I can see why there are some people would collect watches like my bestfriend and my grandfather for they have a lot of watches and most of them within reasonable use. But what I don’t get would be the Rolex or the expensive equivalent to that, to me it’s like pinning a sign to yourself that overall says, “Rob me, I have an expensive watch.”
Sure the expense is probably from the materials that are used to make it, but at the end of the day, you have a watch to look at the time and not whatever the hell fashion or flex shit you do. That is just me though.
Agreed, my most expensive watch was around $700 and my wife bought it as a gift. A Steinhart Ocean One titanium 500 GMT. Most of mine are closer to $300 mechanical watches.
I did buy a F.P. Journe Chronometre Bleu as an investment piece 5 years ago. I sold it for 5x what I purchased it for, but it seemed like the underpriced model when I bought it. It was a risky enough investment, but I would have never worn a $20k watch.
That is way better gear than most have ( including me ), and you even have a couple of older IEMs that are still standards ( P1 and Starfield ). I would say not a newb, but I was also pretty fast out of the gate, just with a much lower budget.
I like watches but not so much for collecting. I actually wear them. If i didn’t, it would be like buying IEMs but not listening to them. For me watches are the only appropriate man jewelry. Its a statement but if it weren’t functional it would be as unless as a necklace. I have one but never wear it. IEMs have to be pleasing to listen to. Some have really good sound but due to size and sharp edges, are not comfortable to wear. Two sets are larger but the smooth contours make them comfortable. One set sounds good but the large size and sharp contures mean it can get painful for extended listening. If they look fancy its a bonus but not necessary.
Tbh not really needed, since he will always place the Mangird Teas on his Top 5 all the time. As for me the Katos are gone from my list for now due to the tragedy that I had experience with it, and it’s not helping me when Moondrop does not want to handle warranty of it, therefore might put the Olinas on 1 whenever I got the time to get it as a replacement for my Kato.
I find soundstage depth to be rather poor with Hook-X, actually. There is good width, and imaging, but for FPS gaming(or anything needing depth) Timeless should still win there. It’s got a hefty treble peak, though. Hook-X is pretty damn smooth overall. Timeless has bigger bass, but flabbier, and very likely less extension. I would like a touch more bass amount & impact from Hook-X, but it’s a pretty great balance as-is. Tonality might be better on Timeless, where I find it on the metallic side with Hook-X, but it’s not a complaint I have, really.
For a long time timeless was my number 1, I had Thieaudio Monarch but it was really disappointing after initial listens. Lately I listened to it again and my impression completely changed and now it’s never off my head, separation is great and you think it’s bass shy but it can kick really low if it has to. Timeless is still in Second place and hook x third. I find hook similar to monarch in overall tuning but the detail and separation on Monarch is next level. Timeless plus Electronic is bliss. Think I would love the xenns up. Mention goes to tea 2.
Guys, let’s say I have the opportunity to update my own list right now and given the fact that Moondrop has soured my taste on them when it comes to their support (Their IEMs still sound good but I am not buying from them for anymore unless they improve on their support and QCs.) I think this is going to look like if I managed to get either the Elixirs or the Airships.
ThieAudio Elixirs/Seek Real Audio Airships (If I ever get either one in the near future. Also some people have told me that these two IEMs have better tuning and better technicalities than the Kato and I am curious to find out.)
Moondrop Kato (Ranked down, due to Moondrop’s dealing with my warranty and issue, still sounds good but that magic I had for them is waning down.)
Tin Hifi T3 Plus (with Spring Tips means better fit for me and a better cable, kicks this one up a notch to the list. And the fact this is excellent for its price is a great IEM set to have.)
Moondrop Chu (The only Moondrop I have so far that does not have any QC issues…YET , much to my surprise. Now if they could only do this to their previous IEMs back then, even to their upcoming ones. I really like the tuning of this and a killer for the price.)
Moondrop Starfield (It’s here due to the paint chipping off, the right side that is covering the driver falling off and me just simply sick of Moondrop’s method on how to deal with warranties. Despite all of that, the sounds of this are still great but yeah Moondrop is ruined to me.)
List of IEMs that I occasionally/barely use anymore:
BLON BL-03 Purple Edition (Still an excellent IEMs to own this year, but do get better tips and cable for it, to make it even worth it to use. But it’s aging a bit in terms of sounds, still sounds great though.)
Tin Hifi T2 (The IEMs that got me deeper to this hobby when I first got them, and pummeled my SE215’s to the ground. Nowadays I don’t use them that much, but a good reminder that I have progressed to this hobby.)
Moondrop Aria (The Starfield’s but cheaper, yet the mids are not to my liking, for it’s a bit warm for my tastes. Also QC issues relating to its paint chipping and its cable being shit, so yeah.)
Final Audio E1000 (I only got it for the Final E Types, but pretty solid IEM for the price. Overall though, it’s good but not mindblowing.)
Moondrop Quarks (Got it due to curiosity, and needed an IEM at that that time to use for my workouts. Surprisingly very decent sounding and the tuning is to my liking despite it being cheap. But yeah, it’s here due to the cable stiffening and I have not been using it that much anymore.)
