Saoshyant
Headphoneus Supremus
First off, I'd like to thank @allegrosurf for offering to give me an opportunity to try out and review the Crow Audio Signature Edition earbud. I was asked during the purchasing process for another earbud, the Red Demun. From what Allegrosurf told me, Crow Audio is another builder that's a friend of his, one who to my ears has a talent for the work. I by no means promised any kind of outcome of the review in order to attain the Crow Audio Signature Edition, and will do my best to be as objective as I can be in a very subjective hobby. Anything written here will of course have the implied "In my opinion" which I feel should go without saying, but not everyone will agree with me in that respect. I'd also like to put the disclaimer of this being my first actual review, so anything I may leave out that would be a part of more standard reviews I apologize for, and hope that I can be helpful and informative in the end result.
The Crow Audio Signature Edition, which I'll call the CASE from here on out just to save typing time, is a mod on the VE Monk which I can quickly identify it using an upgraded cable, Viablue jack, and a couple more holes drilled into the body of the earbud. I had never heard of the CASE before this point, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but became quickly aware that other Head-Fi members were aware of their existence as another Head-Fier guessed which company this came from without me having to mention a name.
As far as looks, the body looks nearly identical to the standard Monk except the inclusion of two extra ports for each earbud. The cable and jack are quite different as can be seen in the comparative pictures. Where the standard Monk has a strain relief at the jack, the CASE with it's Viablue jack does not, but this should cause no issue unless one's not careful with the earbud. I've seen pictures of the case included in the Crow Audio earbuds other have bought, which is wooden and quite nice looking. The CASE's case that I received is a tin with padding all over to help protect it, which amused me as this certainly has the feel of a prototype or demo to me, so absolutely no negative effects from this in my book. Other than that, a pair of full foams as well as a pair of donuts were included, as well as a sticker with the Crow Audio branding. As this is a demo, I haven't tried swapping earbud covers on the CASE as I don't know how much they factored the covers into their tuning process. One thing to note that I found amusing is the L & R were swapped for the earbuds and Crow did their best to write with a silver pen of sorts on the earbuds to identify. It did get smudged, so it took me a moment to figure out the purpose there.
I've spent a while listening to this earbud, going back and forth between it and the original Monk. Without a doubt it's a very impressive mod on the Monk, one I wasn't expecting as I had never heard of the company and the request to review it was an offer to be included with another purchase, the Red Demun. It goes to show the capabilities of VE's Monk with some ingenuity and extra work, much the same way the various modifications of Fostex's T50RP shine in our community. The Monk as nearly everyone who has had the pleasure of experiencing it will attest to, is arguably the best value in this community. For me, the only better value I can think of at this moment is spending the extra $5 for the Ex Pack VE offers alongside the Monk Plus.
The comfort of the CASE is basically identical to the standard Monk as the shell is the same, and I imagine for many people, the same covers will also be used. There is extra weight in the cable and jack, but I personally didn't feel it did anything to change the comfort level of the earbud. For me, it is almost at the level of comfort where it disappears in your ear, but I'm always aware of it being there. The best example of this comfort for me with an earbud is the Rose Mojito, as I have quite simply forgotten on a consistent basis they're there while listening. As with all things, this is a subjective matter and will vary from person to person depending on size of ears, preference for cover materials, and other factors. One thing to note that really isn't so much part of comfort but more so of fit. There is a little bit of stiffness in the cable, so at times while walking around I didn't feel the earbud was necessarily the most secure, but a change of cover will most likely remedy this. I had a similar but more extensive issue in this respect with the Red Demun, but switching to the Ex Pack foams helped quite a bit. Whether the stiffness of the CASE's cable will lessen I can't say as I've only had it for around a week and a half at this point. Also along these lines, the cable itself has some microphonics, but I've heard much worse, and feel absolutely no concern in this respect. I will state that for those with experience with the Red Demun, the CASE's cable is nowhere as close to being that stiff.
Before getting into discussion of the sound aspects themselves, I'd like to mention that the main setup used in my listening since I've received, and the only setup used for comparative purposes is a Fiio X5 1st Gen to a Chord Mojo. Flac was used whenever possible, with some mp3 if that was the only available option to me. I did see how the CASE sounded on my Sansa Clip+ as well as my new Ritmix RT500, which is essentially a Kogan successor for those with experience with that dap or the subsequent daps that were tried out in an attempt to find a kindred spirit to the Kogan.
This being an earbud, for those without experience in this area, bass will not be the CASE's forte. The sub-bass is enjoyable and certainly present, but it is by no means dominant, and to my ears strikes me as aiming towards a neutral presentation. It might be ever so slightly behind the standard Monk in this respect, but as I have no volume matching equipment, I cannot say for sure. Honestly, I'd sooner suspect the bass is the same as the original, but where they fit in the CASE's sound signature is not as prominent which recesses it slightly to the mids and treble. There is enough bass to add a hint of fun to music, but various bands where bass is an important part of the music like some of Radiohead's work, as well as The XX, How To Destroy Angels, or various others might feel lacking in that respect. I will note that the instrument that shares the same name, the Bass, has a decent amount of weight to it's sound and sounds great to my ears in classical pieces.
Vocals are a very special part of this earbud, as the mids are to my ears the forefront of the musical spectrum you will experience. They are detailed and full of a lifelike energy which feels very authentic to how I would expect it to sound in person. In musical pieces where there were multiple voices like Nobuo Uematsu's Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds with both a vocalist and a chorus, I felt surrounded by the chorus, being able to identify hints of individual singers among the chorus. When the main singer began roughly a third of the way through the song, it becomes clear how well the two bodies are distinguished among vocals, her singing becoming the focal point while the chorus still remaining clear in the background. In comparison to the original Monk, vocals are more defined and energetic on the CASE where the Monk feels slightly duller, and maybe ever so slightly hollow but only by comparison. This isn't to say that I feel the vocals are dull or hollow on the Monk as it's a remarkably impressive earbud, I just feel the CASE is superior in this respect. Individual members of the chorus didn't stand out as much on the original Monk as well. I should also note that I really like the sound of guitar with this earbud.
As far as treble is concerned, I should put the disclaimer that I am by no means treble sensitive, so what doesn't bother me may bother others. Now, keeping this in mind, I think some may feel the treble on the CASE can be a little on the high end as the treble is certainly energetic sounding to my ears. Where applicable, instruments sparkle in a very beautiful respect. Any instrument that would be among the treble spectrum is certainly vibrant, but not piercing to my ears, but may be for some, especially for those with a sensitivity to treble. I suspect for those treble-heads out there, this might very well be a fun earbud. In comparison to the original Monk, treble also feels slightly lesser than the CASE, which depending on your sensitivity might be a good or bad thing. It also in comparison feels slightly muted, which should show how hard Crow Audio worked to bring the treble forward compared to the original.
As far as clarity and detail go, it's not the best earbud I've heard, which would be the Rose Mojito. Both of these qualities are actually quite impressive to me, however, with instrument detail actually being one of the strongest traits of this earbud. It is very easy for me to differentiate between various instruments and vocals, with nothing really getting lost in the mix. Along these lines, it is easy for me to locate the individual instruments among the music, as well as some of the more prominent singers in a chorus. I feel it's actually one of the better earbuds in this respect I've heard, and is one of those earbuds that will help bring out the more subtle aspects of a song that you might not have noticed in the past depending on your equipment. For example, while comparing this to the original Monk, I was listening to an album I haven't really listened to in several years, and was impressed with various sounds I didn't remember being a part of the various songs. In respect to the original Monk, I feel this is one of the more improved aspects of the CASE, giving the Monk a bit more of an analytical feel than it had before, while still maintaining it's fun sound.
Now for the part that I am by no means qualified to judge as my depth perception is horrible, which leaves me being quite horrendous at judging distances and such. For the soundstage, I feel things are decently spread out where it's called for, and by no means enclosed or intimate. Typically vocalists sound like they are in front of me while listening, while the instruments are spread outward accordingly. I've had some earbuds and IEMs where the soundstage was a bit more enclosed, and the vocalist felt like they were in my head, but that's not the case here. The Monk to me feels a little more enclosed, but honestly not by much. Then again to someone who's actually a decent judge at this, it might be night and day, or there may be no difference and I'm just bad at judging, so my apologies for the lack of information and help in this respect.
So, all in all, do I feel the CASE is an improvement over the Monk? YES. It's a very easy to answer question as swapping between the two back and forth repeatedly shows to my ears the CASE is a more detailed, lively and impressive earbud. I'm unsure what the cost of the CASE is, so I cannot speak of it's value. I really do think it's a wonderful vocal-focused earbud, something I never really expected to like as much as I do but am gladly mistaken about. I find that many of the softer things I listen to like some of the softer alternative as well as classical it does amazingly with. I'm left curious what other kinds of earphones Crow Audio has made.
The Crow Audio Signature Edition, which I'll call the CASE from here on out just to save typing time, is a mod on the VE Monk which I can quickly identify it using an upgraded cable, Viablue jack, and a couple more holes drilled into the body of the earbud. I had never heard of the CASE before this point, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but became quickly aware that other Head-Fi members were aware of their existence as another Head-Fier guessed which company this came from without me having to mention a name.
As far as looks, the body looks nearly identical to the standard Monk except the inclusion of two extra ports for each earbud. The cable and jack are quite different as can be seen in the comparative pictures. Where the standard Monk has a strain relief at the jack, the CASE with it's Viablue jack does not, but this should cause no issue unless one's not careful with the earbud. I've seen pictures of the case included in the Crow Audio earbuds other have bought, which is wooden and quite nice looking. The CASE's case that I received is a tin with padding all over to help protect it, which amused me as this certainly has the feel of a prototype or demo to me, so absolutely no negative effects from this in my book. Other than that, a pair of full foams as well as a pair of donuts were included, as well as a sticker with the Crow Audio branding. As this is a demo, I haven't tried swapping earbud covers on the CASE as I don't know how much they factored the covers into their tuning process. One thing to note that I found amusing is the L & R were swapped for the earbuds and Crow did their best to write with a silver pen of sorts on the earbuds to identify. It did get smudged, so it took me a moment to figure out the purpose there.
I've spent a while listening to this earbud, going back and forth between it and the original Monk. Without a doubt it's a very impressive mod on the Monk, one I wasn't expecting as I had never heard of the company and the request to review it was an offer to be included with another purchase, the Red Demun. It goes to show the capabilities of VE's Monk with some ingenuity and extra work, much the same way the various modifications of Fostex's T50RP shine in our community. The Monk as nearly everyone who has had the pleasure of experiencing it will attest to, is arguably the best value in this community. For me, the only better value I can think of at this moment is spending the extra $5 for the Ex Pack VE offers alongside the Monk Plus.
The comfort of the CASE is basically identical to the standard Monk as the shell is the same, and I imagine for many people, the same covers will also be used. There is extra weight in the cable and jack, but I personally didn't feel it did anything to change the comfort level of the earbud. For me, it is almost at the level of comfort where it disappears in your ear, but I'm always aware of it being there. The best example of this comfort for me with an earbud is the Rose Mojito, as I have quite simply forgotten on a consistent basis they're there while listening. As with all things, this is a subjective matter and will vary from person to person depending on size of ears, preference for cover materials, and other factors. One thing to note that really isn't so much part of comfort but more so of fit. There is a little bit of stiffness in the cable, so at times while walking around I didn't feel the earbud was necessarily the most secure, but a change of cover will most likely remedy this. I had a similar but more extensive issue in this respect with the Red Demun, but switching to the Ex Pack foams helped quite a bit. Whether the stiffness of the CASE's cable will lessen I can't say as I've only had it for around a week and a half at this point. Also along these lines, the cable itself has some microphonics, but I've heard much worse, and feel absolutely no concern in this respect. I will state that for those with experience with the Red Demun, the CASE's cable is nowhere as close to being that stiff.
Before getting into discussion of the sound aspects themselves, I'd like to mention that the main setup used in my listening since I've received, and the only setup used for comparative purposes is a Fiio X5 1st Gen to a Chord Mojo. Flac was used whenever possible, with some mp3 if that was the only available option to me. I did see how the CASE sounded on my Sansa Clip+ as well as my new Ritmix RT500, which is essentially a Kogan successor for those with experience with that dap or the subsequent daps that were tried out in an attempt to find a kindred spirit to the Kogan.
This being an earbud, for those without experience in this area, bass will not be the CASE's forte. The sub-bass is enjoyable and certainly present, but it is by no means dominant, and to my ears strikes me as aiming towards a neutral presentation. It might be ever so slightly behind the standard Monk in this respect, but as I have no volume matching equipment, I cannot say for sure. Honestly, I'd sooner suspect the bass is the same as the original, but where they fit in the CASE's sound signature is not as prominent which recesses it slightly to the mids and treble. There is enough bass to add a hint of fun to music, but various bands where bass is an important part of the music like some of Radiohead's work, as well as The XX, How To Destroy Angels, or various others might feel lacking in that respect. I will note that the instrument that shares the same name, the Bass, has a decent amount of weight to it's sound and sounds great to my ears in classical pieces.
Vocals are a very special part of this earbud, as the mids are to my ears the forefront of the musical spectrum you will experience. They are detailed and full of a lifelike energy which feels very authentic to how I would expect it to sound in person. In musical pieces where there were multiple voices like Nobuo Uematsu's Memoro de la Stono - Distant Worlds with both a vocalist and a chorus, I felt surrounded by the chorus, being able to identify hints of individual singers among the chorus. When the main singer began roughly a third of the way through the song, it becomes clear how well the two bodies are distinguished among vocals, her singing becoming the focal point while the chorus still remaining clear in the background. In comparison to the original Monk, vocals are more defined and energetic on the CASE where the Monk feels slightly duller, and maybe ever so slightly hollow but only by comparison. This isn't to say that I feel the vocals are dull or hollow on the Monk as it's a remarkably impressive earbud, I just feel the CASE is superior in this respect. Individual members of the chorus didn't stand out as much on the original Monk as well. I should also note that I really like the sound of guitar with this earbud.
As far as treble is concerned, I should put the disclaimer that I am by no means treble sensitive, so what doesn't bother me may bother others. Now, keeping this in mind, I think some may feel the treble on the CASE can be a little on the high end as the treble is certainly energetic sounding to my ears. Where applicable, instruments sparkle in a very beautiful respect. Any instrument that would be among the treble spectrum is certainly vibrant, but not piercing to my ears, but may be for some, especially for those with a sensitivity to treble. I suspect for those treble-heads out there, this might very well be a fun earbud. In comparison to the original Monk, treble also feels slightly lesser than the CASE, which depending on your sensitivity might be a good or bad thing. It also in comparison feels slightly muted, which should show how hard Crow Audio worked to bring the treble forward compared to the original.
As far as clarity and detail go, it's not the best earbud I've heard, which would be the Rose Mojito. Both of these qualities are actually quite impressive to me, however, with instrument detail actually being one of the strongest traits of this earbud. It is very easy for me to differentiate between various instruments and vocals, with nothing really getting lost in the mix. Along these lines, it is easy for me to locate the individual instruments among the music, as well as some of the more prominent singers in a chorus. I feel it's actually one of the better earbuds in this respect I've heard, and is one of those earbuds that will help bring out the more subtle aspects of a song that you might not have noticed in the past depending on your equipment. For example, while comparing this to the original Monk, I was listening to an album I haven't really listened to in several years, and was impressed with various sounds I didn't remember being a part of the various songs. In respect to the original Monk, I feel this is one of the more improved aspects of the CASE, giving the Monk a bit more of an analytical feel than it had before, while still maintaining it's fun sound.
Now for the part that I am by no means qualified to judge as my depth perception is horrible, which leaves me being quite horrendous at judging distances and such. For the soundstage, I feel things are decently spread out where it's called for, and by no means enclosed or intimate. Typically vocalists sound like they are in front of me while listening, while the instruments are spread outward accordingly. I've had some earbuds and IEMs where the soundstage was a bit more enclosed, and the vocalist felt like they were in my head, but that's not the case here. The Monk to me feels a little more enclosed, but honestly not by much. Then again to someone who's actually a decent judge at this, it might be night and day, or there may be no difference and I'm just bad at judging, so my apologies for the lack of information and help in this respect.
So, all in all, do I feel the CASE is an improvement over the Monk? YES. It's a very easy to answer question as swapping between the two back and forth repeatedly shows to my ears the CASE is a more detailed, lively and impressive earbud. I'm unsure what the cost of the CASE is, so I cannot speak of it's value. I really do think it's a wonderful vocal-focused earbud, something I never really expected to like as much as I do but am gladly mistaken about. I find that many of the softer things I listen to like some of the softer alternative as well as classical it does amazingly with. I'm left curious what other kinds of earphones Crow Audio has made.
but later.
