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⭐ CanJam Singapore 2023 | Leong’s Review |

More Stars Picker's In-House Review | starspickeraudio.net/blogs/blog

Spirit Torino Mistral

Unlike the cold, strong wind that blows through the Rhône valley, the Spirit Torino Mistral Bluetooth does not sound cold, but rather, amusing. The semi-open headphone sounds quite lovely with vocal centric songs, very sweet and mellow. But with songs that need some bass slam, the Mistral is having a hard time delivering the punch and dynamic for the deep, low-end. The build and looks of the headphone is certainly unique, but the test unit seems to have a very tight slider, not sure if it would be the build defect or results of a fully handmade product. The Ear Studio ES100 Mk2 bluetooth module provides the wireless connection to the Mistral and you can EQ with the app for all mobile devices (iPhone and Androids), on the test it was tested from the streaming services provided by Spirit Torino booth. Overall, a pair of unique headphones but with a unique price point.

Crinacle's Project Red

The Project Red is Crinacle's pet project, with the sub-bass focused design, it provides a satisfying low end rumble, but with some scoops out in the mid-bass. The technicalities are a little meddling, tonality wise is tilting towards the dark side. But the IEM by itself is quite hard to drive, even with the impedance adapter removed, some DAP might have a hard time to fully drive it towards the full potential. Since the unit is still under prototyping and might have further revisions, so this might not be the final tuning. From the quick impression, I feel that there will be more work to be done, if Project Red wants to compete with the ever-changing Chi-Fi scene and excels at it. Overall we are quite anticipating what will be the final vision from the man himself and what could be delivered to the audiophiles.

Final ZE8000

The ZE8000 boasts 8K Sound, pairing with their "f-CORE for 8K Sound", ultra-low distortion, 13mm large diameter driver and dedicated DSP for best sound quality as Final claims. The long stem of the TWS not only serves as a touch sensor, it also houses the Class-AB amplifier for the driver. Overall, the ZE8000 sounds warm, with quite some ambience for the music. Bass is dynamic, but lacks a little air on the treble side; a little more subdued, if you will. Overall the ZE8000 sounds smooth, with a touch of refinement. From the online measurement, there are 2 versions of the firmware available which might change the sound drastically. The Final booth does not disclose which version of the firmware the ZE8000 is running on, but the thought of changing firmware that alters the sound is a nifty feature that you can tinker around with your music preferences.

Unique Melody The Multiverse Mentor

The Multiverse Mentor is the new TOTL IEM from UM, boasting 12BA(4 Bass, 2 Mids, 2 Mid-Treble, 4 Treble) + 1 Frequency Shift Bone Conduction Driver with 5 way Crossover design. The Multiverse Mentor(MM) has a very premium looking shell and faceplate design, and comes with premium PW Audio cable. Overall MM sounds similar to the Vision Ears Phoenix, with a mild-V shape tuning, but with a leaner and lighter notes on to the vocals, and better details perception due to the lessen ambience. But personally, the bone conductor seems like a gimmick more than a feature, as I cannot feel the vibration on the MM, nor the MEST Mk2 despite the good fitment of the IEM to the concha area of my ears. Overall, a decent contender for the TOTL IEM market.

InEar ProMission X(PMX)

The ProMission X(PMX) could be one of the best IEM of the show. A relatively humble setup compared to other Summit-Fi IEM, with "only" 10BA and 4 way crossover. At the first glance, or listening perhaps, the PMX may give you the illusion of "boring" or "flat". But the more you listen, the more you are being pulled in by the smoothness of the sound. There are details beneath the smooth sound, yet it can be fast and dynamic when it is called for. The bass is well-controlled and well textured, and overall treble is smooth yet still retains its presence without overwhelming spikes. The fit is also one of the main points for the InEar IEMs. The semi-custom design, with options for smaller size housing made the InEar a very comfortable IEM with the fit as well as the sound.

Bonus: Campfire Trifecta Astral Plane Limited Edition

From the holy duo of Andromeda and Solaris, cometh the Third Ascension: Trifecta Astral Plane Limited Edition. The Trifecta has a distinctive, yet unique design of 3 dynamic drivers firing together towards the middle and transmitting the sound to the nozzle. Despite the big shell, it has a decent fit and we managed to get a good seal and fitment. For the unique design comes with unique sound, the sound surprisingly, not as bad as I thought it would be. The triple drivers do produce quite some bass, but at some times do bleed into the mids. Detail retrieval and technicality are decent, but not the best. All I can see is, Campfire is trying to make something new and unique. Did they achieve the best sound? I doubt it. But are they the most unique in the show? Nicely done.

✒️ Author :  Leong | 📷 Photo :  Leong
 More Stars Picker's In-House Review | starspickeraudio.net/blogs/blog

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