Nice! Impressions of the Arthur (as well as comparisons to the Zeus-R)?
So ok, between the zues universal and Arthur universal, the Arthur is in a league of its own. The arthur is so much better that its not even funny, that I could ever think a TOTL iem could sound so bad. It leaves no stones unturned in the song, and pulls out all the details that the song has to offer. Focus in the notes are spot on and the lower mid-bass has almost no bleed. The ZuesR, tends to sound a little hazy in the lower mids-bnass regions, which the Arthus does not have at all. Treble wise, the Arthur also is a little more peaky, which gives it that sparkly which the ZuesR does not have. Soundstage is once again worlds apart; the Arthus extends further and deeper behind you, an area that the ZuesR struggles with.
However, that changes when i swapped over to a custom version. I had the fortune to be able to borrow two custom units of the ZuesR and Arthur each to A/B them on the spot. In its custom form, I found myself more impressed with the holographic staging of the Zues which the Arthur lacked. In return, the Arthur was much more resolving while being more engaging and energetic (forward mids, clear and focused mid-lower mids). The Zues to Arthur, felt like a toss up between staging or technicality. In short, which both units carried across all the characteristics its universal form, the improvement in the ZuesR was so much more pronounced than the Arthur that it actually was able to outdo the Arthur in certain aspect. Still, the Arthur does carry across its extreme note reproduction to its custom form, so that too also means that each and every part of the song (as well as mistakes in its mastering) are revealed in its full glory. Personally, I dig that, knowing that my gear isnt missing anything, so its its good too.
That said, both custom units were made for different people. But my ear shape sort of allows me to force-fit almost every custom that I've come across (my second bend, doesnt 'bend'; its a straight line to my eardrum), so rest assured that my impressions were based on a close to perfect seal. But still, because the ear molds are fundamentally different, I am sure that my impression is NOT the best that it could be, in which I would have both units custom made to my ear for comparison.
I believe that mention should also be given to the packaged cable which, unfortunately, failed to impress. It made the Arthur sound bloated in the mids-lower mids and lose its selling point; its absolute focus in its note reproduction. Yes, some would argue that that would give the Arthur that 'oomph', but that, to me, isnt the main purpose of the Arthur, Its like throwing on an off-road tyre onto a Pinerello road bike and riding it because the bike feels more comfortable that way. To me, ideally the Arthur would come as a standalone product. If you need that 'oomph' in an IEM which the cable gives, I suggest looking for something else that caters to the mainstream taste.
In a nut shell; if you do buy the zues, don't bother with the universals; its a ghost of what the custom can really sound like. If you do choose to buy the Arthur, you can consider the universal, but at that price point I still think it a waste of a good IEM to not draw out its full potential.
May as well place my order in.
