Lime Ears Impressions and Discussions Master Thread (New Flagship IEM - Anima)
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tawmizzzz
1000+ Head-Fier
Received the Lime Ears Anima & Pneuma via tour, both visually striking IEMs with an equally gorgeous cable. Had fun taking photos of these in the meantime
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tone.texture.soul
Previously known as Tokpakorlo
Hey all, I have finished my demo time with the LE Tour set, wanted to share my experience. Thank you to @mvvRAZ for including me on the tour. On the whole, I agree with @bigbeans with most everything. I was modestly disappointed in the whole set. Testing done with my N8ii and LP6 AE, a variety of cables including the included ones, plus all the tips I have which is a lot.
I found the only one that was really interesting was the Anima, but it has some serious caveats. They are huge, almost ridiculous big, like the OG Solaris. I couldn't fit them in my ears, but with the right tips they sat outside my ear and were reasonably comfortable. They are very resolving, and the stage is very large. The bass is great, I like the combo of BA and DD. It doesn't reach super low since it's a smaller DD, I think 7mm? But the tonality and punch is very nice. There is very little midbass, but the subbass and texture are very nice. The rest of the frequency range I found very weird. The mids are thin and pulled way back, at least for my preferences. There's a little bit of weight to the lower mids, but the upper mids are really thin. There is a good amount of space between I instruments, and the positioning is good, but the tonality and timbre of the mids was definitely not my cup of tea. And then there is the treble, which I found way over emphasized. Yes, the staging is nice and big, but the treble is just way overdone. There is a lot of air up top, but the tonality is more crisp instead of effortless as would be expected from the ESTs. The Traillii or Jewel have a much nicer EST top end. The Anima top end is overly crisp, overly sparkly and sharp, to the point of giving me a headache at the back of my eyes. The lower treble is pushed out, giving everything too much bite, too emphasized and unnatural. I found it very distracting, so much so I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the spectrum. The tizz, just too much. I suppose if you like a lot of treble energy this could be a plus for you, but I found it a deal breaker. On the whole it was one of the most unnatural IEMS I've heard, but again, for some that doesn't matter much. So, the plusses, it has a very large and spacious stage, great bass. The rest I could leave behind. I found one of the only genres that made the Anima shine was really well produced pop and electronic music. Maybe EDM could be good too, though I don't have much in my library.
Knowing what the Jewel can do, especially in a smaller much more comfortable shell makes the Anima even less relevant. The tuning of the Jewel is far superior, much more natural, with that magic to it. The Anima feels overly unnatural, while not gaining any real advantage. Resolving yes, but the tuning ruins it for me. They aren't bad, they have many good qualities, many might like the overly emphasized treble, but they are not for me. In some way it reminds me of the OG Fourte. But the Fourte has more of that magic, even if it's also not super natural sounding, and has a bit of the overly sparkly emphasis on the treble as well. It must mention that the cable is lovely. Dr Juggles did a great job, it's beautiful, well made and sounds awesome. I tried it on my other IEMs and loved it. A+ there.
The other two LE IEMs are much smaller, and more comfortable.
The Pnuema was a muddy mess. It has the same overly emphasized lower treble, but without the air and space of the Anima. Smaller more intimate stage. A lot more bass, and midbass too, the lower end was way overpowering. I found it muddy, with a touch of that same tizz, very weird tuning. I barely spent any time with this one as I just couldn't vibe with it at all. The mids were thicker, and more even, which was a plus. But I found the low end to be overpowering, so much so that I lost my enjoyment. The lack of air and space the Anima had failed to offset the heavier low end. Perhaps a different cable and some other tips I don't currently have would have remedied what I didn't like, but I'm under the opinion that I should at least dig the house sound first.
The Aether was the best of the set, at least in terms of a natural, believable tuning. It's all BA, and it was very "all BA" sounding, so more of a reference vibe. It's on the cold/neutral side, which was a shame as they could have made this set more enjoyable with a slight change there. There was little subbass, very little bass on the whole, but it did keep the whole spectrum more even. Good weighty mids with good resolution, though not romantic at all. And finally, a less emphasized treble. But, the extension is nowhere near the Anima, less out of head. But, gone was the dreaded tizz, much more conservative treble energy here. Stage is smaller, extension was less as well. In general, a reference even listen. So nice, but not exemplary in any way. If I had to choose from the 3 it would be the Aether, only because it's the only one that sounds natural.
I realize after writing this, that I might come off sounding harsh. I don't mean to be. It's not that I didn't like them, I was just disappointed to find that there wasn't one in the range that I really gelled with. While the Anima is clearly the most impressive, with its razor sharp clarity and big stage, I couldn't enjoy it because of the exaggerated treble and scooped mids. The Jewel outperforms it by a mile, and I just couldn't shake that fact, given the Anima is not cheap either. The Pneuma has too much low end to balance out the lack of extension on the top. The lower mids were then muddy, and the overall presentation was not for me. And the Aether was natural, clear and clean, but lacked any real weight on the low end, and extension up top. Overly reference, lacking any semblance of fun.
As always, YMMV and I'm sure these will be well loved by many. Just not for me. The build quality and look are lovely, and I think fans of LE will be thrilled. I think their house sound just doesn't work for me. I hope I don't negatively influence anyone who might be considering these as potential purchases, this is purely my personal preference and yours could be different. I hope that my impressions can be helpful to some, and if you have the chance to check them out for yourself then that's always the best bet.
I found the only one that was really interesting was the Anima, but it has some serious caveats. They are huge, almost ridiculous big, like the OG Solaris. I couldn't fit them in my ears, but with the right tips they sat outside my ear and were reasonably comfortable. They are very resolving, and the stage is very large. The bass is great, I like the combo of BA and DD. It doesn't reach super low since it's a smaller DD, I think 7mm? But the tonality and punch is very nice. There is very little midbass, but the subbass and texture are very nice. The rest of the frequency range I found very weird. The mids are thin and pulled way back, at least for my preferences. There's a little bit of weight to the lower mids, but the upper mids are really thin. There is a good amount of space between I instruments, and the positioning is good, but the tonality and timbre of the mids was definitely not my cup of tea. And then there is the treble, which I found way over emphasized. Yes, the staging is nice and big, but the treble is just way overdone. There is a lot of air up top, but the tonality is more crisp instead of effortless as would be expected from the ESTs. The Traillii or Jewel have a much nicer EST top end. The Anima top end is overly crisp, overly sparkly and sharp, to the point of giving me a headache at the back of my eyes. The lower treble is pushed out, giving everything too much bite, too emphasized and unnatural. I found it very distracting, so much so I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the spectrum. The tizz, just too much. I suppose if you like a lot of treble energy this could be a plus for you, but I found it a deal breaker. On the whole it was one of the most unnatural IEMS I've heard, but again, for some that doesn't matter much. So, the plusses, it has a very large and spacious stage, great bass. The rest I could leave behind. I found one of the only genres that made the Anima shine was really well produced pop and electronic music. Maybe EDM could be good too, though I don't have much in my library.
Knowing what the Jewel can do, especially in a smaller much more comfortable shell makes the Anima even less relevant. The tuning of the Jewel is far superior, much more natural, with that magic to it. The Anima feels overly unnatural, while not gaining any real advantage. Resolving yes, but the tuning ruins it for me. They aren't bad, they have many good qualities, many might like the overly emphasized treble, but they are not for me. In some way it reminds me of the OG Fourte. But the Fourte has more of that magic, even if it's also not super natural sounding, and has a bit of the overly sparkly emphasis on the treble as well. It must mention that the cable is lovely. Dr Juggles did a great job, it's beautiful, well made and sounds awesome. I tried it on my other IEMs and loved it. A+ there.
The other two LE IEMs are much smaller, and more comfortable.
The Pnuema was a muddy mess. It has the same overly emphasized lower treble, but without the air and space of the Anima. Smaller more intimate stage. A lot more bass, and midbass too, the lower end was way overpowering. I found it muddy, with a touch of that same tizz, very weird tuning. I barely spent any time with this one as I just couldn't vibe with it at all. The mids were thicker, and more even, which was a plus. But I found the low end to be overpowering, so much so that I lost my enjoyment. The lack of air and space the Anima had failed to offset the heavier low end. Perhaps a different cable and some other tips I don't currently have would have remedied what I didn't like, but I'm under the opinion that I should at least dig the house sound first.
The Aether was the best of the set, at least in terms of a natural, believable tuning. It's all BA, and it was very "all BA" sounding, so more of a reference vibe. It's on the cold/neutral side, which was a shame as they could have made this set more enjoyable with a slight change there. There was little subbass, very little bass on the whole, but it did keep the whole spectrum more even. Good weighty mids with good resolution, though not romantic at all. And finally, a less emphasized treble. But, the extension is nowhere near the Anima, less out of head. But, gone was the dreaded tizz, much more conservative treble energy here. Stage is smaller, extension was less as well. In general, a reference even listen. So nice, but not exemplary in any way. If I had to choose from the 3 it would be the Aether, only because it's the only one that sounds natural.
I realize after writing this, that I might come off sounding harsh. I don't mean to be. It's not that I didn't like them, I was just disappointed to find that there wasn't one in the range that I really gelled with. While the Anima is clearly the most impressive, with its razor sharp clarity and big stage, I couldn't enjoy it because of the exaggerated treble and scooped mids. The Jewel outperforms it by a mile, and I just couldn't shake that fact, given the Anima is not cheap either. The Pneuma has too much low end to balance out the lack of extension on the top. The lower mids were then muddy, and the overall presentation was not for me. And the Aether was natural, clear and clean, but lacked any real weight on the low end, and extension up top. Overly reference, lacking any semblance of fun.
As always, YMMV and I'm sure these will be well loved by many. Just not for me. The build quality and look are lovely, and I think fans of LE will be thrilled. I think their house sound just doesn't work for me. I hope I don't negatively influence anyone who might be considering these as potential purchases, this is purely my personal preference and yours could be different. I hope that my impressions can be helpful to some, and if you have the chance to check them out for yourself then that's always the best bet.
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mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Honestly if I heard from the Anima what you heard I think I'd be closer to enjoying it. If anything, I found the midrange to be overly smooth and somewhat too forward, almost lacking personality in a sense. Similar gripes with the Traillii, where the natural sound came across almost generic to me.
It does respond enormously to tip rolling though, what you heard is somewhat close to what I heard while using Spinfits I'd say. WIth the sticky tips (still can't remember the name), the treble became quite subdued and way too natural for my liking.
Interesting impressions though, I found the Anima to be so natural that I couldn't find excitement in it, but as a few people have mentioned, it is one of the most tip-dependent IEMs I've heard. None of the combinations I tried really made me gel with it, but you know how it is, win some lose some.
Agreed on Pneuma and Aether for the most part. Too muddy for the first and too thin and bright for the latter
tone.texture.soul
Previously known as Tokpakorlo
Yeah man, there is a distinct possibility that with the right tips it could have been better. I've also heard they are incredibly tip dependant. I eventually settled on the Kbear07, which I find subdues the sparkle. Worked wonders on the Traillii for me. I tried also all my Azla, stock tips, etc and as you said, never gelled with it. In some ways I would agree with you that the mids are overly smooth. They are just thin, especially the upper mids which seem to disappear into space taking away all the body from acoustic instruments. Scooped mids could be the wrong word, as they weren't recessed so much as overly thin. Overly Hi-fi, ultra modern, lacking in Analog vibe. For me at least.
Thanks for including me in the tour! Happy to have heard them.
fanteskiller
MOT: reseller, aka oemerson
Extremly interested in the anima
I have bought my ANIMA directly from Emil (@Lime Ears ) a few weeks ago. I have not had that much time for critical listening, but sufficient for some deeper impressions.
Want to mention, that in the conversation I had with Emil I have experienced him as an intellectual and creative person of science.
Some have mentioned they would prefer to have an universal iem made from a more durable material like aluminum. I personally like ANIMA very much with as it is done as semi custom. The design with it color mix is gorgeous in my view and make it look special.
The first time I had the opportunity to listen to ANIMA, when @doctorjuggles left it for me to listen to at the Highend the tips I used suited well and allowed ANIMA to sound quite balanced. When I started listening to ANIMA now, I could not remember which tips I had used before.
Therefore, I tried different ear tips, beginning with the spinfits and Final E-type which the ANIMA was supplied with … and finally Sedna Earfit lights short/regular.
The Spinfits led to a sound image with an emphasis on bass and treble while the mids are somewhat tamed. Treble was sharp but precise I would say.
The E-types elevated the lows and generated the most inconsistent presentation in my view. Finally, I arrived at the SednaEarfit Lights; I preferred the Short version of the Lights over the normal. They preserve the sparkle and crispness in the Highs, allow for a well defined Bass and give the Mids a nice weight and body.
With both Light versions of the SednaEarfit I was able to arrange the ANIMA in my ears in a way that was comfortable and enabled me to listen to them for a long time, although my ears are rather small-to-normal in size.
I find ANIMA’s tune to be natural with crisp Highs and a present Sub-bass. The Mids are equally present. I would call its signature a kind of balanced. ANIMA has been described as showing a fun orientated W-shaped sound signature. Whereas it makes a lot of fun to listen to ANIMA I would not call it fun-orientated, but instead a speaker-like presentation (I have never before perceived with any in-ear) which might cause the sensation some have identified as more fun-orientated.
I think that with the ANIMA Emil managed to implement a sound presentation which is very close to the sound speakers can generate. This takes into account, that sound waves originating from the transducer of speakers are reflected many times (in the surrounding room) and the sum of all perceived reflected sound waves creates the perceived sound, which is not the case with in-ears which conduct sound waves directly to the eardrum bypassing higher order reflections from the environment.
That’s how I understood the explanations I was told by Emil.
That’s what I can contribute up to here.
Want to mention, that in the conversation I had with Emil I have experienced him as an intellectual and creative person of science.
Some have mentioned they would prefer to have an universal iem made from a more durable material like aluminum. I personally like ANIMA very much with as it is done as semi custom. The design with it color mix is gorgeous in my view and make it look special.
The first time I had the opportunity to listen to ANIMA, when @doctorjuggles left it for me to listen to at the Highend the tips I used suited well and allowed ANIMA to sound quite balanced. When I started listening to ANIMA now, I could not remember which tips I had used before.
Therefore, I tried different ear tips, beginning with the spinfits and Final E-type which the ANIMA was supplied with … and finally Sedna Earfit lights short/regular.
The Spinfits led to a sound image with an emphasis on bass and treble while the mids are somewhat tamed. Treble was sharp but precise I would say.
The E-types elevated the lows and generated the most inconsistent presentation in my view. Finally, I arrived at the SednaEarfit Lights; I preferred the Short version of the Lights over the normal. They preserve the sparkle and crispness in the Highs, allow for a well defined Bass and give the Mids a nice weight and body.
With both Light versions of the SednaEarfit I was able to arrange the ANIMA in my ears in a way that was comfortable and enabled me to listen to them for a long time, although my ears are rather small-to-normal in size.
I find ANIMA’s tune to be natural with crisp Highs and a present Sub-bass. The Mids are equally present. I would call its signature a kind of balanced. ANIMA has been described as showing a fun orientated W-shaped sound signature. Whereas it makes a lot of fun to listen to ANIMA I would not call it fun-orientated, but instead a speaker-like presentation (I have never before perceived with any in-ear) which might cause the sensation some have identified as more fun-orientated.
I think that with the ANIMA Emil managed to implement a sound presentation which is very close to the sound speakers can generate. This takes into account, that sound waves originating from the transducer of speakers are reflected many times (in the surrounding room) and the sum of all perceived reflected sound waves creates the perceived sound, which is not the case with in-ears which conduct sound waves directly to the eardrum bypassing higher order reflections from the environment.
That’s how I understood the explanations I was told by Emil.
That’s what I can contribute up to here.
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Hey dear all! 
I got the LE tour kit from @Tokpakorlo in perfect condition about 1.5 weeks ago.
It contains AETHER R 2022, PNEUMA 2022, and ANIMA, made by Lime Ears in Poland.
Skip to TL;DR at the bottom if you're in a hurry -- I can't keep it short.
WHAT IS MY BASELINE:
I got my first IEM (Aether CIEM) in 2017 (?), and it's successor, the Aether R (early model, also CIEM) in 2019, which remains to be my only main driver. I chose LE because their house sound had a lot of appeal to me.
My ears are very healthy: apart from a ~2-3dB@10kHz sharp notch in my right ear (from a particular single concert), I hear very evenly/linearly and well up to about 18kHz. I typically listen in the normal volume range, to maybe on the slightly quieter side (compared to others).
Physiologically, I have very narrow, conically-shaped and oval-cross-section ear canals, so universal tips either slide out of hurt after a short time, with no real middle ground. I thus never wore UIEMs. (First headphones, then CIEMs.) Look at how small my Aether R CIEM nozzles are:
Sound wise, I prefer a fast-paced, light but even and well-extended bass response. I hate bloated, warm / muddy mid bass, and I also do not need "rumble" (and I never understood what people mean by that except for the bass being louder). I love neutral representations, meaning not warmth, but pronounced mids and upper mids -- and a lower and upper treble without roll off (some people would probably call that a colder, not a neutral signature).
I do not care at all for sound stage. A huge sound stage (like in Beyerdynamics DT770 headphones) or a narrow sound stage (like Aether R, which projects straight into your head, right between your ears) are both fine for me -- with a slight preference for the latter. Very nebulous descriptors like holography or other esoteric, hard-to-define qualities mean nothing to me personally.
Transient speed is paramount to me. I LOVE it! There is no unnaturally fast transient for me -- it should ideally react as fast as the waveform dictates. Decay should also be fast. But all the technicality in the world is worthless if the FR response does not match my preference at least roughly.
I am not a cable believer -- if two cables have the same impedance and resistance, they will sound the same, to me and to others.
In short: I'm very picky about both, a perceptively even frequency response, and fast transient speed -- and I don't care for anything else.
LISTENING TESTS:
Samsung Galaxy S20 (LDAC) --> FiiO BTR5 (balanced) --> KBear Rhyme 8core UPOCC Copper / Silver tinsel foil (balanced) --> IEM.
Critical listening done via fast (10s) and slow (1 minute long) logarithmic sine sweeps, played back through a real time FT equaliser to discern the precise frequency. Also, I employed a small collection of songs (prog metal, acoustic, edm) I know by heart since more than a decade and heard over about 10 sound systems (various speaker systems, headphones, and IEMs).
First, let me describe how MY Aether R sounds to me, to establish the base line. Then I will describe how the Aether R 2022 UIEM compares to it, and then follow sections about Pneuma, Anima, Anima's cable, a look back to the original Aether, and finally my verdict.
MY AETHER R (2019 CIEM):
My R (a CIEM in permanent BASS OFF version, no switch) has roughly the same frequency response you find on Crinacle's measurement (it follows it audibly well). My model is the older version before the ~2021 retuning (which remained undisclosed by LE, who maintained that the sound stayed the same for the UIEM versions despite evidence to the contrary).
Starting from subdued (0dB@20Hz) sub bass, it features a light, mid-bass focused low end with a wide, symmetric bass bump (100Hz peak) of ca. 5dB, followed by a narrow valley (reference for 0dB@600Hz). From there, it leads right into the diffuse-field-inspired pinna gain rise of maybe 15dB@3kHz, from where it drops off by about 15dB (!) to 4kHz again. Then, the treble rises again by about 8dB, getting back into Harman territory. Here, my model differs from Crinacle's measurement, where the resonant peak masks what in my CIEM (and to my ear) presents as a pretty linear treble drop off. My CIEM resonant peak happens way later, at 10-11kHz, from where the treble rapidly decays and is inaudible over 15kHz at normal listening levels.
It is a very vibrant, lively and warm representation, full of barely-contained energy, even at low volumes. A very direct, smack-in-your face sound with tons of detail, a natural balance between highs and lows which both bow to the mighty mid range, both dropping off at the outer ends of the spectrum.
AETHER R 2022 (UIEM):
The AETHER R 2022 model differs a little from mine. I did not spend too much time on it (sorry!), as I wasn't interested in it a lot. Suffice to say that the treble extension of the 2022 R has gotten better, encompassed by an overall increase in treble energy (volume). The big notch@4kHz my R featured is lessened in the 2022 R. 2022's bass improved, the focus is a little less on mid bass and the sub bass extension is better, partially making up for the increase in treble volume. It is a very coherent, mid focused but colder (slightly too much gain, maybe 3-5dB between 6-12kHz for my taste) signature with amazing detail and overall good balance.
Building quality was 10/10, optics stunning, I love the brass nozzles!
The fit was superb for an UIEM, nozzles are long and narrow enough to comfortably get them into my narrow ear canals.
PNEUMA 2022 (UIEM):
The 2022 PNEUMA UIEM is a different animal entirely, sound wise.
Now here comes the reason why I can not be a professional reviewer:
The bass response of it is something I absolutely despise, and I CANNOT bring myself to analyse it benevolently whilst enduring the amount of bloaty warmth.
I still listened to the sine sweeps and found that my models featured a less severe treble drop off compared to what you find in, say, Animagus' measurement. Still, the bass is too much, too bloomy, and the mid presentation too upper-mid/lower-treble focused for me. I also like even low mids, so the larger scoop was not for me either. If you like warm, bassy V-shapes with easy upper treble, these might be for you.
PNEUMA looked absolutely stunning. I love the optics, even if I like the Aether's brass nozzles better.
The building quality and fit was just as good as Aether R 2022.
************* ANIMA (UIEM): *************
Before we dive into it, let me explain what MIGHT have gone wrong with ANIMA's perceived lower treble focus for many of the people who reviewed this UIEM before me. I'm not saying this is definitely the case, but hear me out.
Manufacturers need to take into account that there will be a resonant peak, or, rather, a resonant band ("peak" is the maximum value of a band). While it is impossible to design a narrow notch in driver response that will reliably counterbalance any ear canal length's resonant band, they can at least tune it in a way that provides slightly less energy in the generally affected regime (say, 7-9kHz), which is where a resonant band might occur for most people.
This resonant peak position depends largely on insertion depth, as the distance from sound source to ear drum matches half the resonant frequency. For the average human, their ear canal has the length of ~2.4cm. 1cm=0.01m: (340m/s)/(0.024m)=14.2kHz. Half of that (because you have to double the wavelength) is 7.1kHz, which is where the resonant peak would be if the IEM's drivers sit right at the ear canal entrance. (Just c/p "f(x)=17150/x" into google.)
For nozzles of greater diameter, it naturally becomes more difficult to reach deeper insertion depths using the same tips you use and have at hand. But even if you downsize -- Anima's nozzle's are THICK. 6mm is no joke. For people with narrow ear canals like me, the smallest spinfits provided were barely small enough to reach a proper deep fit, where the UIEM body surface actually touches my anti helix, crus helix and also feels like it is filling out my concha in some way.
I strongly suspect, that the other reviewers -- like me! -- inserted ANIMA for the first time, thought to themselves "boy, these nozzles are thick", and switched to some slightly smaller tips which fit slightly better. Then, they turned on their favourite tune -- only to discover that the sound was a hot mess of sharp lower treble, introducing sizzles beyond control, with the sibilance-like resonance masking any mids and bass quality, and making the listening an unpleasant experience.
Maybe they thought about taming that treble with narrow bore tips, and maybe they succeeded, but something was still off, the high end did not sound RIGHT. There was this spikeyness in the lower treble (8-9kHz for me), which was unpleasant even if the overall volume / treble energy was low enough to normally not cause any problems.
Maybe they also noticed ANIMA stood out of their ears a lot.
And that is/was (likely) the problem.
A narrow insertion depth skews the resonant band (which occurs unavoidably, which the manufacturers expect and which they consider during tuning) to lower frequencies. A resonant peak lower than what manufacturers would expect results in the resonant energy to build up where the frequency response does NOT feature a counter-balancing valley, resulting in a lower treble spike that sticks out as loud and obnoxiously present. Additionally, the nicely tuned valley designed to counterbalance the reso band (which it would with correct insertion depth) is now not counterbalancing anything, which is making the mid treble lack in volume. This results in a completely unbalanced, bad, ugly treble response.
Initially, I had put on medium small tips and inserted just until I felt a good seal, and then carefully vented the UIEMs for pressure relief to get the proper bass response. I first tried Azla Sedna Xelastics, which gave a really good seal and hence more authoritative bass compared to spinfits, but they are also REALLY wide bore tips, so the treble problem was immediately and painfully obvious. I tried the spinfits, which did not really mitigate the problem sufficiently.
I thought to myself that it would be highly unlikely for LE to **** up their tuning to such an extent. I took a good look in the mirror, saw how much space there was left between the ANIMA body and my outer ear (maybe not a whole cm, but almost) -- and it clicked, and I had to completely rethink the fit.
Probing the effect of insertion depth, I tried wrapping a bit of adhesive foil around ANIMA to achieve at least the resemblance of a seal (bass remained really light this way, sounded thin) -- but I could probe the upper treble response depending on insertion depth really well this way. And what would you guess: inserting them deeper and deeper, the peaky, spikey resonance vanished.
I then chose the smallest spinfit (spinfit because the bore lip is in front of the ANIMA nozzle, not at its side, so that the silicone umbrella extends from in front of it as well, thus contributing only minimally to nozzle diameter, making them the most deep-inserting tips I had at hand.). Using those, I was able to insert them deep enough for Anima's body to sit flush against my ear. This changed the game TOTALLY.
Unfortunately, this insertion depth did prevent me from relieving insertion pressure, skewing my bass perception. It also got uncomfortable quickly, even though it was not per se painful for the hour I had them in my ears. As insertion depth does not affect bass response TOO much (a little, yeah), but missing pressure relief totally kills the bass, I will be describing an extrapolation of what ANIMA would sound like with a proper seal, insertion pressure relief, AND with properly deep insertion.
ANIMA's BASS:
ANIMA has some very non-standard properties / quirks. The sub bass focus with a rather early mid bass valley @250Hz is one of them -- you most often see a more shelf-like bass FR shape, with a rise in the mid-bass and a more flat sub bass region.
I initially thought the rise of ca. 11-14dB@20dB would be too much for me, as I enjoy dry, quick, nimble bass usually. Completely contrary to what I was expecting, the DD driver introduced no bloat at all, probably due to their excellent crossover work and due to dampening. The whole bass signature is ultra fast, precise, and well balanced volume wise, not overpowering mids and top end. It kicks in, and goes out, leaving no trace of it. It smacks when it needs to, and else gets out of the way.
Following the sine sweep down, I for the first time ever (!) experienced a(n almost) completely perceptive-neutral bass response, meaning the volume I perceived did not change at all while sweeping over the frequency spectrum. I could hardly believe how MUCH sub bass was needed to make it sound this even, but Lime Ears nailed it! This is the best bass response I ever heard anywhere. Just like in the case of pinna gain, "neutral" IEM bass response does not call for a measured-flat bass FR. I still perceived a very tiny drop in the sub region below 25Hz, but it was only like 2dB less than what I would say is completely perceptively even.
I also usually experience the 200-500Hz range as especially obnoxious in most IEMs / headphones -- but not in ANIMA. The 250Hz valley does its job, evening out the perceived bass response in a meticulously well done way. There is no bloat, no exaggeration, but also no audible recession at all in the sine sweep. It is bass in its purest, most neutral and efficient form. Absolutely beautiful. Take notes of this bass "shelf"'s shape, other manufacturers!
ANIMA's MIDS:
A pet peeve of mine are unnecessarily recessed lower mids. I think it is a too easy, and thus too-often taken road to reduce the lower mids, leaving a mild V-shape which is pleasant sounding to most, as it leaves more of the detail-carrying frequencies above 2kHz and more exciting bass. This CAN be done well, but often, it is executed cheaply. If I had the choice between well done recessed lower mids and linear low mids though...I STILL WANT MY LOW MIDS, DAMMIT! Just give me a linear SOUNDING (not flat measured) FR, please. No need to artificially boost highs and lows this way, just leave them be. And here, LE delivers as well.
LE is known to take cues from the diffuse field target for their FR shape (and in Aether R even amplitude-wise). ANIMA has pronounced (read: neutral) lower mids. To me, the sine sweep reveals no recessed valley below 1kHz; the mids sound very even all the way through (even when directly jumping between the 250Hz valley and the lifted area @500-1500Hz). Again, I personally think that while a healthy pinna gain is sounding natural, the ruler-flat mid range FRs are a little anemic (in the sense that I notice a perceived drop in volume) to me personally. You may have a different opinion, or different ears.
As other have written, the mid range is done really well. (Keep in mind that under ~5kHz, their perception is NOT skewed by improperly shallow insertion depth, which btw. also explains the coherence of bass and mid range descriptions across all reviews.) It is silky, smooth, not recessed but neither slightly exaggerated like in Aether R. It is simply there, not the sole driver of the picture, but an equal partner to the other frequency regimes.
Others have remarked a slightly distorted nature to the mids. I first thought to hear something similar, and then realised that the detail retrieval of ANIMA is so insane that there was just so much more grit (even more than in Aether R), so much more micro structure to its sound that I simply misinterpreted it as a distortion of mids. Also, for me personally, it is somewhat difficult to separate the mid range from the transients of the lower treble, which makes it hard for me to judge.
The sine sweep revealed no traces of distortion whatsoever though. Also, in all passages with clean instruments, the mid range was clean (even when it got loud), even, relaxed, but always present. No distortion, and also no honk, no low-mid bloat despite the non-standard low mid elevation. A perfectly clean, very clear and ultra resolving mid presentation. Nicely done!
ANIMA's TREBLE:
With properly deep insertion, the treble section is astonishingly linear. I clearly heard the small, narrow valley @4kHz. (Why, btw? Maybe Emil, who is a bassist, hates hi hats and thus despises 4k and eases it down? xD). After the rise back @5kHz, I heard a very even, linear down slope, with a very small bump @11-12kHz, and an audible but due to its position completely inoffensive larger bump @15kHz.
Again: I did NOT hear any elevated lower treble anymore. No nasty 8kHz spike. No nasty 10k sibilance. Just tons of unveiled air. I really believe that deep insertion (so deep that ANIMA's main body sits flush on your outer ear!) is paramount and necessary to unlock its full treble potential. I could make out treble up to 18kHz at normal listening volumes, which is just...magnificent. I have never experienced such extension. There is no sibilance, the sparkle does not sound artificial or rough, there are no weird resonances like you hear with bad elevated treble. In fact, I did not sense any inherent "character" of the treble, which is a really good sign. For me, IEMs should ideally get out of the way of the music, and just play what is there. There was no distinct texture or coloration to the treble, just an even, smooth, precise representation. The treble volume all in all does stick out just a tiny smidgen, but I wonder if this is due to it simply being not more than neutral, but merely a little (or for some, a LOT) more than we are used to.
Aether R certainly has a lot less upper treble. Pneuma has a very similar upper mid / lower treble response between 4-8kHz, and after that (according to my experience and the graphs), Pneuma should even have MORE mid treble @10kHz than Anima, not less. Thus, if anybody perceived a piercing lower or middle treble spike in Anima, but not in Pneuma, this should be a good indicator that there was an insertion depth issue.
I also think LE has done themselves a huge disservice by not giving the advice to test listeners to try for a deep insertion (well, I got it via DM), whilst knowing that this aspect would be troublesome for many because of the the necessarily larger organic horn nozzle design. This should have been part of the promotional campaign, or written out on the welcome card. Maybe LE could also consider including a different set of (smaller!) tips, or design some tips as a collaboration with a tip manufacturer.
ANIMA's CABLE:
This is the objectively nicest cable I ever held in my hands. The building quality is absolutely impeccable. The braiding is firm, the feel of the outer material is superb (what is that? SO smooth, yet so grippy! I love it!), and the style is nice (I like the stainless components especially).
When first switching it with my preferred standard cable (30$ balanced octa core, see above), I thought I noticed that the VW cable was a little quieter, and a little more top-end heavy...? But when switching it around a hand full more times, I could not reliably make out the same difference in song parts or sine sweeps, so I guess both cables are just fine, and IF there are any sound differences to standard quality cables, they are probably miniscule.
Unfortunately, its over-ear part is too thick for me as a person with glasses, and a little too stiff as well. While I generally love weighty components, why choose to make the splitter weight so much?? It is far too heavy. IMO, a cable should get out of the music as much as possible, and not color the sound, nor distract me by dangling weights I have to manage. Also, I absolutely do not need something heavy to pull on my 3+kbuck IEMs. For mobile purposes, the jack is also way too heavy, and while 4mm may be industry standard by now, I personally need a better solution for 2.2mm than an (heavy as well!) adaptor. Besides, I personally prefer octa cores due to the over-ear parts being tetra-core, which makes it able to straighten them out without them twisting. I hate it when cables twist while straightening out because due to some memory-effect, after some weeks or months they keep some of that twisting, which is unnerving to me aesthetically.
All in all, the cable is absolutely not for me, but simply and merely for personal preference reasons, not because it would be inherently bad in any way. Except for that the splitter and plug should probably weight less.
ANIMA AFTER Aether:
The original Aether set a new standard with its light footed but blazing fast and bone dry bass, and its very resolving high mid range and lower treble, qualities which are centerpieces of the LE sound, and which can be found in the later models as well. The resolution in particular trumped other competitor UIEMS of their time I compared them with (Profile-8, VE8, VE18+, UERR). Those often lacked in the treble section as well as in pinna gain. Aether stuck out as a resolving, fast, slightly cold, and very even IEM.
Aether R brought the high mids into main focus, slightly reducing lower treble and sub bass volume, and slightly extending the upper treble response. While I preferred the original Aether's tuning (due to less bass bloom, slightly more pronounced treble, and slightly less pinna gain), Aether R's treble extension and in particular its monumental boost in bass resolution and mid range resolution was so pleasing to my technicality-loving ear that I went with Aether R since its release.
As per my previous post (read more there about my FR curve comparison), ANIMA steps in the footprints of the original Aether's path. What I head of ANIMA sounds much like a grown up Aether. It is easier on pinna gain than Aether R, but adds fuller lower mids (like of Aether R) to the Aether, while reducing bloat @150-350Hz. The bass and the upper treble responses were drastically increased compared to OG Aether -- there is no cap, no end to the extension of ANIMA on both ends. The upper mid and lower treble sections and the pinna gain band (which arguably are the centres of any IEMs tuning) though straight up sound like the Aether, honestly. I love it, it's the LE house sound through and through.
Also compare this picture of ANIMA (Animagus' measurements with Symbio W (yellow) and Spinfit (thin pink) tips), and original Aether (Crinacle, bass up in bold turquoise, bass down in bold pink). Keep in mind that the treble response is fairly tip dependent for Anima specifically.
VERDICT / TL;DR:
9.8/10 for me. Probably 8.5/10 for the average person's high end in ear monitor FR taste (which seems to be focused around warmth and smoothness, meaning slightly rolled off treble and a slightly pronounced mid bass). The slight 4kHz dip and 15kHz bump are nothing too serious, but justify a slight deduction. Else, the frequency response (WITH APPROPRIATELY DEEP INSERTION!) is astonishingly smooth and even over the whole spectrum. Speed / transients, precision / detail, extension and perceived (!) frequency response linearity are world class. ANIMA is ultra resolving, extended and unveiled in both frequency directions while keeping the mids the center of representation. It has no mid bass warmth (or bloat), and thus probably comes across as slightly cold to many. In my eyes (or ears), this is not a weak point though, as this is my preferred signature.
I will unfortunately not purchase an ANIMA UIEM, although I was prepared to do so.
My ear canals' particular shape allows for deep insertion only with the tiniest of tips, which still results in discomfort that does no go away after hours. Most importantly, inserting UIEM tips this deep does not allow me to induce pressure relief, which to me is essential for correct bass response. Custom tips would most likely cause a shallower insertion due to their inherent limitations, which as discussed above is critical, as ANIMA requires a deep insertion to sound even.
Thanks so much for Emil and all the other folks at Lime Ears for enabling us to experience these beauties -- and for designing them in the first place!
The European tour kit is ready to go to the next lucky person.
I got the LE tour kit from @Tokpakorlo in perfect condition about 1.5 weeks ago.It contains AETHER R 2022, PNEUMA 2022, and ANIMA, made by Lime Ears in Poland.
Skip to TL;DR at the bottom if you're in a hurry -- I can't keep it short.
WHAT IS MY BASELINE:
I got my first IEM (Aether CIEM) in 2017 (?), and it's successor, the Aether R (early model, also CIEM) in 2019, which remains to be my only main driver. I chose LE because their house sound had a lot of appeal to me.
My ears are very healthy: apart from a ~2-3dB@10kHz sharp notch in my right ear (from a particular single concert), I hear very evenly/linearly and well up to about 18kHz. I typically listen in the normal volume range, to maybe on the slightly quieter side (compared to others).
Physiologically, I have very narrow, conically-shaped and oval-cross-section ear canals, so universal tips either slide out of hurt after a short time, with no real middle ground. I thus never wore UIEMs. (First headphones, then CIEMs.) Look at how small my Aether R CIEM nozzles are:
Sound wise, I prefer a fast-paced, light but even and well-extended bass response. I hate bloated, warm / muddy mid bass, and I also do not need "rumble" (and I never understood what people mean by that except for the bass being louder). I love neutral representations, meaning not warmth, but pronounced mids and upper mids -- and a lower and upper treble without roll off (some people would probably call that a colder, not a neutral signature).
I do not care at all for sound stage. A huge sound stage (like in Beyerdynamics DT770 headphones) or a narrow sound stage (like Aether R, which projects straight into your head, right between your ears) are both fine for me -- with a slight preference for the latter. Very nebulous descriptors like holography or other esoteric, hard-to-define qualities mean nothing to me personally.
Transient speed is paramount to me. I LOVE it! There is no unnaturally fast transient for me -- it should ideally react as fast as the waveform dictates. Decay should also be fast. But all the technicality in the world is worthless if the FR response does not match my preference at least roughly.
I am not a cable believer -- if two cables have the same impedance and resistance, they will sound the same, to me and to others.
In short: I'm very picky about both, a perceptively even frequency response, and fast transient speed -- and I don't care for anything else.
LISTENING TESTS:
Samsung Galaxy S20 (LDAC) --> FiiO BTR5 (balanced) --> KBear Rhyme 8core UPOCC Copper / Silver tinsel foil (balanced) --> IEM.
Critical listening done via fast (10s) and slow (1 minute long) logarithmic sine sweeps, played back through a real time FT equaliser to discern the precise frequency. Also, I employed a small collection of songs (prog metal, acoustic, edm) I know by heart since more than a decade and heard over about 10 sound systems (various speaker systems, headphones, and IEMs).
First, let me describe how MY Aether R sounds to me, to establish the base line. Then I will describe how the Aether R 2022 UIEM compares to it, and then follow sections about Pneuma, Anima, Anima's cable, a look back to the original Aether, and finally my verdict.
MY AETHER R (2019 CIEM):
My R (a CIEM in permanent BASS OFF version, no switch) has roughly the same frequency response you find on Crinacle's measurement (it follows it audibly well). My model is the older version before the ~2021 retuning (which remained undisclosed by LE, who maintained that the sound stayed the same for the UIEM versions despite evidence to the contrary).
Starting from subdued (0dB@20Hz) sub bass, it features a light, mid-bass focused low end with a wide, symmetric bass bump (100Hz peak) of ca. 5dB, followed by a narrow valley (reference for 0dB@600Hz). From there, it leads right into the diffuse-field-inspired pinna gain rise of maybe 15dB@3kHz, from where it drops off by about 15dB (!) to 4kHz again. Then, the treble rises again by about 8dB, getting back into Harman territory. Here, my model differs from Crinacle's measurement, where the resonant peak masks what in my CIEM (and to my ear) presents as a pretty linear treble drop off. My CIEM resonant peak happens way later, at 10-11kHz, from where the treble rapidly decays and is inaudible over 15kHz at normal listening levels.
It is a very vibrant, lively and warm representation, full of barely-contained energy, even at low volumes. A very direct, smack-in-your face sound with tons of detail, a natural balance between highs and lows which both bow to the mighty mid range, both dropping off at the outer ends of the spectrum.
AETHER R 2022 (UIEM):
The AETHER R 2022 model differs a little from mine. I did not spend too much time on it (sorry!
), as I wasn't interested in it a lot. Suffice to say that the treble extension of the 2022 R has gotten better, encompassed by an overall increase in treble energy (volume). The big notch@4kHz my R featured is lessened in the 2022 R. 2022's bass improved, the focus is a little less on mid bass and the sub bass extension is better, partially making up for the increase in treble volume. It is a very coherent, mid focused but colder (slightly too much gain, maybe 3-5dB between 6-12kHz for my taste) signature with amazing detail and overall good balance.Building quality was 10/10, optics stunning, I love the brass nozzles!
The fit was superb for an UIEM, nozzles are long and narrow enough to comfortably get them into my narrow ear canals.
PNEUMA 2022 (UIEM):
The 2022 PNEUMA UIEM is a different animal entirely, sound wise.
Now here comes the reason why I can not be a professional reviewer:
The bass response of it is something I absolutely despise, and I CANNOT bring myself to analyse it benevolently whilst enduring the amount of bloaty warmth.
I still listened to the sine sweeps and found that my models featured a less severe treble drop off compared to what you find in, say, Animagus' measurement. Still, the bass is too much, too bloomy, and the mid presentation too upper-mid/lower-treble focused for me. I also like even low mids, so the larger scoop was not for me either. If you like warm, bassy V-shapes with easy upper treble, these might be for you.
PNEUMA looked absolutely stunning. I love the optics, even if I like the Aether's brass nozzles better.
The building quality and fit was just as good as Aether R 2022.
************* ANIMA (UIEM): *************
Before we dive into it, let me explain what MIGHT have gone wrong with ANIMA's perceived lower treble focus for many of the people who reviewed this UIEM before me. I'm not saying this is definitely the case, but hear me out.
Manufacturers need to take into account that there will be a resonant peak, or, rather, a resonant band ("peak" is the maximum value of a band). While it is impossible to design a narrow notch in driver response that will reliably counterbalance any ear canal length's resonant band, they can at least tune it in a way that provides slightly less energy in the generally affected regime (say, 7-9kHz), which is where a resonant band might occur for most people.
This resonant peak position depends largely on insertion depth, as the distance from sound source to ear drum matches half the resonant frequency. For the average human, their ear canal has the length of ~2.4cm. 1cm=0.01m: (340m/s)/(0.024m)=14.2kHz. Half of that (because you have to double the wavelength) is 7.1kHz, which is where the resonant peak would be if the IEM's drivers sit right at the ear canal entrance. (Just c/p "f(x)=17150/x" into google.)
For nozzles of greater diameter, it naturally becomes more difficult to reach deeper insertion depths using the same tips you use and have at hand. But even if you downsize -- Anima's nozzle's are THICK. 6mm is no joke. For people with narrow ear canals like me, the smallest spinfits provided were barely small enough to reach a proper deep fit, where the UIEM body surface actually touches my anti helix, crus helix and also feels like it is filling out my concha in some way.
I strongly suspect, that the other reviewers -- like me! -- inserted ANIMA for the first time, thought to themselves "boy, these nozzles are thick", and switched to some slightly smaller tips which fit slightly better. Then, they turned on their favourite tune -- only to discover that the sound was a hot mess of sharp lower treble, introducing sizzles beyond control, with the sibilance-like resonance masking any mids and bass quality, and making the listening an unpleasant experience.
Maybe they thought about taming that treble with narrow bore tips, and maybe they succeeded, but something was still off, the high end did not sound RIGHT. There was this spikeyness in the lower treble (8-9kHz for me), which was unpleasant even if the overall volume / treble energy was low enough to normally not cause any problems.
Maybe they also noticed ANIMA stood out of their ears a lot.
And that is/was (likely) the problem.
A narrow insertion depth skews the resonant band (which occurs unavoidably, which the manufacturers expect and which they consider during tuning) to lower frequencies. A resonant peak lower than what manufacturers would expect results in the resonant energy to build up where the frequency response does NOT feature a counter-balancing valley, resulting in a lower treble spike that sticks out as loud and obnoxiously present. Additionally, the nicely tuned valley designed to counterbalance the reso band (which it would with correct insertion depth) is now not counterbalancing anything, which is making the mid treble lack in volume. This results in a completely unbalanced, bad, ugly treble response.
Initially, I had put on medium small tips and inserted just until I felt a good seal, and then carefully vented the UIEMs for pressure relief to get the proper bass response. I first tried Azla Sedna Xelastics, which gave a really good seal and hence more authoritative bass compared to spinfits, but they are also REALLY wide bore tips, so the treble problem was immediately and painfully obvious. I tried the spinfits, which did not really mitigate the problem sufficiently.
I thought to myself that it would be highly unlikely for LE to **** up their tuning to such an extent. I took a good look in the mirror, saw how much space there was left between the ANIMA body and my outer ear (maybe not a whole cm, but almost) -- and it clicked, and I had to completely rethink the fit.
Probing the effect of insertion depth, I tried wrapping a bit of adhesive foil around ANIMA to achieve at least the resemblance of a seal (bass remained really light this way, sounded thin) -- but I could probe the upper treble response depending on insertion depth really well this way. And what would you guess: inserting them deeper and deeper, the peaky, spikey resonance vanished.
I then chose the smallest spinfit (spinfit because the bore lip is in front of the ANIMA nozzle, not at its side, so that the silicone umbrella extends from in front of it as well, thus contributing only minimally to nozzle diameter, making them the most deep-inserting tips I had at hand.). Using those, I was able to insert them deep enough for Anima's body to sit flush against my ear. This changed the game TOTALLY.
Unfortunately, this insertion depth did prevent me from relieving insertion pressure, skewing my bass perception. It also got uncomfortable quickly, even though it was not per se painful for the hour I had them in my ears. As insertion depth does not affect bass response TOO much (a little, yeah), but missing pressure relief totally kills the bass, I will be describing an extrapolation of what ANIMA would sound like with a proper seal, insertion pressure relief, AND with properly deep insertion.
ANIMA's BASS:
ANIMA has some very non-standard properties / quirks. The sub bass focus with a rather early mid bass valley @250Hz is one of them -- you most often see a more shelf-like bass FR shape, with a rise in the mid-bass and a more flat sub bass region.
I initially thought the rise of ca. 11-14dB@20dB would be too much for me, as I enjoy dry, quick, nimble bass usually. Completely contrary to what I was expecting, the DD driver introduced no bloat at all, probably due to their excellent crossover work and due to dampening. The whole bass signature is ultra fast, precise, and well balanced volume wise, not overpowering mids and top end. It kicks in, and goes out, leaving no trace of it. It smacks when it needs to, and else gets out of the way.
Following the sine sweep down, I for the first time ever (!) experienced a(n almost) completely perceptive-neutral bass response, meaning the volume I perceived did not change at all while sweeping over the frequency spectrum. I could hardly believe how MUCH sub bass was needed to make it sound this even, but Lime Ears nailed it! This is the best bass response I ever heard anywhere. Just like in the case of pinna gain, "neutral" IEM bass response does not call for a measured-flat bass FR. I still perceived a very tiny drop in the sub region below 25Hz, but it was only like 2dB less than what I would say is completely perceptively even.
I also usually experience the 200-500Hz range as especially obnoxious in most IEMs / headphones -- but not in ANIMA. The 250Hz valley does its job, evening out the perceived bass response in a meticulously well done way. There is no bloat, no exaggeration, but also no audible recession at all in the sine sweep. It is bass in its purest, most neutral and efficient form. Absolutely beautiful. Take notes of this bass "shelf"'s shape, other manufacturers!
ANIMA's MIDS:
A pet peeve of mine are unnecessarily recessed lower mids. I think it is a too easy, and thus too-often taken road to reduce the lower mids, leaving a mild V-shape which is pleasant sounding to most, as it leaves more of the detail-carrying frequencies above 2kHz and more exciting bass. This CAN be done well, but often, it is executed cheaply. If I had the choice between well done recessed lower mids and linear low mids though...I STILL WANT MY LOW MIDS, DAMMIT! Just give me a linear SOUNDING (not flat measured) FR, please. No need to artificially boost highs and lows this way, just leave them be. And here, LE delivers as well.
LE is known to take cues from the diffuse field target for their FR shape (and in Aether R even amplitude-wise). ANIMA has pronounced (read: neutral) lower mids. To me, the sine sweep reveals no recessed valley below 1kHz; the mids sound very even all the way through (even when directly jumping between the 250Hz valley and the lifted area @500-1500Hz). Again, I personally think that while a healthy pinna gain is sounding natural, the ruler-flat mid range FRs are a little anemic (in the sense that I notice a perceived drop in volume) to me personally. You may have a different opinion, or different ears.
As other have written, the mid range is done really well. (Keep in mind that under ~5kHz, their perception is NOT skewed by improperly shallow insertion depth, which btw. also explains the coherence of bass and mid range descriptions across all reviews.) It is silky, smooth, not recessed but neither slightly exaggerated like in Aether R. It is simply there, not the sole driver of the picture, but an equal partner to the other frequency regimes.
Others have remarked a slightly distorted nature to the mids. I first thought to hear something similar, and then realised that the detail retrieval of ANIMA is so insane that there was just so much more grit (even more than in Aether R), so much more micro structure to its sound that I simply misinterpreted it as a distortion of mids. Also, for me personally, it is somewhat difficult to separate the mid range from the transients of the lower treble, which makes it hard for me to judge.
The sine sweep revealed no traces of distortion whatsoever though. Also, in all passages with clean instruments, the mid range was clean (even when it got loud), even, relaxed, but always present. No distortion, and also no honk, no low-mid bloat despite the non-standard low mid elevation. A perfectly clean, very clear and ultra resolving mid presentation. Nicely done!
ANIMA's TREBLE:
With properly deep insertion, the treble section is astonishingly linear. I clearly heard the small, narrow valley @4kHz. (Why, btw? Maybe Emil, who is a bassist, hates hi hats and thus despises 4k and eases it down? xD). After the rise back @5kHz, I heard a very even, linear down slope, with a very small bump @11-12kHz, and an audible but due to its position completely inoffensive larger bump @15kHz.
Again: I did NOT hear any elevated lower treble anymore. No nasty 8kHz spike. No nasty 10k sibilance. Just tons of unveiled air. I really believe that deep insertion (so deep that ANIMA's main body sits flush on your outer ear!) is paramount and necessary to unlock its full treble potential. I could make out treble up to 18kHz at normal listening volumes, which is just...magnificent. I have never experienced such extension. There is no sibilance, the sparkle does not sound artificial or rough, there are no weird resonances like you hear with bad elevated treble. In fact, I did not sense any inherent "character" of the treble, which is a really good sign. For me, IEMs should ideally get out of the way of the music, and just play what is there. There was no distinct texture or coloration to the treble, just an even, smooth, precise representation. The treble volume all in all does stick out just a tiny smidgen, but I wonder if this is due to it simply being not more than neutral, but merely a little (or for some, a LOT) more than we are used to.
Aether R certainly has a lot less upper treble. Pneuma has a very similar upper mid / lower treble response between 4-8kHz, and after that (according to my experience and the graphs), Pneuma should even have MORE mid treble @10kHz than Anima, not less. Thus, if anybody perceived a piercing lower or middle treble spike in Anima, but not in Pneuma, this should be a good indicator that there was an insertion depth issue.
I also think LE has done themselves a huge disservice by not giving the advice to test listeners to try for a deep insertion (well, I got it via DM), whilst knowing that this aspect would be troublesome for many because of the the necessarily larger organic horn nozzle design. This should have been part of the promotional campaign, or written out on the welcome card. Maybe LE could also consider including a different set of (smaller!) tips, or design some tips as a collaboration with a tip manufacturer.
ANIMA's CABLE:
This is the objectively nicest cable I ever held in my hands. The building quality is absolutely impeccable. The braiding is firm, the feel of the outer material is superb (what is that? SO smooth, yet so grippy! I love it!), and the style is nice (I like the stainless components especially).
When first switching it with my preferred standard cable (30$ balanced octa core, see above), I thought I noticed that the VW cable was a little quieter, and a little more top-end heavy...? But when switching it around a hand full more times, I could not reliably make out the same difference in song parts or sine sweeps, so I guess both cables are just fine, and IF there are any sound differences to standard quality cables, they are probably miniscule.
Unfortunately, its over-ear part is too thick for me as a person with glasses, and a little too stiff as well. While I generally love weighty components, why choose to make the splitter weight so much?? It is far too heavy. IMO, a cable should get out of the music as much as possible, and not color the sound, nor distract me by dangling weights I have to manage. Also, I absolutely do not need something heavy to pull on my 3+kbuck IEMs. For mobile purposes, the jack is also way too heavy, and while 4mm may be industry standard by now, I personally need a better solution for 2.2mm than an (heavy as well!) adaptor. Besides, I personally prefer octa cores due to the over-ear parts being tetra-core, which makes it able to straighten them out without them twisting. I hate it when cables twist while straightening out because due to some memory-effect, after some weeks or months they keep some of that twisting, which is unnerving to me aesthetically.
All in all, the cable is absolutely not for me, but simply and merely for personal preference reasons, not because it would be inherently bad in any way. Except for that the splitter and plug should probably weight less.
ANIMA AFTER Aether:
The original Aether set a new standard with its light footed but blazing fast and bone dry bass, and its very resolving high mid range and lower treble, qualities which are centerpieces of the LE sound, and which can be found in the later models as well. The resolution in particular trumped other competitor UIEMS of their time I compared them with (Profile-8, VE8, VE18+, UERR). Those often lacked in the treble section as well as in pinna gain. Aether stuck out as a resolving, fast, slightly cold, and very even IEM.
Aether R brought the high mids into main focus, slightly reducing lower treble and sub bass volume, and slightly extending the upper treble response. While I preferred the original Aether's tuning (due to less bass bloom, slightly more pronounced treble, and slightly less pinna gain), Aether R's treble extension and in particular its monumental boost in bass resolution and mid range resolution was so pleasing to my technicality-loving ear that I went with Aether R since its release.
As per my previous post (read more there about my FR curve comparison), ANIMA steps in the footprints of the original Aether's path. What I head of ANIMA sounds much like a grown up Aether. It is easier on pinna gain than Aether R, but adds fuller lower mids (like of Aether R) to the Aether, while reducing bloat @150-350Hz. The bass and the upper treble responses were drastically increased compared to OG Aether -- there is no cap, no end to the extension of ANIMA on both ends. The upper mid and lower treble sections and the pinna gain band (which arguably are the centres of any IEMs tuning) though straight up sound like the Aether, honestly. I love it, it's the LE house sound through and through.
Also compare this picture of ANIMA (Animagus' measurements with Symbio W (yellow) and Spinfit (thin pink) tips), and original Aether (Crinacle, bass up in bold turquoise, bass down in bold pink). Keep in mind that the treble response is fairly tip dependent for Anima specifically.
VERDICT / TL;DR:
9.8/10 for me. Probably 8.5/10 for the average person's high end in ear monitor FR taste (which seems to be focused around warmth and smoothness, meaning slightly rolled off treble and a slightly pronounced mid bass). The slight 4kHz dip and 15kHz bump are nothing too serious, but justify a slight deduction. Else, the frequency response (WITH APPROPRIATELY DEEP INSERTION!) is astonishingly smooth and even over the whole spectrum. Speed / transients, precision / detail, extension and perceived (!) frequency response linearity are world class. ANIMA is ultra resolving, extended and unveiled in both frequency directions while keeping the mids the center of representation. It has no mid bass warmth (or bloat), and thus probably comes across as slightly cold to many. In my eyes (or ears), this is not a weak point though, as this is my preferred signature.
I will unfortunately not purchase an ANIMA UIEM, although I was prepared to do so.
My ear canals' particular shape allows for deep insertion only with the tiniest of tips, which still results in discomfort that does no go away after hours. Most importantly, inserting UIEM tips this deep does not allow me to induce pressure relief, which to me is essential for correct bass response. Custom tips would most likely cause a shallower insertion due to their inherent limitations, which as discussed above is critical, as ANIMA requires a deep insertion to sound even.
Thanks so much for Emil and all the other folks at Lime Ears for enabling us to experience these beauties -- and for designing them in the first place!
The European tour kit is ready to go to the next lucky person.
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Thank you Emil @Lime Ears and @Rockwell75 for allowing me to participate in the tour!
I've finally got some hours in listening to the Anima and I'll be comparing it to the Odin for a more comparative review.
Testing is done on dx320 amp13 using Anima's stock cable (genuinely love the stock cable btw) for both Anima and Odin.
I've read through other people's impression before getting a chance to hear it myself, and Anima seemed to be a mix bag of positives and negatives with little in-between. This is one of the few times where I had to give myself an ample amount of hours to try to understand an iem's acoustic signature (in this case, mainly the mid-range...) and what it's trying to do and I can concurrently agree with both the positives and negatives that had been mentioned by other headfi reviewers above.
Starting with ergonics... I'd like to personally say this is the biggest issue with Anima more so than any caveats related to its sonics. Having tried over 80 different iems so far, this is by far the biggest iem that have entered my ears. More so than the monarch mkii or symphonium Helios strictly from memory. I've had to dig through at least a dozen different eartips before finding one that worked both sonically and ergonically - because yes, the anima seemed to respond differently to varying eartips, especially in the upper midrange and treble.
I was initially using the Symbio W but the Tss in the treble was slowly but noticeably becoming unbearable, with a shoutier upper-midrange than Odin (not that I find the Odin to be shouty, but this would be a huge issue to others). All in all, the fatigue had me forced to look for a different eartip where I eventually settled down with the Azla sedna earfit light, which did help the upper midrange and treble more bearable.
Moving onto the sonics-
Anima is definitely trying to compete with the summit-fi iems, although coming a bit short to staple itself as a headfi favorite for many. This is a high-fi high clarity oriented signature mixed with creamy smoothness where each note seem to traverse on to its subsequent notes. It's as if every notes has a prolonged decay that lingers for a tad bit longer than you would expect.
I am absolutely convinced that the bass is the star of the show where I have little to no complaints about. This is a punchy bass with tactile agility you would expect from a top tier BA woofer with textured rumble down low in the subbass that is handled by dynamic driver. Lime Ears advertise this marriage of dd and ba bass as "BADD" but this is not a new technology or concept as it has been seen in many cheaper models by other companies. With that being said, I think Lime Ears executed this better than any other BA-DD bass I've heard and it has been an incredibly unique and enjoyable experience that I seldom encounter.
Compared to the Odin, the Odin has a deeper and more textured growl down low, but with less amplitude. I prefer Anima's bass over Odin's due to the quick and agile punchy midbass with greater amplitude.
Midrange is where everything gets tricky where I had to A/B test with the Odin at least a dozen times to understand what I'm hearing. If I don't pay much attention to what I'm hearing, the vocals "seem" to present itself with clarity and definition. But after an incisive listening session, there is a noticable slight veil in both the male and female vocals. The vocals also stay grounded in stage and presents itself as more two dimensional, rather than float above the stage in an ethreal manner like the Odin.
The upper midrange is more reigned back compared to the Odin, but Anima can get more shouty in comparison depending on which eartip you choose.
The treble is quite defined and has more of a definitive note weight than what you would expect from EST drivers. I think it's almost comparative to a BA treble strictly due to the note weight. Not anything bad, but something to keep in mind. The treble is clearly accentuated with an audible tss that I can imagine becoming fatiguing over time. It is bright and crisp and stays in it's relevant field without floating high above its midrange.
Odin's treble sounds more floaty, effortless, and ethreal with a more refined edge, whereas Anima's treble may come across overdone in comparison.
Anima's soundstage is definitely summit-fi level and has a tad bit wider stage than Odin, while its height and depth remains comparatively similar. I would like to call it a holographic presentation, as it's sound envelope further behind my head than Odin, BUT it falls short in creating a defined stage where instruments are more scattered throughout rather than coming from an articulated source with precision. This works in tangent with my aforementioned comment of how everything sounds "creamy" as if each sound decays over to its subsequent sound rather than giving a clear cut transients. Anima doesn't lack in details with great clarity and impact, and it's amazing bass do accentuate the dynamism when I'm listening to edm tracks.
However, Odin still wins in clarity and detail, with a much more articulated and defined stage with better layering. The vocals and treble seem to float more than remain grounded on stage like Anima. Anima's timbre is also questionable, as it aims for a high-fi experience but doesn't sound as natural for a totl iem.
Ive been very critical with Anima mainly due to its price tag, but to be quite frank, it was an enjoyable experience that I was glad to take part in. I can say with confidence that this is a totl iem sonically speaking. Maybe not summit-fi level but shows potential in what Lime Ears can do in the following future
THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY!!
I've finally got some hours in listening to the Anima and I'll be comparing it to the Odin for a more comparative review.
Testing is done on dx320 amp13 using Anima's stock cable (genuinely love the stock cable btw) for both Anima and Odin.
I've read through other people's impression before getting a chance to hear it myself, and Anima seemed to be a mix bag of positives and negatives with little in-between. This is one of the few times where I had to give myself an ample amount of hours to try to understand an iem's acoustic signature (in this case, mainly the mid-range...) and what it's trying to do and I can concurrently agree with both the positives and negatives that had been mentioned by other headfi reviewers above.
Starting with ergonics... I'd like to personally say this is the biggest issue with Anima more so than any caveats related to its sonics. Having tried over 80 different iems so far, this is by far the biggest iem that have entered my ears. More so than the monarch mkii or symphonium Helios strictly from memory. I've had to dig through at least a dozen different eartips before finding one that worked both sonically and ergonically - because yes, the anima seemed to respond differently to varying eartips, especially in the upper midrange and treble.
I was initially using the Symbio W but the Tss in the treble was slowly but noticeably becoming unbearable, with a shoutier upper-midrange than Odin (not that I find the Odin to be shouty, but this would be a huge issue to others). All in all, the fatigue had me forced to look for a different eartip where I eventually settled down with the Azla sedna earfit light, which did help the upper midrange and treble more bearable.
Moving onto the sonics-
Anima is definitely trying to compete with the summit-fi iems, although coming a bit short to staple itself as a headfi favorite for many. This is a high-fi high clarity oriented signature mixed with creamy smoothness where each note seem to traverse on to its subsequent notes. It's as if every notes has a prolonged decay that lingers for a tad bit longer than you would expect.
I am absolutely convinced that the bass is the star of the show where I have little to no complaints about. This is a punchy bass with tactile agility you would expect from a top tier BA woofer with textured rumble down low in the subbass that is handled by dynamic driver. Lime Ears advertise this marriage of dd and ba bass as "BADD" but this is not a new technology or concept as it has been seen in many cheaper models by other companies. With that being said, I think Lime Ears executed this better than any other BA-DD bass I've heard and it has been an incredibly unique and enjoyable experience that I seldom encounter.
Compared to the Odin, the Odin has a deeper and more textured growl down low, but with less amplitude. I prefer Anima's bass over Odin's due to the quick and agile punchy midbass with greater amplitude.
Midrange is where everything gets tricky where I had to A/B test with the Odin at least a dozen times to understand what I'm hearing. If I don't pay much attention to what I'm hearing, the vocals "seem" to present itself with clarity and definition. But after an incisive listening session, there is a noticable slight veil in both the male and female vocals. The vocals also stay grounded in stage and presents itself as more two dimensional, rather than float above the stage in an ethreal manner like the Odin.
The upper midrange is more reigned back compared to the Odin, but Anima can get more shouty in comparison depending on which eartip you choose.
The treble is quite defined and has more of a definitive note weight than what you would expect from EST drivers. I think it's almost comparative to a BA treble strictly due to the note weight. Not anything bad, but something to keep in mind. The treble is clearly accentuated with an audible tss that I can imagine becoming fatiguing over time. It is bright and crisp and stays in it's relevant field without floating high above its midrange.
Odin's treble sounds more floaty, effortless, and ethreal with a more refined edge, whereas Anima's treble may come across overdone in comparison.
Anima's soundstage is definitely summit-fi level and has a tad bit wider stage than Odin, while its height and depth remains comparatively similar. I would like to call it a holographic presentation, as it's sound envelope further behind my head than Odin, BUT it falls short in creating a defined stage where instruments are more scattered throughout rather than coming from an articulated source with precision. This works in tangent with my aforementioned comment of how everything sounds "creamy" as if each sound decays over to its subsequent sound rather than giving a clear cut transients. Anima doesn't lack in details with great clarity and impact, and it's amazing bass do accentuate the dynamism when I'm listening to edm tracks.
However, Odin still wins in clarity and detail, with a much more articulated and defined stage with better layering. The vocals and treble seem to float more than remain grounded on stage like Anima. Anima's timbre is also questionable, as it aims for a high-fi experience but doesn't sound as natural for a totl iem.
Ive been very critical with Anima mainly due to its price tag, but to be quite frank, it was an enjoyable experience that I was glad to take part in. I can say with confidence that this is a totl iem sonically speaking. Maybe not summit-fi level but shows potential in what Lime Ears can do in the following future
THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT OPPORTUNITY!!
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ChrisGarrett
New Head-Fier
To my eye, they are simply stunning looking.
Too rich for my blood, but stunning nevertheless.
Chris
Too rich for my blood, but stunning nevertheless.
Chris
Benvoka
New Head-Fier
Test and comparison of the Lime Ears Anima
Introduction:
It must be a very special earphone, which is able to wake me up from my self-chosen audiophile hibernation. Whereby, the term "special" could be an understatement in connection with the Lime Ears Anima. Briefly pre-empted: The Anima is good! So good, in fact, that it almost slid into my auditory canals on its own during restless nights to take me on another extended "sound expedition."
Special thanks to Tom Scharfenberg of www.audioessence.ch, who loaned me the Lime Ears Anima and the Empire Ears Odin. Audioessence has already made huge splashes in the local scene within just a few months. I'm beyond excited to see what the future holds!
The contents of the box:
This one is concise, but very pragmatic. I was particularly grateful to note the two ddHifi adapters from 4.4- to 2.5- and from 4.4- to 1.5 mm. Also of very high quality is the Sowilo cable from Vikingweave-Cable - an excellent match for the Anima. So replacing the cable was not a need at any time during the test.
A small but essential collection of various attachments (Final Audio E, SpinFits) is also included. For the test, the Final-E Ear tips once again made the most balanced impression.
Also included and making a premium impression was the small leather-clad carrying case.
Technology:
The Anima is one of the largest in-ear headphones I have tested to date. Fortunately, I have large ears, which have rarely caused me problems with any earphones so far. Apart from the size of the Anima, there is nothing to complain about in terms of ergonomics: It nestles into my "cavum conchae" almost like a hand fitted in a glove and stays there securely and comfortably. I was also amazed at how well the Anima is able to shield me from outside noise - both a curse and a blessing.
Inside the casing are a whopping 13 drivers:
A dynamic driver provides a deep bass foundation with the, for its characteristic, decay of every single note. Four other balanced-armature drivers take care of the middle and upper bass segment.
Two "vented" BA drivers take care of the mids. Unfortunately, technical backgrounds and their concrete effects on the mids are not further described by the manufacturer. However, it can be assumed that this type of driver gives the "vocals" more space and thus an airy quality.
While two more balanced-armature drivers skilfully take care of the lower highs, four electrostatic drivers take over the upper frequencies up to 20 kHz. So far, however, I could not interview any bats that reported sound impressions of 20 kHz and higher.
Another special feature is the "Organic Horn Nozzle". According to the manufacturer, a lot of tinkering was done here. The position and thickness of the holes were specially adjusted to the respective frequencies. This required a particularly large number of prototypes - unfortunately, I am not aware of any exact pictures and documentation of this process.
A close look into the so called "Organic Horn Nozzle"
Soundcheck
Bass
The collaboration between the Dynamic and BA drivers accomplishes amazing things: On the one hand, the bass is dry, fast and highly defined due to the Balanced Armature drivers, whereas the Dynamic driver reaches into the deepest spheres of the lower frequencies, and thanks to its slower decay after each attack, it imbues the bass region with naturalness. Generally, the Anima offers a lot of quality in the bass. Although this frequency range is clearly boosted on the Anima, you can't call it a "basshead"-iem by any means - if you want even more quantity, you can always help it out with the equalizer (oh, the heresy!).
Mid
Piano sounds, voices, as well as string strokes are incredibly detailed, airy and well-textured. The Anima's midrange has something mysterious about it, and not just for me, which tries to elude more precise descriptions. However, one impression has hardened with me: it's as if everything is covered with a velvety quality that pleasantly envelops harshness and peaks in sounds, but doesn't veil them in any way.
Treble
What a pleasure integrated electrostatic drivers offer! The extension of the frequency response up to 20 kHz creates a spaciousness that was not found in in-ears until recently. On the other hand, cymbals and co. are given a naturalness that always feels pleasantly tingling, but never too sparkling or "splashy". Despite the extended frequency response, no one need fear the treble here - all audible highs are represented, but politely a tiny step in the background.
Overall Impression:
Oh, Anima! How can anyone not like you, let alone remain 100% sober? I'm convinced that every reviewer is only allowed to say the following sentence once every few years: "These are the most beautiful headphones I've ever had the pleasure of holding in my hands". In my case, that point is reached with the Lime Ears Anima.
In terms of sound, the Anima is a romantic with its musicality - an aesthete or "beau spirit" (ger. Schöngeist), which on the one hand is dedicated to detail and at the same time is able to animate a lot with its airy warmth. It's worth mentioning here that the Anima is quite close to the Harman curve, a standard reference response that a large percentage of listeners rate as particularly "euphonic".
The soundstage is exceptionally wide and has a good amount of depth. Although different voices and instruments are well separated, there is never an impression of incoherence - a striking indication of an excellent implementation of the 13 different drivers. I try to describe the soundstage with the image of a wide, rather narrow (rectangular) stage, with the listener seated just in front of it. Despite tonal warmth and closeness to the music, I perceive an uncanny airiness between the instruments and also (oh, the mystery!) upwards.
Comparison:
Lime Ears Anima vs. Empire Ears Odin.
Parallel to the Anima, I put the Odin through its paces intensively. I have to admit that all reviews, which break out in storms of enthusiasm because of the Odin, are completely "legit"! The Empire Ears Odin is the reference in this price category of earphones, against which future generations will be measured.
If only for the so-called "Weapon lX+", the technology behind the Odin's bass, legitimizes the sworn clientele behind the Odin. I've never heard such a well-textured, down-to-the-mark bass, which at the same time can also hold back when necessary.
The bass of the Anima may also reach deep and hit refined, fast and precise due to the BA drivers - but it can't surpass the Odin in quality and quantity.
The Odin is also a tiny bit ahead in the detail retrieval category. However, a possible disadvantage of this is that bad recordings can be exposed in an unpleasant way. The Anima is also highly detailed. However, it exposes flaws in recordings in a less unpleasantly noticeable way.
Basically, the two earphones differ primarily in that the Odin specializes in a very natural sound reproduction, with a slightly warm tint, while the Anima prefers an extremely musical and also warm reproduction. Both earphones are very energetic and are able to captivate the listener in different ways.
One big difference is in the soundstage. The Odin is much more three-dimensional and thus "places" the listener in a (slightly narrower) sound sphere. This succeeds in being very coherent and captivating. The Anima, on the other hand, puts the listener in front of the action and thus gives the sound and the audience a bit more air.
Lime Ears Anima vs. Vision Ears EXT
The EXT was delivered as the third comparison candidate from the K55 in Zurich. It can be tested there by interested parties at any time without complications and without an appointment.
The flagship from Vision Ears clearly takes a different path than the Anima and Odin. Unlike the latter, the EXT does not follow the Harman curve, but pursues a somewhat more V-shaped frequency response with an emphasis on the treble.
Likewise, the EXT does away with BA drivers, instead letting a smaller dynamic driver cover the mids. Unfortunately, with the EXT, it's important to use the right eartips. Otherwise, the unpopular sibilance (sharp hiss in the frequencies around 6kHz) can occur. Additionally, foam tips (Comply or SymbioW) take some of the sharpness out of the highs. Once this obstacle is circumvented, the much more inexpensive EXT is a fantastic competitor, which certainly has its "raison d'être".
The EXT is probably the most analytical earphone of the three, despite the slightly boosted bass range and slight focus on the treble. In terms of the airiness of the soundstage and the depth and width of the soundstage, I put the EXT on par with the Anima. From the level of detail and the tendency to immediately expose bad recordings, the EXT shows no weakness compared to the Odin.
The EXT seems rather sober compared to the other earphones. It does not inevitably draw the listener in like the Odin, nor does it try to ensnare the listener with the velvety manner of the Anima. Rather, it places the listener directly in front of the sound event and captivates with its neutral-seeming, outspoken nature.
The last word:
Having to pay more than 3000.- bucks for a pair of headphones can cause massive flushing of heads here and there. However, I have never heard headphones at a lower price sound as good as the Anima does in its distinctively (!) skilful way. In any case, it is clear to me that I will immediately associate "Lime Ears Anima" with the description "Schöngeist" (aesthete, beau spirit) in headphones in the future.
Finally, I want to emphasize once again that it is not a question of finding the best headphones. Rather, it's about recognizing one's own preferences (and, unfortunately, budget) and choosing based on that knowledge. As it was already written at the Oracle of Delphi: "Gnothi seauton - Know thyself!"
Equipment:
LPG, Cowon P2 mkll, Shanling UA5, Hiby RS8
Test tracks:
Female vocals:
Amber Rubbarth (Scribbled Folk Symphonies) – Lay Your Burden Down
Rebecca Pidgeon (The Raven, Bob Katz 15th Anniversary) - Spanish Harlem
Yasmine Hamdan (Ya Nass) – Deny
Male vocals:
Allan Taylor (Stockfish Records, Closer to the Music) – Beat Hotel
Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing
Eagles (2013) – Hotel California
Instrumental:
George Benson (White Rabbit) – California Dreaming
Mozart (Karl Bhm, Wr.Philharmoniker 2012) – Requiem in D minor, K.626 – l Introitus
Steve Turre (Spirit Man) – Lover Man
"Bad Tracks":
Stromae – Ave Cesaria
21 Pilots – Stressed out
Introduction:
It must be a very special earphone, which is able to wake me up from my self-chosen audiophile hibernation. Whereby, the term "special" could be an understatement in connection with the Lime Ears Anima. Briefly pre-empted: The Anima is good! So good, in fact, that it almost slid into my auditory canals on its own during restless nights to take me on another extended "sound expedition."
Special thanks to Tom Scharfenberg of www.audioessence.ch, who loaned me the Lime Ears Anima and the Empire Ears Odin. Audioessence has already made huge splashes in the local scene within just a few months. I'm beyond excited to see what the future holds!
The contents of the box:
This one is concise, but very pragmatic. I was particularly grateful to note the two ddHifi adapters from 4.4- to 2.5- and from 4.4- to 1.5 mm. Also of very high quality is the Sowilo cable from Vikingweave-Cable - an excellent match for the Anima. So replacing the cable was not a need at any time during the test.
A small but essential collection of various attachments (Final Audio E, SpinFits) is also included. For the test, the Final-E Ear tips once again made the most balanced impression.
Also included and making a premium impression was the small leather-clad carrying case.
Technology:
The Anima is one of the largest in-ear headphones I have tested to date. Fortunately, I have large ears, which have rarely caused me problems with any earphones so far. Apart from the size of the Anima, there is nothing to complain about in terms of ergonomics: It nestles into my "cavum conchae" almost like a hand fitted in a glove and stays there securely and comfortably. I was also amazed at how well the Anima is able to shield me from outside noise - both a curse and a blessing.
Inside the casing are a whopping 13 drivers:
A dynamic driver provides a deep bass foundation with the, for its characteristic, decay of every single note. Four other balanced-armature drivers take care of the middle and upper bass segment.
Two "vented" BA drivers take care of the mids. Unfortunately, technical backgrounds and their concrete effects on the mids are not further described by the manufacturer. However, it can be assumed that this type of driver gives the "vocals" more space and thus an airy quality.
While two more balanced-armature drivers skilfully take care of the lower highs, four electrostatic drivers take over the upper frequencies up to 20 kHz. So far, however, I could not interview any bats that reported sound impressions of 20 kHz and higher.
Another special feature is the "Organic Horn Nozzle". According to the manufacturer, a lot of tinkering was done here. The position and thickness of the holes were specially adjusted to the respective frequencies. This required a particularly large number of prototypes - unfortunately, I am not aware of any exact pictures and documentation of this process.
Soundcheck
Bass
The collaboration between the Dynamic and BA drivers accomplishes amazing things: On the one hand, the bass is dry, fast and highly defined due to the Balanced Armature drivers, whereas the Dynamic driver reaches into the deepest spheres of the lower frequencies, and thanks to its slower decay after each attack, it imbues the bass region with naturalness. Generally, the Anima offers a lot of quality in the bass. Although this frequency range is clearly boosted on the Anima, you can't call it a "basshead"-iem by any means - if you want even more quantity, you can always help it out with the equalizer (oh, the heresy!).
Mid
Piano sounds, voices, as well as string strokes are incredibly detailed, airy and well-textured. The Anima's midrange has something mysterious about it, and not just for me, which tries to elude more precise descriptions. However, one impression has hardened with me: it's as if everything is covered with a velvety quality that pleasantly envelops harshness and peaks in sounds, but doesn't veil them in any way.
Treble
What a pleasure integrated electrostatic drivers offer! The extension of the frequency response up to 20 kHz creates a spaciousness that was not found in in-ears until recently. On the other hand, cymbals and co. are given a naturalness that always feels pleasantly tingling, but never too sparkling or "splashy". Despite the extended frequency response, no one need fear the treble here - all audible highs are represented, but politely a tiny step in the background.
Overall Impression:
Oh, Anima! How can anyone not like you, let alone remain 100% sober? I'm convinced that every reviewer is only allowed to say the following sentence once every few years: "These are the most beautiful headphones I've ever had the pleasure of holding in my hands". In my case, that point is reached with the Lime Ears Anima.
In terms of sound, the Anima is a romantic with its musicality - an aesthete or "beau spirit" (ger. Schöngeist), which on the one hand is dedicated to detail and at the same time is able to animate a lot with its airy warmth. It's worth mentioning here that the Anima is quite close to the Harman curve, a standard reference response that a large percentage of listeners rate as particularly "euphonic".
The soundstage is exceptionally wide and has a good amount of depth. Although different voices and instruments are well separated, there is never an impression of incoherence - a striking indication of an excellent implementation of the 13 different drivers. I try to describe the soundstage with the image of a wide, rather narrow (rectangular) stage, with the listener seated just in front of it. Despite tonal warmth and closeness to the music, I perceive an uncanny airiness between the instruments and also (oh, the mystery!) upwards.
Comparison:
Lime Ears Anima vs. Empire Ears Odin.
Parallel to the Anima, I put the Odin through its paces intensively. I have to admit that all reviews, which break out in storms of enthusiasm because of the Odin, are completely "legit"! The Empire Ears Odin is the reference in this price category of earphones, against which future generations will be measured.
If only for the so-called "Weapon lX+", the technology behind the Odin's bass, legitimizes the sworn clientele behind the Odin. I've never heard such a well-textured, down-to-the-mark bass, which at the same time can also hold back when necessary.
The bass of the Anima may also reach deep and hit refined, fast and precise due to the BA drivers - but it can't surpass the Odin in quality and quantity.
The Odin is also a tiny bit ahead in the detail retrieval category. However, a possible disadvantage of this is that bad recordings can be exposed in an unpleasant way. The Anima is also highly detailed. However, it exposes flaws in recordings in a less unpleasantly noticeable way.
Basically, the two earphones differ primarily in that the Odin specializes in a very natural sound reproduction, with a slightly warm tint, while the Anima prefers an extremely musical and also warm reproduction. Both earphones are very energetic and are able to captivate the listener in different ways.
One big difference is in the soundstage. The Odin is much more three-dimensional and thus "places" the listener in a (slightly narrower) sound sphere. This succeeds in being very coherent and captivating. The Anima, on the other hand, puts the listener in front of the action and thus gives the sound and the audience a bit more air.
Lime Ears Anima vs. Vision Ears EXT
The EXT was delivered as the third comparison candidate from the K55 in Zurich. It can be tested there by interested parties at any time without complications and without an appointment.
The flagship from Vision Ears clearly takes a different path than the Anima and Odin. Unlike the latter, the EXT does not follow the Harman curve, but pursues a somewhat more V-shaped frequency response with an emphasis on the treble.
Likewise, the EXT does away with BA drivers, instead letting a smaller dynamic driver cover the mids. Unfortunately, with the EXT, it's important to use the right eartips. Otherwise, the unpopular sibilance (sharp hiss in the frequencies around 6kHz) can occur. Additionally, foam tips (Comply or SymbioW) take some of the sharpness out of the highs. Once this obstacle is circumvented, the much more inexpensive EXT is a fantastic competitor, which certainly has its "raison d'être".
The EXT is probably the most analytical earphone of the three, despite the slightly boosted bass range and slight focus on the treble. In terms of the airiness of the soundstage and the depth and width of the soundstage, I put the EXT on par with the Anima. From the level of detail and the tendency to immediately expose bad recordings, the EXT shows no weakness compared to the Odin.
The EXT seems rather sober compared to the other earphones. It does not inevitably draw the listener in like the Odin, nor does it try to ensnare the listener with the velvety manner of the Anima. Rather, it places the listener directly in front of the sound event and captivates with its neutral-seeming, outspoken nature.
The last word:
Having to pay more than 3000.- bucks for a pair of headphones can cause massive flushing of heads here and there. However, I have never heard headphones at a lower price sound as good as the Anima does in its distinctively (!) skilful way. In any case, it is clear to me that I will immediately associate "Lime Ears Anima" with the description "Schöngeist" (aesthete, beau spirit) in headphones in the future.
Finally, I want to emphasize once again that it is not a question of finding the best headphones. Rather, it's about recognizing one's own preferences (and, unfortunately, budget) and choosing based on that knowledge. As it was already written at the Oracle of Delphi: "Gnothi seauton - Know thyself!"
Equipment:
LPG, Cowon P2 mkll, Shanling UA5, Hiby RS8
Test tracks:
Female vocals:
Amber Rubbarth (Scribbled Folk Symphonies) – Lay Your Burden Down
Rebecca Pidgeon (The Raven, Bob Katz 15th Anniversary) - Spanish Harlem
Yasmine Hamdan (Ya Nass) – Deny
Male vocals:
Allan Taylor (Stockfish Records, Closer to the Music) – Beat Hotel
Dire Straits – Sultans of Swing
Eagles (2013) – Hotel California
Instrumental:
George Benson (White Rabbit) – California Dreaming
Mozart (Karl Bhm, Wr.Philharmoniker 2012) – Requiem in D minor, K.626 – l Introitus
Steve Turre (Spirit Man) – Lover Man
"Bad Tracks":
Stromae – Ave Cesaria
21 Pilots – Stressed out
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Hi guys, does any of you willing to sell their Anima? Let me know in private message.
Kind regards,
Matt
Kind regards,
Matt
Anima vs Mest MK II according to you which one is better?
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