(I’m) Waiting around for MMR to bring out something new…
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Really imo a lot of iems with switches are more set and forget rather than something that gives you a wildly different setup that you switch between. For the pp8, you get a bass and a treble boost, and while they do make a difference, they’re not really drastic and more on the mild side of things, and really affect more tonality rather than other aspects. I personally ran mine with bass boost which was just a nice bump to have on the go (and it’s more in amount rather than perceived slam/weight/thickness)
I should say that if I was in the only could have one or 2 iems category, I might go with the U12t instead, simply because the 64a is more forgiving of source and music, and generally a more enjoyable listen with more poorly produced stuff. The prophile 8 and (to a lesser extent the pmx) are really more precision and studio focused iems to where they are fairly unforgiving of poor recordings and are pretty damn neutral and balanced to where they can admittedly sound boring with some tracks vs the u12t. I do think the prophile 8 is the more technical and more refined set in a lot of aspects (tonality, resolving power, dynamics, control, directness), but I think the u12t can be the better more casual listen a lot of times (more holographic stage, more forgiving, more casual signature, more slam/impact). You could go for the promission x which is a bit of a warmer v in tonality and helps give a bit more impact and space vs the pp8, but I think it treads on the really impressive technical balance the pp8 had.
In terms of source, for a u12t, it really depends on the dongle you’re going to use, but I do actually think you can get away with something on the level of like a luxury precision w2 or similar. Can you get more later on out of it? Yeah, but with the u12t it’s forgiving enough to make it work. With a pp8 I’d really be more careful when it comes to pairing and really likely want to move up to something like a lotoo paw6k or around that range personally, as it’s more demanding and easier to throw off it’s balance.
Oh quick in terms of comfort imo I find the pp8 more comfortable in shell design and fitment for isolation, but the u12t pressure relief system is quite nice for really long listening sessions where ear pressure building can be uncomfortable
Same lol, they have some pretty unique aspects that I’ve not really heard in other iems, I’d really be interested in a more refined, balanced, and technical option in contrast to the thummim but still keeping what made the thummim such a great set
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Jomo/MMR just seems to make some really interesting stuff to me, I’d love to see a Thummim followup but also any proper followup to any of their line would be pretty cool. I’ve also been wanting to try the Jomo Game Raider (now Mk2) for a while now since it’s one of their cheaper sets and I can’t find a single English impression/review on it.
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Also pretty interested in their GT600 and their other lower end models, curious how jomo has progressed from the trinity. If you do grab the game raider, will be very curious on your thoughts on it 
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Yeah I’d likely get every Jomo model if I could afford to 
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Hey M0N,
I’m curious to know what your shortlisted shitlist for the Abyss V2 and Arya Stealth would be. Those two headphones have been on my list of potential buys for a while. Do you think you’ll be doing anything for those two eventually?
Also, do you think the XI Audio K DAC and Broadway combo is solid / worth it? You haven’t included them in any combo so I guess not lmao. From the research I’ve done they seem like the rare stack that performs really well with both planar and dynamic headphones. And their size seems ideal for a desk setup.
That’s the tricky thing with some of the gear on your lists: they’re made for racks and not desks! haha.
Nonetheless your page has been a great resource. Thanks.
Hmmmmm, what sort of overall price range would you be looking for with those headphones? What sort of sonic goals would you be after? I can give you something now, might make a section for it later lol. I think the shortlist for the he1000se could also be used for the arya to good effect. And I do think the lcd24 section could be used for the diana v2 as well, but again there’s other options you could consider as well
I’ve never heard the k dac, but I have heard the sagra, and have heard the broadway. I do like the broadway combo with the abyss (makes sense lol), with the arya it is nice but I do think it’s a bit underpowered in that pairing for proper macrodynamics and stage space. The sagra really does pair well with the other xi, although imo not the best with other amps, so I’d consider a different dac if you didn’t go broadway
I do think the broadway works well with a fair amount of headphones, but I think the arya is pushing it in terms of what it has power wise
Yeah really aren’t taking size into consideration for some of this stuff lol
Glad it provides something beneficial lol
Also, if you join the Sonus forum, there’s some good info on the abyss and hifiman stuff and quite a lot of source gear lol, so would suggest joining if you’re interested in discussion around this stuff
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I’ve been keeping a close eye on the head-fi classifieds and canucks audio mart for used headphones and gear. I do have a local Canadian dealer who sells Abyss and XI Audio and Focal, etc. (unfortunately they just stopped selling Hifiman) so I’l probably go there for a demo eventually before I make up my mind on what to buy.
I’ve seen an Arya stealth recently selling for $1,100 CAD. I’m not in a hurry or anything, though. I’ve been spending years doing the research and lurking and learning as much as I can about what exactly I want my sound preference to be.
Abyss having that warehouse sale for the V2 was interesting. It sucks that they’re discontinuing it. I live in Canada so I couldn’t buy them even if I wanted to. My local dealer is selling the old stock V2’s (with the meh old stock pads) for barely any discount. You can tell when a store isn’t customer friendly and they fit that bill to an extent from my perspective.
I’ve seen the updated V2’s pop up on the used market for $1,700 US so that will probably be where I go to buy them if I choose to down the road. The comfort and fit are concerning (I did find a site called Beautiful Audio that sells a nice headband for them at least that might fix those concerns). It’s funny how every review I’ve seen has pretty much shit on them for the most part lmao.
Here’s the link to the headband if anyone else is interested: Headband for Abyss Diana V1 & 2, Phi ,TC and MR — Beautiful Audio
I think the reason why I’m still curious about the V2 is that they supposedly play nice with poor recordings and I listen to all of my music on local drives. I don’t stream music at all. Now, most of my stuff is lossless and well recorded for the most part, but there’s also artists I really like whose recordings aren’t the best and apparently the V2’s are meant to be good about making those recordings okay to listen.
But I also have read conflicting things about them being revealing enough to ruin the listening experience if you have poor recordings so who the hell knows, man. I guess you would? haha.
I’m not an analytical listener. I usually listen to music when I’m multi-tasking/working at my desk.
One thing I’ve learned is that I’m definitely sensitive to treble which is why I think the warm balanced signature of a headphone like the DCA Ether 2 appeals to me. But I don’t know how far I want to go with the warmth since bright sound signatures are preferable for jazz and I see myself listening to that genre a lot more often into the future.
I’ve been thinking about either getting an all-rounder or two headphones. One for electronica/rock and the other for acoustic/jazz. From what I’ve researched the Arya’s would work well for the latter but they are supposedly very bright, too, so maybe they might not work for me heh.
That’s definitely helpful info regarding the he1000se/Arya and lcd24/V2 comparisons. I’ve saved all that shit into a special Evernote section for safe keeping, baby lmao. If you could perhaps offer other options for smaller gear that can fit on a 24x48 desk surface also occupied by your standard computer equipment then that would be lovely lmao.
The Sagra is way too damn big lmao. Soekris makes the k dac board so maybe that says something about them (shrugs). You seem to like the dac2541 as a sort of mid/higher-tier dac at least.
That’s interesting… regarding the Broadway being underpowered for the Arya. I like the form factor of the broadway. No fuss, nice industrial look, and that volume knob looks sweet lmao. I thought the Arya was easier to drive than that. Really interesting.
If you have any other suggestions that you think might work for me then I’m all ears, man. I’m incredibly grateful that you took the time to respond and (hopefully… sorry lmao) read all this. It means a lot.
I’m definitely going to do just that. I had no idea that was an actual web site for audio lmao. I just thought it was an obscure web hosting site haha.
Thanks again, M0N. You’re a legend.
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Oh that’s awesome to have, will be curious on what you think after you get a demo in
Oh didn’t actually know the v2 was being discontinued, thought it was just clearing out old stock that don’t have their newer design. I also wouldn’t immediately blame the dealer there since depending on their contract they might not be able to run sales without abyss permission or something like that, but yeah if abyss themselves are running that sale and the dealers aren’t dropping then that’s pretty dumb
From my experience, I’d agree that comfort and fit are somewhat subpar, that’s pretty much due to the design that they aren’t made to seal, and you want a gap for best bass and spatial performance, which really does hurt comfort, although the newer softer pads and potentially ported pads (which I’ve personally not heard), can help. I never felt they were comfy, but I also didn’t really feel like they were that intrusive comfort wise. It’s not going to be as comfortable as a hifiman egg series (as long as you have a head long enough for the shape to fully seal on your head) from my experience
I think the v2 is reasonably forgiving, it’s not the most forgiving out there, but I did enjoy a wide range of music off them without issue personally
Yeah they’re very technical (more technical than an arya v2 or stealth), but despite giving you more of that information, they aren’t as in your face about it as the arya is, so in comparison I’d still feel the diana is the more forgiving headphone. Personally for myself, I actually feel that despite better gear showing you more of the recording, it’s still enjoyable even with poor recordings. There will be edge cases where some things are just bad enough in a very specific way to make something hard to listen to depending on the chain, but largely, I’d say that going higher end is still worth it even with subpar recordings, although you’re going to get more out of better recordings lol
IMO if you’re sensitive to treble, I’d really suggest going for the SE arya instead of the v2 as imo treble is more intense on the v2 and has a bit less bass than the se as well. But there are some cases where the v2 really just shines in space that the se doesn’t in terms of grandness and size.
In terms of other headphones worth considering, the ether 2 is a good pick for something a bit richer and more laid back but still reasonably technical (unlike something like a meze empy), if you don’t mind getting into estats, the stax 007 mk2.9 are pretty great for that too and in a similar budget when buying used. If you can find an og lcd 2 prefazor, those are awesome for casual listening, although not to diana level
Sure sure lol
Also, I’d really say the diana v2 is a step above the aryas from an overall level, although I can still see some cases where one might prefer the aryas (if you really prefer something more forward and intense the arya v2 might be more fitting, or if you prefer something really grandiose in stage then the v2. I think if you want something more microdynamic focused perhaps the arya stealth but I think the dv2 has microdynamics pretty well covered as well)
Hmmmmm, would 1u ish rackmount size things work? In that case, I think the gsx mini is fairly compact, and pair that with a holo spring 3 kte or a crane song solaris quantum (I prefer the crane song but the holo is actually a good pairing) and I think that’s actually a solid pairing for either the dv2 or arya (although the treble will be more forward with the aryas on that chain, but from my experience not to a point where it’s bad). I also think a chord qutest is also a nice pairing, really would also say og yggy a2 but too large most likely lol.
With the diana v2 I think a bryston bha1 with the aforementioned crane song or a exogal comet plus (or stepping down the soekris 2541) is a good pairing overall for more casual listening. Don’t think the bryston is as good of a match for the aryas though.
For the arya, while it’s not my favorite, does a ferrum oor + hypsos count as a compact stack lol? Dac wise hmmm I’d have to think since most dacs I like with that tend to be on the larger side of things lol. While it’s sort of skimping I do like the bifrost 2 with that combo, but the qutest is also good.
I do think a violectric v550 is a great pick for either headphone although size wise might be a bit large, but pairing that with something like the crane song or exogal is a good match (although with the exogal it might be a bit forward).
Ah, I feel like it’s reasonably compact for a dac in it’s range lol.
Yeah it’s a really nice entry level higher end dac.
Nah, the site is really more a front for the forum, where most all the activity happens. Some links to the threads you might want to check out
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/hifiman-high-end-thread-he6-arya-he1000-susvara-shangri-la/205
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/abyss-headphone-thread-diana-1266/557
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/audeze-headphone-thread-lcd-2-3-x-4-5-24/286
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/xi-audio-amp-thread-broadway-formula/96
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/headamp-thread-gsx-gilmore-lite-bhse/895
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/bryston-source-thread-bda-bha-bdp-bcd-sp-bp-b-3/856
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/violectric-v590-v550-v380-v340-headphone-amps/194
https://forum.sonusapparatus.com/t/ferrum-audio-thread-hypsos-oor-erco/366
And so on for dacs and stuff lol, there’s also a lot of info scattered around some of the general threads (honestly sometimes there’s more info in the general threads about something than the actual thread for it, but I guess that can happen lol)
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Yeah, I’ll watch the Abyss YouTube channel occasionally and Joe specifically mentioned that they were discontinuing them. They’re replacing them with the MR (which look ugly IMO heh).
It’s crazy with the local dealer. Maybe they’ll drop their prices, but man, every time I check they raise them instead lmao. Inflation like that is why I’m more comfortable going used. And audio people treat their gear well for the most part.
That makes sense: Abyss fit and bass, etc. I usually like listening for long sessions so comfort is pretty important to me. Being able to demo them sooner than later will definitely help me decide. I’ll probably buy the headband I mentioned before to try it out when I go there. Then I’ll go used if I like them since paying over $4k for old stock v2’s is no bueno. Even if they were new stock, at that price point I’d consider a Utopia.
The only unfortunate thing about them is that they don’t have great source gear to test with. Some Chord (qutest), XI audio, iFi, etc. Kinda basic. Although, I can preorder Headamp gear from them. I wonder if they have a GSX-mini for demo. Might be cool.
That’s why I was so focused on the Broadway/KDAC stack because I’ve heard they worked well with planars and Focal. They had the OG Utopia but recently sold them so they only have a demo 2022 Utopia right now. And I don’t need closed backs so the Stellia is not something I’d want.
I have a small-ish oval shaped head. Like one of those dummy test heads lmao. Pretty similar to MrAyrit (he posts here and also has a youtube channel, too).
The Meze Elite’s are too big for me as an example. Their Hybrid pads are too thin to properly seal. The suede pads make the fit work but there’s no way I’d buy them. Too big for me.
It’s tricky when you get want to get to a certain level in hi-fi; most headphones tend to be very revealing, which can be a bit too much, depending on what you’re listening to. I’m not analytical, like I previously mentioned, but I do appreciate and enjoy the technical aspects. I wouldn’t be here typing this otherwise lmao.
One artist I like (Grouper), she records her music in churches and abandoned buildings so the reverb and glare can be crazy. I don’t think I can avoid that problem when I go up the headphone/source gear tiers lmao.
She’s the only one I really think about since I do listen to her stuff more than average. But everything else is pretty well mastered for the most part, etc. It’s more of a minor inconvenience rather than a big deal.
V2 has intense treble? Wow. I’ve never read/heard that before. I’ve always thought that they more warm leaning than not. Interesting.
That does make the Arya’s sound more appealing. Unfortunately, I can’t demo them, so I’d be going in blind.
Ether 2 would be another blind bet. They don’t come around used very often and DCA is currently selling them for $2,300 but they’ve been on sale a few times so I could wait for that to come around again.
I was considering going for the Focal Elex (headphones.ca just started selling them and I really like their return policy) and RNHP (pretty reasonable used) and either OG BF2, dac2541, or Qutest.
And then I’ve thought about getting a Cayin i-HA6 if I decided to get the Ether 2, Arya, or V2 later on. Pretty easy to stack three of those together lmao.
Do you think the Elex is different enough sonically from those other three? I find that people can get too impatient in this hobby and buy things too quickly. I don’t want to fall into that trap.
I’ve always stayed away from Audeze because their stuff tends to be so heavy. I hate how you can’t even replace the ear pads on the LCD-5 because they’re glued on. Madness for that price.
Yeah, I think 1 unit rackmount is right around the limit.
Holo spring 3 KTE is probably the largest I’d want to go. Size-wise, the GSX-mini works, too. Would fit nice as a stack at least heh.
The qutest is a smooth dac so that might help if I found the Arya se too peaky. I do like their build (other than Mojo it’s the only thing I’d consider buying from Chord).
I love the BHA-1’s 20 year warranty and their headquarters is like an hour or so drive from my place lmao. Good to know the crane song and soekris works well with it, though.
The ferrum oor + hypsos counts as a compact stack, sure. BF2 and qutest are good pairings. Noted.
It sounds silly to write this but I don’t love having screens on audio equipment lmao. I’m not the type who buys and sells stuff a lot. I like to buy, keep, and forget until said thing falls apart or breaks. Screens will stop working eventually so I would prefer to avoid screens if at all possible.
I’ve always wanted to try out a vioelectric. I think the v550 is on the edge of being okay heh. I might be able to get the crane song locally. It’s got kind of a cool industrial retro look. Hard to visualize how it would look on a desk with the v550 lmao.
A lot to think about!
I’m definitely going to sign up and check out those threads.
Thanks again, man. I really do appreciate the time you took to share your knowledge.
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The abyss price hike was rough, makes it an even harder sell for me for things like the 1266 lol. Really soured on that headphone, but the v2 to me is still pretty great, 3k is a harder sell, but for the close out prices or the used prices for them are quite good
Yeah with most anything high end, it’s typically well kept so lower concerns than budget or midrange gear
OG utopia are really really inexpensive used for how good they can be with the right chain lol, next level from the dv2 for sure when paired properly. For the abyss, when you go demo, make sure to rotate the pads around and see what gives you the best balance of sq and comfort
Would be real handy if they had a mini to demo lol. The XI stuff is great with abyss so no concern there, and while chord stuff isn’t my personal favorite they’re still good dacs, and the qutest should also absolutely meet your size requirement lol
If you go for a dv2, then I think the broadway kdac stack makes a lot of sense. I do think it’s a pretty decent pairing with the og utopia as well, although can’t speak to the 2022 version.
The stellia imo isn’t really worth it in most cases, and while I’ve not heard the elite I don’t really think those would be worth it based on what I heard about it and my experience with the empy
Yeah, it’s always a double edge to some extent, although imo even with trash recordings, I’ve always personally always appreciated what a lot of higher end gear brings to the table, but there absolutely are things that are going to be more upfront about why things might suck vs others lol.
So you’ll absolutely hear more of that, but at the same time, it actually might not be presented as harshly despite being more revealing, and it also say that the added info still adds to the experience not detracts for it for me. I only have a few of her albums, and I’ve never really had any moment that I can think of where stuff like that bothered me on my setups (although I was never looking out for it lol, so would have to check again). Really though, I wouldn’t worry about that too much if you get the right higher end chain that has proper synergy, and also if it’s appropriately matched to your preferences.
I really don’t get that sense, but that could also just be a me thing. The arya has always come across to me as a brighter and more forward leaning hifiman vs the heks and the susvara, the stealth arya is more in line treble wise what I expect from the other hifiman, (that more tonally too), but still I find it to be more intense and brighter than other hifiman. You can correct some of that with a good chain, and I never thought it was personally like problematic enough to really knock the headphone much or not suggest it, but it still is something to note imo. Never really understood where the idea that the arya was warm came from, I personally don’t hear it on the chains I’ve tried it on
At least they are easy to find used and easy to sell
Imo they’re really only worth it used where the price is closer to 1k
That’s a really dang solid setup overall, although I’d actually suggest a clear for that setup for not much more if they’re still selling them at discounted rates, or go for a clear used which have gotten pretty dang low too.
I guess I would ask what you’ve really heard so far?
For another amp around that range, consider the monolith liquid platinum, also really good (personally my preference over the cayin but the cayin is also very good)
I think the elex (and most focal in general) are fairly unique and could fill a role in a collection, although depends on what you value. Imo the focals main party trick are that they have a pretty interesting more close spherical stage that makes presentation pretty interesting, are very dynamic (sometimes almost exaggerated so, very macrodynamic and energetic), and I think that with the utopia specifically they have a strange level of almost sweetness or thickness on the right chain that seem uncharacteristic of a headphone with it’s signature. That can absolutely fill some unique roles in a collection and give a different experience to other cans
An OG prefazor are actually pretty reasonable, the fazors added extra weight, but once you get to stuff like the lcd 4 it is pretty genuinely heavy. I do feel that things like the lcd 24 or mx4 aren’t heavy enough to bother me personally either. The newer audeze like the mm500 also imo aren’t that heavy. They do all have gued pads so that’s a downside. Just to note the ether 2 basically also has glued pads, so void that if that bothers you.
Yes that’s a reasonably compact stack. Generally unfortunately the higher performing gear, the larger it is lol. There are notable exceptions, but the exceptions tend to also be expensive lol.
Yeah it’s def cleaner and more forward leaning, but it’s very smooth and not what I’d call harsh, so it’s still something to consider
Oh awesome, the bha-1 is a sleeper amp, goes under the radar, but with the right pairing it can be really great. Also they tend to be pretty cheap used (around a grand or so usd)
Can agree with that, adds extra complexity and cost that might not needed, another thing to fail as well. Also some mfg in the high end avoid screens and the extra processing that might come with it to avoid potential extra noise within the circuit lol
That stack might look a bit awkward but it’s a great almost studio focused chain, it’s also pretty dang versatile too.
npnp, hope to see you there
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I was actually referencing the Diana V2 as a warm leaning headphone and not the Arya! I think the v2 thing might have mixed things up for you there. So I was surprised when you mentioned that the Diana v2 had intense treble.
They’ve sold out of the Focal Clear (at headphones.ca) but I’m not sure if it’s permanent. Since they just started offering the Elex I think that might have been a sign that they won’t sell anymore Clears through the site.
The Elex are easy to find used but they have such a dodgy history when it comes to driver failure that I’d rather pay a bit extra for the security of an easy return policy if something were to happen, you know?
But now that I’ve thought more about it I’d likely just get an Arya se over an Elex then since price-wise it’s not much of a jump and I’d be getting better performance from the Arya se.
I’ve listened to mostly lower tier stuff. Sennheiser 500 and 600 series. Didn’t impress me much but it could have been a synergy thing (used an old atom stack haha). The clamp pressure was a lot more than I’d like to experience lmao.
A lot of Grado over the years (and a lot of regret lmao)
I have a beater SHP9500 right now that I’ve been using in the meantime (along with a fiio dongle dac) until I make my decision on where to go headphone/gear wise next. I’ve EQ’d them to lessen the brightness and graininess but they can still be very fatiguing. Maybe having used them for a while has made my sensitivity to treble worse? lmao
Yeah but at least Dan Clark developed a method in which you can easily replace the pads and swap them out. From what I understand there isn’t a similar method for the LCD-5.
And, even though I haven’t listened to them, I don’t think I’d like them from what I’ve read/heard. I think there can be such a thing as too much resolution and detail and they likely fall into that category for me.
Yeah, if I like the Diana v2’s and Utopia when I demo them then I think I’d lean towards the BHA-1 and Qutest combo since they pair well with both. And no screens! lmao
I would imagine that the Qutest could really help smooth out the intense dv2 treble in that case. We’ll see.
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AH, ok that makes way more sense lol, yeah talking about the arya v2 there, not diana v2 lol. That being said, I have heard people call the arya v2 warmer (don’t know how they got there) so that’s what I thought you might be referencing. But yeah no, diana does not have intense treble, is not bright and forward lol.
Darn, with that neve + bf2 combo the clear is a nice step above the elex in technical performance for not much more, I guess next step would be to see if you can find a good deal on the clear used. Not to say the elex is bad, but the clear imo makes more sense given the type of chains you might be looking at
Would mostly agree, although something like a neve isn’t going to do well with that lol so likely your idea of the cayin or imo the liquid plat as well with a dac like the bf2 or ares ii is a good midrange chain for them, and they can scale later on of course
What did you mainly like about the 6 series, and what would you have changed? Just to get sort of a gauge of what you might be looking for, but really the stuff you’re considering (abyss, focal, hifiman) are all pretty different and next level so not sure if it’s worth asking that question lol
lol, grado has been pretty hit or miss for me over time
They are just grainy headphones, never really understood the hype behind them imo, but I guess for how cheap they are you can’t complain too much. I’d just rather have a pair of ksc75 or something if I were going budget open back lol
Guess that is true, haven’t seen something like that for the lcd series
Nah, imo the diana is a solid step ahead in resolution, and the arya is also imo more resolving although not as much as the diana is. The ether 2 is actually more relaxed in it’s presentation more than both and would be the most forgiving out of the pack although it’s also going to be not as good of an all rounder and can be weirdly picky on amps
Personally I don’t really think the dv2 treble is intense really, on the smoother and more relaxed side of things imo. Even on the 1266 which is def brighter overall, I also wouldn’t call it intense either, it somehow avoids being peaky or harsh in that region, it’s also got some strange treble compression that can be love or hate for some lol
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headphones.com vs. headphones.ca can be confusing because it makes it seem like Canadian residents can’t order from their .com store.
But it just means we have to pay duties/taxes on the goods. That’s the difference.
I can pre-order the Clear (for the last time) for a September shipment.
I’m going to be thinking about doing that. But I don’t want to rush or anything. It’s not a race.
I didn’t really like anything about Sennheiser TBH. I found them fairly dull. Like they’re fine but not really the flavour I’m interested in. And I hated the fit. Too clampy and the pads look annoying to swap lmao.
I’ve been very specific about wanting very different sets of cans for sure.
I don’t want two headphones that can do similar things.
One that can slam and the other that’s fast and airy. Or fast and airy while the other is more laid back.
I’m kind of going back and forth between those ideas but I’m sure it’ll be easier once I manage to demo a couple of them.
I think what I’ll eventually do is buy one headphone and an amp and dac with the intention of buying a second pair of cans later on that also works with the amp and dac I bought with the first headphone.
I feel good about these as finalists:
Focal Clear (The next few weeks could decide this but I don’t want to be rushed into a decision either with the pre-order since it’s a final sale thing and you can only exchange them if they’re damaged.)
Diana v2 (depending on if I like them when demo’d – might be second can option if I can’t find a good deal.)
Utopia 2022 (Same as the dv2.)
Hifiman Arya se (The most likely along with the Clear since they’re by far the easiet of the bunch to find at a good price. Liquid platinum is a decent option with this and RNHP/BF2 with the Clears sound nice now but being more patient might give me a better setup. Gonna spend a lot more time on Sonus soaking up that knowledge base and waiting until I know exactly what I want.)
DCA Ether 2 (Less likely since they don’t come around often on the used market. They also seem more like a secondary can in the collection type. I’m not really in a rush to get one unless it’s a sweet deal.)
Oh god I bought so many SR60s and 80s when I didn’t know any better. Those horrible attached cables kept breaking. Ugh. Bad memories.
OMG I just found a pair of ksc75’s hidden in my closet today lmao such a funny coincidence. Totally forgot I had a pair.
Oh yeah, I just swapped them out with the 9500s… the difference is obvious. The 75s are just smoother. Hilarious!
I usually just wore them when I was out and about but these will be fine for now until I decide what to do next.
I was writing about the Audeze LCD-5 there. Crazy resolution and detail descriptions from reviews I’ve read/watched,etc. I’m not sure if you got that.
Unless you’re actually saying that the diana has more resolution than the lcd-5, etc.?
Yeah, we just got caught in a lost in translation moment lmao.
Glad to know the dv2’s are good in the treble region. Looking forward to trying them out.
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Gotcha gotcha
Could see that, especially with an atom stack lol. For fixing the clam, you can bend the metal sliders with your thumb outward to really lessen the clamp if you ever bother with another one lol
Makes sense, don’t really need any redundancy
That makes sense
I actually like the sr80 specifically the new x one, pretty unique for their price range and can be high value if you pair with the right amp and have the right preferences, but they seem to be love or hate for people lol
Yoooo ksc75s lol, really they’re just too good for the price, and they surprisingly scale later on (within reason lol)
My bad lol, I read that as if you were still taking about the dan clarks. Yes the lcd 5 seems like it would be a pretty intense listen based off my experience with the mm500, would avoid for what you’re looking for lol
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Man what has been going on with hobby drama this year? Feel like it’s been higher than last. Reading this shit is almost starting to feel like US politics. Especially the IEM space, lots of people going after prominent brands and reviewers, alongside brands themselves going after competitors and reviewers lol. Average disagreement conflict between users is nothing new/different for this year, but I think this is probably more infighting between reviews and their fans vs other reviews and their fans. I’m most surprised with how, let’s say bold, companies have gotten with their criticisms on average users alongside reviewers
Makes it a little irritating to go and read about audio, only to see just more random drama instead of actual audio discussion. Drama can be fun in small doses sure, but too much lately lol
Also, why does it feel like there’s always all this shit around something, and then nothing really happens at the end?
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For an actual update to the thread, currently been working on my preamp comparison, hopefully that can be somewhat interesting lol. Haven’t had too much time to really chip away at the list, but it’s mostly done, added some more things that I tried and found to be pretty great, adjusted ranks a bit again, and removed a few things
Also thinking about how I’d go about writing something on covering the changes and what you get going from the cheapest tube amps to the most expensive, sort of trying to answer the question of what you get and what to expect moving to various levels of performance, how things generally change, some of the misconceptions, and so on. Will be starting that after the preamp comparison
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More fish in pool and smaller margins would be my guess, I can see a few brands going to the wall next year which tbh and I say this with a heavy heart won’t be a bad thing tbh…the IEM secene is way too over crowded, same, same, same 
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Yeah the iem scene to me has been weird. A lot of new random brands popping up, a lot of truly polarizing hype, and really to be honest from what I’ve tried, it’s not all that different from what came before it. I’d have thought things would have advanced farther from what I read a lot of, but a lot of the new stuff is nice, it’s not really as massive improvement from the past as typically described (not like I was expecting massive improvement, but with what people were saying it made me curious enough to check for myself lol).
Stuff is pretty well priced now, you at least get what you pay for most of the time, a lot of it is good but nothing to write home about, and a few pieces are somewhat special at their price, but typically not as special as they’re made out to be. I still think a lot of it is samey, and a lot of the stuff out there is pushed promising way too much lol, but at least I think these days it’s hard to make a flat out bad decision with the many at least decent options.
Don’t really think the midrange iems are encroaching on the higher end which everyone seems to love to say these days, but the midrange iems are now very good and actually worthwhile imo. In the past, felt like there was just a big gap between the entry level and the higher end stuff, where it only really made more sense to make a big jump or stick with the budget stuff, but now I feel there’s actual reasons to consider the stuff in the middle and potentially stop there depending on how far you decide to go.
I’d like to say the higher end iem scene has been much more interesting, and while I think the iems offered in the higher end scene are much more interesting to follow, there’s simply just not been a lot going on there tbh lol. The stuff that I tried years ago at the top is still pretty much uncontested for me, and there really haven’t been many newer high end releases lately. I do think that the higher end iem scene has largely avoided the overcrowded, flooded, samey feeling that the lower end has suffered (but this isn’t to say there aren’t problems with the higher end iem market either lol), but it’s been very slow moving compared to a few years ago to where there’s just not much to follow
In general the iem side of thins have felt more stagnant to me, and despite this, there’s higher levels of hype and drama than normal lol, guess that’s what people turn to when not much else is going on
Overall imo audio has been in a bit of a lull but I think it’s been worse in the iem space with how it’s been handled lol
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Couldn’t agree more the entry level <$100 has been a revelation over the last year or so, sets in that price point would’ve cost +5x that <10 years ago so I guess it’s not all bad 
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