The Empire, Ears, Raven has been highly anticipated for a while, and as I had some doubts to how good it could possibly sound.. I was pleasantly surprised
(Resolution)
The resolution of the raven is downright spectacular. Clarity and instrument separation is up there with the best that I’ve heard and I am hearing things in the music that I have not heard before and it goes into every genre so I can attest that the resolution is apparent with added texture on every sound and very easily reaches the standards worthy of the TOTL price tag
(Bass)
The bass is one that you might notice first it is beyond satisfying! Enough to feel it in your body I always enjoyed the sub bass up of the Odin but the raven takes it to another level with some welcoming extra midbass it is extremely detailed and never loose it really adds a big fun factor to this Iem and the slam left me jaw dropped, hip-hop songs, and edm can get really wild on the raven
(Mids)
The mids I thought we’re going to be a weak point due to headphones shows impression but that is far from what I’m hearing. The Mids are beautiful! Not to forward but not recessed whatsoever they are clear as a bell and very emotionally involving certain artists will have easy access to pulling tears from your eyes, or make you sing along. I was pleasantly surprised in this department
Not as forward as a Mason/Phoenix or Bird but not as recessed an Xe6. Fits evenly in the middle
(Soundstage)
The soundstage on the Raven is HUGE and feels like what you would think surround sound would be like but in your ears. Very impressive possibly the most I’ve ever heard but doesn’t sacrifice anything else the soundstage is a big wow factor with this Iem every genre sounded open wide with extreme depth and a musical aura enveloping me in each track I tested
(Treble)
The treble on the raven is detailed airy and sparkly with a very satisfying amount of it and some tracks really made me get chills from the sheer detail of the treble what I personally love is that it was never painful. It got all the way to the point of surpassing satisfaction, but never hit that S or T to make me wince
(Conclusion)
The raven while being very anticipated and hyped, but also polarizing has finally came out and knocked me out of my shoes. I am very grateful to have this one in my collection. It fits beautifully, and I really hope more people can spend some time with it
When compared to the annihilator, not quite matching the amount of treble but it went toe to toe in resolution clarity and instrument separation, but then surpassed it in bass (especially slam) , depth/soundstage and the textures within each instrument I love both of these iems big time
Compared to the xe6 while not having as much warmth and bass the Raven held its own in terms of detail within that bass but clarity separation and mids are a big win for the raven but don’t get me wrong xe6 still has its special sauce
The raven is very special and does infact sound like the proper improvement to the Odin I was hoping for. I’m excited to keep spending more time with it. If you’re looking to get one and have the money I would totally go for it as it is possibly at the top of every totl iem I have tried, which is a lot but don’t get me wrong Most of them are very special in their own way. The raven is really sticking out to me as a champ at this time
