[metaljem77]

I got my raven LEs yesterday and have to say that despite some anxiety around hearing that two people receiving their LEs had their shells break, they do sound and look fantastic. I was a bit worried about whether the gold shells would be too much, but I agree with @haci—I really like the gold and am glad I switched from my initial order of black.

They sounded quite good right out of the box, but after letting them play overnight, when I picked them up today, they sounded even better, with the bass seeming to settle a bit (better definition and texture as well as seemingly a bit more oomph) and the imaging sharpening. These changes after having a few hours of playing time are consistent with what I’ve experienced with previous EE iems (Odin, evo, and odyssey in particular).

I decided to go from odyssey to raven because while I absolutely loved odyssey (enough so that I sold both my evos and traillis after getting them), over time I wished the mids, especially male vocals, were just a little more present. While I would not say the odyssey mids are recessed, they were a little less present. I was hoping for something like the odyssey but with a bit more mid prescence and that is exactly what I am hearing. The bass is a little less than on the odyssey, but definitely closer to odyssey than Odin. These very much sound like they’ve taken the best from odyssey and Odin and put them together, with some further refinement of the imaging and layering as well as further expanded soundstage.

I picked uo a Fir Rn6 as well recently and so I will definitely be comparing those two as I do more listening (too early to say anything definitive yet).

When mine arrived I did a pretty thorough inspection looking for any signs of stress to the shells by shining my phone’s light through them and everything looked as it should (there are certainly a lot of drivers in there). The cable connection was definitely quite tight out of the box. I built up the courage to (carefully) pull out and reinsert the cable on both sides using Jacks recommended wiggle method (figured if there was going to be an issue, I’d rather have it now than later), and I was able to do so without any problems. I was being careful not to use too much force (in the pulling and in the wiggling) and took my time with it, but no drama and no trauma to me or the iems.

Thanks for sharing. I’ve asked my dealer to see how the pin slots can be manually widened before they ship out to me. I don’t principally have an issue having to do the wiggle method but am more concerned about how such movements over time affect the structural integrity of the area, since I regularly cable roll.

 

[Visceral]

Anyone else experience some noticeable driver flex during insertion of the Ravens or just me?

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Thanks for sharing. I’ve asked my dealer to see how the pin slots can be manually widened before they ship out to me. I don’t principally have an issue having to do the wiggle method but am more concerned about how such movements over time affect the structural integrity of the area, since I regularly cable roll.

This is a very good idea. Hopefully they can do certain adjustments to not affect the sound quality because it is so good. I’m afraid they prioritized the sound quality so much that when they were building it they sacrificed on the durability

 

[KuroKitsu]

On the bright side, Empire is so confident of the cable pairing with iem they made the iem self destruct if you try to cable swap.

Clearly, too many of us Odin owners swapped out the Stormbreaker

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Anyone else experience some noticeable driver flex during insertion of the Ravens or just me?

Yes, there’s definitely Driver flex the same as on the Odin gives you those little cute noises when inserting I personally don’t mind it, but some do

 

[sorrick]

Anyone else experience some noticeable driver flex during insertion of the Ravens or just me?

Yup, pretty much all of my EE iems have had driver flex on insertion. This is not indicative of any issue. I treat it as a helpful sign I’m getting a good seal.

 

[Visceral]

Yes, there’s definitely Driver flex the same as on the Odin gives you those little cute noises when inserting I personally don’t mind it, but some do

Yeah, doesn’t bother me just wanted to make sure this was ‘common’. I’ve sampled the Odin but didn’t take much notice of it. And it was a while ago.

 

[Visceral]

These things are insanely comfortable..

 

[tjzurlaaa]

These things are insanely comfortable..

Right !? For the size it’s so good

 

[timeslip]

Got my replacement ravens from headphones.com (Thanks to Andrew and @TaronL) and more specifically Sam Cooper and Alan Lin over there who got me my replacement within 24hrs.

Upon first inspection, the stock cable was not pushed in all the way which was noticed after I heard a channel imbalance. I "wiggled" it in gently in fear that it may crack, but was successful. First impressions off my WM1ZM2 are that these are a lot brighter than the odyssey and evo legend. Based on all the initial reviews, I shouldn't be surprised that they remind me of the odin's (my gateway IEM to EE). I liked the final ear tips on the odyssey, but I can't handle them on the ravens. I have to agree with @tjzurlaaa that the spinfit cp155 are a pretty good match.

I don't have much else to share, as I will let these slowly break in or my brain wipe of the odyssey sound. I also need to find the courage to swap the cables back to the PWA FT cable. I could not stand the odyssey with the stock cable, but loved the pairing with PWA FT.

 

[goodvibes]

It wasn't their IEM in my case, but EE's 4.4 mm -> 3.5mm adapter absolutely ravaged one of my PW connectors. EE didn't care, blamed PW (blaming their partners definitely a theme!), really soured me on their service and brand.

Seeing their response here just confirms that avoiding them going forward is a good call for me. I don't want to constantly worry my TOTL is going to break and damage my other gear!

If they're the ones that sold you the cable, they're the ones that should service it. If not, not.

 

[Bret Halford]

If they're the ones that sold you the cable, they're the ones that should service it. If not, not.

So, in context then, you think if someone is foolish enough to listen to EE's recommendation to "wiggle" a 2 pin connector and end up damaging their 3rd party cable as a result, they should be left out to dry?

For the record, it was the PW cable that came with the Evo, damaged by a 1st party EE adapter. It literally never came in physical contact with anything not EE branded and got absolutely shredded.

"Typical of these types of connectors" was EE's exact explanation re: PW Pentaconn. They offered to replace the adapter LMAO but outright refused the rest.

Whatever, it's my prerogative to not do any further business with them accordingly, it's just disappointing to see them behave this way at large, as it seems like their devices are a cable liability.

 

[KuroKitsu]

To give them the benefit of the doubt, it might be just flaws that made it's way in during the manufacturing process, given say there haven't been 10-20 reports of imploding ravens and just 2 units (here at least).

However, given Jack's detailed response, I can't help but wonder if my Odin will one day implode like that as well. I don't cable roll a lot by any means, but in all the Empire iems I've had, sockets were tight fresh from the box but became reasonable over time.

Shell integrity was never even an afterthought. However in light of the issue highlighting a possible structural issue, the explanation provided regarding shell thickness, and the existence of a pre-made video on how to "properly" remove the cable, it raises a doubt in mind that affects more than the Raven itself.

I've more less declared that I die on the hill that is Odin ownership, but have been eyeing a Raven LE from a fairly local dealer in the last few days. I was willing to go on Empire's reputation and pull the plug, but decided otherwise due to those concerns.

 

[olddude]

Any IEM not made of metal is subject to possibly cracking. That's the nature of resin. I've had metal IEMs in the past and didn't worry about being too rough with them. With the resin EE's (I've had four, including the Massdrop Zeus), I've always been careful because, well, they are made of resin. If you drop them, they can crack. And certainly, if you put too much pressure on them, they can crack.

It seems a bit late to be worrying about EE's shells when they've been making them from resin for what, 7-10 years or more? Have we seen many reports of them breaking during that time? Not really, unless they broke from dropping them on the floor or a dog chewed them up (I think I saw that one recently). Certainly, they can crack if you stick them in your pocket and put pressure on them.

Like anything else, care should be taken in the handling of things which should be considered delicate. That said, this freaking out about the Raven based on a couple of instances of breakage seems frantic and over the top to me.

And to worry about other EE IEMs that have been around for years (the Odin is 3+ years old, my Zeus has got to be more than 6, the LX is what, 4+?) just seems silly. If they were going to have issues, those would have been reported on by now. And they haven't.

So. The Raven either has or doesn't have a thickness problem in which the cable removal can possibly be an issue. I'm not sure how many have gone out, but we've heard about two. EE has weighed in on how to remove and replace cables. EE has NOT said it won't warranty breakage if it occurs. And there hasn't been a wholesale reporting on 10-20 of them breaking this week.

So why the panic? Why the worry about an Odin? Why not wait and see what happens? If you are worried and want to cancel your order until it becomes clearer about shell integrity, do so. No one is forcing anyone to buy the Raven. There is no reason to get one the first week. Like everything else in this hobby, we will see the initial buying frenzy lead to a sell off in a few months. We have all seen this. So again, take a breath, think before you make a dramatic post, and realize that this will work itself out.

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Any IEM not made of metal is subject to possibly cracking. That's the nature of resin. I've had metal IEMs in the past and didn't worry about being too rough with them. With the resin EE's (I've had four, including the Massdrop Zeus), I've always been careful because, well, they are made of resin. If you drop them, they can crack. And certainly, if you put too much pressure on them, they can crack.

It seems a bit late to be worrying about EE's shells when they've been making them from resin for what, 7-10 years or more? Have we seen many reports of them breaking during that time? Not really, unless they broke from dropping them on the floor or a dog chewed them up (I think I saw that one recently). Certainly, they can crack if you stick them in your pocket and put pressure on them.

Like anything else, care should be taken in the handling of things which should be considered delicate. That said, this freaking out about the Raven based on a couple of instances of breakage seems frantic and over the top to me.

And to worry about other EE IEMs that have been around for years (the Odin is 3+ years old, my Zeus has got to be more than 6, the LX is what, 4+?) just seems silly. If they were going to have issues, those would have been reported on by now. And they haven't.

So. The Raven either has or doesn't have a thickness problem in which the cable removal can possibly be an issue. I'm not sure how many have gone out, but we've heard about two. EE has weighed in on how to remove and replace cables. EE has NOT said it won't warranty breakage if it occurs. And there hasn't been a wholesale reporting on 10-20 of them breaking this week.

So why the panic? Why the worry about an Odin? Why not wait and see what happens? If you are worried and want to cancel your order until it becomes clearer about shell integrity, do so. No one is forcing anyone to buy the Raven. There is no reason to get one the first week. Like everything else in this hobby, we will see the initial buying frenzy lead to a sell off in a few months. We have all seen this. So again, take a breath, think before you make a dramatic post, and realize that this will work itself out.