[smy1]

Yeah i am looking for iem that has the best vocal, smooth mid range large soundstage and laid back vocals for edm pop

 

[FenW]

Hello, new to the forums and rather new to IEMs! I would like some recommendations before the Adel comes along as to which model to get.

I currently own the Westone W40 and love it because of the details, which is why I gave up on the UMPRO50. However the rumbling enveloping bass and the forward vocals from the 50 still haunts me and I was wondering if there was something similar in the Empire Ears line up.

I've demoed the Athena, which is like a much much more refined W40, with way better vocals and punchy (but still not enough in quantity) bass. Sadly that's a bit out of my budget. I've also tried the Cerebus, vocals were great, treble was a bit tizzly at times especially for those tiny details, and bass was nice and punchy but just not enough. The nice dude at the store then switched the cable out for Effect Audio's Copper Thor 4 core and !!! The bass quantity (tho not UM50 levels) felt just right with an airy quality to it that felt wonderful. It wasn't as enveloping as the UM50 tho (I have no idea where that comes from tbh). I was short on time so I couldn't tell you what else it did but nothing in the vocals seemed to have bothered me and the tizziness from the treble seems to have disappeared.

I've probably ranted long enough and should get to my main point. The shop didn't have Spartan on demo so I was wondering if that may have been a better choice? My biggest complaint about the Cerebus (without the cable) was the soft bass and splashy(?) treble at the very high notes. I'd rather keep things under 1k USD. 
 
Most important qualities tho are great, centered vocals and strong, punchy bass. Really wanna feel that thump but not so much that it smothers details. Any help would be much appreciated!
 
edit: (If it rumbles like in a percussion heavy orchestra even better!! That's what I loved most about the UMPRO50)

 

[Verloren]

do we know when is the adel tech gonna be integrated in the EE ciems?

I would expect sometime 2017.

 

[NaiveSound]

My other hobby is competitive shooting, usually I would wear ear foams for ear protection, but now that my ciems are coming in what I hope to be 10 days or so from now, could I use them wheb shooting? Or would the outside sound hurt them in any way, also I wonder how the Zeus does with sweat

 

[fiascogarcia]

My other hobby is competitive shooting, usually I would wear ear foams for ear protection, but now that my ciems are coming in what I hope to be 10 days or so from now, could I use them wheb shooting? Or would the outside sound hurt them in any way, also I wonder how the Zeus does with sweat

I don't think firearm sound wave impact will damage the ciems, but acrylic won't be as absorbent of sound waves as foam or silicone, so I'm guessing that they won't work as well for your ear protection as ear plugs or protective ear muffs.

 

[bavinck]

I don't think firearm sound wave impact will damage the ciems, but acrylic won't be as absorbent of sound waves as foam or silicone, so I'm guessing that they won't work as well for your ear protection as ear plugs or protective ear muffs.

Put protective headphones over the Zeus. Best of both worlds!

 

[eldss]

  I don't think firearm sound wave impact will damage the ciems, but acrylic won't be as absorbent of sound waves as foam or silicone, so I'm guessing that they won't work as well for your ear protection as ear plugs or protective ear muffs.

Or another option you could try if you want to try ear protection with ADEL would be to purchase the earplugs ASIUS sells with the S1 ADEL Module (about 18db reduction). Then when EE launches the IEMs with ADEL, get the Zeuz with the MAM. Then you'll have two modules to play with . Or maybe, Jack would consider doing custom earplugs with ADEL modules (silicon would be nice, not sure if doable with having to insert ADEL modules though). 

 

[NaiveSound]

Will the acrylic Zeus offer better isolation over universal comply foams for example... How many db of protection

 

[Jack Vang]

  Or another option you could try if you want to try ear protection with ADEL would be to purchase the earplugs ASIUS sells with the S1 ADEL Module (about 18db reduction). Then when EE launches the IEMs with ADEL, get the Zeuz with the MAM. Then you'll have two modules to play with . Or maybe, Jack would consider doing custom earplugs with ADEL modules (silicon would be nice, not sure if doable with having to insert ADEL modules though). 

 
Empire ADEL earplugs are definitely in the pipeline. 

 

[Jazzi]

   
Empire ADEL earplugs are definitely in the pipeline. 

Hopefully it's a short-ish pipleline. 
 

 

[Luciferhawk]

Hello, new to the forums and rather new to IEMs! I would like some recommendations before the Adel comes along as to which model to get.


I currently own the Westone W40 and love it because of the details, which is why I gave up on the UMPRO50. However the rumbling enveloping bass and the forward vocals from the 50 still haunts me and I was wondering if there was something similar in the Empire Ears line up.


I've demoed the Athena, which is like a much much more refined W40, with way better vocals and punchy (but still not enough in quantity) bass. Sadly that's a bit out of my budget. I've also tried the Cerebus, vocals were great, treble was a bit tizzly at times especially for those tiny details, and bass was nice and punchy but just not enough. The nice dude at the store then switched the cable out for Effect Audio's Copper Thor 4 core and !!! The bass quantity (tho not UM50 levels) felt just right with an airy quality to it that felt wonderful. It wasn't as enveloping as the UM50 tho (I have no idea where that comes from tbh). I was short on time so I couldn't tell you what else it did but nothing in the vocals seemed to have bothered me and the tizziness from the treble seems to have disappeared.


I've probably ranted long enough and should get to my main point. The shop didn't have Spartan on demo so I was wondering if that may have been a better choice? My biggest complaint about the Cerebus (without the cable) was the soft bass and splashy(?) treble at the very high notes. I'd rather keep things under 1k USD. 

Most important qualities tho are great, centered vocals and strong, punchy bass. Really wanna feel that thump but not so much that it smothers details. Any help would be much appreciated!

edit: (If it rumbles like in a percussion heavy orchestra even better!! That's what I loved most about the UMPRO50)

I've tried Cerberus, Spartan, Hermes, Athena and Apollo. I was really impressed with Hermes and Apollo, but the Hermes was a bit "off" on the vocals, it is not as clear as Athena nor Apollo. Luckily I was given the opportunity to try it out with Eros, EXO Tri Metal and PW Copper. The Eros really brought out the vocal, mids is sharper and a more responsive bass. The EXO Tri Metal made it "grow" 1 level up whereas the PW Copper is a little bit similar to the Eros.

Athena is great on the highs and mids but not really attractive to me on the lows. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to try it out with the aforementioned cables.

Apollo is one of the gems of Empire Ears. First impression was WOW. The highs and mids of this IEM is amazing, the lows is also good but not as much to my liking like Hermes. I know that I can reduce the lows by changing to another cable but this time I will have to pass as it is out of my budget range as I've just received my FitEar.

At the end I've decided to bite the bullet and ordered the Hermes VI MTO with the custom cable TBD when I pick it up and test it along with my FitEar. Most probably it'll be the Eros and EXO Tri Metal. Looking forward to the finished products in 2 weeks time.

Apollo will be my next universal and should be my universal end game along with Katana as my custom end game.

Hope this helps you to understand more on Empire's lineups and looking forward to hear your decision.

FYI my music genres whilst testing were heavy metal, hard rock, jpop, kpop, pop, hip hop and rnb played over AK320 on 3.5mm jack.

 

[smy1]

I've tried Cerberus, Spartan, Hermes, Athena and Apollo. I was really impressed with Hermes and Apollo, but the Hermes was a bit "off" on the vocals, it is not as clear as Athena nor Apollo. Luckily I was given the opportunity to try it out with Eros, EXO Tri Metal and PW Copper. The Eros really brought out the vocal, mids is sharper and a more responsive bass. The EXO Tri Metal made it "grow" 1 level up whereas the PW Copper is a little bit similar to the Eros.

Athena is great on the highs and mids but not really attractive to me on the lows. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to try it out with the aforementioned cables.

Apollo is one of the gems of Empire Ears. First impression was WOW. The highs and mids of this IEM is amazing, the lows is also good but not as much to my liking like Hermes. I know that I can reduce the lows by changing to another cable but this time I will have to pass as it is out of my budget range as I've just received my FitEar.

At the end I've decided to bite the bullet and ordered the Hermes VI MTO with the custom cable TBD when I pick it up and test it along with my FitEar. Most probably it'll be the Eros and EXO Tri Metal. Looking forward to the finished products in 2 weeks time.

Apollo will be my next universal and should be my universal end game along with Katana as my custom end game.

Hope this helps you to understand more on Empire's lineups and looking forward to hear your decision.

FYI my music genres whilst testing were heavy metal, hard rock, jpop, kpop, pop, hip hop and rnb played over AK320 on 3.5mm jack.

Is the hermes not goood enough for end game?

 

[Luciferhawk]

Is the hermes not goood enough for end game?

Good one...but IMHO it would not be my end game for universal if it's without the other LOL

 

[Army-Firedawg]

Is the hermes not goood enough for end game?

 
They are for me. As for the vocals I had absolutely zero issues with the Vocals and on the contrary found them rather engaging, 

 

[FenW]

I've tried Cerberus, Spartan, Hermes, Athena and Apollo. I was really impressed with Hermes and Apollo, but the Hermes was a bit "off" on the vocals, it is not as clear as Athena nor Apollo. Luckily I was given the opportunity to try it out with Eros, EXO Tri Metal and PW Copper. The Eros really brought out the vocal, mids is sharper and a more responsive bass. The EXO Tri Metal made it "grow" 1 level up whereas the PW Copper is a little bit similar to the Eros.

...(shortened)

Sadly the Athena and Apollo are rather out of my budget. I might consider the Hermes... How would you rank bass quantity between Hermes, Spartan and Cerebus?
I'll need to see if the local shops carry Plussound cables. I'm guessing Tri Metal is a mixture of copper, silver and gold?