[subguy812]

I am curious, is the question whether companies produce geographically configured products, of course they do. This happens all of the time. Samsung S version using Exynos vs Snapdragon. I have never once seen Samsung say you'll get lesser battery life or lesser camera quality from exynos but it's a proven fact. Empire Ears released a Legend X specifically for the Asian market. Aside from seeing a graph, I would need to hear the ones released in Asia versus the Valkyrie MK2 that I have in my possession released in the US, to hear the difference, I can only go by comparisons of what I hear vs. what I read and what I am told personally from the manufacturer. If the manufacturer wants to release a statement regarding Asian tuning versus Western tuning then that's on them, they certainly have no obligation to do that.

Again, there is no wrong or right, this is only opinion, as to how you think Empire Ears should run their business. As usual this is going to start taking sides as most things do, which is the most sophomoric juvenile bull*** I've ever seen in my life. Then if we don't agree it will become the bully culture where we have all of the minions coming out of the woodwork to say who they agree with or who they don't agree with. Everyone's opinion that doesn't align with each other can't be canceled.

 

[Wyville]

I'm gonna stick with trusting @twister6 impressions of the production MKII Bravado sound signature over old demo units.

I'm gonna stick with trusting @subguy812 impressions of the production MKII Valkyrie sound signature over old demo units.

@Jack Vang said they made a few changes. I doubt the term "few" pertained solely to a newly designed shell and face plate aka aesthetics.

I say this as a reviewer. The best thing is to demo and trust your own ears. If you can't, ask friends who can have a listen for you or do a comparison to IEMs you know. The community here is really helpful in that sense. Reviewers are just an annoying bunch who couldn't agree on the colour of the sky if their lives depended on it, but they all like to pretend they are right. I like to send out review units when possible so people can hear for themselves and not have to trust in my ramblings. I know what I am like, I love IEMs with a bit of character, but not everyone is the same.

 

[CL14715]

I say this as a reviewer. The best thing is to demo and trust your own ears. If you can't, ask friends who can have a listen for you or do a comparison to IEMs you know. The community here is really helpful in that sense. Reviewers are just an annoying bunch who couldn't agree on the colour of the sky if their lives depended on it, but they all like to pretend they are right. I like to send out review units when possible so people can hear for themselves and not have to trust in my ramblings. I know what I am like, I love IEMs with a bit of character, but not everyone is the same.

I’m 100% on board. Many of my own findings from actual experience have aligned with Alex and Troy, even prior to reading their reviews and being jaded to expect the same. Therefore I am likely to trust their opinions with confidence. That being said, I drove 10 hours to EE to demo the Odin before blind buying.

 

[subguy812]

I say this as a reviewer. The best thing is to demo and trust your own ears. If you can't, ask friends who can have a listen for you or do a comparison to IEMs you know. The community here is really helpful in that sense. Reviewers are just an annoying bunch who couldn't agree on the colour of the sky if their lives depended on it, but they all like to pretend they are right. I like to send out review units when possible so people can hear for themselves and not have to trust in my ramblings. I know what I am like, I love IEMs with a bit of character, but not everyone is the same.

Uh huh...but before you reviewed, I am certain you read reviews. Generally, you know what reviewers you align with, as far as likes and dislikes , and that was who you followed the closest. The only curve ball is the fact that my preferred signature has changed over the years, maybe it has matured. I have gone through an analytical phase, warm phase and so on.

 

[JoshWatkins]

Hey Friends

We've been knee deep in the Skunkwerkz™ (as usual) so apologies for the delayed response but I'm happy to address the elephant in the room.

While R&D'ing the MKII models as CIEMs - not something we were convinced we were going to offer initially but the interest was too strong for us to ignore - we discovered that in order to get W9+ performance where we needed it in the custom form factor, we needed to orient things a tiny bit differently, hence the larger shell, but the changes are marginal and YMMV when A/Bing the OG MKIIs against the latest iterations as we strove to keep the signature the same. The biggest and most obvious changes are aesthetic but ultimately its up to you to determine if there's any real changes worth carrying on about. All internal components are exactly the same and honestly it makes manufacturing easier for us as it reduces the number of shell types we need to produce and we need all the help we can get if we're to handle these CIEM orders properly.

Hope this helps, cheers!

 

[rantng]

I think it needs to be pointed out that head-fi is an international community; we have members from all corners of the world. So when reviews/impressions are shared regarding an IEM, there does need to be some clarification if there are different versions of said IEM. I’m sure manufacturers take this into consideration as well. @Deezel177 & @crinacle are two of our most respected members/reviewers; they aren’t based in the U.S. (I googled it, Indonesia & Singapore are 24.55 nautical miles apart(!)), but I’m sure when manufacturers send them IEMs for review they make a conscious decision which version to send. By all accounts Singapore is audiophile heaven, so for many manufacturers I’m sure markets outside of Asia are considered the international market.

 

[rantng]

I just received the Bravado MKII (Asia version) so will see how it lines up with what I've read about the domestic (U.S.) version.

I don’t recall ever seeing @Vitaly2017 in the EE thread. Where are you Tiger Ears? I think these IEMs were made for you.

 

[mangler]

Would love to hear how it compares to your EE Nemesis as well if you get a chance

 

[rantng]

Would love to hear how it compares to your EE Nemesis as well if you get a chance

I'll have to dig out the Nemesis, Hero has been getting most of my listening time lately.

 

[CL14715]

I'll have to dig out the Nemesis, Hero has been getting most of my listening time lately.

Hero is a sneaky good IEM with the right pairing!

 

[KuroKitsu]

I just received the Bravado MKII (Asia version) so will see how it lines up with what I've read about the domestic (U.S.) version.

I don’t recall ever seeing @Vitaly2017 in the EE thread. Where are you Tiger Ears? I think these IEMs were made for you.

Did they skin Tiger for the faceplates?

I think he was here once upon a time. Custom Phantoms and all that.

 

[riverground]

I just received the Bravado MKII (Asia version) so will see how it lines up with what I've read about the domestic (U.S.) version.

I don’t recall ever seeing @Vitaly2017 in the EE thread. Where are you Tiger Ears? I think these IEMs were made for you.

I can totally see Vitaly rocking these lol

 

[audio123]

Hey Friends

We've been knee deep in the Skunkwerkz™ (as usual) so apologies for the delayed response but I'm happy to address the elephant in the room.

While R&D'ing the MKII models as CIEMs - not something we were convinced we were going to offer initially but the interest was too strong for us to ignore - we discovered that in order to get W9+ performance where we needed it in the custom form factor, we needed to orient things a tiny bit differently, hence the larger shell, but the changes are marginal and YMMV when A/Bing the OG MKIIs against the latest iterations as we strove to keep the signature the same. The biggest and most obvious changes are aesthetic but ultimately its up to you to determine if there's any real changes worth carrying on about. All internal components are exactly the same and honestly it makes manufacturing easier for us as it reduces the number of shell types we need to produce and we need all the help we can get if we're to handle these CIEM orders properly.

Hope this helps, cheers!

Thanks Josh. It helps definitely but does that mean the IEMs that are released in Asia last year are for experiment before final international release this year since the version now seems to be upgraded with the larger shell and subjectively up to the user if there are real changes worth carrying on about? If this isn't the case, why not release the IEMs to both Asia and International markets last year and this year?

 

[CL14715]

Let me translate his question...

Thanks Josh, I appreciate your answer but I am going to use it to ask a question you already answered. Only this time, I’m going to make it impossible to answer, because I’m asking you something subjective, but want you to definitively confirm... from someone else’s ear canal/drum, which is impossible. If this is the case, why not logistically defeat the pandemic’s supply constraint and do the impossible last year and this year? Even though you explained that these changes were discovered AFTER the initial release, during your response to the consumers overwhelming demand for customs, why not be clairvoyant?

 

[audio123]

Let me translate his question...

Thanks Josh, I appreciate your answer but I am going to use it to ask a question you already answered. Only this time, I’m going to make it impossible to answer, because I’m asking you something subjective, but want you to definitively confirm... from someone else’s ear canal/drum, which is impossible. If this is the case, why not logistically defeat the pandemic’s supply constraint and do the impossible last year and this year? Even though you explained that these changes were discovered AFTER the initial release, during your response to the consumers overwhelming demand for customs, why not be clairvoyant?

Please put yourself in the shoes of audiophiles who are based in Asia. Why didn't they release the IEMs internationally last year but ONLY in Asia? You are avoiding the main question. If it is an international release for both last and this year, I have no problem. Stop defending and get to the point. Everyone knows your intention.

Let's look at the events:
1. Released only in Asia last year.
2. Released internationally this year but with same name, larger shells and subjectively up to the user if there are real changes worth carrying on about.

I let you guys infer.