This is the link, Im just lazy to rewrite it here
https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/4588693
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Cayin N5 2nd Generation
I'll be straightforward with the review, despite i had a week of ownership, I had not the time to actually have an in depth tryout, too busy in life.
Layout
The DAP is quite easy to navigate and just upon unboxing, I can already figure out what buttons are at where and the positions of the IO. Just have a look at the images, I dont need to explain, just look at it
So you can guess which is for what right? good. Thats all for layout.
OS
The OS is generally functional as an offline player, thats how i tried mine. I dont quite believe in streaming as a "quality" audio on a dap. Transition between interfaces are smooth, read speed of indexing is good on my 200GB, doesnt take ages to index. I used the DAP in audio priority mode only, which is no eq influence or software interruptions to the audio.
Treble
The high notes is quite sharp and crispy. Good high extensions where you can hear the drum sets crashing down but does not irritate the ears.
Vocals
Vocals is the sweet dough of the DAP. You can hear the forwardness of the singer which is quite important and necessary as it's the core of any music. Lead vocal and back vocals are separated quite well and at times could fool people with the layering.
Bass
Bass slam isnt very heavy, but the notes are clearly noted and does pops when it comes into focus. It does somehow lack the super low notes, those that brings the gloomy feelings to the music type. It just cant go that low, and lays flat at a point.
Driving ability
I was going adventurous and tried it with a couple of items i have, and particularly the LCD-2C. On the noble audio sage, it's all good and flowery, but on the 2c, it just couldnt push it to authority. In comparison, on my AR-M2, on the 3.5mm too, the sage picks up a whole lot of noise floor, hearing the device amp powering up, buzzing and hissing all the way, but it can drive the 2C really well.
As brother andykong pointed out, it's a choice of power and noise, they are both mutually exclusive, and i kinda agree on that. The N5 does have a lower noise floor but lack power for some headphones. M2 is noisy AF but can power high end cans.
So, is this dap considerable as an option? Well, to be frank, I had tried a couple DAPs before, as reviews mostly, so thats a week on each, the N5ii does come in mine at times, considering how easy is it to use, and with the good sound quality and versatility, I say its a buy.
Thursday, January 18, 2018
The focal elar review
Special thank you to Starpickers for loaning the Elear for me for a couple days of use, despite having a sales boost campaign coming up and needing the Elear showcase.
Sponsored link below, do give them the support as they are enthusiasts with a small scale shop working their way up
http://www.lelong.com.my/merchant/StarsPicker.htm
With that out of the way, here is a brief though of me and the Elear. Do note that I only had a couple days with them, so the things here stated are *non conclusive*.
Setup: Aune S6 Optical - XLR based Elear
Song tracks: Stranger Tide OST by Hans Zimmer
Sponsored link below, do give them the support as they are enthusiasts with a small scale shop working their way up
http://www.lelong.com.my/merchant/StarsPicker.htm
With that out of the way, here is a brief though of me and the Elear. Do note that I only had a couple days with them, so the things here stated are *non conclusive*.
Song tracks: Stranger Tide OST by Hans Zimmer
An Overall outlook
Well, since this has an urgency of time, I didnt have exactly all the time i needed to test it out with every genre, and hence picked the most orchestral mix and vocal powered tracks from Stranger Tide.
My first impressions are that the soundstage is quite wide, giving a fully immersive experience to the music. Like for the mermaids song, there is really a creepy sensation to it, and when the suspense comes, I can imagine the movie scene in my head, where mermaids were rampaging all over the pirates with anger. The suspense made my heart go pounding mad.
On the near end of that track, I was anticipating Blackbeard's ship appearance, and by the all mighty queue of the music through Elear, I was like, HIS HERE!! You can feel the authority in bass that makes the impression of an almighty ship coming to wreck havoc. Oh yeah, blast them sonofabitches, my mind went thinking of the scene again..
So, with Hans Zimmer's magic trick, I can say that Elear can really show how capable are good tracks carving scenes in your mind. Elear has the bass depth and small sparkly tingling treble spikes that makes the music feel "entertaining and immersive".
My first impressions are that the soundstage is quite wide, giving a fully immersive experience to the music. Like for the mermaids song, there is really a creepy sensation to it, and when the suspense comes, I can imagine the movie scene in my head, where mermaids were rampaging all over the pirates with anger. The suspense made my heart go pounding mad.
On the near end of that track, I was anticipating Blackbeard's ship appearance, and by the all mighty queue of the music through Elear, I was like, HIS HERE!! You can feel the authority in bass that makes the impression of an almighty ship coming to wreck havoc. Oh yeah, blast them sonofabitches, my mind went thinking of the scene again..
So, with Hans Zimmer's magic trick, I can say that Elear can really show how capable are good tracks carving scenes in your mind. Elear has the bass depth and small sparkly tingling treble spikes that makes the music feel "entertaining and immersive".
Caveats
There are still some issues need to be addressed, though the audio department is really nice. First of all, like them users rant, the cables are unusually freakingly LOOOOOOOOOOONG. I could forsee a lot of people having to dime out and get another shorter cable just for the sake of having a shorter one.
Second of all is the squeaking sound of the headbands, Yes, the headband squeaks if twisted slightly both ways. Dont know how people fix that, but there are remedies to it.
Now the weight of the headphone is quite subjective. It is not as heavy as the LCDs, BUT they are also not as light as the HD650 i own. So where does the weight be at? I think it's all good for home desk use without fatigue, but it is not quite the street friendly type.
Conclusiion
SO with a good audio quality but a *meh* design quirks, is the headphone purchase worthy? If you can live with the problems, then by all means go for it, it's quite worth the price. For me and my wallet, I would, if there is a used pair with warranty still, even better.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
VE Zen review
It doesnt take much explanation on Venture Electronics, they have made a dent in the earbud market and is good at it. Their owner Lee is very active on FB as a social leet and also showing that he is the mastermind behind all things VE.
And here I will make a short comment on the VE Zen that I have, which runs in the following setup:
PC - Optical - Aune S6 - balanced VE Zen 2.0
Soundtrack reference: Nightwish - Endless forms most beautiful
Band shortie:
Nightwish is a Finland band which fuses female vocals with great metal element and a grand piano orchestral. Great album mix and with Floor Jansen leading the magnificent vocals. Some tracks even show traditional Finnish instruments, which becomes sort of an exploration.
On the Zen balanced, this is what i find:
Treble
Treble is crispy and short, doesnt clip even on high volumes, well controlled and versed. In a high mix of treble hit ups and downs, the details like the background high hats still can be heard clearly. Magnificent.
Vocals
Vocals is a bit of mix bag, on the female vocals, it does really good, but on the male vocals, it seems slightly on the dull side. The lack of bass touch makes the male vocal seems "less masculine". Guitar strikes do real good, with each plucks are on point.
Bass
Well Zen does not have the depth of bass and volume, as expected. Earbuds can only do so much, and too much bass will vibrate the earbud shell i guess.
Soundstage
It does feel a bit weird, but this thing beasts through the soundstage echoes like a boss!! This is the point where I'm totally taken off guard. You gotta try some orchestral to really experience it, I just cant.. cant.. cant describe it.
Conclusion
Want a hassle free, easy to carry, durable AF, and instant take on/off ear piece, well, put this in your list, i can double down that you will not regret it.
And here I will make a short comment on the VE Zen that I have, which runs in the following setup:
PC - Optical - Aune S6 - balanced VE Zen 2.0
Soundtrack reference: Nightwish - Endless forms most beautiful
Band shortie:
Nightwish is a Finland band which fuses female vocals with great metal element and a grand piano orchestral. Great album mix and with Floor Jansen leading the magnificent vocals. Some tracks even show traditional Finnish instruments, which becomes sort of an exploration.
On the Zen balanced, this is what i find:
Treble
Treble is crispy and short, doesnt clip even on high volumes, well controlled and versed. In a high mix of treble hit ups and downs, the details like the background high hats still can be heard clearly. Magnificent.
Vocals
Vocals is a bit of mix bag, on the female vocals, it does really good, but on the male vocals, it seems slightly on the dull side. The lack of bass touch makes the male vocal seems "less masculine". Guitar strikes do real good, with each plucks are on point.
Bass
Well Zen does not have the depth of bass and volume, as expected. Earbuds can only do so much, and too much bass will vibrate the earbud shell i guess.
Soundstage
It does feel a bit weird, but this thing beasts through the soundstage echoes like a boss!! This is the point where I'm totally taken off guard. You gotta try some orchestral to really experience it, I just cant.. cant.. cant describe it.
Conclusion
Want a hassle free, easy to carry, durable AF, and instant take on/off ear piece, well, put this in your list, i can double down that you will not regret it.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Cayin N3
This N3 is from part of the tour review of Cayin, but I do reserve the right to be unbiased in this review.
Introduction
In the hands, the Cayin N3 is very light, much lighter than I was anticipating. The DAP grip was good thanks to the thickness of the unit though. There is only 1 slot of micro SD, which I find as a defeat compared to Fiio which has dual SD in almost all their DAP lines.
Hands on
The navigation of the N3 is very simplistic and straight forward, you will easily get through everything and head to where you want by just a couple clicks. Menu and functions are pretty self explanatory
Listening session
IEM pairing: Noble Sage with Snugs tips, EA Ares 2+
Music: Variety
In an overall sense, I will illustrate my impressions in 3 sections, bass mid and highs
Bass
Bass wise the N3 couldnt power the bass power of some music i used, like from Beyonce which pounds a lot of low tones in songs like Diva. I only hear pops and shallow bass, but I cant blame the DAP which is of this size.
Mids
Mids are nice and smooth, mixture of vocals and guitar strings are well separated. You can easily feel the separation of tones in the music.
Highs
Highs are crispy but it doesnt overdo it, tingling sens of cymbals and high hats are heard but they do not go crashing on your face. Control is good on the N3.
Soundstage
Tested some orchestral tracks and I find the soundstage somewhat lacking which makes me feel this N3 is more suitable for studio albums.
Conclusion
Well, I didnt go into Bluetooth cause I dont have any AptX device to try with so I omit that part out, but as a low cost no bullshittery DAP, this might be worth considering, bang for the buck where it counts. Lightweight, adequately powered, straightforward UI, good enough in my books.
Review looks simple, i know, but hey, Im not here to write a novel, and people will ALWAYS say you must go to try it to see if it fits you, so why do i need to write a 10 page declaration heh?
Friday, July 14, 2017
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