Hi all,
So, I attended London CanJam and would like to share my EE-specific impressions here for your delight or possible annoyance
Firstly a big thanks to
@ajyagle for pre-CanJam advice and assistance, and to Josh at the EE stand in London for his great service and almost saintly patience during my epic listening sessions!
I should add that at all times, it was like talking with a fellow enthusiast; great banter, great insights, no pressure or sales pitches (the IEMs themselves took care of that part)
I was there at CanJam with 2 missions:
1) To find the EE IEM that could scratch a certain itch I get from time to tome and provide me with the most rumble and visceral slam.
2) To listen to the whole X-series line-up, plus Phantom and Wraith.
I'm pleased to be able to state: Mission(s) accomplished!
I'll deal with part 2) first. Mostly just brief subjective impressions that have stuck in my head since then; do take them as such and judge accordingly
For your reference, I listened to tracks from the genres of Rock, Pop, Hip-Hop, Classical, Blues, Motown, Opera, Acoustic and Jazz.
For those who find the low end of (e.g.) the Legend X to be a tad overwhelming, or are looking for a mid-tier priced entry point, I thought the Bravado was great.
Punchy, detailed, open, balanced.
Vantage: This one, I wasn't so keen on. It wasn't bad, but it just didn't make me go 'wow' in any way.
Conversely, my fellow Head-Fi'er who was sat next to me declared it was his favourite of the whole EE line-up, and loved its powerful vintage sound.
Phantom: only listened to bits of 5 or 6 tracks with this one (albeit of different genres), so I can only give the briefest of impressions.
I'd heard it described as a 'Marmite, love it or hate it' IEM.
I have to say, I found it very enjoyable (but then, I also love Marmite, so perhaps I'm just a contrarian by nature lol).
Timbre, tone, detail, it was all on point. I would LOVE to get the chance for a much more extensive listen.
Same goes for Wraith and Valkryrie, both of which surprised me by confounding my expectations.
Wraith: With FOUR E-stats, I was expecting HUGE soundstage and treble that soared and extended forever, possibly to even piercing levels (I'm somewhat treble sensitive).
But it's a strange one. The soundstage is there, no doubt, but just.. not how I expected. It's more subtle and mysterious, and the highs are indeed extended, but controlled, without any sharpness or fatigue. It's actually really quite enchanting, and I'm still thinking about this IEM daily.
To give my impressions of the Wraith's low end, they seemed to be more focused around the lower/mid areas of mid-bass.
What this meant in practice was that there certainly was a definite low end presence that was (from memory) an increase over the Zeus.
However, this is not WeaponX bass. There isn't that slam and physical tactility.
It's happily present, polite and well-mannered, like a maître d at a 5 star establishment who is expert in directing and controlling, whereas the Legend X's low end would be like a hulking doorman at a nightclub of a certain reputation, sporting a bow-tie whilst projecting the sure knowledge that he has the power to lay the smackdown should the situation require
So in this way, I would say the Wraith has a low end that is entirely appropriate to its calling. It's unlikely to be overbearing even to Zeus fans (of which I am one), but neither is it anaemic or lacking.
Valkyrie: The surprise here was that the treble and soundstage were what I was expecting from the Wraith.
Putting these in my ears was like a scene I recall in a disaster movie (Cloverfield, I think?) where a man in a skyscraper opens the door to an office and instead finds himself standing on a precipice at a dizzying height, looking upon the city spread out before him (the building having been sliced in half from top to bottom).
It was really quite astonishing.
Regarding the low end, if we say the Legend X is 8 or 9 out of 10 for rumble, slam, impact and so forth, then I'd place the Valkyrie at 6.5 or 7.
It's more than I expected and well-executed. I enjoyed them a lot, and, as with the Wraith, would welcome the opportunity for a more extensive demo.
This has turned into rather an epic post, so I shall cease and desist here.
For the record, I chose the Nemesis (recall Mission 1) and have placed an order for my first custom IEM, of which more to follow later
Many thanks to all the team at EE; I have such love for what you're doing and what you've achieved. Keep at it