Yep, it is. I intended on trying it yesterday but didn't quite get the chance due to the Empire Ears event. Will probably only have the time to try the 1655 and 1695 next week, along with knocking out some older requests.
Aminus hates everything (Or, Aminus rants and reviews stuff)
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Aight so the two summit of the line products from two titans of the industry combined can't even beat a 5 bucks Sony boi?
Man, this is nearly a laugh but it's really a cry.
Man, this is nearly a laugh but it's really a cry.
One of them didn’t have portable player power output standards taken into account and the other is an inferior limited edition of an existing product. But hey, this is just one random guy with too much time’s opinion.
BananaOoyoo
1000+ Head-Fier
Have you heard the $6800 King Arthur 
Not sure if it’s possible to hear one without owning one yourself. Though I’ll probably try my luck and head down to Euphoria sometime to see if they have demo units for the various EA IEMs.Have you heard the $6800 King Arthur
Empire Ears Valkyrie:
Oh boy, another tribid. Just what we needed, more timbral and decay incoherence in our hybrids! Hooray.
The Valkyrie, contrary to the Wraith, appears to be a step down from the Legend X, at least in location of EE’s X lineup. I’ve probably complained enough about the Sonion electrets so I’ll stop beating the dead horse and get right into it.
If one thing is apparent here, it’s that the Valkyrie inherited a lot from the Legend X, including its bass response and extreme fondness of driver flex. Bass here goes deep and rumbles with enough subbass to put the Z1R to shame, and I don’t put that lightly. Decay is nice and slow, but attack feels a little blunted as well. Detail also seems to have taken a little bit of a hit due to the extreme subbass focus. There seems to be a slightly roundness to the hit of the kickdrum on After the Flood by Talk Talk, which leaves me feeling a little eh. PiL’s Albatross feels like some of the definition in the bass guitar is missing, opting for pure rumble. I like the subbass focus and proportion of the bass, but quality and quantity are questionable.
Midrange is effectively the definition of a lower mids suckout. Empire Ears seem to have taken strong inspiration from the Legend X, though instead of entirely suppressing the midrange they’ve cut out the lower mids with the upper midrange barely hanging on. Male vocals here are even thinner than on the Z1R and, again, I don’t put that lightly. Mark Hollis’ voice on Ascension Day is so paper light it effectively enters airiness, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. String quartets appear to lose their cello, though violins sing quite nicely. Brass on Mingus’ Solo Dancer lacks a lot of body and mostly emphasizes crinkliness and rawness in the timbre, which I can’t say is very sightly. Jon Anderson’s voice on Close to the Edge feels a little sibilant, though his vocal body doesn’t take too hard of a hit from the nonexistent lower mids. Overall, I feel like EE overdid it for my tastes. The likes of the Z1R is already pushing it with midrange balance, and EE go straight past the line and make themselves comfortable in the “ultra paper thin mids” section. It’s not like the Legend X had a particularly conventional midrange tuning either though, so it doesn’t feel like it’s not par for the course for EE.
Treble here actually exists! If anything surprised me after listening to the Wraith it was this. The implementation of Sonion’s electrets here appears to have remembered that frequencies above 3khz are a thing, and it doesn’t sound half bad at all. The treble focus seems to be in the upper mid-treble region, slightly past the 10khz mark but not extremely high up in the frequency range. Extension is a tiny bit lacking for my tastes but hey, I’ve heard worse. Cymbals on Coltrane’s Blue Train have a nice amount of hit and ring, enough to execute this normally difficult track competently due to the raw upper treble requirements. Lower treble stick impact and crash does seem to leave a little to be desired though, slightly unusual treble tonalities like on Slint’s Breadcrumb Trail sound like they lack a little body due to not having enough lower treble ring. But really, I can’t say I hate it. It’s actually fine. Doesn’t splash, has good definition, and that upper mid treble focus can sound damned good on the right songs.
Technically, the Valkyrie feels like it’s able to go toe to toe pretty well with the more expensive Legend X. Soundstage stops at about the edge of the IEM shell, typical of pseudo-customs. Separation fares decently thanks to the strong upper mid focus, with dense orchestral tracks being separated with passable enough standards. Presentation feels like it takes up more headspace than the X line’s flagship elder, which is nice. Layering is also not particularly sloppy or congested. I think it’s technically pretty competent. Certainly not best of the best but well worthy of consideration for good stuff. As for coherency, there's definitely an issue in the tuning with the nonexistence of lower mids, and a bit of a lack of naturalness in the decay of the electret's treble and the W9 woofer's bass. It's not particularly noticeable unless you're looking out for it though.
I get the general impression while listening to this that it’s a more palatable Legend X, without its extremely boosted bass (well, it sort of has a similar boost going for it but pushes it to the sub regions instead, where it just sounds much more agreeable) and oddly tuned mids. In a sense it almost feels like it’s aping the Z1R with the subrange focus and thin upper mid presentation, though I can’t quite say it succeeds in surpassing it. But I do feel like the Valkyrie does do a good job at offering a cheaper alternative to the ultra-V sound of the Legend X that more people will find tasteful. All in all, I think it’s decent. I came into this with far worse expectations but I got something not half bad at all. In fact, it’s probably one of the better tribrids on the market. I’m not hesitant to put this next to the Elysium and M5 on the wall of “Sonion electrets that sound decent”.
Listening was done out of the WM1A’s 4.4 jack with FiiO’s 2.5mm to 4.4mm dongle. I also briefly heard it out of the 3.5mm jack to compare with the Legend X. Cable was the EA Eros II as is standard with all Valkyrie units.
Recommended? I’m actually somewhat surprised to find myself saying why not. It’s not a particularly tonally balanced or accurate signature but with the right genres it can be an extremely fun tuning. Combine that with decent technical ability and you have yourself a pretty decent offering. I do feel like the Z1R is ultimately superior in more ways than one, but I can definitely see how this rubs some people the right way. Oh yeah, and the faceplate looks damned nice too. Not bad at all Empire Ears.
Rating: 5/10
Oh boy, another tribid. Just what we needed, more timbral and decay incoherence in our hybrids! Hooray.
The Valkyrie, contrary to the Wraith, appears to be a step down from the Legend X, at least in location of EE’s X lineup. I’ve probably complained enough about the Sonion electrets so I’ll stop beating the dead horse and get right into it.
If one thing is apparent here, it’s that the Valkyrie inherited a lot from the Legend X, including its bass response and extreme fondness of driver flex. Bass here goes deep and rumbles with enough subbass to put the Z1R to shame, and I don’t put that lightly. Decay is nice and slow, but attack feels a little blunted as well. Detail also seems to have taken a little bit of a hit due to the extreme subbass focus. There seems to be a slightly roundness to the hit of the kickdrum on After the Flood by Talk Talk, which leaves me feeling a little eh. PiL’s Albatross feels like some of the definition in the bass guitar is missing, opting for pure rumble. I like the subbass focus and proportion of the bass, but quality and quantity are questionable.
Midrange is effectively the definition of a lower mids suckout. Empire Ears seem to have taken strong inspiration from the Legend X, though instead of entirely suppressing the midrange they’ve cut out the lower mids with the upper midrange barely hanging on. Male vocals here are even thinner than on the Z1R and, again, I don’t put that lightly. Mark Hollis’ voice on Ascension Day is so paper light it effectively enters airiness, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. String quartets appear to lose their cello, though violins sing quite nicely. Brass on Mingus’ Solo Dancer lacks a lot of body and mostly emphasizes crinkliness and rawness in the timbre, which I can’t say is very sightly. Jon Anderson’s voice on Close to the Edge feels a little sibilant, though his vocal body doesn’t take too hard of a hit from the nonexistent lower mids. Overall, I feel like EE overdid it for my tastes. The likes of the Z1R is already pushing it with midrange balance, and EE go straight past the line and make themselves comfortable in the “ultra paper thin mids” section. It’s not like the Legend X had a particularly conventional midrange tuning either though, so it doesn’t feel like it’s not par for the course for EE.
Treble here actually exists! If anything surprised me after listening to the Wraith it was this. The implementation of Sonion’s electrets here appears to have remembered that frequencies above 3khz are a thing, and it doesn’t sound half bad at all. The treble focus seems to be in the upper mid-treble region, slightly past the 10khz mark but not extremely high up in the frequency range. Extension is a tiny bit lacking for my tastes but hey, I’ve heard worse. Cymbals on Coltrane’s Blue Train have a nice amount of hit and ring, enough to execute this normally difficult track competently due to the raw upper treble requirements. Lower treble stick impact and crash does seem to leave a little to be desired though, slightly unusual treble tonalities like on Slint’s Breadcrumb Trail sound like they lack a little body due to not having enough lower treble ring. But really, I can’t say I hate it. It’s actually fine. Doesn’t splash, has good definition, and that upper mid treble focus can sound damned good on the right songs.
Technically, the Valkyrie feels like it’s able to go toe to toe pretty well with the more expensive Legend X. Soundstage stops at about the edge of the IEM shell, typical of pseudo-customs. Separation fares decently thanks to the strong upper mid focus, with dense orchestral tracks being separated with passable enough standards. Presentation feels like it takes up more headspace than the X line’s flagship elder, which is nice. Layering is also not particularly sloppy or congested. I think it’s technically pretty competent. Certainly not best of the best but well worthy of consideration for good stuff. As for coherency, there's definitely an issue in the tuning with the nonexistence of lower mids, and a bit of a lack of naturalness in the decay of the electret's treble and the W9 woofer's bass. It's not particularly noticeable unless you're looking out for it though.
I get the general impression while listening to this that it’s a more palatable Legend X, without its extremely boosted bass (well, it sort of has a similar boost going for it but pushes it to the sub regions instead, where it just sounds much more agreeable) and oddly tuned mids. In a sense it almost feels like it’s aping the Z1R with the subrange focus and thin upper mid presentation, though I can’t quite say it succeeds in surpassing it. But I do feel like the Valkyrie does do a good job at offering a cheaper alternative to the ultra-V sound of the Legend X that more people will find tasteful. All in all, I think it’s decent. I came into this with far worse expectations but I got something not half bad at all. In fact, it’s probably one of the better tribrids on the market. I’m not hesitant to put this next to the Elysium and M5 on the wall of “Sonion electrets that sound decent”.
Listening was done out of the WM1A’s 4.4 jack with FiiO’s 2.5mm to 4.4mm dongle. I also briefly heard it out of the 3.5mm jack to compare with the Legend X. Cable was the EA Eros II as is standard with all Valkyrie units.
Recommended? I’m actually somewhat surprised to find myself saying why not. It’s not a particularly tonally balanced or accurate signature but with the right genres it can be an extremely fun tuning. Combine that with decent technical ability and you have yourself a pretty decent offering. I do feel like the Z1R is ultimately superior in more ways than one, but I can definitely see how this rubs some people the right way. Oh yeah, and the faceplate looks damned nice too. Not bad at all Empire Ears.
Rating: 5/10
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TooPoorForHiFi
Previously known as MidNighTempest
Thanks, oh well back to soul searching...
TooPoorForHiFi
Previously known as MidNighTempest
How would you rate the qdc 8SL to the Viento-R & the M9? Any comparision thoughts between them? I could import the 8SL easier and a bit cheaper than the Viento-R. It would be an upgrade to the M9?
From memory the 8SL is the most technical of the 3, though it’s not quite as appealing in the timbre and tuning departments. Last time I heard one was Canjam though so there’s a good chance that impression isn’t accurate anymore.
JVC HA-FD01:
Note: This is NOT the newly announced Massdr- err, I mean Drop release. This is @toranku's personal modded pair. Reader beware.
The FD01 is the other side of the coin that is the budget memery that’s eternally pervading this community one way or another. That bang for the buck TOTL killer that everyone wants, that anyone can afford. The modded FD01 seems to be some people’s ideal of that, to an extent.
The whole idea behind the FD01 modding scene is to basically take the very bright and harsh sound of the stock FD01 and tame it with some dampening in the form of tissues or foam or whatever or your choice, while retaining the competent technicalities. toranku’s pair uses torn up baby wipes to accomplish this, so keep in mind different dampening materials and placements will have different results when comparing this review with your own pair or whatever.
Bass response on the FD01 is in the realm of flat with perhaps a subtle subregion boost. The FD01’s bass performance is typically DD, with adequate amounts of rumble and subbass, without too blunted of an attack. Tightness leaves a little something to be desired. Bass on Close to the Edge is executed with enough timbral and technical detail to fully express the bass and drums. It’s not enough of a quantity or quality to impress me but I would still classify it as fairly competent in its price category. It’s alright.
Midrange on the FD01 would be what I’d consider to be a lower midrange tilt, with a slight upper midrange peak towards the top to give a little clarity, though it has a double edged sword of lending some sibilance as well. Scott Walker’s deep baritone on Cossacks Are retains all of its weight, though towards higher pitches it seems to enter sibilance territory. Guitars on Slint’s Breadcrumb Trail have a bit of plectrum emphasis, though not too much, which is still fine. Strings on Schoenberg’s Quartet in D minor performed by the Arditti quartet have a lower harmonic emphasis in the bowing over string squeakiness or higher harmonics, which can feel slightly lacking in general clarity. Brass on Mingus’ Solo Dancer feel warmer and more rounded off than usual, taking the bite out of the typical crunchiness in brass. Overall, I feel like the midrange here just feels a little soft and muffled, and somewhat lacking in intensity. Perhaps it’s due to the dampening or it’s just a part of the IEM. I don’t know.
The treble on these is an oddity. They have strong lower treble emphasis and... not much else. It’s almost reminiscent of my A12t but without any extension at all. It gives cymbals strong stick impact with a tiny bit of sparkle but no decay to note of. This might have something to do with the dampening used, but whatever the case is, the treble here is just rather dark, too much so. It makes for relatively fatigue-free casual listening, but it falls completely flat in the realms of critical listening. Aside from that, not much more to comment. It’s just not suitable for a lot of music unless you absolutely hate treble extension.
Technicalities on the FD01 are noticeably hampered by the somewhat muffled midrange definition, though as a whole they kind of play towards this IEM’s strength as a relatively relaxing listen that leans towards neutral-dark. Soundstage is surprisingly wide given its small size, though it doesn’t compete with the heavyweights in soundstage at the TOTL level. Separation is about average despite the slightly muffled note attack, and presentation is also likable as a whole.
As mentioned earlier, I feel like this IEM is pretty much catered perfectly towards easy or casual listening. It’s completely non-fatiguing outside of the occasional consonance in vocals in the upper midrange. This also helps the muffled definition to slide, since it synergizes somewhat with the general sound signature of this IEM. As for the Drop release, I can’t say how good it’ll be. Drop is supposedly retuning the stock FD01 to something more to the community’s liking, so only time can tell what exactly they’ll go with in regards to dampening and retuning. I also cannot say how accurate the “Singaporeans on Discord like it” claim is considering I haven’t run into anyone particularly fond of it so far. Point being, I don’t recommend buying into the hype blindly. I would err towards the more cautious side, though that’s my rule of thumb with any new release.
All listening was done from the WM1A’s 3.5mm jack, over ear. The modded nozzle in question is the brass one.
If dark and relaxing is your thing, I feel like the modded FD01 might fill your niche on a cheap enough budget. As for me, I don’t really appreciate it. It leaves me itching for more.
Score: 4/10
Note: This is NOT the newly announced Massdr- err, I mean Drop release. This is @toranku's personal modded pair. Reader beware.
The FD01 is the other side of the coin that is the budget memery that’s eternally pervading this community one way or another. That bang for the buck TOTL killer that everyone wants, that anyone can afford. The modded FD01 seems to be some people’s ideal of that, to an extent.
The whole idea behind the FD01 modding scene is to basically take the very bright and harsh sound of the stock FD01 and tame it with some dampening in the form of tissues or foam or whatever or your choice, while retaining the competent technicalities. toranku’s pair uses torn up baby wipes to accomplish this, so keep in mind different dampening materials and placements will have different results when comparing this review with your own pair or whatever.
Bass response on the FD01 is in the realm of flat with perhaps a subtle subregion boost. The FD01’s bass performance is typically DD, with adequate amounts of rumble and subbass, without too blunted of an attack. Tightness leaves a little something to be desired. Bass on Close to the Edge is executed with enough timbral and technical detail to fully express the bass and drums. It’s not enough of a quantity or quality to impress me but I would still classify it as fairly competent in its price category. It’s alright.
Midrange on the FD01 would be what I’d consider to be a lower midrange tilt, with a slight upper midrange peak towards the top to give a little clarity, though it has a double edged sword of lending some sibilance as well. Scott Walker’s deep baritone on Cossacks Are retains all of its weight, though towards higher pitches it seems to enter sibilance territory. Guitars on Slint’s Breadcrumb Trail have a bit of plectrum emphasis, though not too much, which is still fine. Strings on Schoenberg’s Quartet in D minor performed by the Arditti quartet have a lower harmonic emphasis in the bowing over string squeakiness or higher harmonics, which can feel slightly lacking in general clarity. Brass on Mingus’ Solo Dancer feel warmer and more rounded off than usual, taking the bite out of the typical crunchiness in brass. Overall, I feel like the midrange here just feels a little soft and muffled, and somewhat lacking in intensity. Perhaps it’s due to the dampening or it’s just a part of the IEM. I don’t know.
The treble on these is an oddity. They have strong lower treble emphasis and... not much else. It’s almost reminiscent of my A12t but without any extension at all. It gives cymbals strong stick impact with a tiny bit of sparkle but no decay to note of. This might have something to do with the dampening used, but whatever the case is, the treble here is just rather dark, too much so. It makes for relatively fatigue-free casual listening, but it falls completely flat in the realms of critical listening. Aside from that, not much more to comment. It’s just not suitable for a lot of music unless you absolutely hate treble extension.
Technicalities on the FD01 are noticeably hampered by the somewhat muffled midrange definition, though as a whole they kind of play towards this IEM’s strength as a relatively relaxing listen that leans towards neutral-dark. Soundstage is surprisingly wide given its small size, though it doesn’t compete with the heavyweights in soundstage at the TOTL level. Separation is about average despite the slightly muffled note attack, and presentation is also likable as a whole.
As mentioned earlier, I feel like this IEM is pretty much catered perfectly towards easy or casual listening. It’s completely non-fatiguing outside of the occasional consonance in vocals in the upper midrange. This also helps the muffled definition to slide, since it synergizes somewhat with the general sound signature of this IEM. As for the Drop release, I can’t say how good it’ll be. Drop is supposedly retuning the stock FD01 to something more to the community’s liking, so only time can tell what exactly they’ll go with in regards to dampening and retuning. I also cannot say how accurate the “Singaporeans on Discord like it” claim is considering I haven’t run into anyone particularly fond of it so far. Point being, I don’t recommend buying into the hype blindly. I would err towards the more cautious side, though that’s my rule of thumb with any new release.
All listening was done from the WM1A’s 3.5mm jack, over ear. The modded nozzle in question is the brass one.
If dark and relaxing is your thing, I feel like the modded FD01 might fill your niche on a cheap enough budget. As for me, I don’t really appreciate it. It leaves me itching for more.
Score: 4/10
EagleWings
Headphoneus Supremus
The FDX1 is actually based on the modded FD01. X1 comes with 3 filters. First filter is simply 01’s regular filter. Second filter mimics the modded 01 with a similar damping. Third filter is even more damped for a even more smoother top end. Measurements posted on the other site shows that the X1 with the second filter, and the modded FD01 have an almost similar FR.
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TooPoorForHiFi
Previously known as MidNighTempest
@aminus Do you know any IEM thats has the level of Technicalities, similiar/better sounding to the M9 with a Dynamic Driver in it? I'm gonna assume the Z1R is one of them? Any other?
I see. Not sure how close the unit I tried is and will be to the usual modded FD-01 and FD-X1 though. Guess I’ll just have to wait and see.
In terms of raw technicalities I guess there’s also the EX1000 and the CE-5? In terms of sounding similar to the M9 I’m honestly not sure. Its tuning is pretty unique, and neutral DDs are rare enough.
deafdoorknob
1000+ Head-Fier
aside from its treble issues, how does your A12t stack up against the M9 and the Vineto? thx
The A12t is the most technical of the three, but I find myself putting the Viento first due to just being so well tuned. The M9’s overly laidback tuning makes me struggle to rank it above the rest, though it is a very good monitor. It’s just not my cup of tea.
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