Let me set the context of this morning’s listening session. I used the Sony 1ZM2 (no other reason than it was near me). My initial impression upon slipping on the APX was the trebles were well extended, yet smooth. The fact that the stem is longish does mean that the soundstage and vibration is closer to the ear drums. I think that is an excellent design feature. That is the very obvious impression I had on initial listnening. I was discussing with my group of Cooler friends and I was surprised to be told that there is in fact no BCD. That it is a planar for ultra low, DD for low, 8 BA fo r mids/highs and a planar for ultra high. I recall that the drivers were built to the specificiatons of
@piotrus-g . So, not surprisingly, it is unlike anything I have heard before.
I should mention the visceral nature of the bass and sub bass. Whilst it is visceral, it is nonetheless nuanced and textured. I think the reason it is the way it is lies with the deep insertion with the design of the shell, in particular the stem and the angle at which it is done. The insertion is deep and yet still very comfortable. I was using the Electech Baroque ear tips and it was a match made in heaven. I can pay no greater compliment than to say that coming from a world where my go to option is FitEar customs that there was times during my listening session I did not realise that I was wearing an UIEM, as the APX faded away from my consciousness. This must be the first pair of UIEMs I have put on which frankly feels like I am wearing a pair of customs in terms of comfort and fit. And the ease with which I am getting the visceral yet nuanced bass is not something I have had other than with the DD based range from FitEar customs, in particular the titanium range.
I am certain it is how the APX has been designed to have that particular stem insertion depth, coupled with the angle of the stem. I salute the effort and R&D here.
The APX is not something that jumped out and immediately revealed everything at one go. As I listened, it seemed that it slowly grew on me as it slowly revealed what it can do with each successive song I was listening to.
I am not so good at technical terms in describing sound. What I will say is that the APX is on the warmer side of neutral. I like the sound density but yet excellent instrument separation. The sound stage is something I really like: it is cocoon like. The trebles are well extended with nary a hint of harshness. The trebles have obviously seen good work done on them. At the same time, there is this visceral bass which to its credit does not bleed into the mids or overpower the rest of the notes. The mids have a nice timbral quality to them.
As I hinted earlier, in terms of how the various parts of the sound spectrum is put together, it does indeed remind me of the first time I had heard the Susvara years ago when Dr Fang Bian brought a pair for me to try after dinner with his Singapore AD: layers upon layers of details and aural information. I really thought my head was going to explode that evening.
What I particularly liked about the APX is that it is not trying to impress. No special party trick to make anything stick out. It adopts a pretty holistic approach In its musical presentation.
This was one of the songs I was listening to this morning. It is a sad song. A duet sung by two female vocalists. You will understand the sadness when you understand the lyrics and the undercurrents of the duet between two women in an opera troupe and their aspirations for freedom. The APX really works this well and wrings the emotions out of the song and the vocals especially during the finale but yet keeps the individual vocals distinct and layered. I will say that it was an emotive experience. For me, I am not so taken by technicalities but by how any transducer plucks my heartstrings. By that token, I think the APX passes that test.
I am frankly surprised how so many drivers have been squeezed into a small shell as this. The implementation is top notch as well. Because of how well the shell has been designed, the fit is excellent for me. As a consequence, the isolation is very good: I feel insulated and cocooned with them in my ears. At first glance, I thought the shell was a little unusual looking but once I slipped it on, it worked well.
Apologies for the rambling.
What I will say is that I am impressed by the APX. The musical presentation is excellent, as is the design of the shell and its stem. Everything is well conceived and implemented. I can say no better than it fit me like a pair of custom and once the music started playing, it melted away and it no longer impinged on my consciousness.
