Trinity Phantom Sabre – initial impressions
Trinity Audio are a firm that have been making some serious waves on Head-Fi over the last 12 months with a range of Kickstarter-funded in ear monitors (the Hyperion, Techne, Delta and Atlas models), subsequently moving on to directly sold variants like the Delta V2, Vyrus and the new Phantom line. After enjoying my time with their sports IEM the Atlas, I picked up a pair of the new Phantom Sabre model as I was intrigued by the promise of the dual push/pull dynamic driver setup and multiple tuning filters. Being 100% honest, the previous Trinity sound I had heard was excellent but not 100% suited to my personal preferences due to the comparative aggressiveness of the treble, so I was interested to see what differences in tuning the all-DD setup and new tuning filters would bring – suffice to say, I am very glad I decided to take the plunge.
About me: newly minted audiophile, late 30s, long time music fan and aspiring to be a reasonably inept drummer. Listen to at least 2 hours of music a day – prefer IEMs for out and about, and a large pair of headphones when I have the house to myself and a glass in my hand. Recently started converting my library to FLAC and 320kbps MP3, and do most of my other listening through Spotify or Tidal HiFi. I am a fan of rock, acoustic (apart from folk) and sarcasm. Oh yeah, and a small amount of electronica. Not a basshead, but I do love a sound with some body to it. My ideal tuning for most IEMs and headphones tends towards a musical and slightly dark presentation, although I am not treble sensitive in general. Please take all views expressed below with a pinch of salt – all my reviews are a work in progress based on my own perceptions and personal preferences, and your own ears may tell you a different story.
Tech specs (from the Trinity website)
- All aluminium CNC machined shells
- Twin push/pull driver set up
- Titanium diaphragm drivers
- Impedance: 16Ohm
- Sensitivity: 108 +/- 3DB
- Frequency response: 20 - 20000Hz
- 24ct Gold plated 3.5mm Jack
- 2 Pin detachable cables x 3 (included as standard) 1 x standard Trinity multi-braid 1 x memory wire multi-braid 1 x Fabric cable with mic/remote/volume control
- 5 x pairs tuning filters in standard length for shallow insertion and long length for deep insertion.
- OFC copper cables
- Huge accessory package including case, 6.3mm adapter, 11 choices of eartips (S/M/M/L silicone, double flange, M/L Memory foam, SPINFIT ear tips (SS/S/M/L)
Unboxing
If you haven’t purchased a Trinity product before, the unboxing experience may come as something of a shock – the sheer volume of accessories Bob and his team deem fit to include in a product at this price bracket is quite frankly ludicrous, and probably accounts for a decent porion of the final sale price if you were to buy everything separately. There are 13 (yes, that’s right) different tips, in different configurations from single flange through to foam, and a separate bag of SpinFit tips in four sizes. Trinity also saw fit to add some additional own-brand wide bore tips in with the pre-order, but these are not currently part of the “standard” packaging. They also include three detachable 2-pin cables (memory wire, non memory wire and microphone-enabled), two of which are braided and all of which would comfortably fit into the sort of quality bracket you would expect from an after-market cable. Unfortunately the 2pin design has been tweaked slightly by Trinity to allow a more solid connection to their IEMs, but the “sheath” on the housing can be removed by anyone with basic DIY skills if you do wish to use them elsewhere. Completing the loadout are four small metal tubes which contain the interchangeable filters (10 sets of them in total, 5 filter types in two different lengths), a triangular carry case in a pocket friendly size , a right angled 3.5mm connector and shirt clip and the IEMs themselves, sitting proud in a foam cutout. All of these accessories come in a nice cardboard presentation box with magnetic flap that would comfortably house something in a price bracket in the $500 region, so the overall impression created with an IEM that cost £75 on preorder and now retails at £125 is impressive. I can honestly say that the only unboxing experience I have personally had that comes close is the Nuforce HEM line of IEMs, but they generally retail in a higher price bracket so for the price, these are definitely impressive.
Build quality and ergonomics
The Sabres are a circular “puck shaped” design, with a polished gunmetal grey finish and all aluminium build that looks premium and feels light but sold in the hand. The IEM shell itself is beautifully designed, and looks much better in the hand than it does in pictures. The braided cables provided are of similarly high quality, with an almost fabric-like appearance and high flexibility resulting in minimal cable memory. The cables are finished in sold metal connectors – these are straight rather than L-shaped (my preference) and quite long, although they appear pretty sturdy and utilise a spring at the end of the connector as a very novel strain relief, so should last the test of time well. If you do require an L shaped connection, Trinity do provide a 3.5mm L-shaped adaptor in the box, so you can switch these across, although the “L” does become quite long as a result so may not work for smaller DAPs/mobile phones.
Ergonomics are pretty good, with the circular shape of the IEM fitting nicely in to the bowl of the ear, with a reasonably slimline profile. I struggled to get a proper seal in my right ear (I have two different sized ear canals, both on the black hole side of large), but the addition of filters in longer lengths helped immensely with this, so people with a “normal” ear anatomy should have no problem finding a tip configuration and filter length that works for them. Once fitted and sealed properly, the IEM is very comfortable, with the slightly rounded shell edges making these comfortable for long listening sessions without chafing. These are designed for over-ear wear, and the inclusion of both memory wire and non memory wire cables also helps with choice of wear and fit. Overall, a nice looking and pretty well fitting IEM, with an unusual look.
Sound quality
Test gear:
Xperia Z3 Compact (via Neutron Player)
Cayin C5 amp
Sansa Clip+ (Rockboxed)
Microsoft Surface Pro 2 (straight from the output jack)
Main test tracks (mainly 320kbps MP3 or FLAC/Tidal HiFi):
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats – S.O.B. / Wasting Time
Blackberry Smoke – The Whipporwill (album)
Slash – Shadow Life / Bad Rain (my reference tracks for bass impact and attack, guitar “crunch”)
Slash & Beth Hart – Mother Maria (vocal tone)
Richie Kotzen – Come On Free (bass tone)
Elvis – various
Leon Bridges – Coming Home (album)
The Chemical Brothers – Go (EDM tester)
Emile Sande – Our Version Of Events
Rodrigo y Gabriela – various
Mavis Staples – Livin’ On A High Note
Foy Vance – The Wild Swan
ZZ Top – La Futura
Chris Stapleton – Chris Stapleton
Maroon 5 – Songs About Jane
The Winery Dogs – The Winery Dogs
General impressions on the sound signature
Having read a little on the benefits of the push/pull driver technology utilised by Trinity in this IEM, I was hoping that the opposing driver would smooth out some of the edges I found in their previous Kickstarted sports IEM (the Atlas), and provide the now-famous Trinity range of tuning options with a little less gas in the chainsaw up top. Happily, Bob and his team must have been reading my crib notes, as this is exactly what they delivered: a smooth and detailed sound, with plenty of clarity in the higher ranges but just a touch less rawness to the sound, turning the industrial cutting edge of the Atlas into more of a surgical affair on the Sabre. Being a tuneable affair, the bass presence ranges from slightly too much for me (red filter) to just right (orange or gold), with an accompanying perception boost in the mid and high ranges as the bass drops as a result. The purple and gunmetal filters give a sound that for me is slightly too bass light, so the majority of the sound impressions will be based on either the orange or gold filters unless otherwise stated. With all the filters, the Sabre is clean, quick and smooth, with excellent separation and detail and no audible grain to the sound. The midrange is beautifully tuned, with a slight forwardness to vocals that highlights the almost liquid nature of the sound well. With some higher-end gear I have listened to, it can take time to appreciate the sound, with no immediate “WOW” factor as you first hear the music, just a growing appreciation of what they have to offer as your brain adjusts. This is definitely not the case with the Sabre – the excellent base (not bass, although that is pretty good too) tuning and silky midrange really make an impression with the listener immediately, bringing a smile to the face and a tap to the foot from the off. The other thing that hits you when you listen to these is the absolute lack of audible distortion, with the dual-phase driver tech producing a sound that remains immaculately smooth no matter how hard I have driven these. In the interests of fairness, you probably
could get the drivers to distort if you hooked them up to a desktop rig pumping out HD600-melting amounts of wattage, but as most portable DAPS and mobile phones don’t come with a portable nuclear powerstation attached, this is unlikely for most day to day use.
Effect of the included tuning filters
The Sabre comes with five tuning filters in two different insertion lengths, each of which has an effect on the bass frequencies of the sound. As the filters progress from most to least bassy, they do appear to alter the treble response as well, but that is due to the increased perception of mid and high range sound as the lower end is slowly ramped down in audibility. The filters are colour coded, using the following scheme:
Red – these are the bona-fide “bass cannon” filters, providing the most bass slam and response to the sound. In practice, I found these to be slightly too much in terms of overall bass presence, providing a boominess and volume to the bass that started to overshadow the mid-range slightly. These will be for people who value maximum impact and bass “boom”, and are easily bassy enough to start called them a proper basshead tuning option. For me, the overwhelming mid-bass starts to detract from the mids in this configuration and obscures some of the low-level detail, leaving the most pronounced V-shape as a result. Unless I plan on listening to music with practically no mid-range like some EDM in my collection, these are very much for special occasions only.
Orange – These are the second most bassy filter, and one of my top two in terms of overall sound. The bass presence is still definitely boosted, with a nice warmth and mid-bass lift that plays very well with rock music and EDM, and good presence and rumble in the sub-bass. The “boom” factor is dialled back from the red filters, with enough impact to satisfy those looking for a physical or visceral element to their bass presentation, but just stopping short of overshadowing the midrange. The added bass presence provides a slightly thicker lower edge to the mids while only losing a tiny portion of the finer micro-detail as a result.
Gold – This is my other “favourite” filter, with a bass that is slightly north of neutral and the flattest overall presentation for me. Mid and sub bass are still satisfying for most listeners, with the slightly lower mid-bass emphasis compared to the red and orange filters allowing the full technical capabilities of the dual-driver setup to shine through. The liquid midrange absolute glistens with this filter, with just enough warmth and body through the lower range to really make them sing, and the detail to drift through on each song. These are my go-to for acoustic and more low-level listening, being replaced by the orange when I need something with more thump (commuting, gym use etc). If the Sabre only came with one fixed tuning, I think this one would be most user’s choice, highlighting the positives of the sound signature without accentuating any of the negatives.
Purple – Being honest, this is not a filter I have spent much time with. The Trinity website describes these as the most neutral of the filters, but to me the flatness of the bass actually detracts from the lower midrange and overall sense of body to the sound, leaving them feel slightly too clinical. There is more emphasis on the mids and highs with this filter, so for those who don’t like bass emphasis and are looking for a leaner and slightly thinner take on the basic tuning, these will appeal.
Gunmetal – This is the treble rapier of the filter set, with the least bass of all and the most emphasis on mid and high ranges. Again, this is a filter I very quickly tried and discarded as not fit for my musical preferences, so this is one for people who prefer something tuned more along the Grado/Etymotic end of the scale, with maximum emphasis on detail and sharpness at the expense of warmth and body.
Highs
As I generally mention in my reviews, my preference for headphones and in-ears lays towards darker tunings. Ideally I look for something that is clear and clean in the higher range without being too sparkly or aggressive - detail is important to me, but not at the cost of sandpapered eardrums. The treble on the Sabre addresses my only issue with the Atlas, and takes a polishing cloth to the rawness that made the Atlas so energetic, producing a sweet sound that sits right on the crossroads of detail and harshness. The tuning filters provided can be used to highlight this area by removing the bass, but the overall impression/tuning is pretty much identical through all of them. High falsetto vocals and guitars come through well, with plenty of clarity and an organic feel to them. There is just enough thickness to the treble sound to add a nice weight to higher passages, helping the overall impression of smoothness. My usual sibilance testers from Slash and Myles Kennedy sail through with no issues, with the dissonant guitar of “Starlight” and the helium-influenced vocals packing plenty of energy and detail, but always remaining buttery smooth even at full tilt. Cymbals hit with authority, but decay quite quickly rather than splashing. Overall, the treble is reasonably spacious but never feels overly airy or soaring due to the lack of etching or bite in the higher registers, which suits the sound signature pretty well.
Mids
The mids are the star of the presentation for me, with a beautiful liquidity to the sound and dash of sparkle as you climb up the midrange that reminds me of the gold filter on the FLC8S. The mids sit slightly behind the bass and treble with most of the filters, but don’t feel recessed. Vocals (both male and female) are well represented, with the smoothness of the presentation not losing any of the detail or texture of the singers voice in the process. Listening to “Everybody Knows She’s Mine” by Blackberry Smoke, the whisky-soaked gravel in Charlie Starr’s voice comes across excellently, with a genuine sense of feeling and emotion. Vocal harmonies are handled particularly well, in part due to the blackness of the sonic background underpinning everything – listening to the Foy Vance album “The Wild Swan”, Foy’s vocals capture the great tone of his voice, with the gospel style choruses in a few songs like “Burden” all sounding clearly defined, with each singer in the choir having their own separate voice while never being disconnected from the overall sound. In some respects, the mix of detail and smoothness is like the aural equivalent of someone taking the gravel on your driveway off to be polished smooth and then returned, so when you walk on it barefoot you can still feel each tiny rock, but none of them are jagged enough to cause any discomfort.
Switching to another Blackberry Smoke song (“One Horse Town”), the acoustic guitar riff that runs through the song is rendered perfectly, sounding clean and clearly defined in contrast to the dirty southern riff chugging along behind it on the electric guitar. Guitars in general are very well handled, with more uptempo songs like “World On Fire” by Slash producing a great textured roar from the Sabre’s twin drivers, while never crossing the line into harshness. There is plenty of crunch to satisfy most listeners, rock guitars growling and snarling away in the background of most tracks with a satisfying texture that is just a little thicker than neutral. I have heard IEMs that provide more crunch in this frequency range, but that comes at a tradeoff of less smoothness and silkiness, so I think the Sabre treads the line well here for most genres. Switching across to some EDM, “Go” by The Chemical Brothers sounds great, with the euphoric synths of the chorus swooping in and lifting the song up just like they should. Strings are also well rendered, with orchestral passages or pure classical music sounding full and textured while still blending the multitude of instruments together well without sounding congested or muddled.
Bass
This is the most tuneable portion of the sound, with the filter system allowing you to go from “vibrate everything off your desk” levels of boom to an almost total absence of bass (“anti-bass”?). For personal preference, I use the orange or gold filter, so this section is based on the signature of those two predominantly. In terms of extension, the Sabre performs well, with good texture all the way down through the midbass and a nice subbass presence that makes itself felt as well as heard on the orange filters. Listening to EDM is a pleasure with these, with the blend of mid and sub frequencies coming together to really add a sense of body to most well recorded electronica. Playing some Emile Sande through the orange filter, the track “Heaven” positively hums, the meaty sub-bass rhythm drilling into your ears with a potent rumble while the vocals drift through the top end of the track.
Despite the physical nature of the bass, the control imparted by the push/pull drivers on the sound ensures that unless you are breaking out the bass cannon and slapping in the red filters, the bass never muddies up the mid-range, staying clearly defined and agile no matter how much bass is being pumped through the track you are listening to. Drums in particular also seem to benefit from the clarity of the dual driver set up, with the bass and tom tom sounds feeling real and impactful, and adding a good sense of realism to the soundscape, rolling across the stage with precision. Playing The Winery Dogs through the Sabres, Mike Portnoy’s playing sounds full of life and vigour, with the quickfire drum “riffs” he employs moving across the back of your ears as if the drummer was sat directly behind you. This also highlights the speed of the driver, as the fast moving bass slots in nicely, without ever seeming rushed or sloppy. Texture is also highlighted on this song, with Billy Sheehan’s bass solo around the 3 minute mark feeling full and contoured, in counterpoint to the physical impact of Portnoy’s drumming underneath it.
Switching up to my favourite Sister Hazel bass test track, “Hello, It’s Me” fills up the landscape nicely with bass that positively seeps around in the bottom of the soundscape, giving the track the warm and smooth flavour it should without ever seeming sloppy. My other bass tester of choice gets the thumbs up too – “Bad Rain” by Slash is full of the rasp and menace in the bassline that I know so well, with the strings vibrating and stopping without any distortion and creating a great foundation for the sleaze rock guitar riff to build on. All in all, this is a very good presentation for all but the craziest of bassheads – the nice blend between mid and sub bass with the orange (and to a lesser extent the gold) filter giving the best of both worlds and a great foundation for the rest of the sound.
Soundstage/separation
Soundstage on the Sabres is somewhere between good and very good, with a nice width outside the ears in both directions and good spatial cues when panning from left to right. The depth is a little less impressive compared to something truly holographic to my ears like the Aurisonics ASG 2.5, but still better than average. Separation and layering is excellent, with the jet-black background to the presentation helping the low-distortion driver setup to pinpoint each different layer of music easily without pulling it all too far apart for the listener. The drivers also handle multi-instrument passages well, with the dual drivers coming to the fore to ensure that no matter what is going on, the soundstage always sounds roomy enough without the congestion that can sometimes occur.
Isolation
I find the isolation on the Sabres to be very fit-dependent, and for me, somewhere between average to good. This is mainly due to the size and shape of my ears – I struggled to get a proper seal with the Trinity Atlas, and although the puck shaped body and two different filter lengths help massively with the ergonomics, it still takes a little effort to get a good seal on my right ear. That being said, they are still able to block out enough noise to use on public transport, just maybe not on a long haul flight.
Amping
As Bob (chief designer at Trinity Audio) states he tests all his gear on mobile phones as well as low to mid range DAPs, it is unsurprising that these can comfortably be driven from most mobile devices without any issues at all. The dual drivers do seem to appreciate being hooked up to my Cayin C5, but the different isn’t night and day, and I have been able to get more than enough clarity and dynamism out of my Z3 Compact to say that these are an easy to drive IEM.
Comparisons
Pinnacle P1 – MEE Audio’s current “budget flagship” (currently retailing around $199), the P1s are a good comparison point for the Sabre, with a similarly good all-metal build and a neutral and detailed tuning that has gathered plenty of acclaim on this site since they launched. Using the orange and gold filters, the Sabres have a bigger bass presence than the P1, with more slam to kick drums and more sub-bass extension, and using the gold filter (the neutral tuning most similar to the P1) there is still a nice bump in bass impact compared to the P1. The soundstage is similar in size, with the P1s offering the larger of the two, and giving a little more of an “out of head” feeling overall. The spatial cues on both IEMs are excellent, with the slightly larger soundstage of the P1 being noticeable here, but overall direction and “feel” are very similar. One area where the Sabre surprised me vs the P1 was separation of vocal harmonies, giving a slightly better feel of multiple voices in the same range working together compared to the P1, which seems to “blend” things a little closer together. Detail wise, both are excellent, with the push/pull dynamic drivers on the Sabre extracting a similar detail level to the single DD of the P1. The Sabres are considerably easier to drive, requiring approximately 25% less power through my usual sources to attain the same volume levels. Build quality and ergonomics are similar, with the Sabres offering an all-aluminium build compared to the zinc of the P1s, with similar quality detachable cabling and tip layouts. These are two pretty evenly matched IEMs – the Sabre offers more sound tweaking options and a slightly more aggressive “base” tuning compared to the smoother P1 (and different insertion lengths on the filters for those who need a shallower or deeper fit), and is also slightly cheaper overall at current exchange rates. The P1 offers a smoother and more spacious and refined sounding basic tuning, but neither would be a poor choice in this price bracket so again, this will be down to tuning preference as to which will work best for each listener.
FLC8S – These are in the next pricing bracket up from the Sabres at around $350, but head up the pack of tuneable IEM options in the mid-fi space at the moment so again are a comparison worth including. The FLC8S has 36 different tuning configurations, so for clarity I am comparing them using my preferred tuning of red-black-gold with Comply comfort tips to the Sabre using Orange and Gold filters and foam tips. The filter choice I use allows for more sub-bass and mid-bass presence, giving a slightly deeper “feel” to some music due to the rounding out of the low frequencies. The gold filter on the FLC8S has a slightly more liquid midrange presentation with vocals than the Sabre, although the Trinity IEM comes close enough to make it purely a preference call over which presentation you prefer. The mid range is also slightly thicker and less airy sounding on the Sabres, with less air and a little more substance. In the high frequencies, there is a less “crystalline” sound up top for the Sabre compared to the sharper and airier sound coming from the FLC8S. The FLC is overall a slightly more forward sounding IEM than the Sabre, pushing the music closer to the listener for a “larger than life” presentation compared to the more laid back and neutral positioning of the Sabre. Build quality is won by the Trinity, with the all-aluminium build feeling nicer to the touch and more durable than the all plastic design of the FLC8s, and the cabling and accessories all feeling slightly higher in quality and polish than the corresponding items in the FLC package. Ergonomics are won by the FLC, with the unusual shell design making them easier to obtain a perfect fit than the more ear-specific Sabres. For me, the FLC provides a wider range of tuning options than the Sabre, allowing you to get closer to your ideal sound, but the actual sound produced is similar enough in overall quality to me that it becomes more of a personal (or economic preference).
Audio Technica ATH-CKR10 – these were the flagship dynamic driver model from Audio Technica until recently, and can still be found for around $275 on Amazon. The CKR10 are another push/pull dynamic driver setup, with a similarly smooth and distortion free sound. The CKR10 are not tuneable, and have an energetic sound with good levels of bass and detail. The CKR10 have a more forward overall tuning, especially around the vocal frequencies, with the singer and instruments seeming to be placed a little closer to the listener. The bass levels on the CKR10 sit somewhere between the orange and gold filters of the Sabre, with the orange having slightly more overall bass presence (more towards sub bass with mid being more even) and the gold having slightly less, but both having less slam than the larger 13mm drivers used in the CKR10. Quality and extension of bass on both is excellent. The overall tone of the Sabre with the orange/gold filters is slightly warmer than the CKR10, with the more energetic and sharp treble tuning of the CKR10 taking away some of the smoothness and warmth that the mid and lower ranges would otherwise offer. Guitar music sounds more aggressive on the CKR10, with a more jagged feel to the high treble and edge to the guitar chords that the Sabre manages to polish off. This does make the CKR10s sound more “lively” than the Sabres with more upbeat music, but for me, they edge a little too far over the line into aggressive treble, and suffer in comparison to the beautifully smooth but still detailed Sabre as a result. Detail and separation are evenly matched, with the CKR10 seeming to project in a smaller but deeper “sphere” in terms of soundstage, with the Sabres being wider but not quite as deep. In terms of build and ergonomics, the Sabre wins it for me, with the part-plastic/part-titanium build of the CKR10, the unusual fit (they are best worn down rather than over-ear and the lack of detachable cables all counting against them compared to the more ergonomic and polished Sabre. Accessories are also sparse on the CKR10, with a handful of silicon tips and one small leather carry case compared to the metric ton of goodies that Bob and the team at Trinity insist on including with each package. From a purely sound-based perspective, it is difficult to call between these two – if you are a fan of forward vocal tunings and slightly more cutting treble, then the CKR10 pull out ahead. If you prefer the tuning options offered by the Sabre and are looking for something with the same detail but with a warmer tuning and smoother top end, the Sabres would be my suggestion. If you take the other factors like the all-metal build, removable cables and accessory package into consideration along the with the cheaper cost of the Sabres, they come out comfortable winners, however.
Audio Technica ATH-IM50 – The IM50 is an entry level dynamic driver IEM from the Audio Technica IM range, retailing at around £40 at current prices. They employ a dual dynamic driver setup like the more expensive ATH-CKR10, but this time in a symphonic rather than push/pull configuration (in other words, the drivers work together in unison, rather than against each other out of phase). This isn’t strictly like for like, but I was interested to see how the different dual-DD configuration would affect the overall sound. In terms of overall refinement, the IM50 shows its “budget” roots compared to the cleaner and more vibrant sounding Sabre, with a slight loss across the board in terms of clarity and definition. The bass on the IM50 is evenly distributed between mid and sub bass, and gives a nice solid grounding to the overall sound, sitting somewhere between the orange and gold filters on the Sabre. Mids are more forward on the IM50 with its slightly more vocal-centric tuning, but feel slightly more detailed on the Sabre. Treble is similar on both, with the Sabre having the slight edge in extension and clarity as the IM50 are more of a “stage” tuning with more smooth treble in comparison, only giving up the finer details when blasted at close to full volume compared to rhe better low level performance of the Sabre. Detail level is good on the IM50, but is taken to the next level on the Sabre with a greater feeling of definition and clarity in between notes, possibly aided by the airier (in comparison) soundstage. The IM50 overall sounds slightly “thicker” than the Sabre with a slightly smaller soundstage, which highlights the better separation from the Sabre overall. One area they are both very similar on is lack of distortion, with the dual symphonic drivers of the IM50 keeping a clean and smooth presentation no matter how loud they get, very much like the crystal clarity and lack of audible distortion on the Sabre. In real terms, the IM50 compete in a different price bracket, but as a dual-DD setup, they share a few similarities and are an excellent choice for their price point. If you have the extra cash, the audible increase in quality and different filter options make the Sabre the clear winner.
Overall conclusion
I have listened to quite a few highly-rated IEMs in this price bracket recently, and while all of them have their own particular strengths and weaknesses, there haven’t been many that were able to make me sit up and pay attention from the off. The Phantom Sabre gave me that within about 15 minutes of slipping the shiny gunmetal discs into my ears - the combination of the sweet and liquid midrange, bass impact and crunch from the guitars really giving me a ”Holy Cr@p!” moment listening to a track I’d heard a hundred times before. For the price, these are quite simply fantastic – sound that cuts through the audio landscape like its namesake, flexible bass tuning and packing case full of cable and tip options thrown into every pack making it difficult to imagine that someone won’t be able to find some configuration that ticks the boxes for them. If you are after high levels of detail and clarity, an unusual driver setup and a drop dead gorgeous design and accessory load-out, then these are a steal at the current price in my opinion. Being hyper-critical, the fit could possibly be improved, the filters could be upgraded to offer the same level of treble tuning that they allow on the bass and there could be a touch more warmth in the mids for me personally, but that feels very much like nit-picking with something this good. Overall, a well designed and executed IEM from an up and coming company – check them out if you get a chance.