Sorry if I'm late, but between family and work I was not been able to add my impression regarding the new Empire iems at the CanJam NYC.
Was a pleasure to finally meet
@flinkenick in person same as
@Jack Vang and Dean from Empire, together with Eric and Zou from Effect Audio, like I promised I spent much of my time at CanJam between these 2 booths, with my friend
@ctsooner22.
These are my 2 cents.
First of all, let me say the new prototype from EA it’s amazing, 8 wire, palladium plated copper, a piece of art! They bought 2 cables, same material but different geometry and the results were 2 completely different cables. This is a testimonial of the knowledge and know-how of EA and how they master this science.
I tried them both with my Encore and I felt in love with the first prototype I tried, this was the warmer one, what struck me was the sound stage, amazingly wide, 3D, the Encore doesn't have the widest sound stage but this cable was able to stretch it beyond my expectation, being warm it added a nice touch to the bass and mid, I loved how it reproduced vocals, bringing them forward and it had an incredible multi-layer representation. The other prototype was more neutral, vocals were slightly recessed compared to the warmer sibling, may be with a different, warmer iem I would have choose this one.
Moving on the EA...
I didn't take any good pictures of the EA booth, between the lights and my phone, none came out nice.
Legend X
Even if I read some (let's say all of them) the previous reviews/impressions posted in this thread, I knew this would not be my chosen one, still, I was very curious to try it based on the technology implemented.
I was really impressed how the Legend was able to reproduce both the bass and the treble so well, Empire has been able to create an earphone that is both warm and bright, the treble are strong, powerful, full of details.
When you transition your attention to the low-end, this is were you understand how strong and seductive the dark side of the force is.
The bass are extremely powerful (as of course everyone was expecting), fast and clear, the great energy of this bass is the foundation that support magnificently the mid, that are pushed forward but without being overwhelmingly warm.
Even if I would conclude my impression now, I would consider this a great earphone, but there is more.
I usually use "Things That Stop You Dreaming" from Passenger for the male vocals, but what hit me was the sub-bass at the beginning of the song, never experienced anything like this, was like having 2
68-pounder cannonsthat were shooting in my ears, forget the Tia Fourte, I never heard a low-end so powerful and clear .
Phantom
The Phantom is a different beast, after the excitement of the Legend X the Phantom invite you to take it slow and enjoy your journey.
If the Legend is able to cover both extreme in a very powerful way, the strength of the Phantom sits it in the middle, no super-bright treble or pounding bass but the focus is to reproduce the music as it was recorded, could sound boring, but it's not.
The Phantom has an overall neutral/natural sound signature, don't get me wrong, it has bass that is clear, present but never overwhelming. Personally I think the mid is where this iem shine, the vocals are reproduced with marvelous details, and what I like the most, you
CAN actually hear the imperfection of the voices in some particular songs, this is something that I always value and makes you appreciate the music even more.
You will enjoy the details of each instrument, the various layers reproduced without overlapping and their natural decay.
The Phantom has the ability to reproduce the treble in an effortless, airy way, it surrounds you but doesn't add any fatigue.
At the end, 2 great earphones for different listeners, I hope you all have the possibility to try them.