[Beh0lder]

Got to try Raven today at Canjam London and it’s the real deal. Came back to it 3 times throughout the day to make sure my comparisons were on point and it stood up to the competition. It’s more of a ‘W’ type signature rather than the Odyssey’s ‘L’. It certainly has more air and headroom than Odyssey but odyssey is thicker and more bass centric overall. The holography and staging is very good on these though, a very cool presentation and a surprisingly good fit! No ear fatigue at all and probably the most comfortable EE IEM I’ve tried.

Does the N7 have enough power to drive the Raven on its own?

 

[Tristy]

Does the N7 have enough power to drive the Raven on its own?

It seems to but Raven scaled really well with the C9 in tow. You don’t get the full dynamics of the bass with just the N7. It scaled much better than Odin, Odyssey or Evo from what I remember which was surprising.

 

[briantrinh86]

It seems to but Raven scaled really well with the C9 in tow. You don’t get the full dynamics of the bass with just the N7. It scaled much better than Odin, Odyssey or Evo from what I remember which was surprising.

Did they use hugo 2 to demo raven at the show?

 

[Tristy]

Did they use hugo 2 to demo raven at the show?

No they had an SE300 and kann Max. I used my own though

 

[subguy812]

Excellent descriptions @Tristy!

 

[samirfjain]

Anybody use the legend x with ifi go pod? Experience?

 

[Beh0lder]

It seems to but Raven scaled really well with the C9 in tow. You don’t get the full dynamics of the bass with just the N7. It scaled much better than Odin, Odyssey or Evo from what I remember which was surprising.

Good to hear. If you or anyone else has a chance to compare it to the Kublai Khan in more detail, I would be much obliged as @Tristy 's initial comparison to the KK got my attention

 

[haci]

Good to hear. If you or anyone else has a chance to compare it to the Kublai Khan in more detail, I would be much obliged as @Tristy 's initial comparison to the KK got my attention

I did compare Kublai Khan to Raven during my audition, using trance music and RS8.

It wasn't a long a/b comparison, but Kublai Khan sounded to me much brighter and less detailed compared to Raven. In terms of stage and detail, Raven was a step up.

 

[Tristy]

I did compare Kublai Khan to Raven during my audition, using trance music and RS8.

It wasn't a long a/b comparison, but Kublai Khan sounded to me much brighter and less detailed compared to Raven. In terms of stage and detail, Raven was a step up.

Yeah this aligns with what I heard, the khan wasn’t quite playing on the same level as Raven generally but had a unique sound which caught my attention. Not as textured or deep in the bass, not as detailed and the staging wasn’t as pin point or holographic as Raven. Nevertheless a welcome surprise and it was my favourite out of the Nobles. Their upcoming “Spartacus” was also very good and had a unique sound.

 

[Draxu]

An extended rewrite to my post on Can Jam impressions I thought I'd share with the main EE forums.

Empire Ears Raven, maestro of the Empire Ears house sound signature.

It's quite the statement to make as these were a last minute appearance for me at Can Jam. Despite this I manged to secure these monitors over 3 separate sessions during the day (yes they're that addictive). Wow... my first impressions were above anything their previous monitors could have led me to expect. As I noticed many people comparing this IEM to the combo of Odin and EVO but better I thought I'd include both the Legend EVO and Odins in my initial impressions. I was lucky enough to have both on hand to compare it with directly.

Appearances first the shell is definitely a force to be reckoned with, even larger than the Legend EVO and Odyssey, but most noticeable is the sleek and chic metal faceplate. From the more holographic designs of their previous Odyssey to the looker that is the Raven, they have made a really nice first step into metallic design for their IEMs (hopefully this continues to be a trend). It is a more understated look following the principles of the EVOs rather than the aforementioned Odyssey or Odins. Build-wise I can say that it feels more robust and substantial, reassuring when they come at a premium of £3.6k. Even with smaller ears I was able to comfortably fit these units into my ears with no stress or fatigue, they remained in my canals quite firmly through the whole session (tested with my own silicon and the included Final Eartips).

Now for the sound, the show stealer, I wanted to start at it's base or rather bass. If the EVO let out the bass, these Ravens reigned in and perfected the low ends from the W9+ and W10 drivers. There is tighter but similarly impactful bass to the EVOs that doesn't bleed into the mids. When called upon the low frequencies will come rumbling through the shells, a very visceral and real sensation of bass. Otherwise they remain relatively calm and allow the higher frequencies to take the stage. A notable improvement is the texture of the notes from the low frequencies, it seems that the team has tuned W10 close to it's optimal performance where the rumble is not only there for physical impact but also for the musicality of the songs. It has potential to be an amazing all rounder, with a good amount of spice on the low end that is as clear as it present.

The mids (and highs) take DNA from the Odins and smooth out the performance. Compared to the EVOs, the slight veil of male vocals is completely removed and female vocals have more sparkle and definition. Without the low ends bleeding into the mids, the Ravens can confidently bring the vocals closer to the limelight. There's extra clarity and detail without sacrificing the smoothness of the voices, from my ears I couldn't detect any sibilance. There's no artificial sharpening either for voices or instruments, avoiding colouration and keeping the balance of the tonality. The treble has also seen some needed tweaks from the Odins while retaining the original extension and airiness of the higher pitched instruments and voices as well. A certain realism has been achieved through the combination of smoothing and bringing out the mid-high frequencies where you could almost imagine yourself being in the same room as the artist/vocalist.

The combination of all these improvements have made the Raven one of the most pleasing and musical IEMs I've had the pleasure of trying out since the EVOs. This is a golden child and simultaneously its evolution of the Odin and EVO, one that has stolen the show for me at Can Jam. I would summarise it as the pinnacle of Empire Ear's sound signature, a true endgame IEM and is the monitor that is worth finding for yourself to demo or acquire.

 

[haci]

comfortably fit these units into my eyes with no stress or fatigue, they remained in my canals quite firmly

you mean ears, do you? -)

 

[Draxu]

you mean ears, do you? -)

Yeah whoops, so good I lost my vision.

 

[ahossam]

An extended rewrite to my post on Can Jam impressions I thought I'd share with the main EE forums.

Empire Ears Raven, maestro of the Empire Ears house sound signature.


It's quite the statement to make as these were a last minute appearance for me at Can Jam. Despite this I manged to secure these monitors over 3 separate sessions during the day (yes they're that addictive). Wow... my first impressions were above anything their previous monitors could have led me to expect. As I noticed many people comparing this IEM to the combo of Odin and EVO but better I thought I'd include both the Legend EVO and Odins in my initial impressions. I was lucky enough to have both on hand to compare it with directly.

Appearances first the shell is definitely a force to be reckoned with, even larger than the Legend EVO and Odyssey, but most noticeable is the sleek and chic metal faceplate. From the more holographic designs of their previous Odyssey to the looker that is the Raven, they have made a really nice first step into metallic design for their IEMs (hopefully this continues to be a trend). It is a more understated look following the principles of the EVOs rather than the aforementioned Odyssey or Odins. Build-wise I can say that it feels more robust and substantial, reassuring when they come at a premium of £3.6k. Even with smaller ears I was able to comfortably fit these units into my ears with no stress or fatigue, they remained in my canals quite firmly through the whole session (tested with my own silicon and the included Final Eartips).

Now for the sound, the show stealer, I wanted to start at it's base or rather bass. If the EVO let out the bass, these Ravens reigned in and perfected the low ends from the W9+ and W10 drivers. There is tighter but similarly impactful bass to the EVOs that doesn't bleed into the mids. When called upon the low frequencies will come rumbling through the shells, a very visceral and real sensation of bass. Otherwise they remain relatively calm and allow the higher frequencies to take the stage. A notable improvement is the texture of the notes from the low frequencies, it seems that the team has tuned W10 close to it's optimal performance where the rumble is not only there for physical impact but also for the musicality of the songs. It has potential to be an amazing all rounder, with a good amount of spice on the low end that is as clear as it present.

The mids (and highs) take DNA from the Odins and smooth out the performance. Compared to the EVOs, the slight veil of male vocals is completely removed and female vocals have more sparkle and definition. Without the low ends bleeding into the mids, the Ravens can confidently bring the vocals closer to the limelight. There's extra clarity and detail without sacrificing the smoothness of the voices, from my ears I couldn't detect any sibilance. There's no artificial sharpening either for voices or instruments, avoiding colouration and keeping the balance of the tonality. The treble has also seen some needed tweaks from the Odins while retaining the original extension and airiness of the higher pitched instruments and voices as well. A certain realism has been achieved through the combination of smoothing and bringing out the mid-high frequencies where you could almost imagine yourself being in the same room as the artist/vocalist.

The combination of all these improvements have made the Raven one of the most pleasing and musical IEMs I've had the pleasure of trying out since the EVOs. This is a golden child and simultaneously its evolution of the Odin and EVO, one that has stolen the show for me at Can Jam. I would summarise it as the pinnacle of Empire Ear's sound signature, a true endgame IEM and is the monitor that is worth finding for yourself to demo or acquire.

Are you agree that Raven is a basshead iem as some reviewers have said?

 

[CL14715]

Are you agree that Raven is a basshead iem as some reviewers have said?

It’s really not. EE just doesn’t do subpar or anemic bass. Therefore, when someone hears it who isn’t used to it, there’s a sense of bass focus.

 

[Draxu]

Are you agree that Raven is a basshead iem as some reviewers have said?

It's a warm tuning, a very pleasing and comfortable listen, the W10 Bone Conduction driver gives the bass a more physical texture/feeling. It's more akin to enhancing the existing low ends rather than adding a ton of bass to the sound signature. The tuning isn't as rampant on the bass as the Legend X. I agree with CL14715 that EE has it's own sound signature that makes it sound more full in low end frequencies than other IEMs. The Ravens definitely can be viewed as EE's all-rounder flagship.