flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
Feb 13, 2020 at 9:23 PM Post #21,166 of 39,411
Have you tried azla sedna? They have a long tube and they are comfortable with fdx1 short nozzle

thanks man I just ordered a pair!
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 12:09 AM Post #21,167 of 39,411
?!??! Could be interesting, could be batschit crazy!

https://www.phileweb.com/sp/news/d-av/201911/22/49044.html

This arrived today:
E4FD6E20-229E-4070-A6B7-C9D454F38565.jpeg
25AE224E-8010-4AA6-9FD6-B4D94673E98E.jpeg

I only have the BQEYZ Spring 1 with me to try these at the moment. Quick impressions: they really do stretch the soundstage compared to the Dekoni Bulletz I currently use with my Spring 1. The downside is the sound you get may sound off-balanced/awkward at times, maybe I don’t have the correct fit yet.

I need to play with the fit of these tips with other IEMs. I don’t think you need an IEM with 6.0mm nozzle diameter to work with these as my Spring 1 is only a little over 5 mm wide but the fit with these tips is already pretty snug.

Fun experience, definitely the craziest eartips I’ve seen in a while.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 1:13 AM Post #21,168 of 39,411
Same here! Good thing it's possible to return if either turns out to be meh. I don't have Rah but been tempted to get one second hand here to be able to compare the full suite.

It's interesting that there are no "official" reviews, but many knowledgeable people are raving about these on the Rah forum. PB1 should technically be better but who knows.

There are no reviews as there are only c. 200 of them in circulation, of reviewing an IEM with over 30 possible tuning combinations is a complete pain in the @ss... :wink: Plus a lot of reviewers may want to steer clear of IMR given the negative associations in HF with the old Trinity stuff.

I'm thinking about doing a review, but if I do it will be a much shorter one than my usual efforts! Very good IEM in my opinion, though - if you aren't averse to bass, they have a very distinct house sound.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 2:17 AM Post #21,169 of 39,411
Hey Friends, just got a pair of Empire Ears Wraiths and thought I would post my initial impressions after a day of listening. Let's start with what I hate :)

These hiss in every source I have (Cayin N6ii A01, AK Kann Cube, FiiO Q5S, LG V50). 4 ohms? Come on guys. Are there any sources these don't hiss with? I am not usually bothered by this, but it is noticeable even while music is playing. Other than that, I find them both sub-bass and upper-treble light. I have never heard the Zeus in any form and while I understand that these might be considered the spiritual successor, it pretty much confirms that it was a smart move on my part (a first!) to stay away from them for years.

Now, it's not all bad. While these are very light on the bass impact which I expected, they have a very lush, dense, weighty mid-range that makes me forget about the bass. Vocals are what these are all about. I don't know what an upside down U-shape signature is called, but that's what I hear with these. Vocals have texture, meat, Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger, delicious vocals and mids. Electric guitars sound like I am listening to them in my living room, front row. Stellar for band-based music.

Being my fourth pair of IEMs with estats and coming to the exact same conclusion each time, I'm just going to call it now: they are not for me. The treble is very smooth and natural, but I just hear it as rolled off and smoothed out if I am being honest. I know that I prefer more sparkle than most people, so maybe this is a great thing for a lot of folks. But for me, I love more treble sparkle and energy in the upper registers. I prefer Khan, Fourte, Katana and Dream to these in the treble.

Maybe I've been too harsh, so let me rewind a bit and say that I still think these are awesome IEMs and offer a very unique sound. A hugely mid-forward signature with holographic vocals and dense notes, tons of detail, resolution galore, easy to drive, insanely expansive soundstage, there's a lot to like. I just wish they had more sparkle and a little more bass impact. Bass sounds VERY BA-like, where as I have heard plenty of BA-only monitors with more satisfying bass (like Grace, Katana, Mason V3).

I'll continue listening and see how things go. They're keepers for now, if only because they're so different than anything else I have and they perform at an extremely high level for what EE intended. But they're a bit polarizing, for sure.

IMG_2494.JPG

Oh, and I prefer the PS Tri-silver cable to the Cleopatra on these. More cable testing to come.

-Collin-
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 3:05 AM Post #21,170 of 39,411
Hey Friends, just got a pair of Empire Ears Wraiths and thought I would post my initial impressions after a day of listening. Let's start with what I hate :)

These hiss in every source I have (Cayin N6ii A01, AK Kann Cube, FiiO Q5S, LG V50). 4 ohms? Come on guys. Are there any sources these don't hiss with? I am not usually bothered by this, but it is noticeable even while music is playing. Other than that, I find them both sub-bass and upper-treble light. I have never heard the Zeus in any form and while I understand that these might be considered the spiritual successor, it pretty much confirms that it was a smart move on my part (a first!) to stay away from them for years.

Now, it's not all bad. While these are very light on the bass impact which I expected, they have a very lush, dense, weighty mid-range that makes me forget about the bass. Vocals are what these are all about. I don't know what an upside down U-shape signature is called, but that's what I hear with these. Vocals have texture, meat, Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger, delicious vocals and mids. Electric guitars sound like I am listening to them in my living room, front row. Stellar for band-based music.

Being my fourth pair of IEMs with estats and coming to the exact same conclusion each time, I'm just going to call it now: they are not for me. The treble is very smooth and natural, but I just hear it as rolled off and smoothed out if I am being honest. I know that I prefer more sparkle than most people, so maybe this is a great thing for a lot of folks. But for me, I love more treble sparkle and energy in the upper registers. I prefer Khan, Fourte, Katana and Dream to these in the treble.

Maybe I've been too harsh, so let me rewind a bit and say that I still think these are awesome IEMs and offer a very unique sound. A hugely mid-forward signature with holographic vocals and dense notes, tons of detail, resolution galore, easy to drive, insanely expansive soundstage, there's a lot to like. I just wish they had more sparkle and a little more bass impact. Bass sounds VERY BA-like, where as I have heard plenty of BA-only monitors with more satisfying bass (like Grace, Katana, Mason V3).

I'll continue listening and see how things go. They're keepers for now, if only because they're so different than anything else I have and they perform at an extremely high level for what EE intended. But they're a bit polarizing, for sure.

IMG_2494.JPG

Oh, and I prefer the PS Tri-silver cable to the Cleopatra on these. More cable testing to come.

-Collin-
I didn’t get any hiss on them when I tried them with the AK SR15, but I always got this “sizzling” sensation from them. Always felt really off to me, and tbh the Elysium is so much better for a mid-centric IEM, and as able to deliver both a noteworthy treble extension and adequate lows
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 4:07 AM Post #21,172 of 39,411
I didn’t get any hiss on them when I tried them with the AK SR15, but I always got this “sizzling” sensation from them. Always felt really off to me, and tbh the Elysium is so much better for a mid-centric IEM, and as able to deliver both a noteworthy treble extension and adequate lows

The ELYSIUM hasn't ever come across mid-centric to me. Positionally, vocals are rather neutral on it. It just so happens that the midrange is extremely powerful and palpably-textured, that you can't help but get back to it every now and again.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 4:29 AM Post #21,173 of 39,411
The ELYSIUM hasn't ever come across mid-centric to me. Positionally, vocals are rather neutral on it. It just so happens that the midrange is extremely powerful and palpably-textured, that you can't help but get back to it every now and again.
I agree with that. To my ears it's a great neutral mid presentation, with lot of texture due to the linear increase till 4KHz.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 4:55 AM Post #21,174 of 39,411
You still enjoying the IMR Rah, @davidmolliere ? Took the plunge on the PB One AND the Halcyon (damn you, quarterly bonus!) so just wondering if you were tempted by either too! :wink:
Hey man, I would love to hear some impressions/comparisons between the PB One and Halcyon (and if you can relate them to Legend X or Nemesis, even better) :)
I think you must be at least slightly familiar with my audio preferences by now, and I trust your ears/judgement :)
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM Post #21,175 of 39,411
This arrived today:
E4FD6E20-229E-4070-A6B7-C9D454F38565.jpeg
25AE224E-8010-4AA6-9FD6-B4D94673E98E.jpeg

I only have the BQEYZ Spring 1 with me to try these at the moment. Quick impressions: they really do stretch the soundstage compared to the Dekoni Bulletz I currently use with my Spring 1. The downside is the sound you get may sound off-balanced/awkward at times, maybe I don’t have the correct fit yet.

I need to play with the fit of these tips with other IEMs. I don’t think you need an IEM with 6.0mm nozzle diameter to work with these as my Spring 1 is only a little over 5 mm wide but the fit with these tips is already pretty snug.

Fun experience, definitely the craziest eartips I’ve seen in a while.

Thanks for this :)
I took a look at the post, but given that my Japanese is limited to teaching myself a few phrases, some hiragana and kanji, I mainly just browsed the photos!
I read another explanation of them somewhere though (here?) which made a bit more sense.
Just wondering if anyone knows whether these can be ordered from any English-language websites?
Or Chinese, if no English.

And for sure would love to hear further impressions. I sometimes hear IEMs/albums where I really wish I could boost the soundstage a bit, so these seem of potential interest :)
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 6:22 AM Post #21,176 of 39,411
You still enjoying the IMR Rah, @davidmolliere ? Took the plunge on the PB One AND the Halcyon (damn you, quarterly bonus!) so just wondering if you were tempted by either too! :wink:

I missed your post sorry yes I still enjoy them very much, unique proposition IMHO and the only piezoelectric treble driver that is well tuned (that I know of). The massive soundstage on the Rah and the powerful bass are pretty unique. A review will come but I have quite a backlog already so it will have to wait a bit :tongue:

PB One is too close to the Rah 12mm planar instead of 10 and a little more mid centric from what Bob said is interesting but if you own Rah... Halcyon is tempting but I might just wait and get Semper down the line... too many things to listen to these days :tongue:
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 6:43 AM Post #21,178 of 39,411
The ELYSIUM hasn't ever come across mid-centric to me. Positionally, vocals are rather neutral on it. It just so happens that the midrange is extremely powerful and palpably-textured, that you can't help but get back to it every now and again.

I agree with Raz that the Elysium are mid-centric to some extent. It sounds like you're acknowledging that there is something about those mids, Deez, but just saying it in a different way. The mids are definitely the star of the show on the Elysium.

That said, bass is incredible, especially for a single BA driver, but it is somewhat neutral in quantity. I also found highs to somewhat subdued and smooth as well, but still very detailed and airy.
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 7:23 AM Post #21,179 of 39,411
Thanks for this :)
I took a look at the post, but given that my Japanese is limited to teaching myself a few phrases, some hiragana and kanji, I mainly just browsed the photos!
I read another explanation of them somewhere though (here?) which made a bit more sense.
Just wondering if anyone knows whether these can be ordered from any English-language websites?
Or Chinese, if no English.

And for sure would love to hear further impressions. I sometimes hear IEMs/albums where I really wish I could boost the soundstage a bit, so these seem of potential interest :)

I actually ordered these on Amazon Japan via their English interface. The Amazon link is provided at the very bottom of the original article.

Good luck!
 
Feb 14, 2020 at 8:01 AM Post #21,180 of 39,411
Hey Friends, just got a pair of Empire Ears Wraiths and thought I would post my initial impressions after a day of listening. Let's start with what I hate :)

These hiss in every source I have (Cayin N6ii A01, AK Kann Cube, FiiO Q5S, LG V50). 4 ohms? Come on guys. Are there any sources these don't hiss with? I am not usually bothered by this, but it is noticeable even while music is playing. Other than that, I find them both sub-bass and upper-treble light. I have never heard the Zeus in any form and while I understand that these might be considered the spiritual successor, it pretty much confirms that it was a smart move on my part (a first!) to stay away from them for years.

Now, it's not all bad. While these are very light on the bass impact which I expected, they have a very lush, dense, weighty mid-range that makes me forget about the bass. Vocals are what these are all about. I don't know what an upside down U-shape signature is called, but that's what I hear with these. Vocals have texture, meat, Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger, delicious vocals and mids. Electric guitars sound like I am listening to them in my living room, front row. Stellar for band-based music.

Being my fourth pair of IEMs with estats and coming to the exact same conclusion each time, I'm just going to call it now: they are not for me. The treble is very smooth and natural, but I just hear it as rolled off and smoothed out if I am being honest. I know that I prefer more sparkle than most people, so maybe this is a great thing for a lot of folks. But for me, I love more treble sparkle and energy in the upper registers. I prefer Khan, Fourte, Katana and Dream to these in the treble.

Maybe I've been too harsh, so let me rewind a bit and say that I still think these are awesome IEMs and offer a very unique sound. A hugely mid-forward signature with holographic vocals and dense notes, tons of detail, resolution galore, easy to drive, insanely expansive soundstage, there's a lot to like. I just wish they had more sparkle and a little more bass impact. Bass sounds VERY BA-like, where as I have heard plenty of BA-only monitors with more satisfying bass (like Grace, Katana, Mason V3).

I'll continue listening and see how things go. They're keepers for now, if only because they're so different than anything else I have and they perform at an extremely high level for what EE intended. But they're a bit polarizing, for sure.

IMG_2494.JPG

Oh, and I prefer the PS Tri-silver cable to the Cleopatra on these. More cable testing to come.

-Collin-

Yep, with an exception of LPGT, every source I tried with Wraith had some hissing at lower volume or when idling.

And as I mentioned in my review, treble presence is lacking, and to my ears they benefit from +4dB around 7kHz and +2dB around 12kHz boost to improve upper frequencies definition and airiness. Plus, +3dB around 60Hz gives more weight to the bass. Of course, everything is subjective and a matter of a personal sound taste.

But if Wraith is not your cup of tea, you will have to wait a little bit longer for... :zipper_mouth:
 

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