The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion. The review was originally posted on my blog, and now I would like to share it with all my readers on Head-fi.
Manufacturer website: oBravo, for sale on Moon-Audio and Audio-Sanctuary.
* click on images to expand.
Intro.
What do you recommend to an audiophile who has everything from multi-BA and wide bandwidth DD monitors to hybrids with the best of both worlds? How about the first ever coaxial 2-way hybrid in-ear monitor that combines Dynamic (DD) and Planar Magnetic (PMD) drivers! PMD headphones are constantly in the news, especially with recent announcements of scaled down IEM implementations, but many don’t realize that oBravo was an early adaptor of this technology when 2 years ago they introduced the first IEM featuring PMD tweeter. Established over a decade ago, oBravo Audio dedicated a lot of their time and resources in the R&D, focusing on technological advances of audio speakers, including patented Air-Motion Transformer (AMT) “ribbon” technology. The result of this hard work could be seen today in ERIB series (hybrid design of DD + PMD) and EAMT series (hybrid design of DD + AMT), both of which are the highlights of their product line.
Quite often my readers ask for recommendation of a new IEM that won’t overlap with their existing collection. It’s not always an easy task especially when requests come from those who keep up with every flagship flavor of the month. So, when I was presented with an opportunity to test and to review oBravo flagship ERIB1C model, I was curious to try something new with a totally different driver configuration which includes PMD. I have a few full size planar magnetic headphones, and they fall into either a warmer or a brighter sound category, and I wasn’t sure which path ERIB1C is going to follow. While reading about oBravo, I also found it interesting to see so many different models and variations within each their offer. As an example, they have ERIB 1 through 8, all featuring the same 8mm PMD tweeter and different size DDs where FR upper limit stays at 35kHz while low end extension changes from 15Hz (12mm driver) to 32Hz (6mm driver). Furthermore, they also offer 3 choices of earcup (front of the shell chamber) materials, denoted with a suffix C (precision ceramic), W (wood), and A (aluminum) which affect the low-end characteristics. EAMT has a similar variation with EAMT 1 through 5, except AMT tweeter tech extends FR to 45kHz.
It felt like you’re dealing with a Custom universal IEM where you first choose a tweeter technology (PDM or AMT), then dynamic driver size (from 12mm to 6mm in ERIB or 12mm to 9mm in EAMT), and finally decide which earcup material gonna suite your bass needs better (C – neutral, W – warm, A – punchy). These choices will not only shape the final sound, but also will affect the price, where AMT, ceramic, and larger DD will drive it up. Considering I had an opportunity to test ERIB1C, that’s the only combination I will be able to describe in my review. For other combinations to match your personal taste, I would strongly recommend contacting either oBravo or their official distributors to help you choose the “custom” combo. Since they share the same tweeter, I have a feeling the most noticeable sound variation will be in a selection of earcup material with Ceramic and Aluminum being the more popular choices, but I don't know for sure since I can only speak for ERIB1C model. So, let’s take a closer look at Ceramic version of ERIB1 featuring 12mm DD and 8mm PMD tweeter.
Unboxing.
The product arrived in a very environmentally conscious cardboard box, without any fancy cover art, only featuring a company logo and an outline drawing of two shell designs: larger driver models feature an extended vertical body while smaller driver ones have a traditional cylindrical shape. Opening the top of the box revealed a metal travel case, designed with two lightweight aluminum shell halves zippered together. Top part of the case had a mesh pocket for accessories, while the bottom had a foam block with cutouts for IEMs, cable, and extra accessories.
It’s a unique custom travel case, not your typical Pelican 1010 or generic zippered clam shell, but not exactly pocket friendly. Great to protect ERIB/EAMT when you are traveling, but I wish they would have included additional smaller case just for IEMs. I’m sure it’s not a problem to find one, just keep in mind that you don’t want wooden faceplates or ceramic parts of the shell banging or rubbing against each other, thus a need to keep them separated.
Accessories.
In additional to a printed manual with some useful info about the product, oBravo included a set of S/M/L genuine Comply eartips (blue foam), and another set of S/M/L hybrid silicone eartips. To enhance the fit of the shell in your ears, you will also get a set of S/M/L removable fins, typically found in sports earphones. I will talk more about the fit in the design section of the review, but for me personally eartips selection was very critical to keep ERIB1C secure in my ears.
Also, there was 6.3mm headphone adapter - a rather neat design with a less bulky connector. But the highlight of the included accessories was 6 nail-shaped metal pins. The travel case featured 6 cylindrical cavities occupied by each pin, and no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t figure out their intention. This is a first time I had to “stop and ask for directions” from oBravo rep because I had no idea what I’m looking at. Turned out these were “skewers” to “shish kabob” eartips for storage. Practical or not, this is a rather original accessory.
The cable.
As many of you know, I enjoy cable rolling while searching for the best synergy of various aftermarket cables with headphones under test. Unfortunately for me, oBravo IEM comes with a proprietary mmcx connector which has an interlocking design. You still have mmcx based connector, but the cable side of it has a little notch while the shell side has an extended collar with a cutout that interlocks with a notch, preventing cable from spinning. There is no denial, mmcx connectors are more prone to issues, in comparison to 2pin, because the cable is not fixed from rotation, the dirt and moisture can get inside causing lose of contact and oxidation, and in general you get more wear’n’tear. oBravo's modified connector solution addresses most of these issues. But at the same time, many audiophiles already have various 2pin and mmcx replacement cables which they won't be able to take advantage of. Also, having a standard universal connector means a wider selection of replacements if it breaks.
The provided OFC cable looks basic, with a gold plated straight 3.5mm TRS plug in a slim laser etched aluminum housing and a nice strain relief. Y-splitter has a matching design, no chin-slider which I think not necessary since we are talking about a wire down design. The earpiece connectors also match the headphone plug and y-splitter finish, and have a color-coded Red (right side) and Blue (left side) rings for ID. This is a very important design element because ERIB1C shells are identical and symmetrical, you can switch them between L/R sides and the color rings are the only indicator of which one is which. The cable jacket has a neat tight nylon braiding, making the cable looks nice, but be aware those are usually susceptible to more wear after a while of use. Plus, due to a tight braiding and the selection of the material – there is a noticeable microphonics effect.
Overall, the cable does look nice, thin and pliable, and I'm sure oBravo team tuned their IEMs sound while keeping in mind the contributing audio factor of this OFC cable. I also been told, they offer their customized mmcx connector for building aftermarket cables, so there is still a solution if you want to try fancy silver or pure copper wires. My suggestion for oBravo is to make a short interconnect cable adapter with proprietary mmcx connector on one side and universal (and an alternative 2pin version) on the other side. This way you can use any cable with oBravo IEMs.
Design.
I already provided quite a few hints about the design in previous sections of the review. Both ERIB and EAMT models feature two different shell types. ERIB1 & ERIB2, as well as EAMT1-3, have a vertical "teardrop" shell design, most likely to accommodate larger DD. While the rest of the models with smaller DD drivers have a traditional cylindrical "bullet" shell. All the models feature a wooden vented back "faceplate" with a carved oBravo logo, which is part of their semi-open design, surprisingly with a tolerable sound leakage. When you are right next to IEM, you can hear some sound, but about 6" away it starts to fade away. I wouldn't recommend to use these at the library, but they are OK for other public places, even on a bus or a train. Obviously, don't expect a super isolation either, but it was not bad at all. The design strikes a perfect balance between open-sound performance without super annoying sound leakage or poor isolation. Another vent is located below the nozzle. I already talked about the cable connector, it's interlocking and the shell side of it features an extended colar with a cutout for a notch. Also, both shells are identical and you can swap L/R, as long as you pay attention to the cable connector with Red (right) and Blue (left) channel ID marker.
The cylindrical shell features a material specific to your design choice: ceramic, wood, or aluminum. Larger vertical shells have an aluminum contour frame and inner shell earcup part with a material of your choice, the same as above. ERIB1C had a white ceramic earcup, 11mm in diameter and 9mm in dome height, which extends into a short 6mm nozzle with 4mm diameter covered by a metal mesh grill. Everybody has a different ear anatomy, so your experience will vary. Plus, depending on eartips selection you can control not only the seal but also how secure the shell will be wedged into your ear. Keep in mind, these are intended for a wire down fit, so you no longer have a security of over the ear wire hook. Instead, you can add a removable silicone fin which usually goes into your concha cymba area of the ear. My earcanal opening is wide and shallow, as a result the shell can't go too deep which means a short nozzle usually is not my friend, and the fin would be far from my ear. Instead, I had to choose a proper eartip to keep the shells secure in my ear.
I don't expect everybody to have the same experience since we all got different ears, and between the selection of included eartips (both silicone and foam) and the fins - you can definitely find the one which gives you the best fit and comfort. The shells are very light, I weighted each one to be only 4g (without eartip). So, there is no issue with them weighting down, just need a proper eartip selection. I even tried over ear fit, but it felt awkward, at least with a vertical shell design. Not sure if it will work better with a cylindrical shell, but you can see in the pictures below how it looks with ERIB1C using wire down and wire up.
My only suggestion to oBravo here is to make a little lip at the tip of the nozzle to prevent eartips from sliding off, especially since nozzle is rather short and slippery when using ceramic material [EDIT: oBravo got back to me on this, Aluminum shell has a lip already, but due to a manufacturing process of Ceramic and Wood material and smaller size of the nozzle - this is not feasible]. If there is a way to slim down the cone shape of the inner earcup, that would make the fit more comfortable as well, though I'm not sure if this particular shape was required to fit the drivers and as part of sound tuning. It's definitely not a showstopper since a proper selection of eartips can take care of all these comfort issues, especially if you are using foam tips - they have the best isolation and the most secure fit.
The fit.
Sound analysis.
Since we are dealing with Dynamic and Planar Magnetic drivers, without even an ounce of hesitation these IEMs went straight for 200hr burn in, while I was periodically checking it throughout that time. Based on my previous experience of dealing with either dynamic or hybrids IEMs, burn in is always effective to tame down or to tighten the low end impact. With ERIB1C it was a different story. The first thing you hear is a flawless mid-centric performance with a very natural neutral tonality and a mid-forward sound signature which has an infinite extension in both ends of the spectrum. I hate using cliché terms, but listening to these IEMs felt like the flow of a pure water: coherent, effortless, very transparent, and highly resolving without any shrill or harshness and absolutely zero coloration. So, why a different story with ERIB1C burn in? Because the bass remained neutral, regardless of burn in hours.
Starting with a low end, it's all about quality rather than quantity. Bass is neutral, and I mean NEUTRAL. I don't think I ever heard a neutral quantity of rumble, until now. I hear the rumble, but I don't feel it. With mid-bass, I hear a fast punchy bass which has every characteristics of BA drivers, from a fast attack to a shorter decay, and yet we are talking about 12mm Neodymium dynamic driver with a tight and fast bass response. Since my review unit had a ceramic front shell enclosure, the bass is more neutral while the aluminum version should have a different low end response, giving more body and stronger punch to the bass, based on what I have been told. I actually found the bass to respond quite well to EQ, especially when dealing with Parametric EQ adjustment where I tuned it to perfection when boosting 30Hz by +3dB and 60Hz by +6dB. Of course, everyone's taste will differ. If you like warm body musical sound and prefer more bass slam, ERIB1C might not be for you, probably better look into A models. C models are more for purist who want to focus on bass quality, rather than quantity.
Moving on to mids, lower mids are very neutral, as expected, but also super transparent which makes you forget that you are dealing with a hybrid where you have a dynamic driver with planar magnetic tweeter. Besides the fact that DD driver performs like BA, it's nearly impossible to spot the crossover point of this hybrid. Maybe that was a reason why oBravo choose to implement Neodymium driver which sounds leaner and will blend in better with PMD tweeter. Either way, they accomplished their goal because I don't hear that transition, I don't hear 2 separate drivers which have a different technology behind them. Instead, I hear a one smooth single driver coherency. Upper mids are pushed forward, relative to the low end, and have a lot of clarity and details. They are layered and very revealing, but not harsh or analytical. And I can't say either that they are smooth or natural. Perhaps "realistic" and "effortless" would be a better way to describe it. I would be lying if I say that I don't miss extra body in the sound, the "body" part in here is lean, but once you start listening, your ears adjust to that and you just get sucked into the sound.
Treble is also full of clarity and airiness, with a nice crisp details, yet never sibilant or harsh. Just like I felt with sub-bass extension going deep (yet, staying neutral), that's exactly how treble feels at the top end of the spectrum, having this infinite well controlled extension with a great definition. The mids effortlessly transition into treble and continue their sound flow.
Due to an impressive transparency of the sound, the layering and separation of instruments and vocals is very good. You can easily distinguish every piece of instrument, and never have to worry about sound being congested.
The same goes for soundstage expansion with nearly holographic 3D quality, very wide and open soundstage that feels like an open back performance. In theory, ERIB1C have a semi-open design but feels like a performance of fully open full size headphones. The staging was super wide, yet didn't feel artificial, and the depth was not very deep and still not too intimate, somewhere in between like you are a few rows in front of the stage rather than too close or too far away.
Along with soundstage and sound separation, ERIB1C imaging has a good placement of instruments and vocals with a rather accurate positioning where you can pin-point each one. The positioning itself was very convincing and natural.
Comparison.
Usually, I don't have to think twice when it comes to comparison since I have a rather extensive review collection of different IEMs and some full size. The unique nature of ERIB mid-forward, neutral bass, and holographic staging semi-open design puts it in a position where it would make no sense to compare it to warm or bassy monitors. Instead, I picked a list for comparison with both IEMs and full size that will help me paint a better picture of ERIB1C sound. In every comparison I tried to volume match and used LPG, DX200, and Opus#2 as my sources.
ERIB1C vs ES60 - ER has a wider staging, while the depth is similar. ER bass extends a little deeper, but at the same time sub-bass is very flat, while ES has more rumble. With mid-bass, they have a similar fast punch (surprisingly for DD of ER), while ES impact is a touch stronger. Lower mids are neutral in both, while ES has just a little more body while ER is leaner. Upper mids in ER are super transparent and layered, while ES is a little smoother and a bit warmer in comparison. With treble, ER extends further, has more airiness, while both have the same level of sparkle. Overall, ER sounds more mid-forward/neutral while ES is more neutral-balanced with a slightly smoother/warmer signature.
ERIB1C vs Zeus XRA - ER has a little wider/deeper soundstage in comparison to Zeus, both have a rather open sound. ER has a touch deeper sub-bass extension while Zeus has a touch more rumble with a slightly more impact in mid-bass. Both have a neutral bass, but with Zeus and 1960 cable I'm able to improve bass impact while ER is judged based on its default cable. Lower mids are neutral in both, very similar, while upper mids are a little more forward in ER while Zeus is more balanced. I feel ER mids are a little more transparent. Both have an excellent treble extension, airy and crisp, but not harsh or sibilant. These two have a lot of similarities despite the fact one is DD/PMD hybrid while the other one is 14xBA.
ERIB1C vs UERR - ER is a little wider, while depth is similar. Even so ER bass extends a little deeper, I feel sub-bass here is similar while UERR has a little stronger mid-bass punch. Lower mids are nearly the same, while upper mids are a little more forward in ER. Also, I hear UERR mids being a little smoother while ER still have an upper hands in transparency. I also hear ER to have a little better treble extension, though both have a similar level of airiness. Overall, UERR feels just a little smoother while ERIB has a little better extension at both ends and more transparency.
ERIB1C vs T5p2 - ER has a little wider soundstage, similar depth. T5p2 has more rumble and weight in low end punch while ER is more neutral and extended. T5p2 lower mids have a little more body, while ER is more neutral. While ER upper mids are a little more forward, these two strike me as having a similar level of transparency, especially when it comes to vocals. And the same goes for treble extension, feels like both have plenty of airiness and a great extension without any sibilance or harshness. I'm using T5p2 with Alpha Dog earpads which add more warmth to the low end and more body to the sound. With original earpads, T5p2 bass gets closer to neutral level of ER, just with a little more punch.
ERIB1C vs A2000z - ER has a wider soundstage, similar depth. A2kz has a similar sub-bass while mid-bass punch is a little stronger in comparison. Also, A2kz has a little more body in lower mids. ER upper mids sound more natural, though a little more forward in comparison to A2kz which is slightly harsher. But still, both have a nice level of transparency. ER treble also has a better extension, while both have the same level of airiness. Again, the level of transparency in A2kz reminded me a little bit of ERIB but still, ERIB is smoother and more extended at both frequency ends.
ERIB1C vs EL8C - ER has a wider soundstage, while EL8C has a little more depth. EL8C has more mid-bass punch, and ER bass still has an excellent quality and extension, but lacking some quantity in comparison. Lower mids are very similar, neutral, while upper mids have a very similar level of transparency and layering. Just that ER mids are a little more forward, while EL8C is just a little harsher with some metallic sheen, depending on DAP pair up. Treble is very similar in both, crisp, airy, extended. It was interesting to compare a full size planar magnetic EL8C to a scaled down PMD where there are similarities in mids and treble, and still ERIB manages to never cross a threshold of harshness, staying neutral and transparent.
I'm sure many will ask, where is iSine20 comparison? After all, that new PMD (not hybrid, but only planar magnetic driver) IEM release got a lot of attention. I spent a little bit of time with iSine20 during the latest CanJam NYC, so I only have a few impressions where going by memory I found iSine20 to sound quite different from ERIB1C, being a lot warmer, with more bass and less resolving mids. Also, I found soundstage to be spread even wider left/right with less depth. Comparing ERIB1C to iSine20 is like comparing EL8C to PM3, similar technologies with a different sound signature to target different audience.
Pair up.
In this review section, instead of going through individual pair up analysis, I decided to have a more general overview.
I found a sound of ERIB1C to scale up with high res sources, such as DX200, LPG, and Opus#2 which bring up a better layering, separation, and more transparency. Going with a more analytical source like X7 thins out the sound, and warmer sources like L5Pro, AK120ii, i5, X5iii, and PM2 added more body to the sound while taking away some of the transparency. Also, it responds very well to EQ and digital effects, but need a more precise EQ tuning. For example, a typical paragraphic EQ can lift the bass but it wasn't as transparent because mids were also affected. LPG Parametric EQ was more precise in the adjustment with a cleaner mid-bass lift and upper mids reduction. Or in another example, L5Pro doesn't have adjustable EQ, only a few genre specific presets where "Classic" one slightly lifted the bass while reducing upper mids which turned the sound into a perfection with a more neutral-balanced signature. I was also pleasantly surprised while using my Note 4 smartphone. Though the sound became smoother and lost some of the transparency, I was able to boost the low end while still keeping a clear, detailed, and neutrally balanced signature.
The best fine-tuning adjustment probably goes to Plenue M2 with its JetEffects. BBE+ brought back the transparency, while MachBass did a very clean low end boost, and I was able to use its semi-parametric EQ with a little boost around mid-bass to tailor the sound to my exact liking. LPG also gave me a precise fine tuning with its Parametric EQ where I boosted 30Hz +3dB, 60Hz +6dB, and reduced 6kHz -3dB to make the sound more balanced with a little more body and a noticeable improvement in mid-bass punch.
Overall, I have no complains about any of the pair ups. ERIB1C semi-open design gives you a wide expanded soundstage with majority of sources, and the bass remained neutral even with warmer sources. Also, 16 ohm impedance with 102 dB sensitivity yielded a hiss-free performance with most of the sources. I didn't have a choice between C and A models, so the question still remains how aluminum shell would affect the bass performance. Personally, I'm not a big fan of using EQ, but had a lot of fun with ERIB1C tweaking the sound. As a result I was able to shape ERIB1C sound to perfection where I didn't even care about Ceramic vs Aluminum.
Conclusion.
When I was waiting to receive ERIB1C, I was looking forward to test the new tech of the first PMD/DD hybrid. Upon receiving it, it took me a little by surprise because I'm coming off a lot of recent reviews of warmer IEMs. It triggered the initial reaction where I felt something was missing. But once I started listening, I became addicted to the sound. I'm well aware of brain burn in where after the extended listening period you can get used to any signature. Thus I intentionally went back and forth between different IEMs, to make sure my "brain" stays alert, and to my surprise that addiction only grew stronger. The sound is so open and expanded, it fools you into thinking you are listening to a full size open back headphones. The transparency of the natural resolving tonality also strikes you with purity of zero coloration. This particular 1C model lacks the warmth and the low end impact, but we are talking about bass quality rather than quantity, and it was the first time where I was eager to start tweaking the EQ.
Overall, I don't think ERIB/EAMT can be considered as all-rounder IEM to rule them all. Instead, it has a very unique sound signature and hybrid design which can compliment any audiophile collection. Today we have a lot of flagship IEMs where the BA count goes as high as 18, and also a handful of single DD flagships as well as some high end hybrids. I can't think of another 2way hybrid IEM design with Planar Magnetic and Dynamic drivers, plus the flexibility of choosing DD size and earcup enclosure material. But it's not only about the unique design and technology behind it, but also the coherency of tuning where it felt like one ultra wide bandwidth driver with a natural, detailed, and very transparent sound. Perhaps, the only way to top it off if oBravo R&D ever going to come up with a way to have a bass boost switch! I hope they can surprise us in a future!
Neutral transparent with a flat bass ERIB1C vs warm smooth with a hard-hitting bass VEGA. TOTALLY different sigs 
