[Layman1]

I do not know if you have heard but this latest line up of Empire Ears wasn't really well received amongst the Singaporean community. Probably it's because that we are spoilt with a good handful of stores where we can TRY extensively rather than blind purchasing based on over positive reviews/posts/impressions or hype.

Well, that could be a factor. But in my experience of a few CanJams, there are people who go there who are just focused on over-ear headphones.
Or are looking for a great tube amp. Or who stroll past the stall of a good brand because they are unfamiliar with that brand, or have only really heard of their flagship models and feel it's something out of their price range.

I ignored the Empire Ears stand for some of those reasons on my first couple of CanJams. Then I stopped by on a whim to listen to the Zeus last summer at London CanJam, and was warmly welcomed by @Jack Vang and I told him, from my heart, that I felt it was the best IEM I'd ever heard.
My personal opinion, compared with various other IEM's including TOTL, YMMV etc.
My only criticism of it was that I thought for certain genres of music, I'd probably prefer something with more low end presence. As such, I'm very excited to try or review several of their new IEM's if I ever get the chance.

In a roundabout kind of way, what I'm trying to say is that a lack of hype is not necessarily an indicator of a lack of quality; equally, a great deal of hype doesn't guarantee it either.
I'd conclude by adding that I think in most cases, 'hype' is not intentional or designed to mislead.

We're mostly all here because we love music, and when we listen to our music on something new that puts that huge grin on our faces or makes our jaw drop, it's only natural to want to share that joy, especially with a community of like-minded people as we have here. And even in a formal review with sober reflection, if that joy is genuine and deserved (at least as far as the individual is concerned), then this is going to hopefully come across.
Whilst I will read these in the knowledge that my view may be different and I should make every effort to try for myself before buying, I personally love reading such joyful impressions because it's a snapshot of someone with the same passion as me, experiencing that same delight that we're all seeking

 

[tim0chan]

Pardon if I ruffled any new or current owners of EE products . I'm sorry but not sorry if you guys are butt hurt that the majority of the Singaporean community wasn't WOWed by the latest offerings by Empire Ears .

Please do not shoot the messenger . I am merely stating the whispers and coffee banter amongst my fellow local audiophiles . Maybe like I've mentioned; we have tons of other brands and manufacturers to choose from so we are probably more critical and do not bite on hype .

Oh and btw, when someone keeps talking about him being from a 2 - channel audio background and his whatever AYRE amp/dac which totally blows the Chords and the Schiit out of the water and that his IEM keeps on scaling and scaling like there arent any more scales on a fish in each of his every other post ; IT'S DOWNRIGHT shilling and hype . Which definitely doesn't help in viewing this thread as nothing more than a hyped up train .

I have a similar sentiment, I am torn between the vantage and the 64 audio n8t... Hybrids ,especially inexpensive ones are quite common in sg and maybe less people like the tuning {and the price}.
I personally am all for a nice discussion on the iem pertaining to the thread and comparisons, but once you keep mentioning that "I have whatever background and buy gear that not many can afford" it kinda gets stale... Just a few months ago, this thread was practically the Zeus thread. Almost every post was about the Zeus or how xyz compares to the Zeus... It got really stale for me, seeing that not everyone can afford totl stuff and that's why jack felt that the Spartans were the most overlooked in his line ( I quote pinky). Maybe give more love to the midfi stuff?

 

[Deezel177]

Pardon if I ruffled any new or current owners of EE products . I'm sorry but not sorry if you guys are butt hurt that the majority of the Singaporean community wasn't WOWed by the latest offerings by Empire Ears .

Please do not shoot the messenger . I am merely stating the whispers and coffee banter amongst my fellow local audiophiles . Maybe like I've mentioned; we have tons of other brands and manufacturers to choose from so we are probably more critical and do not bite on hype .

Oh and btw, when someone keeps talking about him being from a 2 - channel audio background and his whatever AYRE amp/dac which totally blows the Chords and the Schiit out of the water and that his IEM keeps on scaling and scaling like there arent any more scales on a fish in each of his every other post ; IT'S DOWNRIGHT shilling and hype . Which definitely doesn't help in viewing this thread as nothing more than a hyped up train .

My condolences if anyone out there’s attacking you for your opinions. No one should be able to question subjective thoughts, whether it be positive or negative. But, with that said, I think this kind of aggression can stem somewhat from an overabundance of assumption. Whether it be the assumption that you’re attacking owners of EE’s new gear (though the bit at the end is quite blatant ) or the assumption that anyone expressing positivity is a shill, etc. Like @Layman1 said, we’re all just here because we love music and gear. There’s no need to assume the motives behind why someone is excited over their new piece of gear, nor is there a need for anyone to attack you via messenger who disagrees with your personal opinion(s). Personally, I haven’t seen anyone get hurt by the impressions posted here - that I know of - but a contrasting opinion for discussion’s sake is always welcome. Again, apologies if anyone has berated you for your thoughts, because opinions of any kind should be fair game in a discussions forum - all we have to do is keep it from getting personal.

I have a similar sentiment, I am torn between the vantage and the 64 audio n8t... Hybrids ,especially inexpensive ones are quite common in sg and maybe less people like the tuning {and the price}.
I personally am all for a nice discussion on the iem pertaining to the thread and comparisons, but once you keep mentioning that "I have whatever background and buy gear that not many can afford" it kinda gets stale... Just a few months ago, this thread was practically the Zeus thread. Almost every post was about the Zeus or how xyz compares to the Zeus... It got really stale for me, seeing that not everyone can afford totl stuff and that's why jack felt that the Spartans were the most overlooked in his line ( I quote pinky). Maybe give more love to the midfi stuff?

This is the sentiment I expressed in my write-up. One of the goals behind the X and EP line-ups is to eliminate any talk of driver count to re-focus the buyer’s attention towards signature. Although a lot of the talk here has been Phantom-and-LX-oriented, I reckon we’ve made pretty decent progress. Yes, the N8t to me is an awesome IEM and a worthy competitor against the Vantage in tone, and possibly LX in performance. I hope to take a closer listen to both in the near future.

 

[Lucif6r6th]

I have a similar sentiment, I am torn between the vantage and the 64 audio n8t... Hybrids ,especially inexpensive ones are quite common in sg and maybe less people like the tuning {and the price}.
I personally am all for a nice discussion on the iem pertaining to the thread and comparisons, but once you keep mentioning that "I have whatever background and buy gear that not many can afford" it kinda gets stale... Just a few months ago, this thread was practically the Zeus thread. Almost every post was about the Zeus or how xyz compares to the Zeus... It got really stale for me, seeing that not everyone can afford totl stuff and that's why jack felt that the Spartans were the most overlooked in his line ( I quote pinky). Maybe give more love to the midfi stuff?

More love to the mid-fi stuff? You got it
Had the chance to hear a fully broken-in/burned-in EVR and Vantage a few days back. Changes are huge
EVR definitely punches well above its price point. Low end got a bit warmer and fuller. It has a certain weighty feel to the vocals and and oozes naturalness.
Vantage on the other hand. It isn't the most detailed nor has the greatest treble extension but the low end became well controlled and has so much texture to it.

 

[Rei87]

This is the sentiment I expressed in my write-up. One of the goals behind the X and EP line-ups is to eliminate any talk of driver count to re-focus the buyer’s attention towards signature. Although a lot of the talk here has been Phantom-and-LX-oriented, I reckon we’ve made pretty decent progress. Yes, the N8t to me is an awesome IEM and a worthy competitor against the Vantage in tone, and possibly LX in performance. I hope to take a closer listen to both in the near future.

I think we already moved past that a long time ago, given that single dynamics DITA and drivers like the warbler are already making waves.

However, how does the n8t compare against the phantom in your opinion? After all, the n8t was tuned as a collaboration between 64 and Nathan East who is a renowned bassist, and the phantom a very respected audiophile reviewer Flinkenick. Both I think are tuned to be a true representative of sound, but what do you think of them?

 

[Deezel177]

I think we already moved past that a long time ago, given that single dynamics DITA and drivers like the warbler are already making waves.

However, how does the n8t compare against the phantom in your opinion? After all, the n8t was tuned as a collaboration between 64 and Nathan East who is a renowned bassist, and the phantom a very respected audiophile reviewer Flinkenick. Both I think are tuned to be a true representative of sound, but what do you think of them?

When I talked about driver wars being the focus of conversations, I was specifically referring to this thread. As @tim0chan said, it was all Zeus for a while before the new releases came into play.

I’ll post my thoughts on the N8t on the 64Audio thread once I post my CanJam SG article within the next couple days. Well, fundamentally, the N8t was tuned by a bassist for bassists, while the Phantom was predominantly tuned to be as colourless - and thus, receptive - towards music as possible. The N8t and the Phantom are similarly warm in tone (though the N8t is moreso because of its richer and more analog bass) and they both present vocals with body and size, but that’s pretty much all they have in common as far as I can remember. The N8t’s low-end is more prominent, atmospheric and rich, while it has an upper-treble lift courtesy of the Tia driver. This gives low-end notes more focus and definition, but its fullness becomes an inherent element of its tuning. The upper-midrange is also calmer on the N8t, which makes it more forgiving. But, treble notes on the N8t are more articulate, while the ones on the Phantom are more rounded and refined.

 

[Kerouac]

Pardon if I ruffled any new or current owners of EE products . I'm sorry but not sorry if you guys are butt hurt that the majority of the Singaporean community wasn't WOWed by the latest offerings by Empire Ears

Oh, and here I was, thinking that you maybe were the one that got butt hurt, when I told you that I prefered the Phantom over the (isn't that your favourite?) SE5U, some time ago. Silly old, naive me

Oh and btw, when someone keeps talking about him being from a 2 - channel audio background and his whatever AYRE amp/dac which totally blows the Chords and the Schiit out of the water and that his IEM keeps on scaling and scaling like there arent any more scales on a fish in each of his every other post ; IT'S DOWNRIGHT shilling and hype . Which definitely doesn't help in viewing this thread as nothing more than a hyped up train .

Now, this really was the 'classy' part of your post
But I saw that @Deezel177 already took care of that with his earlier reply.

Regarding hype in general. I think hype pops up in almost all product threads on HF. But when you're around for a while, I think it also gets easier to burst that bubble.
And like you mentioned before: When you have the chance to audition yourself? Always do so, before buying!

Regarding the rest:

...and I'm gonna leave it at that!

It got really stale for me, seeing that not everyone can afford totl stuff and that's why jack felt that the Spartans were the most overlooked in his line ( I quote pinky). Maybe give more love to the midfi stuff?

Out of curiosity I picked up a pair of Spartans (Adel + mam) some time ago from the classifieds. When I did, I was almost certain that I would sell them within some weeks/months. But once I got them, I thought they sounded so great, that I just coudn't say goodbye to them anymore and they still have their (well deserved) place in my (c)iem listening rotation

Btw, I thought that the Spartans and Zeus were still going to be a part of the collection on the EE website. Or has there been a 'change of plans' in the meantime?

 

[tim0chan]

Oh, and here I was, thinking that you maybe were the one that got butt hurt, when I told you that I prefered the Phantom over the (isn't that your favourite?) SE5U, some time ago. Silly old, naive me

Regarding hype in general. I think hype pops up in almost all product threads on HF. But when you're around for a while, I think it also gets easier to burst that bubble.
And like you mentioned before: When you have the chance to audition yourself? Always do so, before buying!

Regarding the rest:

...and I'm gonna leave it at that!


Now, this really was the 'classy' part of your post
But I saw that @Deezel177 already took care of that with his earlier reply.


Out of curiosity I picked up a pair of Spartans (Adel + mam) some time ago from the classifieds. When I did, I was almost certain that I would sell them within some weeks/months. But once I got them, I thought they sounded so great, that I just coudn't say goodbye to them anymore and they still have their (well deserved) place in my (c)iem listening rotation

Btw, I thought that the Spartans and Zeus were still going to be a part of the collection on the EE website. Or has there been a 'change of plans' in the meantime?

The Spartans are there, just out of the way, scroll all the way down to legacy

 

[Kerouac]

The Spartans are there, just out of the way, scroll all the way down to legacy

Thanks! They're totally there (just a bit harder to find) indeed, together with the 3 Zeus models

 

[Dash]

They are both under the legacy section.

 

[subguy812]

Until there are more reviews and opinions from folks not closely aligned to one another or review site, every opinion is more open to the shilling and hype train controversy. This is not meant to be disrespectful to anyone. I really don't want to see this thread become like another one beginning in "N". This thread has been evolving as such and therefore my visits have become less frequent.

 

[subguy812]

That said, the Zeus XIV is still one of the finest IEMs I have owned and as soon as I can afford one of the newer EE offerings I am sure I will go for it. I do love EE as a company and their quality.

 

[proedros]

Until there are more reviews and opinions from folks not closely aligned to one another or review site, every opinion is more open to the shilling and hype train controversy. This is not meant to be disrespectful to anyone. I really don't want to see this thread become like another one beginning in "N". This thread has been evolving as such and therefore my visits have become less frequent.

Ninjas ?

 

[subguy812]

Ninjas ?

Nope....lol. Your bad man you know who. ​

 

[knopi]

...
Please do not shoot the messenger . I am merely stating the whispers and coffee banter amongst my fellow local audiophiles . Maybe like I've mentioned; we have tons of other brands and manufacturers to choose from so we are probably more critical and do not bite on hype .
...

No from new line but we had thanks to one owner in my country Spartan, around ten people have it at home on one week. And almost all did not like them and thought it was so overpriced.