[twister6]

Soundstage expansion will depend greatly on your hw source, including amplifier section implementation.  Testing it with my various DAPs, Ei.xx is not a limiting factor and you will definitely get an above the average staging expansion in every direction (width/depth/height).  Actually, I'm hearing more width and height than depth, but it's still above average.  Don't expect a holographic 3D imaging, it's rather convincing but more toward intimate side, closer to you in space.  Also, some of this intimacy is due to sound being smoother and less analytical/airy.  Width is on par with W60, though W60 has more depth, and based on my review notes comparing W60 to SE846 - Ei.xx has a similar soundstage expansion as SE846.
 
With Iggy's Black Widow "bass test", the low end focus is at 0:37 time mark when you already starting to hear deep sub-bass and then at 0:43 when sub-bass and mid-bass kicks in at full power.  With W60 sub-bass can't reach that low, and mid-bass has softer impact.  Pro50 has the same deal with sub-bass, and mid-bass is more hollow and not as tight.  M-100 bass is more resonating, not as tight and not as coherent.  Ei.xx sub-bass goes deeper with a nice non-resonating textured heft, and mid-bass has a great slam, tight and well controlled.  Low end is definitely an ear-candy of Ei.xx.  But upper mids/treble balance it out very nicely with a clear, detailed, and smooth presentation.

 

[acain]

+1 The bass is something special for a BA design.

 

[twister6]

  +1 The bass is something special for a BA design.

 
almost like a hybrid combination of dynamic warmth and BA speed, right?
 
To be honest, i was a bit worried the first time I read a description of 4x BA drivers covering low end and 2x BA treble drivers, but Piotr crafted one heck of a sound signature out of these building blocks.
 
Adam, how do you like sound with BaX cable?

 

[acain]

   
almost like a hybrid combination of dynamic warmth and BA speed, right?
 
To be honest, i was a bit worried the first time I read a description of 4x BA drivers covering low end and 2x BA treble drivers, but Piotr crafted one heck of a sound signature out of these building blocks.
 
Adam, how do you like sound with BaX cable?

Still haven't changed it over from y Ei.3 I plan on doing it tomorrow. My daughter has a softball tournament tomorrow all the way Newark NJ, 3 games in 1 day with a lot of time in between games. So I plan on brining the Ei.xx and one of my daps not sure witch yet.
 
It does sound like a hybrid, what really impresses me is the sound of the strings of a snare drum hitting the drum head.

 

[acain]

I wouldn't want to be the guy that has to solder and attach sound tubes to those TINY tweeters at Custom Art.

 

[Shini44]

Tomorrow is the Mass Drop Day <3 

 

[acain]

You won't be disappointed  if you buy them, they have been nothing but spectacular.

 

[RedTwilight]

  Tomorrow is the Mass Drop Day <3 

 
Ohh boy.. 

 

[Dixter]

Its a shame that there are units sent out for review before the drop to share with folks all the info on this new CIEM and not a whole lot came out from it..  the drop is tomorrow.... not next week

 

[twister6]

  You won't be disappointed  if you buy them, they have been nothing but spectacular.

 
+1, and this is Honest to God hype-free opinion.
 
I'm actually thinking if Ei.xx can be turned into Universal version - it will create quite a stir in headphone community, especially with those who elevate SE846 to an end-game pedestal.  Uh, that bass quality/quantity, Piotr nailed it!

 

[twister6]

  Its a shame that there are units sent out for review before the drop to share with folks all the info on this new CIEM and not a whole lot came out from it..  the drop is tomorrow.... not next week

 
Only a small group of reviewers were contacted, and we received our review samples 6-7 days ago, a week before the drop.  You are not going to get a detailed review within such a short period of time, but I think plenty of initial impressions were provided to give you an idea of what to expect in terms of the look, the design, and the sound signature.  As you know, pictures are worth a thousand words, and you got plenty of it.  Piotr provided FR graphs and it seems that we're aligned on a sound signature as well as a common reference to SE846 bass.  I mean, even seasoned CIEM reviewers like Jelt take at least a month to post a review.
 
If you have more additional questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Dixter]

not trying to put any blame on anyone...  just looks like better planning could have been implemented for a different kind of roll out....    this isn't a cheap CIEM and many folks that get the Mass drop emails don't even come to head fi... so they wouldn't know much at all....   thanks for the offer of additional questions... 

 

[twister6]

  not trying to put any blame on anyone...  just looks like better planning could have been implemented for a different kind of roll out....    this isn't a cheap CIEM and many folks that get the Mass drop emails don't even come to head fi... so they wouldn't know much at all....   thanks for the offer of additional questions... 

 
I hear ya.  A lot of people are a bit anxious about CIEMs, it's a big investment and something you can't sell later to "upgrade".  I can definitely imagine those who are not familiar with Custom Art will need more info to feel comfortable about the purchase, and I have a feeling this Drop will get more attention from previous CA customers who are already familiar with Piotr's work.  But hopefully when the 2nd Drop round (I'm just assume/speculate) will come around - there will be a lot more impressions and full reviews to help others to decide.
 
I'm being dead honest.  This is my 2nd pair of CIEMs, and I'm impressed to the point where I haven't touched my W60 and UM Pro 50 and can say with certainty that I don't care about SE846 bass anymore.

 

[Dixter]

It sounds like its going to be a fun CIEM to have around...    thanks for the help here...

 

[WillBright]

Hey Everyone, 
 
Drop launches at 9am EST, 6am PST, tomorrow (28th) morning. 
 
This drop will be limited to 50 units, we plan to do more drops in the future, here's the link: 
 
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/customart-massdrop-exclusive-ei-xx-ciem
 
That won't go anywhere before the drop launches. 
 
If you have any questions about the drop, post them in the drop discussion and they'll get answered as soon as possible. I'll be watching that discussion all tomorrow.