[fiascogarcia]

I've been showing great restraint. 4 full days of reading about Phantom & Legend X without sending Ethan a PM...had to end sometime...

Still love my Zeus R immensely, but you know how these things go. Thanks to everyone that have already given their impressions/comparisons. Seems like the Legend X will be a better companion to Zeus. Now to figure out what faceplate I want.

Have to fudge my tax numbers a bit this year and hope the IRS doesn't notice...

Buy an extra set for me and the IRS will never hear about it.

 

[nick97]

You and me both!

I have a universal Nemesis on order though... so I'll have my own impressions soon enough if nobody else posts theirs!

Unfortunately I'm not nearly well enough versed in the language of sound, nor do I have enough IEMs for reference, to post much beyond basic impressions.

I'm looking forward to that! That's just the kind of review I need, a real-world one that I can understand

 

[azabu]

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out at Zeppelin & Co in Singapore to try the Empire Ears range. I tested 5 iems including the Bravado, EVR, ESR, Phantom and the Legend X. The Legend X for me was the star of the show, but it's a no go. The timbre and treble are sublime, just (for me) the bass is too forceful and bleeds into the mids on bass heavy tracks. I feel if it had one less dynamic driver it could be something truly special. Something tells me the Zeus is a must audition.

I'll just say the staff @ Zeppelin & Co are awesome. Very relaxed atmosphere and great coffee!

 

[proedros]

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out at Zeppelin & Co in Singapore to try the Empire Ears range. I tested 5 iems including the Bravado, EVR, ESR, Phantom and the Legend X. The Legend X for me was the star of the show, but it's a no go. The timbre and treble are sublime, just (for me) the bass is too forceful and bleeds into the mids on bass heavy tracks. I feel if it had one less dynamic driver it could be something truly special. Something tells me the Zeus is a must audition.

I'll just say the staff @ Zeppelin & Co are awesome. Very relaxed atmosphere and great coffee!

please try also Zeus and compare it with Phantom

 

[azabu]

please try also Zeus and compare it with Phantom

They didn't have the Zeus, but I'll test both back to back in Japan in the next 2 weeks. The Phantom's treble doesn't have the extension of the Legend X, and that for me, is a deal breaker. I find the voicing of the Legend X besides the bass to be perfect.

Will just say that Deezel is spot on with his views on the Effect Audio Lionheart. It truly seems to be the sweet spot with Effect Audio's cables. I've lived with it for a few weeks now and it's a very natural sounding cable. Beautiful sweet tone, refined, with ample resolution and nice spatial positioning. It's the type of cable you need to listen in to appreciate.

 

[thebratts]

I think someone mentioned in a review that -3db at 60hz was good for less bass impact on the legend-x

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out at Zeppelin & Co in Singapore to try the Empire Ears range. I tested 5 iems including the Bravado, EVR, ESR, Phantom and the Legend X. The Legend X for me was the star of the show, but it's a no go. The timbre and treble are sublime, just (for me) the bass is too forceful and bleeds into the mids on bass heavy tracks. I feel if it had one less dynamic driver it could be something truly special. Something tells me the Zeus is a must audition.

I'll just say the staff @ Zeppelin & Co are awesome. Very relaxed atmosphere and great coffee!

Possible you can have both the bass when wanted and just EQ a bit to lower the bass when needed and keep the rest of the signature.

From @twister6 review: https://twister6.com/2018/02/07/empire-ears-legend-x/
and quite responsive under EQ adjustment where 3dB cut around 60Hz can tone it down for those who want a more balanced sound signature (my personal preference).

 

[Deezel177]

They didn't have the Zeus, but I'll test both back to back in Japan in the next 2 weeks. The Phantom's treble doesn't have the extension of the Legend X, and that for me, is a deal breaker. I find the voicing of the Legend X besides the bass to be perfect.

Will just say that Deezel is spot on with his views on the Effect Audio Lionheart. It truly seems to be the sweet spot with Effect Audio's cables. I've lived with it for a few weeks now and it's a very natural sounding cable. Beautiful sweet tone, refined, with ample resolution and nice spatial positioning. It's the type of cable you need to listen in to appreciate.

Thanks, man! Appreciate the kind words. Though, again, I must emphasise the difference between extension and sparkle. More sparkle does not immediately mean better extension - it only means more upper-treble accentuation. The Phantom sounds less crisp than the Legend X because it lacks the Legend X's slight lifts in the upper-midrange and upper-treble. However, both are competitive in terms of note definition, stage stability, and image resolution because treble extension is a common strength between the two flagships. The Phantom is just darker and bolder in comparison because of a smoothened (not rolled-off) and attenuated upper-treble. If it wasn't for the Phantom's extension, you'd hear a muddy bass, midrange notes you can't distinguish from the background, and an incoherent stage. It's an important distinction to make because one is directly correlated to performance, while the other is simply a tuning choice.

EDIT: I found tip placement to be extremely important to the Phantom's presentation as well. I first heard the Phantom with Final Audio tips halfway onto the stem of the IEM, and it had a darker, heavier and less coherent presentation. I pushed them all the way in such that the bores were parallel to the tip opening and it was a much improved listening experience. There was a better sense of air in the upper-treble and the upper-bass wasn't as heavy. Maybe that's the issue you're encountering.

 

[klaimzlgd]

Need. To. Demo. Legend X. *drools*

 

[proedros]

@Jack Vang is there any chance of a Europe demo tour with the new lineup of EE iems ? i am sure that quite a few people here who are reluctant to buy without having heard those lovely new iems , would change their mind once they get a sonic taste of them

just a thought , make it happen

 

[Rin1990]

There really should be a Malaysia demo tour for Empire too in Kuala Lumpur.

 

[uncletim]

I'll be in Singapore Monday. I heard the Bravado at bkkaudio for a bit and liked it a lot. Really nice guys from EE's. Tuning was wonderful.

 

[Rin1990]

I'll be in Singapore Monday. I heard the Bravado at bkkaudio for a bit and liked it a lot. Really nice guys from EE's. Tuning was wonderful.

have fun with the new EE.

I will be stuck here till Empire Team make a tour in Malaysia.

 

[San Man]

Someone scored a smoking deal on a new LX in the classifieds!

 

[uncletim]

have fun with the new EE.

I will be stuck here till Empire Team make a tour in Malaysia.

Bkkaudio should have EE. Great shop.

 

[Rin1990]

Bkkaudio should have EE. Great shop.

BKKAudio is only on Thailand, no?

I am in Malaysia.

Yeah, I just checked. They don't have any branch in Malaysia. So I am screwed unless Jack and his team travel here in KL.