Astell&Kern NOVUS IEM collab with Empire Ears

[KeinHartz]

Oh, I'm sorry. That's the wrong comment.

 

[UTVOL06]

I'm currently using Raven. How different is it from Raven?

It sounds different enough to own both if that's what you are asking? The Novus feels like an enhanced Raven, that is further refined, tighter harder hitting bass, harder hitting Bone Conduction, larger soundstage with better separation, cleaner and slightly more balanced sound profile for use with more music genres. It's still crazy though how they managed to make the Novus have a slightly more balanced sound profile, but the bass still hits harder than the Raven. Maybe it has a lot to do with the dual sonion Bone Conduction Drivers being more potent and consistent in the delivery of the beats. It's like if the Raven got bumped up into the next quality tier of IEMs from where it is at currently. The Novus to me sounds like $4,500 IEMs and looks like $5,000 to $6,000 IEMs if that makes any sense?

Perhaps I may be wrong on the tier equivalence, but I know for sure they are in a higher quality tier when it comes to sound and build quality. You won't have to worry as much about accidently damaging your Novus IEMs as you would regular Acrylic IEMs that you commonly see. The Japanese sourced aerospace grade aluminum shell coupled with the DLC coating makes it into a mini-tank. It's built just like Astell&Kern's flagship DAPs, like the SP3000 and SP3000T. Just not as heavy. Lol. Also, when it comes to fit I actually thought they fit slightly better than my Raven and did not have any extended wear soreness or discomfort. I'm only using Medium sized eartips on the Novus.

 

[visi77]

Call the MusicTeck customer support phoneline listed at the bottom of the website to check if the Novus is indeed instock. It says it is.

it's not, not until the end of August

 

[UTVOL06]

나는 노부스가 까마귀의 상위 버전이라고 생각합니다. 우선 레이븐의 세드 오어 어핏 크리스탈 스탠다드 이어팁을 짝지을 예정입니다.

I definitely think the SednaEarfit Crystal Standard eartips work better on both the Raven and Novus than the stock Final E eartips. They provide a better ear canal seal, stay in the ear better, and offer slightly more detail retrieval due to slightly more sound reflectivity compared to the E tips that are slightly more sound absorbing.

나는 확실히 세드나어핏 크리스탈 스탠다드 이어팁이 주식 파이널 이어팁보다 레이븐과 노버스 모두에서 더 잘 작동한다고 생각한다. 그들은 더 나은 귀관 밀봉을 제공하고, 귀에 더 잘 머물며, 약간 더 흡음하는 E 팁에 비해 약간 더 많은 소리 반사율로 인해 약간 더 자세한 검색을 제공한다.

 

[KeinHartz]

It sounds different enough to own both if that's what you are asking? The Novus feels like an enhanced Raven, that is further refined, tighter harder hitting bass, harder hitting Bone Conduction, larger soundstage with better separation, cleaner and slightly more balanced sound profile for use with more music genres. It's still crazy though how they managed to make the Novus have a slightly more balanced sound profile, but the bass still hits harder than the Raven. Maybe it has a lot to do with the dual sonion Bone Conduction Drivers being more potent and consistent in the delivery of the beats. It's like if the Raven got bumped up into the next quality tier of IEMs from where it is at currently. The Novus to me sounds like $4,500 IEMs and looks like $5,000 to $6,000 IEMs if that makes any sense?

Perhaps I may be wrong on the tier equivalence, but I know for sure they are in a higher quality tier when it comes to sound and build quality. You won't have to worry as much about accidently damaging your Novus IEMs as you would regular Acrylic IEMs that you commonly see. The Japanese sourced aerospace grade aluminum shell coupled with the DLC coating makes it into a mini-tank. It's built just like Astell&Kern's flagship DAPs, like the SP3000 and SP3000T. Just not as heavy. Lol. Also, when it comes to fit I actually thought they fit slightly better than my Raven and did not have any extended wear soreness or discomfort. I'm only using Medium sized eartips on the Novus.

Thank you for the detailed explanation. I should go to the shop and listen to it.

 

[UTVOL06]

it's not, not until the end of August

Bummer. I would still wait for the Novus if you can. I think you will be happier with your decision when looking back at your purchase. If it's possibly to get your money back on the Raven order then I would check a few other online dealers to see if they have any stock. I think www.audi46.com may still have 1 instock. Check bloomaudio.com and moon-audio.com. I'm not sure if headphones.com carries them or not?

 

[UTVOL06]

There is 1 Novus left in stock at audio46.com. I have never ordered from them before but the sales rep that contacted me was very helpful and polite. I was looking at getting their Noble Viking Ragnar that was instock a week ago.

 

[JasonNYC]

Not sure with NOVUS since it is limited edition, but recommend if you are not in the US that you purchase from an authorized retailer in your region. Technically, under AK's dealer agreement, dealers are not supposed to be shipping AK products outside of the region where they are located. This can cause possible warranty issues should you need warranty service.

 

[UTVOL06]

Not sure with NOVUS since it is limited edition, but recommend if you are not in the US that you purchase from an authorized retailer in your region. Technically, under AK's dealer agreement, dealers are not supposed to be shipping AK products outside of the region where they are located. This can cause possible warranty issues should you need warranty service.

Thank you that clarification and for letting us know where to purchase a Novus from depending on your country. Does that mean if someone from say the UK as an example purchases the Novus from an authorized dealer from the US, like MusicTeck it would not be covered under warranty? I purchased from them, but I am from the US. I also live very close to the Empire Ears headquarters in Roswell, GA. I live in Georgia. Should make it a lot easier and less stressful if I ever had to get a repair done!

 

[stephenkostas]

Anyone know where I can find a frequency response of Novus?

So... we just got a 711 clone coupler in at the office, and I took these this morning.
Novus:




Novus (red) vs. Raven (blue):

 

[UTVOL06]

So... we just a 711 clone coupler in at the office, and I took these this morning.
Novus:




Novus (red) vs. Raven (blue):

Could you explain what this means in comparison between the two IEMs? I don't know how to read these graphs.

 

[UTVOL06]

Not sure with NOVUS since it is limited edition, but recommend if you are not in the US that you purchase from an authorized retailer in your region. Technically, under AK's dealer agreement, dealers are not supposed to be shipping AK products outside of the region where they are located. This can cause possible warranty issues should you need warranty service.

Jason, can you.also explain what the VU meter voltage means when powering your Novus IEMs? If the needle moves up close to the red, but never touches or goes past it, is it still safe for the IEMs when it comes to driver health? It may not mean as much now that I have settled on the Novus EQ preset, which brings the VU meter reading back further.

 

[stephenkostas]

Could you explain what this means in comparison between the two IEMs? I don't know how to read these graphs.

Basically the graph starts with the low frequencies (subbass and bass) on the left and moves up through the midrange to the high frequencies (treble) on the right. The higher the curve is in a region is, the more prominent the sound in those frequency ranges will be.
So in the Novus graph, you can see that the subbass and lower bass is very prominent, there is a little less midrange (very typical in most IEM tunings) and then there are a couple regions in the upper midrange and treble that are emphasized about as much as the bass.

In comparison to the Raven, Novus shows slightly more bass, and a little bit more upper mids and treble (typically where you here "clarity" and definition of instruments and voices in the sound) but there are a couple spots where Raven has a little more in that region. Each frequency represents different nuances in the sound – so more in the 3K region might emphasize male bass/baritone vocals more, while more 6K could emphasize tenor and soprano vocals more, as one example.

The best way to understand graphs is really to look at an IEM's graph while you're listening to it, and then try to understand how the lines represent what you're hearing. Once you've done that a few times, you'll have a better time understanding how an IEM sounds just by looking at a graph. These measurements don't tell the whole story though, as different driver characteristics and types might have a response that looks the same through a measuring tool (which is just playing a short sweep of low to high frequencies) but sound and feel different when you're listening to actual music.

 

[UTVOL06]

Basically the graph starts with the low frequencies (subbass and bass) on the left and moves up through the midrange to the high frequencies (treble) on the right. The higher the curve is in a region is, the more prominent the sound in those frequency ranges will be.
So in the Novus graph, you can see that the subbass and lower bass is very prominent, there is a little less midrange (very typical in most IEM tunings) and then there are a couple regions in the upper midrange and treble that are emphasized about as much as the bass.

In comparison to the Raven, Novus shows slightly more bass, and a little bit more upper mids and treble (typically where you here "clarity" and definition of instruments and voices in the sound) but there are a couple spots where Raven has a little more in that region. Each frequency represents different nuances in the sound – so more in the 3K region might emphasize male bass/baritone vocals more, while more 6K could emphasize tenor and soprano vocals more, as one example.

The best way to understand graphs is really to look at an IEM's graph while you're listening to it, and then try to understand how the lines represent what you're hearing. Once you've done that a few times, you'll have a better time understanding how an IEM sounds just by looking at a graph. These measurements don't tell the whole story though, as different driver characteristics and types might have a response that looks the same through a measuring tool (which is just playing a short sweep of low to high frequencies) but sound and feel different when you're listening to actual music.

Would it also make a difference if it was measured using the Novus EQ preset on the Astell&Kern SP3000T DAP that the Novus was tuned with? I know when I enable the Novus EQ it tightens and cleans things up a bit, bass hits harder than without EQ, little wider soundstage, just seems a little more sophisticated compared to no EQ on the SP3000T.

Edit: Just wanted to add that Astell&Kern says the Novus EQ preset on the SP3000T was the way they thought the Novus would sound it's best and the way they wanted it to sound.

I'm really interested in getting an SP3000 DAP for the added detail, larger soundstage, and darker background compared to the SP3000T. However the SP3000T can add warmth and musicality while expanding the soundstage almost as large as the SP3000 from what a couple other SP3000T reviewers have said. The best quality sound I have seen on the SP3000T is in Hybrid mode(Digital+Tube) with the current set to High. Provides a happy medium of digital details with the analog sound and increased soundstage.

 

[stephenkostas]

So yes, using an EQ on the source will change the frequency response of the IEM. If I were to measure with the EQ preset, the new graph would express any changes made to the sound. We regrettably only had the Novus for a little bit, as it belongs to a customer, so we won't be able to take any more measurements at the moment.