[AnakChan]

Kicking off a new thread for the Eminent Ears brand who's just debut their Ruby IEMs. They have kindly sent me a review pair which I received only yesterday which I'll be doing in the upcoming days but burning it in meanwhile.

I first came across Eminent Ears in CanJam Singapore 2024 whilst eavesdropping in a group convo @HiFiHawaii808 had with @jude where the Ruby got mentioned. I got introduced to Travis Chan at the Eminent Ears booth and had brief demo of the Ruby. To my understanding the Ruby is their first product - at CJSG, they only had 3 units and they partnered up with Vortex to cable up their earphones.

I was quite impressed with what I heard and later on reached out to Travis on getting review pair. Whilst the Ruby has been mentioned sporadically here and there (in the Discovery and Watercooler threads) I don't think many folks know about it and to me, it's a hidden gem (no pun intended, really!).

Here are some pix & some brief info about it for now, but I'll write a proper after giving it a few more days burn-in. Meanwhile, some other members who have it are more than welcome to contribute to this thread.

Regurgitating straight from the spec sheet, the IEMs are a 1xDD (10mm) + 4xBA + 4xEST in a 5-way crossover (this part is from CJSG, assuming that hasn't changed) where the DD covers the low end bass to lower mids, whilst the mids and lower highs are handled by the 4xBA and upper highs handled by the ESTs.

The supplied cables are by Vortex and are silver plates copper alloy terminated by a 4.4mm balanced plug.

The package comes with 2x sets of eartips - one set for vocal and another set for balanced, all put into a storage case.

As a quick precursor intro to how it sounds like, I wrote something brief in the Watercooler thread where I felt that there's a nice depth and weight to its house signature. It still maintains a very airy and smooth upper end without sounding peaky. It's the kind of IEM where I think I can listen to hours without fatigue.

What pops out the most to me is it's ability to to separate instruments so distinctively clear, yet maintain complete cohesion & coherency without any one particular instrument sounding out of place.

I'll share more as I go a long later.

 

[HONEYBOY]

Happy to see another person talking about these. They are really great. Just got a new set after comparing them to the Fei Wan and Jewel from Aroma Audio. Gotta give them some more time, but so far really nice resolution and separation with an exquisite clarity all well done with excellent cohesion.

 

[AnakChan]

In a few hours I would have had about 3 days burn in which should be more than enough. i've been listening off 'n on but today I've been little sick with nasal congestion so not a good day to be listening. However in previous days the IEM has continued to impress. It has a laid back signature whichI can listen to for hours, and placement-wise, I feel that I'm right in together with the performing artists and I can "visualise" instrument positioning.

 

[HONEYBOY]

In a few hours I would have had about 3 days burn in which should be more than enough. i've been listening off 'n on but today I've been little sick with nasal congestion so not a good day to be listening. However in previous days the IEM has continued to impress. It has a laid back signature whichI can listen to for hours, and placement-wise, I feel that I'm right in together with the performing artists and I can "visualise" instrument positioning.

Feel better! Yeah curious to hear more of your thoughts after you recover, but totally hear you with the visualizing the instrument aspect. No smearing and being able to hear attack and decay of each instrument individually is really nice.

 

[AnakChan]

So the Ruby has just hit past the 100 hr burn-in mark. Giving it a listen today (after my recovering from my flu) and this IEM continues to impress. Listening to an orchestral soundtrack piece, Somewhere in Time, and I find myself totally immersed together with the whole orchestra. It doesn't feel like a 10th row presentation, not even 1st row presentation but right in it with the different instruments radiating outward infinitely. Yet instrument placement and positioning is distinctively precise and clear.

Sometimes when listening to Ruby, it's almost like listening to headphones.

I think that somewhere along the FR, there is slight dip. Comparing to the Tralucent 1Plus2, the latter is a bit more mid forward. But the Ruby is by no means U-shaped. There is still plenty of meat in vocal pieces. Overall, the signature is extremely easy listening with plenty of air and detail without sounding fatiguing. Its bass brings in body with layered texture and reverberation without bleed - extremely well balanced sound.

 

[AnakChan]

Sorry I've neglected this thread in the past week. However over the weekend, the Perth Head-Fi crew had a small gathering of which we did an IEM shoot out. Most of the details of that was posted in the Watercooler thread, however instead of rehashing the whole thing here I thought I'd post a brief summary and thoughts of how the Ruby compared with the rest of the IEMs at the meet.

Bear in mind that this is pretty much my personal thoughts based on my experience (or excuse!) of being reintroduced to this hobby only in the past 2-3 months after a 5 year hiatus. Therefore every new IEM I hear these days is more of a "revolution" and an evolution.

There were a suite of IEMs at the meet ranging for low end, equivalent pricing to the Ruby, and some that are even over 2x the price of the Ruby, each with their strengths and weaknesses.

I walked away from that meet feeling that to me Ruby's biggest strength was its precision and positioning. Some of the IEMs that did grab my attention were the Fir Xe6 & Subtonic Storm but for my ears, the Ruby still walked way triumphant in the precision and positioning space. Granted that as an overall all the Subtonic Storm may have been the winner "overall" IEM with a wider soundstage and 3D imaging, but didn't have the precision and positioning that (to my ears) were more accurate in the Ruby.

Whilst there are other top tier IEMs which I haven't compared side-by-side with the Ruby in a controlled environment (but did at least hear them at CJSG), and if one were to consider the Storm to be "priced right" (I don't know if it is not having spent sufficient time with other top tier), for now I felt the Ruby is hitting a bar above it's asking RRP.

 

[Acts]

Had the opportunity to demo this set recently, and it’s fantastic.

 

[Alexzander]

May I please ask someone to provide a detailed comparison of Ruby to Traillii OG?

I want to try something new and with DD bass, so interested how they would keep up with the mighty Bird.

 

[AnakChan]

I've been swamped with work and haven't had much listening time at all.

@Alexzander I did give the Traillii a brief listen last weekend, and as much as I do feel the Oriolus being a familiar sound but for my ears, the Ruby still had a deeper soundstage with higher headroom. In terms of the FR, the Traillii seemed to be a bit more upper mid forward compared to the Ruby and whilst the trebles extend high, it's a little bit more tame and conservative compared to the Ruby too.

Personally for my tastes, the Ruby has been more to my liking.

 

[Tanalasta]

May I please ask someone to provide a detailed comparison of Ruby to Traillii OG?

I want to try something new and with DD bass, so interested how they would keep up with the mighty Bird.

They're quite different IEM's.

Ruby has those luscious, full and smooth mids with a nice warmth. I really enjoyed it with female vocals. Ruby also has greater all around bass presence. My notes were ""Probably the smoothest mids with nice warmth and full lower body yet with upper mid presence and not shouty at all. Great vocal IEM. Can sound busy due to the richness" out of the Hugo2 with a Orpheus RCA adapter.

Trailii is more coherent and polite. The cable Trailii was paired with (Nightjar Sovereign Symphony) really requires proper amplification to really shine. Staging and technicalities improve markedly with a TOTL source and amplification. I usually use the SP3000 + MK475.

@AnakChan I've rolled the 1960's 4 wire OEM cable back onto the Trailii as I'm using the Nightjar cable with the Craft Ears Omnium which I have on tour. You're welcome to meet up for a listen before I send it off mid July. I think the strength in the Ruby were the mids.

 

[Alexzander]

@AnakChan @Tanalasta thank you for your impressions!

 

[AnakChan]

I've been super busy with work I haven't had a chance to listen to the Ruby since meeting @Tanalasta few weeks back. The Ruby, my DAP, camera, all was sitting in the backpack since till right now when I've finally had a chance to pull it out again.

Listening to This is Chris Botti's album, this IEM is just nuts. It's soundstage in width, depth & height is just massive - but it's not only just that. The Ruby makes use of that well with the clarity, instrument separation and positioning.

It's immersive enveloping the listener with detail without being too technical. To me it's reminiscent of the times when I went to Bluenote Tokyo, getting one of the front row centerstage tables right next to the stage listening to the performing artists.

 

[AnakChan]

I've finally put my Ruby review up. You can find it in my sig.

 

[Deezel177]

Eminent Ears Ruby​

Courtesy of Travis at Emiment Ears and @metaljem77 (who kindly arranged this tour), I’ve been given the opportunity to listen to the Ruby; Eminent’s flagship tri-brid, retailing at $2300. It’s a 1 DD, 4 BA and 4 EST set-up from the Hong Kong brand, and it was quite the sleeper hit back at CanJam SG. Although it didn’t make headlines like the RAAL Immanis, at least a couple I talked to at the show called it their favorite. Unfortunately, I only found this out as CanJam was closing up shop, so I’m grateful to finally be able to check them out now.

​

To speak briefly on comfort and build, I’d call the Ruby’s medium-to-large IEMs. Their shells are fairly thick with decently-long nozzles, so they’ll likely sit outside the ears a tad during wear. But, generally-speaking, I expect most people will be able to wear them just fine. The monitors were put together really well. It’s a very clean, very tidy build with no seam, lacquer splotch or bubble in sight. The one tiny flaw I found was in the shell’s glitter application. The Ruby has black shells with a bit of mica mixed in, and there were a few spots that didn’t get any and were left black. If I were to nitpick, I’d say the faceplate design could be a bit more original too. I’ve seen the cut-up foil mosaic look quite a few times, even in the budget tier. But, again, I didn’t find any fatal flaws, and these are well-crafted resin IEMs overall. The Ruby also comes with a 4.4mm Vortex cable, a nice touch, and 2 sets of tips: 1 with a large opening (gray) and 1 with a slightly narrower bore (red).

The Eminent Ears Ruby has a slightly-warmer take on the U-shaped sound. It has that concave, wrap-around-the-head presentation, where instruments are positioned equidistantly from you in all 3 axes. For me, it’s most impressive in depth. Separating through width has become common - a given, in fact - in the TOTL space, and BCDs have especially used height to their advantage. But, the Ruby is one of few that separates and layers this impressively through depth. Listening to Snarky Puppy’s live rendition of Sleeper at the Royal Albert Hall, as the band starts coming in at 2:19, this is the first time I’ve noticed Bobby Sparks on the synth start whooshing in at 2:24, because he’s usually buried in the center by the bass and talkbox. Its stereo separation instantly impresses right after, placing horns very precisely at my extreme left, then the rhythm guitars at my extreme right. It does the same with tracks that’ll let it, and I believe it’s the Ruby’s strongest asset; excellent clarity, separation, expansion and imaging precision, especially along the z-axis.

​

I think those qualities are most apparent in the low-end. The Ruby is unique among most U-ed IEMs I’ve tried, because of how well it separates its bass from its midrange. Bass lines and kick patterns are extremely easy to follow, which is impressive, given how much power and decay they’ve maintained here at the same time. There aren’t any mid-bass cuts to “cheat” a cleaner bass. It’s like the lows are in their own clean, little pocket in the stage, and it’s fun to investigate what the bassist or producer’s doing there on any given track. I’d say the bass is just level with the upper-midrange, but certainly above the low- and center-mids. It isn’t a dry or gritty bass at all. To me, it has similar amounts of rumble and fullness. The upper-bass is where it starts to dip into the low-mids. So, it probably isn’t the kind of bass you’d want for the light, smoky tones of a double bass, or if you want your strings less viola-focused. But, for most - at the risk of sounding reductive - “modern”-produced music, I reckon this is a thumpy, weighty, meaty bass that’ll both satisfy with its depth and impress with its clarity.

The mids are where I don’t fully connect with the Ruby, to be honest. It has a familiar, well-liked curve; a lower-mid dip, a 1-2kHz rise and well-tapered upper-mids with just enough presence to match the low-end. My issues with it come down to fullness and weight. Despite having enough warmth in color (or tone), there’s a thinness to the Ruby’s midrange that stops instruments from coming fully to life for me. Perhaps, it’s the lower-mid dip being a touch too strong, or perhaps a timbral quality from the drivers themselves. Either way, despite living in convincingly holographic stages, the Ruby’s instruments fall just short of feeling like they’re really there. That’s subjective. Others may find its body sufficient, or perhaps it isn’t as big of a priority. To me, it’s the one thing keeping me from remaining immersed in its sound once that wow factor of its soundstage wears off. In fairness, I must mention that the midrange maintains the separation, resolution and depth found in the bass. Images are tidy, nicely-layered and dynamic; moving back-and-forth in power and presence in an engaging way. So, if you’re not bothered by a leaner midrange, I think you’ll find lots to love with the Ruby’s. If they can find a way to nudge some body or substance into an eventual successor like what’s been done in the Fei Wan, Anni ‘23 and other similarly U-shaped IEMs, I can definitely find a way to love it too.

​

The Ruby’s treble is articulate and shimmery, but smooth and refined too. It focuses most of its energy around 5kHz, so you’ll get a brighter, glitzy-er transient, rather than the powdery kind if its emphasis was higher up at 7-8kHz. I’ve found that, if I use the small gray tips, I’ll get a more forward tizz, plus a boost to its holographic, immensely-separated imaging. Whereas, going up to a medium or using the slightly-narrower-bored red tips will tone the low-treble down to what I consider more natural (sat just below the high-mids), but also make its soundstage seem more “normal” by comparison. Either way, I think the Ruby’s treble, once again, does separation and layering really well. Cymbals, hi-hats and other transients alike have well-defined outlines, and it’s clear that this is why the in-ear images as well as it does. For me, I find the treble to linger a touch too long to be considered fully natural or realistic-sounding. There’s the slightest hint of a shimmer just at the end that I personally feel pushes it closer to neutral-clean. But, I think those of you who aren’t as picky about these things (or even prefer that cleaner, more polished sound) will find the Ruby’s treble perfectly complementary - nay, instrumental - to the rest of its sig.

To close, I believe the Ruby is an excellent all-rounder that not only competes against its peers pretty comfortably, but also offers novelties in this increasingly saturated market. Its holography, stereo separation and layering are some of the best I’ve heard all year, regardless of price. And, I think it sports a unique low-end timbre that both cuts clean and hits hard as well. Those of you who like rich, weighty mids may find the Ruby’s a tad too lean or 2D. Listeners with sensitivities in the low-treble may also find the Ruby a bit shimmery with the wrong tips. But, otherwise, I feel the Ruby is a strong, strong start from Eminent Ears. I think many will find lots to love in its joyful sig, and I appreciate Travis and the Eminent team for the time I’ve been able to spend with it.

 

[AnakChan]

Great review @Deezel177!! Well written!