[PeacockObscura]

My Sunday afternoon with yet another wonderful mid-fi IEM, the Orivetti OH700VB - such a pleasure to listen to, and great even with the humble Hiby R3 II… love this tiny yet easy to use DAP… plus with a 1TB card loaded, literally thousands of albums in my pocket and barely feel it due to weight and size.

Another favourite of mine one of the very best sub $1K iems in my opinion just a perfect all day listen.

 

[zikarus]

A sunny and lazy Sunday afternoon - Subjangle stuff running through my R6PII into the 3T154....

 

[Scubadevils]

Ode to the legendary NW-WM1A. I’ve had numerous DAPs since this first landed with me in early 2021, an upgrade at the time from the ZX507 (sold but often tempted to buy again) and ZX300 (which I still own and use often). Others have come and gone, but the 1A is never going anywhere and the DAP I’ve clocked up the most hours on over the last three years… why do I love it so much?

1. Beautiful engineering that in my opinion only the likes of Sony can achieve with their decades of experience in consumer electronics. It feels sturdy, robust, premium and has wonderful ergonomics. There is a bit of weight to the device but nothing compared to the current trend and certainly pocketable. Buttons are easy to use and accessible, plus unlike the majority of other DAPs, there is a hold button!
2. Incredible battery life, I must still be getting 25 hours or so all with FLAC and often hi-res
3. Unbeatable UI - simple to use, and incredibly quick. Slight downside is the slow DB load when powered but a small trade-off. I love the option to browse latest additions and hi-res.
4. While certainly not a ‘powerhouse’, on high gain it comfortably drives any IEM I’ve owned… even though there are some that scale with more power, the 1A Sony ‘musical’ tuning still allows them to sing beautifully
5. The custom firmware options from @MrWalkman - I’m on 1Z classic and have been for a while now, I must experiment again
6. The excellent choice of album cover, spectrum analyser or VU meter… a shame these aren’t on the 1AM2
7. Can be bought for relatively little money and at times debate buying one for backup!

I’m sure I’m missing something but it’s probably obvious I love this DAP

 

[maegnificant]

What do you think about this? For me, the HD 600 is the defining headphone for mid-fi. For him, it's the 6XX, which I have not heard. There does seem to be less and less new releases in this category for headphones especially.

 

[SemperMalum]

What do you think about this? For me, the HD 600 is the defining headphone for mid-fi. For him, it's the 6XX, which I have not heard. There does seem to be less and less new releases in this category for headphones especially.

I think it's difficult to get into that price range without drawing comparisons immediately to the 6XX or the Sundara which are capable enough that it can be hard to justify further purchases without having more of that disposable income. Moondrop has had a few (Para especially), Audeze has the MM-100, Hifiman exists, but it does feel like market is more towards releasing variety in the IEM space vs headphones space.

Edit: Yeah, basically being echoed in the video. Watching it now.

 

[PeacockObscura]

Ode to the legendary NW-WM1A. I’ve had numerous DAPs since this first landed with me in early 2021, an upgrade at the time from the ZX507 (sold but often tempted to buy again) and ZX300 (which I still own and use often). Others have come and gone, but the 1A is never going anywhere and the DAP I’ve clocked up the most hours on over the last three years… why do I love it so much?

1. Beautiful engineering that in my opinion only the likes of Sony can achieve with their decades of experience in consumer electronics. It feels sturdy, robust, premium and has wonderful ergonomics. There is a bit of weight to the device but nothing compared to the current trend and certainly pocketable. Buttons are easy to use and accessible, plus unlike the majority of other DAPs, there is a hold button!
2. Incredible battery life, I must still be getting 25 hours or so all with FLAC and often hi-res
3. Unbeatable UI - simple to use, and incredibly quick. Slight downside is the slow DB load when powered but a small trade-off. I love the option to browse latest additions and hi-res.
4. While certainly not a ‘powerhouse’, on high gain it comfortably drives any IEM I’ve owned… even though there are some that scale with more power, the 1A Sony ‘musical’ tuning still allows them to sing beautifully
5. The custom firmware options from @MrWalkman - I’m on 1Z classic and have been for a while now, I must experiment again
6. The excellent choice of album cover, spectrum analyser or VU meter… a shame these aren’t on the 1AM2
7. Can be bought for relatively little money and at times debate buying one for backup!

I’m sure I’m missing something but it’s probably obvious I love this DAP

Again we align still in my top 3 and never really drops out even when new toy syndrome is at its peak it's just a unique sound and form factor plus it never heats up unlike all other daps

 

[Scubadevils]

Again we align still in my top 3 and never really drops out even when new toy syndrome is at its peak it's just a unique sound and form factor plus it never heats up unlike all other daps

Oh yes very good point - I’ve never once felt any heat from this DAP!

 

[kumar402]

Ode to the legendary NW-WM1A. I’ve had numerous DAPs since this first landed with me in early 2021, an upgrade at the time from the ZX507 (sold but often tempted to buy again) and ZX300 (which I still own and use often). Others have come and gone, but the 1A is never going anywhere and the DAP I’ve clocked up the most hours on over the last three years… why do I love it so much?

1. Beautiful engineering that in my opinion only the likes of Sony can achieve with their decades of experience in consumer electronics. It feels sturdy, robust, premium and has wonderful ergonomics. There is a bit of weight to the device but nothing compared to the current trend and certainly pocketable. Buttons are easy to use and accessible, plus unlike the majority of other DAPs, there is a hold button!
2. Incredible battery life, I must still be getting 25 hours or so all with FLAC and often hi-res
3. Unbeatable UI - simple to use, and incredibly quick. Slight downside is the slow DB load when powered but a small trade-off. I love the option to browse latest additions and hi-res.
4. While certainly not a ‘powerhouse’, on high gain it comfortably drives any IEM I’ve owned… even though there are some that scale with more power, the 1A Sony ‘musical’ tuning still allows them to sing beautifully
5. The custom firmware options from @MrWalkman - I’m on 1Z classic and have been for a while now, I must experiment again
6. The excellent choice of album cover, spectrum analyser or VU meter… a shame these aren’t on the 1AM2
7. Can be bought for relatively little money and at times debate buying one for backup!

I’m sure I’m missing something but it’s probably obvious I love this DAP

Another Fan of Sony DAP here....yes, would have loved that VU meter but DSEE Ultimate is a big step up in performance since fw1.08 and takes it to another level. Also the screen eats the battery like anything so most of the time screen is off to get the best out of battery, do give M2 another chance specially after fw1.08

 

[Hypops]

What do you think about this? For me, the HD 600 is the defining headphone for mid-fi. For him, it's the 6XX, which I have not heard. There does seem to be less and less new releases in this category for headphones especially.

The other big factor is that headphones in higher price ranges are regularly discounted down into the $300-$500 range (esp. by HifiMan and Focal). Makes it an especially tough price range for a company to enter. I mean, how do you compete against headphones that are worth twice as much as they sell for?

 

[SemperMalum]

The other big factor is that headphones in higher price ranges are regularly discounted down into the $300-$500 range (esp. by HifiMan and Focal). Makes it an especially tough price range for a company to enter. I mean, how do you compete against headphones that are worth twice as much as they sell for?

Yeap, makes it very hard. Boutique shops (JM Audio, SJY) are basically around that $400-600 range to start but the competition is very cutthroat in that range.

 

[Hypops]

Yeap, makes it very hard. Boutique shops (JM Audio, SJY) are basically around that $400-600 range to start but the competition is very cutthroat in that range.

Exactly. I mean, even the lord and king of midrange headphones regularly discounts their HD 6-- series by 30-50%. Even they know it's a ridiculously cutthroat price range.

 

[emdeevee]

Cross posting from Watercooler because I think you guys might like this!

Today, I'm decidedly ChiFi, and the lowest of the low, in fact the least I've spent on an iem since I was a teenager.

This is the CCA Trio that @warrenpchi dared me to buy. Considering it was less than my last single doordash order (a pizza!), and because the "trio" stood for 3xDD, I jumped and it arrived from China fast. For $40, you don't get a lot in packaging, but you get this iem that is, for all intents and purposes, pretty much like others, though with 4 switches. Build quality is great.

The shocker is the performance after a lengthy burn in, which all of my DD sets have needed to some degree. I turned its switches into the down position (opposite of the way they came) after doing a little research to determine this would suit my bass preferences. Switched out its cable, stuck some Baroque tips on them, and lo and behold, here's a player in the multi DD arena!

Not gonna lie, they are ridiculously good for the price, and even forgetting the price, they're terrific.

Without question, great for the gym, the beach, the pool, wherever...if your dog chews them up, so what, order another one . Thanks for the tip, Warren!

 

[o0genesis0o]

Cross posting from Watercooler because I think you guys might like this!

Today, I'm decidedly ChiFi, and the lowest of the low, in fact the least I've spent on an iem since I was a teenager.

This is the CCA Trio that @warrenpchi dared me to buy. Considering it was less than my last single doordash order (a pizza!), and because the "trio" stood for 3xDD, I jumped and it arrived from China fast. For $40, you don't get a lot in packaging, but you get this iem that is, for all intents and purposes, pretty much like others, though with 4 switches. Build quality is great.

The shocker is the performance after a lengthy burn in, which all of my DD sets have needed to some degree. I turned its switches into the down position (opposite of the way they came) after doing a little research to determine this would suit my bass preferences. Switched out its cable, stuck some Baroque tips on them, and lo and behold, here's a player in the multi DD arena!

Not gonna lie, they are ridiculously good for the price, and even forgetting the price, they're terrific.

Without question, great for the gym, the beach, the pool, wherever...if your dog chews them up, so what, order another one . Thanks for the tip, Warren!

Ey, I use exactly the same cable for my Trio. I’m still surprised that CCA managed to release such a capable entry.

 

[Singaravelan]

Ey, I use exactly the same cable for my Trio. I’m still surprised that CCA managed to release such a capable entry.

Same cable here too!

 

[Dsnuts]

These belong on here. First post supporting the midfi era. Penon Volatge gonna make waves. I did get an insight into what these will cost. Can't say at the moment but the fact that I am posting it here might give you guys a clue. In any case. These are freaking awesome sauce. An IEM you must pay attention to. My take on them. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/penon-voltage.27198/review/33680/