For such a long time, I have had to fight for the perfect balance of price to performance limits and got them wrong. Either the performance wasn’t high enough to shut the door, or the cost was too high to not leave the door open. Now, of course, this doesn’t mean there isn’t a perfect IEM because that doesn’t exist, no matter how hyped up or happy the fanboys of the product act. Subjective views and subjective hearing will always rule the outcomes in the minds of the listeners. This is a common fact of life that too many of us miss when debating IEMs. My choices are not immune to this subjectivity either.
Now that the Variations, which are not new on the market, are finally in my hands and in my ears, I have that balance I so longed for. I can live with the notion that these cost $360-$440 ranges and not $2000. I can definitely live with the fact that the sound is flat out unique and superior to over 90% or more of the IEM in the world today, in my opinion. Even Crinncle IEM placed them #7 in his highest ranking system for IEMs, while the other top #6 remained in $1000+ ranges. So yes, while not the absolute best IEM in the world, im sure. But it is superior to most and most importantly, it delivers on all genre of music for me, even movies, ASMR, and podcasts for me. They are so comfortable and disappear in my ears that I could sleep in them if I wanted. Its timbre is so realistic, and imaging is so exact that you could use them for even video games if you wanted. I love the cable looks, its swappable attachments, and movement without memory, and unlike the U12T, even the bendable ear section lays perfectly around my ears where the U12T never did(spent way too much of listening on the U12t tryjng to get the cable to sit still around my ears.
With the Variations, everywhere I turn, I see praises for them. The look is so sexy with the soft smoked out glass like body and the silver plated that it just invites you to look at it and put them on. So when you add sexy looks, with a comfortable feel, and absolutely stunning sound that isn’t limited to a certain genre only, you come to a road of success for an IEM company and we benefit from it. Such is my experience after a great many IEM experiences. Don’t get wrong, if you want the very best in sound overall and dont care about what it cost or even if the cost jusifies the performance, it will still be the 64 audio, Empire Ears, and Thieaudio’s brands of the world based on what my experience has shown me. However, none of them can prove to me that they are truly $500 better, let alone $2000-$4000 better in sound, and at the end of the day, that’s what I seek. I’ll spend the money if the money aligns with matching results. I just can’t live with it when it doesn’t.
Tech-N-Things 