[fokta]

I owned one and didn't like the dac and when paired with a warm iem, it was too warm. The Hugo 2 mops the floor with it, but is a little brighter.

yep.. u re right, almost every source also will be warm. hahaha

 

[jmills8]

I owned one and didn't like the dac and when paired with a warm iem, it was too warm. The Hugo 2 mops the floor with it, but is a little brighter.

Hugo as the dac and alo as the amp.

 

[Audiophonicalistic]

I spent approx 1.5 hours today with a burnt in demo pair of Solaris IEM's and I really don't know what all the fuss is about? Apart from the stupid shape and unusual fit, they didn't sound all that special at all. I tried various tips but both myself ( and 2 other customers) agreed and we all purchased other IEM's.
The treble was nice and smooth, but the mids and bass ( particularly sub-bass) were below an IEM at this price point in my opinion. I was hoping for an andro sound ( but without it's silly shape as well) but with closer to Atlas bass, but no. Not even close. Another dissapointment to me.

Any iems that blew you away?

 

[davidmolliere]

Any iems that blew you away?

I think @duaned is comparing to IER-M9

 

[Audiophonicalistic]

I think @duaned is comparing to IER-M9

It'll be interesting to see the z1r compared. Sounds like its gonna be the next big thing in the iem market.

 

[davidmolliere]

It'll be interesting to see the z1r compared. Sounds like its gonna be the next big thing in the iem market.

I very well might be, we’ll have to wait between second week of january and February to know now! There are a lot of new things coming up though aside from IER-Z1R all the hybrid DD BA Electrostat like Jomo Trinity and Noble Khan (and many others in fact).. the competition is fierce!

But even if the IER-Z1R are the new kid on the block the Solaris won’t stop being great... and amazing value for money...as I said in my review I can understand people wishing for more impact in the bass department but bass texture and detail is outstanding (at least out of WM1Z and ALO CV5). Sub bass is subwooferish with the right source material, and something to behold... I think what people are lacking is sharper attack and more mid bass quantity.

There is room for a different tuning though

It all comes down to preferences in signature so people should stop thinking in terms of ranking in absolutes

 

[Audiophonicalistic]

Agreed. I have the solaris and for me personally the bass is awesome. I love it. I don't think it's bass light at all, and if I want more bass I'll just listen to my legend x.

 

[candlejack]

Finally got the chance to hear the Solaris! Here are my ramblings... I mean findings.

I have no intention to become a reviewer, so these are highly personal to how my ears and brain hear music. Please see them as a subjective description of my listening experience, not an objective evaluation of the product.

The Solaris had circa 130 hours on it. Every comparative statement is made relative to Andromeda S.

Solaris, final tips, iDSD Micro (Eco setting, Bit perfect, IEMatch Off/ High)
(started with a relaxing listening session, looking to see how I hear the Solaris in a vacuum, loosely compared to the Andromeda S + S8 combo - last heard the day before)
Tracks: Eagles-New Kid in Town, REM-Drive, Pink Floyd-Time, Neil Diamond-Pretty Amazing Grace, Metallica-Turn The Page, a few others
- a bit stuffy, missing sparkle with iematch in Off setting (continued with High)
- guitars not quite as sharp
- less clarity, more weight in lower mids
- stage more evenly laid out
- not a lot of difference in the nature of the bass
Changed tips to SymbioW Peeled
- more sparkle, more open than with Final

Switching back and forth between Andromeda S w/ Final tips/Solaris w/ SymbioW (both with stock cables), iDSD Micro (Eco setting, Bit perfect, IEMatch High)
- Andro is actually quieter than Solaris... unexpected; the stage is narrower and more center focused
- Beethoven's 9th is more organic sounding on the Solaris, thicker and with more energy without much cost to clarity
- Metallica's Turn The Page: same observations with regards to energy and thickness, but I actually prefer Andromeda's presentation a bit more
- The Man From UNCLE OST: again, Solaris is tuned darker, heavier, fuller with just a bit less clarity

Switched to Solaris, SymbioW peel, Ref8 bal, SP1000
Tracks: Pink Floyd-Time, Metallica-Orion (live from Through The Never), Metallica-Astronomy
- wow! just had an "andromeda moment" (the kind of revelation I had when I first listened to the Andromeda Green)
- clear, powerful, spacious, punchy and sparkly... perfect!

Switched to Andromeda S, Final E, stock cable, SP1000
- also good, but a "mortal" sound, missing some space and energy

Switched to Andromeda S, SymbioW peel, Ref8 bal, SP1000
- better, but still a little bit less space, less weight, less evenness in tonality and the energy is not quite as well controlled as on the Solaris

Conclusions:
The Solaris is a great IEM. I had a lot of fun listening with them, especially after swapping to the SP1000 and Ref8 Balanced. If I had to describe the Solaris in a few words I would say: spacious, clear and punchy. My kind of sound!
In terms of construction, the Solaris shells are too big for my liking and sit well outside my ears. They will probably fit a lot more ears than some of the other CA designs, though, albeit a somewhat loose fit. They are lighter than their size would have you think and also feel warmer than I was expecting based on the aluminium construction. Overall a great feel in the hand, but an awkward fit in the ear for me.

Compared to my current IEM, the Andromeda S, I could spot some sound improvements when switching between them back and forth, but to my ears these differences are not significant enough to change how I experience my music. This was especially true when I compared them using more user/pocket friendly equipment. So, if I was starting from scratch right now, I would have a tough time choosing between these two. Sound would probably go to Solaris, but usability for me goes to the Andromeda S. I think I'm happy where I am.

And of course, pics or it didn't happen:

 

[szore]

Finally got the chance to hear the Solaris! Here are my ramblings... I mean findings.

I have no intention to become a reviewer, so these are highly personal to how my ears and brain hear music. Please see them as a subjective description of my listening experience, not an objective evaluation of the product.

The Solaris had circa 130 hours on it. Every comparative statement is made relative to Andromeda S.

Solaris, final tips, iDSD Micro (Eco setting, Bit perfect, IEMatch Off/ High)
(started with a relaxing listening session, looking to see how I hear the Solaris in a vacuum, loosely compared to the Andromeda S + S8 combo - last heard the day before)
Tracks: Eagles-New Kid in Town, REM-Drive, Pink Floyd-Time, Neil Diamond-Pretty Amazing Grace, Metallica-Turn The Page, a few others
- a bit stuffy, missing sparkle iematch in Off setting (continued with High)
- guitars not quite as sharp
- less clarity, more weight in lower mids
- stage more evenly laid out
- not a lot of difference in the nature of the bass
Changed tips to SymbioW Peeled
- more sparkle, more open than with Final

Switching back and forth between Andromeda S w/ Final tips/Solaris w/ SymbioW (both with stock cables), iDSD Micro (Eco setting, Bit perfect, IEMatch High)
- Andro is actually quieter than Solaris... unexpected; the stage is narrower and more center focused
- Beethoven's 9th is more organic sounding on the Solaris, thicker and with more energy without much cost to clarity
- Metallica's Turn The Page: same observations with regards to energy and thickness, but I actually prefer Andromeda's presentation a bit more
- The Man From UNCLE OST: again, Solaris is tuned darker, heavier, fuller with just a bit less clarity

Switched to Solaris, SymbioW peel, Ref8 bal, SP1000
Tracks: Pink Floyd-Time, Metallica-Orion (live from Through The Never), Metallica-Astronomy
- wow! just had an "andromeda moment" (the kind of revelation I had when I first listened to the Andromeda Green)
- clear, powerful, spacious, punchy and sparkly... perfect!

Switched to Andromeda S, Final E, stock cable, SP1000
- also good, but a "mortal" sound, missing some space and energy

Switched to Andromeda S, SymbioW peel, Ref8 bal, SP1000
- just a little less space, less weight, less evenness in tonality and the energy is not as well controlled

Conclusions:
The Solaris is a great IEM. I had a lot of fun listening with them, especially after swapping to the SP1000 and Ref8 Balanced. If I had to describe the Solaris in a few words I would say: spacious, clear and punchy. My kind of sound!
In terms of construction, the Solaris shells are too big for my liking and sit well outside my ears. They will probably fit a lot more ears than some of the other CA designs, though, albeit a somewhat loose fit. They are lighter than their size would have you think and also feel warmer than I was expecting based on the aluminium construction. Overall a great feel in the hand, but an awkward fit in the ear for me.

Compared to my current IEM, the Andromeda S, I could spot some sound improvements when switching between them back and forth, but to my ears these differences are not significant enough to change how I experience my music. This was especially true when I compared them using more user/pocket friendly equipment. So, if I was starting from scratch right now, I would have a tough time choosing between these two. Sound would probably go to Solaris, but usability for me goes to the Andromeda S. I think I'm happy where I am.

And of course, pics or it didn't happen:

I got news for you: YOU'RE A REVIEWER!!!

Great job. As a Andro SS owner, this was perfect for me. Thank you!

 

[duaned]

Any iems that blew you away?

Yes. The Empire Ears Nemesis. And I purchased a pair.

 

[Kitechaser]

Yes. The Empire Ears Nemesis. And I purchased a pair.

That just shows how we all have different opinions and tastes. Read the forums and you would think the nemesis is the least regarded middle child of the Empire Ears lineup.

 

[SteveKiwi]

That just shows how we all have different opinions and tastes. Read the forums and you would think the nemesis is the least regarded middle child of the Empire Ears lineup.

Yes you are right it is fascinating how we all have different opinions and tastes.

Personally I have both Solaris and Nemesis, and I really like both of them.

So much so it becomes a (not too onerous) challenge as to which one gets the most "ear time".

Why did I choose the Nemesis? It wasn't a cost based decision, rather than get the Legend X or Phantom I decided to go with the ESR and Nemesis to give me a representative sample of Empire Ears range.

Back to Solaris I would agree with most of the posts in this thread, they are an outstanding iem, and IMVHO they are much better than my Andromeda (green) and Atlas.

The instrument layering on the Solaris is unlike anything I have heard before, it is really quite special.

So my "problem" is do I listen to the beautiful musicality of the Solaris, or the amazing clarity and bass of the Nemesis?

At the end of the day I am lucky to be in this position.

 

[duaned]

That just shows how we all have different opinions and tastes. Read the forums and you would think the nemesis is the least regarded middle child of the Empire Ears lineup.

Well I do disagree with that statement, however being a cut down version of the Legend X I can understand if it's a little hard to find where the nemesis sits in the EE line-up as far as the performance for dollar goes. But I did go back and forth between the Solaris and Nemesis for some time but the Solaris sounded flat to me after going back to the Nemesis each time.

Like you said each to their own. Some like a more balanced approach, some dont like deep bass, I like deep, strong bass, bright treble and good mids. It suits my genres such as edm, hip hop, rap and top 40 etc. To me, the Solaris did not.

 

[Kitechaser]

Well I do disagree with that statement, however being a cut down version of the Legend X I can understand if it's a little hard to find where the nemesis sits in the EE line-up as far as the performance for dollar goes. But I did go back and forth between the Solaris and Nemesis for some time but the Solaris sounded flat to me after going back to the Nemesis each time.

Like you said each to their own. Some like a more balanced approach, some dont like deep bass, I like deep, strong bass, bright treble and good mids. It suits my genres such as edm, hip hop, rap and top 40 etc. To me, the Solaris did not.

I am more blues, classic rock, classical, instrumental, edm, movie soundtracks, and 2pac. That heavy bass is fun, but with my genres it is not well suited 90% of the time.
I like transparent iems

 

[duaned]

I am more blues, classic rock, classical, instrumental, edm, movie soundtracks, and 2pac. That heavy bass is fun, but with my genres it is not well suited 90% of the time.
I like transparent iems

Totally understand and respect your opinions!