'Homunculus' is engineered with the perfect female vocals, realistic portrayal of unplugged and live acoustics. It's built with an extremely high efficiency configuration coupled with the newest components in the industry. 'Homunculus' features a customised 9.7mm dynamic driver which solved vibrational distortions while replicating cinematic bass response. It uses bespoke vented mid BA to texturised vocals and added a tinge of emotions while reducing e-stats inefficiency with a dual electrostatics set-up. MMR team behind 'Homunculus' added on Eletech's proprietary internal LITZ wires as final touches to perfect the IEM. Housed within a MMR specialty Titanium shell, the monitor is offers perfect ergonomics that is befitting of daily usage.
Pros: Smooth, detailed, controlled, relaxing and wide soundstage
Cons: Uncomfortable, boring treble
I want to thank Audiotiers.com, head-fi.org and Metal Magic Research for allowing me to participate in the tour of the Homunculus and Thummin.
The MMR Homunculus is an experience that is both amazing but disappointing at the same time. The unboxing experience is full of wow factor and handcrafted goodness. The build quality of the Homunculus shows off the strength and beauty of titanium. The design is something from a science fiction novel. But the comfort is something of a torture device that focuses on slicing the ears slowly into spiral curls. Thus the overall listening experience is a mixed bag of astounding sound and unpleasant comfort.
Here is link to the Metal Magic Research page that will explain the technology of the Homunculus a whole lot better than I can: https://metalmagic.co/pages/universal
I am going to keep this review very short and to the point as I didn’t have a lot of listening time to the Homunculus for various reasons. The first and foremost reason being the comfort was not pleasant for me. The second reason is that I was only given one week to listen and review both the Homunculus and Thummim. BUT mostly the reason is I dreaded putting the Homunculus in my ears because of the discomfort that they caused.
Let’s get the unpleasant comfort out the way first. The oddball shape, semi oval, is too large for my ears and never sat properly no matter how I positioned it. The edge where the front plate and back shell meet was like a razor blade against my ear and caused major discomfort. The back shell being ridged, angled and flat caused massive discomfort in how the Homunculus sat in my ear. As for the angle of the nozzle and the length that also caused issues for me but not as much as the shell. The angle is a little aggressive and the nozzle is a little short but it did manage to hold the shell in place and never slipped out. Overall the design of the Homunculus just doesn’t fit my ears but it might yours. As for seal and isolation of outside noises, the Homunculus seems to do an adequate job as long as you don’t mind readjusting for comfort.
Now for the pleasantries. The unboxing experience is incredible. The presentation box is well built and artful. The carry bag is made of leather and smells divine, even though it is a little bit tight and small in the opening. The overall build and design of the Homunculus is top notch and you can tell that MMR put a lot of thought and research into the Homunculus. The Eletech cable is a very nice touch and is one of the best IEM cables I have had the pleasure of using.
Sound:
BASS: Extended, controlled, detailed and textured. There is a slight mid bass emphasis, sub bass is light and the overall presentation lacks impact. Tone is pleasing and overall it is clean and clear. I just wish that at times there was more body and impact. Details are plentiful and portrayed in a way that is pleasing and not distracting.
MIDS: Unbalanced, lack cohesion and thin. Mids suffer from a slight metallic timbre and are thin, especially in the lower end. The center and upper mids do thicken up a little and are more forward and detailed. The upper mids overpower the lower mids and cause issues with instruments sounding unbalanced and incohesive, ie. violins, banjos, guitars and upper registers of pianos will be more prominent. Vocals also sound unbalanced when listening to mixed groups as the females will be more prominent. If you listen mostly to female vocals then the Homunculus will be pleasing. Details are plentiful but do come off as somewhat metallic.
TREBLE: Polite, smooth, pleasing, lacks energy. The treble is pleasant but can be described as slightly boring. I actually like it for the most part just wish it had a little more energy, kind of reminds me of how I am in the morning before I have coffee. Treble has a pleasing tone but isn’t natural sounding but doesn’t suffer from metallic timbre like the mids. Details are readily available and easy to digest.
SOUNDSTAGE: Huge, spacious and deep. The soundstage of the Homunculus is huge. I love the soundstage of the Homunculus for the vast size and space it portrays. The depth and layering is excellent. You can easily determine the seating and positioning on stage.
COMPARISON: The Meze Rai Penta is a beautifully crafted IEM that fits my ear like a glove. As for sound the Rai Penta emits a fuller, balanced, cohesive sound with a tad more air and energy but the soundstage is smaller and are about as defined in depth and layering.
The (Drop) Empire Ears Zeus is not as well built but does fit my ears better and more comfortably. The Zeus is a brighter sound signature but has more cohesive and balanced mids with more body. The treble is more energetic. The Zeus is more aggressive in it’s detail portrayal. Zeus has a little less mid bass presence which gives an edge to punchiness in the presentation to the Homunculus but the Zeus has a little more extension and sub bass detail. Soundstage the Zeus isn’t as wide as the Homunculus but is close to equal when it comes to depth and layering.
CONCLUSION: The MMR Homunculus is unique and different and it is an experience that I have mixed reactions to. There is a lot to like about it, the controlled, detailed bass and the smooth, detailed treble and the expansive, detailed soundstage, incredible clean and clear resolution and detail retrieval. But sadly the dislikes are too much for me to overlook for the price; the thin, metallic mids, boring treble and the design that is like a razor blade torture device from a sci-fi novel. I wanted to like the MMR Homunculus but I just don’t like them being in my ears because they are so uncomfortable.
YouTube review:
Gear Used:
Pioneer XDP30r
Sony NW-A105
NextDrive Spectre X
Mytek Liberty
THX AAA 789
How about upgrading to a cryo super copper cable? Would that improve dynamics?
Excellent impression review, i audtioned the Penta as well, spot on w/ yours, thanks...
Pros: Amazing female vocals
Great DD lows
Well extended treble
Amazing build quality
Cons: Way too genre specific
Fit might not be optimal for many
Disclaimer: The Homunculus was provided to me for a few days in order for me to publish a review, with the option to purchase. I will be sending it for MMR's EU tour (to be announced soon), and no incentive was provided for a favourable review. Considering I've had a somewhat limited time with it, the review will be more of a general overview than a fully detailed description.
The packaging of the Homunculus is rather unconventional but purely awesome. On the exterior there is a sort of ribcage, and when you open it up there is the case with a mechanical heart printed on top. Huuuuge nerdgasm moment, and quite possibly the coolest unpacking experience I've ever experienced in the audio industry. I liked the case so much that I pleaded Joseph to purchase it from him, and thankfully he agreed
The IEMs themselves are built really, really well, with a sort of "disc" design. The unboxing itself is extremely unconventional, and so is the shell design - some would love it, some would hate it, but either way it is undeniably unique and the raw build quality is exceptional, so that gets a 10/10 from me. They fit me really well, but for someone with smaller ears I can imagine them either being painful or having to go for a shallower insertion.
Not only that, the stock cable that is included is the Eletech Prudence (SPC), which I find further enhances the vocals, and is an excellent upgrade cable. I loved using it so much during my time with the Homunculus, the first thing I've be doing is order one to pair with my other IEMs.
Where sound is concerned, I'd normally approach this as a bass/midrange/treble, but I feel like in the case of the Homunculus the overall presentation and tuning are so specific, it only really makes sense to discuss them as one whole.
In terms of its FR, I found the Homunculus to have a warm bass presentation, a relatively flat lower midrange and elevated upper mids as well as lower treble. It extends very well but the emphasis remains in the lower treble I'd say.
The tuning of the Homunculus makes it sound really well with female vocals above all. The elevated upper midrange results in male vocals sounding quite off, and quite a lot of EDM and pop to sound quite hot, but if you're after an IEM that specifically performs female vocals, there are few that do it as brutally well as MMR's middle tier IEM. Objectively speaking, they do not offer a realistic presentation, but instead a beautifully exaggerated and enhanced one.
The Homunculus is also relatively technical. I found the soundstage to be neutral in terms of width - not the widest of the most narrow one, but would fall behind popular options such as the Solaris in that respect. It is worth mentioning that they opened up noticeably with burn-in. They retrieve a good amount of detail, and offer great separation.
Considering that everything up until now was rather positive, you might be wondering why I took a full star off the Homunculus' rating, and that is mostly because I believe that an IEM should be able to present any and every kind of music at least reasonably well, and have a few genres or categories where it is outstanding. The Homunculus completes the second requisite, but falls short where performing various types of music well is concerned.
Comparing the Homunculus to other IEMs is particularly difficult, because it would be a rather black and white discussion - most serious choices around that price point would heavily outperform it in genres where female vocals aren't the centrepiece, and wipe the floor with their competitors when female vocals are the focus of the performance.
All in all, my verdict on these should be pretty clear by now. Heavily recommended if you want something to listen to female vocals with, or mainly listen to female vocals anyhow. The Homunculus doesn't do great as an all-rounder, but ultimately it wasn't designed to be an all-rounder, but more of a niche pick
Great work by MMR, and I look forward to publishing the Thumimm review a couple of days from now!
Pros: Sensual tones
Beautiful soundstage
Great mids / high-mids
Great technical abilities
Cons: Fit could be difficult
Lack of dynamic
Few dB missing in subs
The Homunclus were graciously lent by Josph Mou / MMR to orgnize a french Tour on Tellement Nomade. I would like to thank him for allowing us to discover his new products and for the trust he has placed in TN.
I am in no way commercially linked to MMR and have received no compensation whatsoever for this return.
Introduction
MMR, Metal Magic Research, is a Sino-Singaporean company founded in mid 2019 by Joseph Mou. He is also the father of Jomo Audio, an entity whose reputation is well known in the audiophile world, which generates great expectations on these new headphones. As a Jomo Trinity SS owner (after owning Samba and Flamenco), I'm very eager to discover MMR's proposals.
The four different MMR models that currently exist were presented to the public at the CanJam in Shanghai at the beginning of November 2019.
Hardware and Playlist:
Hardware:
I was able to test the MMR Homunculus with the following hardware.
DAP : Sony WM1Z K mod Ultimate, Plenue L and iBasso DX160
Cables: O.A.O Gold Twelve, EA Ares 2, Eletech Prudence and Plato, and PW1950
I was able to compare the Homunculus to the following :
64 Audio U12t, Ambient Acoustics MAD24 and MAD16, Empire Ears Zeus XIV Custom Retuned, IMR Rah, Jomo Audio Trinity SS, MMR Gaé Bold, Balmung and Thummim
Playlist:
I listen to a lot of different styles, with a predilection for female vocals, and my test playlist consists of about 70 songs. However, I was able to take advantage of the length of the loan to review my music in depth.
I put here some targeted tracks that allow me to test more specifically some aspects of the headphones.
Angus and Julia Stone - Take you Away / Guitar, vocals.
Cannonball Adderley - Somethin' Else / Tones, brass, space placement.
Criolo - Bogota / Voice, dynamic.
Ex:Re - Where the Time Went / Tones, voices, placement.
Flatbush Zombies - Smoke Break and Fly Away / Bass texture, and subs.
Montserrat Figueras - La Folia : Yo Soy la Locura - Henri du Bailly / Tones, voices, soundstage.
Patricia Barber - The Beat Goes On / Tones, voice, soundstage, atmosphere.
Rone - Flesh (Remix by Sasha) / Bass, soundstage, placement.
Sixto Rodriguez - Sugar Man / Beware of the harshness.
Tool - Pneuma / Dynamics, atmosphere, texture.
Technical Overview
Homunculus have what could be called now a pretty «commom» hybrid configuration but only with 4 drivers :
- 2 Electrostatics for highs
- 1 Vented Balanced Armature for mids wich is very intriguing
- 1 Foster Dynamic Driver for bass
They come with Eletech “Virtues Series" PRUDENCE cable made out of OCC Silver Plated Copper worth $250 by itself. They also use Eletech Proprietary Internal Litz wiring.
Retail Price : $1699
Sound
Homunculus have an uncommon look, with a titanium flying saucer shaped shell which is, like Thummim, rather strange for in-ear. When you combine this with the configuration of the drivers and especially this mono BA to handle all the midrange, you think you're looking at an UFO.
I won't hide the fact that I have had difficulty getting a proper Fit with almost all the tips I usually use (Whirlwind, Spiral Dot, Sedna). Luckily, the combination with the Acoustune's provided is just perfect for me, exactly like the Thummim. So the seal is excellent and the in-ear doesn't move, but I can't go out for running with them. No pain at all felt in my small concha.
Once properly installed, they offer a full and spacious sound, with a definite focus on the midrange and a soft extension at both ends of the spectrum.
Bass rendering is rather slow for a DD. Subs (<60Hz) are deep and offer a rather light slam. Basses (60 to 250Hz) are very well mastered, more proeminent then Thummim ones, but without the boomy side of the Balmung, and with a nice texture and definition.
Low-mids (250 to 500 Hz) and mids (500 to 2000 Hz) are not neutral but rather slightly forward. Their density as well as their emotional load are magnificent, and nothing is done to the detriment of the legibility of the restitution.
High-mids (2000 to 4000Hz) is a little bit more prominent, with small peaks around 2500Hz and 4000Hz that bring just the right amount of openness and presence to the voices.
Treble (>4000Hz) is very pleasant. The plateau from 4 to 6KHz and the peak around 7KHz allow to highlight a lot of details, bringing at the same time softness and definition without any sibilance or harshness.
Soundstage is really wide in width, but reasonable in depth and height. It unfolds slightly out of the head, and the listener is rather positioned in the first rows of the audience.
Tones are really beautiful. On voices, whether male or female, one feels the emotion immediately, and brass or guitar are both tasty and crispy.
The technical skills of Homunculus are very good, and the magic square is really very homogeneous.
Resolution -> very good
Separation -> excellent
Definition -> excellent
Transparency -> very good
Comparaison
- U12t are a little more technical, with faster and more present / impacting bass, a more contained overall midrange and a shallower high-midrange. Treble is also less pronounced bringing less air. The stage is not as wide but depper.
- MAD24s are a little more technical and faster too, with more subs and bass, with an equivalent low-midrange/midrange and a slightly fuller high-midrange. Trebles are comparable. The stage is deeper but a little less wide.
- Zeus XIV Custom Retuned are technically equivalent, with deeper bass and less low-mids. The high-midrange is a little more projected. Treble is not as pronounced. The stage is equivalent.
- IMR Rah are technically inferior for me. Bass is more imposing and the midrange slightly fuller. High-mids are much less projected. Treble is clearly set back.
- Trinity SS are a slightly more technical, brighter and bassier. The low-midrange/midrange is clearly recessed in comparaison but the high-midrange is more open and the highs are more natural. The stage is equivalent in width but deeper.
- Thummim have more subs, less bass, less low mids and mids but more high-mids felt. Treble is more pronouced for me with more air in it. Stage is larger and deeper. Higher too.
Final Thoughts
The Homunculus play a score that will delight lovers of sweet and sensual tones. And they succeed in doing so by offering in addition a very beautiful soundstage, a very appreciable high-medium opening and a very good capacity of analysis. However, some may complain about a lack of impact and dynamics, as well as a lack of presence at the bottom.
Magic Square :
"Resolution is the ability to individualize a voice or instrument"
"Separation is the ability to feel space between the various sound sources"
"Definition is the ability to perceive as much information as possible"
"Transparency is the ability to transcribe the nuances and subtleties of music"
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Excellent impression review, i audtioned the Penta as well, spot on w/ yours, thanks...