[metaljem77]

I bit the bullet and decided to try the Apx from PMG audio. The design is unlike anything I’ve encountered to date: eleven custom-built drivers: one Rectangular Planar for the bass in conjunction with one 10mm DD, 8xBA for the mids and one Round Planar for the treble.

A few words on how I’ve come to this point. I used to do much of my listening on full headphone rigs - the planar Abyss 1266 TC being my favorite. Foolish me - I thought something with planars would be incredibly hard to drive. But presumably because of the Flat Impedance Balanced Armature Earphone (FIBAE™) tech - it turns out to be more than capably driven by a Fioo BTR7! It definitely has a different presentation than most other inner monitors I’ve tried. In my years of listening to audio equipment, the thing that it reminds me most of my beloved ATCSCM 100 ASL studio monitors. They are extremely quick and responsive and tell pretty much all the details you would want The soundscape is incredible and this is why it reminds me of my speaker set up. The bass is not bloated or woolly, but tight and impactful. It does seem that it scales up with amplification. The pairing of the Orpheus cable does serve to bring some treble taming, and accentuates the bass response in my opinion. I will admit, in all honesty, I am not the most discriminating music aficionado. Although I listen to all genres - mostly, I listen when I’m on the go and mostly when I’m on the go, I’ll listen to up-tempo pop/rock music. So I kind of feel more like Guy Fieri reviewing the offerings of a local diner, then a highfaluting critic doling out Michelin stars, but in my humble opinion, this does a better job with this type of music than anything else I’ve ever heard. Among the DAPS I’ve tried, the N 30 LE Serves as the tube richness taming the treble highs. With the DMPZ1, OMG! You could almost fool me into thinking I was listening to my old Stax 009 rig with how crisp it is, but the low end is even better. And with the LP6 Ti + Tsurunagi it is incredibly punchy. To compare to my other IEMS - it kinda reminds me of the RN6 with the red module in its clarity but with the bass response of the silver. It has a different presentation than the Fei Wan to be sure, not as booming down low but more resolving on the treble.

I grew up in an area of Ohio where a lot of people of eastern European descent came from. I had a neighbor from Poland, who was incredibly kind to me. She was grandmother, taking care of a child with cerebral palsy. She would tell stories about the old country and her struggles, but also of the tight community and family she had back there. She was an astounding baker. She would send me out back to the woods where I would collect blackberries out back and she bake pies for me and my family. She would hand roll and make from scratch these dumplings called pierogis from scratch. She’d fill them with cheese or potatoes and smother them with sour cream. and it was just about the most delicious and comforting thing I can remember. In receiving this wonderful set from Poland, I think back of old Nana growing up next-door and how comforting the music feels - like I have kind of reached the end of a rich meal and can unbuckle the belt a bit and savor what I have. Because while the PMG audio APX may not be the best IEM for everyone, it sure is the one for me.

I look forward to testing out Apx with comparatively less warm / analogue sounding players like 320max and Mjolnir. I hope Apx will synergise well with Socrates8, I can’t bear to pair Orph with anything other than FW at this point in time.
On a somewhat related side note, I can see why people wouldn’t like Monachaa, and I didn’t think 320max would pair well with it but I’m glad to be proven wrong. Still burning in Monachaa, Blue Hour is doing its job well in reigning in across the spectrum.

 

[Kiats]

I am auditioning the APX in Singapore courtesy of Jaben and find it wonderfully musical. In fact, I'm selling some of my universal IEM collection to fund this purchase.

Congrats @john1711 ! I understand from @Uncle Wilson that the retail units will be arriving in the next week or so at Jaben. Enjoy!

 

[john1711]

Congrats @john1711 ! I understand from @Uncle Wilson that the retail units will be arriving in the next week or so at Jaben.

Haha, I have to search for some family jewels to pawn first to pay for the rarefied altitude of APX’s price.

 

[wolfstar76]

I spent a few days with the Hiby R8ii and ending up selling it. I thought I would provide my experience / data point.

Packaging & Unboxing

​

Top layer​

The packaging is minimal. No wooden case like M9+. It was wrapped in layers of hard cardboard.

Middle layer​

It unfolds sideways from the center like SP3K. Inside is a charging cable and TPU case.

Bottom layer

Design:​

Colour: Bordeaux Red​

This is an appealing shade of red. It has character without being too bright or bold. The back of the player is accented with Alcantara. I was generally a fan of this material with the dignis aftermarket SP3K case. It is interesting to see it make it to a DAP. Touching it has a velvet-y like texture. A con is it seems to catch dust easily.



Looking at it closer, the player is actually two toned with the Alcantara having being crimson and the metallic portion having more of an orange-blood hue. Like R6P2 there is no volume wheel. The buttons are an improvement though sized bigger and feeling more tactile. This might be a deal breaker to some people. It is less so for me since I attenutate via Mass Kobo 475, most of the time.



I was not the biggest fan of the included TPU case. Functionally, something that was an improvement over RS8 case is that it has a secure fit. R8IIs case doesn't have a flap opening. It has to be forced in via contortion. The TPUs side profile has that same the crimson alcantara. The rest of it is wrapped with a darker cloudy plastic material. In my opinion the TPU cheapens the otherwise "vintage" aesthetic. For me. It would have looked better wrapped in full alcantara. Another thing to note is that the tpu case input cut outs didn't take 4.4 pentacon well. I had to put a modest force to stick it in, chaffing my Brise IC.



R8ii is on the heavy side feeling a bit lighter than RS8 but more than SP3K. As far as button useage / ergo I still think M9+ nailed it with the curved edges and button cut outs. SP3K was my least favourite with how small the buttons were.

Perceived weight: RS8 > R8ii > 320 Max > SP3K > M9+ > R6P2

Battery Life: Battery life was class leading reminding me of RS8. I was able to leave the player burning in at night and use it with 50% battery life remaining.

Size comparisons. R8ii on the left, R6P2 on the right​

UI / UX: Speed wise R8ii was on the fast side of the android player. The screen was fairly responsive vs something like 320 Max which ran into problems. Compared to R6P2 however I was surprised to find that it had a slight lag especially a 1.5 second delay after plugging in an IC and hitting play. More on amping later.

Sound Impressions:


R8ii vs R6P2
​

Because a dap doesn't have a "sound" I'll do some dap comparisons starting with RS8 (recently owned) R6P2 (A/B) as other daps from memory.

I would classify R8II was a warm-neutral dap that has a rather stately sound profile. The temperature is between R6P2 and RS8. Out of the box compared to R6P2, it has a reduced sub bass and an increased midbass / treble. R6P2s has sweeter upper mids. R82s luke warm tuning reminded me a bit of a warmer SP3K minus the blacker background.

R8ii / XE6 (Pairing ok ️): It gave XE6 had its conventional mid bassy sound / relaxed signature. I could tell the amp section is great, producing most of XE6' potential. From memory not as wide as 320 Max nor deep as RS8 but had the right balance of width and depth. Transients had the right amount of attack that I would expect from daps like RS8, N30. Another main difference is R6P2 has a colder tonality with less fullness in the low mid range, more of a dynamic V shaped tuning.
Winner: R6P2. Revealing more of XE6' sub bass and leaning the mid bass with more of a saturated contrast-y tuning.

R8ii / 622B (Not ideal): This was the decision maker as far as I viewed R8ii and whether it was elligible for my modest collection. While I generally liked XE6 with R8ii, I noticed the highs stuck out more (mid treble?) with 622b, throwing off the timbre on some tracks. Slightly more elevated, less refined with the dac section which I'll compare next.

Dac Comparisons with MK 475


MPA vs Ak4191eq / AK4499ex​

R8ii as stated previously has a great amp sections giving me a "wow" factor for my high impedance earbuds that I've only gotten from RS8, 320 Max and N30. As far as drive goes it's in the ballpark of RS8, falling behind 320 Max.

Unamped while R6P2 drives iems to a satisfactory level, R8ii comes out a tier ahead in terms of staging expansion and dynamics. Amped with 475 was when things got interesting.

Transient response: R8ii is equipped with a discrete custom made 16-DAC system called Darwin MPA. It has a slight R2R soft "haze" that added more decay. For this type of sound, I preferred N7s 1-Bit which came off more organic.

MK 475 + R8ii vs MK475 (PO): Adding 475 not only removed the staging gaps, I found the R6P2 stack to sound more technical. During Alter Bridge - Metalingus with Canpur 622B, notes had more rigidity, denseness to it and speed that the MPA could not keep up. Zooming out comparing it to daps in general, this is not to say the R8ii stack wasn't technical, but I noticed it sounded grainier in comparison. Imaging & layering another aspect I found more diffused. I was able to pinpoint the background instruments more precisely off the R6P2. While I favor AKM chips, if I were to add an R2R Android dap again in the future it would be RS8 since I felt it commited more to R2R.

TLDR:​

Pros:

• Generally agreeable warm-neutral sound profile.​
• Class leading battery life​
• TOTL amp section for the price; This could potentionally be a 1 and done unit.​
• Hifi screen, fast browsing​

Cons:

• No volume wheel
• Runs on the hot side
• Is on the heavier side
• Alcantara might not be for everyone.

Have you tried to use MSEB to change R8ii to your liking?

 

[wolfstar76]

I've been so obsessed with my IEMs and music of late, I let the cat get over-furry and forgot it was time for a 2x year shearing.

Gotta stay on priority!

Before:

After:

Reminds me one of my furry cats, she past away over a year ago. I still have her little brother with me right now.

 

[RonaldS86]

I can’t do L-shaped, when they swivel part of me dies inside.

This part ?

 

[Damz87]

Hey Damz!

Adding to what you’ve said here between these two, how would you compare Raven & Anni with Loki Emerald?

These three have been on my top 5 list to pick from going into this year (7th Acoustics Asteria being at the top but that’s probably not till this summer at best) and the itch to pick up a new toy is back yet again.

Not sure about Raven’s upper mid range dip; I found U12t doing this tended to soften vocals and give some instruments less “bite”. Whereas Loki kinda looks like.. a “better” EE Odin(?); has the extension and warmer mid-bass to sub curve that I definitely prefer, though I have never heard Odin and a bit worried it may be too forward/fatiguing is mids.

Where you would your place these three in your ranking list for techs? I’ve heard great things about Loki bass & Anni treble, good to hear Raven has great bass. Bass dynamics is really important to me.

Yeah Ravens upper mids are more relaxed although I'd say they arent as soft as U12t's from memory, but take that with a grain of salt because I sold my U12t quite a few months ago. Loki's upper mids are indeed a lot more forward and more like Odin. I personally don't find Loki's upper mids to be too forward, because its balanced out with the bass and treble unlike Odin which had more of an upper mid peak.

I'd rank Raven the highest for technicalities, with Loki 2nd and Anni 3rd. But it's like splitting hair between the three of them and they're all top-tier for technicalities IMHO.

Curious to see your updated List

I've finally updated it here you go:

Great impressions, Damz. The satin gold faceplate on Raven v2 are definitely growing on me. Still blows my mind a bit that folks are finding Raven comfortable and aren't having major fit issues... it dwarfs Anni in this picture and Anni is by no means a small IEM. EE really nailed the shell geometry and contouring it seems.

Yeah lol it is surprisingly comfortable, especially compared to Odyssey and Evo which I found to be quite uncomfortable. I could really feel how large and bulbous they were. But somehow Ravens shape doesn't add any pressure and it feels like the shells are floating in my ear. They have indeed done an excellent job with the contouring.

@Damz87 I should not have read that post. Raven on the way.

Noiiice. Keen to hear what you think!

 

[MatW]

Yeah Ravens upper mids are more relaxed although I'd say they arent as soft as U12t's from memory, but take that with a grain of salt because I sold my U12t quite a few months ago. Loki's upper mids are indeed a lot more forward and more like Odin. I personally don't find Loki's upper mids to be too forward, because its balanced out with the bass and treble unlike Odin which had more of an upper mid peak.

I'd rank Raven the highest for technicalities, with Loki 2nd and Anni 3rd. But it's like splitting hair between the three of them and they're all top-tier for technicalities IMHO.


I've finally updated it here you go:




Yeah lol it is surprisingly comfortable, especially compared to Odyssey and Evo which I found to be quite uncomfortable. I could really feel how large and bulbous they were. But somehow Ravens shape doesn't add any pressure and it feels like the shells are floating in my ear. They have indeed done an excellent job with the contouring.



Noiiice. Keen to hear what you think!

Nice list once again. You rank Ragnar and Ronin fairly highly for IEMs you haven’t owned or only briefly? What’s your take on these IEMs?

 

[chickenmcnug]

Might have the chance to demo the XE6, RN6 & E12 today, quite excited.

 

[davidmolliere]

I bit the bullet and decided to try the Apx from PMG audio. The design is unlike anything I’ve encountered to date: eleven custom-built drivers: one Rectangular Planar for the bass in conjunction with one 10mm DD, 8xBA for the mids and one Round Planar for the treble.

A few words on how I’ve come to this point. I used to do much of my listening on full headphone rigs - the planar Abyss 1266 TC being my favorite. Foolish me - I thought something with planars would be incredibly hard to drive. But presumably because of the Flat Impedance Balanced Armature Earphone (FIBAE™) tech - it turns out to be more than capably driven by a Fioo BTR7! It definitely has a different presentation than most other inner monitors I’ve tried. In my years of listening to audio equipment, the thing that it reminds me most of my beloved ATCSCM 100 ASL studio monitors. They are extremely quick and responsive and tell pretty much all the details you would want The soundscape is incredible and this is why it reminds me of my speaker set up. The bass is not bloated or woolly, but tight and impactful. It does seem that it scales up with amplification. The pairing of the Orpheus cable does serve to bring some treble taming, and accentuates the bass response in my opinion. I will admit, in all honesty, I am not the most discriminating music aficionado. Although I listen to all genres - mostly, I listen when I’m on the go and mostly when I’m on the go, I’ll listen to up-tempo pop/rock music. So I kind of feel more like Guy Fieri reviewing the offerings of a local diner, then a highfaluting critic doling out Michelin stars, but in my humble opinion, this does a better job with this type of music than anything else I’ve ever heard. Among the DAPS I’ve tried, the N 30 LE Serves as the tube richness taming the treble highs. With the DMPZ1, OMG! You could almost fool me into thinking I was listening to my old Stax 009 rig with how crisp it is, but the low end is even better. And with the LP6 Ti + Tsurunagi it is incredibly punchy. To compare to my other IEMS - it kinda reminds me of the RN6 with the red module in its clarity but with the bass response of the silver. It has a different presentation than the Fei Wan to be sure, not as booming down low but more resolving on the treble.

I grew up in an area of Ohio where a lot of people of eastern European descent came from. I had a neighbor from Poland, who was incredibly kind to me. She was grandmother, taking care of a child with cerebral palsy. She would tell stories about the old country and her struggles, but also of the tight community and family she had back there. She was an astounding baker. She would send me out back to the woods where I would collect blackberries out back and she bake pies for me and my family. She would hand roll and make from scratch these dumplings called pierogis from scratch. She’d fill them with cheese or potatoes and smother them with sour cream. and it was just about the most delicious and comforting thing I can remember. In receiving this wonderful set from Poland, I think back of old Nana growing up next-door and how comforting the music feels - like I have kind of reached the end of a rich meal and can unbuckle the belt a bit and savor what I have. Because while the PMG audio APX may not be the best IEM for everyone, it sure is the one for me.

Ohhhh glad to get some feedback on the first PMG Audio IEM, I love @piotrus-g 's tuning mastery, and you have some source and comparison to RN6 (one of my current favorites) that speak to me so I have an idea of where it stands. I expect a lot of good stuff to come down the line from the high end brand of Custom Art

 

[Damz87]

Nice list once again. You rank Ragnar and Ronin fairly highly for IEMs you haven’t owned or only briefly? What’s your take on these IEMs?

Ronin I’ve only demo’d a few times but I think it’s a very good IEM. I would’ve bought one after my first audition if I didn’t already have Mentor at the time. I love its mids and I think it has great bass for BA’s. Ragnar I owned for a couple months and whilst I appreciate its excellent technical capabilities, I found its treble too fatiguing for longer listening sessions, and I would’ve preferred more bass.

 

[Awboynz]

Flying the friendly skies with some gear.

CA Bonneville pairing with Vortex Cable is very matching?

 

[davidmolliere]

I spent a few days with the Hiby R8ii and ending up selling it. I thought I would provide my experience / data point.
(...)

TLDR:​

Pros:

• Generally agreeable warm-neutral sound profile.​
• Class leading battery life​
• TOTL amp section for the price; This could potentionally be a 1 and done unit.​
• Hifi screen, fast browsing​

Cons:

• No volume wheel
• Runs on the hot side
• Is on the heavier side
• Alcantara might not be for everyone.

Thanks for the insightful mini review, already ordered (a blue) one we'll see how it turns out for my pairings, I was actually curious how it fared against the N7 as it's probably the best value for the money right now (not so far off N30 actually although less flexible without the Tube modes and lesser amplification the DAC section is nothing short of stellar...). This would mean a significantly better amp section and a tad less technical DAC on R8 II from what you posted. We'll see!

 

[KrólArtur]

edit

 

[drftr]

Who is he? Product Manager at Unique Melody?

bugs bunny