Craft Ears Craft FOUR
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Craft Four is a CIEM with a UIEM option made by a Polish company Craft Ears. It uses four Balanced armature drivers and costs €550.
Sound quality for the price
Build quality
Value
Packaging
The box is elementary, it’s an eco cardboard box with a black, decorative sleeve, with “Thank you for trusting us” written on it. Nice touch. Inside the box, you’ll find a round, metal case which isn’t for everyone, because it is too big and too bulky for a regular user. It can be useful during travels, you can just put it inside the bag and you can be sure that nothing will happen to the earphones. The inner part of the case is covered with a soft material.
Inside the case, you’ll find earphones, the cable, set of eartips, which are Final Audio Type E (sizes SS to LL) that are my favorite for a long time because of their sound quality and comfort. On the end of the attachment list, there are cleaning products, polyester cloth, and brush.
Overall, it makes a great feeling, but the box won’t be the ornament on the shelf.
Build quality & Comfort
Build quality of every single thing you can find in the box is fantastic.
Beginning with the earphone itself, it is made with acryl, and it’s handcrafted with the highest exactness. The main part is perfectly separated from the faceplate, which looks incredibly beautiful. The 2pin connectors are really tight and stiff, which makes the cable harder to slide out. Each earphone is slightly smaller than FiiO FH1s, e.g., and it’s very comfortable with splendid isolation. Remember that I’m using the UIEM version, therefore CIEM will be even better in terms of isolation and comfort.
The cable itself is one of the most comfortable cables I ever used. It’s very soft, doesn’t tangle by itself, and the standoffs are keeping the earphones right in the ears. It is also pretty thin, with a small termination and splitter, so I’m not scared of breaking the jack, and the splitter is easy to hide and doesn’t weigh on the ears.
I would like to stop for a while with the design. On the Craft Ears website, you have many options to customize your earphone, even the cable color and hard case, which can be a customized pelicase.
IYou can choose the color, glitter, faceplate style, and you can pick your personalized logo. No matter what you’ll choose, it will be a masterpiece.
The thing also worth to be mentioned is the warranty and customer service. All customers have two years warranty on components, without any questions asked, sixty days for fitting warranty and 14 for return the earphone, but you’ll have to cover the cost of non-renewable materials, which is an excellent thing if something would be wrong. Still, I think that there won’t be any problems. The last thing is lifetime support, so even if something happens after a few years, Craft Ears will help. This is an approach that is worth emulating and appreciating.
Sound
Craft Ears Four made me look like Pikachu in the :O meme, I did expect something like FH7 with a flatter signature. Meanwhile, CE4 is way more source dependent than I thought, it can have a lot of bass, fun, but after the source change, it can be bright, with recessed bass that is still cruelly fast.
When it comes to details, it is decent, without such a wow feeling, but it can easily fight with a lot of other IEMs in this price range. On the other hand, I love Craft Ears Four for its dynamic and this lovely, powerful, huge, exact soundstage and the imaging that can really do magic. It is not just “oh guitar here, drums there, and the vocal on the front”. It is more like a dance of all sound sources around the listener, but let me invite you to the end of this paragraph for more exact info.
Beginning with the bass, it starts very fast with slower roll-off, and, depending on the source, can be highly textured or almost smooth. With warmer sources, like the iBasso DX160, the bass is potent with an astounding tempo and depth. Changing the source for something more neutral like iDSD Signature provides less bass, especially the lowest, but the strike is harder. Bass shows its full power in songs like “Therefore I am” by Billie Eilish, that really can shake the head and begin the bobbing. But okay, enough about the quantity, let’s talk about the quality. This is the place where Craft Ears Four also doesn’t disappoint. Two BA drivers give us the speedy bass without a feeling of emptiness and low body. Details are on very high level, almost outstanding. It is also very exact and matches the music, no matter if you listen to jazz, country or trap. In Jazz, you’ll hear the moment when they pull a string, in country, it will be emptier like usually their kick drum is, and ending with the trap where the bass will be wider, with a greater strike.
The midrange is quite recessed overall. Sometimes it’s a little too brightened for me, but without any nasal feeling. It can be slightly too dry for juice lovers, but in my opinion, it provides way more fun and life than, for example, FiiO FH7 that is loved by many. Male vocals are playing in the back while listening to music that has more bass overall, but the female voices take over the reins, with a lot of texture, pleasant manner, that’s a little calming, which is easy to hear in tracks like “A Real Hero” by Electric Youth or the “Pride” by Noah Kahan. The details are on the same level as the FH7 in the higher part, with a little weaker reproduction ability in the lower fraction.
The treble is neither sharpened nor smooth, it’s highly stretched, without any balancing at the knife’s edge. It’s natural, but with a little click in it. Honestly, I really enjoy that part, even if I’m a fan of dark sound. It is just as it should, with tempo, it reminds me of the days in the studio when I was filming the music bands during recording sessions.
I love listening to the “Cantina Band” by John Williams. Those tiny, shiny sounds are fascinating to hear. Every single one is very exact with the right place in the space around. All the details are visible, but you won’t be able to reach all of them with your hand, they’re sometimes too far, at the end of the scene – and that’s good. It is like a true concert. It is delicately brighter compared to FiiO FH7, but better detailed, without any sibilances or unnecessary sharpness. It also doesn’t punch in the face, like the EVE2020 sometimes do.
The soundstage – oh my God, that’s the thing. It’s round, deep, wide, pretty high, and very exact. Each sound has a lot of body, with the great sorting of sound sources almost everywhere. I love that manner when the performer swipes his fingers through the strings, using CE4, you can easily distinguish the part where his hand is at the moment.
With the bigger groups, like symphonic music, I would like to go back to the Star Wars soundtrack. It sounds just as their Senate looks like. We stand in the middle of the action when around us are many other sound sources that can fly around, just like the music here. It is true magic, what did astonish me is the fact that it showed up with iBasso DX160 and iFi Neo, but didn’t with the iDSD Signature nor EarMen TR-Amp which also has an excellent soundstage.
It can become almost overwhelming just to be innocent in the next track. It is full and rich in pop songs, but listening to the Skillet placed everything close to each other, without much air between each sound source. That didn’t occur in that scale with other, harder music bands.
If you’re a fan of PC gaming, Craft Ears Four will show you everything you can hear. Without any trickiness, making mistakes, or building a fake feeling of the soundstage. This is the best earphone for gaming I’ve heard so far.
Summary
Craft Ears Four is an excellent IEM with almost no weak points. Rich, full bass, great midrange, with impossibly good female vocals, natural treble with a little click, incredible soundstage, and holography. It all completes with a fantastic, soft cable and the best (in my opinion) eartips available on the market. The only cons are recessed lower midrange and not so useful case.
Highly recommended.
Gear used during this review for the sake of comparison and as an accompanying equipment:
- Headphones – Lime Ears Aether R, FiiO FH7, Kinera Freya, Campfire Audio Andromeda, Vision Ears EVE2020
- Sources– iBasso DX160, EarMen Eagle, EarMen TR-Amp, iFi iDSD Signature, iFi iDSD Neo, Flux FCN-10, FiiO BTR5
My Background.
I am a professional musician, producer and audio engineer with experience in the performing, recording and pro-audio industry. I test products on a technical and musical level and try to write reviews as simple as possible from a music fan's perspective.
Genre Preferences.
I majorly listen to rock, acoustic, pop, metal, and sometimes popular EDM songs doing the rounds on the charts.
Disclaimer.
I would like to thank Craft Ears for sending me the CE4 to test and review. I am not affiliated with the company or any of its sellers and write this review with an unbiased opinion regardless of how the review turns out.
About Craft Ears.
Craft Ears is a young boutique one-man company from Stargard, Poland. It was started in 2019 by Jedrzej Nowicki, a young drummer who built his first CIEM out of necessity because good CIEMs from top brands were too expensive. So, he watched some videos online, ordered the raw materials and built one for himself! After learning the craft (pun intended) in detail, he started the company to build high quality affordable CIEMs for musicians and audiophiles. He now supports and works with a lot of local Polish artists and engineers too. With some good extensive R&D, Craft Ears developed and use some of their own proprietary tech in their CIEMs as well as state of the art 3D printing tech to print their shells and some internal components. They currently have 3 models in their lineup, Two, Four and Six.
All Craft Ears IEMs come with -
Links - Craft Ears Four (Official Website) | Facebook | Instagram
Technical Specifications.
CE4 comes in a very simple cardboard box with a branding sleeve. Nothing too flashy as the main focus is on the build quality and sound as well as keeping pricing competitive.
Build Quality.
The build quality of my shells is very very good! Jed asked me to leave the customisation choice to him as a surprise and I was totally blown away when I opened the package to see these shells. Jed surely has a knack for making drool worthy shell designs and his Instagram and Facebook uploads are a proof of that. As for my shells, every curve and contour is extremely smooth. The whole design flows seamlessly from the faceplate to the bottom shells and makes the whole shell feel like one solid piece. The shells are fairly light which makes me believe that Jed doesn’t fill them up with glue in totality, which I know makes repairs easier in case of warranty claims. My shells have recessed 2-pin sockets which were drilled and finished perfectly.
Cable – It’s a basic 4 core cable which gets the job done and looks fairly good while doing that (according to my friends). The 2-pin connectors as well as jack are decent quality and should serve you well. It's not the softest but feels well built. Not much to say more here.
Fit and Comfort.
Fit in case of CIEMs primarily depends on how well your ear impressions were taken and then how well the manufacturer processes them. Craft Ears accept physical as well as 3D impressions (STL files). They 3D print their shells which reduces the shell making time, labor and margin of error.
Now here’s the interesting part which kinda threw me off in the starting when I received them. The shells are extremely smooth and slide into the ears extremely easily without the need of any lubrication (wink wink) which initially made me believe that they were rubbed with some kind of finishing wax for that extra easy slide in. Even running my fingers over the shells gave me that feeling. But it’s actually extremely high gloss lacquer that does the job and Jed let me know that he specifically uses a smoother, stronger and harder lacquer which is also more scratch resistant than the one a lot of other companies use. This lacquer helps achieve this extra smooth gloss finish which makes these CIEMs extremely easy to wear.
The shells have a very nice snug fit with medium deep insertion, which in my experience is neither too shallow nor too deep and are extremely comfortable as a result. I did not need an adaptation period at all and they remain very comfortable for hours and hours together. Because of the extremely snug fit, they have excellent isolation too. With the shells in, I can hardly hear the fan in my room at full speed.
Sound Analysis.
Summary - Right off the bat, it is easily perceivable that CE4 loosely follows the Harman Target curve till the upper mids but with a V-shaped character and a nice twist and zing at the top end - 64 Audio’s Tia driver style of upper treble! Compared to Harman Target curve, CE4 has smidgen less sub-bass, slightly fuller lower mids body, slightly easier upper mids, easy smooth lower treble but instead focusing on the upper treble range with nice Tia driver character for that airy and open upper treble presence and extension.
With strong technical capabilities, it’s also highly musical with a nice wide soundstage which engulfed and threw me into the performance of the song, taking the gear out of the equation and that is definitely what a good IEM should do, be it for a music fan or a musician using it for live monitoring. If I really had to nitpick, I’d probably like a bit more of lower treble, slight wide cut around 250-500Hz and a smidgen lesser of mid-bass but to be fair, the stock tuning is highly musical and enjoyable nevertheless and all my complaining is just me nitpicking as a reviewer. This kind of quality coming from a new young brand that is just a year and a half old is very cool and impressive.
Having said that, let’s dig in deeper…
Bass – Bass is pretty well tuned for an all BA setup. It has good sub-bass presence and extends till the deep end well without any perceivable roll-off. It has more mid-bass presence though, slightly north of Harman-neutral, which definitely takes things into the fun realm. A slight tilt towards sub-bass than mid-bass would’ve made things better for me personally but I enjoy this in most songs nonetheless as it sure is fun. Overall, bass is quick, has good transients with attack on the neutral side, neither too sharp nor too smooth. Be it Muse’s ‘Panic Station’, One Republic’s ‘Rescue Me’ or Karnivool’s ‘Simple Boy’, bass in all those songs has good presence, is fun along with being technically proficient.
Mids – Upper midrange is forwardly presented like the Harman Target CE4 loosely follows, though it is slightly on the easier side of the target curve. I personally would've been okay with a bit more bite and presence here but that’s just the engineer in me talking and wanting as close to a reference presentation as possible, especially when an IEM is tuned in that ballpark. Instruments nevertheless have good clarity, presence and definition and this easier side of Harman upper mids actually works very well if you like to boost your volume levels for some enthusiastic listening. I’ve been listening to Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro records on the CE4 like crazy at nice fun volume levels and loving it! Lower mids in the 500Hz-1kHz range are very neutral, clean and clear. They are slightly on the fuller side in the 250-400Hz range than neutral and that along with mid-bass adds a slightly fuller body in the region which takes away from clean precision and leads to the IEM sounding slightly fuller/warmer. 2-3dBs of cut in this range would’ve been perfect but again, all this is me nitpicking with my personal preferences. People who like IEMs like Fearless S8F, S6Rui and Andromeda, which have much fuller lower mids than neutral and find Harman Target IEMs like Moondrop S8 a little on the thin side would actually like this presentation more.
Treble – CE4’s lower treble is quite smooth. In fact, I would’ve liked a bit more spank and presence here in the 5k-9kHz range, which would’ve been the icing on the already tasty cake but to be fair, the smoother treble does make CE4 a slightly warmer and interesting listen, and also makes it easier to boost volume levels for that enthusiastic loud listening without introducing any fatigue. This also works nicely in case of a live monitor for musicians in concerts, where one would want to keep the drum cymbals spankiness and vocal sibilance in check. So, of course, CE4 is free of any sibilance or splashy/sparkly cymbals.
Upper treble is CE4’s secret weapon as Jed managed to tune in 64 Audio Tia driver style of upper treble presence and extension. He told me that he loves the air octave of the frequency spectrum a lot and him being a drummer, it doesn’t surprise me at all. The upper treble character enables CE4 to have good clarity, openness, airiness as well as sparkle and zing factor which makes songs come alive without any intrusiveness, a bit like how U12t does it with its tia driver upper treble. Because of this treble tuning, one also perceives more details and a nice wide and open soundscape without any fatigue.
Soundstage and Imaging.
CE4 has a nice wide soundstage which spreads out with boundaries just beyond the ears and is very fun, addictive and immersive. Depth is good too though not as deep as width is wide. Imaging is on the average side as the instruments do not have pinpoint precision owing to the smoother lower treble tuning. It is not an imaging king but for the price range and overall signature, it’s totally fine. CE4 definitely makes up for that in soundstage very well. I don’t think I know of an IEM that does soundstage this well in its price segment.
Comparisons.
CustomArt Fibae7 (€1100) - Fibae7 is substantially more expensive and this might not seem like a fair comparison but this is me dropping the ball and saying that CE4 sounds like a baby Fibae7 up until lower treble comes in. Don’t believe me? Go compare their graphs or audition them and see/hear for yourself. I’m not saying that CE4 competes with Fibae7 shoulder to shoulder or sounds exactly like it, nope it does not! Fibae7 is one of my favourite IEMs and definitely a landmark IEM at €1100 which is tough to beat but CE4 gets close in the ballpark sound signature of Fibae7, sacrificing a few things here and there, with a little more upper treble zing but at a more affordable price. Fibae7 is a more refined sound signature overall (closer to TOTL levels) and does lower treble, overall resolution, instrument definition and imaging much better as well as comes with their signature Flat Impedance tech and more premium accessories like a Null Audio Arete UP-OCC Litz cable and Pelican 1010 case. Both do soundstage really well but Fibae7’s boundaries as well as the instruments are more defined in the stage. Fibae7 is definitely a steal at its price but if you want a baby Fibae7 till you can accumulate the moolah for the real deal, give CE4 a shot.
Moondrop S8 ($699)– Moondrop S8 follows the Harman Target curve more firmly whereas CE4 is more a loose but romantic and fun take on it with some twist and zing. S8’s upper mids are slightly more forward and prominent whereas CE4 is a smidgen easier and would probably be easier for people who like their upper mids served a tad bit easier than Harman-neutral, while still forward enough for good instrument definition. Both S8 and CE4 have similar sub-bass but CE4 has slightly more mid-bass which makes S8 more neutral and CE4 slightly more on the fun side. S8’s lower mids in the 250-500Hz are cleaner and neutral whereas CE4 has slightly fuller and warmer body there. They are similar-ish from there to the upper mids. S8’s lower treble is more neutral and slightly more prominent whereas CE4 is smoother in comparison. CE4 has Tia style upper treble which brings in some nice zing and liveliness in songs for some good fun whereas S8 sounds more reference and neutral here. CE4 has a more fun soundstage with it being wider whereas S8 is more layered and deeper but not as wide. S8 has better imaging and resolution owing to its lower treble tuning.
DUNU DK-3001 Pro ($469)– CE4 has slightly more v-shaped quality compared to DK-3001Pro. CE4 has slightly more bass quantity with quicker transients whereas DK-3001Pro is warmer and more rounded. DK-3001Pro has slightly fuller lower mids in the 400-1kHz area. CE4 has better defined forward upper midrange whereas DK-3001Pro has more forward lower treble which also results in it having slightly sharper imaging. CE4 has much better upper treble extension, openness and air along with a wider soundstage in comparison.
Tansio Mirai TSMR-6 (Default Switch 020 | $529) – CE4 has much better sub-bass and mid-bass presence, impact and quantity than TSMR-6. TSMR-6 has slightly leaner and cleaner lower midrange whereas CE4 has a fuller and more natural lower midrange in comparison. TSMR-6 has much more forward upper midrage which comes out as shouty. CE4’s upper midrange is much easier and has more natural instrument tonality and timbre. TSMR-6 has more lower treble quantity whereas CE4 has much better upper treble quantity, air and extension. CE4 also has a wider and more engulfing soundstage where TSMR-6 has a more vertically taller soundstage.
Conclusion.
Craft Ears as a new, young one-man company has highly impressed me with their craftsmanship, build quality and tuning ability. CE4 is a nice loose romantic take on the Harman Target with tia style of upper treble air and a wide soundstage. It is highly musical with very good technical capabilities and will work equally well as a CIEM for musicians as well as a companion for audiophiles for their daily musical needs. I can't wait to try it as a live monitor myself once concerts resume post the pandemic. Most of the nitpicking I did here is subjective to my personal preferences and easy to overlook because of how musical, fun and engulfing CE4 is. I highly recommend everyone to try the CE4, especially as a CIEM, because this is top notch quality and fit. It is surely a nice IEM to have in your collection or even as a primary workhorse for people with a strict budget around this price point.
Gear used for testing and review.
I am a professional musician, producer and audio engineer with experience in the performing, recording and pro-audio industry. I test products on a technical and musical level and try to write reviews as simple as possible from a music fan's perspective.
Genre Preferences.
I majorly listen to rock, acoustic, pop, metal, and sometimes popular EDM songs doing the rounds on the charts.
Disclaimer.
I would like to thank Craft Ears for sending me the CE4 to test and review. I am not affiliated with the company or any of its sellers and write this review with an unbiased opinion regardless of how the review turns out.
About Craft Ears.
Craft Ears is a young boutique one-man company from Stargard, Poland. It was started in 2019 by Jedrzej Nowicki, a young drummer who built his first CIEM out of necessity because good CIEMs from top brands were too expensive. So, he watched some videos online, ordered the raw materials and built one for himself! After learning the craft (pun intended) in detail, he started the company to build high quality affordable CIEMs for musicians and audiophiles. He now supports and works with a lot of local Polish artists and engineers too. With some good extensive R&D, Craft Ears developed and use some of their own proprietary tech in their CIEMs as well as state of the art 3D printing tech to print their shells and some internal components. They currently have 3 models in their lineup, Two, Four and Six.
All Craft Ears IEMs come with -
- 2 years warranty on components (no questions asked)
- 60 days fit warranty
- 14 days return period (covering only the cost of non-renewable materials for production)
- Lifetime support
Links - Craft Ears Four (Official Website) | Facebook | Instagram
Technical Specifications.
- 4 Balanced Armature Drivers (2 woofers | 1 Mid | 1 Super Tweeter)
- 4-way crossover
- 3-way acoustical bore design
- Frequency response - 15Hz -22kHz
- Impedance - 10Ω @ 1kHz
- Noise isolation - 26db (Universal model)
CE4 comes in a very simple cardboard box with a branding sleeve. Nothing too flashy as the main focus is on the build quality and sound as well as keeping pricing competitive.
- CE4 CIEM
- 4-core SPC cable
- Cleaning cloth
- Cleaning brush
- Small carry case
Build Quality.
The build quality of my shells is very very good! Jed asked me to leave the customisation choice to him as a surprise and I was totally blown away when I opened the package to see these shells. Jed surely has a knack for making drool worthy shell designs and his Instagram and Facebook uploads are a proof of that. As for my shells, every curve and contour is extremely smooth. The whole design flows seamlessly from the faceplate to the bottom shells and makes the whole shell feel like one solid piece. The shells are fairly light which makes me believe that Jed doesn’t fill them up with glue in totality, which I know makes repairs easier in case of warranty claims. My shells have recessed 2-pin sockets which were drilled and finished perfectly.
Cable – It’s a basic 4 core cable which gets the job done and looks fairly good while doing that (according to my friends). The 2-pin connectors as well as jack are decent quality and should serve you well. It's not the softest but feels well built. Not much to say more here.
Fit and Comfort.
Fit in case of CIEMs primarily depends on how well your ear impressions were taken and then how well the manufacturer processes them. Craft Ears accept physical as well as 3D impressions (STL files). They 3D print their shells which reduces the shell making time, labor and margin of error.
Now here’s the interesting part which kinda threw me off in the starting when I received them. The shells are extremely smooth and slide into the ears extremely easily without the need of any lubrication (wink wink) which initially made me believe that they were rubbed with some kind of finishing wax for that extra easy slide in. Even running my fingers over the shells gave me that feeling. But it’s actually extremely high gloss lacquer that does the job and Jed let me know that he specifically uses a smoother, stronger and harder lacquer which is also more scratch resistant than the one a lot of other companies use. This lacquer helps achieve this extra smooth gloss finish which makes these CIEMs extremely easy to wear.
The shells have a very nice snug fit with medium deep insertion, which in my experience is neither too shallow nor too deep and are extremely comfortable as a result. I did not need an adaptation period at all and they remain very comfortable for hours and hours together. Because of the extremely snug fit, they have excellent isolation too. With the shells in, I can hardly hear the fan in my room at full speed.
Sound Analysis.
Summary - Right off the bat, it is easily perceivable that CE4 loosely follows the Harman Target curve till the upper mids but with a V-shaped character and a nice twist and zing at the top end - 64 Audio’s Tia driver style of upper treble! Compared to Harman Target curve, CE4 has smidgen less sub-bass, slightly fuller lower mids body, slightly easier upper mids, easy smooth lower treble but instead focusing on the upper treble range with nice Tia driver character for that airy and open upper treble presence and extension.
With strong technical capabilities, it’s also highly musical with a nice wide soundstage which engulfed and threw me into the performance of the song, taking the gear out of the equation and that is definitely what a good IEM should do, be it for a music fan or a musician using it for live monitoring. If I really had to nitpick, I’d probably like a bit more of lower treble, slight wide cut around 250-500Hz and a smidgen lesser of mid-bass but to be fair, the stock tuning is highly musical and enjoyable nevertheless and all my complaining is just me nitpicking as a reviewer. This kind of quality coming from a new young brand that is just a year and a half old is very cool and impressive.
Having said that, let’s dig in deeper…
Bass – Bass is pretty well tuned for an all BA setup. It has good sub-bass presence and extends till the deep end well without any perceivable roll-off. It has more mid-bass presence though, slightly north of Harman-neutral, which definitely takes things into the fun realm. A slight tilt towards sub-bass than mid-bass would’ve made things better for me personally but I enjoy this in most songs nonetheless as it sure is fun. Overall, bass is quick, has good transients with attack on the neutral side, neither too sharp nor too smooth. Be it Muse’s ‘Panic Station’, One Republic’s ‘Rescue Me’ or Karnivool’s ‘Simple Boy’, bass in all those songs has good presence, is fun along with being technically proficient.
Mids – Upper midrange is forwardly presented like the Harman Target CE4 loosely follows, though it is slightly on the easier side of the target curve. I personally would've been okay with a bit more bite and presence here but that’s just the engineer in me talking and wanting as close to a reference presentation as possible, especially when an IEM is tuned in that ballpark. Instruments nevertheless have good clarity, presence and definition and this easier side of Harman upper mids actually works very well if you like to boost your volume levels for some enthusiastic listening. I’ve been listening to Foo Fighters and Biffy Clyro records on the CE4 like crazy at nice fun volume levels and loving it! Lower mids in the 500Hz-1kHz range are very neutral, clean and clear. They are slightly on the fuller side in the 250-400Hz range than neutral and that along with mid-bass adds a slightly fuller body in the region which takes away from clean precision and leads to the IEM sounding slightly fuller/warmer. 2-3dBs of cut in this range would’ve been perfect but again, all this is me nitpicking with my personal preferences. People who like IEMs like Fearless S8F, S6Rui and Andromeda, which have much fuller lower mids than neutral and find Harman Target IEMs like Moondrop S8 a little on the thin side would actually like this presentation more.
Treble – CE4’s lower treble is quite smooth. In fact, I would’ve liked a bit more spank and presence here in the 5k-9kHz range, which would’ve been the icing on the already tasty cake but to be fair, the smoother treble does make CE4 a slightly warmer and interesting listen, and also makes it easier to boost volume levels for that enthusiastic loud listening without introducing any fatigue. This also works nicely in case of a live monitor for musicians in concerts, where one would want to keep the drum cymbals spankiness and vocal sibilance in check. So, of course, CE4 is free of any sibilance or splashy/sparkly cymbals.
Upper treble is CE4’s secret weapon as Jed managed to tune in 64 Audio Tia driver style of upper treble presence and extension. He told me that he loves the air octave of the frequency spectrum a lot and him being a drummer, it doesn’t surprise me at all. The upper treble character enables CE4 to have good clarity, openness, airiness as well as sparkle and zing factor which makes songs come alive without any intrusiveness, a bit like how U12t does it with its tia driver upper treble. Because of this treble tuning, one also perceives more details and a nice wide and open soundscape without any fatigue.
Soundstage and Imaging.
CE4 has a nice wide soundstage which spreads out with boundaries just beyond the ears and is very fun, addictive and immersive. Depth is good too though not as deep as width is wide. Imaging is on the average side as the instruments do not have pinpoint precision owing to the smoother lower treble tuning. It is not an imaging king but for the price range and overall signature, it’s totally fine. CE4 definitely makes up for that in soundstage very well. I don’t think I know of an IEM that does soundstage this well in its price segment.
Comparisons.
CustomArt Fibae7 (€1100) - Fibae7 is substantially more expensive and this might not seem like a fair comparison but this is me dropping the ball and saying that CE4 sounds like a baby Fibae7 up until lower treble comes in. Don’t believe me? Go compare their graphs or audition them and see/hear for yourself. I’m not saying that CE4 competes with Fibae7 shoulder to shoulder or sounds exactly like it, nope it does not! Fibae7 is one of my favourite IEMs and definitely a landmark IEM at €1100 which is tough to beat but CE4 gets close in the ballpark sound signature of Fibae7, sacrificing a few things here and there, with a little more upper treble zing but at a more affordable price. Fibae7 is a more refined sound signature overall (closer to TOTL levels) and does lower treble, overall resolution, instrument definition and imaging much better as well as comes with their signature Flat Impedance tech and more premium accessories like a Null Audio Arete UP-OCC Litz cable and Pelican 1010 case. Both do soundstage really well but Fibae7’s boundaries as well as the instruments are more defined in the stage. Fibae7 is definitely a steal at its price but if you want a baby Fibae7 till you can accumulate the moolah for the real deal, give CE4 a shot.
Moondrop S8 ($699)– Moondrop S8 follows the Harman Target curve more firmly whereas CE4 is more a loose but romantic and fun take on it with some twist and zing. S8’s upper mids are slightly more forward and prominent whereas CE4 is a smidgen easier and would probably be easier for people who like their upper mids served a tad bit easier than Harman-neutral, while still forward enough for good instrument definition. Both S8 and CE4 have similar sub-bass but CE4 has slightly more mid-bass which makes S8 more neutral and CE4 slightly more on the fun side. S8’s lower mids in the 250-500Hz are cleaner and neutral whereas CE4 has slightly fuller and warmer body there. They are similar-ish from there to the upper mids. S8’s lower treble is more neutral and slightly more prominent whereas CE4 is smoother in comparison. CE4 has Tia style upper treble which brings in some nice zing and liveliness in songs for some good fun whereas S8 sounds more reference and neutral here. CE4 has a more fun soundstage with it being wider whereas S8 is more layered and deeper but not as wide. S8 has better imaging and resolution owing to its lower treble tuning.
DUNU DK-3001 Pro ($469)– CE4 has slightly more v-shaped quality compared to DK-3001Pro. CE4 has slightly more bass quantity with quicker transients whereas DK-3001Pro is warmer and more rounded. DK-3001Pro has slightly fuller lower mids in the 400-1kHz area. CE4 has better defined forward upper midrange whereas DK-3001Pro has more forward lower treble which also results in it having slightly sharper imaging. CE4 has much better upper treble extension, openness and air along with a wider soundstage in comparison.
Tansio Mirai TSMR-6 (Default Switch 020 | $529) – CE4 has much better sub-bass and mid-bass presence, impact and quantity than TSMR-6. TSMR-6 has slightly leaner and cleaner lower midrange whereas CE4 has a fuller and more natural lower midrange in comparison. TSMR-6 has much more forward upper midrage which comes out as shouty. CE4’s upper midrange is much easier and has more natural instrument tonality and timbre. TSMR-6 has more lower treble quantity whereas CE4 has much better upper treble quantity, air and extension. CE4 also has a wider and more engulfing soundstage where TSMR-6 has a more vertically taller soundstage.
Conclusion.
Craft Ears as a new, young one-man company has highly impressed me with their craftsmanship, build quality and tuning ability. CE4 is a nice loose romantic take on the Harman Target with tia style of upper treble air and a wide soundstage. It is highly musical with very good technical capabilities and will work equally well as a CIEM for musicians as well as a companion for audiophiles for their daily musical needs. I can't wait to try it as a live monitor myself once concerts resume post the pandemic. Most of the nitpicking I did here is subjective to my personal preferences and easy to overlook because of how musical, fun and engulfing CE4 is. I highly recommend everyone to try the CE4, especially as a CIEM, because this is top notch quality and fit. It is surely a nice IEM to have in your collection or even as a primary workhorse for people with a strict budget around this price point.
Gear used for testing and review.
- DAPs – iBasso DX160 | Hiby R6 Pro
- Laptop – Apple Macbook Pro 15″
- Audio Interfaces - Universal Audio Apollo | Focusrite Clarett 8PreX
- Phone – OnePlus 7 Pro
- Foo Fighters – The Pretender, Best of you & Everlong
- Coldplay – Paradise, Up in flames & Everglow + Everyday Life Album
- Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings & Ellipsis albums
- Ed Sheeran – Thinking out loud, Bloodstream & Galway Girl
- Dave Matthews Band – Come Tomorrow album
- Dua Lipa – Future Nostalgia album
- Chainsmokers – Somebody, Sickboy, This Feeling & Closer
- John Mayer – Slow dancing in a burning room, Stop this Train & Say
- Gavin James – Always & Hearts on fire
- Switchfoot – Meant to live & Dare you to move
- Porcupine Tree – Sound of Muzak, Blackest Eyes & .3
- Our Lady Peace – Do You Like It & Innocent
- Linkin Park – Papercut, Somewhere I belong & Talking to myself
- Maroon 5 – She will be loved, Payphone & Lost stars
- Lifehouse – All in all & Come back down
- Breaking Benjamin – Diary of Jane
- Karnivool – Simple boy & Goliath
- Dead Letter Circus – Real you
- I Am Giant – Purple heart, City limits & Transmission
- Muse – Panic station
- James Bay – Hold back the river
Animagus
@rattlingblanketwoman Hey! Intro price is €550 but the final price depends on all your customisation choices once you're done selecting whatever options you need. I've linked the product page (official website) and if you click on ORDER, it'll take you to the customisation page which has prices for all the customisation options with net price displayed at the bottom. I generally mention the price if the IEM has a fixed price, otherwise I link the official product page if final price depends on customizations or fluctuates depending on currency. Nevertheless I've edited and included it in now for your convenience. Cheers!
rattlingblanketwoman
Thanks for the reply. sorry I didn't spot it sooner. I appreciate it!
Craft Ears is a new custom in-ear monitor manufacturer hailing from Poland. Their target audience is audiophiles and musicians and they work closely with many local artists, providing high-quality stage monitors. In this review, I’m checking out the Craft Ears Craft FOUR, a 4-driver custom in-ear monitor with 4 balanced armature drivers and a 4-way crossover. Let’s get into it.
Craft Ears website: https://www.craftears.com/
This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. All observations and opinions here are my own based on my experience with the product.
Build and Design
Knowing that Craft Ears was a relatively new brand, I didn’t really know what to expect in terms of build quality. Needless to say, the first time I opened the box and laid my eyes on these monitors, I was delighted with what I saw.
Craft Ears uses the latest 3D printing technology in their manufacturing process and the results speak for themselves. My customs came with stunning blue shells that have a subtle green swirl mixed in and sparkle under the light.
Inlaid into the faceplates is real American chestnut wood which contrasts beautifully with the blue shells. In addition, a silver-coloured Craft Ears logo is embedded on each faceplate and the outcome is easily one of my favourite CIEM design to date.
Every part of the surface is curved and smooth all over with no visible flaws. So, it seems that Craft Ears already has their 3D printing process down to a fine art. I must say, in terms of build quality alone, these are of a very high standard.
You can specify the details of the design you want via the order form on the Craft Ears website. It allows you to choose shell colours plus faceplate and custom logo designs. If you have a specific idea in mind for a custom design, you can also request that on the form or talk to someone via email to get exactly what you’re looking for.
Fit, Comfort and Noise Isolation
As I say in all my custom in-ear reviews, the fit and comfort rely first and foremost on getting a good set of ear impressions. When ordering a set of Craft Ears customs, you can either send them a set of physical or digital impressions. The advantages of digital impressions are that you don’t have to wait or pay for shipping.
The set I received is very comfortable and the shells are similar to my Itsfit Fusion and Custom Art FIBAE Black, both of which were 3D printed as well. Noise isolation is comparable with my other CIEMs and again depends on having good ear impressions and a good fit. With the Craft FOUR in my ears, I can’t really hear a darn thing going on around me and that’s the whole idea, right?
From the get-go, the Craft FOUR’s stage monitoring pedigree can be heard in the accuracy of its timbre. But you’ll notice something else right away: the FOUR is a musical IEM too. It is uncommonly detailed – unusual considering the warmth of its tonality and relatively calm upper treble.
Craft FOUR is defined by its upper midrange and lower treble emphasis backed up by a speedy and light but warm bass. While it could be labelled as a predominantly technical IEM, its core treble dip ensures that there isn’t an all-encompassing brightness – a trait that’s often necessary in the pursuit of extreme detail retrieval.
Bass
Craft FOUR has a light, punchy bass that focuses on speed and accuracy. Despite its speed, however, it has a lovely, natural decay which gives it body and fullness. This is a typically fast BA bass that never feels lethargic or gets bogged down: it will keep up with all types of demanding music with nimbleness and poise.
Bass extension is really outstanding and it’s rare to see such a linear transition from mid to sub-bass and so little fall off with a multi-BA IEM. It may not be the most impactful or hard-hitting but it is sufficient enough to be engaging.
Sub-bass rumble is light and controlled and the mid-bass is punchy but reserved, leaving lots of room for the mids to shine and adding to the openness of the stage. Hans Zimmer’s “X-MP” is a track that showcases FOUR’s bass speed and agility. The frenetic energy of the drums can be an obstacle for lesser IEMs but the Craft FOUR doesn’t even break a sweat. In addition, the bass doesn’t mask or smother any of the finer background details in the track.
Mids
The transition from the upper bass to the lower midrange is a gentle slope that eases in carrying warmth and giving the sound body. When we get to the core mids though, they’re quite neutral but still have good note size so they don’t sound anaemic or unduly analytical.
Then there is a fairly rapid lift in the upper midrange that makes vocals and guitars really come alive. It brings the midrange quite forward which is intensified by the lower treble plateau (more on this later) and the relatively neutral level of the bass. Craft FOUR has a very vibrant and articulate midrange that’s full of presence and sparkle.
In Julian Javan’s “Adagio” Craft FOUR presents the vocals and guitars with clarity and definition and lifts them well above the lengthy bass notes. The presentation is airy and light with abundant presence and space between instruments.
Powered by a Sonion E25ST001 treble driver, FOUR’s sound signature could be called bright. But it’s not a brightness caused by an aggressive upper treble. Rather, it’s a more like a linear plateau that’s raised from the upper midrange all the way to the upper treble.
Now, keep in mind that the bass is reasonably neutral and this treble plateau is only slightly north of neutral as well. Rather than raising these areas, FOUR attenuates the midrange and part of the upper treble instead. This doesn’t make the midrange recessed in the least – quite the opposite as the mids and especially the upper mids are well forward in the resulting presentation. This is an intelligent tuning that delivers loads of detail without the often associated harsh side effects.
FOUR cuts around 10kHz to avoid any piercing or sizzle and this works particularly well as it stays smooth without any significant loss of detail. The upper treble is then lifted again after the dip and by doing so provides plenty of air without compromising timbre.
Soundstage
Craft FOUR creates a large stage, enhanced by its airiness, upper treble extension and reserved low end. It’s a particularly wide stage but one that also creates ample depth in front of the listener. Separation is excellent and creates a stable image with clearly discernible layers. There’s still a little warmth in the air so it doesn’t feel stale or clinical, just open and organized. Vocals and stage position are both neutral – neither intimate or distant but a comfortable in-between.
Custom Art FIBAE 3 ($593)
The Custom Art FIBAE 3 (review here) is a triple-BA driver IEM with a loosely similar tuning i.e. one that is balanced with a slight focus on the midrange. FIBAE 3 has more mid-bass and this gives it a warmer general tonality.
Throughout the midrange, FIBAE 3 has a thicker presentation with more rounded notes and a smoother presentation. Craft FOUR is leaner, has faster transients and greater definition. The Custom Art romanticizes vocals more with added richness and softer edges. Craft Four, in comparison, makes vocals more upfront and vivid but in a less smooth manner.
FIBAE 3 and Craft FOUR both have a detailed but reasonably smooth treble. Craft FOUR’s treble is slightly more forward which, in conjunction with the leaner midrange and lighter bass creates an airier stage with slightly increased instrument separation. While this aspect of the Craft FOUR’s presentation gives it a slight edge in stage dimensions and detail, the FIBAE 3’s slightly warmer tone feels more natural.
Empire Ears Bravado ($599)
The Empire Ears Bravado (review here) is a hybrid dual-driver (1DD+1BA) iem. It has a starkly contrasting approach compared to Craft FOUR. This one is about all-out fun with its big, impactful bass and laid back treble.
Bravado’s bass is bold, powerful and has a slow, thick presentation. But it does have great texture and pleasing warmth to it. Its sub-bass rumble can really be felt too, in a way that only a dynamic driver can deliver. In comparison, Craft FOUR’s bass is light, tight and punchy. It’s much tidier in comparison and tuned more for detail than outright impact.
Mids have less clarity and are more recessed than the Craft FOUR. Somehow the Bravado still manages to have pretty good detail retrieval and a large stage. The FOUR’s midrange is more forward and has greater transparency. Vocals are more articulated and clear and the tonality, on the whole, is brighter.
Bravado has a very easygoing treble that’s feathered and non-fatiguing. Despite that, it still feels quite airy and the stage has good dimensions. Craft FOUR, on the other hand, has a starker, more accurate treble, giving it a brighter presentation and improved imaging.
Craft FOUR is a unique IEM that is a blend of accuracy and musicality. It manages to be highly detailed without needing to resort to an aggressive treble. With its mixture of light warmth plus an upper midrange and lower treble elevation, it has a sound that leans towards bright but remains fairly smooth.
Moreover, Craft Ears is designing and building shells that look and feel truly premium which is surprising for such a young company. They’ve come out of the gate with the bar raised high and I very much look forward to what they do next.
Specifications
- Driver configuration: 4 balanced armature drivers
- Frequency response: 15Hz-22kHz
- Impedance: 10 Ohms @ 1kHz
- 4-way electrical crossover
- 3-bore acoustical design
- -26dB noise isolation
Introduction
Craft Ears is a new CIEM manufacturer hailing from Poland. It is currently a one-man show managed by its founder, Jedrek.
I first chanced upon the brand on Instagram then contacted them for review units. This review was only made possible by Jedrek's kindness and generosity. Most of my content readers know how I roll - my assessment on IEMs tend to be critical and unforgiving. It is honestly rare for brands to decide to work with me due to my style of writing.
Accessories, Build Quality, Process
Lets talk about the accessories and overall experience. Craft Ears uses 3D printing for their shells. They also accept .stl files and their shell customization is really affordable. The fit on my CIEMs were very good on the first try (also props to Zeppelin & Co for doing my ear molds!) due to the accuracy of the scanners and printers that Craft uses. However I have to criticize the shells (not the faceplate) here. The clear transparent shells are thin and they exhibit some form of cloudiness. Honestly I asked for them in clear so I could peep the internals and to see what's going on internally. As of the time of this review I recommend that you order opaque shells should you purchase an IEM from Craft Ears. The IEMs are very light and are comfortable. The standard wires used here are plastics1 I think.
The standard storage case is your typical OEM case. I recommend that you purchase the Pelican case upgrade if you're going to use this on the daily. The standard case is too small. You're going to struggle hard if you use thicker third party cables or have big CIEMs. The UIEMs also came with a full set of final E eartips (5 sizes). Very nice. Both come with cleaning tools but the CIEM has a tool that has a brush.
Sound
Now, onto the sound. The Craft4 is first and foremost designed for stage musicians but I will analyse it from an audiophile perspective.
The CIEMs and UIEMs sound different. I'll describe the CIEM first since Craft - to my knowledge - tunes the CIEM first then tries to match the UIEM. The Craft4 in CIEM aims for a v-shaped sound signature with the recession at the lower mids. I'd say it is brighter than warm/bassy.
Bass
The bass of the Craft4 is well executed, with a focus on the midbass rather than the subbass. Midbass is never overpowering here. It has the speed to back itself up and the definition on toms and snares can be downright amazing on well produced tracks (Paramore's Let The Flames Begin has nice drums at the start). However I'd say the subbass is a tad rolled off relative to its midbass. It punches rather than rumbles. The presence of the upperbass surprisingly isn't bloated here. It lends moderate warmth to the CIEM.
Midrange
The midrange is more focused on the uppermidrange. Due to the lower mid recession, vocals, especially male, can find themselves behind in the mix. Guitars also aren't as forward due to the dip. The lowermidrange does also show some form of veil (not muddy, its a tonal thing) and is more "diffuse" in presentation where the sound feels more spread out and larger rather than being small and focused. I prefer more focused imagery so it does take away some enjoyment from the presentation. If you come from reference studio monitors (which usually are a tad midforward) you're going to notice a midrange dip. The midrange is behind relative to its bass and treble. Typical for v-shaped IEMs.
Treble
Treble is the Craft4's make or break. It can be polarising. Cymbals render themselves thin, forward, clear and aggressive. Yes, they have great treble extension but I do think it can be too thin sounding for some due to the forwardness of treble in the lower treble and upper treble region. They do showcase the metallicness with cymbals well (which CIEM pick up better than UIEM) but it may be too much for some.
Technical Ability
The strongest aspect of the Craft4 is its technical ability. Transients are fast, hard and sport great clarity. Imaging is sharp and precise. Layering and separation is done very well here. Daft Punk's Lose Yourself To Dance has a part where the vocals go "Come on, Come on, Come on..." around your head and the Craft4 images that very well. Stormzy's Sounds of the Skeng is also very well layered here with its synths. Instruments are panned wide and perhaps there is a feeling of depth due to the midrange recession.
CIEM vs UIEM
The UIEM is actually tuned to be warmer to try to emulate the CIEM's bass after the fit. However I'd personally say that the UIEM does end up sounding warmer and bassier and its bass isn't as tight. The treble on the UIEM also differs - to my ears the CIEM is quite boosted in upper treble whereas the UIEM has less presence in that region. I actually prefer the treble in the UIEM as the CIEM can sometimes be harsh sounding with the amount of energy it has way above 10khz. The UIEM's treble does sound more even to my ears and it sounds "colder" compared to the CIEM with its cymbal tonality.
I also found the CIEM to be rather harsh with its upper treble for the first and second day after I received it. Seems like I got accustomed to it and the harshness is alleviated. I let my friends try the UIEM and CIEM and they reported no such harshness issues. Seems like its a me-thing. Would also like to highlight that the CIEM images better with a more encompassing soundstage/presentation, where the UIEM sounds more constrained with its dimensions and doesn't image quite as well.
Conclusion
As you can probably guess that from the majority of the review, I do not enjoy the tonality of the Craft4. However it objectively does perform well with its technical aspects like imaging and layering as well as its hard, fast and excellent transient response. From an audiophile perspective I do want a more reference-level tonality since I place a lot of emphasis on tonal balance. I genuinely think Craft Ears has potential here. They've the fundamentals down with its technical ability & just need to target a more reference tone to match my preferences.
Craft Ears is a new CIEM manufacturer hailing from Poland. It is currently a one-man show managed by its founder, Jedrek.
I first chanced upon the brand on Instagram then contacted them for review units. This review was only made possible by Jedrek's kindness and generosity. Most of my content readers know how I roll - my assessment on IEMs tend to be critical and unforgiving. It is honestly rare for brands to decide to work with me due to my style of writing.
Accessories, Build Quality, Process
Lets talk about the accessories and overall experience. Craft Ears uses 3D printing for their shells. They also accept .stl files and their shell customization is really affordable. The fit on my CIEMs were very good on the first try (also props to Zeppelin & Co for doing my ear molds!) due to the accuracy of the scanners and printers that Craft uses. However I have to criticize the shells (not the faceplate) here. The clear transparent shells are thin and they exhibit some form of cloudiness. Honestly I asked for them in clear so I could peep the internals and to see what's going on internally. As of the time of this review I recommend that you order opaque shells should you purchase an IEM from Craft Ears. The IEMs are very light and are comfortable. The standard wires used here are plastics1 I think.
The standard storage case is your typical OEM case. I recommend that you purchase the Pelican case upgrade if you're going to use this on the daily. The standard case is too small. You're going to struggle hard if you use thicker third party cables or have big CIEMs. The UIEMs also came with a full set of final E eartips (5 sizes). Very nice. Both come with cleaning tools but the CIEM has a tool that has a brush.
Sound
Now, onto the sound. The Craft4 is first and foremost designed for stage musicians but I will analyse it from an audiophile perspective.
The CIEMs and UIEMs sound different. I'll describe the CIEM first since Craft - to my knowledge - tunes the CIEM first then tries to match the UIEM. The Craft4 in CIEM aims for a v-shaped sound signature with the recession at the lower mids. I'd say it is brighter than warm/bassy.
Bass
The bass of the Craft4 is well executed, with a focus on the midbass rather than the subbass. Midbass is never overpowering here. It has the speed to back itself up and the definition on toms and snares can be downright amazing on well produced tracks (Paramore's Let The Flames Begin has nice drums at the start). However I'd say the subbass is a tad rolled off relative to its midbass. It punches rather than rumbles. The presence of the upperbass surprisingly isn't bloated here. It lends moderate warmth to the CIEM.
Midrange
The midrange is more focused on the uppermidrange. Due to the lower mid recession, vocals, especially male, can find themselves behind in the mix. Guitars also aren't as forward due to the dip. The lowermidrange does also show some form of veil (not muddy, its a tonal thing) and is more "diffuse" in presentation where the sound feels more spread out and larger rather than being small and focused. I prefer more focused imagery so it does take away some enjoyment from the presentation. If you come from reference studio monitors (which usually are a tad midforward) you're going to notice a midrange dip. The midrange is behind relative to its bass and treble. Typical for v-shaped IEMs.
Treble
Treble is the Craft4's make or break. It can be polarising. Cymbals render themselves thin, forward, clear and aggressive. Yes, they have great treble extension but I do think it can be too thin sounding for some due to the forwardness of treble in the lower treble and upper treble region. They do showcase the metallicness with cymbals well (which CIEM pick up better than UIEM) but it may be too much for some.
Technical Ability
The strongest aspect of the Craft4 is its technical ability. Transients are fast, hard and sport great clarity. Imaging is sharp and precise. Layering and separation is done very well here. Daft Punk's Lose Yourself To Dance has a part where the vocals go "Come on, Come on, Come on..." around your head and the Craft4 images that very well. Stormzy's Sounds of the Skeng is also very well layered here with its synths. Instruments are panned wide and perhaps there is a feeling of depth due to the midrange recession.
CIEM vs UIEM
The UIEM is actually tuned to be warmer to try to emulate the CIEM's bass after the fit. However I'd personally say that the UIEM does end up sounding warmer and bassier and its bass isn't as tight. The treble on the UIEM also differs - to my ears the CIEM is quite boosted in upper treble whereas the UIEM has less presence in that region. I actually prefer the treble in the UIEM as the CIEM can sometimes be harsh sounding with the amount of energy it has way above 10khz. The UIEM's treble does sound more even to my ears and it sounds "colder" compared to the CIEM with its cymbal tonality.
I also found the CIEM to be rather harsh with its upper treble for the first and second day after I received it. Seems like I got accustomed to it and the harshness is alleviated. I let my friends try the UIEM and CIEM and they reported no such harshness issues. Seems like its a me-thing. Would also like to highlight that the CIEM images better with a more encompassing soundstage/presentation, where the UIEM sounds more constrained with its dimensions and doesn't image quite as well.
Conclusion
As you can probably guess that from the majority of the review, I do not enjoy the tonality of the Craft4. However it objectively does perform well with its technical aspects like imaging and layering as well as its hard, fast and excellent transient response. From an audiophile perspective I do want a more reference-level tonality since I place a lot of emphasis on tonal balance. I genuinely think Craft Ears has potential here. They've the fundamentals down with its technical ability & just need to target a more reference tone to match my preferences.
Attachments
EDIT: Seems to be true of every review on this page, I think... comments about how it is "for the price" and "in this price range" but I seem to be missing how much it costs. Their site doesn't help. It's probably way out of my league, but now I'm curious!