of the Loki…
3 Likes
Really? Because I didn’t shit on them at all. I think I put my bias aside to be pretty favorable to them!
4 Likes
B+ for a $3K set is… ya
4 Likes
You may be surprised either way when you give them a shot, we all hear a little differently! I definitely put them up at A+ or above personally.
@GooberBM Sorry I couldn’t send the whole “kit and caboodle” but it would have like made the postage 10x the cost lol. Kinera does give you your money’s worth IMO.
7 Likes
I’ve only given about 13 A grades out of like 170 IEMs I’ve heard. I’m picky AF, so getting a B+ is no insult.
The reason for no recommendation is purely on price because I will NEVER encourage someone to spend that kind of money.
That is not a judgment on the IEM
6 Likes
Me when I read the review late at night:
Then I went to pee and couldn’t sleep until morning 
.
10 Likes
Subtonic Storm or the the Time I “Yeah, But” Game Recognizing Game
So is Goober about to give a harsh sounding review to the best IEM he’s ever heard? Yup, he probably is. Is he going to preface everything that is about to come by saying the Subtonic Storm is the best IEM he’s ever heard, so the nitpicking done here is on such a fine level that it should not be taken as him shitting on Storm in just about any way? Yup, yup he is. Is it going to matter all that much, that I won’t sound like a hating ass hater? No, I’m probably gonna sound like I’m a hater. But I’m okay with that because I always try to keep it 100 with you: Everything I love has flaws, and even the best thing made isn’t perfect. I’m not here to blow smoke up anyone’s ass, all I can do is tell you about my experience and share my journey. So lets go!
Songs to Listen to and Follow Along:
As usual, I’m going to write my thoughts in generalities, but I’ll give you a sample of songs that I listen to, that will relate to the concepts I write about. Feel free to ask for specifics, if you don’t keep up with my thought processes.
Playlist
Swashers/Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa (For imaging/detail retrieval (:00-1:00 Swashers), general technicalities check (both), soundstage depth/dynamics/layering/separation (:00-:30 Bubbles))
The Speedwalker (Live at Madison Square Garden) - The Fearless Flyers (For bass elements, particularly sub-bass/mid-bass interplay, drum kits, soundstage/layering)
DISINTER MY HEART - TRAILS (For treble response and resolution, male vocals, midrange response)
Savior - Rise Against (For rock bass elements, male vocals, layering and imaging, treble clarity :38-1:30)
When I Fall (Outta Love) - Kevin Olusola (For Imaging/detail retrieval :00-:07, tonality, timbre, male/female vocal interplay)
Fundamental Elements of Madness - Dax Johnson (For soundstage width 1:10-1:26, piano tonality)
Holding On (Rome In Silver Remix) - Dabin (For female vocals, tonality, mid-bass response within mix From 1:12-1:36)
1 Thing - Sophie Powers (For sibilance, harshness/shoutiness, high volume listening check 1:28-2:01
*Wire & Guns - KID DAD (For general tonality (warmth vs. brightness) and note weight :10-35, for high volume listening 1:34-2:08)
THE SOUND
I Need Your Love, Like Vampires Crave Blood; And I Know, It’s Never Enough; You’re My Chosen, You’re My Chosen, Poison That I Love
Poison - Freya Ridings
(IEM Tuning Style: Warm-Neutral)
I’m an incredibly nitpicky critical listener, and I think that’s been to the point of frustrating people sometimes. I’m very difficult to blow away (either in the positive sense, or the negative). I don’t find many sets to be totally mindbendingly awesome or disgustingly awful. Most are good, but have flaws. Some are great with sub-bass but tuck the midbass in an unacceptable way. Some are Meaty in the low-mids but lack vocal emphasis. Some boost the treble and make everything too artificially detailed. There is a give and take in every decision made in tuning a frequency response, and you literally cannot have it all.
I say all of that to say, the best IEMs are the ones that do great things with the fewest concessions. Subtonic Storm was tuned to put all of it’s focus in the frequency response. If you wanted to call this a neutral monitor with bass boost, I’m not sure you can do much better. The sub-bass is in the upper echelon of sub-bass I’ve heard. I lose my mind about BA bass, which we all just experienced with Hisenior T4. Subtonic Storm is the IEM that sets it clear that BA IEMs can do bass, and do it well. Drums sound great, EDM drops are meaty like they should be. There is nothing lacking in the decay or attack. It plays bass correctly. My biggest nitpick is that I’d like a little more midbass but that is definitely a me-thing. That is not a complaint that I would argue is a flaw in the tuning. Storm is done absolutely right as it is.
The midrange is pretty impeccable. There’s no thinness, lack of weight, or wispiness in the low-mids. Tonality and timbre are earbud-like. Storm has the best IEM treble I’ve heard: There is some boosting, not the point of sounding artificial, but there is an absolute emphasis and pushing forward of deep treble details that pulls my ear right to them, to draw my attention to details I don’t hear in other sets. But Storm does this without elevation or peaking that would make the listening harsh. These are threading the needle of clarity and resolution, without blowing your ears out with amplitude. Of all the sets I’ve listened to, this is the perfect treble.
So in terms of technicalities, I think that sets the table well. Storm has the best I’ve heard in an IEM. Details are rich and plentiful, imaging, separation, and combining it all into reproducing sound effects is peerless. Storm is one of the few transducers that makes Swashers sound like I’m listening to water splashing on a beach somewhere, rather than listening to something playing back water splashing. Simple as that.
Remember though: No transducer is perfect. There is always a give and take, and there’s always some compromise to be made. The one biggest compromise Storm makes is in soundstage. It is a truly in the ears experience. There is no width to the sound and not a lot of depth. It’s to Storm’s technical credit that everything I said about imaging and separation stands in spite of how small a headstage Storm actually creates, but that is the one true flaw of the set. If sound/headstage is something you judge as a dealbreaker, and you’re about a larger staging experience, Storm will not be for you.
THE GOOD
- Overall tuning choices
- Top-Shelf sub-bass and midrange performance
- The best treble in the business
- Technicalities
- Details, imagining, and separation combine in a package I haven’t heard anywhere else in the IEM world
THE BAD
- Soundstage is small, cramped overall
- Lack of midbass emphasis to personal taste
WHO IS THIS SET FOR?
- Someone who wants the best of the best
WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?
- Everybody that couldn’t have bought this when it was actively on sale
- If this hit classifieds once a year, that would be a stunner. If you have this, you’re not giving it up
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
Rolls Up Sleeves Okay, time to dig in.
I’ve learned repeatedly over the last two years that the IEM/Earbud journey is a very subjective and personal thing. We can listen to the same music, with the same transducers, and have seminally different experiences. That is one reason I’ve gone from trying to convince the audience something is great to simply charting my experience and saying “this is me, and take it as you will” over time. There are not universal truths to expose in any of this. We all get to our own places, in our own ways, and the fun is sharing the perspectives to grow things in the community.
That said, a CLOSE to universal truth is Subtonic Storm is one of the finest IEMs on the planet. I simply cannot imagine someone would listen to Storm and not like the sound it produces. You may have other preferences, but as objectively as possible, we have to admit this is one of the great sets. It’s balanced, smooth, and plays just about anything back to its most ideal playback. In terms of frequency response it is flawless. It has amazing technical capabilities, and is the epitome of what a monitor IEM would be to me.
But the set isn’t perfect: I would like more midbass, and the soundstage is lacking overall. If those aren’t dealbreakers to you, then this is a peerless IEM…except I don’t believe that. Is it better, at more things, than any other IEM I’ve owned or heard? Yes. Would that ever be something I could use to justify spending $5200 on an IEM? I do not think so. I spent a good amount of time A/Bing Storm with three particular sets of mine: Simgot EA1000, Dunu Vulkan, and the LetShuoer D13 that was personally modded by Michael Bruce to be a blank slate, neutral/flat tuning (Which he calls Chameleon). All three sets have an audibly better soundstage just to put that aside.
EA1000 has better midbass performance than Storm. If I wanted a little less warmth and more clarity in the lower-mids, Vulkan would have a slight edge on Storm. Chameleon is a baby Storm for me (It has many of the qualities Storm has, without the sub-bass boost and a little more naturally midbass leaning, but lacks the obvious refinement and R&D that went into idealizing Storm) but for the price I paid for D13, I could buy 100 of them for 1 Storm so the value proposition is absurd.
Me being able to point out places where other IEMs contend with or surpass Storm doesn’t discount the entirety of the package Storm puts on the plate. It is a better IEM, in totality, than any of those three sets. The opportunity to hear a set like Storm and understand what the pinnacle of sound reproduction can sound like is a honor, and I owe @sonofholhorse more than I can give back, for the trust he gave me in both handling his babies and in delivering my thoughts on them. He is a very fortunate person to have had the means and opportunity to buy a set like this. And I am fortunate enough to get to hear them, to understand everything about what makes them special, and then have the sense of self to know it doesn’t matter and that I don’t need them. I don’t need the best of the best of the best, when I can get more than good enough for 1/100th the price. That is no knock to the people with the means and the desire to chase the 1% of the 1%. God bless you. And if you want that level of performance and prestige. This is on the shortlist, without a shadow of a doubt.
And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Subtonic Storm: A
Rank With Personal Bias: S
Recommendation Level: Highly Recommended but also Not Recommended Relative to Other Options (Warm-Neutral)
Rank As a Food: Your Favorite Meal Ever
17 Likes
2 Likes
Care to elaborate?
2 Likes
I woke up and started reading… After these two SummitFi reviews, I feel more aware, even wiser. Now I can easily “die” without feeling the absence of an ultra-expensive IEM in my ears 
.
4 Likes
Everytime I get a chance to listen to gear I wouldn’t or couldn’t buy I feel blessed and thankful.
I was just loaned the PENON Impact, Tansio Mirai HALO and RGB.
Thanks Goob’s for sharing your impressions and taking the time to do so. I enjoy seeing stuff I probably won’t get so it’s good to watch or read about them!
I think alot of time people forget to say thanks for the effort and dedication especially from those who do it out of the love for the hobby and not from people paid to do so.
14 Likes
Had a session with all my IEMs, (only one not graphed is Canpur Joyful 1&1, not posted on Squiglink). EA500 tops them all, rest do their job and are a pleasure to listen too. KBear not so much, Rosefinch is in need of GooberMod.
I’m hard pressed to feel a need for anything better than EA500 with red nozzle and tape mod. The point of diminishing returns and all. Will see as additional Pula 02 feedback filters in, that one’s not too much of a reach and would like to see it compared to EA500LM.
Forgot to mention all purchases were under $65 (yea sales!)
Arrrrrrg forgot the Hola errrr
9 Likes
I think the pa02 would be a worthwhile addition if you are looking for something new. The tuning is pretty unique, especially for the price range and it seems like so far from reviews it’s at least a good value at the price. I would be surprised if the LM is worth it if you already have a modded 500.
I was interested in it except I don’t need anymore IEMs and I don’t like the shell faceplate
3 Likes
Aful MagicOne or Are You the Most Earbudiest IEM?
So to go from the absolute pinnacle of what an all-BA set (and IEM in general) can be to a humble 1BA IEM certainly seems like a dropoff. And yes, in many ways that’s true. But for someone that will NEVER own a Subtonic Storm, the true value comes not in my opportunities to fly close to the sun, but rather when the wax wings melt and I plummet back to Earth. I say that because while it is a value to the community to be able to share thoughts about a set far up the Summit-Fi peak, my real value to the community comes from being able to absorb what is out there at affordable prices and help someone put their money in the best place for them. With that, I introduce the Aful MagicOne, the little 1BA that could…
Songs to Listen to and Follow Along:
As usual, I’m going to write my thoughts in generalities, but I’ll give you a sample of songs that I listen to, that will relate to the concepts I write about. Feel free to ask for specifics, if you don’t keep up with my thought processes.
Playlist
Swashers/Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa (For imaging/detail retrieval (:00-1:00 Swashers), general technicalities check (both), soundstage depth/dynamics/layering/separation (:00-:30 Bubbles))
The Speedwalker (Live at Madison Square Garden) - The Fearless Flyers (For bass elements, particularly sub-bass/mid-bass interplay, drum kits, soundstage/layering)
DISINTER MY HEART - TRAILS (For treble response and resolution, male vocals, midrange response)
Savior - Rise Against (For rock bass elements, male vocals, layering and imaging, treble clarity :38-1:30)
When I Fall (Outta Love) - Kevin Olusola (For Imaging/detail retrieval :00-:07, tonality, timbre, male/female vocal interplay)
Fundamental Elements of Madness - Dax Johnson (For soundstage width 1:10-1:26, piano tonality)
Holding On (Rome In Silver Remix) - Dabin (For female vocals, tonality, mid-bass response within mix From 1:12-1:36)
1 Thing - Sophie Powers (For sibilance, harshness/shoutiness, high volume listening check 1:28-2:01
*Wire & Guns - KID DAD (For general tonality (warmth vs. brightness) and note weight :10-35, for high volume listening 1:34-2:08)
THE SOUND
Funny How the Tables Turned, Didn’t Think I’d Go This Far But Here We Are The End; Now You’re Just a Lesson Learned, a Slowly Fading Memory So I Can Breathe Again
Crossed the Line - Vosai, Facading, & Linn Sandin
(IEM Tuning Style: Midcentric)
The Aful MagicOne is a very interesting IEM to go to first after hearing the highs of the Subtonic Storm. MagicOne is very much nothing like Storm, when you dig deep into critically listening. Storm is the quintessential monitor IEM, while the MagicOne plays very much like the IEM every person outside of the earbud camp might want an IEM to sound like (in certain ways). MagicOne lacks extension in the bass, the sub-bass is lacking a bit if you want deep rumble or slam. It also doesn’t have a large quantity of midbass, but the midbass that is there is very well emphasized. There IS more midbass, to my ear, than a set like Hisenior T4 but still not as much as you will get from DD or planar bass. But if you come from the earbud world, where very often you can’t get the amount of quantity or emphasis of the bass that you get from IEMs, the MagicOne is a bit of a compromise. Considering my general bias against BA bass, this is a bass reproduction I can’t really disregard. It’s good enough bass for me.
The midrange emphasis of MagicOne is a lot of what gives me earbud vibes: The lower midrange has good body and warmth due to the transition from the bass, with solid note weight. There are times vocals can be a little forward but often they are balanced. The upper midrange has proper energy, but plays back very smoothly. There is no whiff of harshness or sibilance even when turning up to higher volume than I normally listen to. MagicOne lacks balance at higher volume because the bass can’t keep up, but at normal volume levels, this is a non-issue.
Treble is a bit of a mirror to the bass: Early treble is good, with solid clarity in the frequency range, but there is not a lot of extension, so if fully airy playback is your priority, this can’t get you there. Soundstage and technicalities are a mixed bag: Headstage is nice in width, height, and depth, but it’s not exemplary. Technicalities aren’t lacking anything you should hear but the limitations on 1BA do expose themselves: While imaging is pretty good, can only get so much detail retrieval, or layering/separation ability from 1BA. Vocals can get drowned out in busy instrumentation, and picking out particular elements can be a challenge when critically listening.
THE GOOD
- Midbass emphasis I actually approve of from BA bass
- Awesome midrange tuning
- Tone/timbre that is earbud-like for what IEMs usually produce
- Smooth playback that doesn’t fall apart when volume scaling
THE BAD
- Lack extension for both bass and treble
- Technicalities can’t keep up due to configuration limitations
- Lacks FR balance at higher volumes
WHO IS THIS SET FOR?
- Earbud marks that don’t have a good IEM for them
- Especially if you’re not chasing “IEM bass” I think these check a lot of boxes
- Midcentric lovers
- People who like moderate-to-high volume listening
WHO IS THIS SET NOT FOR?
- Listeners who are particular about extension on either end
- Most people not actively looking for a more specialist IEM
- Anyone who prioritizes vocals
- Vocals aren’t bad but they aren’t front and center at all times
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?
For me, it means the Aful MagicOne is a compromise, in the true sense of the word. Because a truly good compromise is one that makes all parties feel a little unhappy. For people that aren’t pro-BA sets, this is a different kind of tuning than most BA sets get, and it’s refreshing for not being freaking afraid to put some bass quantity in the midbass. But the lack of extension on both ends is something you have to accept. If you feel positively about how earbud tuning works its transducers, I feel like you get a very positive experience from the MagicOne. But to get that, you will have to accept the limitations of a single BA, in terms of the intangibles. This cannot give you the kind of headstage or technical performance that you get from the earbud sector. This is a set that certainly asks compromises of you, but if it can thread the needle of its positives and negatives, I think you have an IEM that is surprisingly competitive. I’ve heard better all-BA IEMs (Dunu SA6 Ultra and 7th Acoustics Supernova stand out, and even Hisenior T4 has characteristics it is superior to MagicOne in), but if I were to get my hands on one of them to keep, the Aful MagicOne is making a persuasive case for it to be the one I’d find space in my watch case for. I’m not all the way there yet, but it’s saying something that 1 little BA can pull at me better than the sets that do trump it objectively. This is a funny hobby, that way. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Aful MagicOne: B
Rank With Personal Bias: B
Recommendation Level: Lukewarm Recommendation Relative to Other Options (Midcentric)
Rank As a Food: Non-Dairy Ice Cream
9 Likes
I’m torn between Storm and MagicOne. 
3 Likes
As you said MagicOne is very earbud like - did you eventually try Softears Twilight as I remember you mentioned that at some point?
As I actually think it is the most earbuddy IEM I have heard so far and by far. Amazing natural/coherent timbre, mid-bass focus, very open/airy stage and (obviously very personal) very comfortable.
3 Likes
I concur.
Though, in my case, the comfort wasn’t that good. I could listen to them, but I felt something in my ears, no matter the tips.
Some IEMs work better for me.
Nevertheless, Twilights are something special, indeed.
4 Likes