Astell&Kern NOVUS IEM collab with Empire Ears

[ddlo]

after demoed macbeth for a few times, it's great but not really that special (vs ronin and multiverse mentor i was using before the demo). than i saw (for the first time) a smart young man wore a pair of novus when i did window shopping today. so finally decided to buy my last (hopefully) iem for a long time today when there's some discount offered for the novus finally.

the novus is crafted exceptionally well - even beyond the aura and macbeth. the tuning is more subtle and "polite" than raven to my ears. the subbass hits hard but overall, bass/ mid-bass seem less than raven. the cable is very pliable and very great for portable use. hope AK will continue to roll out great product despite the recent change of ownership.

 

[lonelymgb]

I had the opportunity to test them last month. I liked the tuning - great all-rounders. Unfortunately, the price, as usual with Astell and EE cooperation, is definitely too high. Similar SQ can be found today in IEMs below 3k, such as NA Camelot.

 

[ddlo]

I had the opportunity to test them last month. I liked the tuning - great all-rounders. Unfortunately, the price, as usual with Astell and EE cooperation, is definitely too high. Similar SQ can be found today in IEMs below 3k, such as NA Camelot.

yes. indeed the listed price is too insane. seems to be true for most high end iems recently too. i only bought AK/EE products at deeply discounted price. don't know it's good or bad for this hobby, it'll be rather unusual lately they're not deeply discounted a few months after launch.

speaking about nostalgia audio, the tesseract's list price was also insanely high. but after a year of the product launch, brand new one (despite the so called limited run of 150nos.) could be bought at around 50% off. i only got one when pristine 2nd hand dropped to 40% of listed price to support this local brand.

another point is that novus looks and feels much more premium than tesseract. i believe non of those aesthetic attribute will impact the sound quality but it's surely nice to have (and costly to have too).

 

[whattodo]

Is Japanese Dix Earpiece COREIR BRASS Pentaconn tip compatible with Novus?

 

[UTVOL06]

Please let me start out by saying that I am not affiliated with either IEM company. These are strictly my own opinions based on my own extensive testing and my personal tastes on sound quality and tonality. As usual your mileage may vary from mine so to speak. Now that's out of the way.

I own both the NOVUS and Forté Ears Macbeth IEMs. If anyone is on the fence about purchasing a NOVUS then I would highly recommend checking out Macbeth ($4,000). Macbeth is by far my favorite pair of IEMs I have ever had the pleasure of listening to or briefly owning.

I've owned the Aroma Audio Fei Wan, UM Multiverse Mentor, EE Raven, Noble Audio Viking Ragnar, Fir Audio Xenon 6, Noble Audio Ronin, and the Vision Ears Phoenix IEMs.

I can tell you that Macbeth is a rare pair of IEMs that have a truly unique sound in the best way possible. It's sound profile is unique in that it presents itself as "W" shaped, but instead of the traditional way of pushing the vocal region forward with EQ, it has customized it's highly effective dual Sonion Bone Conduction Drivers, like that of the ones in the NOVUS, to only be active in the Mid to High Mid range (vocals range). This creates a unique larger 3Dimensional soundstage within just the vocal range.

Most IEMs that push vocals forward tend to be irritating to my ears, but Macbeth's implementation is totally different and is a pleasure to listen to.

For the bass, it uses the same dual Sonion "Diablo" Balanced Armature drivers for Bass as the legendary Subtonic Storm, but they are further customized for Macbeth. If someone did not tell you before listening to Macbeth that it was using BA drivers for it's bass you would think it was using some top tier Dynamic Drivers for it. These Sonion bass BAs are capable of providing ultra detailed and layered bass sounds unlike anything else I have heard. The bass enhancement is above reference and suitable for the majority of bass lovers. If heavy bass is your primary sole concern then look at either NOVUS or the Fir Audio's Xenon 6. I love good enhanced bass and Macbeth has plenty of it for my personal tastes. This is a great all-rounder while maintaining the enhanced bass effects.

Finally, the treble is enhanced and akin to the capabilities of the Elysian Annihilator's treble detail and enhancement. The treble although prominently strengthened, never presents any type of sibilance whatsoever. Iit takes the treble all the way up to the edge before you would hear some siblance and backs off just a tad to prevent harshness.

Macbeth is ultra detailed across the entire sound range, so it can make some older or lower quality recordings sound harsh at times by bringing out every nuanced flaw in the recording.

Another couple unique features of Macbeth are it's use of Reverb to enhance the sound quality and texture of the music. It has a unique resonating chamber to improve the sound characteristics. Most IEM developers do every thing they can to eliminate reverberation. Next, Macbeth utilizes an antique copper inductor coil that is no longer made, to further enhance the sound quality and tonality.

Macbeth is the best all-rounder I have tried and has been amazing with every genre of music I have thrown at it. I highly suggest you audition it if possible and make it a strong contender on your list of choices for a pair of flagship TOTL IEMs. NOVUS used to be my favorite pair of IEMs, but ever since I listened to Macbeth I haven't stopped listening to them almost every single morning into work. I have tried going back to my Novus and I just totally prefer my Macbeth's. It's only songs that are very strongly bass oriented that I consider using my Novus IEMs.

-I am using the iBasso DX320MAX ti model combined with the Eletech Sonnet of Adam Audio cable for IEMs. I have also extensively used the A&K SP3000 that I also own. I would like to mention that the stock copper Macbeth cable is great and provides a slight warmth to Macbeth's tonality. I use Sonnet of Adam to reduce the warmth, improve tonality, and primarily enhance the treble further. I have also found that Novus' stock Effect Audio tri-brid cable to be the best option I have come across in terms of providing the best sound quality.

Thanks!

 

[the-kraken]

I posted a question in the main EE thread asking for comparisons between the Legend EVO’s and the Novus in terms of bass impact and quantity; thought to ask here as well.

 

[wolfstar76]

I posted a question in the main EE thread asking for comparisons between the Legend EVO’s and the Novus in terms of bass impact and quantity; though to ask here as well.

In terms of bass quantity, very different IEMs between EVO and Novus. If you are a basshead, go with EVO. Novus is more like an all-rounder, with very high quality bass, but bass is not being emphasized.

 

[the-kraken]

In terms of bass quantity, very different IEMs between EVO and Novus. If you are a basshead, go with EVO. Novus is more like an all-rounder, with very high quality bass, but bass is not being emphasized.

Thanks, appreciate the info

 

[ddlo]

In terms of bass quantity, very different IEMs between EVO and Novus. If you are a basshead, go with EVO. Novus is more like an all-rounder, with very high quality bass, but bass is not being emphasized.

very much in agreement with this assessment. btw, raven hits much harder and got much more rumble than the novus. frankly, raven maybe a much better buy if the exceptional high quality and beautifully made metal shell didnt tug your heartstrings - i didn't believe the shell will make any audible difference too, given that raven could still be bought at a heavily discounted price now.

 

[Aetherhole]

very much in agreement with this assessment. btw, raven hits much harder and got much more rumble than the novus. frankly, raven maybe a much better buy if the exceptional high quality and beautifully made metal shell didnt tug your heartstrings - i didn't believe the shell will make any audible difference too, given that raven could still be bought at a heavily discounted price now.

That wasn’t my experience with the Raven vs the Novus. I found the Raven a bit boomier, maybe, but I found the bass implementation on the Novus to be quicker and dig deeper.

 

[audionewbi]

How much is the typical retail price of NOVUS now days? I haven't seen any shop selling it at a discounted price, thanks team.

 

[Echo42987]

How much is the typical retail price of NOVUS now days? I haven't seen any shop selling it at a discounted price, thanks team.

They probably won't discount them as they're a limited run. So unless you find them on here, which I know there were a couple for sale, new would be hard to find discounted. But good luck!

 

[wolfstar76]

How much is the typical retail price of NOVUS now days? I haven't seen any shop selling it at a discounted price, thanks team.

You can easily find $4k or even less from Classifieds. There is not sales right now, all stores are still charging MSRP.

 

[EnigmaFotos]

That wasn’t my experience with the Raven vs the Novus. I found the Raven a bit boomier, maybe, but I found the bass implementation on the Novus to be quicker and dig deeper.

How did I know I would find you here

#teamRaven

 

[Echo42987]

How did I know I would find you here

#teamRaven

He is literally everywhere! It's the WORST