[JasonNYC]

NOVUS In-Ear Monitor

NOVUS becomes the second Astell&Kern collaboration with IEM manufacturer Empire Ears. Astell&Kern is always challenging the possibilities of infinite sound and striving for the purest sound imaginable. Empire Ears is an uncompromising and prestigious manufacturer of IEMs that combine innovative design with the latest technology. Our two legacies are proof that attention to detail and visionary innovation conceive magnificent design. Together, Astell&Kern and Empire Ears first collaborated to create Odyssey, and now NOVUS.

Features of NOVUS include:

13 Driver, Quadbrid, Dual Conduction

• Dual W9+ Drivers - Legendary, unparalleled bass reproduction is made possible by Empire Ears purpose-built, W9+ subwoofers
• Five Balanced Armature Drivers featuring one Sonion driver and Quad Proprietary NOVA Drivers by Knowles
• Quad Electrostatic Drivers by Sonion
• Dual Bone Conductors by Sonion

NOVUS Shell

NOVUS features a 6061-T6 aluminum shell finished in Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) with 24K Wet Gold-Plated faceplates and sapphire glass.

Cable

A custom-made four-wire hybrid copper, gold and silver cable with 23.7AWG Litz Type 4S cable structure reinforced with black macro-molecular fiber and terminated in 4.4mm balanced jack is included.

NOVUS will be a limited edition, produced by Empire Ears under the Astell&Kern brand name and will be for sale exclusively at authorized Astell&Kern dealers worldwide for $4,999 in May 2024.

 

[silent-circuit]

Not going to lie, that driver config coming from EE has me very tempted... But the look is not at all for me, and neither is the price. Also, those are going to be some huge shells.

 

[javahut]

NOVUS In-Ear Monitor



NOVUS becomes the second Astell&Kern collaboration with IEM manufacturer Empire Ears. Astell&Kern is always challenging the possibilities of infinite sound and striving for the purest sound imaginable. Empire Ears is an uncompromising and prestigious manufacturer of IEMs that combine innovative design with the latest technology. Our two legacies are proof that attention to detail and visionary innovation conceive magnificent design. Together, Astell&Kern and Empire Ears first collaborated to create Odyssey, and now NOVUS.

Features of NOVUS include:

13 Driver, Quadbrid, Dual Conduction

• Dual W9+ Drivers - Legendary, unparalleled bass reproduction is made possible by Empire Ears purpose-built, W9+ subwoofers
• Five Balanced Armature Drivers featuring one Sonion driver and Quad Proprietary NOVA Drivers by Knowles
• Quad Electrostatic Drivers by Sonion
• Dual Bone Conductors by Sonion

NOVUS Shell

NOVUS features a 6061-T6 aluminum shell finished in Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) with 24K Wet Gold-Plated faceplates and sapphire glass.

Cable

A custom-made four-wire hybrid copper, gold and silver cable with 23.7AWG Litz Type 4S cable structure reinforced with black macro-molecular fiber and terminated in 4.4mm balanced jack is included.

NOVUS will be a limited edition, produced by Empire Ears under the Astell&Kern brand name and will be for sale exclusively at authorized Astell&Kern dealers worldwide for $4,999 in May 2024.

Not going to lie, that driver config coming from EE has me very tempted... But the look is not at all for me, and neither is the price. Also, those are going to be some huge shells.

Yes, I don't mind the overall design aesthetic. But why did EE again go for gold-plated? The driver config and sound signature I've read about really temps me. But at that price AND having to live with a 24k gold-plated color scheme... REALLY takes my enthusiasm for it down quite a few notches.

 

[audionewbi]

This is the housing I was expecting for Raven as frankly Raven housing for its price point. Any premium priced UIEM need to move beyond the acrylic shells.

Now the price is a different story.

 

[Xander9211]

Where I should plug them in my SP 2000 since I only have 2.5mm balanced port?

 

[Hanesu]

A&K insisted on 2,5 mm for so many years and got always criticized for it. Now that they moved to 4,4 they also get criticized But I agree, for that eye watering price the IEM should maybe have a modular plug or include several cables.

Me, still liking 2,5 because it was modular by default (small size made it possible that an adapter did not make it bulkier than regular)!

 

[corentin]

Any ideas on what the tuning / overall performance versus the Raven is going to be like? I listen to metal exclusively and the Raven seemed the way to go but if the Novus is more durable (at least it seems this way given the material used) with a similar sound as the Ravens, I could definitely be interested.

 

[javahut]

.

 

[javahut]

Any ideas on what the tuning / overall performance versus the Raven is going to be like? I listen to metal exclusively and the Raven seemed the way to go but if the Novus is more durable (at least it seems this way given the material used) with a similar sound as the Ravens, I could definitely be interested.

Not a review, but here's a link to Twister6's overall impressions of some IEMs at Canjam '24. EE and Novus are about halfway down the page....

https://twister6.com/2024/03/26/canjam-nyc-2024/2/

 

[MarkParity]

A&K insisted on 2,5 mm for so many years and got always criticized for it. Now that they moved to 4,4 they also get criticized But I agree, for that eye watering price the IEM should maybe have a modular plug or include several cables.

Me, still liking 2,5 because it was modular by default (small size made it possible that an adapter did not make it bulkier than regular)!

The idea solution would have been the adoption of balanced 3.5mm then we could have avoided the whole 4.4mm and 2.5mm thing but that's more than a little risky.

 

[Hanesu]

The idea solution would have been the adoption of balanced 3.5mm then we could have avoided the whole 4.4mm and 2.5mm thing but that's more than a little risky.

Yeah, I remember some devices used balanced 3,5 (iFi XDSD, for example). I was often wondering why this was not accepted by the masses, since it could automatically detect whether a regular or balanced plug was plugged in.
Honestly, I think the plug debacle in some ways reflects the psychology of us audiophiles. My guess is, that 3,5 balance simply was not "different" enough, so audiophiles did not get another toy to separate themselves from the rest In addition, people keep on saying that 2,5 breaks easier than 4,4, but yet there are no statistics that prove this. And from an engineering standpoint it also does not make much sense because the forces an earphone plug needs to withstand are simply not big enough that a few millimeter in length or width make a big difference.
In the end it` s just people writing about individual experiences that spread like a wildfire in forums. And the satisfying "click" and feel (no doubt about that) of a hefty 4,4 mm plug, that gives us the feeling of "proper audiophile gear" that we all love!

Why do you think 3,5 balanced would have been risky by the way?

 

[MarkParity]

Yeah, I remember some devices used balanced 3,5 (iFi XDSD, for example). I was often wondering why this was not accepted by the masses, since it could automatically detect whether a regular or balanced plug was plugged in.
Honestly, I think the plug debacle in some ways reflects the psychology of us audiophiles. My guess is, that 3,5 balance simply was not "different" enough, so audiophiles did not get another toy to separate themselves from the rest In addition, people keep on saying that 2,5 breaks easier than 4,4, but yet there are no statistics that prove this. And from an engineering standpoint it also does not make much sense because the forces an earphone plug needs to withstand are simply not big enough that a few millimeter in length or width make a big difference.
In the end it` s just people writing about individual experiences that spread like a wildfire in forums. And the satisfying "click" and feel (no doubt about that) of a hefty 4,4 mm plug, that gives us the feeling of "proper audiophile gear" that we all love!

Why do you think 3,5 balanced would have been risky by the way?

I was under the impression that Sony introduced the 4.4mm Pentaconn so I suppose we would have to ask them for their reasons, driven mostly by more profit I suspect.

My reasoning for 3.5mm balanced connections being a possible issue it would what would happen if someone plugged in a wireless headset with microphone? Something or nothing I suppose.