Since the last time I posted here, I’ve acquired the 7hz Timeless and the Xenns Ups, both quite outstanding for opera and classical. The Xenns Ups are clearly better than the Timeless (which it should be considering the price difference) but both outstanding.
I assumed pre-purchase that I was getting the Timeless to play classical and the Xenns to play rock/pop/rap but I’ve been very pleasantly surprised at how outstanding the Ups are in classical. Great tonality, none of the timbre issues that people have been talking about in this thread despite it being a tribrid, outstanding extension and sense of airiness, plentiful treble detail without ever being remotely harsh or sharp, gorgeous instrumental and vocal timbres. Might be endgame for me, it’s been hard for me to find any flaws in its playback of virtually any part of my library.
The Timeless is awfully good too though, if one’s budget can accommodate the $200 for the Timeless but not the $700 for the Ups.
only temporarily I did cannibalize the jelly cable off my Meles for the Ups though, I like it a bit better than the stock cable. Still feel like the Meles are very well tuned and enjoyable in classical music for a hell of a good price though.
I haven’t heard the Meles, but having watched a ton of @hawaiibadboy 's videos I know his preferences and assume they are tuned specifically for the music he likes. Which is rather different from Bach cantatas :).
Since the last time I posted about the Oxygen being great for classical music I got the Moondrop Quarks just to try a warm neutral iem. I thought i would hate it and I do for most genres but for classical it’s actually pretty great. (It does need some power)
I have! And I do like them - not just for classical but also jazz, vocals, etc. When I A/Bed with my hybrid set (Yinyan Aladdin), I found that I don’t mind (although I can discern) BA timbre if kept to a minimum and if the IEM is very well tuned. I don’t recognise coherency issues with the Aladdin, so maybe my ears need more experience.
Ah I misunderstood your post - you have both the Quarks and the Oxygen! So you want more bass than Oxygen sub-bass boost? Which ones do you have in mind?
I think having the Oxygen and another set that’s more warm neutral would be nice.
Here is what I have ony list currently:
*Zen (supposedly a great DD, potentially good for classical but not an all-rounder)
*EX800-ST (for it’s timbre and soundstage)
*NM2+ (supposedly great soundstage)
*Fun Falcon Pro (warm tuning that may work)
I want details and soundstage. I need a bit of mid-bass warmth but no bloat or mud. I’m sensitive to peaks around 5-7k.
Haven’t demoed any of those, but I did read about them during my research for a good single DD. I think NM2+ is neutral, and Falcon Pro has received pretty mixed reviews. I believe it has a lot of bass, but maybe not the best quality. Dunu Zen is on a very different price bracket to all your other options.
Have you considered IKKO OH10? It’s gotten a lot of praise as a warm single DD, and night be a way for you to test warm sounds sig at a lower price, if money is a concern; if not, then… There are so many options that I haven’t even considered haha.
I have the Mele, and the cello, bass, drums, piano, all sound very good. Mainly the lower registers though. Not great for anything like the violin or female vocals or busy orchestral pieces. Oxygen is a definitely upgrade, albeit with less bass.
I’m at a point where I’m going to enjoy Oxygen and wait and save up money to go to the $500 price bracket. I don’t want side grades but it’s tough to resist.
Interesting! How are you looking the timeless for classical? I like using my Sundara for classical, but I’d guess there’s much more of a soundstage than the Timeless.
I did cannibalize the jelly cable off my Meles for the Ups though, I like it a bit better than the stock cable. Still feel like the Meles are very well tuned and enjoyable in classical music for a hell of a good price though.
