@dcofficehack Thanks for sharing these. Could add to your recent post on the All Things Classical thread too. Such a WIDE variety of music tastes on this forum…love it. PS playing timpani on stage in front of the organ pipes for the Saint-Saens…well THAT was a “Rush.”
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WOW!!!
Truly some incredible music in this reply, thank you!!!
I too as well love Brahms. His Piano Concerto No. 2 in B Flat and Symphony No. 4 are two works of his that I love the most. I enjoy more of the works of the Russian composers like Rachmanioff, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and a Shostakovich. I also love Chopin and his works as well. Saint - Saens is another incredible composer but I don’t have nearly enough of his work yet.
I rarely ever stream unless I’m in my car. I have an extensive library of classical on my computer that I’ve downloaded (mostly redbook or 24bit & up) or ripped to Flac from CDs I’ve purchased over the years. I generally love the works of conductors like Bernstein or Karajan and any time I can come across anything of theirs I try to get it without hesitation.
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Everyone loves the Andro.
Out of curiosity I’ve been looking at Campfire’s other offerings. It seems that none of their other IEMs would work at all for classical, and TBH none of their other offerings except maybe the Solaris seem to be any good.
I’ve got their OG Andro and Vega in my collection, I’ve not heard the Solaris which I was hoping to at last years UK Canjam which was subsequently canceled due to you know what, our tickets have been rolled over to this year but again it’s not looking promising 
Another IEM I’d like to demo would be the Vision Ears Elysium, reckon that’s a well balanced set which would work well with classical amongst other genres 
Vega sounds like a lot of fun if one’s into music for which a strong bass is a real plus. The new one sounds more well-rounded, but still…
Yeah it’s my guilty pleasure set for Drum n Bass, Techno and Rap lol 
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I agree with @Rikudou_Goku, that you should really look into the high-end single dynamic driver IEMs, that also have great imaging and instrument placement. For under $1000 ($700 specifically), probably the top single DD IEM right now is the new Dunu Zen. If wanting to spend a more modest amount, I personally really like the NF Audio NM2+ and the KBEar Believe. However, for really complex symphonic music, I recommend the Believe over the NM2+, as the NM2+ does sound compressed with really complex passages.
If you like a somewhat warm, and really full sounding IEM, the one hybrid IEM I can recommend for classical music is the Penon Volt. It is very organic and natural sounding. It has a bit of that tubed analog quality to its sound, without any harsh upper mids or piercing treble, yet it still has a remarkable amount of resolution and detail, just not thrown in your face.
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I hadn’t heard of that one. The few reviews available for it make it sound exceptional.
Would listening to soundtracks composed by Williams, Zimmer, Giacchino, Goldsmith, Silvesti, etc… also fall into DD IEMs category? I have been considering the UM MEST or the ThieAudio Clair but maybe that is not the way to go now???
Hans zimmer? Yeah, I do think so since he does use acoustic instruments.
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Since I’ve only ever owned DD IEMS I’m really curious to hear what you’re talking about. I almost want to buy a hybrid just to see.
I recommend the LZ A7. The most natural exotic iem I have tried. But still cant compare with a well tuned high quality single DD (in terms of natural timbre).
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I generally agree with single DD vs. hybrid in the budget range, but once you start getting into higher tier stuff, timbre can be just as good in a hybrid. From those I’ve heard, Jomo Trinity SS, Jomo Quatre, and Meze Rai Penta all have timbre I’d argue rivals that of Sony Z1R. The one specific area I think the Z1R exceeds those is in bass timbre, but only because of how it’s presented, which feels more natural. Quatre and Penta both beat Z1R for me because of the more natural mids. It’s all about tuning and well implemented crossovers, which is hard to come by in the budget range.
Exactly, tuning is the most important factor. I do agree that the higher up you go, the more a BA starts sound like a dd in timbre, while DDs gets better technicalities.
BUT, for people that are very very strict with timbre, that is the people that are listening to classical/acoustic music and/or musicians. I do think single DDs have an advantage over other driver types. Of course I cant really comment about iems above 300 usd, as the most expensive iem I have is the Sony XBA-Z5.
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I can’t speak for the Clair, but the MEST would not be my top choice for a primarily classical music IEM. It has holographic imaging, and amazing treble, but it’s so detailed in the treble that it is not very natural sounding IMO. I can definitely enjoy classical music on it, but not as the primary music genre.
Coming from the sound of Fender Stratocaster in my youth to the old time viola da gambas (when I read about a violone in a concert sheet for the first time I too kit for a typing error) only these days I was impressed with this careful and enourmously astonishing selection of (old) classical music.
There is always more exciting music to be found and heard and only once in a while a new exciting headphone.
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You’ve convinced me re: cheaper IEMs, but at what point up the scale–if any–do BA or other hybrids catch up? Do SA8s still fall short? Andromedas? Those Nannas Zeos is all excited about? Would is still prefer a Dunu Zen or FD5 over them?
No idea actually. I do know that Sony BAs are amazing and they absolutely do sound like a dd (even for their older iem like the xba a2, z5 and N3) but they are the exceptions.
Chi fi I would say the lz a7 has very natural BAs but violin timbre is an issue due to the piezos.
Can’t comment about the stuff higher as I don’t have them.
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I’ve always ignored Sony, which oddly I’ve associated with legacy tech and not anything current. I’ll look into those. Mainly for curiosity. The Zen and the FD5 might be just the ticket. There are so few reviews for them, though. Presumably that will change.
If I had access to more IEMs I’d love to start doing classical music-focused reviews the way BGGAR does with his classic rock. I only own three pair, all old and largely irrelevant.
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