[ranfan]

Do they have 'EE' stickers at the booth?

 

[ctsooner22]

New to this thread, have to catch up a bit. I have read about this gear on the Ranking the Stars thread, though. Heard the line at CanJam NY this past weekend, they all sounded great! Hard to get a good listen (for me, at least) under show conditions, rushed (though the EE folks were quite welcoming and didn't rush me), noisy, and overload from listening to so many different systems. Still, thought they all would be fine to live with. Waiting on the Phantom, though. (hi ctsooner22!)

Hi Doc. How's it going. So great meeting you at the show. I totally agree with your thoughts. I would like to add, that I DID figure out the pretenders from the contenders even in show conditions. I was able to get a good listen to the EE Phantom and ESR before folks showed up and they did sound even better than when I heard them after the crowd showed up. I do agree that it's hard to really get a great feel in show conditions. That's why I read what teh 'reviewers' are saying and I love what I hear. lol.

 

[goodvibes]

We have talked about the Zeus bass ad nauseum. They are not bass thin when the track has bass, but they aren't going to color the sound.
The XRA vs XR to my ears were different in delivery. The XRA sounds thinner. Sound wise you may gain a little more air and stage with the Adel but that also made the Zeus sound a little intense in the treble.

This. The Spartan I have is not considered bass heavy without Adel but I prefer it's bass quantity and overall balance (in quiet environments) with the G1 module. I hear no change in treble quantity but the sound is generally more open with adel. B1 overdid it in this model by making the iem less dynamic and low in bass quantity but was the better option in the bass heavier 64audio I had. Like the Spartan, I suspect the G1 module is the preferred way to go with an Adel fitted Zeus as they have similar response curves.

Top graph is Spartan IV and bottom is Zeus R and both without Adel (borrowed from Crinacle). These are not intended to be super accurate representations but the 2 units were measured with the same rig and compensation so this is for comparison only. Despite similar measurements, Zeus is the more powerful, textured, even through the mids and nuanced device with the appropriate associations. I personally find a bit of treble roll sounds natural to me so that difference is not a Spartan neg for me and disregard the curve shape there in general. Neither is shy in treble quantity or extension. You can understand why I call the Spartan a sleeper and like it so much. G1 module drops the bass by an apparent 2db or so which I personally find well (better) balanced on the Spartan. I'd probably feel the same on Zeus in quiet surroundings but as in all things audio, ymmv.

 

[ctsooner22]

Thanks for sharing, now the wait for the Phantom is going to be even more agonising! Can't wait to hear them for myself and see how they work for classical music. After hearing the VE5 with Lionheart, I have a pretty good idea of what I would like to hear from the Phantom (taking into account what Nic explained about them) and if they get even close to that I will be chuffed to bits!

Will need to bother Nic about the new cables once he is back and over his jetlag, as I am very curious to hear what he has to say about them and the pairing with the Phantom. At the moment I am very eager to hear the Phantom with Lionheart and compare that to Ares II, but based on what I know about the prototypes I can't wait to hear those for myself!

I listened to a lot of classical music at teh show with various IEM's and I felt the Phantoms shined even more. The timpani drums were amazing. The staging was large. VERY LARGE. What I really appreciated was that I could actually hear the soundstage going all the way back without being truncated like nearly every other IEM I heard. The timber is what stands out, but that makes sense since that's what Nic loves. He's a tonal guy like I am I believe. That's one reason I 'fell' for his shootout reviews. I also got a sense of the concert hall with the Phantom's. That's hard for many 2 channel systems, but mine happens to EXCELL in this regard as have my systems since the 70's. Even my Stax Lambda Pro's in the 80'-90's (my portable system on the ship was a pair of the Stax with their battery driven amp (for sale if someone wants it) and a top of the line CD player) had everything you could get in those days from 70hz up, just nothing lower, lol.

As for cables, I really think they've nailed it with the Ares II that they ship with. What you get when you step up to the Horus line (the prototypes will be in that line) is more of everything good and less of anything not so good, lol. I fell in love with the warmer of the two cables. The stage shifted ever so slightly forward. The highs were smoothed out even more and the stock highs are tremendous already. You do hear a difference for the better I feel by stepping up, but you should, lol. The bass is tighter and maybe a hair deeper, but I'm not totally sure if it really does add to teh sub bass as I didn't have any of my DSD organ music to really try adn test it. What I really noticed was the warmth and detail in the lower mids. That's probably why the bass is cleaned up even more and why the cable was warmer adn tonally even more correct, which again is saying a lot as stock is incredible.

They said that the Horus and Lionheart are still outstanding, but (I forget his name again) the owner and I spent a lot of time together as he's also a 2 channel guy and I'm guiding him a bit as he puts that system together for his showroom. We spoke a ton about how his different braids will produce different (not always better) sounds. We spoke about dielectrics loading up and how they need to dissipate and about cold welding techniques. He would be using cold welding if he could afford the expensive equipment. I would die to hear his designs with cold welding. I'm Leary of many cable manufactuers as they are are nothing more than snake oil salespeople. I've known so many over the years who just took advantage over gullible people and they pissed me off big time. I HATE folks using folks emotions to sell them crap. Sorry, that's one of my hot buttons if you couldn't tell.

I know what Effect Audio is using in their cables and I can tell that he knows what he's doing. The very large companies are not playing in this arena as this market isn't large enough for them. In the IEM world we need these smaller companies to provide the upgrade path that all audiophiles or IEM'philes want and demand. Just be careful to take a good listen or at least trust someone you know when making purchases. I didn't spend any time at all with the EA regular line as I trusted Eric and (the owner) when they had me audition both prototypes. Jumping to this level makes a pretty good size difference. It takes the Phantom or Legend X (or any other IEM) to a different level (the X guys also loved what the prototypes did from what they were saying). Once at that level, the changes are incremental and price is not the best indicator of what you may or may not like.

If you can get to audition the EA cables, I promise you that you can get in touch with Jack's folks and they can guide you as they are so close and know what's the sound differences are (or they will). That second day of auditioning was the eye opener for me. I was fatigued towards the end of the first day from listening so much and even more physically fatigued from the MS and I wasn't hearing properly (if that makes any sense). That's why I came down first thing on Sunday to audition when I was doing good and there weren't as many folks around. BTW, thanks so much to Jack, Dean, Catherine and the EA guys for letting me just park my rollator at their booths so I could sit and conserve my energies, lol.

 

[Wyville]

I listened to a lot of classical music at teh show with various IEM's and I felt the Phantoms shined even more. The timpani drums were amazing. The staging was large. VERY LARGE. What I really appreciated was that I could actually hear the soundstage going all the way back without being truncated like nearly every other IEM I heard. The timber is what stands out, but that makes sense since that's what Nic loves. He's a tonal guy like I am I believe. That's one reason I 'fell' for his shootout reviews. I also got a sense of the concert hall with the Phantom's. That's hard for many 2 channel systems, but mine happens to EXCELL in this regard as have my systems since the 70's. Even my Stax Lambda Pro's in the 80'-90's (my portable system on the ship was a pair of the Stax with their battery driven amp (for sale if someone wants it) and a top of the line CD player) had everything you could get in those days from 70hz up, just nothing lower, lol.

As for cables, I really think they've nailed it with the Ares II that they ship with. What you get when you step up to the Horus line (the prototypes will be in that line) is more of everything good and less of anything not so good, lol. I fell in love with the warmer of the two cables. The stage shifted ever so slightly forward. The highs were smoothed out even more and the stock highs are tremendous already. You do hear a difference for the better I feel by stepping up, but you should, lol. The bass is tighter and maybe a hair deeper, but I'm not totally sure if it really does add to teh sub bass as I didn't have any of my DSD organ music to really try adn test it. What I really noticed was the warmth and detail in the lower mids. That's probably why the bass is cleaned up even more and why the cable was warmer adn tonally even more correct, which again is saying a lot as stock is incredible.

They said that the Horus and Lionheart are still outstanding, but (I forget his name again) the owner and I spent a lot of time together as he's also a 2 channel guy and I'm guiding him a bit as he puts that system together for his showroom. We spoke a ton about how his different braids will produce different (not always better) sounds. We spoke about dielectrics loading up and how they need to dissipate and about cold welding techniques. He would be using cold welding if he could afford the expensive equipment. I would die to hear his designs with cold welding. I'm Leary of many cable manufactuers as they are are nothing more than snake oil salespeople. I've known so many over the years who just took advantage over gullible people and they pissed me off big time. I HATE folks using folks emotions to sell them crap. Sorry, that's one of my hot buttons if you couldn't tell.

I know what Effect Audio is using in their cables and I can tell that he knows what he's doing. The very large companies are not playing in this arena as this market isn't large enough for them. In the IEM world we need these smaller companies to provide the upgrade path that all audiophiles or IEM'philes want and demand. Just be careful to take a good listen or at least trust someone you know when making purchases. I didn't spend any time at all with the EA regular line as I trusted Eric and (the owner) when they had me audition both prototypes. Jumping to this level makes a pretty good size difference. It takes the Phantom or Legend X (or any other IEM) to a different level (the X guys also loved what the prototypes did from what they were saying). Once at that level, the changes are incremental and price is not the best indicator of what you may or may not like.

If you can get to audition the EA cables, I promise you that you can get in touch with Jack's folks and they can guide you as they are so close and know what's the sound differences are (or they will). That second day of auditioning was the eye opener for me. I was fatigued towards the end of the first day from listening so much and even more physically fatigued from the MS and I wasn't hearing properly (if that makes any sense). That's why I came down first thing on Sunday to audition when I was doing good and there weren't as many folks around. BTW, thanks so much to Jack, Dean, Catherine and the EA guys for letting me just park my rollator at their booths so I could sit and conserve my energies, lol.

Thanks a lot for sharing these thoughts and impressions, I really enjoy reading them! Makes me all the more excited for the Phantom, as I very much prioritise timbre as well. So much of the emotion and the story of classical music is found in how the individual instruments sound and how well they harmonise. It is why I have different versions of the same symphonies. Some are modern ones while others use period instruments, and I love studying the history of a symphony and (where possible) the specific reasons for why a conductor would interpret the piece in the way they did. I for instance love John Eliot Gardiner's Beethoven 5th, which is fast (108bpm) and his orchestra uses period instruments to add to the layering. It is really fascinating to see how Gardiner brings to life the different movements similar to how they would have likely sounded at Beenhoven's first performance. (Although granted, probably with less cursing coming from the conductor, as Beethoven neglected to provide his orchestra with enough time to practice the piece before the opening night. )

I am currently working on my review of the PlusSound Exo 'Silver + Gold' cable, which is a much brighter cable compared to Lionheart and I immediately notice that while it is a lovely bright and clear cable to listen too, I miss the natural tonality of Lionheart. Classical music looses its depth and emotion, and I find myself less engaged in the music. That is why the Phantom were such a big deal to me when Nic first mentioned them (apart from Nic's involvement, which I thought was just the coolest thing) and they immediately topped my wish list. If the new EA cables can further elevate the performance of the Phantom in line with Nic's intentions, then that would be extremely interesting!

It is really good to hear that you were able to enjoy it all so much despite your MS. I know what it is like to get tired quickly and how difficult it can be to enjoy something like Canjam, so it is great to hear you were able to demo on both days and get a really good sense of the IEMs and cables!

 

[doctorjazz]

I also listen to a lot of music that involves acoustic instruments (jazz, folk, country/bluegrass), and the Phantom excels at getting that tonality, richness of these instruments down (without losing technicality). It did fine with Cheap Trick's "Surrender" as well, had me doing the head bop (looks a bit like a seizure)

 

[proedros]

everyone raves about Phantom , this is definitely not a good sign for my wallet

looks like EE is gonna rock the house in 2018 (again)

 

[ctsooner22]

I can say with certainty for my dollar, it's not close. Noble wasn't there, but I own a pair of Savant's and I know what the Encore X sounds like. I really like them a lot, but they aren't in the discussion for me. Phantom won me over. I can't wait to hear how much better the customs really are IRT extension on both ends and getting even more detail. Proedros, will they be custom or with tip rolling?

 

[Rin1990]

I am just gonna say -- if Vantage's bass is anywhere near the level of Campfire Vega's level...this will be my face the moment I started rocking some Maximum The Hormone and Metallica Live tracks...

 

[Decreate]

I am just gonna say -- if Vantage's bass is anywhere near the level of Campfire Vega's level...this will be my face the moment I started rocking some Maximum The Hormone and Metallica Live tracks...

Maximum The Hormone had a live album out?

 

[Rin1990]

Maximum The Hormone had a live album out?

Nah, not that I know of. But I do love their Buikkikaesu album. I got their FLAC 16/44.1 files.

 

[proedros]

I can say with certainty for my dollar, it's not close. Noble wasn't there, but I own a pair of Savant's and I know what the Encore X sounds like. I really like them a lot, but they aren't in the discussion for me. Phantom won me over. I can't wait to hear how much better the customs really are IRT extension on both ends and getting even more detail. Proedros, will they be custom or with tip rolling?

custom only , i am addicted to the custom fit don't think i will buy again anything TOTL in universal form

 

[NaiveSound]

custom only , i am addicted to the custom fit don't think i will buy again anything TOTL in universal form

Custom fit is so amazing over universal

 

[doctorjazz]

Actually kind of nervous about the customs-my one custom experience, with acs Encores, never fit right (or sounded good, for that matter). Gave it a try again...

 

[Deezel177]

Actually kind of nervous about the customs-my one custom experience, with acs Encores, never fit right (or sounded good, for that matter). Gave it a try again...

My two Empire CIEMs are my best-fitting ones yet. I think you'll be alright.