[Bina]

Went to HK this afternoon and look what was waiting for me at DMA.

Gave a quick listen to all of them, stock Effect Audio cable and Mandarine tips.

All hybrid models had quite noticeable driver flex, but I'm person that hears it quite often, especially on all dual hybrids I tried.
BA models are still quite hiss sensitive, hybrids are fine.
All hybrids has 3 small venting holes on their body.
BA range, all of them are triple bore. Hybrids are 4 bore for Legend and Nemesis, 3 bores for Vantage and 2 bore for Bravado.

Phantom was definitely winner for me and goes to top 10 IEMs on my personal list. Great balance, natural sounding, wasn't able to find any weakness, apart from maybe slightly worse bass extension, especially compared to Legend X. Doesn't scream "I'm technically superior" as 64 U18 and some others, but easily beats them on overall tuning. It also has reasonable size, fits really nicely.
Strongly prefer Phantom over both Zeuses(but I never really liked them in first place, balance and bass seemed off to me)

ESR - Brighter than Phantom, resolution level between Phantom and EVR. For the price, definitely great follow up to discontinued UERM as reference monitor, but with better balance.

EVR - lower resolution than Phantom and ESR, more thick in vocals, quite sharper. Definitely not for me.


Legend X, bigger shell, but not as bad as Zeus Adel. Really big and powerful sound, far from Phantom and Zeus. Bass is the main thing, delicate, with great extension and top notch resolution and control. Definitely very rich in quantity, yet perfectly separated from rest of frequencies, with no masking them.

Rest of the hybrids didn't impress me to be honest. Nemesis was too V shaped and harsh to my ears, Vantage and Bravado were fine bassy smooth and warm hybrids, but not that exciting for me.

 

[Tanjiro]

As many are talking about the Phantom, I might as well release my impression on the phantom.

Listening config Phantom & Legend: SP1000SS, stock cable from Effect Audio, acoustune AET07 M size tips.

Phantom all BA config: Listening volume on the SP1000 3.5mm single ended is similar or slightly higher than the Zeus-XR, around 25-35. Very clean and natural signature.

To make up the clean and natural sound of the entire EP lineup, they all have a very neutral bass quantities. Bass quantity on the Phantom is slightly less than the Zeus-XR (both switches). There is bass presence in the Phantom and you can definitely pick it up when they are there, but the quantity is just slightly underwhelming for my personal taste. Due to its clean and neutral bass, the entire bass note can be analyzed, perfect for a studio monitor. Although the Phantom does not have thick and punchy bass, it is not a weakness at all. This characteristic significantly contributes to the naturalness of Phantom's sound signature. That is a very clean midrange and treble with great clarity. In an effort to test the Phantom's bass response, I tested the Phantom on heavy bass club music and it sounded God dam clean. Some people may misunderstand and associate it with a flat and boring one-note-bass. But it is not. You can definitely hear the texture and transition of the bass from midbass to sub bass.

It does not have a thick and bold midrange like the Zeus-XIV. Vocals are very neutral sounding, not thin nor thick, not light nor heavy. It does great for female vocals and same for male vocals. The Phantom does not lean its midrange towards any side. Dead neutral. Since the Phantom has a very neutral bass, it does not cover up any vocal or instrument. Vocals are very clean on the Phantom. This allows micro-detail in the vocals to be picked up easily, any fluctuation or fade in the vocal can be heard clearly. The body and distance of the vocalist are very natural, it does not sound close up or far at all. The Phantom aims for a very neutral sound signature for the vocal and aims for absolute tonal accuracy.

Treble is very detailed, it has a slightly more treble presence than the Zeus-R (not XIV). The decay of the treble is slightly longer than the Zeus-R. At the same time, it is able to retain naturalness. The treble feels very natural, even with treble-heavy tracks with lots of cymbals hit and high frequency. It does not annoy you at all. This may be due to the natural headspace that the Phantom construct. The distance of the cymbal notes is very natural, it imitates the position of the drummer at the back of the stage. The length of the decay is also very natural, nothing is exaggerated. This is the reason why a treble that is slightly on the neutral-bright side sound so natural. It just provides a very easy listening experience for anyone. The treble is very controlled and no sibilance is audible. There is no sharp spike in the treble region, treble is very smooth. The decay is very consistance.

The depth and width of the stage that is almost equal in length is one of the major reason that makes the Phantom sounds so natural. Standard studio width and depth. The stage presented by the Phantom is not a live stage nor a concert hall. It is a standard studio recording room. Instruments are positioned perfectly. The body and the weight of different instruments are perfect. Separation is on point.

The sound signature of Phantom is really a bold move as bass quantity is tuned relatively lower than an average competitor in the market. But the Phantom is tuned for a reason, aiming for a clean and natural sound signature and a 150% back to studio work mentality. The Phantom will definitely reveal flaws in a mix as there is no thick bass or vocals to hide them, there is literally nowhere to hide as the Phantom is so clean in every aspect.

For those who think the Zeus has too little bass already, the Phantom will not solve the problem as it might have even less bass.

Phantom and Legend X simple simple comparsion.
Phantom has SIGNIFICANTLY less bass quantity then Legend X
Treble quantity and decay is similar to the Legend X
Phantom's vocalist position is natural. Legend X has slightly heavier vocal but not as thick as the Zeus-XIV
Phantom slightly smaller stage size in terms of width and depth than Legend X.
The sound signature of the Phantom is comparable to the Legend X without the two dynamic drivers. (NOT accurate description as they are two entirely different product line up)

Teaser：
Legend X the Bass Speaker

After reading this, Phantom is not for me then. Now seems like X is more interesting. Patiently waiting while I am enjoying my Zeus R.

 

[tim0chan]

Went to HK this afternoon and look what was waiting for me at DMA.



Gave a quick listen to all of them, stock Effect Audio cable and Mandarine tips.

All hybrid models had quite noticeable driver flex, but I'm person that hears it quite often, especially on all dual hybrids I tried.
BA models are still quite hiss sensitive, hybrids are fine.
All hybrids has 3 small venting holes on their body.
BA range, all of them are triple bore. Hybrids are 4 bore for Legend and Nemesis, 3 bores for Vantage and 2 bore for Bravado.

Phantom was definitely winner for me and goes to top 10 IEMs on my personal list. Great balance, natural sounding, wasn't able to find any weakness, apart from maybe slightly worse bass extension, especially compared to Legend X. Doesn't scream "I'm technically superior" as 64 U18 and some others, but easily beats them on overall tuning. It also has reasonable size, fits really nicely.
Strongly prefer Phantom over both Zeuses(but I never really liked them in first place, balance and bass seemed off to me)

ESR - Brighter than Phantom, resolution level between Phantom and EVR. For the price, definitely great follow up to discontinued UERM as reference monitor, but with better balance.

EVR - lower resolution than Phantom and ESR, more thick in vocals, quite sharper. Definitely not for me.


Legend X, bigger shell, but not as bad as Zeus Adel. Really big and powerful sound, far from Phantom and Zeus. Bass is the main thing, delicate, with great extension and top notch resolution and control. Definitely very rich in quantity, yet perfectly separated from rest of frequencies, with no masking them.

Rest of the hybrids didn't impress me to be honest. Nemesis was too V shaped and harsh to my ears, Vantage and Bravado were fine bassy smooth and warm hybrids, but not that exciting for me.

I think I am interested in the vantage., Need something to contrast my Spartans

 

[Rin1990]

Went to HK this afternoon and look what was waiting for me at DMA.



Gave a quick listen to all of them, stock Effect Audio cable and Mandarine tips.

All hybrid models had quite noticeable driver flex, but I'm person that hears it quite often, especially on all dual hybrids I tried.
BA models are still quite hiss sensitive, hybrids are fine.
All hybrids has 3 small venting holes on their body.
BA range, all of them are triple bore. Hybrids are 4 bore for Legend and Nemesis, 3 bores for Vantage and 2 bore for Bravado.

Phantom was definitely winner for me and goes to top 10 IEMs on my personal list. Great balance, natural sounding, wasn't able to find any weakness, apart from maybe slightly worse bass extension, especially compared to Legend X. Doesn't scream "I'm technically superior" as 64 U18 and some others, but easily beats them on overall tuning. It also has reasonable size, fits really nicely.
Strongly prefer Phantom over both Zeuses(but I never really liked them in first place, balance and bass seemed off to me)

ESR - Brighter than Phantom, resolution level between Phantom and EVR. For the price, definitely great follow up to discontinued UERM as reference monitor, but with better balance.

EVR - lower resolution than Phantom and ESR, more thick in vocals, quite sharper. Definitely not for me.


Legend X, bigger shell, but not as bad as Zeus Adel. Really big and powerful sound, far from Phantom and Zeus. Bass is the main thing, delicate, with great extension and top notch resolution and control. Definitely very rich in quantity, yet perfectly separated from rest of frequencies, with no masking them.

Rest of the hybrids didn't impress me to be honest. Nemesis was too V shaped and harsh to my ears, Vantage and Bravado were fine bassy smooth and warm hybrids, but not that exciting for me.

Appreciated the impressions, now I hope people spend a bit more time on Vantage and Bravado since it seems like they have a place somewhere for the lower tier range.

As usual -- the Phantom and Legend X get a lot of love.

 

[ryanjsoo]

Fantastic to see some impressions of the new Phantom in this thread, apologies for lurking! Just wanted to clarify that my impressions on Everyday Listening of the Phantom and Legend X were using Final Audio E Tips. Jack had all of the earphones outfit with Spinfits at Portafes but I didn't personally enjoy their impact on the sound. Luckily, I had just come from e-earphone with a pack of fresh Final tips, I listened from the Fiio X7 II with AM3A.

I do very much recommend experimenting with the aforementioned Final tips, Spiral Dots or Hybrids if you have any on hand; imo Spinfits do not do good things in this instance. Looking forward to seeing more impressions!

 

[Wyville]

Fantastic to see some impressions of the new Phantom in this thread, apologies for lurking! Just wanted to clarify that my impressions on Everyday Listening of the Phantom and Legend X were using Final Audio E Tips. Jack had all of the earphones outfit with Spinfits at Portafes but I didn't personally enjoy their impact on the sound. Luckily, I had just come from e-earphone with a pack of fresh Final tips, I listened from the Fiio X7 II with AM3A.

I do very much recommend experimenting with the aforementioned Final tips, Spiral Dots or Hybrids if you have any on hand; imo Spinfits do not do good things in this instance. Looking forward to seeing more impressions!

I have the same experience with Spinfits, to me they seemed to screw up the treble. Much prefer the Final tips or the (I believe) Sony ones I got with my Ei.3. Would still love to find some Spiral Dots to try out.

 

[twister6]

Fantastic to see some impressions of the new Phantom in this thread, apologies for lurking! Just wanted to clarify that my impressions on Everyday Listening of the Phantom and Legend X were using Final Audio E Tips. Jack had all of the earphones outfit with Spinfits at Portafes but I didn't personally enjoy their impact on the sound. Luckily, I had just come from e-earphone with a pack of fresh Final tips, I listened from the Fiio X7 II with AM3A.

I do very much recommend experimenting with the aforementioned Final tips, Spiral Dots or Hybrids if you have any on hand; imo Spinfits do not do good things in this instance. Looking forward to seeing more impressions!

I second Ryan's comment about eartips, especially when it comes to hybrid line since I'm familiar with Legend X. We all have a different earcanal anatomy and when you are dealing with universal shells, the seal can make or break the sound.

In my case, I'm usually not a big fan of Spinfits due to the wide opening and sharp bend in my left earcanal (the reason why ciems don't work for me), but with Legend X I found Spinfits to give me the best sound, and as a matter of fact, I went down from my usual preferred large size to a medium one to balance out the bass (to lower mid-bass impact - a very effective control here) and to eliminate a minor driver flex.

Also, even so I don't know yet the details of Dean's crossover design, there is no significant effect going from 0.6 ohm Plenue 2 to 10 ohm R6.

 

[Kerouac]

Just a short introduction:

Some weeks ago Nic sent me some iems on a loan and one of the iems was a mystery to me, as he didn’t gave me any information about it beforehand. I can honestly say that I was instantly swept of my feet how good (I thought) it sounded straight away. And of course I asked him to let me know what this mystery iem was. It was the prototype Phantom (that name wasn’t even decided on at that point). I could only keep it for a few days, but needless to say that almost all listening during that days was done with that imo wonderful iem.

I promised Nic not to share any information about driver set-up (which is out now anyway) or signature and kept my word during the past weeks.
To my surprise some very informative (regarding signature) posts appeared today in this thread, surprised as I didn’t realise they were out in the open yet. The reason that I write this post is that my impressions regarding its signature differs from some things that I’ve read. My impressions are also not a universal truth, but I think it’s important to share them now to (also) shine a different light on the Phantom.

My comments will be purely based on how I hear the Phantom, and not regarding the Legend X as I haven’t heard that one myself.
Oh, and one more thing before I take off... today I received the Phantom again on a loan, and I started listening as soon as I got it (a few hours ago) to make sure that I wasn’t wrong, based on a faded memory.
So, here we go (please buckle up )

As many are talking about the Phantom, I might as well release my impression on the phantom.

Listening config Phantom & Legend: SP1000SS, stock cable from Effect Audio, acoustune AET07 M size tips.

Phantom all BA config: Listening volume on the SP1000 3.5mm single ended is similar or slightly higher than the Zeus-XR, around 25-35. Very clean and natural signature.

To make up the clean and natural sound of the entire EP lineup, they all have a very neutral bass quantities. Bass quantity on the Phantom is slightly less than the Zeus-XR (both switches). There is bass presence in the Phantom and you can definitely pick it up when they are there, but the quantity is just slightly underwhelming for my personal taste. Due to its clean and neutral bass, the entire bass note can be analyzed, perfect for a studio monitor. Although the Phantom does not have thick and punchy bass, it is not a weakness at all. This characteristic significantly contributes to the naturalness of Phantom's sound signature. That is a very clean midrange and treble with great clarity. In an effort to test the Phantom's bass response, I tested the Phantom on heavy bass club music and it sounded God dam clean. Some people may misunderstand and associate it with a flat and boring one-note-bass. But it is not. You can definitely hear the texture and transition of the bass from midbass to sub bass.

It does not have a thick and bold midrange like the Zeus-XIV. Vocals are very neutral sounding, not thin nor thick, not light nor heavy. It does great for female vocals and same for male vocals. The Phantom does not lean its midrange towards any side. Dead neutral. Since the Phantom has a very neutral bass, it does not cover up any vocal or instrument. Vocals are very clean on the Phantom. This allows micro-detail in the vocals to be picked up easily, any fluctuation or fade in the vocal can be heard clearly. The body and distance of the vocalist are very natural, it does not sound close up or far at all. The Phantom aims for a very neutral sound signature for the vocal and aims for absolute tonal accuracy.

Treble is very detailed, it has a slightly more treble presence than the Zeus-R (not XIV). The decay of the treble is slightly longer than the Zeus-R. At the same time, it is able to retain naturalness. The treble feels very natural, even with treble-heavy tracks with lots of cymbals hit and high frequency. It does not annoy you at all. This may be due to the natural headspace that the Phantom construct. The distance of the cymbal notes is very natural, it imitates the position of the drummer at the back of the stage. The length of the decay is also very natural, nothing is exaggerated. This is the reason why a treble that is slightly on the neutral-bright side sound so natural. It just provides a very easy listening experience for anyone. The treble is very controlled and no sibilance is audible. There is no sharp spike in the treble region, treble is very smooth. The decay is very consistance.

The depth and width of the stage that is almost equal in length is one of the major reason that makes the Phantom sounds so natural. Standard studio width and depth. The stage presented by the Phantom is not a live stage nor a concert hall. It is a standard studio recording room. Instruments are positioned perfectly. The body and the weight of different instruments are perfect. Separation is on point.

The sound signature of Phantom is really a bold move as bass quantity is tuned relatively lower than an average competitor in the market. But the Phantom is tuned for a reason, aiming for a clean and natural sound signature and a 150% back to studio work mentality. The Phantom will definitely reveal flaws in a mix as there is no thick bass or vocals to hide them, there is literally nowhere to hide as the Phantom is so clean in every aspect.

For those who think the Zeus has too little bass already, the Phantom will not solve the problem as it might have even less bass.

Phantom and Legend X simple simple comparsion.
Phantom has SIGNIFICANTLY less bass quantity then Legend X
Treble quantity and decay is similar to the Legend X
Phantom's vocalist position is natural. Legend X has slightly heavier vocal but not as thick as the Zeus-XIV
Phantom slightly smaller stage size in terms of width and depth than Legend X.
The sound signature of the Phantom is comparable to the Legend X without the two dynamic drivers. (NOT accurate description as they are two entirely different product line up)

Teaser：
Legend X the Bass Speaker

Imo this is a very well (lots of details) written post Gavin, and all my respect for you for taking the time and effort to share this with us! But some aspects that I just can’t agree on with you are:

- Bass: imo the Phantom has much more (sub)bass than the Zeus (both XIV and R). The difference to my ears is so obvious that I almost couldn’t believe what you wrote about its lows. The first time I heard it I tried to look inside the shells to see if there was a DD inside. That’s how good it was to me. But then, you had a different (brighter, more analytical) source and were using (probably even more important in this specific case) different eartips.

Btw, this loaner came in with Ortofon tips, and the first time I mainly listened with my own Spiral Dot (which gave it a bit warmer touch) tips. I see that some other members also wrote about how much influence the right/wrong tip can have. From what I’ve heard/understood, the acoustune AET07 tips, that you used, takes away most of the Phantoms bass and gives it a leaner/brighter sound.

– Treble: to my ears the Phantom has slightly more laid back treble than the Zeus. Please don’t interpret this as that it isn’t revealing...hell no, it’s utterly revealing imo, with a beautiful and natural tonality/timbre on top of that.

– Soundstage: this is always a difficult part for me to put the finger on. When I received the Phantom for the first time I was really impressed by its imo wide soundstage and depth. I told Nic that I couldn’t remember that I heard an iem that came so close (maybe the 1plus2 that I had in the past) to open back fullsize headphones, as this one. Now I'm listening again, I’m still very impressed! I certainly wouldn’t call it an under achiever compared to the Zeus, which also has a great soundstage imo.

OK then, those were my 2 cents and of course we can all hear things differently. But I just felt that I had to react this time.
On to the next:

Went to HK this afternoon and look what was waiting for me at DMA.



Gave a quick listen to all of them, stock Effect Audio cable and Mandarine tips.

All hybrid models had quite noticeable driver flex, but I'm person that hears it quite often, especially on all dual hybrids I tried.
BA models are still quite hiss sensitive, hybrids are fine.
All hybrids has 3 small venting holes on their body.
BA range, all of them are triple bore. Hybrids are 4 bore for Legend and Nemesis, 3 bores for Vantage and 2 bore for Bravado.

Phantom was definitely winner for me and goes to top 10 IEMs on my personal list. Great balance, natural sounding, wasn't able to find any weakness, apart from maybe slightly worse bass extension, especially compared to Legend X. Doesn't scream "I'm technically superior" as 64 U18 and some others, but easily beats them on overall tuning. It also has reasonable size, fits really nicely.
Strongly prefer Phantom over both Zeuses(but I never really liked them in first place, balance and bass seemed off to me)

ESR - Brighter than Phantom, resolution level between Phantom and EVR. For the price, definitely great follow up to discontinued UERM as reference monitor, but with better balance.

EVR - lower resolution than Phantom and ESR, more thick in vocals, quite sharper. Definitely not for me.


Legend X, bigger shell, but not as bad as Zeus Adel. Really big and powerful sound, far from Phantom and Zeus. Bass is the main thing, delicate, with great extension and top notch resolution and control. Definitely very rich in quantity, yet perfectly separated from rest of frequencies, with no masking them.

Rest of the hybrids didn't impress me to be honest. Nemesis was too V shaped and harsh to my ears, Vantage and Bravado were fine bassy smooth and warm hybrids, but not that exciting for me.

Now look at that picture...what a line up. I’m almost starting to drool over here

Nice to read that the Phantom immediately made it into your top 10, leaving me curious about the other 9 iems and ranking

The only 2 points on which I didn’t (again, based on Phantom only) agree:

– Hiss sensitivity: when I had the Phantom on a loan for the first time I listened many hours from my LPG. The LPG certainly hisses with the Zeus, but not so much that it personally bothers me. When the music starts, I don’t hear the hiss myself. But I’m also aware that other people (with probably younger and better ears) are more sensitive to hiss than me, and that it might be a 'no go' area for them.

I recently traded my LPG with Nic for his RWAK380Cu for a while. So today I mainly listened with that one, and for a very short time with my Opus #1. On all 3 sources (LPG based on memory) the Phantom has a black background to my ears. If others hear it differently, I might have to visit an audiologist again soon, but that time not to get me some new ear impressions.

– Bass extension: imo the Phantom has great bass extension. Both bass quality and quantity come closer to perfection (based on my preferences) than any other iem I’ve heard (and that are quite some by this time) before. If you thought the Legend X was even better...oh man, we’ve got something else to look forward to!

Anyhow, these are my thoughts on the Phantom and I surely hope that more info/impressions will be revealed in the upcoming reviews soon.
Some exciting times ahead of us

 

[PinkyPowers]

Great impressions in the last few pages. Thanks for sharing everyone. I am getting ever so excited!

 

[tim0chan]

Hey guys,

In light of the recent releases - and after much deliberation - I have decided to let go of my beloved Zeus-XR. If any of you are interested, please refer to the following link: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-empire-ears-zeus-xr-ciem-non-adel.870286/#post-13987800



Thank you for your time.

The king is dead, long live the king

 

[ezekiel77]

Just a short introduction:

Some weeks ago Nic sent me some iems on al loan and one of the iems was a mystery to me, as he didn’t gave me any information about it beforehand. I can honestly say that I was instantly swept of my feet how good (I thought) it sounded straight away. And of course I asked him to let me know what this mystery iem was. It was the prototype Phantom (that name wasn’t even decided on at that point). I could only keep it for a few days, but needless to say that almost all listening during that days was done with that imo wonderful iem.

I promised Nic not to share any information about driver set-up (which is out now anyway) or signature and kept my word during the past weeks.
To my surprise some very informative (regarding signature) posts appeared today in this thread, surprised as I didn’t realise they were out in the open yet. The reason that I write this post is that my impressions regarding its signature differs from some things that I’ve read. My impressions are also not a universal truth, but I think it’s important to share them now to (also) shine a different light on the Phantom.

My comments will be purely based on how I hear the Phantom, and not regarding the Legend X as I haven’t heard that one myself.
Oh, and one more thing before I take off... today I received the Phantom again on a loan, and I started listening as soon as I got it (a few hours ago) to make sure that I wasn’t wrong, based on a faded memory.
So, here we go (please buckle up )



Imo this is a very well (lots of details) written post Gavin, and all my respect for you for taking the time and effort to share this with us! But some aspects that I just can’t agree on with you are:

- Bass: imo the Phantom has much more (sub)bass than the Zeus (both XIV and R). The difference to my ears is so obvious that I almost couldn’t believe what you wrote about its lows. The first time I heard it I tried to look inside the shells to see if there was a DD inside. That’s how good it was to me. But then, you had a different (brighter, more analytical) source and were using (probably even more important in this specific case) different eartips.

Btw, this loaner came in with Ortofon tips, and the first time I mainly listened with my own Spiral Dot (which gave it a bit warmer touch) tips. I see that some other members also wrote about how much influence the right/wrong tip can have. From what I’ve heard/understood, the acoustune AET07 tips, that you used, takes away most of the Phantoms bass and gives it a leaner/brighter sound.

– Treble: to my ears the Phantom has slightly more laid back treble than the Zeus. Please don’t interpret this as that it isn’t revealing...hell no, it’s utterly revealing imo, with a beautiful and natural tonality/timbre on top of that.

– Soundstage: this is always a difficult part for me to put the finger on. When I received the Phantom for the first time I was really impressed by its imo wide soundstage and depth. I told Nic that I couldn’t remember that I heard an iem that came so close (maybe the 1plus2 that I had in the past) to open back fullsize headphones, as this one. Now I'm listening again, I’m still very impressed! I certainly wouldn’t call it an under achiever compared to the Zeus, which also has a great soundstage imo.

OK then, those were my 2 cents and of course we can all hear things differently. But I just felt that I had to react this time.
On to the next:



Now look at that picture...what a line up. I’m almost starting to drool over here

Nice to read that the Phantom immediately made it into your top 10, leaving me curious about the other 9 iems and ranking

The only 2 points on which I didn’t (again, based on Phantom only) agree:

– Hiss sensitivity: when I had the Phantom on a loan for the first time I listened many hours from my LPG. The LPG certainly hisses with the Zeus, but not so much that it personally bothers me. When the music starts, I don’t hear the hiss myself. But I’m also aware that other people (with probably younger and better ears) are more sensitive to hiss than me, and that it might be a 'no go' area for them.

I recently traded my LPG with Nic for his RWAK380Cu for a while. So today I mainly listened with that one, and for a very short time with my Opus #1. On both sources the Phantom has a black background to my ears. If others hear it differently, I might have to visit an audiologist again soon, but that time not to get me some new ear impressions.

– Bass extension: imo the Phantom has great bass extension. Both bass quality and quantity come closer to perfection (based on my preferences) than any other iem I’ve heard (and that are quite some by this time) before. If you thought the Legend X was even better...oh man, we’ve got something else to look forward to!

Anyhow, these are my thoughts on the Phantom and I surely hope that more info/impressions will be revealed in the upcoming reviews soon.
Some exciting times ahead of us

Say Erik, did you happen to have both the Phantom prototype and SE5U at the same time?

 

[Mimouille]

Hey guys,

In light of the recent releases - and after much deliberation - I have decided to let go of my beloved Zeus-XR. If any of you are interested, please refer to the following link: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-empire-ears-zeus-xr-ciem-non-adel.870286/#post-13987800



Thank you for your time.

I love you but I have to let you go...

 

[cj3209]

I love you but I have to let you go...

ROTFL...

 

[Ethan Groover]

Just a short introduction:

Some weeks ago Nic sent me some iems on al loan and one of the iems was a mystery to me, as he didn’t gave me any information about it beforehand. I can honestly say that I was instantly swept of my feet how good (I thought) it sounded straight away. And of course I asked him to let me know what this mystery iem was. It was the prototype Phantom (that name wasn’t even decided on at that point). I could only keep it for a few days, but needless to say that almost all listening during that days was done with that imo wonderful iem.

I promised Nic not to share any information about driver set-up (which is out now anyway) or signature and kept my word during the past weeks.
To my surprise some very informative (regarding signature) posts appeared today in this thread, surprised as I didn’t realise they were out in the open yet. The reason that I write this post is that my impressions regarding its signature differs from some things that I’ve read. My impressions are also not a universal truth, but I think it’s important to share them now to (also) shine a different light on the Phantom.

My comments will be purely based on how I hear the Phantom, and not regarding the Legend X as I haven’t heard that one myself.
Oh, and one more thing before I take off... today I received the Phantom again on a loan, and I started listening as soon as I got it (a few hours ago) to make sure that I wasn’t wrong, based on a faded memory.
So, here we go (please buckle up )



Imo this is a very well (lots of details) written post Gavin, and all my respect for you for taking the time and effort to share this with us! But some aspects that I just can’t agree on with you are:

- Bass: imo the Phantom has much more (sub)bass than the Zeus (both XIV and R). The difference to my ears is so obvious that I almost couldn’t believe what you wrote about its lows. The first time I heard it I tried to look inside the shells to see if there was a DD inside. That’s how good it was to me. But then, you had a different (brighter, more analytical) source and were using (probably even more important in this specific case) different eartips.

Btw, this loaner came in with Ortofon tips, and the first time I mainly listened with my own Spiral Dot (which gave it a bit warmer touch) tips. I see that some other members also wrote about how much influence the right/wrong tip can have. From what I’ve heard/understood, the acoustune AET07 tips, that you used, takes away most of the Phantoms bass and gives it a leaner/brighter sound.

– Treble: to my ears the Phantom has slightly more laid back treble than the Zeus. Please don’t interpret this as that it isn’t revealing...hell no, it’s utterly revealing imo, with a beautiful and natural tonality/timbre on top of that.

– Soundstage: this is always a difficult part for me to put the finger on. When I received the Phantom for the first time I was really impressed by its imo wide soundstage and depth. I told Nic that I couldn’t remember that I heard an iem that came so close (maybe the 1plus2 that I had in the past) to open back fullsize headphones, as this one. Now I'm listening again, I’m still very impressed! I certainly wouldn’t call it an under achiever compared to the Zeus, which also has a great soundstage imo.

OK then, those were my 2 cents and of course we can all hear things differently. But I just felt that I had to react this time.
On to the next:



Now look at that picture...what a line up. I’m almost starting to drool over here

Nice to read that the Phantom immediately made it into your top 10, leaving me curious about the other 9 iems and ranking

The only 2 points on which I didn’t (again, based on Phantom only) agree:

– Hiss sensitivity: when I had the Phantom on a loan for the first time I listened many hours from my LPG. The LPG certainly hisses with the Zeus, but not so much that it personally bothers me. When the music starts, I don’t hear the hiss myself. But I’m also aware that other people (with probably younger and better ears) are more sensitive to hiss than me, and that it might be a 'no go' area for them.

I recently traded my LPG with Nic for his RWAK380Cu for a while. So today I mainly listened with that one, and for a very short time with my Opus #1. On both sources the Phantom has a black background to my ears. If others hear it differently, I might have to visit an audiologist again soon, but that time not to get me some new ear impressions.

– Bass extension: imo the Phantom has great bass extension. Both bass quality and quantity come closer to perfection (based on my preferences) than any other iem I’ve heard (and that are quite some by this time) before. If you thought the Legend X was even better...oh man, we’ve got something else to look forward to!

Anyhow, these are my thoughts on the Phantom and I surely hope that more info/impressions will be revealed in the upcoming reviews soon.
Some exciting times ahead of us

Very accurate impressions. Thank you for posting!

 

[Kerouac]

Say Erik, did you happen to have both the Phantom prototype and SE5U at the same time?

Nope, I had the SE5U some weeks before I received the Phantom prototype at that time. I won't go into a comparison now, based on memory. But Nic might do so later on (maybe already in his review, not sure about that) as he's able to do a straight A-B test.

However, the fact that I'm going after (already thinking about a design) Phantom myself, gives away something about my own preference
I'll leave it at that for now if you don't mind...