[Cagin]

"Ares" :eek:

God of war. No battle without thundering war drums. Could this be the replacement to the Omega for the bass lovers? I see 3 bores.

You got the opportunity to compare the Zeus and the Zeus R side by side I imagine. What's your take on it. Afaik all the rest of us only had our memory as we sent back the Zeus to get it remastered to try to compare; a process taking up to a month in total so that doesn't help with memory acuity
I'm curious which one you're getting hehe. The new Ares or a Zeus(R)?

 

[shotgunshane]

I heard the universal Zeus and Zeus-R side by side. My 2c:

- original Zeus is more colored with midrange emphasis
- original Zeus is special in layering. I've never heard anything display layers like this
- original Zeus has excellent depth

- Zeus-R is all around more reference quality; better balanced and more neutral
- Zeus-R is tighter, cleaner and more coherent
- Zeus-R improves imaging and separation, along with a wider, airier staging.
- Zeus-R treble went from just OK on the original to absolutely fantastic on the R.

Love of one over the other is completely understandable. My preferences lean heavily towards the R but I can easily understand preference for the original.

 

[ejong7]

I will have a write up in the near future (probably after my US trip) about my experience and impressions at Empire but for now I would say I ditto most if not all of the impressions shotgunshane has.



This was the setup I audition the R to the original with. It has a switch so that u dont have to take them off your ears.

But the Ares though. No worries Zeus R owners its no new flagship but I really think this will be a big hit. If I had my way, I would have swoop for a unit of this as well.

Well, not like my future Zeus-R is anything to take lightly of.

 

[shotgunshane]

You could switch between the original and R with just a switch? That's is cool!

Edit: and a marketable product

 

[esm87]

"Ares" :eek:

God of war. No battle without thundering war drums. Could this be the replacement to the Omega for the bass lovers? I see 3 bores.

You got the opportunity to compare the Zeus and the Zeus R side by side I imagine. What's your take on it. Afaik all the rest of us only had our memory as we sent back the Zeus to get it remastered to try to compare; a process taking up to a month in total so that doesn't help with memory acuity
I'm curious which one you're getting hehe. The new Ares or a Zeus(R)?

is the ares a new IEM?

 

[davidcotton]

 
 

 
Well had the ok from Jack about closed mouth impressions I had taken, so put them in the post today.  I had the left side redone as was not convinced and put them both in.  Now the wait begins...

 

[Cotnijoe]

 
is the ares a new IEM?

 
http://music-sanctuary.com/products/empire-zeus-xiv
 
Maybe this is what they're talking about?
 
But then there were people talking about the Legend R replacement... I'm also curious....

 

[ejong7]

Ares is not the cable effect audio made. Complete new iem. Oh my Im such a tease.

 

[Cagin]

No not the same. I had received  the Audio Effect Ares cable (copper) with my Zeus R. 
Check Eujong7's pic, it has Ares printed on it, and notice the sound tube bore count (3); Zeus has 4.

 

[Cagin]

A switchable Zeus, oh myyyy  (takei voice).  If my ears would've allowed for a thinner Zeus, I'd seriously consider asking for a custom switchable Zeus haha

 

[ejong7]

Dont think its ever made to be sold yo the public, more for in house testing. I had ask for an old Zeus to compare to the R and that was why it came out.

 

[Cotnijoe]

Dont think its ever made to be sold yo the public, more for in house testing. I had ask for an old Zeus to compare to the R and that was why it came out.

So have u had a sneak peek?

 

[ejong7]

So have u had a sneak peek?

I don't think Jack and Dean ever thought of bringing it to retail. It was probably one of those test units the have in house for quick A-B. I don't think most people would appreciate having a big (relatively) switch in the middle that might disrupt the design of their favourite CIEM.
 
I also tend to agree with Dean where we both came to the conclusion where R is the superior unit, and 99/100 would choose it over the vanilla Zeus (my estimated figure). So I don't think a switching R/non-R is that viable.

 

[Spamateur]

 
I don't think Jack and Dean ever thought of bringing it to retail. It was probably one of those test units the have in house for quick A-B. I don't think most people would appreciate having a big (relatively) switch in the middle that might disrupt the design of their favourite CIEM.
 
I also tend to agree with Dean where we both came to the conclusion where R is the superior unit, and 99/100 would choose it over the vanilla Zeus (my estimated figure). So I don't think a switching R/non-R is that viable.

Yeah the Zeus-R vs Zeus reactions are interesting. It seems a lot of folks like that lusher midrange bloom that the original model have. I prefer the larger soundstage, slightly drier and more neutral "reference" sound of the -R, although I still found the original to be quite magical in its own right. A big part of the difference in preference might come from source, as I'm using my Plenue S, which is a warmer DAP to begin with. It's been referred to as having an "analogue-esque" sound signature, so my -R might maintain a bit of that original midrange lushness and bloom whereas someone using a more neutral or brighter DAP could potentially be missing it with the -R versus the original.
 
Speaking of, I'm listening to a vinyl rip of Explosions in the Sky's "The Earth is not a Cold Dead Place" right now at work and it's a delight. The production and recording quality is superb, and really lets the detail retrieval of the Zeus-R shine.

 

[Jack Vang]

About another week or so until the new website is up guys! I'm going to be announcing several exciting things within the coming weeks. Most importantly we'll be running another sale in celebration of the new website and the release of the Zeus-R! Stay tuned!