[ustinj]

Glad you found your preference!

well done

 

[Sound Eq]

Glad you found your preference!

Well I bet that user does not even own the zeus to give this false feedback
 
@Jack Vang your iems are masterpieces, that many are missing out from not getting one or the other
 
One thing for sure is that once you really hear the Zeus you get floored by such a masterpiece of tuning
 
Jack you are the master of all and I bow humbly to your musical tunning perfection

 

[Tara Shevchenko]

  Well I bet that user does not even own the zeus to give this false feedback
 
@Jack Vang your iems are masterpieces, that many are missing out from not getting one or the other
 
One thing for sure is that once you really hear the Zeus you get floored by such a masterpiece of tuning
 
Jack you are the master of all and I bow humbly to your musical tunning perfection

I did not say that the iems are bad, they certainly top-end! I just left my opinion here. Each has his own taste preferences in sound. And you're right, I'm not their owner.

 

[Dingding123]

Chill chill. The forum remains a conducive place for discussion because everyone's opinions are respected.
No doubt that the Solar is a wonderful piece of IEM, as it has gained compliments from several respectable reviewers. In fact, cramming 10 BA into a little shell is an amazing feat by itself. However comparing Zeus to Rhapsodio is almost like comparing the lemons with oranges. Both belong to the same genre of products but they have very different sound signatures.
On a side note, kudos to Jack Vang's response. I wonder what would happen if that controversial post was found in the other thread where the other very popular TOTL iem belongs. (Yes, you know which one.)
*

 

[tim0chan]

Quick impressions of the prototypes.
Proto H: a very special beast. Has some of the best bass I have heard (I walked the whole show floor), sweet mids but a tiny bit too aggressive treble.
Proto X
Good enough to be sold as a flagship already. Massive sound stage, sweeeeeet mids and perfect treble imo. The bass is the best I've heard from an all ba setup, impactful and fast with awesome subbass. I don't see anything to change here . At this stage of development, I feel that it rivals the tia fourte but I think at the end of it all or will be better without that overly high price tag.
Revised supra:
Awesome bang for buck gets a bigger bang. Hard to imagine that there are only 2 drivers in there. Bright tuning and overall just very good .
Revised spartan:
Can't really pinpoint what was changed but I hear better microdetailing and slightly tighter bass?
Overall Empire Ears booth was the one booth that I spent most of my time at. Empire Ears is da best. Keep up the good work and I will be looking forward to the new product launches

 

[NaiveSound]

Chill chill. The forum remains a conducive place for discussion because everyone's opinions are respected.
No doubt that the Solar is a wonderful piece of IEM, as it has gained compliments from several respectable reviewers. In fact, cramming 10 BA into a little shell is an amazing feat by itself. However comparing Zeus to Rhapsodio is almost like comparing the lemons with oranges. Both belong to the same genre of products but they have very different sound signatures.
On a side note, kudos to Jack Vang's response. I wonder what would happen if that controversial post was found in the other thread where the other very popular TOTL iem belongs. (Yes, you know which one.)
*

Noble guys couldn't of handle that lol!



Zeus R is reference and if people judge it properly it will have the same adjectives as other reference iems. Probably better suited for mixing and critical listening, I can see why Tara would think that. I also used Zeus R for analictical music and super micro detail from track to track. But if I wanted fun, engaging, wow sound... I flipped a switch and got to Zeus XIV. Now that... Is a different story.

 

[b0ssMax]

Appreciate your opinion, but mine differs (other than the price as it is damn expensive). With my chain of 380+amp and pw audio 1960's cable and Zeus XR Adel the Zeus is very musical and engaging, I would not call it analytical, especially on the X setting. It is plenty versatile across genres also.

I have not heard the Solar though.

Nogi, could you provide a more detailed comparison of the pwaudio no5 and 1960's cable? I have an xra and the no5 but no demo of the 1960. Thanks.

 

[Deezel177]

Quick impressions of the prototypes.
Proto H: a very special beast. Has some of the best bass I have heard (I walked the whole show floor), sweet mids but a tiny bit too aggressive treble.
Proto X
Good enough to be sold as a flagship already. Massive sound stage, sweeeeeet mids and perfect treble imo. The bass is the best I've heard from an all ba setup, impactful and fast with awesome subbass. I don't see anything to change here . At this stage of development, I feel that it rivals the tia fourte but I think at the end of it all or will be better without that overly high price tag.
Revised supra:
Awesome bang for buck gets a bigger bang. Hard to imagine that there are only 2 drivers in there. Bright tuning and overall just very good .
Revised spartan:
Can't really pinpoint what was changed but I hear better microdetailing and slightly tighter bass?
Overall Empire Ears booth was the one booth that I spent most of my time at. Empire Ears is da best. Keep up the good work and I will be looking forward to the new product launches

 
I very much agree with your impressions of the Proto-H. It's a special IEM for sure (more on this when we get the go-ahead to spill the beans ). It sounded like an amalgamation of Empire's brighter and leaner side (Supra, Zeus-R) with their thicker and richer side (Athena, Cerberus), being one of the most balanced IEMs in their lineup and offering the best of both worlds. Echoing what you said, its mids are transparent yet smooth and rich, and the bass is simply world class with gorgeous rumble and slam. I too, however, believe the treble to be bordering on harsh, but I heard there was a red version of the prototype which had a different treble tuning on Saturday. Unfortunately, it suffered issues by the day's end and was not available for audition on Sunday.
 
The Proto-X was a definite surprise for me at first sight, and at first listen as well. Like you said, it had an amazing soundstage that extended to all directions, yet I found the mids to be seductively intimate and rich. It had more meat to its bones, partly also due to its more toned down treble. I honestly enjoy the Zeus's treble tuning more, but this is simply due to personal preference. The bass was the most interesting aspect of the piece, where its bold mid-bass punch was married to a sub-bass rumble that I found peculiar. It somehow made me feel like my body was vibrating, akin to being in a concert environment with large subwoofers and the resonances passing through you. It absolutely made for a unique experience and it made me all the more curious as to what was inside it.
 
All in all, I found both prototypes to be fantastic stepping stones to brilliant products, both wonderful in their own way. 
 

Noble guys couldn't of handle that lol!



Zeus R is reference and if people judge it properly it will have the same adjectives as other reference iems. Probably better suited for mixing and critical listening, I can see why Tara would think that. I also used Zeus R for analictical music and super micro detail from track to track. But if I wanted fun, engaging, wow sound... I flipped a switch and got to Zeus XIV. Now that... Is a different story.

 
Read the above, @NaiveSound, and trust me when I say you have a lot to look forward to.

 

[Sound Eq]

I am so eager to learn more about those new proto iems, the proto- x sounds something I will be very interested in

 

[NaiveSound]

I very much agree with your impressions of the Proto-H. It's a special IEM for sure (more on this when we get the go-ahead to spill the beans ). It sounded like an amalgamation of Empire's brighter and leaner side (Supra, Zeus-R) with their thicker and richer side (Athena, Cerberus), being one of the most balanced IEMs in their lineup and offering the best of both worlds. Echoing what you said, its mids are transparent yet smooth and rich, and the bass is simply world class with gorgeous rumble and slam. I too, however, believe the treble to be bordering on harsh, but I heard there was a red version of the prototype which had a different treble tuning on Saturday. Unfortunately, it suffered issues by the day's end and was not available for audition on Sunday.

The Proto-X was a definite surprise for me at first sight, and at first listen as well. Like you said, it had an amazing soundstage that extended to all directions, yet I found the mids to be seductively intimate and rich. It had more meat to its bones, partly also due to its more toned down treble. I honestly enjoy the Zeus's treble tuning more, but this is simply due to personal preference. The bass was the most interesting aspect of the piece, where its bold mid-bass punch was married to a sub-bass rumble that I found peculiar. It somehow made me feel like my body was vibrating, akin to being in a concert environment with large subwoofers and the resonances passing through you. It absolutely made for a unique experience and it made me all the more curious as to what was inside it.

All in all, I found both prototypes to be fantastic stepping stones to brilliant products, both wonderful in their own way. 


Read the above, @NaiveSound
, and trust me when I say you have a lot to look forward to.

Ohhhhhh..... Getting super exited again, can't wait to get these adel ones out of the way.

 

[PokerFaze]

It was really nice meeting some of you the past 2 days! Special thanks to Jack and Dean for being super awesome; I will post my impressions of the prototypes once I have rested. Super tired but I had a lot of fun!

 

[Dellwolf]

Glad you found your preference!

There is no better way to respond.

 

[Tara Shevchenko]

In which direction the Athena differs from Zeus?

 

[nogi replicant]

Nogi, could you provide a more detailed comparison of the pwaudio no5 and 1960's cable? I have an xra and the no5 but no demo of the 1960. Thanks.

Will do some comparisons and let you know.

 

[flipper203]

these new products seem really really interesting, some more bass impact, compared to the Zeus, with the same kind of resolution would be really great !!! Kepp on @jack wang !!