Spirit Torino IEM TWIN PULSE BERYLLIUM

Spirit Torino is a high-end headphone manufacturer from Turin in Italy. The company is very well known for its top-of-the-line Valkyria headphones, which are considered by some audiophiles to be perhaps the best headphones in the world. Technologies, such as the arrangement of the driver in the form of a revolver course with a massive arrangement of 13 neodymium magnets with a strength of 2x13.8KG make it a uniqueness in the field of high-end headphones. Spirit Torino has been exclusively making headphones until now. Now their very first IEM is coming to the market, the Twin Pulse IEM Beryllium. From the technical data you can already hear that technologies are also used here, which have never been used in any IEM!

The patented Twin Pulse Isobaric System for headphones is also used in the IEM to maximize acceleration and control of drive movements here as well. The IEM is entirely CNC machined from aluminum and provides maximum comfort and sound attenuation through complex management of pressure flows. Resonances are treated by damping with Dynamt Tm and transient response is improved by a so-called Pad VSP system. Twin Pulse represents a reproduction linearity calibrated on isophonic Fletcher-Munson curves (with the same sensitivity as the human ear) and can therefore be used as a reference instrument to check the timbre reliability of a recording. The whole Twin Pulse unit consists of a total of 2 identical 10mm dynamic drivers coated with beryllium as well as powerful neodymium magnets. Both drivers operate synchronously over the entire frequency spectrum to eliminate phase interference. As with other IEMs with tens of drivers, no crossover is necessary here, so that overlaps in the sound are excluded.



Like Spirit Torino headphones, the IEM is tuned like a musical instrument and is as natural as can be. This is not just some advertising slogan, but is based on the fact that classical and jazz musicians collaborated on the development to compare the real sound with that from a binaural recording. The real sound is recorded with the help of a binaural system and then reproduced with the headphones or IEM and then switched between binaural/real again and again. This listening committee, consisting of Spirit employees and musicians, carries out regular direct comparisons. So you don't just rely on pure measurements here.





The scope of delivery has surprised me directly positive. Two cables are included, one balanced with 4.4mm connector and one unbalanced with 3.5mm jack and large 6.35mm jack adapter. On the IEM side, a 2-pin connector is used, as with many manufacturers. The cables are not some cheap accessory, but high-quality OCC silver-coated cables with 392 cores. Along with the cable, a nice leather case is included for storage, as well as a cloth pouch. When designer Andrea Ricci started to develop an IEM he had to deal with many problems. The biggest thing you know is the seal. Many different ear tips change the sound significantly. On the one hand, this can be good because you can adjust the sound to your personal needs, but on the other hand, it can also falsify it greatly. After extensive testing with different ear tips, he found that he could produce the reference sound best with memory foam, since maximum isolation can be achieved by filling the ear canal. Since the geometry of the ear canal is different for each person, the IEM Twin Pulse Beryllium is delivered with different ear tips (memory foam, silicone as well as silicone double flange) in different sizes (S+M+L). In addition, there are three interchangeable filters that offer a different variation in the bass range and thus also a different isolation to cover areas such as listening in the train, on stage or at home in quieter environments. Gray stands for reference, red for an increase of +3dB in the bass and black for a decrease of -3dB in the bass. Here everyone must experiment with the different ear tips and filters and adapt to a reference sound. For example, you could take a reference recording and listen to it through headphones that are considered very neutral and then compare it with the IEM. It's a snap to change the filters, as they just screw on. I can recommend the YouTube video from Spirit Torino for the sound setup of the IEM to everyone:



Which combination sounds best to me for my scope of listening in my own listening room, more on that later.

The workmanship of the IEM is excellent for this price range around 1000€. Absolutely top notch down to the smallest detail. Despite the round shape, it sits quite comfortably in the ear, as it is also very light.





I have tested the Twin Pulse IEM Beryllium once stationary on my chain consisting of Topping D90SE and the strong Niimbus US4 as well as mobile on the terrific iBasso DX320 MAX Ti. The Pulse IEM is a bit more power hungry than my U4s and has to be set about two volume levels higher on the MAX than the U4s. In low gain, I still barely get above 11 o'clock to reach my usual listening volume.



When I first put them on, it was immediately clear to me that the Twin Pulse IEM Beryllium sounded different from my other IEMs. On the one hand, there is this airy, almost transparent openness, which I know only from open headphones. Secondly, the timbre, everything sounds so natural and real. That jazz and classical musicians with spirit engineers were at work here I can sign so, because you can also hear that. For my personal feeling I prefer the red filter (+3dB bass boost) in combination with SpiralDots. What also works well is the neutral filter in combination with Memory Foam tips. However, I like silicone better because I don't have to adjust around so much to insert them into the ear and wait until the foam has filled up. For my intended use at home, the isolation is also perfectly sufficient. Here, however, everyone must find the most suitable tips for him to achieve maximum comfort and sound.

The tonality is absolutely neutral and free of coloration. Neither a too bright nor dark timbre can be detected here. It is exactly in the middle with a minimal tendency towards brightness. When I put on my 64 Audio U4s in comparison, I first notice that something is missing in the mids and the recording contains a slight haze, which the Pulse IEM resolves directly. Now one can compare both IEMs also badly with each other, because the U4s is far from neutral and by its raised bass and treble to the goal of making the listener fun. In contrast, the Pulse IEM, trimmed to an absolutely neutral presentation without whitewashing. Of course, this leads to the fact that not so well recorded material also sounds bad. But if I put some of my references against it, then I sometimes can't get out of the amazement. Heaven on Bryan Adams / Unplugged sounds so transparent that I could put down the IEM and Bryan would just keep playing. Truly pure goosebumps. A voice reproduction that puts the U4s to shame. I can hardly get enough of Omaha by the Counting Crows or Hotel California by the Eagles, it sounds that good. Moving on to classical (Violin Concerto by Rebekka Hartmann / Out Of The Shadow) and I have to say tonally it hits the mark for me. But that is easier said than done, because for that I would have to have been present at the recording. So of course it remains only my subjective impression.

Now you might think that a neutral reproduction is dead boring. It's not! The Pulse IEM not only brings acoustic instruments and vocals within reach, but also with a musicality that you want to listen on and on.

The bass range is more subtly tuned than a U4s or Fourte Blanc. The motto here is quality over quantity! In terms of control and speed, there is nothing to complain about. The Isobaric system does its job perfectly. Even the fastest metal productions are no problem for the Pulse IEM. In the midbass range you also get enough punch, at least with the red filter. However, I wouldn't call metal music the number one genre for the Pulse IEM. If you're looking for a big visceral impact here, you'll have to reach for other IEMs, like a Legend X, U4s or Fourte Blanc. With classical music and jazz, it plays out its true strengths and this undoubtedly includes the impulsive pace paired with absolutely brilliant mids and resolution at the very highest level.

I haven't said very much about the stage so far. It is neither expansive nor too dense, but simply coherent in itself. I would compare it somewhat with the Focal Utopia 2022. Average width with very good depth staging and slick positioning as well as separation.

In the realm of IEMs, the Pulse IEM is not only an asset in the 1000€ class, but it also makes music differently than the competitors in the field and that gives it a unique selling point. For audiophiles who like to listen to jazz or classical music, I can highly recommend the Pulse IEM as an IEM that really teases everything out of a recording and reproduces it without coloration. In conclusion, it can be said that Spirit Torino has hit the jackpot with its first IEM.