The past days have been mad busy so I didn't have time to give the Erl time in the spotlight and it had to make-do with a comparison post. However, considering we're discussing the one and only Elf King, it's only fair it receives its own session of initial impressions!
(Just FYI, I bought an open box mint silver Erl since I get quite crazy about fingerprints, and the LE Erl looks a bit like a collector in that respect)
It goes without saying that the Erl has No1, 2 and 3 for best packaging in the IEM industry. Amazing large wooden box, nice carry case, faceplate options, even a screw to adjust the tuning. I would be lying if I said that the packaging was not a big part of the reason why I bought an Erl in the first place. The cable I'm not the biggest fan of personally due to how thin and tangly it is, but it's a pretty nice pure silver and I believe the LE Erl got a pretty significant upgrade in that respect. Either way I never use IEMs with stock cables so no matter how nice it is, it's getting swapped out sooner rather than later. For the purposes of this post though, I've only used the stock cable in the past days as my new order from Eletech hasn't arrived yet.
Regarding the tuning switches, I really didn't like the Erl on 1, 2 was alright but not quite to my preferences either, and neither did 3 for reasons I'll explain below - I'm definitely a switch 4 kinda guy, and it's also kind of the signature of the Erl before you boost any of the frequencies, so I like to think that the stock sound of the Erl is the 4.
Listening to the Erl on switch 4, I'd say the best way to describe it is a reference IEM with a fair bit of soul and satisfaction infused in the midrange. The lows exhibit a gentle subbass lift compared to the midbass, but it's pretty linear all around. Speed and accuracy are the terms I'd use to describe the Erl's bass on setting 4, though it does become a fair bit more aggressive and bold on setting 2 if that's what you're after.
The midrange of the Erl is definitely top 3 for me, alongside the Thummim and Elysium. The Erl has great texture, but with a small bias towards clarity - the Elysium has the perfect balance between the two, and the Thummim has a small bias towards texture at the expense of clarity. Either way, listening to the Erl you get a full bodied, detailed and rather organic/natural midrange. I'd definitely say that the midrange is the star of the show where frequencies are concerned, with the bass being a close second if you enjoy BA bass.
The treble is the one region where the Erl doesn't fit my preferences all that well, for a rather odd reason - I am
obsessed with upper treble lifts, or that thing people call "air." While the Erl has anything but a rolled off treble, it has a rather linear extension, where all regions are well balanced, but none is accentuated. This is something I'm definitely going to attempt to adjust with some cable rolling (the Eletech Iliad comes to mind). I can't say that there's anything wrong with the treble on the Erl, it just doesn't fit my preferences all that well
The Erl is thankfully a brutally technical IEM, as that has become a bit of a requirement for me to be able to stay entertained with an IEM for more than a week or two at best. The staging isn't excessively large, though it does stretch fairly wide and is reasonably deep. I'd say the characteristic that best defines the staging of the Erl is just how black the background is. You can clearly perceive just how much space there is between vocals and instruments and no other IEM I've owned or tried achieves that to such an extent. It is also very detailed, comparable to the A18s or A18t - honestly I couldn't tell you which of the three sports the most detail as they're all in that sort of "as much detail as one can perceive" category.
Just working off initial impressions, I'd say the Erl is a very safe-to-buy TOTL. It takes a relatively ordinary tuning and a relatively ordinary stage and then refines that to the absolute maximum. It provides for a lovely, somewhat light and easy listen, but with the ability to provide the necessary engagement to not be labelled as clinical or overly analytical.
it’s a really good IEM though if you gotta decide whether to buy it in the next few hours
