After being on the phantoms for the better part of the week, going back to say my kaiser encores and everything sounds kind of mechanical and soulless. Sure the cymbals and treble have excellent clarity and separations, but it feels less coherent, with instruments going off like they’re being played by robots. Precise yet less harmonious.
Lol... I know what you mean. I went to Singapore last month to audition the Legend X and Phantom while bringing the Zeus XR on loaner. I walked away with an order form for my 1st ciem, returned the Zeus despite really loving them, went home to my Sambas and looked at them like I was having an affair... since then I haven’t listened much to my portable setup and am just waiting eagerly to get my Phantoms!
After being on the phantoms for the better part of the week, going back to say my kaiser encores and everything sounds kind of mechanical and soulless. Sure the cymbals and treble have excellent clarity and separations, but it feels less coherent, with instruments going off like they’re being played by robots. Precise yet less harmonious.
well, i did purchase the kaiser encores, i still love them and i even mention the excellent clarity and separation with good energy, just less musical as compared to the phantoms. With recent IEM releases, i'm pretty sure much more people prefer the high clarity sound sig as compared to a smooth warm sig that i think people will find boring
Well...I'm an encore user. Bought them in custom form. I don't have the phantoms or the legend X to compare them to, but I must admit I do share, more or less, the same feeling. The articulation and seperation is interesting on the encores, but sometimes the sound seems...lifeless, for lack of a better word. I have paired them with a Mojo and a copper cable, but they still sound too bright for my taste.
If anyone would be interested in a swap...
Just wondering if anyone knows of how much longer I will be waiting for my Legend X to be shipped. My impressions arrived with Empire Ears on the 9th of April. The wait is killing me.
Just wondering if anyone knows of how much longer I will be waiting for my Legend X to be shipped. My impressions arrived with Empire Ears on the 9th of April. The wait is killing me.
As a owner of Universal Zeus R & Custom Phantom (I purchased Phantom blind). I strongly suggest any new IEM owner do let their IEM burn in. Honesty, I was not impressed with Phantom at all when I first got it. However, after around 50hours burn in time my Phantom sounds better (soundstage and clarity improve). You can say that it's my brain burn in or whatever. Please do give some time to burn in your IEM and cable. You would be surprised.
As a owner of Universal Zeus R & Custom Phantom (I purchased Phantom blind). I strongly suggest any new IEM owner do let their IEM burn in. Honesty, I was not impressed with Phantom at all when I first got it. However, after around 50hours burn in time my Phantom sounds better (soundstage and clarity improve). You can say that it's my brain burn in or whatever. Please do give some time to burn in your IEM and cable. You would be surprised.
Uh, I meant literally killed it. The right side is completely dead. I'm talking with Ethan to get it sorted out.
Mine only had a few hours of use but I did find the treble to be a little too subdued for my taste. I'd describe the Bravado signature as L-shaped. Most of the emphasis is on the bass. Midrange is rich and natural but sits a bit behind the bass, and then the treble sits behind the mids+bass.
That is very early on though. The general consensus with the X series is that the bass tones down and the mids and highs open up after some burn in so those early impressions could change. I'll just have to wait and see once they're up and running again.
The last two weeks I've listened to practically nothing save Legend X.
They are such a powerhouse of musicality!
My earlier comments about how much the bass has tamed was inaccurate. Turns out I was losing seal in one ear, and of course, the low-end leaked out. I've since learned how my CIEM LX wants to be inserted, and oh boy is the bass back in a big way!
CIEMs are weird. Every one is a learning experience. I've only had four so far, and everyone requires a new technique for perfect fit.
I love the depth LX produces. The vocals are just a step back on the stage, and the bass blooms around them with huge body. Yet it's full of air, and you can easily perceive the space.
Fourté does that also, but it's not as warm and boomy.
Guys, before making value judgements on any of the EE IEMs, let them burn in for at least 75 hours. I promise you that the bass on the X will probably go down about 3db and tighten up greatly. Heck, even my wife's Bravado's are doing this and sounding better and better daily. Everyone gets a bit better overall. My Phantom's also got better in all aspects once fully burned in. Many may not believe in burn in and that's fair, but even designers and manufacturers DO believe in it, but often won't talk publicly about it, so as not to upset folks who say it's hog wash. That's teh same in the 2 channel world too.
As @fuhransahis pointed out and Daniel agreed with, the Phantom is VERY special. Most folks aren't ready for it I don't think. It's a true reference CIEM and not a 'fun' one. Other than a small spike at 5k, it's fairly flat AND highly extended on each end. The soundstage will depend on each recording. That means that even within an album, you will hear the variances. Each recording is produced differently. It will scale to the performance of your upstream components. I regularly use it on over (retail) 60k worth of streamer/DAC/amp. It does give you more detail than IEM's I've heard that cost much more and are 'known' for more sparkle and detail. It's the micro and macro detail it's giving you. That's where the emotion lies folks.
Reference sound isn't for everyone, but even no dance music I don't feel cheated at all. The quantity of bass and sub bass is there, but it's so detailed and sounds faster than a DD, that folks don't always think it's there. I promise you that it is. I heard things on it that I hear on my home system. That's amazing as it's hard to do as I havce a fairly detailed system for 2 channel. JMHO
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