A few words on my Venom after almost a week listening to them exclusively.
About 8 months ago, I told Piotr I was really impressed by his work and his technical knowledge and abilities.
At the time, I had been trying lots of IEMs to try to find the sound signature that would correspond to me the most. Basically, I was secretly aiming at fulfilling a foolish dream: finding the IEM that I would enjoy listening to on every genre of music. Unfortunately, I never could find that perfect IEM.
That's when I wondered whether the only way for me to achieve that wouldn't be to build my own IEM.
Provided I did not have neither the knowledge, nor the equipement to do that, I went to find the man I knew would be the perfect guy for such a project.
I had seen Shini44's Anzu and of course AmberOzl's Crescent, then I just prayed Piotr would be up for another custom project. Of course he was, because that's Piotr we're talking about
Yet, as Piotr was up to his head in the Christmas rush and as I already had some reshells going on at his lab, time passed and we did not get to work immediatly.
In the meantime, I had some new additions to my audio gear and my new customs allowed me to have a better overview of how I'd like my custom project to sound like.
Thus, it's only around April that I came back to Piotr and gave him the new description of my dream CIEM. It was the start of the Venom project.
Basically, what I wanted was a CIEM that would be an absolute marvel for EDM and rap/hip-hop because that is what I listen to 75% of the time. But of course it had to also be very good on other genres.
I wanted a good resolution overall, with a natural yet a tad warm overall sound signature. The bass had to be very impactful and well layered, mids textured and the most forward possible with that bass and the treble have nice extension and harmonics without ever being harsh.
That's when Piotr told me he had an idea, something new and he wanted to give it a try.
From there on, I had no idea of what would be in my Venom, Piotr only telling me once that the bass would blow my mind.
I had to wait until I got the Venom in my hands to understand what Piotr had gone for. And I have to admit it was a very pleasant surprise
I trusted him all along and I do not regret it one bit.
No doubts either about his artistic genius, so I gave him my benediction for the shell color and the faceplates. Let me tell you that I had an enormous smile when I opened the Pelican Case. That venomous green is the perfect fit for the Venom.
Let's talk about the design now: as some of you guessed, there is indeed a big dynamic driver in my Venom.
Yes, Piotr went for an hybrid CIEM and I strongly believe that was an awesome decision he made.
Here's what the Venom is exactly made of:
It is basically a 5 way design in acrylic shells with:
- An 8mm single DD as full range
- The newest Sonion Acupass driver in two way config
- A regular TWFK driver with damper also in two way config
I arleady knew about the DD before I put the Venom in my ears (first thing you notice when you look at it xD) but if I did not, I would have immediatly after the first few notes. Damn that bass hits hard.
After 6 days of listening to my Venom, I can't thank Piotr enough for the effort. This CIEM has a very coherent and intoxicating sound. It's quite simple: it's been a week and I already can't imagine spending a day without listening to them. You put them on and you're just in for a treat.
As we discussed with Piotr, it might not be the most technical sound you'll ever hear but it is simply musical and full of emotion, and that is what matters most to me. Don't get me wrong, it is a very capable CIEM, it is just not as focused on the details or the imaging as some others.
The subs are so impactful they make your teeth shake, the bass is well layered and with a good decay. Of course it might be a bit slower than with BA drivers but it sounds so natural and deep. Piotr also managed to keep the mids quite forward, which creates very emotional and full voices and even guitars sound awesomely good. And the treble is just how I wanted it, with just enough extension to sound perfect.
And I guess it is what makes this sound so coherent, everything just melts with each other, creating a very musical and enjoyable experience. It is quite simple acutally: when I plug my Venom in my DAP, I just let go and feel the music. And once you're bitten, the venom takes long to get out of your veins
Once again, I'd like to thank Piotr and Custom Art from the bottom of my heart because he just made a freakin happy man.
