You’re not the only ones, my office is also in Edinburgh although I moved out over the bridge and work from home most of the time
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Are those the stock tips on your vortex or did you swap them out for one of the horn tips?
I’d been trying W01 (I think that’s what BGVP’s wide bores are called?) and just switched back to ePro horn. No clear thoughts on the differences I’m afraid.
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I think there is a better alternative but it’s a bit out of my price range, the ThieAudio Elixir, some consider it as the Kato upgrade and I want a better version of the Kato. Hana 2021 seems to be good as well to get if I want an alternative to the Kato as well.
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Hana 2021 is different from Kato. Elixir I never heard.
I know the graphs does not tell the whole story of an IEM, but according to this, those 2 seem pretty close to the Kato’s sounds. Correct me if I am wrong though, the Olinas are pretty much similar as well it seems after seeing Hi-Fri’s video about the Olina.
Kato is very thin sounding, analytical. They come out as soft with a soft bass impact. Hana is more V-shaped, warmer and bodied.
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Today I went to demo potential endgame©, again.
Variations-Oracle-MonarchMK2-Diva.
Reaffirmed that I don’t like Variations. Midbass scoop is real.
Oracle is nice but I feel like I’d rather buy Zeus for a warm-ish/smooth sound.
So it’s a toss up between Monarch MK2 vs Diva.
In the end I chose Diva solely for its wow factor - the magical vocals which unsurprisingly it beats the Variations (try Stand by Me the FFXV ver). Another stand out moment is at the chorus of Touch off - Uverworld. I don’t know how to describe it but this set stood out the most. Its not perfect tho. The treble doesn’t sound that bad anymore but can be a bit much sometimes. The bass doesn’t have the slam that a DD has.
I think Monarch MK2 doesn’t do enough to peel me away from my Timeless. Plus, reckon I can get Monarch MK2 from the used market sometime later. Still, this is a good set. I don’t anyone will regret buying it.
Now the waiting game begins, shopkeeper told me it’ll take 1 month plus so maybe I’ll have bought Monarch by then or maybe get stuck in another sinkhole of a hobby 
Still haven’t found the perfect one but this’ll keep me from buying at least for a year🙏
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I guess the biggest difference I can hear in “expensive” vs cheap IEMs are dynamics & resolution. Sometimes details - those Easter eggs are always a joy to stumble on.
Can confirm that Kato is different from Hana. Hana has more bass and heavier noteweight with better imaging. Kato is more thin sounding. Not sure about the elixir.
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Lol just fight the impulse and it will pass 
First people getting Dioko are quite happy about that (this particular guy is pretty active in the community and seem really fair assessing gear). The ranking is from lowest to highest, if it beats S12 that is still a win, question is whether it is worth it to have both. Keith confirms that they are both different beasts (as FR suggests) and Dioko is having much better mids 
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Yeah, this hobby gets kind of crazy with hype/fomo…
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I’m not sure I can get past the looks. 
Let’s wait for now reviews, then.
Have you heard about the fit?
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Guys I have built up the courage to pry my Katos open but I gotta’ ask, what tools and procedure I should do in order to pry mine open? Because at this point, my Katos are pretty much in limbo for the seller is not contacting me anymore, Moondrop cannot do about it even though they can and I just want a clear sounding IEM to work once again because it will take a lot of time for me to get a new one for I have set my sights on the ThieAudio Elixir as a new one from my Katos.
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You have polished one right? I am afraid the chance of not getting that damaged superficially are quite low in any scenario, but what best what you could have is some kind of toolkit for opening up the phones. https://www.amazon.com/DIYPHONE-Phone-Repair-Tool-Kit/dp/B082D759Y9. Thera re plastic ones as well that may work if there is big gap between shell parts, but I am afraid that won’t be a case in Katos so you’d need something with thin “blade” to get in between the shell parts along the parting line. They are normally tight fitted or tight fitted with a bit of glue so you would need to go along the parting line maybe couple of times - see if at some points it gives you more “give” and at different points it may hold together more tightly.
This guy is a bit harsh and “homely” in the way he is doing stuff, but you may get the idea.
Generally don’t be afraid to try, you have basically nothing to loose - just keep it rational in terms of force used and be careful with your fingers 
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I tried the Elixir and really liked it soundwise. Better than timeless, Moondrop Variations and IE600 imho. Slightly prefered the Mest overall, but definitely Endgame level stuff (for half the price). I had some slight fit issue with pressure built up though.
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That settles it then, time to save up and get the ThieAudio Elixir. Because I know this is the right time to get a Kato successor.
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Speaking about the Katos, with all of my frustration and rage pent up, I fucking opened this son of a bitch and fixed it! It feels good!
The sad thing though, it’s overall look is ruined especially on the right side. Also had my fingers cut by a knife but in the end this feels good.
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Generally polished metal finish for any customer electronic product in constant contact with dust/fingers/another parts is really bad idea in my opinion. Looks good only when new but great to hear you managed to do it, bad that you damaged yourself
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