New IMR IEM 5mm ADLC 3.5mm fixed SCC cable
- 580 hours burn in / NewBee Foam tips / Sony WM1A / Hiby R3 Pro Sabre 2022
[
Disclaimer - A month ago Bob asked me 'if i would like to try his new IEM' and to 'let him know what I thought' - Literally Nothing else, no other info or requests. In fact I had to press him to even get the info of it having an ADLC driver!]
I have no idea about the IEM or its sale - other that it is 5mm ADLC. I know nothing . . .but this is what I hear
(Those who know me will understand I try to explain what I hear as best I can and that I have no interest or ever receive anything for this. I love quality sound and admittedly get a tad too excited when I hear it)
Opening the case I was very surprised to find such a small IEM - Totally unexpected - Reminded me of the Hifiman RE800...but its smaller than that (pictures below)
Out-Of-The-Box:
I was blown away by the size the sound stage and the holographic imaging - seemed almost counter intuitive to such a tiny IEM.
Secondly at the seeming contradiction between such a fun and joyful sound and yet the balance between all frequencies. Superbly tuned.
Interestingly I have not found a wish for filters to tweak the sound as it just always seems to work whatever you throw at it.
Thirdly I was instantly noticed it was 'only' 3.5mm. I usually only listen to 4.4mm balanced but in this case I don't think it 'needs' a balanced signal to shine
Treble / Detailing:
Very clear yet smooth as silk. Zero sibilance or harshness. Checking tonality and timbre on 'Too High' by Stevie Wonder there is a very 'brass' sound to the cymbals, which is what I want = 'crash not splash' - The treble works perfectly in regard to maintaining a superb balance with everything else but there is no excess treble energy
You can hear the full transient and long fade outs from cymbal crashes but they are slightly dry however this may change with different tip usage ?
Mids / Vocals:
Classic IMR tuning - vocals male and female sound very natural -
Ive noticed in recent IMR iterations vocals being a lot more clear and having a lot of space around then - to the degree where you can clearly hear the specific sound and size of the room they are recorded in. To hear this in amongst all the other instruments is extraordinary ! o_0
This exceptional characteristic applies to most if not all recordings with vocals
Lows / Sub:
Even though the sound is huge, joyful and energetic the body and note weight that IMR does so well is recognizable. However the over all sound is very well balanced over all so no frequencies particularly stand out
The
quality of the bass is something else. Hearing the specific tones and details of drum skins can be surprisingly Audiophilicly satisfying
'Lou Reed' - 'Perfect Day' - The piano notes at the beginning sound SO real and have a tonality Ive never noticed before. Over all the sound swirls in 3D around your head. The bass guitar is warm and rich and has that 'delicious' sound to it. 'Walk on the Wild Side' opening bass guitar sounds very 'deep rich wooden'
This abum 'Transformer' is a great demo for this IEM *
Sub Bass:
Even though the sound is weighty but balanced when the low end calls for it you get it - as per the recording
Listening to 'Hanz ZImmer' - 'Interstellar' on the track 'Dreaming of the Crash' at around 2 mins there is meaty low sub bass tone that comes in that when using Bone Conduction literally rattles your head!
Here it is very much there but quality has slightly more dominance than just sheer volume. Although on the track 'Stay' there is a constant low meaty sub bass that for a 5mm driver is very impressive
Finally the track 'Tick Tock' sounds and 'feels' like hearing it in a THX 3D cinema - Pretty mind blowing
Imaging / stage:
'Lou Reed' - 'Transformer'
You can hear every tiny instrument and detailing of the playing. The way each instrument is placed in its own 3D space is exceptional - Its like hearing the album for the first time !
The 'do, do, do, do' backing singer parts in 'Walk on the Wild Side' sounds they are coming in person closer and closer to your ears through space.
The guitar is crystal clear far to the left as is the other guitar far to the right. Even though you hear everything with perfect clarity the scene as a whole works as a whole perfectly
Listening to Jazz like Duke Ellington & Louis Armstrong is something else - Like sitting in the middle of a huge recording studio. Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday - Whats comes across is profound clarity but with natural smoothness.
It sounds so ALIVE
Because of the spaciousness of the recording studios and real live instruments that many of these artists recorded with at the time you just sit inside this huge space that feels SO joyful and full of life.
General Thoughts:
No doubt - this is a special IEM. Got me thinking though and perhaps this is the main question - Considering the ever increasing quality and taking into account the sound of recent models should you get this one?
Sorry . . . but YES.
Edit: It was mentioned that Bob said this was being offered as a replacement for the NaLe. No idea if this is the case or intention BUT do I think you would be happy with this IEM in and of itself (I can't say if this would be better or a side grade or what have you from the NaLe) Im sure you will quickly fall into the world of music that this IEM offers - I think it will still stand up as a unique IMR IEM and that if/when NaLe arrives this will have its own unique place. Its hard therefore to say whether this would be a good replacement to the NaLe. In and off itself Yes but in an ideal world we want both!
*They have a unique 'new' sound signature yet still keep the important IMR characteristics of 'meat-on-the-bones' note weight, exceptional clarity, second to none imaging and 3D holographic imaging et al
*They are TINY. They completely disappear into the ear. They work both down and over the ear. Perfect travel Audiophile IEMs
*Going from album to album you can instantly hear the different tonality of the sound
*Soundstage is huge going from normal (as per the album) or like listening in an Opera House (Bjork - The Modern Things)
*3D imaging is uniquely engaging and exceptional
*Its hard to express but they are SO joyful and alive sounding Yet very well balanced
*They offer a very high Audiophile sound yet whenever I try to focus in on a specific instrument I often forget and just absorb INTO the music. I personally find this about as perfect of a sound as I could wish for
*OOTB there were some albums were I could 'feel' the air of the drums being pushed into my ears !! Hearing that again listening to 'White Stripes - Live 2001 Germany'
The Glitch Mob Remix of 'Seventh Nation Army' sounds EPIC
*Because of the detailing and resolution you can play them really quietly without missing any information and yet on the other scale listening to 'Seventh Nation Army' sounds EPIC - Rich, punchy EXACTLY as you would want and yet even amongst it you can hear details usually missed
*As above Just realising how well CONTROLLED they are with complex music
Edit: I usually only listen to my Sony DAP as being as being a flagship music/IEMs sounds great on it ! but I did notice how good these IEM's sounded on my 'portable/Travel' DAP the Hiby Pro Sabre '22 which again, due to their size makes these an exceptional Audiophile 'travel IEM'
I could go on but I hope you get the picture. and Sorry, i understand & appreciate peoples view of IMR at this time so maybe this isn't an ideal time to be talking about a potential new IMR IEM release
but in this case I am only sharing what I am hearing and enjoying about these IEMs and if you simply want to know whether it is worth, giving the opportunity, to get this IEM then I can only say (simply on what I hear) a resounding yes
Next to IMR Elan+ (Iem has some bits of foam on it from when I pulled the tip off!! )
Must be a new record 100% lost.
