“If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no LIMITS. There are only plateaus and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.” -- Bruce Lee
Supra.
The word that is easily associated with recognizing the car from Toyota that’s famous for high-performance racing whether it’s on circuit or mountain pass, or even rally racing. It’s not just a car that performs like a champion in all sorts of racing, but also a very elegant vehicle that appeals to the eyes of many and it’s a joy to ride with your friend or even love interest on a relaxing weekend.
But there’s another meaning behind the work.
It is also a Latin word used to refer to terms like “above, over, beyond or greater than
”. The word’s meaning alone implied the desire to surpass. To constantly go one step further than what would otherwise be considered a safe or comfortable zone.
That’s what the Empire Ears’ entry unit is all about --
To transcend what it was meant to do, one way or another.
So...how far can Supra ascend on its own in the competition of entry-level CIEMs?
DISCLAIMER
Before I begin, I just want to say that I have no affiliation with Empire Ears during the audition and what I am about to say here are pure honest impressions of my own and are completely subjective impressions that should be taken by a grain of salt and if you are curious of spending or investing on this product, I highly recommend you to try it out first and formulate your own thoughts before pulling the trigger.
In the end, it shouldn’t matter whether I like something or not, it’s whether you like it or not once you tried it.
Thank you for understanding.
INTRODUCTION
My name is Arthur Chor and I go by the name Rin1990 across the internet, just your everyday 26 year old audio hobbyist that enjoys listening to all sorts of amazing and great audio-lover products that a majority of time I’ll never be able to afford no matter how I try to save up from my pitiful monthly income from my current job.
I recently known Empire Ears for the past 2 months or so and admittedly it changed my perspective of what BA driver IEMs can truly do when tuned properly. It’s the first ever custom in-ear monitor company that gave me the opportunity to try the entire range of their recent products unlike 64 Audio which only left me with the long-discontinued ADEL series.
Before I go further, I’ll just show you good folks the source that I use along with some reinforcements given by Kozato from Music Sanctuary to improve my experience with this audition.
All my impressions are done with M sized Spinfit tips.
And my source is my own personal Fiio X1 paired with my newly purchased Quartette-ONE Furutech Version Interconnect fed directly to the brand new HUM Hypno portable amplifier set at low gain.
My score is done in a similar way to jelt2359’s Fit-For-A-Bat where the score will be from 1 to 10 points with a chance to break the 10 point scale if there is a spectrum where it exceeded my expectations and reached Audio Nirvana level in my ears.
Lower than 5 Points -- Poor. Really could use a bit of re-tuning. Lots of flaws here that are either unpleasant, harsh, bloated, thin, or just outright lifeless or even awkwardly artificial at times.
5 Points -- Not bad. This spectrum passed in my opinion. But could still use plenty of refinement.
6 Points -- Nice. This is where the IEM performed above average to my ears. But once again, still a lot of room for that improvement.
7 Points -- Great. This is what I like to see in an IEM in general. Not reaching the awesome level but definitely worth considering as a daily driver for lengthy listening outside, for me at least.
8 Points -- Awesome. Any spectrum that gained this level of points deserve praise because this is where things got very pleasant to my ears.
9 Points -- Stellar. This IEM has something special that I love and I am enjoying every bit of it.
10 Points -- Perfect. This is exactly the type of stuff that I enjoy in my music and the only thing limiting this is the source synergy which can always be mended accordingly.
Over 10 Points -- Audio Nirvana. To truly obtain the score of over 10 in my scale, the IEM has to really perform in a level that exceeds all my lofty expectations that I have in the first place and still managed to come across as a pleasant experience and not hampered by source synergy.
After all, a true IEM that has versatility on all source is what I call a good IEM as it’s not only amazing sounding but can be forgiving even on poor recordings, as not every audio enthusiasts will always listen only to lossless files, some actually still listen to 320kbps MP3 files and an IEM has to be forgiving on them to and not be too picky.
Listening to the sound of joy of your preference should never have been a luxury to begin with.
FIT
Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of my ears fitting with the universal version of the Empire Supra so I will try and be a bit more detailed here with how it goes.
The fit is frankly, quite comfortable. From my first impression’s memory, I always thought the fit was slightly on the leaky side due to my use of small sized silicone tips. However the use of an M size Spinfit tip immediately fixed this one minor grip that my ear shape has and it stays well secured.
The isolation is very good as well, I was able to block out a fair bit of noise but still managed to talk casually with people when no music is played.
Unlike the higher end model like the Zeus R, where the universal shell protrudes a bit, the fit with the universal is nothing short of stellar here with the Spinfit. Absolutely terrific for my ears. While there is a slight tight fit for my left ear, it’s nothing invasive and discomfort.
And even though I can wear it for hours with the over-the-ear style, I don’t think I will be using the Supra for more than an hour as my sensitive ears will still feel a physical fatigue from listening, and this is apparent when I feel one part of my eardrum became less sensitive or beginning to shut itself down with lower volume response.
That’s when I need to stop listening. But for less than an hour of listening, the fit on these are amazing. I wouldn’t have ask for anything more than this.
Of course, if I go custom I can be pretty darn sure that my concern with discomfort will fade away completely. I strongly recommend go custom for the perfect seal and fit with near perfect isolation for that maximum sound immersion.
Universal Fit to my Ears: 9.5/10 (Stellar)
SOUND I - GENERAL IMPRESSION
My first initial impression with the Supra was not a what I’d call a “wow” moment because from an entry unit my expectations were already set on minimum. This is a unit that cost $429, so it really shouldn’t be too awesome to begin with. But there’s no shame in it not performing to that sort of level because no matter what, the Supra is still an entry-unit.
But I will say this though, what I am pleased to learn is that when I put the Supra on and fired my first track, the very first thing I that graced my ears to attention is how balanced it sounds for a mere dual driver IEM. It’s neither flat out neutral nor overly colored in musicality warmth. The music presentation is just...there.
There’s no outstanding part in all frequencies. Not the bass, the mids or even the treble. They were all just simply done in a very tasteful and natural way that neither stood out nor squandered too far behind compared to other competitors.
But that’s the beauty of the Supra -- It doesn’t need to be outstanding in any way. In fact, this is something I thoroughly welcome.
Supra’s strength lies in the pure simplicity of its sound reproduction.
Like a wide open blue sky that greets you in a fine morning when you opened your eyes. That’ll be the first thing that you see when you pull open your window blankets. And that’s all there is to it.
Sometimes there’s just no need for the sophisticated technicality in examining the purity of how blue the skies are, or what types of clouds are within your eyes. Sometimes people just don’t want to delve too deep and read too much into it.
That’s human nature after all. Simplicity is sometimes better as you don’t need too much effort in every minute thing you do in life.
And what Supra did here is nothing short of beautiful in its own simplicity. The sound overall is balanced, well polished and mostly suitable to let me enjoy my everyday modern music or just simple music tracks without letting my inner-audiophile jump in and dissect the track’s micro-details.
The music is just right to please me and that’s all it needs to do. Full stop.
Sometimes more technical isn’t always the objectively best way to enjoy your music. I certianly don’t feel that way everyday when I am traveling to work listening to music in a packed bus.
But that’s just me.
SOUND II - BASS
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
That’s how Muhammad Ali roll in with his victories over countless opponents during his most brilliant career moments.
Unfortunately, the same can’t really be said on the Supra’s bass. Because it’s not a very powerful presentation. It punches well and with just the right amount of detail but nothing outstanding like its higher model, Cerberus.
Fortunately enough for me, it doesn’t need to. Because in a daily drive scenario, this is exactly the type of bass I would prefer.
Why?
Allow me to explain.
I am just one of those many humans whom cannot extend my attention span all the way to attempt and grasp and examine the spectrum of an IEM’s sound frequency when I am on my journey in listening to music while on my way to start a busy day of my job.
Much as I enjoy the luxury of having more dynamic bass that will send rumbles of a tremor equivalent to an 8.0 Ritcher scale, it’s just not something that I would go and grasp when I am trying to relax to music to start my day. My senses are just not going to be razor sharp like a scalpel in that scenario so this earns a very easy pass for me.
It’s versatile in mostly any genre and has a very fast attack that is to be expected from a balanced armature driver, and that’s all there is to it. Full stop.
Punchy as a well-trained boxer jabbing on the sandbag and slams with a strong and convincing right hook when the time is right. That’s how the bass is on Supra. It’s rumbling slam is only summoned when a song calls upon it, like the powerful fireworks that came during Enter Sandman’s live performance in Through the Never which always sends a massive energy of liveliness through my eardrums.
It doesn’t stand out particularly, simply because it doesn’t need to.
Bass Score - 7.8 (Great)
SOUND III - MIDS
Beyond the valleys and the searing heat, Until we reach the Caravanserai…
Loorena McKennit is truly an angelic human being with a voice that just know how to send you into a different world free of problems and melancholy. She has quickly become one of my most favorite female singer, almost ascended to being number one of my list next to Lenka. But the more I listen to her voice through Supra, the more I return and keep listening to her instead of Lenka or Adele.
Her voice has a very dynamic transgression between eerie airiness all the way to meaty bodiness depending on how she changes her tone consistently on what mood the song is trying to convey. Often it’s like a storytelling where it flows naturally from beginning, climax then all the way to resolution.
And the Supra beautifully captures all of her voice’s tone very well. Granted it’s not the most resolving and transparent midrange I’ve ever heard and certainly isn’t ultra buttery smooth like many mid-centric IEMs I’ve tried. In fact it’s neither too forward nor recessed. The positioning of the midrange is just right.
No matter which of my favorite vocal artist I choose, the Supra handled them all without trouble but it doesn’t try hard to impress either. Which is more than passable for a daily driver. If you can perform well in a normal scenario there’s little reason to go more than necessary which might go borderline excessive sometimes.
I mean, I sure can’t go in full critical listening mode all the time trying to dissect a person’s voice and tone when I am just enjoying the melody sung by my favorite artists.
The midrange produced by Supra is what I’d like to describe as a transport that will carry me through the journey from my home all the way to the working place in a smooth and relaxing mood that will keep my mood stable regardless of what happened before in my life.
After all, some did said that
‘a life without regrets is a life well lived’.
And Supra is capable of bringing me through every day when I am on my way to work or after work, should I ever have the joy of owning it.
The midrange is just right for me as a daily driver. It’s not outstanding, but again, it doesn’t need to. Because to me, this is the midrange that will keep you company every day in your busy life, bringing plenty of positive energy through the music you love, regardless of genre preference.
Mids score - 8.1 (Awesome)
SOUND IV - TREBLE
Limit is just an illusion.
A treble extends normally for as long as an instrument go or a person’s high note can reach physically, and they’re presented at best and most natural through live recordings where there’ll be no mastering of over-enhancing or veiling anything of significance just for the sake of additional effect colouration flavor.
The treble here though, it extends as far as your recording carries you, but has a visible limit regardless. This is only apparent however, when you’re thinking of comparing Supra to other IEMs that have of much well extended or smoother treble. Put that out of your mind, and what you get is a well-presented treble that isn’t grainy or harsh.
Should sibilance appear, it’s mostly due to poorly mastered recordings or singers didn’t have pop filters on their mics during the recording session.
When tested on live performance records, there’s almost little to no sibilance or harshness at all, which is pleasant news to those who enjoy live recordings more than studio ones. The Supra performed efficiently here and it’s presentation is simple yet effective.
There’s clearly more technically capable IEMs that will cater to treble-heads, but that’s not what the Supra is designed for. It’s designed to present its sound in a pleasant yet simple and clean way that will be a joy for a person to listen when he is going on in his busy days or just simply want to kick back and relax to some music without being a critical listener.
The treble has a fair amount of sparkle too when it’s present, and it didn’t take a lot for me to reach out for them when I want to experience it further. This is what I call effortless pleasure.
Sometimes you just don’t need to read too much into something and let it be within your senses naturally.
Treble Score - 7.6 (Great)
SOUND V - SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING
Simplicity is the ultimate form of sophistication.
Leonardo da Vinci made it crystal clear that sometimes you just don’t need to overthink too much into something for it to look impressive. And this couldn’t be any more true in the presentation of the staging and imaging of the Supra.
As expected, it’s neither extremely tall, deep or wide. The soundstage is simply there to be adequate enough for everyday listening with well-placed positioning of instruments and vocal singers.
The accuracy is convincing to my ears enough and I can easily pinpoint any instruments that I recognize in a song, regardless of what genre I listen to.
However I should mention that live recordings work well with Supra.
In Metallica’s Through the Never recordings, listening to Fuel has a very immersive atmosphere. Even though I’ve heard more details from the recording before through higher end IEMs, the Supra does this surprisingly well and I can still easily recognize the tuning done on Lars Ulrich’s drums, or James Hetfield’s position whenever he moves from one spot to another to sing or play his guitar. The same can be said for Robert Trujillo’s bass strumming and Kirk Hammett’s sick guitar solos.
However, the real magic happens when I played the instrumental piece of Loorena McKennit’s Sacred Shabbat. Not only do I hear a very accurate positioning, it’s almost as if every acoustic instruments has its own soundstage and it doesn’t feel congested at all. Not even one bit.
If anything it seems like even the plucking sounds of the instruments were captured with surprising accuracy.
This could be that the track is either extremely well mastered or could also be Supra’s impressive tuning despite having such a simple approach towards its spatial presentation.
Soundstage & Imaging Score - 8.4 (Awesome)
SOURCE MATCHING
As I have no other sources to pair with the Supra, this is the only impression I can do thus far.
Fiio X1 + HUM Hypno + Quartette-ONE Furutech Ver. Interconnect
The sound presented with this stack is nothing short of a beautiful package and it’s sound presented in all frequencies are more than enough to satisfy the audio lover in me without being an overly critical listener trying to dissect everything apart.
To keep it simple, the Supra is a great match with the source I used above for its testing.
Matching score on said source - 8.8 (Awesome)
VALUE
Retailed at $429 for both the Custom and Universal, the Supra is on a very competitive price/sound ratio against other company IEMs. But I believe it goes without saying that here, you’re getting what you paid for.
It’s sound quality at times even matches the more expensive Noble Audio Savant (%599) and did slightly better than Savanna ($499) in terms of acoustic genre makes the Supra a bargain winner to anyone who wants to dive into the world of CIEMs without tearing their wallets a new one.
But if you compare solely in custom versions alone, the price gap is significant.
Supra remained at $429, while the custom SLA Savant retailed at $1199 (the only custom version I found so far in the website so if I missed anything do let me know) , while the custom Savanna retailed at $699.
The investment on Supra would be an easy no-brainer here if you want a great sound CIEM or even just a versatile universal IEM that cost lower than 500 bucks, you truly are getting every penny’s worth here for this type of performance.
Of course, this is still subjective because different people will have different needs regardless of how I evaluate the price/sound ratio here.
But the Supra to me, as a very good value for what it’s meant to do.
Are there cheaper CIEMs out there? Of course. There’s AAW’s lower end model like the A1D, or the Jomo’s Jomo1 or even Jomo2 and Jomo3 which are all cheaper than Supra, but from my experience with Jomo2 and 3 along with A1D, the Supra gets a better sound value because of how well it performed on all genre music of my choice.
Value score - 9.2 (Stellar)
CONCLUSION
Empire Ears have always been known to make all-rounder products that a handful stood out in one or more spectrums depending on which side of the audio-lover they’re catering.
Then there’s those that just don’t have the luxury of spending over 500 bucks on a pair of CIEMs but wanted to try them out anyways just to experience what it’s like to listen to IEMs nowadays where tech advances far quicker than men can keep up.
The whole argument of headphones performing better than in-earphones are already a long ancient history as audio enthusiast industry continue to grow even bigger along with HiFi world. Both are becoming ever increasingly popular and there has been more than enough products out there that are both portable yet affordable without too much compromise on high quality sound reproduction.
Supra is no different in introducing its sound to those who are new to the audio world with its attractive price and balanced sound signature that will cater both the neutral and musical fans and can pretty much handle just about any genre of songs you throw at them.
They’re not going to WOW you in any particular way because it just doesn’t need to for this price. It’s designed as an IEM that allows you to relax whenever you want or even enjoy a bit of energy when you’re feeling the need to tap your feet or fingers during your musical enjoyment.
Are there better IEMs out there than this? Plenty enough for me to lose count, if I am honest. But really, for this price range, I wouldn’t be complaining because I certainly found it a lot more attractive and comfortable to wear than even the Shure SE535 which I find to be a bit uncomfortable despite plenty of tips swapping.
That and because the sound offered here are more balanced compared to the mid-centric 535, it felt like a bargain as the Supra isn’t as genre-picky with its tuning.
Finally, it cost cheaper than the 535 while remained the same price even on custom fit, which is a huge advantage to those who want a perfect seal, fit and near audio nirvana sense of isolation.
The Supra is a keeper for its price and simplicity, if only I get to own it.
And now...I shall look forward to what Asius Tech has done to the Olympus line up in about a month or two…
Good things come to those who wait.
Pros
- Balanced sound that can handle just about any genre thrown at it without being offensively harsh besides poorly mastered recordings
- Comfortable fit even for universals
- Convincing soundstage for this price
- Very affordable for custom fit compared to other custom IEMs out there.
Cons
- Not exactly outstanding in any spectrum may leave enthusiasts wanting a bit more
- Not the biggest soundstage presentation
- Universal fit might not be for those with larger ears
- Can sound a bit sibilant on poorly mastered recordings, particularly female vocals
Many thanks for Kozato for providing the Supra universal demo unit.
Cheers guys, and happy listening.
