I wish I shared the admiration you guys have for the Albas but I was underwhelmed unfortunately. Ended up buying another pair of Mest MK2.
3 Likes
To be fair, those are 2 very differently priced IEMs.
1 Like
Due to the unique connectors implementation, I just stuck with the stock cable to avoid fit issues. The wrong cable can ruin the fit of IEMs with connector sockets that are in non standard locations, sizes, etc.
2 Likes
Oh yeah I’m not saying I expected Alba to compete with Mest MK2, it’s about 4x more expensive when considering its used pricing and about 9x more comparing MSRPs. I’m just saying the hype and value expressed by most reviewers was a bit out of proportion in my mind. I don’t have too many references to compare to in its price category but at the end of the day, it was just fine.
4 Likes
I felt the same. I thought it sounded decent, but didn’t do anything for me. I’m finding that tuning does more and more for me. Particularly for IEMs.
Example, a kind soul has just leant me a Kiwi Ears Punch, $450, I think; fairly natural sounding but with a lot of bass and well-judged treble extension. An array of different drivers that are all well-implemented. I picked up a Kiwi Ears Cadenza the other week, $35. Single dynamic driver, similar tuning but with less elevated bass. But damn, KE Cadenza is so engaging. There aren’t huge differences in tuning and theere obviously is a significant difference in technical performance, but the Cadenza sounds “just right” to me. Engaging but natural, excellent tactility, too. I prefer it.
2 Likes
I bought the Orchard Audio Valencia and it’s finally here! It’s the prototype, so it got a smaller heat sink and the standby button doesn’t do anything so I just got to turn it off and on using the back switch.
I only tested with the DCA Stealth so far and holy crap does this power Stealth like a champ! I am not even close to 50% on the volume knob and it’s pretty loud already. Luckily there is a gain knob on my Supratek, so I will probably use it so I can play my sensitive headphones on it.
6 Likes
Is that the zeos amp?
It looks nice and compact.
1 Like
Yep, it’s the new Orchard Audio x Zeo amp collab and it’s pretty small than what I was expecting. It’s about the same width as the Schiit Midgard with a little more length. Both is pretty light and feel about the similar weight.
2 Likes
Sweet.
It’s has a lot of power, right? Looking forward to further impressions.
2 Likes
Yep, it has lots of power. Per the website, its 15.12W into 32 Ω RMS. The catch is that you do need a really good preamp if you have gears that are really sensitive. With my Supratek preamp, there is a gain knob that I put at 50% when I use my more sensitive headphones like my Onkyo A800 and Eris headphone. Even my iem like the Nautilus and Supernova works with the 50% gain knob and I don’t have to stress too much on turning up the volume. For the rest of my headphones like the DCA Stealth, Mysphere 3.2, and HD580 Jubilee, I flick the switch to default it back to 100% gain and just use the volume knob like normal.
Sound impression wise for these past couple of hours… it sound so similar to his speaker power amp which is the Starkrimson Ultra 2.0. It confuses me because that speaker amp is a ganfet class D and ganfet class D amps have really good bass and very clear mids. Highs vary from company to company, but Leo highs is very detail without being overbearing. I sweeten up the highs in my chain thanks to my almost all RCA tube set in my preamp. So far, none of the solid states amp I own sound like each other, Nitsch Magni Piety, Schiit Midgard, and Topping A70 Pro. The only solid state amp that sound like each other is Leo speaker amp and his new headphone amp which makes sense. The biggest thing I really like about Leo amps (both speaker and headphone)
is that they are really clean sounding amps. You just have to hear it to believe how clean an amp can sound.
Its only day 1 and I tried most of my gear maybe 30 minutes to an hour each while iem was like 10 minutes each. My favorite pairing so far is the Mysphere 3.2 with the Valencia power amp with Supratek DHT Preamp. Mysphere 3.2 just have perfect mids especially paired with good gears. Pair that with a very clean amp like the Valencia and I am getting RCA goodness from the Supratek, its just a really good combo.
I don’t have my Allnic amp right now for about 2 months going to 3 months, so I don’t really have a good gear to compare to yet. I do remember the Allnic amp being a really clean sounding amp as well, but I remember them sounding so different from each other. I will probably wait until my Allnic amp comes back. Overall, I really like the Valencia amp. Its all smiles the whole time I had it so far and I smile really hard when I plugged Mysphere in it.
7 Likes
That’s the goal, IMO.
Thank you for the detailed impressions! I’m glad that you’re enjoying so much.
3 Likes
This headphone is so much fun, it’s ridiculous! It’s punchy and dynamic, hits hard in the bass, and definitely scales up. Typically great ZMF mids, and a goodly amount of sparkle in the top end. Using DSHA-3FN it sounds fantastic, kind of like Atrium Open and Focal Clear OG had a baby! 
16 Likes
What is it?
1 Like
Got myself the Wandla and upgraded its firmware to GoldenSound so i can finally get the most of the OOR.
I must say i am REALLY impressed so far, the v281 and the Quicksilver also liked the DAC quite a bit!
12 Likes
ZMF Bokeh Open
3 Likes
12 Likes
New planar IEM. Nice sensible, bass elevated tuning. Need burning in but do sound pretty good out of the box.
10 Likes
Picked one of these up again. This is the longest lasting primary headphone I owned. Sold it 18 months ago when it was unseated by HEkse. I was curious now I had settled on a chain to see if I still loved it as much as I did and if I still prefer the HEkse in every dimension.
I have only been listening to this for an hour and I do enjoy it, but also find myself missing aspects of the HEkse. I’m not one to do A/B comparisons any more as I find it takes the fun out of the whole process. I prefer to just listen and enjoy to see how I find a piece of gear. However, I am now used to a level of instrument separation, image clarity and bass presence with the HEkse that I do feel those particular aspects lacking in comparison. I have found that the 500’s ability to resolve busy passages isn’t as wanting as I recall (the primary reason I wished to upgrade) and so that was likely down to the chain I was running at the time (Gumby > Kinki THR-1).
I do still enjoy listening to this headphone though and was half hoping that there was going to be some special sauce here to have me keep it, alongside the HEkse, but I find the HEkse to suit my preferences more in every regard. I’ll listen to this can for a few more days and then release it back into the wild. This has made me more resolute that I have found my endgame in HEkse. The HE-500 is still an excellent headphone but, outside of slight tuning differences, the HE-1000se, for me, is the evolution I hoped for.
Qobuz > Node Nano > SU-1 > Comet+ > Taurus mk. II / WA6
6 Likes
Wait, I spoke to soon… HE-500 on the WA6 is amazing.
1 Like
