[BananaOoyoo]

Finally got to try them both yesterday! Although... I was at the store to try out a lot of new/new-ish IEMs, so I only got 10-15 minutes with each. Just enough to get a really, really initial impression of each, and I will definitely return at some point to try out all these IEMs again. Emphasizing the "really" here because I didn't have enough time with either and because people will always jump in to say "but you didn't have time to make detailed impressions and so the comment is worthless" if the impressions aren't absolutely glowing. (Happened on the Solaris thread.)

Valkyrie seemed appropriately positioned in the X-series lineup as an upgrade from the entry level Bravado but a clear step down from the flagship Legend X. The unit size/fit is excellent, and I really like the Dragonhide faceplate (looks better in person than online). My take on the Valkyrie was really that it needed more drivers, as the W9 dynamic driver seemed much more powerful than the BA or Sonion EST drivers. Given the not-insignificant $1600 price tag, might suffer from a bit of middle-child syndrome like the Vantage and Nemesis. It felt like a downgraded Legend X (much less oomph) with a splash of the Phantom, and if it came down to it, I'd save up the extra to just get the Legend X. Less driver flex than the LX though, which is nice.

Wraith is huge... but still manages to fit decently. I didn't love the idea of a purple IEM, but in person, it's subdued and adds a nice dash of color. Definitely feels like the spiritual successor to the Zeus, and it's a bit unfortunate that the store doesn't carry older EE IEMs for a side-by-side comparison. (They do have the EE x EA Arthur, but I'm not sure how much of a change there is between that and the original Zeus XIV/R) Basically, it's the opposite end of the spectrum as the Valkyrie - the 4 EST drivers do work here, and overall, I'd classify it as a neutral-bright IEM. I think the fact that the Zeus is the most natural comparison says everything about the resolution and detail retrieval of the Wraith. Elephant in the room is once again the price tag - at $3500, even if you're big on cable differences and love the EA Cleopatra at $700, I'm not sure if the Wraith is worth 3x the Zeus XIV, which was already near the top of my personal IEM list. I don't know how much of a SQ jump you get here. More worthy flagship EP-series model than the Phantom IMO.

EE x EA King Arthur is either out for review or broken, so it wasn't available yesterday. Oh well...

A lot of local reviewers/listeners were pretty down on either/both the Valkyrie and the Wraith, but I didn't think that either IEM was bad. It feels like Empire is going down the right path in general here.
I still want to see what happens when you throw in a W9 subwoofer (or two) into the Wraith though. Ditch the flat but anemic BA bass you get from the 2 low BAs and give me that satisfying rumble of the LX. (Incremental progress I guess?)

 

[NovaFlyer]

Finally got a chance to play with my Legend X, which is my first custom. The fit seems good. Isolation is not as good as I thought, but with music playing as a moderately low level, I can not hear the TV or anything else. It is how I remembered the universal sounded when I tested it on loan.

I did a 5-hour flight yesterday with my new custom Bravados and found the isolation to be very good. I barely heard any cabin announcements with a speaker just behind me, and that was while playing some podcasts, not music. Overall, ambient cabin noise that I heard was minimal with these CIEMs, much better than any universal with foam or silicon tips I've used to date.

@Zachik pointed out to me the small vents in the top of the Bravado and I assume that also helped with being able to wear them without pressure problems due to cabin altitude. I didn't have any issues, my ears popped while ascending and I had to valsalva during descent, nothing out of the ordinary for me.

I'm assuming all EE CIEMs have the small vents at the top of the shell. I know the universals don't.

 

[CANiSLAYu]

I'm assuming all EE CIEMs have the small vents at the top of the shell. I know the universals don't.

The vent is due to the dynamic driver, not because it’s custom. A dynamic driver can’t move air in a vacuum. My LX universals have a vent.

 

[BananaOoyoo]

Yup. I'd imagine a custom EVR would be vent-less.

 

[Zachik]

The Bravados are my first EE product. I own CIEMs from CTM (Clear Tune Monitors) which use only BAs and indeed they do not have vents. They did cause me, however, ear pressure pain during take-off and landing. I wonder if the vented Bravados would not suffer from same minor issue. @NovaFlyer reported he did not suffer from it. Could be a coincidence or maybe the vents help with that.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

The Bravados are my first EE product. I own CIEMs from CTM (Clear Tune Monitors) which use only BAs and indeed they do not have vents. They did cause me, however, ear pressure pain during take-off and landing. I wonder if the vented Bravados would not suffer from same minor issue. @NovaFlyer reported he did not suffer from it. Could be a coincidence or maybe the vents help with that.

They allow for pressure equalization, so they should, yes.

 

[Misson07]

Yesterday, I listened to a few of Empire Ears new offerings at Bangkok Porta Jam and here are some of my impression.

Some background: I owned the Zeus and is very familiar with the Legend X.

Valkyrie: very exciting signature. Kind of like the Legend X but with less warmth and treble turned up to 11. They kinda sound like a basic iem tuning taken into high level with that forward treble and impactful bass. This is going to contradict some of the impression here but I find the treble a bit too much. It was never outright harsh but I know it will cause fatigue to me in a short time. Otherwise, I guess they're fine but the super exciting tonality is just not for me.

Wraith: tonality is a mix of Zeus and Legend X. They're more linear than Legend X and didn't have that much bass quantity but also have that sweetness in the mid range (like the Lx) in contrast to the more clinical Zeus. Bass has enough warmth to sound correct but was not particulary impressive to me compare to the Lx's though I guess the bass is better than Zeus very basic balance armarture sounding bass. Detail retrieval is great as well as general technical performance.

Effect Audio X Empire Ears Arthur: not really a part of the show but whatever. I find them very smooth and natural sounding with beautiful vocal. Treble note linger beautifully in a way that I don't usually find in closed back iem or headphone. Resolution and clarity is great though not better than other flagship iem in $3k (and some cheaper) price range. Not a lot of bass. I do like them a lot but at almost $7k? Just no.

 

[ajyagle]

Sorry for the radio silence this month everyone! I have been traveling with my family, my future in-laws, and of course for Empire as well. I'm back around though and my travels should be done, for now at least!

Delivered! Now to listen!

Those turned out great!

Here's the Wraith marketing spiel if anyone cares if there's one for the Valkyrie I didn't pick it up though

Slight typo on there, frequency response should read 20 Hz to 100 kHz.

I did a 5-hour flight yesterday with my new custom Bravados and found the isolation to be very good. I barely heard any cabin announcements with a speaker just behind me, and that was while playing some podcasts, not music. Overall, ambient cabin noise that I heard was minimal with these CIEMs, much better than any universal with foam or silicon tips I've used to date.

@Zachik pointed out to me the small vents in the top of the Bravado and I assume that also helped with being able to wear them without pressure problems due to cabin altitude. I didn't have any issues, my ears popped while ascending and I had to valsalva during descent, nothing out of the ordinary for me.

I'm assuming all EE CIEMs have the small vents at the top of the shell. I know the universals don't.

As some have already stated, the vents are for models with DD. So the X-Series has these ports but not the EP series. Regardless of custom or universal.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

Sorry for the radio silence this month everyone! I have been traveling with my family, my future in-laws, and of course for Empire as well. I'm back around though and my travels should be done, for now at least!




Those turned out great!



Slight typo on there, frequency response should read 20 Hz to 100 kHz.



As some have already stated, the vents are for models with DD. So the X-Series has these ports but not the EP series. Regardless of custom or universal.

Hopefully your trips were great!

 

[KuroKitsu]

My take on the Valkyrie was really that it needed more drivers, as the W9 dynamic driver seemed much more powerful than the BA or Sonion EST drivers. Given the not-insignificant $1600 price tag, might suffer from a bit of middle-child syndrome like the Vantage and Nemesis. It felt like a downgraded Legend X (much less oomph) with a splash of the Phantom, and if it came down to it, I'd save up the extra to just get the Legend X. Less driver flex than the LX though, which is nice.

I still want to see what happens when you throw in a W9 subwoofer (or two) into the Wraith though. Ditch the flat but anemic BA bass you get from the 2 low BAs and give me that satisfying rumble of the LX. (Incremental progress I guess?)

My first impressions of DDs have always been that they tend to "overpower" the mids and high, but are amazing once you past that phase, though the LX is still being the one exception. For me at least the option seems to be go the Valk with fewer W9s, so I hope this isn't a LX situation all over again, where the W9 overshines everything.

I think a lot of us expected the Wraith to be the Tribrid and not the Valk to be honest. Before even the price tag was annouced "2 BA bass" on the Wraith more or less took it out of consideration for me. Especially since it's suppose to be a Zeus sucessor. You really can't call it a sucessor and still retain that anemic bass. I'd take less ESTs and BAs for a W9 or 2.

 

[rwelles]

@ajyagle or @Devon Higgins, I've heard that the Wraith will only be available as a universal, at least initially. Are there plans to offer it as a custom? If so, does your crystal ball show any sort of time line??

 

[goodvibes]

LOL at dissing a maker like EE over driver type or count. Buy a model that you like the bass of but don't expect everyoneto enjoy nonlinear underdamped bass.They make multiple models for a reason.

 

[bvng3540]

@ajyagle or @Devon Higgins, I've heard that the Wraith will only be available as a universal, at least initially. Are there plans to offer it as a custom? If so, does your crystal ball show any sort of time line??

I asked them this question at solcal camjam and they said that no custom for the wraith at this time, my guess is due to it size, they might be able to make you one if you have ears like dumbo

 

[KuroKitsu]

I asked them this question at solcal camjam and they said that no custom for the wraith at this time, my guess is due to it size, they might be able to make you one if you have ears like dumbo

Plot twist: Wraith over ears because they can't fit 4 ESTs in customs. As long as they got those gorgeous purple faceplates.

 

[mwhals]

My custom Legend X isolates better now, so I think I got it in better than I did Saturday.