What type of eartips are you fine folks going with on these?
I got my delivery Friday so after a few days of listening, these are my impressions.
The shape of the shell is fantastic, super comfortable and easy to get a seal with the wide tips that I used, above all that I have tried except for the Plunge Stage that are in a league of its own.
A product that are named Reference need to be tested by my personal reference tracks and they ALL sounded really, really good. To me they have a super clear midrange, resolved, low distortions and a very tasteful subtle bass lift. Lyrics are easy to hear from all singers, male and female as well as recording technics used. So all Allison Krauss, Kari Bremnes, Dire straits, Kate Bush, Ayreon, sounded near perfect but also many classical and choir pieces that are in my library. A special mention is warranted for some really hard to reproduce choir music where all voices were heard and resolved with beauty and feeling. But also my daily dose of metal bands like Black Sabbath, Angra, Circus Maximus worked just fine.
In my opinion all of you who have a library with many different styles of music and where a good portions are well recorded will LOVE the Reference. Its true to the recording in the best way possible.
Mike
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I know this might be frustrating, but I have an okay $250 set of iems and I just want to enjoy music from a great source. I donāt want to be a collector. Is EQ a better alternative to buying these new iems? Is there something im inherently missing if donāt listen to these specific iems?
Anyone tried the Reference for mixing/mastering?
EQ is definitely the way; trust your ears to tell you what you enjoy.
Donāt let FOMO trick you into not enjoying your music.
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This guy has a completely different take on the Reference.
The Crinear Reference should have been my next inear purchase.
Now I am not so sureā¦
I wouldnāt put much stock in subjective influencer reviews. The only way to know for sure is to listen to it for yourself.
Have you watched his video?
He has quite some audio expierience, so for me he is not just a random youtube influencer.
This doesnāt mean his opinion will be mine but he claims the reference has some serious principle flaws.
But you are right I will have to listen for myself. In Germany this will come with some costs when I do not like the Reference as inears are usually excluded from return policies.
Yep. Iāve watched several of his videos. I stand by my statement. 
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Itās not about experience. Every iem and headphone will sound objectively and subjectively different to every person. Ear shape, sensitivity to different frequencies, and personal taste play a huge role in how we perceive sound.
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While Iām typically combative with the vibes based evaluative practices, I do think thereās merit in the content from folks like Dave here, even if just to provide a contrarian voice.
They donāt necessarily have the tools to show or understand why it might not work for them, they just know that for whatever reason it doesnāt, and these are useful reports. If we take a step back and consider some of the HRTF, HpTF and preference variation that occurs with how these devices are received, itās a good signal that we canāt place our confidence in the graph alone.
Maybe heās expecting to hear some colorations that itās not providing, but maybe itās also fitting in a way thatās creating colorations heās not expecting. If I had to guess, Iād say that for him, he wants more colorations to create various subjective effects with the music he enjoys, to make it āfeelā a certain way - at least based on his descriptions here. But as Grif said in his recent video on the Reference, most people just havenāt heard their version of neutral yet.
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Exactly, and that was mainly what I was getting at.
Measurements are super important, but due to the various factors at play that will influence the subjective listening experience, Iāll always let my own listening experience be the final judge. I know from watching this influencerās past videos that we typically donāt align on what we hear/experience, so I take his conclusions with a huge grain of salt. That is my experience with most reviewers, to be honest. If I can find someone I align with more often than not (you, listener, etc.), then Iām more likely to try something based on their experiences.
Truth be told, I am more likely to buy something site unseen based on a proper set of measurements vs a reviewerās subjective experience.
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I think his main take is, that an inear requires a certain coloration to sound true to the real thing.
That is what āworriesā me more.
I am mainly interested to hear the crinear reference because I want to know how this āreferenceā tuning sounds to me.
Reception variation aside, itās worth considering that audiophiles are often primed for novelty. That is to sayā¦ if something sounds new, unique, special, it may be more highly lauded (especially if itās expensive, hah). But that is with the specific goal of editorializing the music. I donāt think Crin is trying to do that with the Reference.
So for someone who anchors their enjoyment of these products to that feeling of novelty, it might not be the best fit. But instead for someone who wants their music to be the star of the show, rather than the playback equipment, itās hard to think of a better IEM at the moment. Quite frankly, for me, those are far more enjoyable experiences than most playback equipment-based editorializations deliver - especially over longer periods of time. Thereās a kind of unveiling or unmasking of the information in the music I experience that I just donāt get from other IEMs.
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That might be true but this is not what he is claiming.
He is claiming that due to vast (semi) professional experience he knows how things have to sound to be convincing real and that the crinear reference is not delivering that to him.
Yeah and thatās the ātrust me broā aspect to this video that I donāt really take all that seriously. But itās also not at all uncommon. You see the same things from certain corners of the audiophile world - āmy experience is so vast that I know bestā, that sort of thing. I affectionately refer to this as the Harumph Contingent, who make these kinds of noises when you tell them something that goes against their worldview or contradicts their perspective on a product.
Thankfully we exist in an era where we donāt need to just take what people say at face value, we have the tools to be able to prove it. And more importantly, we can show that peopleās experiences with these products are not going to be universal.
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That means heās just pushing a subjective experience as correct, or at least trying to convince the viewer/listener that his experience is the one people should trust. Itās really no different that what many other reviewers do, so Iām not knocking this guy, but itās something viewers need to be aware of. Itās also something Iām not a fan of. Iād rather be shown the data and then listen for myself. To each their own, though.
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There are advantages in subjective impressions though as long as everyone understands this is what they are.
If your taste/perception typically aligns with a certain reviewer it helps to make a purchase decision. Most people donāt have access to places where they can listen to multiple iems/headphones.
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Yep yep. I agree with this!
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