Thanks to Concept Kart and gadgetgod for organising the tour of the Artti iems. Below is the review of the
Artti R1.
All views of the iem are my own and have no incentives of any sort for the same.
Artti is a relatively new brand to hit the market with a set of iems that have gathered positive reviews quickly.
Build and fit
The R1 sports an all metal shell and is very reminiscent of the MP145 in terms of feel or alteast the faceplate. The iems come with a very nice
looking braided brown cables with no microphonics and feels nice and sturdy. The iems sport 2pin connectors and the stock cable came with the 3.5mm termination.
The iems sport a 3 DD combination that I was quite surprised (having not read reviews of the iems before the listen! I roll like that).
The shells seem to be normal sized, and fit quite well even with the above normal sized nozzles.
The iems came in a standard fabric covered carry case that seems sturdy enough for every day usage.
Sound impressions
The iems drive well with most sources and dont need much power. However, they can scale with amping, give the 3 DD setup of the iems. I paired them with the Penon Liquer tips due to the fairly large size nozzles (I have small ears)
Overall sound is very large, with a lot of reverb that makes a lot of tracks sound like being listened to in a theatre. The largeness of the sound makes me think they will be wonderful for open world games and action movies!
The tuning is quite mature, with hardly any bass bleed into mids. The iems sport 3 way crossovers that have done an excellent job of controlling bleed.
The vocals are slightly recessed, with the instruments on both ends of the spectrum being given a more prominent positioning. However, vocal nuances are not lost.
Bass - 4/5 - There is plenty of slam and rumble with a deep insert. I docked about 0.5 points for the nozzle size that makes it a little painful for me to get a deep insert.
However, for whatever little time that I got a deep fit, the bass goes deep and slam hard. The texture is a little bit muddied though, just a tiny bit, to get a higher score.
Mids - 3.75/5 - As mentioned, the mids are slightly recessed in comparison to the rest of the spectrum, especially with the deep fit. Nuances and details are good and enjoyable.
Treble - 3.75/5 - Treble extends quite a bit with a lot of details. However, speed is touch slower for the faster tracks, along with a slight bit of harshness in the upper registers.
Soundstage - The stage is super sized. One of the larger stage sounds that I have heard in recent times. The experience is theatre like and there is no missing the largeness of sound.
They remind me of the Final VR3000 in terms of stage size, that extends in height and width equally.
Imaging - Above average imaging provides a very nicely done instrument presentation. These will add atmosphere to open world and FPS games alike.
Conclusions
Artti R1 definitely took me by surprise on first listen, giving a very different flavour from the competition, that makes it well worth adding to the collection! And at budget! I am looking at you, very expensive but poor implemented iem!