December Melbourne Head-Fi Meet

December Melbourne Head-Fi Meet

By Nick Smith, 4th December 2022

Today I had the extraordinarily great pleasure of attending a meetup here in Melbourne with my Head-Fi buddies Damz87, lycos and jaydoc1. It is an absolute privilege to sample the collections of these discerning gentlemen, and on this occasion I came fully-prepped with my laptop to take copious notes whilst listening.

Lycos was good enough to host us in the conference room of his apartment building, which gave us ample space to spread out – and anyone who’s attended a similar event will know just how much space all the gear can take up.! It was a steamy 34 degrees outdoors, but inside the air conditioning was so cold I was sniffling the entire time – therein lies a lesson audiophiles: Be careful what you wish for!

Firstly before getting to the good stuff, please allow me a brief disclaimer: Impressions garnered under meetup conditions are less than ideal – there is background chatter, there are distractions, and everyone’s in a social mindset which makes it slightly more difficult to focus completely on what you’re hearing. Not only that, but listener fatigue tends to set in after several hours and goodness-knows how many different pairs of earphones, and after awhile everything starts to sound the same. So with this in mind I discourage you from taking my impressions as gospel, but rather as “general indicators” towards the character of a particular item.

Test Equipment Used

To strive for as much consistency as possible, I tested every IEM using the same Spinfit W1 tips (my current favourites), from the AMP8MK2 module of my DX240, playing offline files -demo tracks I know backwards- through a 512GB Micron micro-sd card.

Selected IEMs I was able to test with my Aroma A100TB portable amp (input position op-amps replaced with OPA1612) using an iFi 4.4mm interconnect straight out of the AMP8MK2. Ideally I’d like to have tested every IEM through the amp, but there just wasn’t time.

Please bear in mind that the DX240 is a fairly upfront and aggressive sounding player (though that aggressiveness is slightly mitigated by the AMP8MK2) which will naturally synergise better with some IEMs than others.

Hiby RS8

The RS8 was the only other source I tested, having already heard the other TOTL DAPs present.

Put simply, it is a brick. The weight is noticeable even compared with other TOTL players, though that wouldn’t stop me purchasing it – but only for desk or couch bound use. I found it a bit awkward to hold, with its’ leather case not covering the rear of the player which felt a odd. The titanium did look terrific though, and appeared to be machined to a very smooth finish.

Sonically I was left unimpressed versus other TOTL DAPs available, namely the WM1ZM2, SP3000 and N8ii. The RS8 felt quite laidback compared with the DX240 which wasn’t a surprise, and seemed to feature very believable tonality with a rich midrange and impressive levels of detail. It seemed the kind of source one could listen to for hours at a time without fatigue.

Though it appeared to do very little wrong, I was left with a feeling of “is that it?”. Obviously the asking price pits it against top-tier competition but what the RS8 failed to do was impress me in a way none of the other TOTL sources have. It just didn’t sound particularly special, not for that sort of money.

Perhaps this is the sort of audio gadget one needs to own for an extended period to fully appreciate, but my first impression was underwhelming.

Fir Audio XE6

I get what the fuss is about. The XE6 shells are very light and stick out a reasonable distance but I found comfort levels to be reasonable.

The XE6’s are shamelessly coloured with a stupendous amount of midbass, and are excessively v-shaped. Yet they appear to deliver top-tier resolution with no shortage of treble, which is a very alluring combination.

You’re at once getting all the fun of an exaggeratedly bouncy, bassy sound signature that’s sure to excel with modern pop, yet the technicalities and the detail are all still there. The XE6 strike me as the ideal second IEM for complimenting a more reference-tuned set, for those times when you want to tap your feet without giving up that audiophile goodness.

Elysian X

The shells are large and stick out even more than the XE6, but I didn’t find them uncomfortable. The stock Venom cable is noticeably heavy and the insulation features a stickiness reminiscent of Azla Xelastic eartips though thankfully not to the same extent, nor would its’ ergonomics make me reluctant to use it. It does seem to tangle easily though.

X needs quite a bit more volume (volume level 35 on the DX240, vs 25 for the XE6) but sonically X is exceptionally well balanced. The midrange is thick and impressive, as is treble performance which is exceptional. Bass appears very much in the “just enough” category though, and some Head-Fiers may be left wanting more.

I did test the X with my A100TB amp and found the pairing was excellent, with the amp adding more bottom-end emphasis that benefitted them greatly.

Elysian Annihilator

Fit was very similar to the X, perhaps they’re a touch smaller. I found them very comfortable.

The Annihilators have a deliciously smooth character. They’re exceptionally well balanced, though as with the X the treble & midrange are the stars of the show. They have possibly the broadest soundstage of the IEMs I tested, and at once have a very relaxed presentation yet somehow also seem to possess a fairly forward midrange with a wonderfully textured liquidity. There is a fair bit of upper midrange present, though my DX240 may have been emphasising that. Non-fatiguing though, for me at least.

With top-tier levels of resolution and tremendous imaging, a question mark could potentially be attached to their bass output which does seem to emphasise mid bass over sub bass, but what I heard would certainly satisfy my needs. These were without doubt the most impressive IEMs I heard today, I’ve fallen stupidly in love.

Effect Audio / Elysian Gaea

The shells are quite small and comfortable, and the cable felt very thin & light after handling so many high-end 8 wire cables. Stunning color-matched visuals.

Gaea needed a little more more power at 32 on my DX240, and featured a prominent upper midrange with a great deal of treble sparkle. The soundstage appeared to be a little less spherically rounded than some of the more expensive IEMs and more sharply delineated between the left, middle & right areas of the the stage.

Bass impact was a little below what I would feel comfortable with, and vocals sounded somewhat thin. Do bear in mind I was comparing Gaea side-by-side with some VERY stiff competition, an in fact overall I quite liked them – but would personally choose to spend the extra on say the Annihilator, without question.

Unique Melody MEST Indigo

The shells are an interesting ‘teardrop’ sort of shape which I found to be very comfortable.

Requiring only 25 on my DX240 they seemed easy to drive, but like the Gaea appeared to be fighting outside their weight division against today’s comparison. They do have a nice wide soundstage, but compared with more exalted rivals felt somewhat veiled and a little hazy, despite being fairly well balanced.

Softears Turri Ti

The fit is unusual, though the shells themselves are beautifully machined titanium and incredibly light. They hang outside your ears and rely on the eartip seal to stay in place, so ergonomically they may not work for everyone. I found them comfortable, but there’s an awkwardness to the way they sit “outside” the ear canal so to speak.

The Turri Ti isolate very poorly, but being single-drivers are extremely coherent. I did find them to sound slightly thin, with more midbass than sub-bass and perhaps a slight absence of lower midrange. Very pleasant tonality however.

The A100TB did improve them but not dramatically so, by adding more warmth which I felt was needed. The Turri Ti drivers are appreciably slower than those in my A8000s, and the A8000s also offer superior technicalities at the cost of a more polarising tuning many if not most will regard as excessively bright. 

Campfire Audio Supermoon (Universal Version)

The universal shells are extremely light but stick out very far, I found them comfortable however. The stock cable is thin and feels unacceptably cheap.

Supermoons require quite a bit of power, 32 on my DX240. They are somewhat bright and thin sounding, lacking midbass but with tremendous resolution and a wide soundstage. Notes did seem to lack body and I detected some upper midrange prominence.

Their overall tonality is quite cool, perhaps not quite metallic but leaning in that direction, and dynamics seemed weaker than their single-DD competitors. That said, I found their technicalities to be superior to those of the A8000s or IE900s.

Astell & Kern Odyssey

The shells are significantly larger & bulkier than every other IEM I tried today, yet shaped well enough to actually be quite comfortable! (at least for me)

There is a strong bass emphasis here, well beyond what I would consider reference. Sub bass however is genuinely impressive, while vocals are very forward. Both the soundstage and resolution are flagship level, clearly this is a top-tier IEM.

I did however find Odyssey’s tuning similar enough to Mentor’s that it would be a straightforward choice for me between the two of them in Mentor’s favour, unless I insisted on prioritizing higher levels of DD-fuelled bass output.

TGX Serratus

Requiring 47 on the DX240 to drive, Serratus are extremely comfortable but kept falling out of my ears because they’re earbuds. The form factor just doesn’t work for me.

They are extremely open sounding, much like open-backed headphones which I’m not much of a fan of either. Sadly with the fit I was able to achieve the Serratus were very bass shy, but featured terrific treble and (as expected) a great soundstage.

The A100TB did make them sound thicker by emphasising midbass, but with or without the amp to me they basically sounded the way IEMs often do with a poor seal.

Aroma Jewel

The shells are quite large, and I found them slightly uncomfortable though not drastically so.

Jewel seemed to have reasonably forward vocals with greater midbass than sub-bass emphasis, and bass quantity struck me as adequate for a reference IEM. Treble however seemed slightly recessed or rolled off, though all the detail was there. It was if I was hearing everything there was to be heard in each recording, yet somehow was given the impression a slight veil regardless.

Jewel’s midrange felt as smooth as Annihilator’s, and I was impressed with how truthfully Jewel represented the music in an uncoloured fashion, but in a manner some may find boring.

Unique Melody Red Halo

The shells are of the same shape as Indigo but may be slightly larger, I did find them fairly comfortable. The distinctive red cable is quite bulky with a very heavy splitter, but wouldn’t be enough to put me off.

Red Halo reminded me of the Multiverse Mentor which is no great surprise, except that Red Halo are far more midrange centric. Their tonality was fantastic, with tremendous resolution and wonderful imaging, and an impressive layered soundstage.

There’s no doubt these are right up there with the best IEMs available, however I personally prefer the Mentor tuning which I also expect will have more broad-based appeal. Red Halo may better suit anyone who’s library focuses around vocal music.

Unique Melody Multiverse Mentor

The Mentor shells are fairly large and stick out a goodly amount, so I don’t find them quite as comfortable as many of the other IEMs. Their cable feels extremely similar to Red Halo’s, with a heavy splitter but both feel extremely serious & well built.

Mentor is extremely full and rich with a large midbass & lower midrange emphasis and plenty of note weight, yet treble is terrific with plenty of sparkle. Everything feels extremely well-rounded and authoritative, yet imaging is perhaps the best I’ve heard and resolution is also up there with the very best.

This is an extremely well tuned IEM by any measure. Yes, there may be a very slight absence of sub bass slam with the absence of a dynamic driver, but mostly I was enjoying every other aspect of the sound too much to notice let alone care. The only other downside I detected is Mentor’s midrange is somewhat forward, a trait the DX240 accentuated even more. With the wrong source or genre they could be slightly fatiguing during long listening sessions. 

Conclusion

Apologies if my individual impressions were less comprehensive than usual, but there was so much to get through in just four hours – how the time flew! 

As you can see from the photos we had a myriad of sources present, (Lycos also brought his Hugo TT2) none of which I was able to listen to except for the RS8 which I knew many of you are particularly curious about, as I chose to focus on IEMs instead. If you have any questions about how those sources faired against each other I’m sure the other guys present would be happy to voice their thoughts.

Well I’m quite exhausted now to say the least but can think of few things I’d rather wear myself out on more than sampling the world’s greatest earphones and delivering impressions of them to such a knowledgeable & appreciative audience. Do bear in mind almost all the IEMs I heard today are actually terrific, and their various flaws have been accentuated because… otherwise everything would be “great” and we’d have nothing to talk about. 

Finally, most sincere thanks to my friends for inviting me along and presenting such a wonderful opportunity to sample an incredible assembly of audio treasures. Totally felt like being a kid in a candy store again.