Received a pair of these in the post today. Initial impressions:
Fit: They are designed to fit a human ear. Luckily I am in possession of such an ear. So they went in first time, like a glove. Didnāt even swap the tips that came fitted. Zero movement, snugly residing fully in place. Fit and comfort of IEMs is almost the most important factor for me, no matter how good they sound if they are hanging out of my ear, or need constant adjustment then they are probably going into the drawer permanently.
Sound: OK, Iāve been going through songs that I had on heavy rotation last year, thrown into a hastily assembled playlist. Hastily Assembled Playlist
I Have A Love (Overmono Remix) - such an emotional song. Almost hard to stay in analytical mode. I think I prefer the remix to the original (though I did hear the remix first). The vocals seem a little low at the start behind the higher frequency synths. Waiting for the transition at the 3:30 mark, a little subdued. But overall very articulate presentation of the track.
Hand of God - Nick Cave. This song has some weird transitions, a lot of which happens in the opening 30 seconds. Thereafter it is pretty subdued.
Grapes of Wrath - Weezer. Comes right in with bassy strings and percussion. Makes me rethink my perception of the mid bass being missing. This song sounds right. Nothing seems out of place.
Afrique Victime - Mdou Moctar. A very guitar centered song, with a driving rhythm. Vocals initially seem forward. Then again the song starts with very scant backing instrumentation, once it gets going after about 1:20 things are better. At times the lead guitar licks seem almost too forward.
Paprika - Japanese Breakfast. The bass drum at the starting drop around 30s definitely feels like itās missing some oomph. And the vocals thereafter are quite forward. More forward than the brass.
Movement 6 - Floating Points/Pharoah Sanders. Feels a little out of place on the playlist, and also I generally listen to this album from start to finish. Nonetheless, iām expecting some big swells in this track. The violins at about 4:30 Instrument separation is good. Violins around 8:40 are probably just on the safe side of piercing. Good presentation of this track, but I think we were close towards the end to an ear hurting zone.
He Said She Said - CHVRCHES. Opens with some thumps. Sounds great. No complaints on this track. Everything in the right place.
Days Like These - Low. This is a song with spikes of distortion (sounds like intentional clipping at times). The whole album is a bit of a sonic rollercoaster. The male vocal in the first half again seems more forward than Iām used to. The whole song is a little brighter than I would expect. Thereās a king of slow bass drum through a lot of the song, starts of quite low. Itās maybe lower than I would expect in the mix.
Seventeen Going Under - Sam Fender. Another guitar song. The vocals seem at about the right level. The kick after a minute is good. Hard to fault the presentation of this track.
Chaeri - Magdalena Bay. Again prominent stuff in the bass region from the start. Hits nicely.
Hurt - Arlo Parks. Arlo sounds good. Again noting good separation of the various elements. This songs sounds clean, precise.
Summary thoughts:
Restraint, but not hollow or thin. The mids are pretty good.
There is a very ācleanā or precise feeling (an absence of muddiness).
In some ways they remind me of the MSR7, which I briefly owned (but did find piercing and returned thereafter). I think my general preference is something warmer in the mid bass, but I find it interesting that certain tracks sound as expected, while others not so much.
Interestingly these are the second pair of Crinacle tuned earphones Iāve picked up recently. Compared to the FHE these feel more musical, but a lot less thumpy. Neither are perfect, and both are obviously quite different. I get a sense that his objective is to tune something idiosyncratic rather than perhaps necessarily optimally tuned or close to some broad ideal (or maybe heās just having fun with some memes).
Will definitely listen to the new albums drops this week through these. (new Big Thief drops on Friday, not sure what else of note).
Havenāt really read or watched too many other reviews of this set, so donāt know what if any consensus has been reached. Iāve spent most of the day under a pair of EMU Teakās as well which may have coloured my impressions.
My chain for this: Spotify - > SMSL Sanskrit 10th MK2 - > Gesheli Archel 2.5 - > JDS Labs OL Switcher.