Earprophile
New Head-Fier
My brilliant gorgeous odyssey
Hope u guys get odyssey ASAP ~
Hope u guys get odyssey ASAP ~
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Empire Ears - Discussion & Impressions (Formerly EarWerkz)
- Thread starter Jack Vang
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Apparently Audio46 has a few, you can ask there?
I will pick one up opportunistically when a deal presents itself. No need to rush, but there is a hole in my collection without it. It took me 10 months to pick up XE6, so I have patience.
I've had less than 10 minutes to listen to these between work calls. Initial thoughts:
-packaging is beautiful, super luxury, well packed, appreciate hard dividers between the various compartments. Don't love that the IEMs were shipped with the cable preinstalled. Secure and form fitted enough padding for shipping, but pulling the IEMs out of the package while avoiding bending a pin gave me anxiety
-on that note, stock cable? No bueno. Wire gauge feels cheap, especially compared to the Genesis that came with the Evo. The Dunu Hulk Pro is a placeholder (if someone wants to buy it from me, pm me), I have something flashier on the way
-shells are gorgeous, and 100% handmade. The pattern on mine is definitely different than other people's. There's a nice subtle shade of blue running throughout it, and a dimensionality to the globule textures underneath the surface that photos really don't do justice to
-the sound: mixed bag, goes hand in hand with being a jack of all trades. This is much more of an all rounder than the legend evo ever was. I'm running the opening theme to Star Trek Prodigy in 24 bit flac, and I can hear the electrostatics kicking in when the trumpets come in for the main riff. It's fantastic, and exactly what was missing from the legend evo. On the other hand, I'm running Billie Eilish's Listen Before I Go, and I'm missing some of the dimensionality and bass rumble that the evos had. The Odyssey is very good sounding--large soundstage, very crystal clear highs, maybe some slight, slight (did I mention slight) recession in the mids, but you can't amplify everything. I'm certain part of listening to these is going to be training my brain not to expect the almost overwhelming bass of the legend evos, but this is the first time in my life where I'm seeing the merit of owning multiple flagships. I see (and hear) this as an alternative and an accompaniment to the legend evos, not necessarily a replacement--the only limitation being funds (if anyone wants to donate a few grand to me to swing some more IEM sets, that'd be swell, thanks). I think overall if you're looking for more of an all rounder this is it, and sound aside, they're certainly nice to look at. More impressions to come.
-packaging is beautiful, super luxury, well packed, appreciate hard dividers between the various compartments. Don't love that the IEMs were shipped with the cable preinstalled. Secure and form fitted enough padding for shipping, but pulling the IEMs out of the package while avoiding bending a pin gave me anxiety
-on that note, stock cable? No bueno. Wire gauge feels cheap, especially compared to the Genesis that came with the Evo. The Dunu Hulk Pro is a placeholder (if someone wants to buy it from me, pm me), I have something flashier on the way
-shells are gorgeous, and 100% handmade. The pattern on mine is definitely different than other people's. There's a nice subtle shade of blue running throughout it, and a dimensionality to the globule textures underneath the surface that photos really don't do justice to
-the sound: mixed bag, goes hand in hand with being a jack of all trades. This is much more of an all rounder than the legend evo ever was. I'm running the opening theme to Star Trek Prodigy in 24 bit flac, and I can hear the electrostatics kicking in when the trumpets come in for the main riff. It's fantastic, and exactly what was missing from the legend evo. On the other hand, I'm running Billie Eilish's Listen Before I Go, and I'm missing some of the dimensionality and bass rumble that the evos had. The Odyssey is very good sounding--large soundstage, very crystal clear highs, maybe some slight, slight (did I mention slight) recession in the mids, but you can't amplify everything. I'm certain part of listening to these is going to be training my brain not to expect the almost overwhelming bass of the legend evos, but this is the first time in my life where I'm seeing the merit of owning multiple flagships. I see (and hear) this as an alternative and an accompaniment to the legend evos, not necessarily a replacement--the only limitation being funds (if anyone wants to donate a few grand to me to swing some more IEM sets, that'd be swell, thanks). I think overall if you're looking for more of an all rounder this is it, and sound aside, they're certainly nice to look at. More impressions to come.
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bneiderman
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Just received mine. Have not had a chance to open box yet. Working ;(. Thanks headphones.com for the quick shipment!
dkar
100+ Head-Fier
Also received mine, opened it, but haven’t had a chance to listen yet.
sorrick
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Mine arrived too. Did a quick listen, but want some more ear time and tip/cable rolling before posting impressions. The box/packaging was beautiful, as are the iems—I think I like the faceplates on these even more than the Odins. More soon…
Give it a couple of days and you’ll hear the refinements, it’s now as 3 dimensional as Odin and much more so than EVO… I’ve been meaning to post some updated impressions comparing with Odin, EVO and EXT but it will have to be tomorrow now.
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I'm trying to give them a chance. I appreciate the clarity, but I'm missing the bass drop of the legend evo. Not sure these are the right fit for the sound signature I'm looking for.
If anyone is selling their Odyssey please let me know. I’d love to hear one, I had to pass up on two in stock units yesterday as I purchased something else thinking all Odyssey were out of stock.
Thanks!
Thanks!
I definitely get the “crap the bed” quality from the bass of these much like I did when I first got the legend X but it is definitely a “fatter” bass than the EVOs for sure. I think they both reach equally as deep but I think EVOs is slightly more incisive and goes for sort of a gut punch whereas Odyssey seems more encompassing to me? Sort of like it’s filling out the room more. I definitely noticed the imaging taking a step up after around 3 days of listening and the bass also seemed more dynamic like things were loosening up
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They're definitely more detailed, and they fix a lot of the gap in the highs and treble that I heard on other empire ears sets. That said, not for me I think tuning-wise. They're very audiophile in terms of tuning--nothing is missing, I just think I prefer more of a bassier sound. My set's up in the classifieds, open to negotiating, just trying to recoup what I can:
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/empire-ears-astell-kern-odyssey.38002/
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dkar
100+ Head-Fier
I've just started listening to the Odyssey's using an SP3k with an OTL cable and Azla Sedna Crystal tips. I've only been listening for about ~20mins and I've been really enjoying it so far. Keep in mind I'm coming from primarily using the Campfire Solaris SE, so this is quite the change.
I did briefly try the Spinfit CP155 tips, but I definitely prefer the Sedna's. I still need to try the Final E tips, but I'll probably wait until the weekend to do that. Are there any other tips that are worth trying?
I did briefly try the Spinfit CP155 tips, but I definitely prefer the Sedna's. I still need to try the Final E tips, but I'll probably wait until the weekend to do that. Are there any other tips that are worth trying?
I always try the stock tips that the IEMs we're tuned with. For Empire Ear's that is generally Final tips
