Swedish Mike´s system

[SwedishMike]

During 2023 I got the audio nervousa bug and the itch did not stop during the whole spring and in my line of fire was my DAC. My PS Audio sounded just fine but online talk indicated that there´s more music to be heard.

It started a while back with all the buzz about the Holo R2R DACs and since I owned an R2R DAC many years ago that I loved. My Ontech AD1865 DAC was really good with an addictive sound, lively, dynamic, true timbre and detailed but sadly it was not adapted to computers or other modern sources.

During all of 2023 the exchange rate between Euros and my Swedish krona have taken a dive so the Holo have become rather expensive for me. Hmm, I was forced to regroup and look into alternatives that would suite my budget and offer adaptability for both headphones and IEMs that I needed.

My short list had the Weiss DACs as they were available used, Benchmark DAC3 and a few others. This summer I got lucky when I could buy a used a DAC3 HGC for a fair price to try at home and it was the biggest improvement I have done in a long while.

To me its super resolving – it dig very, very deep into the recording, dead neutral, dynamic from a super black background. It digs deeper in all my music, every track, good and bad with very little coloring or Sabre glare that I can detect. As many other products that doesn´t come with a character it can be viewed as a bit boring but there in lies the its best strengths. There is a difference between sounding good and sounding truthful.

I have wrestled with this as I love metal music and metal productions usually suck big time but I also have many really fine recordings that adds balance. In the end I find it hard to come up with better ways forward for me as it offers an experience that is somehow addictive for a modest fee.

[SwedishMike]

tarinlissimore wanted some comments about the Plunge Unity iem and here are some quick impressions.

First, the Unity is very easy to drive, have a nice cable.

Plunge unity

Three things set the Unity apart from other iems even if other things a bit different as well. The shell for instance that are 3d printed and not in the usual shiny plastic that almost other iems use today.

1 The fit
In my ears, no other iem have fitted better and it stays in like no other as well. To me thats important since I use a lot on the move and isolation is nice when on a noisy commuter train.

2 Tuning
The Unity is proudly mid centric, we are a long, long way from the Harman curve here. Its really different and I need some time to adjust every time I change between some other of my iems but after a few minutes all is well.

The low end
It measures ruler flat (as shown by Paul Wasabii) from the sub bass up to 1kHz so no shelf, no bloat but its not lacking just a different presentation than most iems of today. A bit dry but also truthful to the recording as show when playing Susanne Vega – Nine objects of desire as every track have different bass sound.

The mids
The mids are super resolved, dynamic and clear. I can promise that you will find details in recordings that you never heard before. I certainly did, lots of them. It doesn´t matter if its added effect in a modern recording or an old super truthful BIS production of classical music.

The top
I suspect that the top will cause some divided feelings from owners. Its all there up to 10k but the level a bit tuned down not to draw attention to it selves. Some will like it, some will likely EQ it a bit to compensate as I have.

3 Imaging
No other of my iems image as the Plunge, it has deepth, width and a real soundstage. There´s space between instruments and voices, nice.

Some music
Guessing that some will find new views into their favorite music while others will hate it depending on your catalog and preferences. Generally better recordings/productions worked best and some were just sublime. My Rush catalog sounded as they are recorded meaning midcentric, a bit muddy and not very dynamic. Not so fun but nothing were left out or presented with some nice makeup. After some mental adjustment its rather nice to hear it this way.

Dire straits-Telegraph road, Simple minds-New gold dream, Alison Krauss-Paper Airplane, A Perfect Circle-Thirteenth step, all were fantastic

Goose bumbs time – Julia Fordham-Swept, Kari Bremnes Live, Simon Philips-Another lifetime, All old Decca recordings (I have 100 of those)

Not so fun – Kamelot-The black halo, anything super compressed- the distortion becomes very obvious, Bass shy productions

The sublime – Aida (Verdi) conducted by Solti and recorded by Decca 1961 in Rome. The Plunge could image the hight in the recording – thats a first for an iem for me.

[SwedishMike]

I use a Burson Soloist amp and I saw that the released a new version of their opamps and just had to try them out.

Comparing v6 and v7 are very hard since I need to do it from memory and that can cause all kinds of biases and faulty impressions. Still impressions have lasted and are consistent so take it for what it is.

To my ears the V7 are ever so slightly warmer, more dynamic and very clearly more resolving.

To my ears they display more details, typically space around instruments or the room the music is recorded in. Its very addictive and works for every album. My suspicion is that a lower noise floor and lower distortion make is the origin of increased detailed and that the DAC have more information than the V6 opamps could resolve.

To me the change have been worth it by some considerable margin, love them and if you own a Burson amp I suggest you consider buying them.

Mike

[SwedishMike]

Lets mention EQ

My source is my computer running Jriver, equalizer APO with Peters EQ extension and I use it to eq most of my headphones by trial and error since I don’t have any measurement rig. My way is to slowly adjust in very small steps, leave it for a few days and see how it works out with different music and then add some more. Today i´m doing this for my new Plunge Unity iem where the top needs some EQ as it has some oddities in my opinion, it sound a bit muted. Currently I have added a few db a 4,5kHz but I can hear there are a few more dibs that need filling in, just got to find them. Its a work in progress, we´ll see were it ends.
For my Elise Audio Symphonium Helios Se its the opposite end that needed some tweaking to suite my view of neutral. I have in steps worked to lower the bass shelve both in level and its impact on the lower mids. Also looking for something that annoys my ears in the top.
The Elise Audios Helios is the originals Helios sister with a smaller housing and more bass. It looks like this:

Basiclly I have EQ out that added bass as it was over the top for my ear canal+brain.

I suggest that you also try EQ as it opens ways to get better sound, individually adapted to your personal biology and tastes. But go slow and in small steps as it easy get lost and try the settings that you can find here that others have come up with. Resolve´s settings for my Adeze XC suitted my ears just fine and I not been looking back from there. Thanks for that.

[AudioTool]

I’ve been using EQ for years but I’m not sure I have the patience for this technique

I’m impressed!

[SwedishMike]

Thanks -AudioTool

Just wanted to post a full system picture.

Mike

[SwedishMike]

My wife sent me this comic but I promise I didn´t hear a thing

Mike

[SwedishMike]

I saw that DMS and Dekoni had introduced the vegan pads for Audeze and I got mine yesterday. They are softer and more comfy but the difference isn´t that big. Slight chance in sound as well but I haven´t figured out the cause yet.

Mike

[SwedishMike]

Life in the balance - Living with the Plunge Audio Unity

Having used the Unity daily for 5 months, its time for some new comments on that journey. The rig mostly used is my portable – USB audio app on my phone – Qudelix dongle (with some subtle eq) – the Unity but also quiet a few hours in my home rig.

The fit is still one of the Unity’s strengths, it stays in place better than any other iem I own. Getting a good seal have never been a problem and sound is consistent every time I use it. Other iem have a way of slowly creeping out of my left ear, the Unity don’t.

It took some getting used to the tuning of the Unity but now everything has been turned on its head. IEMs with a more Harman type freq response I find to be more like Technoclourr with exaggerated top and bottom, it gets a bit tiring in the long run. Funny how things can change over time.

A few words about where the music is, in my view 80% of the information is in the midrange. This is the important part for me and in the long run where the enjoyment comes from. For me, the Unity focus on this part but balance it well against both bass and treble so that you kind of forget those parts after a while.

The Unity still doesn’t have massive bass or a sparkly top end so if you like that with your music then its not for you. Its middle name is overall balance and resolution in the mids as far I´m concerned with plenty of insight in the music and lyrics. Resolution easily surpasses my Audeze XC. Sub bass (under 40) are a bit weak but that doesn’t affect my music catalog much, very few tracks actually have any sub bass. Drums have impact, bass lines are resolved, choir are individuals with one voice - fantastic, lyrics are easily heard, cymbals are there but never in your face. Let me say that again, voices are absolutely fabulous.

Looks are on the industrial side, pretty they are not but who cares about that?

Mike

[David_PlungeAudio]

Thanks for the review! Love the evolution of your experience and that you’re appreciating the space and clarity the mids are bringing. Some love them and some don’t. Really love the way you write about it. Cheers!