[Jackpot77]

... Odin?

 

[twister6]

... Odin?

... odin, dva, tri (one, two, three in Russian )

 

[Jackpot77]

... odin, dva, tri (one, two, three in Russian )

Not heard acting about any new models (apart from a rumour of the name) - any more details your can share yet?

 

[Deezel177]

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.

Well, sure, but the context Raz put it in - also the commonly accepted definition of the term - was mid-centric in terms of quantity. That’s how Colin defined it on his Wraith impressions (hence the reverse-u-shaped remark) and that’s the post Raz replied to, so I assumed that’s how he intended to use it as well. There certainly something special about the ELYSIUM’s midrange, but forwardly-positioned or emphasised it certainly is not.

 

[ranfan]

Now that there are plenty new IEMs on the market, I just got a good deal on a used pair of 64 Audio U10 today. The U10 I think is a very balanced and engaging IEM. It's somewhere between the qdc 8 or VX, and Andromeda in sound. If you find the VX having too much bass, and Andromeda too bright, I'd recommend giving the U10 a try. It's more neutral than the U12 too, which is nice because I found the U12 to sometimes be too V-shaped, having plenty bass and some bright treble. The U10 has a high quality rather neutral yet detailed sound that I think is on par with some of the more expensive IEMs I have. But I still need to test its build quality though. As it looks kinda fragile and easy to break. But for $500 it's a good deal IMO

 

[ceeloChamp]

@SeeSax - agree with you about ESTATS in general, I was very swept up in the hype, I actually think I prefer the Tia highs to any of the ESTATs I've tried.

 

[Barra]

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.



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

-Collin-

Boy, I hear a lot of complaining about the Wraith, but driven correctly it really sings. The biggest problem with the Wraith is that it is very source sensitive and not the easiest to drive, even at 4ohms. However, driven by my Burson Playmate with 2 watts of power it really opened up and showed me what it has got. That power manhandles those drivers offering intense detail, extremely black background for lots of space between instruments, huge dynamics, humungous sound stage, and gobs of texture. The bass becomes intense and goes deep and that missing EST extension comes out to play. The EST performance on those driven correctly is addicting and etches out detail in the mids and bass in a good way. However, the EST took some getting used to - two days for me - feeling bright at first, but I began to crave that increased detail/resolution after shipping out the tour kit. So the only downside for the Wraith is it does take care to scale the performance to show what it can do. I ended up with the Valkyrie which is easier to drive and offers that EST goodness to feed my cravings and adds the dynamic bass that I crave as well. I will be reviewing the Valkyrie shortly as my favorite right now for EDM and live music. However, I do miss the Wraith and cannot wait for the tour kit to return so I can hear it again.

 

[twister6]

Boy, I hear a lot of complaining about the Wraith, but driven correctly it really sings. The biggest problem with the Wraith is that it is very source sensitive and not the easiest to drive, even at 4ohms. However, driven by my Burson Playmate with 2 watts of power it really opened up and showed me what it has got. That power manhandles those drivers offering intense detail, extremely black background for lots of space between instruments, huge dynamics, humungous sound stage, and gobs of texture. The bass becomes intense and goes deep and that missing EST extension comes out to play. The EST performance on those driven correctly is addicting and etches out detail in the mids and bass in a good way. However, the EST took some getting used to - two days for me - feeling bright at first, but I began to crave that increased detail/resolution after shipping out the tour kit. So the only downside for the Wraith is it does take care to scale the performance to show what it can do. I ended up with the Valkyrie which is easier to drive and offers that EST goodness to feed my cravings and adds the dynamic bass that I crave as well. I will be reviewing the Valkyrie shortly as my favorite right now for EDM and live music. However, I do miss the Wraith and cannot wait for the tour kit to return so I can hear it again.

Hmm, Barra, you talking about the tour Wraith unit, the same one Ike reviewed? When I read ike's review and now your comments, it sounds like both of you guys are talking about a different IEM.

Don't get me wrong, Wraith has a very unique tuning, might not be everyone's cup of tea (I personally like it with EQ adjustment to boost treble), and of course makes no sense to label it as "bad" or "good" because everyone has their own personal sound preference. But the reference to EST drives sounding bright, is the opposite of what I'm hearing in my review unit or dozens of impressions I read from others. My measurements were actually exactly the same as Crin's, with treble being rolled off relative to mids. Also, I tried it with high power and high current sources. Wonder if your tour unit is different?

 

[SeeSax]

Boy, I hear a lot of complaining about the Wraith, but driven correctly it really sings. The biggest problem with the Wraith is that it is very source sensitive and not the easiest to drive, even at 4ohms. However, driven by my Burson Playmate with 2 watts of power it really opened up and showed me what it has got. That power manhandles those drivers offering intense detail, extremely black background for lots of space between instruments, huge dynamics, humungous sound stage, and gobs of texture. The bass becomes intense and goes deep and that missing EST extension comes out to play. The EST performance on those driven correctly is addicting and etches out detail in the mids and bass in a good way. However, the EST took some getting used to - two days for me - feeling bright at first, but I began to crave that increased detail/resolution after shipping out the tour kit. So the only downside for the Wraith is it does take care to scale the performance to show what it can do. I ended up with the Valkyrie which is easier to drive and offers that EST goodness to feed my cravings and adds the dynamic bass that I crave as well. I will be reviewing the Valkyrie shortly as my favorite right now for EDM and live music. However, I do miss the Wraith and cannot wait for the tour kit to return so I can hear it again.

Thanks for the helpful info @Barra! Although I have to imagine the Kann Cube with 12vrms of output power can properly drive the Wraith. If it can't, then they have squarely missed the portable market and should have made the Wraith a full-sized headphone

I still am hung up on our completely opposite initial impressions though. You mentioned that it felt bright at first, but I wondered where all the treble was. Hopefully a source issue and I will continue to use them with different gear and evaluate, but I ran into this issue with the Canary and Percivali where no cable, source, tip, rain-dance could coax enough treble out of them for my liking. I will hope for the best and again thanks for the info!

-Collin-

 

[aaf evo]

Thanks for the helpful info @Barra! Although I have to imagine the Kann Cube with 12vrms of output power can properly drive the Wraith. If it can't, then they have squarely missed the portable market and should have made the Wraith a full-sized headphone

I still am hung up on our completely opposite initial impressions though. You mentioned that it felt bright at first, but I wondered where all the treble was. Hopefully a source issue and I will continue to use them with different gear and evaluate, but I ran into this issue with the Canary and Percivali where no cable, source, tip, rain-dance could coax enough treble out of them for my liking. I will hope for the best and again thanks for the info!

-Collin-

Lmao, this gave me a good chuckle.

 

[ceeloChamp]

Hey all, has anyone here been able to try the Dunu Luna? I haven’t seen much about it, but I thought I had heard there were some demo units floating around....very interested

 

[mvvRAZ]

Hey all, has anyone here been able to try the Dunu Luna? I haven’t seen much about it, but I thought I had heard there were some demo units floating around....very interested

+1

 

[Sound Eq]

This arrived today:



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.

hi, can those tips be used with regular iems, and is there a site to buy them that ship internationally

 

[buonassi]

Hey all, has anyone here been able to try the Dunu Luna? I haven’t seen much about it, but I thought I had heard there were some demo units floating around....very interested

Graphs were posted. Tonality looks nice (based on graph) - and the distortion is ridiculously low

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/dun...pressions-and-discussion.923958/post-15466060

 

[Sound Eq]

the itch is kiicking in to buy another iem, dam this hobby is never ending

I have the following

1- KSE1500 top sound for me but i will not compare it to others as it needs a special amp setup, so I will leave it aside.
2- Khan : I adore it, I do not know even why I need anything else, I simply can not find a flaw in its tuning.
3- encore brass: has its own magical tuning and very detailed, has less bass than khan but it is a great iem
4- Lola: I adore its big presentation, great in everything, I just love its mids and detail, and it has a solid bass, and big sound stage and it does all genres amazing
5- Roxanne: this is my rock and metal music iem, this one is an explosive iem for iem
6- Angie: more balanced than the other 2 iems by jhaudio and I love its mids and everything bout it
7- sony ier-z1r: well dam how engaging this iem is, its mids are not the best, but listening to is alot of fun

Looking at these 7 iems, still the itch is kicking in

But I have no clue what to get to either replace one of the 7 or be the 8th in my arsenal

I can get the Solaris SE for a good deal, maybe it will be the one

What signatures I like : musical, detailed, to have great mids, big sound stage, and good detail, I adore mids and that is always my first point of focus