[Lucif6r6th]

How about with 1960s?

I don't think it will be a good match.
The Ares II already isn't a very warm or natural sounding cable. The 1960s may add unnecessary warmth and thickness to the sound which goes against the philosophy of the phantom.
However, ymmv~

 

[NaiveSound]

Oh Boi, i wish Zeus came out with Ares 2 when I got zeusZ

 

[Kerouac]

How about with 1960s?

I don't think it will be a good match.
The Ares II already isn't a very warm or natural sounding cable. The 1960s may add unnecessary warmth and thickness to the sound which goes against the philosophy of the phantom.
However, ymmv~

Although I love what the PW1960 (2 wire) does for the Zeus (synergy wise), when I heard the Phantom prototype (for the record: twice, for multiple days in a row, under almost perfect circumstances at home) with the Ares II, I never felt that it would 'need' another upgrade cable. It immediately sounded 'right' to my ears on all frequencies from the start

Good to know that the Phantom will come with the Ares II included as well!

 

[Blommen]

Although I love what the PW1960 (2 wire) does for the Zeus (synergy wise), when I heard the Phantom prototype (for the record: twice, for multiple days in a row, under almost perfect circumstances at home) with the Ares II, I never felt that it would 'need' another upgrade cable. It immediately sounded 'right' to my ears on all frequencies from the start

Good to know that the Phantom will come with the Ares II included as well!

That is a relief! Finding the right synergy can be tiresome...unless you have unlimited money

 

[Mython]

That is a relief! Finding the right synergy can be tiresome...unless you have unlimited money

LOL! If that is true, then why are there so many wealthy people on Head-Fi who still are so dissatisfied with their gear, and keep endlessly buying more gear to scratch an itch they can't scratch?! (I know the real answer, but I just couldn't help chuckling when I saw your statement

)

 

[eldss]

LOL! If that is true, then why are there so many wealthy people on Head-Fi who still are so dissatisfied with their gear, and keep endlessly buying more gear to scratch an itch they can't scratch?! (I know the real answer, but I just couldn't help chuckling when I saw your statement )

You mean wealthy or people who’ll endeslly get in debt for their equipment. Probably see at least one post about tapping into one’s retirement which makes me wonder if it’s true.

 

[Tanjiro]

Although I love what the PW1960 (2 wire) does for the Zeus (synergy wise), when I heard the Phantom prototype (for the record: twice, for multiple days in a row, under almost perfect circumstances at home) with the Ares II, I never felt that it would 'need' another upgrade cable. It immediately sounded 'right' to my ears on all frequencies from the start

Good to know that the Phantom will come with the Ares II included as well!

Thanks. Glad to hear that. You save my wallet a big time

 

[Gavin C4]

Tried the Phantom for few hours with few of my favorite songs from "Wagakki Band", one of my most recent listening is "Valkyrie Ikusa Otome" that is relatively demanding with all different instruments. I must admit that, only Zeus-XR among the EE lineup can handle such complicated tracks. However, the Phantom plus SP1000 combo is as good as the Zeus for general listening to pop songs or for vocals. It is also a plus for Phantom as it provides slightly more bass (edit* Very very slightly more bass, nick pointed out it is the sub bass) than the Zeus. The Legend X is a bit congested by songs from "Wagakki Band". I guess there is always some give and takes for different IEM. In the perfect world, one can grab all three top tier from each lineup and be a happy man.

 

[Rin1990]

Speaking from experience alone -- if an IEM came with a stock cable sounded "right" to my ears, then I wouldn't feel the need to upgrade a cable for it, because try as I may --

a thousand dollar cable will never turn an entry IEM into a mid or high-mid tier IEM all of a sudden miraculously. Heck, it doesn't even apply that much to TOTL IEMs to me. It only refines and slightly improves their sound signature and nothing more, nothing less. Cable upgrades aren't magic after all, it cannot change a godly sound into something beyond godlike, even if you got a super 1000 USD + ultra expensive high-grade material cable.

To my ears, the biggest sound improvement always comes from IEM first, source second, and cables last.

If you wanna ask my honest opinion -- a 2-wire PW1960s + EE Supra - II doesn't hold a candle to the Spartan-IV or Hermes-VI on their own in stock cable configuration. If anything it only makes Supra-II more revealing and transparent but not to the point where it completely changes the sound into another IEM.

I know this because I've paired them before back when Calvin from MS gave me the chance to try them.

Back to Empire IEM topic -- I would like a more thorough input on the ESR end ESV models from someone soon. I am curious how those two perform.

 

[ctsooner22]

While I would usually always insist on a demo, in this particular case I did not need to. Nic and I have been discussing signatures for over a year and we know each other's preferences and biases really well, so when he mentioned the "5-driver" (Phantom) to me a while back, he knew how well those fit the criteria I had set out for my TOTL purchase. As he explained the tuning to me in great detail it was indeed just going over my checklist to check every box. It is just a really fortunate coincidence that Nic and I prioritise many of the same things and that is what makes it so exciting. Although I would have seriously considered buying them otherwise as well, because I think it is the coolest thing that a friend of mine drew his ideal FR curve and Empire Ears had the guts to make that curve a reality.

I totally agree. Too funny as that's the reason I'm ready to rumble without hearing it first. I can't wait to audition the whole line someday, lol.

 

[Wyville]

I totally agree. Too funny as that's the reason I'm ready to rumble without hearing it first. I can't wait to audition the whole line someday, lol.

Yeah, me too! I am really looking forward to Canjam London where I hope to audition many of the new and old IEMs. I am still curious to hear the Athena and Zeus (of course), but also recently got into dynamic drivers, so the X-series has a lot of interesting stuff on offer for that too, and I am curious about the other models in the EP series. Will probably be spending a lot of time around the EE booth (especially if Effect Audio are close by too).

 

[Deezel177]

Yeah, me too! I am really looking forward to Canjam London where I hope to audition many of the new and old IEMs. I am still curious to hear the Athena and Zeus (of course), but also recently got into dynamic drivers, so the X-series has a lot of interesting stuff on offer for that too, and I am curious about the other models in the EP series. Will probably be spending a lot of time around the EE booth (especially if Effect Audio are close by too).

Judging by how much you loved the VE5, the EVR should be high up on your to-try list. They give the 5's a strong run for their money, and that's as much I'll say whilst I continue writing the full article.

 

[flinkenick]

The EVR and VE5 were both designed for vocalists specifically, but I have never heard the VE5. I will say that I personally enjoyed the EVR very much, it was one of my favs in the earlier phase. It combines a clear sound with a delightful touch of sparkle, and was to me somewhat reminiscent to iems as the NT6pro and Gemini. It's an iem I enjoyed listening to classic rock or acoustic music with, as a slight lift in its upper treble lets string instruments sparkle and shine. Its bass is fairly linear and will not necessarily be a showstopper, but it's there doing its thing. Despite it being targeted at vocalists, vocals are not as large or forward as something like the Phantom or Zeus; both the instruments and vocals are fairly neutral in terms of body and forwardness. Overall, one could say the EVR is a playful deviation of neutral.

The ESR is designed to be very flat, where neither the bass, mids, or treble standout from one or another. The mid-bass is tight and resolved, but not overly present or impactful, the midrange has a nice tone, but is not overly bodied or forward, and the treble is fairly linear, without being overly sparkly nor laidback. It offers a clean, well-separated sound with precise imaging. In a way, it is kind of a prototpye of what an iem should do right, without necessarily failing or excelling in any area for that matter. This is more of a classic 'neutral' iem, taking over the role of Spartan.

Normally weekends are reserved for a very strict Netflix binge-watching schedule with the gf, but she has to grade some papers tomorrow so maybe I will try to race Daniel for some impressions on the other hybrids

 

[Lucif6r6th]

The EVR and VE5 were both designed for vocalists specifically, but I have never heard the VE5. I will say that I personally enjoyed the EVR very much, it was one of my favs in the earlier phase. It combines a clear sound with a delightful touch of sparkle, and was to me somewhat reminiscent to iems as the NT6pro and Gemini. It's an iem I enjoyed listening to classic rock or acoustic music with, as a slight lift in its upper treble lets string instruments sparkle and shine. Its bass is fairly linear and will not necessarily be a showstopper, but it's there doing its thing. Despite it being targeted at vocalists, the vocal body is not as large or forward as something like the Phantom or Zeus; both the instruments and vocals are fairly neutral in terms of body and forwardness. Overall, one could say the EVR is a playful deviation of neutral.

The ESR is designed to be very flat, where neither the bass, mids, or treble standout from one or another. The mid-bass is tight and resolved, but not overly present or impactful, the midrange has a nice tone, but is not overly bodied or forward, and the treble is fairly linear, without being overly sparkly nor laidback. It offers a clean, well-separated sound with precise imaging. In a way, it is kind of a prototpye of what an iem should do right, without necessarily failing or excelling in any area for that matter. This is more of a classic 'neutral' iem, taking over the role of Spartan.

Normally weekends are reserved for a very strict Netflix binge-watching schedule with the gf, but she has to grade some papers tomorrow so maybe I will try to race Daniel for some impressions on the other hybrids

A another notable thing about ESR and EVR is the really really clean background

 

[Wyville]

Judging by how much you loved the VE5, the EVR should be high up on your to-try list. They give the 5's a strong run for their money, and that's as much I'll say whilst I continue writing the full article.

The EVR and VE5 were both designed for vocalists specifically, but I have never heard the VE5. I will say that I personally enjoyed the EVR very much, it was one of my favs in the earlier phase. It combines a clear sound with a delightful touch of sparkle, and was to me somewhat reminiscent to iems as the NT6pro and Gemini. It's an iem I enjoyed listening to classic rock or acoustic music with, as a slight lift in its upper treble lets string instruments sparkle and shine. Its bass is fairly linear and will not necessarily be a showstopper, but it's there doing its thing. Despite it being targeted at vocalists, the vocal body is not as large or forward as something like the Phantom or Zeus; both the instruments and vocals are fairly neutral in terms of body and forwardness. Overall, one could say the EVR is a playful deviation of neutral.

The ESR is designed to be very flat, where neither the bass, mids, or treble standout from one or another. The mid-bass is tight and resolved, but not overly present or impactful, the midrange has a nice tone, but is not overly bodied or forward, and the treble is fairly linear, without being overly sparkly nor laidback. It offers a clean, well-separated sound with precise imaging. In a way, it is kind of a prototpye of what an iem should do right, without necessarily failing or excelling in any area for that matter. This is more of a classic 'neutral' iem, taking over the role of Spartan.

Normally weekends are reserved for a very strict Netflix binge-watching schedule with the gf, but she has to grade some papers tomorrow so maybe I will try to race Daniel for some impressions on the other hybrids

Thanks guys! I will move the EVR higher up my “to try” list, they sound really nice!