[deafdoorknob]

demmed the Bravado in HK, very impressed by its vfm for the sound quality! its everything i expected of the CFA Polaris and Dorado could have sounded like but didnt.

 

[ctsooner22]

Thanks.. I was wondering how the Phantom would pair up with the Sony WM1A

I felt that is was warm as is Sony's signature. the detail was outstanding throughout the spectrum. There was no harshness at all and that includes the upper mids where they have a bit of a boost. The soundstage was very open...wide adn deep. The instruments sounded like they were supposed to sound. There was plenty of sub bass, but keep in mind it's still BA bass and not to the quantity of a dynamic driver as that's their Legend X line.

They show it with that Sony at teh shows and I know they own them at their offices. If you own the Sony, then I'm sure you will love them as a match if you love a reference quality, fairly flat CIEM as I do.

 

[Deezel177]

Hey guys, Phantom impressions and photos should come within the next couple days. I apologise for the slight delay, but interesting discoveries I’ve made involving burn-in - whether psychological, physical or some mixture of both - have made me question my past impressions somewhat, which I will detail in the write-up to come. Also, here's a picture of the Phantom's on my Yamaha CL5 digital console. I blurred out the Phantom's 'cus I'm just an ******* like that.

​

But, I did find it important to share my experiences with the Phantom on a day of work. Every Sunday, I work at the Tabernacle Family Church as both a live/monitor engineer and a recording engineer as well. We have three sessions every Sunday - each spanning 2-3 hours - with 30-minute breaks in-between. I usually mix monitors with my IEMs off and only put them on when fine-tuning or to check on the feeds that are going into the recording. Today, I spent a large majority of my time with the Phantom’s in instead of out, and I must say: As gorgeous as the Phantom’s are to listen to, they are exceptional tools in a professional scenario. The Phantom's are - as I will describe in my impressions - natural, uncoloured and (most of all) honest. They are probably the first IEMs I've used in a professional scenario that scales linearly with the quality of the track I'm listening to. I will give specific examples, but I've worked with transducers on both ends of the forgiveness spectrum. I have monitors that sound good regardless of production quality, and I've also worked with some that sound dry, shrill and plasticky no matter what. The former usually results in subpar mixes with amateur mistakes, and the latter is usually overcompensated in muddiness, reverb and low-end. With the Phantom's, I can confidently say that these are the closest to reference I've ever experienced in my - admittedly - moderate levels of experience.

Again, the Phantom offers a true representation of the mix you're working with. Any slight changes I make in EQ instantly shifts the tonal balance of the IEM, making it brilliant for finding that sweet spot quickly and efficiently. It's capable of scaling both upwards and downwards, so I know exactly how far off I am from the sound I'm looking for. As an engineer, my job involves listening to the instrument live, listening to the instrument as captured by the microphone and mixing/editing that track to resemble the real thing as much as possible. With IEMs like the Warbler Prelude and - especially - the Phantom, matching the two experiences has never been easier. Although the Prelude's limited extension inhibits my ability to truly discern how I should mix the low-end, the Phantom's excellent performance paired with its transparent tone is a truly complete package. Today, I had the pleasure of redoing a lot of my drum mixes to produce a smoother, richer and less clang-y signature. And, all the while, I felt confident, assured and motivated. Though, I must say the Phantom's only con in this regard is in perfectly reproducing transient attack. It's harder to achieve that snap with such an organic-sounding monitor (especially with the snare drum), but messing with the upper-treble just to achieve it would interfere too much with tone. I'd honestly rather replicate the tint of the instrument first, then double check on attack with my larger transducers (i.e. headphones and speakers; as they are usually the most dynamic). Regardless, working on those tonal balances ended up being an absolute blast and I can't wait to compare the mixes I made with the Phantom, with the ones I made in the past. After all, the proof is in the pudding.

 

[ctsooner22]

Daniel, I'm blown away by you! You are in my head aren't you? Mine are really starting to break in as I posted earlier. I think it was this thread, But I'm posting on a few of them like cables and Nic's big one, so I can't remember, lol. I am starting to finally take notes on my listening. I have been using a few tracks that were recorded live by a friend and I know how they sound. I TOTALLY felt the same way about what you heard and that includes what you refer to as TRANSIENT ATTACK. I heard the same thing and figured out why when I was speaking with Dean about his design philosophy and what can and can't physically be done with BA's and in CIEM'S. There are just a few limits. Just like in any transducer, the designer needs to make compromises and they chose, based on what they like to listen to or what their market tells them. With IEM's, there are so many flavors to give folks as they are so inexpensive compared to high end speakers.

Being a former drummer, I love to listen to drums in a song. Are they using a felt mallet or a wooden stick? What's their bass drum sound like? Is it loaded, headless, double pedal or even double bass? I love to hear the hi hats.....

This thing is a true reference quality, tonally outstanding monitor. Now you know why I'm loving it so much.

 

[Deezel177]

Daniel, I'm blown away by you! You are in my head aren't you? Mine are really starting to break in as I posted earlier. I think it was this thread, But I'm posting on a few of them like cables and Nic's big one, so I can't remember, lol. I am starting to finally take notes on my listening. I have been using a few tracks that were recorded live by a friend and I know how they sound. I TOTALLY felt the same way about what you heard and that includes what you refer to as TRANSIENT ATTACK. I heard the same thing and figured out why when I was speaking with Dean about his design philosophy and what can and can't physically be done with BA's and in CIEM'S. There are just a few limits. Just like in any transducer, the designer needs to make compromises and they chose, based on what they like to listen to or what their market tells them. With IEM's, there are so many flavors to give folks as they are so inexpensive compared to high end speakers.

Being a former drummer, I love to listen to drums in a song. Are they using a felt mallet or a wooden stick? What's their bass drum sound like? Is it loaded, headless, double pedal or even double bass? I love to hear the hi hats.....

This thing is a true reference quality, tonally outstanding monitor. Now you know why I'm loving it so much.

Love the enthusiasm, brother. I hope you have a blast with both the EE IEMs you have at home.

 

[ctsooner22]

Love the enthusiasm, brother. I hope you have a blast with both the EE IEMs you have at home.

Thanks man. Just wished I had more than Noble Savant's also. I NEED to get on the LIST, .....this way I can write down things and have a reference for later. I will always have reference quality sources to feed them, lol.

 

[jeffhawke]

As an engineer, my job involves listening to the instrument live, listening to the instrument as captured by the microphone and mixing/editing that track to resemble the real thing as much as possible.

I'm an economist, not a sound engineer, but for me the goal is essentially the same: to be able to listen to music in a fashion that is as close to the original as possible .That of course entails running the risk that poor recordings sound just like that: lousy. Garbage in, garbage out. I'd rather have it this way than dousing cologne on trash. Guess I'll start saving up for my Phantoms...

 

[ctsooner22]

I'm an economist, not a sound engineer, but for me the goal is essentially the same: to be able to listen to music in a fashion that is as close to the original as possible .That of course entails running the risk that poor recordings sound just like that: lousy. Garbage in, garbage out. I'd rather have it this way than dousing cologne on trash. Guess I'll start saving up for my Phantoms...

Jeff, I love how you put that! Classic stuff about cologne on trash, lol. If you have the right transducer, you should be able to play anything and have it sound teh way it was recorded. I love 70's and 80's rock. I was a drummer as I've said. I realize that most of what I love back then wasn't recorded properly. I just use a spec of eq on the bright end of things, lol.... I played some Foreigner and Boston and Journey today and didn't even use EQ. It was a tough bright, but NO harshness and no fatigue. I was in shock. In a good way though, lol. To me, these are a very good value for what you get. In 2 channel, these would be speakers that are in the 40k range.

 

[jeffhawke]

Jeff, I love how you put that! Classic stuff about cologne on trash, lol. If you have the right transducer, you should be able to play anything and have it sound teh way it was recorded. I love 70's and 80's rock. I was a drummer as I've said. I realize that most of what I love back then wasn't recorded properly. I just use a spec of eq on the bright end of things, lol.... I played some Foreigner and Boston and Journey today and didn't even use EQ. It was a tough bright, but NO harshness and no fatigue. I was in shock. In a good way though, lol. To me, these are a very good value for what you get. In 2 channel, these would be speakers that are in the 40k range.

Thanks pal! As a matter of fact tonight I was listening to one of George Martin's recording masterpieces, Sgt. Pepper's, through a pair of prototype headphones I received from a friend who just invested a pretty penny in a startup that will build these gorgeous full-size headphones with a proprietary technology, and I was completely lost....in Abbey Road Studios! I could hear details and nuances for the first time in 50 years (yes, I am that old...). This is the beauty of Head-Fi: if your are careful enough not to step into too much bull, the rewards are incredible, in economic terms (the sheer cost of a hi-fi system of comparable quality, plus the availability of a big enough room properly fitted for the right acoustics, is probably two orders of magnitude higher) and in terms of peace of mind (wife, kids, neighbours etc...). And when you listen to live concerts through a proper head-fi setup, it really feels like you're there, and the fact that the recording might not be "perfect" makes it feel even more real, at least to me it does.

 

[PinkyPowers]

I've been listening to brighter IEMs of late. Between tia Fourté and Encore, my palate has been skewed for clarity and detail at the foremost. Upon first hearing Legend X, I immediately noticed the warmer treble and the fuller mids. This pleased me, as I was a little worried the treble would be bright to compensate for those dual dynamic drivers I'd read about. That's the last thing I wanted. I had enough of that, and was ready for something different. Legend's highs are close to neutral, and wonderfully smooth. Not to mention, "extended". I hear no fault in the upper reach. They are accented enough to bring out a hint of sparkle and usher in light and air to the stage. For the most part, though, Legend is rather warm and natural up top.

The vocals and mids have a marvelous blend of fullness and clarity. There's a touch of "lushness", with lovely harmonics and overtones to complete the realism. Vocals are medium-sized and placed just a step back on the stage. I don't hear them as forward or all that Zeus-like. They do share size and a little bit of that density, though not as aggressive. Daniel says they're more like Zeus R, and I can see that.

Obviously, bass is the real showstopper. Yet don't let that scare you. No doubt, it's north of neutral. But I was surprised by how reasonable the tuning is. Alex (@twister6) had me envisioning something perhaps more insane. Legend's true claim to fame is not in the quantity of its low-end, but the complexity, agility, and awesomeness of it. There are phenomenal things happening here, and I'm not ready to dissect it all. Not only does it need more burn-in, but I need time to wrap my head around it.

Soundstage is wide as hell. Certainly one of the biggest, though not quite at the absolute top. Depth is above average for TOTL. Separation and layering is very good. Transparency is truly great, and resolution is way up there, as well.

The Legend X has a lot to offer, and I'm going to love taking my time to learn all its secrets for the review.

Much thanks to @Jack Vang, @Ethan Groover, and all the Empire Ears team.

 

[pfurey89]

I've been listening to brighter IEMs of late. Between tia Fourté

Between Forte and Legend X, what do you prefer?

 

[nick97]

I've been listening to brighter IEMs of late. Between tia Fourté and Encore, my palate has been skewed for clarity and detail at the foremost. Upon first hearing Legend X, I immediately noticed the warmer treble and the fuller mids. This pleased me, as I was a little worried the treble would be bright to compensate for those dual dynamic drivers I'd read about. That's the last thing I wanted. I had enough of that, and was ready for something different. Legend's highs are close to neutral, and wonderfully smooth. Not to mention, "extended". I hear no fault in the upper reach. They are accented enough to bring out a hint of sparkle and usher in light and air to the stage. For the most part, though, Legend is rather warm and natural up top.

The vocals and mids have a marvelous blend of fullness and clarity. There's a touch of "lushness", with lovely harmonics and overtones to complete the realism. Vocals are medium-sized and placed just a step back on the stage. I don't hear them as forward or all that Zeus-like. They do share size and a little bit of that density, though not as aggressive. Daniel says their more like Zeus R, and I can see that.

Obviously, bass is the real showstopper. Yet don't let that scare you. No doubt, it's north of neutral. But I was surprised by how reasonable the tuning is. Alex (@twister6) had me envisioning something perhaps more insane. Legend's true claim to fame is not in the quantity of its low-end, but the complexity, agility, and awesomeness of it. There are some phenomenal things happening here, and I'm not ready to dissect it all. Not only does it need more burn-in, but I need time to wrap my head around it.

Soundstage is wide as hell. Certainly one of the biggest, though not quite at the absolute top. Depth is above average for TOTL. Separation and layering is very good. Transparency is truly great, and resolution is way up there, as well.

The Legend X has a lot to offer, and I'm going to love taking my time to learn all its secrets for the review.

Much thanks to @Jack Vang, @Ethan Groover, and all the Empire Ears team.

sir you're a huge threat to my bank account at the moment, can you comment on whether or not these would be a worthy upgrade from a noble k10? remember you hold a chunk of my college fund in your hands

 

[PinkyPowers]

sir you're a huge threat to my bank account at the moment, can you comment on whether or not these would be a worthy upgrade from a noble k10? remember you hold a chunk of my college fund in your hands

I may be getting the Massdrop K10 in a few weeks. I'll be able to answer your question "sometime" after that.

Between Forte and Legend X, what do you prefer?

 

[491326]

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[pfurey89]

I may be getting the Massdrop K10 in a few weeks. I'll be able to answer your question "sometime" after that.

Ha! I need some good comparisons. The biggest downside of the Forte is lack of midbass to me. Does the Legend X feel at all as open and spacious?