Craft Ears Omnium

Craft Ears is a very young Polish boutique brand founded in 2019 by Mr. Jędrzej, also known to his friends and family as Jed. Alongside his passion and lifelong for achieving the pinnacle of sound quality, the founder is also drummer, music composer, and producer. Like most prominent boutiques, Craft Ears already has a successful track record of making custom IEMs for musicians in Europe. The brand truly rose to fame in the the audiophile consumer sphere after releasing of the Aurum, a magnificent tribrid priced at $1384. They also offer the relatively affordable Argentum ($735) and “The One” ($845). Omnium is the current Craft Ears flagship, which has already garnered much praise from the summit fi community lately. Amplify decided to buy one to see what the fuss is about, and I must say, these positive statements are not honeymoon phase hyperbole.



Disclaimer: I am an audiophile and a reviewer who works with Mr. @Sajid Amit of Amplify Audio Reviews. Amplify generally covers high-end IEMs, Accessories, DAC Amps, and Headphones, with occasional reviews of some budget products. Check out our video reviews at: https://www.youtube.com/@amplifyaudioreviews

Price

$/EUR 2499

Specifications



Omnium features a seven-driver tribrid configuration. A 9.2mm LST dynamic driver handles the bass, and a 10 mm planar driver handles the midrange. Five balanced armatures (one for high mid, two for treble, and three for upper treble) handle the high mids and upper frequencies.

According to Craft Ears, The Omnium utilizes a tubeless design with custom-tuned acoustic chambers and resonators. Combined with their innovative SES 3.0 (Space Expanse System) and True Load (Flat Impedance) technology, this guarantees a wide soundstage and consistent performance across different devices. These sound like a mouthful, but they work perfectly as described which I will discuss in detail in the sound review.

Build quality, accessories, and comfort:



Omnium looks and feels exotic from the get-go. The faceplate is made of carbon fiber (not a fake texture, but actual carbon fiber), with a gold-plated Craft Ears logo and a gold-plated edge lining surrounding it. The rest of the earpieces are made of 3D-printed resin, which is finished so well that I initially mistook it for ceramic (ceramic would make the earpieces too heavy, so that makes sense). Build quality and aesthetics-wise, I have nothing but high praise for the Craft Ears Omnium.



The outer package might look small for a ToTL set and somewhat spartan, but the color scheme and font placements are tastefully done and exude quality. The accessory package seems sparse at first glance, but every single one of them is functional. Craft Ears provides a heavy-duty pelican-style hard case, which is the perfect size for the IEMs, in my opinion, neither too small nor overly large. A generous selection of ear tips is provided in a Craft Ears printed small plastic box. The modular stock cable that comes with the packaging is of fairly decent quality and ergonomics, though you can always switch to better cables.








Unlike many of its flagship IEM counterparts, the nozzle is not overly thick, making experimenting with different sets of tips a breeze. Though the earpieces are slightly large and hefty, I had zero issues regarding comfort thanks to the overall flatter profile and ergonomic contours. The nozzle is angled aggressively and burrows deep into
the ear canal. It might take a few days to adjust for folks accustomed to shallower fit. Isolation was fantabulous for me, thanks to the deep fit and seal I got with the stock dual flange tips. Fortunately, there is no ear pressure build-up or driver flex.



Sound

The Omnium is one of those rare IEMs that immediately makes you blurt out, “Whoa, it sounds great!”. No steep learning curve, wow factor, or acquired taste is involved. That is how effortlessly pleasant and natural this IEM is from the get-go. Its timbre somewhat reminds me of the fantastic DITA Perpetua and Aroma Audio Jewel in many ways.




Tonally speaking, I would describe the Omnium as a mildly V-shaped, hyper-balanced set without any focused emphasis on a particular frequency. The bass is present and textured, with a nice balance between the sub-bass and the midbass frequencies How solid and prominent this bass would perform is greatly source sensitive though. The bass was incredibly dense, tactile and enveloping when paired with the Sony WM1ZM2 + Aroma Audio A100TB while with the iBasso Osprey PB5 portable amp it was more subtle and sub-bass focused. With the Questyle CMA 18P the bass response was somewhat similar to the PB5 but with a bit more midbass tilt. Determining what source you would pair this IEM with for the optimal bass is crucial. I thoroughly enjoyed the Aroma A100TB combo for hip-hop and aggressive tracks. What's Ya Phone Number? by 2Pac and Skin of my teeth by Megadeth are two great examples. For slow-paced tracks and orchestral music, I preferred the PB5 pairing slightly more.



The midrange is easily my favorite aspect of Omnium. It is precisely how I envision a proper midrange rendition: neither too dense nor too glassy, with extreme precision and background nuances that pop effortlessly. The midrange here strikes the perfect balance between clarity and heft. The vocals are pure bliss to listen to, be it the thick, manly voice of Johnny Cash, the distinctive falsetto-fueled voice of Supertramp's Roger Hodgson, or the high-pitched, angelic voice of Joni Mitchell. Omnium’s midrange is clearly on par with the midrange of Aroma Audio Jewel and DITA Perpetua, if not better.

Omnium is not a treble-head set per se, but I find it sufficiently airy without any hint of sibilance of grain. It has a very rounded, safe treble rendition that makes even inferior recordings tolerable while retaining all the information. Under $3000, Flipears Aurora XXIV is the only IEM that I can think of that does this. Like the bass response, Omnium's treble is also tied to what source you are going to pair it with. I was astounded by the level of transparency and air in the treble region, which had zero trace of unruly zing. The FATfreq Grand Maestro also does a similar thing with the treble and actually pushes even more air, though I find the slightly richer vibe of the Omnium more suited to my taste.




Omnium is a spectacularly technical and coherent IEM despite its non-offensive approach. Thanks to its pitch-back background and extreme micro-contrast and detail retrieval capabilities, I can pick apart small background nuances from each instrument without putting in extra effort. The soundstage is more expansive than average and very three-dimensional, simultaneously; it images with pin-point accuracy as expected from a brand with pro audio pedigree. The Omnium has a very accurate studio monitor 'esque approach in terms of positioning. Voices and instrumental notes that are supposed to sound intimate sound intimate, and vice versa. It sort of reminds me of the Hifiman Arya Organic in this regard.

Another thing I love about the Omnium is its equal excellence across genres and applications. Its safe but not overly so approach makes it a perfect IEM for gaming, movies, and intense audiophile listening sessions.

Comparisons:

64audio Volur:
The Volur is also a quite organic sounding by 64audio standards. It has more bass, but it is not the type of bass I vibe with. It's relatively softer and more diffused for my liking. A bit more tactility was what I was missing dearly when listening to the Volur. Volur is also way more intense and forward in the upper treble, though not sibilant, potentially causing fatigue in long listening sessions. I do like the Volur on its own, but for the same price, Omnium is a clearly superior set.



DITA Perpetua:
Perpetua is the best single DD IEM to date and the emperor of timbre and soundstage. That being said, Omnium’s timbre is almost equally as good. It's markedly more technical, way more technical, in fact, while the Perpetua is more of a $1500-2000-level IEM in terms of sheer resolution. Perpetua has a more natural and realistic bass decay. Midrange timbre and transparency are about equal on both. Perpetua is a very unique IEM that is really in a niche of its own. A great compliment to the Omnium, in my opinion.



Flipears Aurora XXIV:
Aurora is a bass canon compared to the Omnium. It is smoother-sounding and has a lush, warm sound signature, while the Omnium sounds more forward and crystalline in comparison. Technical performance-wise, they are equals. Aurora has more of a ZMF Atrium type of presentation, while the Omnium is more along the lines of ZMF Caldera, if that analogy makes any sense. Omnium has a blacker background, and subtle undertones are easier to discern on it than the Aurora.



Fir Audio XE6:
XE6 is a heavily colored set that requires acquired taste to appreciate. I personally find it awesome and insanely fun. XE6 has wild, untamed bass with a strong midbass focus, while Omnium's bass is more civilized and subtle. Thanks to its heavily colored tuning, XE6 is also more genre-specific. XE6 is a great addition to a collection of ToTL IEMs, but if you have the budget or willingness to keep only one, then Omnium will be my suggestion.



FATfreq Grand Maestro:
Grand Maestro is another fantastic all-rounder that I dubbed as a "Maestro of All Trades" in a separate review. Maestro is more U-shaped than the Omnium, with a higher bass shelf and a more lifted air frequency range. Omnium sounds comparatively richer and weightier, especially in the midrange. The level of transparency and resolution is about equal on both. Grand Maestro has a slightly larger soundscape than the Omnium, which is comparatively more intimate.



Craft Ears Omnium is a true master of all trades in a ToTL crowd filled with specialist sets. A no-brainer if you want only one ToTL IEM that performs at its peak in every genre. Omnium highly rewards different sources and cable combinations as well which is a big plus in my book. It is an IEM that genuinely does justice to its “Omnium” moniker.