PRE-REVIEW NOTES The Kaiser Encore was provided to me as a sample for the purpose of this review. I am a huge fan of the Kaiser 10. Those on the Noble thread who have seen my ramblings on the K10 would be fully aware of my fascination with its sound. My sonic preferences are mostly aligned towards a more midrange-boosted tonality, with a greater, accentuated low-end presence. The K10 fits that description pretty well, and boasts some of the best vocals in the industry, despite being several years old. So, I was very intrigued when the Kaiser...

Introduction This is a review for the FiiO X5iii that has been a long time coming. I was chosen as part of the review tour in March, but I've been so busy that I wasn't able to complete the review, until now, that is. My apologies to @FiiO for the delay. Most of these impressions were transcribed from my week spent with the X5iii from a few months back. Unfortunately, since so much time has passed, most of my thoughts on the unit have faded and I can no longer accurately describe, off hand, any ad-hoc thoughts on the player, apart from the points...

I purchased my Mentors in the first half of September 2014, and actually received them by the end of the same month. In all, it took only 2 weeks from the day my impressions were shipped to the day they arrived in my hands. I didn't pay for a rush order, so someone at UM must like me a lot. Thanks, anyway!   BUILD   The general build quality of the Mentor is decent. These are my first custom IEMs, so I wasn't sure what I was expecting, and what bars are set for fit and finish.   I ordered my Mentors in Turquoise Blue, and they came back looking...