US Tour Participants:

1. Lauren in NY (Desolation sound impressions with full foams: Neutral tuning with slight bass boost. Great presentation/positioning along with wide soundstage and timbre that sounds lifelike 3-5k region can get faituging for some (hence why I have the full foams on) Great for instrument/ochestral and busy tracks Energetic and engaging bass (I suspect it's due to the increase in the 3-5k region) Fast decay)

2. Joyce in CA (Desolation Sound offers an unparalleled soundstage that is both wide and cavernous. It is extremely technical and presents even the busiest tracks clearly and concisely. The sound separation and imaging are amazing, providing a very deep and robust sound. You’ll feel as if you’ve put on another pair of glasses for your ears! These earbuds are genre-agnostic and sound fantastic with all sorts of music genres, from flamenco to classical, rock, punk, metal, R&B, and hip hop. While they aren’t for bass-heads, the bass is balanced and textured in the tracks I’ve listened to and is punchy in just the right amount to make the songs feel engaging. They lean more neutral with a touch on the bright side, which makes them perfect for folks who value clarity and detail.

The small nit would be that since DS leans on the bright side, some tracks can be a bit shouty in comparison to Tantalus and Serratus. However, I still feel that DS presents tracks in a way that Tantalus and Serratus cannot! The clarity, separation, imaging, and detail, are some of DS’s greatest strengths, and greatly surpasses both Tantalus and Serratus on those technicalities alone. Source Used: Schiit Jotunheim 2, Bifrost 2 )

3. Danny in AZ (Currently Reviewing) (Unboxing and First Impressions Video) (Acquired the DS #R1)

4. Shawn in FL (Impressions at SBAF)

5. Ellen in CA (If I had to describe Desolation Sound in one word it would be - Organic. I'm not very good at analyzing and describing the technicalities of sound. But the emotion of DS is very clear to me - it passed my goosebumps test. The tonality hits my personal preferences just right. To my ear, DS reproduces music with lifelike accuracy. I can close my eyes and imagine that I am sitting in an indoor live venue and sound just envelops me. DS is musical but all the details and nuances of your music can still be heard clearly. It's balanced (neutral) but still manages to be effortlessly engaging. It presents female vocals with emotional intimacy while the rest of the tonal range feels grand and cohesive. DS resolution is excellent as is the layering and separation. It hits you with a wall of sound but it never gets congested or muddy. There is good extension on both ends. The quality and texture of the bass and treble are very good. The mids sound natural and impactful. I love good mids and DS has some of the best mids I've heard so far from any transducer. I will mention that with the included donut foams, there is some slight sibilance and brightness in the lower treble region which may bother some people. Also, while the subbass is present it takes a backseat to the midbass so it lacks the rumble that Serratus has. For me, DS is the complete package. It holds its own against my SA6 Ultras and I prefer it over my Elex. I definitely recommend this set.) (Acquired the DS #26)

6. Ben in CA (DS sounds better than a lot of over ears I’ve ever heard. Hats off to you! Separation, detail and tuning are amazing. Perfect for my electronic but what really sold it for me was Miles Davis Kind of Blue… stereotypical audiophile album, but wow… just wow.) (Acquired the DS #25)

7. Kevin in CA (Impressions at Head-Fi) (Acquired the DS #28)

8. Kyle in MA (Currently Demoing)

9. David in NY (DS is so good. I was kind of hoping I wouldn’t click with this set, but I’m listening to it out of my DX320 with the Amp14 card and it’s just perfect. I wasn’t sure the card would adequately drive the bud, but it seems to be and is adding just a touch of lovely tubiness. I was also wondering if I’d find DS fatiguing on longer sessions (which was sometimes the case with Serratus), but not at all. This is really an exceptional transducer and you’ve outdone yourself again with this one.) (Acquired the DS with a custom cable #13)

CANADA -> US Tour Participants:

1. Kolton in BC (Unboxing Video) (First Impressions Video) (Full Review)

2. Bill in BC (First Impression)

3. Simon in BC (I quite like it. I find it a bit bright compared to the Serratus but not to a point where it's fatiguing. The instrument separation and detail retrieval is on another level feels like the best I've ever heard. I'll likely be posting a short review later during the weekend, maybe on reddit if that's okay.)

4. Serge in QC (Acquired the DS #19)

5. Salar in ON

6. Eoghain in NY (The separation, imaging, and soundstage on the Desolation Sound are some of the best I have ever heard.
You can pick out with ease the different instruments even in the busiest of recordings, as well as the
positioning as if you were using a multiple speaker setup. While it's nice to have a library full of well
recorded material, I still have songs I love which don't have the same magic of something carefully mixed.
To my surprise however, the Desolation Sound was able to bring things out of them I thought shouldn't have
been possible. The recording is still important of course, but I was delighted to hear some of these songs
no longer sounded flat and instead had some depth. The technicals on the Desolation are also comparable to
significantly more expensive IEMs and Headphones which I have tried, and I didn't find myself missing
anything during my listening sessions. I truly believe these are something special.) (Acquired the DS #27)

7. Jafar in NY (Impressions at Head-Fi)

8. PajamaSLAM in TX

9. Elijah in TX

DS Black Sand

$599.00

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