I would like to thank @Andykong for providing a review sample of the RU7 and additional technical information as required. This review is an extract from the The Superdongles feature in The Headphone List.


I have a real soft spot for Cayin, even though I haven’t owned a Cayin music player since my very first DAP, the Cayin N3, several years ago now. I briefly flirted with Cayin’s RU6, given my preference for ‘analogue’ R2R DACs, but found it redundant alongside the more powerful R2R DAPs I used at the time (and still do), nor the most resolving dongle I’d heard with my IEMs.

When Cayin first introduced its N7 DAP earlier this year, I was intrigued by the inclusion of a discrete 1-bit (DSD) DAC in a portable player, a first of its kind. Well, Cayin has done it again, only this time shrinking its 1-bit DAC design even further for the dongle format.

Cayin’s RU7 ($290 at Musicteck) features the world’s first discrete 1-bit DAC in dongle format, following closely on the company first 1-bit DAC-in-a-DAP in the N7. It’s a sign of the times that you can now get native DSD audio up-sampling from a low-power portable dongle the size of a matchbox – a feature that was previously the preserve of some serious desktop computing hardware. Not only that, the RU7 isn’t far behind the N7 when it comes to driving power, especially with IEMs, despite the $1,700 price difference between the two.

It has other interesting features too, like a dedicated, albeit basic, line out mode, and an All-To-DSD engine that I’ve only seen in seriously expensive players before now.


Packaging and accessories

RU7 ships in an small, understated box with a matte black satin finish and a glossy silkscreened image of the dongle from two different angles. Inside the box you’ll find the dongle in a custom foam tray, and separate tray with a USB-C to C cable and USB-C to A adapter.

There is no USB-C to Lightning adapter or cable included, Cayin opting to sell its $20 CS-L2C cable separately for some reason. Cayin does include a protective green leather case as standard, however, along with two matching leather stick-on magnetic patches to connect the dongle to a smart device in case you want to stack them.

Design and use

RU7 has a ‘conventionally’ rectangular design, coated in a silky-smooth matte-black aluminium finish with a glossy glass top. A small OLED screen is built into the glass panel, offset to the left of the player rather than centred in the frame.

There are three slightly raised buttons on the topmost long side of the dongle, two volume toggles and a menu/function button. Outputs include 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced headphone ports, which double as true line-out ports for connecting RU7 to external amps without double amping.

One usability issue I have with the input buttons is that they’re flush with the case, and although the case is slightly indented around the buttons, I often end up lowering o raising the volume when I want to do the opposite, or accidentally changing the volume when I want to change settings.



Specs

• DAC: 1-bit discrete resistor fully-balanced 4-channel DAC
• Volume control: discrete resistor 100-step linear volume control
• FPGA: No
• SNR: 114dB (3.5mm) 112dB (4.4mm)
• Power output: 160mW (3.5mm) 400mW (4.4mm)
• THD+N (32-ohm): 0.006% (3.5mm) 0.008% (4.4mm)
• Dynamic range: 115dB
• Screen: 0.91-inch OLED
• Audio formats (PCM): 16/24/32-bit 44.1-384KHz
• Audio formats (DSD): DSD64-256
• Dimensions: 66mm x 24mm x 12mm
• Weight: 25g

Settings

• Gain: choose between low and high gain, for sensitive to less sensitive loads.
• All to DSD: choose between up-sampling PCM audio to DSD64, 128 and 256.
• Output: choose between PO (headphones out) and LO (line out).
• Backlight: choose between permanently on, to auto off in 10-second increments between 10 and 60 seconds.

Notable features

World’s first dongle-based 1-bit discrete resistor DAC. Made up of 128 pieces of 0.1% 25ppm high precision thin film resistors, the custom-made 1-bit DSD DAC features an All-To-DSD engine that up-samples incoming PCM signals to DSD64, DSD128 or DSD256. The higher the setting, the more precise the conversion with higher resolution. The up-sampling level also has a perceptible effect on tonality.

Parallel dual phone amplifiers. Cayin has implemented dual parallel amplifiers in the RU7, boosting amplification current by as much as 80% from the RU6. They’ve done this without significantly increasing the noise floor of the amplifiers, resulting in a near-silent noise floor with all but the most sensitive IEMs.

Shared line out ports. It’s rare to find a line out function in a dongle because of the limitations on the hardware needed to provide a separate line out circuit. Cayin circumvented this limitation by folding line out functionality with the headphone ports.

This does limit line out quality and output levels – 1.2V for single-ended and 2.4V for balanced (compared to typical 2V and 4V outputs in dedicated DAP line outs), but it’s apparently a user-requested feature and so Cayin made it happen.

Be warned – selecting line out is not automated, and the dongle won’t switch back to headphone mode after a line out session, so be careful when you use this feature to switch back to PO, especially when using sensitive IEMs.

Discrete digital volume array. RU7 uses three banks of resistors and switching relays to provide 100 steps of precise volume increments.

Separate digital and analogue circuits. The digital and analogue sections of the RU7 are split into two separate PCBs, shielding the analogue amplification signal from digital clock and DSP noise.



Sound impressions
Tonally, RU7 has a rich, slightly warm, and subtly coloured tonality that emphasises some frequencies over others. Bass gets a moderate bump, more midbass than sub, which makes certain instruments and lower midrange vocals sound fuller and warmer than they would from a neutral source.

Midrange is fairly linear, though lower mids ‘benefit’ from the thicker bass density, if that’s your preference. That’s not to say any part of the midrange is veiled; on the contrary, I find RU7 to have an excellent degree of clarity through the mids, without any veil whatsoever, but the midrange notes are sweeter and sound quite organic, especially when up-sampling to DSD64.

Treble also gains a subtle boost to my ears. It’s not peaky, and I definitely wouldn’t call RU7 a ‘bright sounding’ dongle, but there’s plenty of energy here when the music calls for it. Overall, I find RU7’s tonality to be quite ‘musical’, which is to say warm of neutral with a natural, organic and full sound through the midrange, and enough shine in the highs to sparkle even when the bass is pumping.


Despite its obvious musicality, RU7 delivers excellent and occasionally outstanding technical performance. I’m hearing a decently wide stage with most IEMs, not quite as wide as I do with more powerful and expensive sources, but I don’t feel staging is compromised in any way either.

Other staging elements, like imaging, separation and layering, are all very good, and consistent with the highly technical levels achieved by the higher-end IEMs I used for testing. I did come across the odd track the sounds a touch more congested than I’d like during very complex passages, but that’s to be expected given the limitations of the format, and it’s only apparent in comparison to larger sources.

I thought for sure that noise would be a bigger problem than it is; I’m yet to hit any significant noise floor with any of my IEMs, even when turned up loud, and even with super sensitive IEMs where noise would sometimes be an issue. This is even more impressive given RU7’s powerful and very dynamic sound, that would normally show up any issues with signal noise, but to my ears, there is none.

Overall, I feel RU7’s ‘superpower’ is its ability to deliver such a rich, coherent and lively sound with a high degree of technical polish. From memory (and copious notes) this alone sets it apart from its predecessor, the RU6, and is possibly reflective of the technical advantage of its 1-bit DAC compared to the latter’s R2R derivative.



Select pairings

FiR Audio Rn6. RU7 warms up this already warm-of-neutral ‘reference’ IEM a touch, making it sound fuller, wetter, more cohesive but slightly less resolving. It’s musical but not muddy, with a punchy bass and vocals I can usually describe as earthy. Stage can is wide on some tracks, but with busier music it can get a little congested. An excellent pairing, and easily driven, with low-thirds volume in low gain.

FatFreq Maestro SE. With RU7, MSE comes into its own, offering up a warm, pleasantly even tonality with standout bass when called for. RU7’s slight midbass bump works well with MSE’s rather linear midbass tuning. It also works nicely with MSE’s neutral midrange, adding a touch of warmth and weight to vocals, though female vocals are still quite airy and occasionally wispy. Treble is nicely extended, and not too elevated, but sparkles and shines where it needs to without getting in the way or taking over the performance. Another excellent pairing, with a comfortable listening volume at 55/100 in high gain – not bad considering how difficult MSE is to drive.



HiBy Zeta. With RU7, Zeta takes full advantage of the slight bass lift to deliver a bold presentation that somehow doesn’t bloom or spill over into the lower midrange. While vocals (and the midrange in general) isn’t as resolving as it is with MSE or Rn6, it holds its own with just enough detail to satisfy and never too much to fatigue. I like how RU7 controls Zeta’s occasional upper midrange peak, and so is never shouty or sibilant, even with poorly recorded material. Easily driven at low volume in low gain, this is another excellent pairing, and shows off RU7’s versatility with different IEM tonalities and sensitivity.

Sony IER-Z1R. With RU7, Z1R has more midbass heft, and more bass in general. Vocals are well separated, and treble is clean and distinct, giving the sound a deeper U tonality. If you like your Z1R warmed up, RU7 will do that, though the famous Z1R stage will sound slightly more compressed and not quite as deep. Another IEM that loves power, and RU7 delivers impressively at 45/100 in high gain.



Compared to L&P W4

RU7 is notably warmer-sounding than the more neutral W4. RU7 bumps the midbass region ever so slightly, thickening the note weight of the lower frequencies. W4, by comparison, is more sub-bass focused, with a tighter bass punch and not quite as much weight or decay in the midbass notes.



Increasing the DSD rate on RU7 has the effect of stretching out the lower frequencies, or at least relative to the increase in midrange and treble detail, but the bass never becomes a tight as with W4. Even though bass is still nicely controlled on RU7, it’s also ‘bigger sounding’ than W4, mostly due to this subtle bass lift.

I hear similar differences in the midrange of these two dongles. W4 shoots for clarity and transparency, with a neutral and fairly linear midrange that’s more revealing, while RU7 mids are a touch denser and more euphonic. The lower the DSD sampling rate, the ‘wetter’ the RU7 mids become, although at no point do they get as warm and full as the midrange of a typical R2R DAC like RU6 or HiBy’s RS6.

RU7’s lower midrange sounds slightly fuller to me, but also a touch more recessed compared to W4, whereas the upper mids are mostly on par between the two. That’s not to say W4’s mids are thin. Both dongles dig deep into the musical information in the midrange, and neither come close to sounding overly analytical. RU7 leans slightly more musical than W4 in the midrange, however, but W4 in turn sounds more accurate, with a lifelike, natural timbre to instruments and vocals.

The upper frequencies of both dongles are also quite linear, without any notable peaks or dips, and excellent extension. I’d hazard a guess that RU7’s treble is ever so slightly lifted compared to W4’s crisp and neutral treble response, but it would be just that, a guess.

Combined with the bass lift, slight lower midrange recession and subsequent treble rise, you’d be forgiven for thinking RU7 has a V-shaped tonality, but it’s much closer to a gentle U. W4, in contrast, is even flatter by comparison, about as close to true neutral without ever crossing into stale, cool or analytical territory. Both dongles are naturally musical, but RU7 is musical with a warmer, fuller tilt.



The technical level of both these dongles is nothing short of impressive. I’d be hard pressed to pick out the difference between either dongle and a really good mid-to-upper tier DAP based on technical performance alone.

That said, and since I won’t be comparing these dongles directly to actual DAPs other than in passing subjective comments, there is a limit to how technically-accomplished and refined you’ll hear them yourself, especially if your weapon of choice is a higher-end DAP or desktop system.

The stage size of both dongles is very similar; neither dongle projects the largest stage I’ve ever heard, but neither is staging too intimate. Width, height and depth are just about even, with W4 maybe edging RU7 in depth and RU7 sounding a hair wider. Both are what I consider natural, projecting sound ever so slightly out of head with my largest-stage IEMs, but not quite as holographically as I know them to be capable of.

Where W4 does take the lead is in separation and layering, aided perhaps by its mildly leaner tonality. Sounds emanate more distinctly from the blackness of the background with the W4, and are also more spaced out from each other. Imaging is excellent with both, neither coming off as too diffused, especially in light of their average stage size.



Speaking of background, both dongles are essentially noise-free. RU7’s thicker notes and closer spacing might give the impression of a less inky backdrop, but I don’t think that has anything to do with noise. Regardless, W4 does sound cleaner. It also sounds more detailed, and while RU7 is at least as resolving as some higher-end DAPs and desktops with the same IEMs, W4 is even more so.

Dynamically, RU7 is the more exciting of the two. That said, depending on the setting, RU7 can also lean more relaxed (DSD64), and switching W4 to Tone 01 has a similar effect on the sound.

Overall, both RU7 and W4 have set a new benchmark for technical performance for dongles, at least of the many dongles I’ve heard. Both outclass their predecessors, for example, sounding cleaner, more precise, less noisy, and more resolving. Where they differ more is tonally, which in turn affects the perception of the subtle intangible technical differences I’m hearing.

The only cap on performance is the cap imposed by the physical size of these devices. Sadly, not even the most ingenious DAC designs or amplification circuits can defy the laws of physics, and as such expecting dongles – even these Superdongles – to match and exceed the performance of larger, more complex, and more computationally-powerful devices is fanciful. It’s not about price, it’s about size.

But, on their own terms, the sound quality they have already attained is about as good as we’re going to get in this format with current technology.



Closing thoughts

Cayin’s RU7 continues the company’s hot streak of breaking new ground in DAC design for the dongle format, and I won’t be the first to say the all-new 1-bit DAC in the RU7 is even more impressive than the R2R DAC in its predecessor. Not only that, the new parallel amp design has proven itself with some of the hardest-to-drive IEMs I’ve ever used, and in doing so, RU7 is no longer hamstrung by piddly power output, the usual Achille’s Heel of most dongles.

With a smooth, rich and musical tonality, RU7 is also the most versatile dongle I've used with the selection of high-end IEMs in my collection, and is probably my pick of the new crop of 'superdongles' if I could only choose one. Highly recommended.

I’d like to thank Vlad and @bogdan belonozhko for sending us a sample Radon 6 for this review, without any guidance or influence into how we’ll write it. Their enthusiasm for the community is infectious, and a big factor in FiR’s thriving popularity.

Introduction

FiR Audio’s Frontier series has been making headlines for all the right reasons for the past two years or so. With so much new technology and innovation crammed into the three founding Foundation members: Neon 4 (Ne4), Krypton 5 (Kr5) and Xenon 6 (Xe6 – reviewed here), the series is a breath of fresh in a golden age of high-end IEMs already pushing the technical and tuning boundaries.

Towards the end of 2022, FiR decided to pull a rabbit out of the hat – as they do – and announce an all-new, limited edition Frontier series IEM, Radon 6 (Rn6), to mark the company’s fifth anniversary milestone.

Following the periodic naming convention of its predecessors, Radon is based on the same driver configuration as Xenon, but with slight design modifications, all-new tuning philosophy, and a specially-crafted cable specifically matched for its sonic profile.

Interestingly, FiR decided to release Rn6 as a limited edition set, with only 333 units expected to be made, at the time of writing. Unlike the other Frontiers, there is also no official option for an Rn6 custom, although several customs were made and sold under special circumstances.

Whether or not FiR continues Rn6 production beyond the initial limited sets, or indeed includes customs as a standard option, remains to be seen. For now, what we have is an entirely new and, sonically, unique IEM that, to my ears, has the potential to outshine them all.



Packaging and presentation

If you’re familiar with the other Frontier series packing, Rn6 keeps things consistent. Presented in a matte black box with a wire diagram of the IEM on a pullout sleeve, Radon’s packaging is minimalist at best.

Inside you’ll find a firm foam tray with cutouts for the earpieces and pre-attached cable, a round leather carry case containing additional sets of eartips, a cleaning tool, the ATOM Xs tray and an ATOM Xs removal tool, along with an iron-on patch to proudly wear the Frontier brand outdoors.



Unlike Xenon, which is supplied with one set each of soft silicone and foam eartips, Radon includes a set of Symbio hybrid silicone/foam tips, along with a separate set of foam tips. I’ve never been a fan of Symbio tips, finding them too hard and uncomfortable to even notice their sonic benefits, so I suggest experimenting with tips for yourself to find the ones that work best for you.

This is also good place to mention how finicky the ATOM Xs modules are to install. While the miniature design must have its reasons, practically-speaking swapping modules can be a pain. That said, FiR produced a video showcasing how to remove and install the modules, and I must say it made the process much easier to understand and follow. I’ve included the video here for easy reference:



Another thing worth mentioning is that the paint on the included modules, especially the red module, tends to flake off quite easily, leaving reddish residue in the ATOM Xs slot on the IEMs. If this bothers you, contact FiR and they’ll send you a replacement set of anodized modules, along with a cleaning kit for excess residue. It’s good to know the company has been so responsive to user concerns about this ‘tiny’ issue.

Radon and Xenon

I’ll be going back and forth between Radon and Xenon in this review simply because they share so many similarities, at least on paper. As such, it might be a good idea to read my Xe6 review if only as a primer to some of the tech I’ll discuss here briefly, though not as thoroughly as I did in that review.

Rn6 is packed with the same technologies FiR created for the entire Frontier series, including its breakthrough Kinetic Bass port and driver, ATOM Xs venting, open acoustics, and RIGID system.

By way of recap:

Kinetic Bass uses an outward-facing dynamic driver beneath an open-vented port above the IEM nozzle to transmit low frequency sounds indirectly through the ear cartilage, in a process known as bone conduction. This allows the full spectrum of bass energy to pass through your ears in the same way that it does using full-size speakers, which makes the bass feel more immersive, extended and ‘real’. It’s fair to say that FiR’s Kinetic Bass is different to the bass presentation on any other IEM I’ve heard.



ATOM (Air Transferring Open Module) venting is a staple technology on most FiR IEMs, based on similar technology to 64 Audio’s APEX (and its predecessor, ADEL) pressure relief system. It’s a brilliant technology that balances the pressure from sound waves pounded into the ear canal, reducing listening fatigue and, more importantly, protecting your eardrums.

The other, often overlooked, benefit of ATOM venting is the ability to fine-tune the sound by switching modules. Each module provides a slightly different level of sound isolation, from 10dB (red), to 13dB (black), 15dB (silver) and 17dB (gold). The higher the isolation, the more perceptible the bass levels, and therefore the overall sound balance across the FR. This makes Frontier IEM’s ‘tunable’ to some degree, in addition to other tuning methods like eartips and cables.



Open Acoustics is the umbrella term used for three different sound technologies inside FiR Frontier IEMs: tubeless open-top balanced armature drivers, a sound reactor that helps shape the sound projected into the internal chamber, and a sound reflector that directs the sound from the high-frequency (treble) driver directly into the ear canal. All three are said to improve sound fidelity and give the Frontier series its distinctive sonic balance.

Lastly, RIGID is also an umbrella term given to the series of resilient design features built into the Frontiers. These include a robust 2-pin socket that’s rated at more than 1000 cable connections, and a snap-on removable mesh screen that catches dust and debris from entering the nozzle and damaging the drivers. It probably should also refer to the Frontiers’ metal shells that look and feel as if they can take a real beating without suffering long-term damage.



Looking closer at Radon’s design, the Kinetic Bass port is slightly smaller than Xenon’s, though the bone-conducting dynamic drivers inside are the same size and type, as far as I know. Radon ships with an extra, default, red ATOM module, which also happens to be the least isolating of the black, silver and gold modules included as standard in the box.

Aside from these two fundamental differences, the size and shape of the Radon shells is similar to that of Xenon, although Radon is cast from a lighter, anodized aluminium instead of Xenon’s gold-plated stainless steel.

As such Radon is much lighter, though both IEMs are relatively small and light to begin with, especially when you consider how much tech is crammed inside. Radon is also finished in a matte black coating with a glossy black and gold-specked faceplate, making it far less ‘blingy’ than the gold and deep-blue Xenon hues.



If you get a good fit with the other Frontiers, Radon will be no different. If anything, it might suit you better if you prefer your IEMs featherlight, and I personally prefer the matte texture in ear to any of the other Frontiers, and while the nozzles are on the thicker side, the fit is still among the best I’ve had with universal shells.

I also prefer Radon’s all-new soft and pliable PVC cable to Xenon’s braided and twisty Scorpio C. It feels smoother, less microphonic, and better made, with 2-pin connectors and a gold-plated 4.4mm balanced plug to match, and fits right in with Radon’s dark, understated design aesthetic. Unfortunately, FiR doesn’t sell the cable separately, as it would be a decent upgrade for the rest of the series.

Retailing at $3,299 – a full $600 less than Xenon – you’d expect Radon to compromise on some of its sonic internals. Instead, it’s virtually identical, sporing the same 10mm Kinetic Bass dynamic bass driver, two open BA midrange drivers, one open BA upper-midrange driver, one open BA treble driver (with sound reflector), and one electrostat ultra-high treble driver. Both Radon and Xenon are also rated at 28-ohm impedance, and are very easy to drive (sometimes too easy, in fact).

I’m not sure where the price discrepancy comes in, and as you’ll soon see, why the asking price doesn’t reflect Radon’s relative performance against its bolder brother. Could it be that in creating a slightly more accessible version, in both price and tuning, compared to the ‘out-there’ Xenon, FiR has somehow stumbled upon an even better version of its original flagship?



Sound impressions

I’ll be comparing Radon and Xenon in more detail in the next section, but to start, let’s focus on Radon on its own terms. All testing was done using a select number of lossless and hi-res tracks from my flac and DSD library, which are referenced below where appropriate. Sources used include iBasso’s DX300 MAX, HiBy’s RS8, and Sony’s WM1Z.

Tonally, Rn6 has a quintessentially balanced, W-shaped tonality to my ears that spotlights bass, mids and treble in (almost) equal measure. It does this without over-emphasising any one frequency, or pushing any frequency to the point of harshness.

This is a clear, engaging, but even-paced sound that doesn’t go for ‘wow’ and instead creates a lifelike reproduction of the music you’re listening to in a very natural way – given the proper upstream source and file quality, of course.

There is colour here for sure; it’s not gregariously warm or thick a-la Xe6, nor is it neutral to a fault like some reference IEMs. Personally, I hear it as somewhere in-between, but to me it’s closer to reference than overtly coloured, especially with the red module (more on this later).



Bass has the distinct, deep, weighty-yet-open sound I’ve come to expect from FiR’s Kinetic driver, only it’s more evenly balanced between sub-and-midbass frequencies compared to Xenon’s midbass focus.

Even with the least-isolating red module, bass has a visceral rumble with oodles of texture, delivered in a tight, controlled way with zero bleed into the mids – until you switch to the more isolating modules anyway.

The electronic kicks in Aes Dana’s Inks seem to extend almost endlessly deep, with a satisfying weight you can almost see. It’s a subwoofer-like presentation that I really enjoy, more so than the ‘though the floor’ feeling I get from Xenon’s looser, more midbassy tuning. The edges of the bass notes are better defined, and while decay is slightly quicker, it’s still very natural with a quintessentially dynamic driver physicality.

Switching to ‘real’ drums, and the kicks in the Eagles’ live rendition of Hotel California hit in a natural, if slightly subdued way, closer to neutral than how I’m used to hearing them with more bass-forward IEMs. The texture and decay are all there, but the weight doesn’t steal the focus from the other instruments. Kinetic bass in general seems to come from a ‘deeper’ place, as if I’m hearing it emanating from inside my ears compared to more conventional IEM bass.

What Radon bass definitely doesn’t lack is texture. The latter third of Lana Del Rey’s A&W is replete with a wavelike bassline that feels like ripples of bass spreading across the stage. It’s a glorious experience with this IEM, even better in how it stays in its own lane compared to the various instruments, effects and Lana’s sultry vocals on this track.



Midrange tuning is another distinct deviation from Xenon, with a more ‘correctly-neutral’ lower midrange and gradual rise to a perfectly-peaked mid-to-upper midrange gain.

This does wonders for vocal purity, and as mentioned above, Lana Del Rey sounds absolutely exceptional with Radon. I mean, Lana sounds exceptional on an AM radio, but with Radon it’s as if she’s seated in the same room singing her latest poetry-music to an audience of one.

Gentle tracks like ‘Kintsugi’, ‘Fingertips’, and ‘Paris, Texas’ from her latest LP, Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, where her soft, sweet vocals are overlaid on a simple arrangement of piano and strings (and the occasionally-delicious sub-bass rumble) are as seductive as they are lifelike.

Vocals of the male variety are also very well done on Radon. Mark Knopfler’s distinctive twang on Dire Strait’s Sultans of Swing is set in line with, if maybe just a touch behind, his iconic guitar. In contrast, Leonard Cohen’s chesty drawl in In My Secret Life feels like it comes alive with the help of Radon’s Kinetic bass, while Justin Hayward’s Forever Autumn, originally taken from Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds, sounds iconically angelic.

Instrument timbre is another positive feature of Rn6’s midrange balance. There’s some organic warmth in the mids, likely from the Kinetic bass, but it’s not a veil as it sometimes sounds with Xenon, rather an accent. Mids have a fullness to them that sounds natural, for want of a different word, neither too wet or too dry.

Transients are crisp and full, the plucks of Ottmar Liebert’s Spanish guitar in Barcelona Nights sounding three-dimensional, perfectly mixed in with the congas and shakers on that track. Benny Andersson’s piano solo version of I Let The Music Speak is likewise delightfully subtle and nuanced, with just the right amount of weight and sustain on the keys.



Treble, and specifically the transition from lower to upper treble, is quite similar on Rn6 and Xe6, but Radon sounds more emphasised because of its comparatively less elevated midbass and lower midrange. Treble notes are still very clean, without any harshness, sibilance or peaks that I can point to in any of my test tracks.

There’s a slight lower treble emphasis, which makes poorly-recorded and already-splashy tracks even more so, but if your library is more sedate like mine, you’re unlikely to ever find this an issue.

Max Richter’s haunting strings in On The Nature of Daylight have a sweetness to them that cuts through with just the right amount of crispness. Similarly, his rendition of Winter 1, a recomposed version of Vivaldi’s famous The Four Seasons, layers the different string sections with outstanding accuracy, from the gentle intro to the soaring crescendo.

Listening for both male (Def Leppard’s Love Bites) and female (Missy Higgins, Shark Fin Blues) sibilance returns none on both, which is to say Rn6 is perfectly smooth in this region without losing any definition or blunting any of the transients.

While I wouldn’t call Radon’s treble the most extended I’ve heard, I’m also not particularly picky on treble extension. There’s enough air for my liking, especially on ‘airy’ tracks like Ilan Bluestone’s Will We Remain.

If you listen to a lot of treble-laden music and love your V-shaped sound, Rn6 might come across as slightly sedate for your preferences, but if you like your treble to keep its head down and stay in line with the rest of the music, that’s exactly what you’ll get.



Technical performance is, in a word, excellent – but with a few caveats. While I hear Radon’s stage as wide and spacious, it does lack some depth, but only in comparison to some of the best soundstage performers in the business (see Sony IER-Z1R below).

Listening to Owl City’s The Saltwater Room, I don’t hear any congestion at all, and there’s no sense that layering is compromised either, it’s just that sounds tend to trail off quicker to the sides and don’t linger in the centre stage as long as I’ve heard them do with some other flagships.

Imaging is accurate, Pink Floyd’s multitude of clocks chiming just where they should in Time, and Al Di Meola’s wandering shakers in Traces of a Tear almost making my head turn from left to right and back again to follow them.

Radon also excels in extracting all the detail in a track, particularly in complex vocal deliveries. I love how I can hear the subtle inflections in Heidi Talbot’s sugary voice in Cathedrals, and the fleeting murmurs in Angel Olsen’s delicate rendition of Chance. It may not be as resolving as ‘detail monster’ IEMs with artificially boosted treble or two dozen BA drivers, but it doesn’t need to be to sound as close to lifelike as I’d ever want for my own ears.



Speed and dynamics, check and check. Like Xenon before it, FiR knows how to build a dynamic IEM, and while Radon may have toned down some of the explosive excitement of its gold-hued brother, it’s still a top-class performer when it comes to volume swings, as a casual listen to Hans Zimmer’s Mountains will show you.

Overall, I find it hard to find any real ‘flaws’ in Radon’s tonal or technical performance, unless you call its lack of extreme colour or naturally balanced tonality a flaw. This is much more a ‘yes’ IEM than it is a ‘wow’ IEM. You can point to any of the previous Frontiers and describe a quirky characteristic that makes them ‘stand out’ from the crowd, but with Rn6, it’s more a case of everything just sounds right, just the way it should.

ATOMic tuning

As with all Frontier IEMs, the sound impressions above are written with an asterisk that says ‘subject to change on short notice’. That’s because swapping ATOM modules subtly but audibly changes the sound profile, and Radon is no exception. Instead of rewriting the impressions in four different ways, however, I’ve summarised the main differences between modules and how I hear them below:

Red is the least isolating and also the module I used to write these impressions. I’ll therefore describe the other three modules relative to how I heard Radon with red.

Black increases bass elevation across the board, though still manages to separate sub-bass without bloating midbass. Tonally it’s still a W, though bass-heavy tracks are skewed left compasred to red. Radon also sounds warmer now, the mids getting more glow from the bass boost, and there’s slightly less air in the treble, possibly as a result of the fuller mids. If you’re willing to give up some clarity and the last mile of treble extension, and prefer your sound warmer overall, black could be worth a try.

Silver starts to shrink the stage too much for my liking, though the bass boost becomes more prominent. Upper mids start to recess as the focus shifts downwards, though treble is still clear and natural, with plenty of sparkle and crunch when required. I don’t feel the technical hit is worth the compromise, but if you’re into a more bassy sound, this could be your preference. At this point I feel there are other IEMs that do ‘more bass’ better, and you’re losing too many of Radon’s strengths for too little return.

Gold is my least favourite module, turning Radon into a ‘mini Xe6’ but with blunted technical performance by comparison. Everything from upper mids northward gets a pillowy smoothness from the boosted midbass, and stage shrinks further, making it an even more intimate presentation than Xenon’s. If you crave a ‘different’ sound and don’t own a Xenon, it could be fun to play with gold once in a while, but personally I’d leave it in the tray.



Select comparisons

Xenon 6 ($3,899). If you’ve read the entire review to this point, you’ll already have some idea of the similarities and differences between Rn6 and Xe6. Despite having the same driver configuration and a very similar design, Rn6 is more than just a ‘retuned Xe6’, standing on its own as a very mature IEM and, in my opinion, the most ‘complete’ of the Frontier series.

That said, the most obvious differences, aside from their looks, is indeed their tuning, with Xe6 having unapologetically boosted midbass-to-lower midrange shelf, a very unusual and quite unique tuning choice for a high-end flagship IEM. This made, and still makes, Xe6 an outlier in terms of its warm, thick, enveloping sound, mixed with superb upper midrange to treble tuning that ‘breaks through the veil’ to deliver a simultaneously rich but also clear and engaging sound.

Rn6, in contrast, drops midbass and lower mids back down to ‘normal’ levels, especially lower mids that are now neutral. Midbass is still elevated, but only just, putting more focus on the sub-bass frequencies, with the corresponding elevation in rumble and lower-bass texture quite apparent.

This tuning choice puts Radon’s sound profile much closer to what I consider natural and lifelike, while retaining some of the fullness and warmth from its Kinetic bass driver. It also opens up the upper midrange with more air and significantly more clarity and apparent resolution than I hear with Xe6, although I find the relatively more forward midrange shrinking stage depth slightly in comparison to Xenon, which sounds more holographic.

Where the changes are most obvious is in tracks where vocals are closely mixed with instruments, and that contain at least some level of bass emphasis. This represents a large portion of my indie pop/female vocal collection, and any session with Xenon straight after Radon makes vocals feel more congested, the air warmed up, and a thicker coat of bass applied to the entire presentation.



I find Xe6 works well for thinner-mastered rock and EDM/electronic music with sparse, sharp instrumentation and effects, where the bass drone doesn’t stifle the final mix and gives the entire presentation a warm, impactful and highly dynamic feeling. This makes Xe6 a specialist IEM for my use case, and a hit-or-miss depending on what I’m listening to. Rn6, by contrast, is exemplary with most if not all of my music library, and sounds fantastic even when I’m exploring new music genres outside my comfort zone.

While technical performance is at least on par, I do find Radon’s improved clarity and midrange resolve adds an uptick to how I perceive its technicalities. With slightly shorter but still natural decay, especially midbass, Rn6 is also faster, and handles complex music with more composure and finesse than Xenon, which can come off as congested in busier passages, especially when there’s lots of midbass and lower-mid information in the track.

Overall, I find these two fantastic IEMs very complementary, as long as you have music in your library that gels with Xe6’s distinct coloration and don’t mind dropping nearly four grand on a specialist driver. Radon is easily the safest recommendation if you’re buying blind, and to me is the pick of the four Frontiers for its overall versatility. Here’s hoping FiR makes it a permanent fixture.



Sony IER-Z1R ($1,799). It’s no secret that Sony’s IER-Z1R is my favourite IEM, and has been for well over a year now. It has the tuning, technical performance and overall gestalt that ticks every box on my preferences checklist, and I’m yet to hear an IEM at any price that matches Z1R’s unique combination of sonic qualities.

But before we get to the sound, there are some key physical differences to consider between these two flagships. Z1R is, for some reason, notoriously difficult to fit for many people. As someone with smaller ears and narrow ear canals who’s never struggled with the fit, I can’t quite understand why. But then I’ve used many IEMs that don’t get any fit complaints, and with much larger nozzles, that I can’t get into my ears at all. Even Radon, with its thicker nozzle, is on the border of comfortable, and puts more pressure on my ear canals than the Sony.

Driveability is also different. Rn6 is much easier to drive, with the dial set at 9-10am on the DX300 MAX on average, compared to the Sony sitting at 1-2PM, both with low gain. The Sony also scales up more with more power from the source, whereas Radon sounds the same even from low-power sources like Sony’s WM1Z.



Tonally, where Rn6 is a flatter W-shaped tuning, leaning more bass-left depending on the ATOM module used, Z1R has a distinct U-shaped tonality, with bass and treble projected more forward, but – and this is important – so are most female vocals. Despite its tuning profile, Z1R actually has less bass elevation than Rn6, even with the red module, and while Z1R is mostly sub-based focused, you’ll feel more visceral rumble with Rn6 too.

Z1R’s bass has a uniquely liquid quality that seems to flow across the stage, gently texturing the lower frequencies and adding to the subtle echoes and cues that create its cathedral-like tall, wide and very deep stage. Radon’s bass is more centred, and doesn’t resonate quite as deep.

In fact, Radon presents sounds on a flatter plane, with bass, mids and treble more or less even on the stage, whereas with most of the tracks I used to compare the two IEMs, Z1R will have vocals and/or bass or some other element closer to me, with some sounds panned hard left and right, and others trailing off into the distance. As such I find Z1R more immersive, moving elements back and forth towards me, whereas Radon pushes my listening position a few rows back and keeps most of the action in front of me on stage.

If you’re looking for absolute slam and impact, Radon has the upper hand, whereas Z1R is more ‘polite’. That’s not to say it can’t slam, it’s just that Radon’s Kinetic bass is more physical.

Conversely, Radon’s mids, especially female vocals, are more revealing, and even though both IEMs are tuned for clarity in the midrange (especially upper midrange), I find Z1R sweeter and more natural, and Radon slightly drier by comparison. That said, Radon is more ‘correct’ in its placement of male vocals, so if you listen to lots of male vocal music, it’s probably a safer alternative.



Up top, Z1R has a bit more energy in the lower treble, whereas Radon spreads its treble energy evenly, and has more mid-treble presence. Radon also has a touch more air, but Z1R is more sparkly and pristine, with some of the best treble sweetness I’ve heard with any IEM. Neither IEM overloads the upper treble, which is very much in line with my preferences.

Technically I find both IEMs to be very much on par. They trade blows as to which is more resolving, both being just about as resolving as I’d like with top-tier performance. Both are also very dynamic, Z1R maybe a fraction more, but it’s splitting hairs.

I do hear Z1R as having a slightly darker, quieter background, but only because Radon is a touch warmer. Imaging and separation are also fantastic on both, with Z1R possibly pipping Radon for first prize. Neither can match the clinical performance of dozen-driver IEMs, and both are also more enjoyable to me than any dozen driver IEMs I’ve heard.

Overall, as close as it gets, Radon isn’t going to replace Z1R for me, but because of its even-mannered profile, is better suited as a benchmark IEM that all others can be compared to.

Both fit my target IEM profile of top-tier all-rounder, and both have their own strengths that make them complementary. That’s more than I can say for most other high-end IEMs I’ve auditioned in the past year, Xe6 and Kr5 included.



A note on pairings

I was going to write a separate section on different pairings for Rn6, only to discover that Radon is incredibly adept at adapting itself to the sources I have at hand. Whether I’m listening to it with the DX300 MAX, RS8 or WM1Z, I’m not hearing significant differences in the sound.

The subtle character of each DAP comes through: RS8 with its smoother, analogue vocals, WM1Z with its gentler bass and lusher tonality, and DX300 MAX with its clean, neutral power. But overall, I can enjoy Rn6 from any of these sources without feeling like I’m missing out on quality, resolving power, stage size or tonal balance.

There are many IEMs, like Z1R for instance, that are pickier about which pairing they sound best with. Radon isn’t one of them, and that’s a good thing in my book.



Closing thoughts

I could sense Vlad Belonozhko’s quiet enthusiasm when we ‘met’ on a Zoom call earlier this year. We were discussing this very review you’re now reading, and I could tell that there was something about this IEM that was special to him, aside from the fact that it was a special edition commemorative of FiR’s success as a company.

Fast-forward a few months and I now share Vlad’s enthusiasm, if not more so. In my Xe6 review, I mentioned how that IEM had taken the industry by surprise, rising to the top of the popularity charts for those that own – or have owned – just about every high end portable audio driver on the planet. Rn6 is not that IEM…it’s better.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Radon isn’t lighting up the charts quite like its older brother. It doesn’t have the same bold tuning, or bling looks, or aura of unapologetic bashfulness. It’s a safer, more polite, more correct-sounding IEM, but make no mistake, it still has that FiR Frontier flavour: unique bass physicality, exceptional technical ability and supreme build quality.



For me, Rn6 is the culmination of everything FiR has learned in creating the Frontier series, rolled into the consummate FiR IEM. It takes the clarity and speed of Kr5 and the power and technical performance of Xe6 bass and combines them into a new Frontier derivative that improves on both.

While I don’t believe the ‘perfect’ IEM exists, and that everyone has their own preferences, I honestly struggled to find fault with Rn6 with my own music library and preferences.

ATOM Xs is not the most user-friendly system, and there’s been some concern about the modules’ durability, but nothing that FiR hasn’t publicly addressed and rectified. I can also nitpick about nozzles, safe tuning, or even pricing to some degree, but none of these are anything I’d consider a showstopper.

The only temper to my enthusiasm for Rn6 is that more people won’t get to enjoy it, since production is capped. I’d also like to see a permanent CIEM option, which would optimise the sound further and remove any issues with fit.



I do wonder, though, if the decision to limit its numbers is the idea that an IEM that does so much right without blowing people’s minds is bound to find limited commercial success, especially at this summit-level price tier. I also get that, for this sort of money, people want an IEM with a party trick or two that nothing else can do.

However, if you’re someone like me who strives to get as close to lifelike sound reproduction with a sprinkling of fun and excitement, not many IEMs that I know of do that quite as well and quite so effortlessly as FiR’s new Frontier.

It’s an IEM that can easily stand on its own as a premium one-and-done for most audiophile enthusiasts, and for that, it earns my highest possible recommendation.

This review first appeared on The Headphone List

Introduction

Aside from a few notable exceptions, it’s rare for a new IEM to come along and completely change the game. FiR Audio’s Xenon 6 (Xe6), flag bearer of the Washington-based company’s Frontier Series that debuted in late 2021/early 2022, is one such IEM.

The entire Frontier series can be said to be pushing the boundaries with FiR’s Kinetic Bass technology in particular, but Xe6 is radically different over and above all the new technology crammed inside its small, shiny shells. From the very first listen, it’s obvious that this is an IEM doing stuff on its own terms, unapologetically breaking conventions and defying what most people who pay the sort of highbrow money it commands generally look for.

All of this should, in theory, make Xe6 an outlier, a marginal success at best. But instead, Xe6 has smashed its way to the top of the popularity charts, beating off competition from other fancied high-end IEMs that cost more, are tuned more conventionally, or would normally be considered a ‘safe bet’, as much as that’s possible in this fiercely subjective hobby anyway.

Despite its success, Xe6 is still divisive. Those that love it absolutely love it, and those that don’t can’t get it out of their ears fast enough. Rarely have I met someone who’s had a casual listen and wasn’t moved one way or another. This, I think, is Xe6’s true strength – it’s an emotionally evocative IEM in the best, and sometimes worst, ways. One thing’s for sure, it’s not going to bore you, or simply be iterative over what you already own.

In this review I’m going to do things a little differently too. I’ll cover all the basics, but won’t repeat most of what I’ve already written. Instead, I want to get to the heart of why this IEM is different, and try to understand what that means for anyone who dares to go against the grain to experience music in fascinating new ways.



Frontier Series

Before we turn our focus to Xe6, let’s cover off some of the interesting new technologies that FiR engineered into the entire Frontier Series, which also includes the ‘entry-level’ Neon 4 (Ne4), and ‘mid-level’ Krypton 5 (Kr5).



Kinetic Bass. Big bass in IEMs has always been something of an oxymoron. After all, when we think of big bass, we think floor-standing speakers or subwoofers, massive dynamic driver cones moving large volumes of air as low-frequency waves that we ‘feel’ as much as we hear.

As you can imagine, this trick is a little more difficult to pull off with a driver smaller than your pinky nail. Not that IEMs can’t reproduce impressively ‘big’ bass – heck many IEMs do so better than headphones with drivers ten-times their size. But getting that much bass air to ‘move’ in such a small space is generally detrimental to just about every other frequency that comes after, often resulting in a thick, muddy sound that’s not particularly hi-fi.

Kinetic Bass literally flips the script on traditional dynamic driver designs. Using an outward-facing dynamic driver beneath an open-vented port above the IEM nozzle, low frequency sounds are transmitted directly into the inner-ear through the bone cartilage, in a process known as bone conduction. This allows the full spectrum of bass energy to pass through your ears in the same way that it does using full-size speakers, through air and bone conduction, which, in theory at least, makes the bass feel more immersive, extended and ‘real’.

Other IEMs use bone conduction technology to vibrate sound waves through the shell or ear tip, but no other IEM that I know of uses it specifically for the foundational bass frequencies through an open port, changing how we experience bass given the inherent physical limitations of IEM.



ATOM Venting. FiR’s Air Transferring Open Module is not a new technology for Frontier, but rather an existing technology adapted to better fit the new Frontier universal shells. ATOM is essentially a vent that releases air pressure trapped inside the ear canal, reducing fatigue and all but eliminating the reflex that causes your eardrums to protect themselves against prolonged exposure to loud sounds.

That’s not to say ATOM removes the failsafe built into your ears, but rather eliminates one of the main causes of listener fatigue, allowing you to listen for longer without the build-up of dangerous hearing-impacting pressure. It’s also not the same type of venting used in most ‘vented’ IEMs, which only serves to remove the pressure that builds up inside the IEM itself due to the air movement of the various drivers. That type of venting protects driver performance; ATOM protects your hearing.

Other benefits of ATOM include the perception of a larger soundstage due to improved airflow and reduced isolation. The flipside is exactly that – reduced isolation – so you’re more likely to hear environmental sounds using the most open ATOM modules. Of course, changing the level of isolation also changes the perception of certain frequencies, which means you can tweak the tuning of Frontier Series IEMs by swapping out different ATOM modules.



Open Acoustics. Most IEMs use drivers connected to sound tubes that direct sound through the nozzle into your ears. Frontier Series IEMs use a combination of three elements: open drivers, a sound reactor and a sound reflector.

All the drivers inside Frontier Series IEMs are open drivers, so they radiate sound directly outward into the IEM chamber. The sound waves pass through a sound reactor, which hones and refines it without resorting to dampening or filtering that would otherwise degrade the signal. There’s also a single high-frequency open driver that sits outside the main drivers (which are in the nozzle shaft), and fires at a sound reflector directed straight at the ear canal.

The end result of the different parts that make up the open acoustic system is a smoother, less brittle and highly dynamic sound, with excellent extension at both ends.



RIGID System. If there’s one aspect that’s often overlooked in the modern industrial design of many IEMs, it’s build quality. Thankfully this doesn’t apply to Frontier Series. Not only is the artistry, material quality and assembly of the Frontier IEMs exemplary, they also use a series of highly-resilient ‘RIGID’ parts to improve reliability.

These include what FiR claims to be the most durable 2-pin connector in the industry, rated for 1,000-plus connections, and a quadrant design that prevents the 2-pin socket from coming loose. Each Frontier Series nozzle is also fitted with a RIGID snap screen, an acoustically transparent steel mesh screen that prevents dirt and debris from reaching the IEM’s internals, and can snap on and off for easy replacement.

Two other RIGID technologies are used exclusively on the custom versions of Frontier IEMs, which we’ll hopefully get to review in a future article.

Taken together, these four technologies – some evolutionary, others revolutionary – make FiR’s Frontier Series IEMs some of the most advanced premium monitors you can buy, at least from a usability and longevity perspective. Each IEM goes beyond the core technologies, with varying driver configurations and tuning, to deliver a different sonic experience.

However, where Ne4 and Kr5 ‘toe the line’ in terms of the more conventional tonal and technical performance expected of high-end monitors, Xe6 tears up the script with a risky attempt at utterly unconventional. Does it work? Let’s find out.

Xenon 6

Packaging and presentation. FiR was clearly going for a ‘retro’ feel for the Frontier IEMs if Xe6’s spartan yellow/gold box with its basic back-to-the-60s industrial-style line illustrations is anything to go by. It’s different for sure, and I suppose you could call it modern-chic at a stretch.

Beneath the slip-cover, the box itself is a more traditional matte black with gold foiling lid-top, made of a thick-set cardboard. Removing the lid (which takes some dexterity as it’s very snug) reveals a cover letter with some poetic words about Frontier by FiR co-founder and CEO Bogdan Belonozkho, with warranty details and a short user guide on the reverse side.

The IEMs are nested in a plush foam cutout panel, pre-attached to the cable, which itself is rolled up beneath an iron-on Frontier Series badge that wouldn’t look amiss in a Tom Cruise movie.



Removing the top shelf also reveals the well-made leather storage case, inside of which you’ll find the spare tips (silicone and foam), a cleaning tool, the (micro) ATOM module holder, and the ATOM removal tool. The IEMs I received were shipped with foam tips pre-installed, which I immediately removed and replaced with my own silicone tips.

While it’s not the most lavish presentation I’ve seen at this price point, the whole look and feel is very satisfactory. The large leather storage case that also holds spare accessories is a nice touch, and the small design cues add to the feeling of a ‘themed’ IEM rather than just a generic IEM unboxing. Speaking of which, if you haven’t seen my unboxing video from the initial impressions overview, here it is again:


Accessories. In terms of accessories, the two most important are the stock Scorpion cable and the ATOM modules. I expect to see a good stock cable included with expensive IEMs, and the 8-wire 26AWG silver-plater copper Scorpion cable is just that. It feels well made, comes standard with a gold-plated 4.4mm Pentaconn connector, and is supple, light and kink-free. It’s also a very good match for Xe6 sonically, so there’s no need to search for an aftermarket option to maximize its performance.

The ATOM modules are without question one of the best features of the Frontier Series IEMs, but why FiR decided to shrink them to almost invisible dimensions (for the universal models – customs get the full-size modules) is anyone’s guess.

Changing the preinstalled ATOM modules is a pain in the tush, to put it mildly. Because they ‘screw in’ with a rubber gasket, you have to cajole them out of the IEMs, tilting the ATOM tool this way and that until the module ‘pops’ out. Do this very carefully, on a flat surface, preferably over some sort of container than can catch the module when it inevitably drops from the IEM (I used the carry case for this). Thankfully reinserting the modules is much easier than removing them, but again, do this slowly and carefully.

The included tips are nothing special, just a set of silicone and foam tips in three different sizes. I tried the small silicone tips briefly, which were too large for my ears, before finding a good aftermarket set that fit me better. Xe6 is quite responsive to tip swaps, and the sound can change quite dramatically based on the tips you choose. I really like Acoustune’s AET07 tips for their comfort and sound profile – especially in the midrange – but ultimately have settled on JVC’s Spiral Dots for their supreme comfort and easygoing sound.



Design and fit. From a technical perspective, Xe6 is the most advanced of the Frontiers. It’s the only tribrid IEM in the series, comprising a Kinetic Bass dynamic driver and a BA woofer for lows, a set of open BA drivers for mids, an open BA driver for highs, and a set of electrostats for ultra-highs (>12KHz).

Impendence is a fairly low 28 ohms, but there’s no flat impedance technology like there was in FiR’s previous IEMs (similar to the LiD technology used by 64 Audio and FIBAE technology used by CustomArt). This means source impedance may affect Xe6’s sound, something to keep in mind when auditioning sources.

The universal shells are extremely well made, with precision seams and expert surface plating. The gold finish is susceptible to microscratches, so if you’re someone who’s particular about keeping IEMs looking new, take extra care when handling or storing. The nozzles are medium length and quite thick, but not as thick as some other IEMs I’ve recently tried.

Fit is a very personal thing, but the shells seem to fit me fine. I use small size tips for my small size ear canals, and found several options that I could use to wear for hours without fatigue. Despite being made from metal, the earpieces are quite light, and won’t pop out your ears unprovoked. The earguides on the cable also provide comfortable support for the earpieces, so overall, it’s all good on the wearability front.

In summary, the packaging, presentation, accessories, design and fit of the Xe6 universals are top shelf, befitting their lofty price. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so whether or not you like the high-gloss gold bling with its sapphire glass and blue speckled inlay is not for me to say. What’s undeniable is how different these IEMs sound to just about anything else I’ve heard in the hobby, so that’s where our focus turns to next.



Sound Impressions

Tonality. Xe6 is first and foremost a warm, coloured, ‘fun’ IEM. Its tonality is characterised by a massive midbass and lower midrange shelf, an unusual tuning choice which pushes up the levels that more mainstream tunings (even ‘fun’ tunings) push down. There’s no linear bass with a midrange ‘cut’ to separate bass and midrange; instead, there’s a doubling down on big bass and mids.

Everything Xe6 does is based on some or other variation of its thick-but-clear personality. A vocal performance with a forward bassline will have you thinking that everything sounds too thick and warm, and yet when the singing begins and higher-frequency instruments start playing, there’s somehow no veil.

Despite its quantity, bass delivery is of exceptional quality too. Sub-bass focus suffers a bit because of the overabundant midbass, but there’s still some rumble when called for, and the midbass isn’t so loose that it spills all over the mids and highs. This is probably the result of Xe6’s unique combination of Kinetic Bass and a dedicated open balanced armature woofer, giving you ‘the best of both worlds’ when it comes to bass delivery mechanics.



The elevated bass and, more significantly, ‘overcooked’ lower mids would have been a bigger issue if the quality of the mids wasn’t so good. Instruments are full and weighty, yet still quite fast, with a pleasant, natural decay. Vocals, both male and female, are lush, warm and organic, but more importantly very, very smooth. There’s no harshness here, and the resolution of the open drivers is such that the smoothness doesn’t come at the cost of detail.

The same resolving smoothness extends to the treble, which is some of the best I’ve personally heard from an IEM. Keep in mind I like treble to take a small step back from the main performance, to give the overall presentation just enough sparkle and air, and then get out the way. Xe6 does this, but it also doesn’t roll off any high notes, and its use of an e-stat to add air up top without making everything sound ‘electrostatically ethereal’ is very clever indeed.

It’s hard for me to sum up Xe6’s tonality like I would most other IEMs. Is it a U or a W, for example? Depends on the track, sometimes it’s both. It can also be a V, with the mids taking a back seat, and it can be a reverse J, with everything subservient to the bass and lower mids with a touch of added air up top.

Tonally, Xe6 is like a chameleon, and although warm, thick and bassy are a given, they’re not always going to define what you actually hear once the music starts to play.



Technicalities. I think the reason Xe6 is so adaptable despite its exaggerated tonality is because of its technical performance. Resolution is top-shelf, and the stage, while not the widest I’ve heard, has a grandness of depth and height that few IEMs can match.

For a warm IEM, Xe6 can also deliver the goods, with the right music, with an ink-black background and impressive separation and layering of vocals and instruments. Sure, when the bass is let out the cage or the lower mids are pumped up in the recording, the finer nuances take a back seat, but I never feel like Xe6 has lost control at any point.

That could be because of all the IEMs I’ve heard, Xe6 has some of the better dynamic swings in the business. It can play tiny nuances in one instance and flip the switch to full-throttle explosive in the next movement.



This makes it an interesting choice for more conservative genres like large orchestral music, where big, brash and warm aren’t your go-to keywords, but in many ways it’s like listening to a performance at a live venue when you’ve had just enough to drink to make sitting through a classical ensemble seem almost…pleasant.

I jest of course, but I keep going back to the idea that with Xe6, you’re not hearing what you expect to. Still, because it’s so competent technically, the quality is good enough for even the more conservative among us to look past the tuning quirks, if indeed that’s how you hear them.

Technically, Xe6 can comfortably sit at the same table as some of the technical specialists of the IEM world, like Traillii, Fourté and Mentor, and while I don’t think it can replace any of those esteemed IEMs, I know which one I’d rather use most of the time.

Listening notes

Since this is a deep-dive review of Xe6, it won’t be complete without some detailed listening notes from my many sessions with it. Consider these stream of consciousness thoughts that I wrote down while listening, then tidied up to be legible enough to read and understand. Hopefully you’ll get some idea of what I’m hearing by reading the notes while listening along.

Note: all listening done with the HiBy RS8 as source, using low gain, and a maximum volume of 40/100. Xe6 is extremely easy to drive, so be careful when connecting it to more powerful sources.

Xe6 with…indie/pop

Lana Del Rey – Video Games. Xe6’s thickness is apparent from the first note. The electric piano intro sequence feels like it’s being played in a reverb room. And then, Lana starts singing and her sweet, emotive voice is as raw and beautiful as I know it to be, presented clearly and completely unveiled by the low notes. Xe6 does a great job with the first of the sub-bass ‘drops’ at 2:22, which can be felt as much as it’s heard, and all the while Lana’s hypnotic voice remains the centerpiece. Some of the lesser elements are pushed out to the extremities, but they’re still there. Xe6 can be quite intense, and this rather laidback track is a good example of how that intensity manifests in music with a strong, defined bassline.

The Shins – New Slang. In contrast to Lana’s bold intro, the tambourine and guitar intro to The Shin’s now-famous New Slang is rich and detailed without overpowering the stage, even though some of the lower-range guitar plucks have that characteristic Xe6 fullness to them. The male lead vocals are a little less forward, partially swallowed up by the lower midrange elevation would be my guess.

There’s something about the dynamic swings Xe6 is capable of that makes this type of head-bobbing melody even more so, and it’s all I can do to type while nodding like a bounce toy. This is a great track to demonstrate the quality of dynamic driver bass in a song without drums – it sets up the foundations against which all the sparklier notes and vocals contrast, resulting in an utterly engaging presentation as good as I’ve ever heard it.



Xe6 with…Americana

Brandi Carlile – The Story. The first thing I listen for in this track is the purity of Brandi’s opening vocals, and Xe6 doesn’t disappoint. There is a touch of bloom from the accompanying guitars, but it doesn’t make Brandi any less distinct. The second check on the list is kick drum impact, and Xe6 does a great job here too, the suckout of air from the drums clearly felt along with the texture of the drum hits.

When the instrumental melee begins mid-track, it is quite a bit thicker than I’m used to, and while every element is there, there seems to be quite a bit of warm air between the instruments. Going back to the simpler vocal passages is a relief from the thickness, but at the same time, as the song progresses, the warmth becomes more enveloping and comfortable. There are no hard edges here, but no smearing either. It’s the sonic equivalent of lump-free porridge of the tastiest kind.

Whitehorse – Dear Irony. Xe6 flexes some of its technical muscles with this track, throwing up an obviously wide and deep stage with the very first left channel guitar plucks in the intro, followed up by excellent separation of the female and male lead vocals, imaged precisely one behind the other. The vocals are contrasted against a thick bassline, which is very well done here, but does obscure some of the deeper sub-bass drums in the background.

What’s most important, though, is how emotionally the lyrics are delivered, and herein lies Xe6’s strength, its ability to subtly emote despite the sometimes overwhelmingly full sound. Vocals are absolutely clean – not a hint of grain or sibilance – and this is key to keeping the focus where it should be.



Xe6 with…modern classical/cinematic

John Barry – The Buffalo Hunt (from Dances with Wolves). This is one of my all-time favourite pieces of modern classical cinematic scores, and The Buffalo Hunt is one of its highlights. What’s most impressive is how well Xe6 resolves the wide dynamic range, strings, toms and horns. Spread across a vast stage, every subtle cue is easy to pick out, and there’s not one element that dominates the others.

Xe6’s thickness is also a non-issue, with instruments sounding ‘correct’, full of texture, with accurate timbre. There’s definitely some warmth infused into an otherwise colder production, but this elevates and improves it in my opinion.

Lisa Gerrard – Now We Are Free (from Gladiator). A masterpiece film topped by a masterpiece soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and his muse, Lisa Gerrard. The goosebumps appeared for me just as soon as Lisa started singing, which is more than I can say for many IEMs I’ve heard this incredibly emotional track with.

For me that’s not just because her voice sounds so pure, but because the power of the deep, dynamic bass notes, subtle string cues, deep stage and gentle, quivering backing track all combine to take me right back to the powerful, tragic and inspirational scene where I first heard this music. It’s transcendent as much as it is perfectly presented.



Xe6 with…singer-songwriter/folk

Eva Cassidy – Songbird. Is there a more iconic song than this to represent the genre, I wonder? The question for me before I pressed play was how much Xe6’s penchant for thick-set guitar plucks would interfere with Eva’s angelic voice and soft backing vocals. The answer, thankfully, is not at all. Yes, the guitars are prominent, but so is Xe6’s ability to forward-project female vocals.

Once again, not a hint of grain or sibilance, and when Eva hits the high notes, they’re so sweet that the tragedy of her passing can feel overwhelming. I really like how the accompanying shakers, and even the subtle strings in the deep background are clearly heard, but unlike some overtly technical IEMs that compartmentalize the sounds – impressive as that may be – they’re presented here as an even more impressively cohesive and musical whole.

Jim Croce – Time In A Bottle. What is it with me and tragic singer/songwriters? This is a simple recording that’s not so simple to reproduce well. It’s a thinner, colder recording that can sound harsh with some IEMs, but with Xe6 it’s nothing but smooth, detailed and completely captivating. Jim’s vocals take a small step back to the guitars in the left and right channels, but that’s a good thing as his voice can sound overly forward on this track. Xe6 makes it feel like I’m sitting in a room with Jim, guitars strumming to either side, and him just out of reach, as if foreshadowing what comes next so soon after this recording was made. Beautiful and sad, and Xe6 captures both so well.



Xe6 with…Classic Rock

Def Leppard – Love Bites. My personal pick from an album full of personal picks, Def Leppard’s Love Bites is lifted directly from the soundtrack of my youth. When I listened to it on endless repeat as a teenager, however, I wasn’t using such resolving and sophisticated gear. Xe6, with all its resolving power, takes me back to that time, because its smoothness, warmth and relaxed, rounded treble combine to tone down many of the harsher edges from this less-than-perfect, often too-bright recording.

What’s left is perfectly centered vocals, bouncy bass drums and guitars with crunch that I can enjoy without wincing. Cymbals and splashes are liquid-smooth, just as I like them, and the vocals have some added fullness to them too. Most importantly, the groove is absolutely on point. Brilliant stuff.

Bon Jovi – Runaway. As a teen I used to bounce between Def Leppard and Bon Jovi as my two anthemic ‘rock’ bands of the 80s and early 90s, and to this day they’re about as heavy as I like my music, with very few exceptions. There’s something about Xe6’s ability to fill out the rather meek bass drums of these older recordings too that takes me right back to when I used to blast these tracks on a 2-channel system with much bigger drivers.

I also like that there’s no harshness in the guitars, and Xe6 easily keeps up with the pace of the drumming and riffing in this classic track without any smearing or overlap. I can only think that those who prefer more grunge might find this presentation a bit too polite, but for me, it doesn’t get any better. In fact, I think Xe6’s thicker sound is probably better with these older recordings, before compression and the loudness wars took over the music industry.



Xe6 with…electronic/dance

Ilan Bluestone – Will We Remain. This is a newer track in my test library and a genre that is quickly becoming more than just a passing interest. I’ve never been into the dance/trance scene at all, but it’s music that I can lose myself in for hours – thankfully without the accompanying crush of gyrating, sweaty humans around me. Leaving real instruments behind makes it easier on the IEM for sure from a tonal perspective, but puts added emphasis on technical performance.

This is where Xe6 earns its stripes as a top-of-the-line performer. Every sonic nuance is important here, and the interplay between the different sounds on Xe6’s massive stage is captivating. This track in particular pushes Xe6 to the limit at both ends, with some very tight, taught bass notes followed by airy, spritely treble notes that need to be precisely imaged but not too forward or energetic. Xe6 pulls off this balance without breaking a sweat.

Armin van Buuren – Intense (featuring Miri Ben Ari). I keep going back to this track for its combination of modern classical and electronic elements, and also one of the few non-vocal electronic tracks I use to test gear. The beauty of Miri Ben Ari’s violin strings is always a highlight, and Xe6 absolutely nails the texture, timbre and realism here. The deep bass of the double-drop makes a perfect contrast with the strings, before the electronic elements and dance groove take over.

Xe6 manages to not only keep pace, but completely avoid any smearing. Sub-bass isn’t the deepest I’ve heard with this track, but the lower levels of midbass in the track help keep the performance clean and bloom-free. Once again, Xe6’s speed, dynamic contrast, imaging and resolution are on full display here, with Kinetic Bass taking care of the groove.



In summary. I’ve limited my notes to music I know well and the genres I mostly listen to. Of course, there’s so much more that I couldn’t include, and that goes for my own library, never mind the stuff I don’t ever listen to. Regardless of the music you listen to, one thing’s for sure: you can expect Xe6 to add colour, even though the way it does it isn’t always what you’d expect.

If you’re looking for a ‘reference’ tuning, this is not an IEM for you. But even if you’re looking for something fun and wild, Xe6 won’t always be that either. It really depends on how its tonality intersects with what you’re playing, and that’s what makes Xe6 such an exciting listen in many ways – you never quite know what you’re going to get.

Select comparisons

Sony IER-Z1R. Sony’s flagship is my ‘reference’ IEM, even though it’s far from what most consider reference sound. Xe6 is easily its equal, but in my opinion, not its rival.

I hear Xe6 and Z1R to have very different bass profiles, Z1R leading with a deep, liquid sub-bass and linear midbass, Xe6 the reverse, with a sub-bass supportive of an elevated midbass. Both have bass quality and texture that exceeds just about any other IEM I’ve heard, including Empire Ears’ bass champions. But, where Z1R’s bass is more even-keeled and balanced in the overall signature, Xe6 is always bass-first.

Midrange differs too. Xe6 has fuller mids, especially vocals, that are warmer than Z1R’s more neutral presentation. I don’t hear Z1R mids as recessed, though some do, and depending on the bass levels in the music, the same can be said of Xe6. Most of the time, however, both IEMs have some of the better mids I’ve heard, Xe6 being a touch more resolving, Z1R a touch more textured.

Z1R has more of a lower treble emphasis than Xe6, which doesn’t have any specific treble emphasis other than possibly a boost of air up top. Xe6 treble is smoother, silkier and more rounded, while Z1R is more incisive, detailed and sparkly. Both have superb treble quality, and I don’t really have a preference between them, enjoying both in equal measure.

Technically Xe6 is a touch more resolving, but Z1R casts a bigger, more cavernous stage, and its imaging and separation are at least on par. Both are very dynamic, but Xe6 even more so. Neither IEM loses too many points on technical performance, so the differences really come down to tuning and, for some, comfort and ergonomics.

Z1R is notoriously wonky in the ear for many people, while Xe6’s smaller, lighter universal shell should be a better fit for most ears. It’s not for mine, however, so an audition is really the best way to know which works best for you.



Unique Melody ‘Multiverse’ Mentor. I haven’t spent nearly as much time with Unique Melody’s co-flagship, but the time I did spend with it made it clear for me that it’s doesn’t have the same level of engagement for me as Xe6.

These two IEMs couldn’t be more different. Xe6 is bold and dynamic, with an inviting tonality that swings wildly between extremes. Mentor is more balanced, but also livelier and more energetic up top that gives it an oddly disjointed personality. Where Xe6 is rich, organic, and sometimes a little ‘loose’, Mentor is the definition of technical precision. Xe6 infuses music with a sense of tonal wonder; Mentor wows you with technical trickery.

For me, Mentor is not an IEM for bass lovers. For all its technical prowess, Mentor’s bass leaves me cold and unsatisfied. It’s the fly in the ointment of an otherwise impressive IEM, which becomes even more apparent when comparing it to the bass masterpiece that is Xe6. I know that’s not going to be a shared opinion by some, who take no issue with Mentor’s sub-bass rolloff and ‘balanced’ BA bass delivery as a whole. But for anyone who needs to feel the kick of a drum in a live performance, Mentor just isn’t the right tool for that job.

Nitpicking other differences between the two, Xe6 is by far the better-made IEM, with Mentor’s dullish exterior and structural ‘imperfections’ not quite up to the quality of Xe6’s pristine all-metal design.



Campfire Audio Supermoon. I’m only comparing Xe6 to Supermoon because I happen to have both on hand.

Supermoon is a custom IEM (though a universal version exists), so from a fit perspective it’s no contest in favour of Supermoon (though Xe6 is also available as a custom). Technically, Supermoon easily trades blows with Xe6 in all but dynamic contrast, which may or may not be as important to the music you listen to (and if it’s not, bonus points to Supermoon).

Where Xe6 overtakes Supermoon, in my opinion, is its tonality and timbre. Supermoon is colder and more ‘digital’ compared to Xe6’s warmer, more organic and natural tone. Supermoon also suffers from thinner mids, and the occasional metallic timbre in the upper-mid/treble region, whereas Xe6 is about as far away from metallic as you get.

None of this is to say that Xe6 is clearly the right choice for you over Supermoon. If you’re familiar with planar timbre and dynamics, you won’t have any issues adapting to Supermoon’s outstanding IEM-sized presentations of both. If you like your music superfast, resolving and clear, with world-class sub-bass to boot, Supermoon outdoes Xe6 there too.

Both IEMs are their own type of ‘crazy’ in many ways, and will appeal to those that don’t always want to play their music safe. In a way they’re kindred spirits, but definitely cut from very different cloths.

Closing thoughts

If Bogdan and his FiR Audio team wanted to make a bold statement about the state-of-play in the IEM market, Xe6 is about as bold as it gets. Here’s an IEM that doesn’t shy away from a smorgasbord of red flags: eye-watering cost, unapologetically boosted bass, unashamedly coloured sound…

And yet here we are. Xe6 is an enigma, an IEM that goes against the grain and yet garners far wider appeal than it has any right to. It ended 2022 as the number one IEM as voted for by members of the most popular thread on the world’s most popular portable audio forum. Having spent well over a month exploring my music library with this brilliant IEM, I can totally understand why.

Xe6 challenges how I listen to music, but it does so with an uncompromising degree of quality. From its meticulous build, the attention to detail in the design, and the cleverly creative technologies used to shape its sound, Xe6 delivers something completely different but also utterly engaging. It also compromises very little that’s important to the high-end audiophile in doing so.



Still, this is not an IEM for everyone. In fact, I wouldn’t recommend it as a blind buy. If you’re a one-IEM user, if your preferences lean more reference, if bright and light is your catchphrase, then Xe6 will more likely horrify than excite you. I’ve spoken to many who literally pulled Xe6 out their ears before the first song was done.

But, this type of reaction is nothing new for such a brave challenger to the status quo. I believe Xe6 will reward those who take the time to both find the parts of their library that work best with its presentation, and allow their brains to adjust to the way it presents those parts of their library that don’t.

There’s no question that, with some music, Xe6 will sound too thick, or too warm, or too relaxed up top. But, unlike many IEMs that bump the midbass and/or lower mids as much as Xe6 (are there any?), it doesn’t sound veiled, or bloated, or muddy. Sure, if you’ve just come off a session with a thin, bright IEM, your brain will need to re-calibrate. But once it does, you’ll hear how Xe6 lets all the detail through, creates a sense of space, and does it all without pulling back on its excesses.

This is an IEM that lets you have your cake and eat it too, even though it sometimes feels like it’s stuffing the cake into your ears and mouth and nose. It’s the most fun I’ve had with an IEM since I started in the hobby, and while I don’t think I can live on a diet of Xe6 alone, I can’t help but feel that a premium collection without it would be always be missing something special.




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This review first appeared on The Headphone List.

Introduction

When I heard the first rumours about a new flagship IEM from HiBy it took me by surprise, not because I didn’t know HiBy was in the IEM business, but because, until now, their efforts were mostly lower-priced companion IEMs for their outstanding range of DAPs.

Zeta is far more than that. It’s a premium tribrid flagship IEM that combines nine drivers in each titanium-steel earpiece, including four of Sonion’s newly-released third-generation electrostats. It also features a five-way crossover and five independent tubes that connect and conduct the mix of DD, BA and e-stat drivers, to great effect I might add.

To be honest, what’s more surprising is that in the months that followed the initial announcement there hasn’t been more fanfare about this IEM, but perhaps what I hinted at earlier – that HiBy is better known for its DAPs – is the reason why. I think Zeta has the potential to change all that, or at least put HiBy in the mix when it comes to choosing a modern kilobuck IEM.



Packaging, design and fit

Everything about Zeta, from the unboxing to first impressions, feels premium. The multilayered box contains clever cutouts for the IEMs and different compartments for accessories, and it’s obvious that quite a bit of thought and preparation went into the unboxing experience.

The accessories themselves are premium too. HiBy includes a round (faux?) leather case in a similar blue-green colour to the leather case supplied with the flagship RS8 DAP. Inside the case is a balanced (4.4mm) 8-wire, 2-pin pure OCC cable, sheathed in a soft and supple PVC that contains the exotic Lapis Lazuli compound (which gives it its blue hue). Also included is a full set of three different types of tips: medium silicone, soft silicone (for a deeper fit) and silicone-wrapped foam (for better isolation).

Titanium seems to be flavour-of-the-month for premium products, and Zeta continues the theme with precision-milled titanium and stainless steel earpieces. Titanium is a lightweight metal, so despite their size, the earpieces are very light, ergonomic and silky smooth to the touch. Even with slightly thicker nozzles, I found fit, once seated properly (more on this below), to be very comfortable indeed, although there’s no way I’m getting a deep fit with these.



I do have two issues at this point that need some addressing. First, the cable, while initially looking quite special, tends to lose its braiding shape when folded or stored, which gives it a ragged appearance after a while. If you take your time twisting it back into shape, the braids do tighten up again, but it’s worth noting that the shape doesn’t hold up as well as other cables I’ve used – not good for my aesthetic OCD. Ergonomics are very good though, with comfortable ear guides and zero microphonics, and the cable is very soft and supple, with excellent hardware quality at both ends.

The other, more pressing issue (if you’ll excuse the pun) is a vacuum pressure/pain sensation I get when using Zeta with its stock tips, and numerous third-party tips as well. This might well be an anomaly of my ear anatomy though, because I haven’t read about this issue elsewhere, and speaking to other Zeta users, it hasn’t been mentioned. It’s also unusual; I’ve had this suction issue before with unvented IEMs like Oriolus Traillii, but never with a vented IEM like Zeta.

Thankfully there are certain tips, like Azla EarFit, that seem to eliminate the problem for me, but it’s something to keep in mind if you’re sensitive to pressure pain in your ears.

Overall, Zeta’s presentation and industrial design is impressive. HiBy has clearly gone to great lengths to make sure its premium IEMs are made, styled and presented as such, and have succeeded admirably. Considering Zeta is priced significantly lower than many other flagships in its class, it appears to be a great value buy. Whether or not that holds up in practice, we’ll find out next.



Sound impressions

I tested Zeta using a broad selection of test tracks from my library, which predominantly comprises newer music of the female vocal indie persuasion, along with pop, synth-pop, classic rock, cinematic and singer-songwriter classics. I also sampled various other music types I occasionally listen to, like EDM, ambient, classical and vocal jazz, and where relevant, I’ve included track notes in the review.

All listening was done with a variety of sources too, primarily using HiBy’s flagship RS8 DAP (which, as you’ll see in the pairings section, is an almost perfect companion for Zeta for my preferences). With a sensitivity of 112dB and low 9-ohm rating, Zeta is very easy to drive, but seems to scale up nicely – especially with bass control and stage dimensions – given more power. As such it can be used with just about any source, including basic smartphones, but handsomely rewards more powerful amplification and DAC quality.



Tonality

I hear Zeta’s tonal shape as a skewed-left W, with elevated but well-controlled bass rising just above a centred midrange with very slight upper midrange emphasis, and a relaxed treble with some mid-to-upper treble accents. This is by no means a V-shaped IEM since mids are clear and distinct despite the bass emphasis, and isn’t quite U-shaped either since treble is not pushed too far forward.

Bass is the star of the show, for me (which, if you know me, bodes well for the remainder of this review). Play the opening bass drum salvo to A Fine Frenzy’s Elements and you’ll hear a satisfyingly deep, powerful, visceral bass response, with a gloriously bouncy impact and the sort of natural decay you’ll only get from a good dynamic driver.

The balance between sub- and midbass is fairly even, with enough physical rumble down low to render the subtle sub-bass accents in Kristin Hersch’s Your Ghost, though it doesn’t quite reach as low as sub-bass specialists like Sony’s IER-Z1R. This is something I also noted in Lana Del Rey’s Video Games, where the sub-bass drops aren’t quite as emphasised as I’ve heard them, and yet don’t disappoint either.

There’s a tactile physicality to Zeta’s midbass on both the tracks above that gives the overall bass balance as reassuring weight. Real drums are rendered realistically across the frequency range, with accurate and natural impact and decay. Listen to the live and mostly instrumental rendition of Leonard Cohen’s Halleluja from Sincerely, L. Cohen and you’ll feel like you’re in the auditorium with the drummer.

Despite the bass excellence, Zeta is not a bass monster like some other modern sets. It doesn’t have the sheer elevation of Empire Ears’ Legend X or EVO, or the unapologetic midbass overload of FiR Audio’s Xe6. It’s a tactile bass with superb texture, particularly when paired with a high-end source like HiBy’s RS8. The ripples of bass texture in Lily Kershaw’s Always & Forever are one of the highlights of that track for me, and the combination of Zeta and RS8 makes the absolute most of the experience.



For a bass-forward set, Zeta is remarkably balanced. Midrange notes, from the lowest male vocal registers to the highest, sweetest upper midrange female vocals, are rendered clearly, emotively and without veil.

Nothing pushes my audio buttons more than the synergy of powerful bass and clear, full female vocals, and Zeta absolutely nails it here. The contrast of deep synth drums with Linda Ronstadt’s heavenly-sweet and nuanced voice in Dreams to Dream is tear inducing, as is the interplay between the upright bass plucks that play against Lisa Ekdahl’s sugary vocals in Nature Boy.

The latter is an excellent example of Zeta’s midrange clarity, resolve and timbral accuracy, piano keys striking realistically across the registers, the highest notes sitting just in front of the upright bass on the stage, and perfectly balanced with the distinct and separated vocals. There’s absolutely no veiling of the midrange, even in bass-laden tracks like Lorde’s The Louvre.

In fact, vocals, especially female vocals, are pushed slightly forward on some tracks, likely the result of the upper midrange lift. This does mean that tracks with already-forward mids can get testy at higher volumes, but I listen louder than most and it’s rarely an issue I’ve come across. You won’t want to turn up the dial too high on Angel Olden’s Lark, for example, but that’s true with most IEMs to be fair, and a slight reduction in female overtones using HiBy’s excellent MSEB EQ on the RS8 quickly tames any errant upper-mid recording issues.

If Zeta has any strikes against it at all, this lack of absolute midrange refinement might be one, at least when compared to multi-kilobuck midrange specialists like Vision Ears’ Phönix or Oriolus’ Traillii. It’s a nitpick, though, and the sheer quality of the midrange delivery more than compensates for a few rough edges on the rare extreme track, in my opinion.



This quality is consistent, too, from bass to midrange and especially treble. With a new generation of quad EST drivers, you’d expect Zeta’s treble to be fast, fluid and resolving, and while it is, it’s also more restrained and less ethereal than most other EST-infused treble I’ve heard before. It also has plenty of sparkle, with the glimmering highlights in Lisa Gerard’s Now We Are Free adding a spine-tingling element to what is an already transcendent track.

I sometimes find EST treble to dominate and dry out the upper harmonic registers of female vocals, adding too much air to the mix, something that turned me off from Vision Ears’ EXT for example. Listening to Maggie Rogers’ pristine vocals on Satellite (recorded in a high-school music studio when she was seventeen), and every ounce of sweet warmth that I was missing with EXT is back with Zeta. I’m still ‘feeling’ plenty of air, and while it’s not adversely affecting vocals, those who want their EST air dialed up to max might want to look elsewhere.

HiBy tastefully dips lower treble by 3-4dB (to my ear anyway, I’m yet to see an official graph), which totally eliminates any semblance of sibilance on just about any track. Missy Higgins’ cover of Shark Fin Blues is a case in point, where too much lower treble energy makes for piercings esses and tssts on this track. With Zeta, Missy’s voice is as smooth and sibilant-free as I’ve heard it.

That said, the slight upper mid boost can make the contrast between upper midrange and the lower treble dip seem more pronounced than it should be, but again, this is rare and very track dependent. The lower treble drip doesn’t rob Zeta of any energy or clarity in that region, and the equally-tasteful mid-to-upper treble boost ensures that treble doesn’t drop off a cliff.

That boost adds a sprightliness to orchestral strings that makes listening to Max Richter’s rendition of Vivaldi’s Winter 1 an absolute pleasure. The resolution advantage of the quad EST’s is most evident on this type of track, as is Zeta’s natural timbre. The combination of the highs of the strings and the lows of the bass on this track is another example of the interplay I mentioned earlier than makes Zeta such a pleasure for me personally.

Overall, I find Zeta’s tonality strikes a delicate balance between warmth and clarity. It’s unquestionably coloured, but not to the point where it dominates with colour (like Xe6, for instance). Some will find the treble too polite, or the bass too punchy, but it also shies away from being too aggressive. That’s a good thing, in my opinion, but if you lean more intense in your preferences, you’ll probably want to try before you buy.



Technicalities

While it’s still a very pricey IEM at $1300, you’d expect some compromises compared to summit-fi IEMs that cost thousands more, and technical performance is normally where those compromises are made. Not so with Zeta, at least not to my ears.

One of the first things I listen for when evaluating IEM technical performance is stage size. If you want the widest stage possible, Zeta’s isn’t going to blow you away, though I don’t see that as a con. Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra’s La Luna is a naturally-wide binaural recording and I’m not sensing any loss of that natural width with Zeta. It’s also got a depth to the stage that’s absent from many IEMs, with the clap effects in this track sitting notably deeper than some of the instruments, for instance.

Yanni’s cinematic Santorini is another example of how Zeta spreads out the stage very naturally. There’s nothing constricted or intimate about it, even though it ‘lacks’ the vastness of stage of an IER-Z1R or the holography of an Xe6, I’m not missing these qualities when listening to Zeta, which has its own character compared to those highly-revered IEMs.

Resolution is excellent for an IEM with a thicker tonal weight like Zeta. It’s not ‘fake’ resolution either, with treble being polite as it is. There’s not a single detail that I’m missing from Radical Face’s Welcome Home – and if you’re intimately familiar with this track, you’ll know how nuanced and detailed it is.

Whether it’s tiny vocal inflections and ‘mouth feel’ in Heidi Talbot’s closely-micced Cathedrals, or finger plucks on strings in Nils Lofgren’s reference-quality recording of Keith Don’t Go, Zeta doesn’t miss a thing. And it presents this detail without ever pushing the treble too hard, adding too much air, or leaning too bright. It all sounds perfectly natural and more importantly believable, which is probably an apt description of Zeta’s sound as a whole.



Yosi Horikawa’s Bubbles is another classic track where not only stage size and resolution but so many other technical elements come into play. I’m hearing a naturally large stage with above average resolution, layering, separation and imaging when listening with Zeta on high-end sources like RS8 and DX300 MAX.

Every ‘ball drop’ (excuse the crudeness, but how else would you describe it?) is perfectly resolved, with the different weight and material of balls and ‘bubbles’ clearly discernible. There’s no smearing of transients either, which is impressive given the powerful bassline that permeates this track. In fact, I’d go as far as to say Zeta presents this track more vividly and incisively than almost any other IEM I’ve heard it with.

So where does Zeta fall short technically? Probably the fine margins. Comparing to other IEMs, which I’ll summarise in the next section, Zeta doesn’t have the absolute clarity and resolution of IEMs like Sony’s IER-Z1R and Campfire’s Supermoon. It also doesn’t share the pinpoint precision of these two IEMs, but in turn is both more resolving and precise than Custom Art’s FIBAE 5, another set I rate very highly. It probably also lacks the sheer dynamism of IEMs like Xe6, and, as mentioned earlier, the stage dimensions of Z1R and Xe6 respectively.

But are these night and day differences? That really depends on how driven you are to extract the very last bit of technical performance from an IEM, how much you’re willing to compromise on tonal balance, and how much you want to pay for the privilege.

I personally haven’t heard an IEM with Zeta’s rich tonal balance that’s also an uncompromising technical performer, or put differently, none of the technically ‘flawless’ IEMs I’ve heard have Zeta’s combination of powerful dynamic bass, vocal acuity and pristine, edge-free treble in one package. Moreover, I feel Zeta’s technical performance is as good as any I’ve heard in its price tier, and better than some costlier options too.

As a nine-driver hybrid, it also has an inherent technical advantage over single dynamic driver IEMs while maintaining the coherency and natural timbre of their dynamic driver sound. Stage, resolution, and all the other checkboxes are a step-up from the likes of Sennheiser’s similarly-priced IE 900 and SoftEars’ $2,500 Turii Ti – save perhaps the clarity on the SoftEars – and I prefer Zeta’s tonality over both.

Overall, I find Zeta a capable kilobuck-level technical performer, and if you click with its tonal balance like I do, it’s an IEM that’s could win your favour over many of its better-known, more established competitors.

Select comparisons

Custom Art FIBAE 5 ($999). In my recent FIBAE 5 review I summed up Custom Art’s new tribrid custom IEM as ‘the consummate kilobuck all-rounder’, and Zeta doesn’t change that assessment.

Although I consider Zeta a more enjoyable IEM, FIBAE 5 takes an evenhanded approach to its tuning that will likely win broader appeal. FIBAE 5 combines bass that’s punchy but not quite as authoritative as Zeta’s, a clear but slightly softer and thinner midrange, and a treble that’s more extended and present, if a little peaky at times.

Zeta is a more accomplished technical performer, though you might argue that FIBAE’s cleaner midrange and planar treble give it a slight clarity edge. FIBAE 5 is comparatively conservative and relaxed, with Zeta more engaging, lively and fun.

As a package, Zeta ships with a better cable, nicer accessories, and while it’s difficult to compare a titanium-shelled universal IEM to a work-of-art resin custom, Zeta just about shades FIBAE 5’s still exceptional build quality for me.



Campfire Audio Supermoon ($1500). Another custom IEM I reviewed a short while ago, Campfire’s Supermoon is still the most technically gifted IEM I’ve heard in its price range, and while its tonality is far more divisive, for the music it plays well with, it has a unique sound that’s hard to beat.

Despite sporting a single planar dynamic driver, compared to Zeta, Supermoon is more resolving and quite a bit faster, though it lacks the dynamic contrast and punch of Zeta’s beautifully-tuned dynamic driver. Stage size is similar on both, with Supermoon perhaps a touch wider, and it’s hard to beat Supermoon’s instrument and vocal separation at this level, in my opinion.

Tonally I find Zeta’s balance and warmth more natural and organic than Supermoon’s ‘digital’ presentation. That’s not necessarily a mark against Supermoon, especially for those who prefer their sound cleaner and leaner, and both IEMs share an innate musicality that steers well wide of analytical. There’s no question that Zeta has the more accurate timbre, more realistic voicing, and significantly thicker note weight, especially in the upper midrange and treble registers.

As with FIBAE 5, it’s difficult to compare build and fit between Zeta and Supermoon. At this level, both are excellent, as well-made as any I’ve seen at any price tier. I do prefer Supermoon’s thinner, lighter and more ergonomic cable, and since I generally prefer MMCX connectors to 2-pin, Supermoon gets my nod here too. I know that’s not a popular opinion, though, so you might find the opposite to be true.



Sony IER-Z1R ($1,799). Sony’s peerless flagship is, to me, as fresh today as it was when it made its debut five years ago. Regardless of price, I’m yet to hear an IEM that delivers Z1R’s unique combination of liquid sub-bass, pristine female vocal clarity and pitch-perfect treble, inside a cavernous stage that presents the most lifelike, life-size soundscape I’ve heard in portable audio to date.

In Zeta, I’ve found an IEM that shares some of Z1R’s tonal traits, but mixes them up with its own flavour. Zeta has more midbass drive than Z1R, giving its bass a weightier, heavier and punchier character to Z1R’s textured, nuanced sub-focused rumble. Zeta’s midrange is audibly more forward than Z1R’s, especially male vocals, though Z1R still somehow edges Zeta for absolute clarity.

Where Zeta’s treble is sibilance-free and more relaxed, the Sony’s is more direct, incisive and clean, with a sparkle that’s truly class-leading. Some find Z1R’s treble too splashy with high-energy music, so picking between the two treble presentations will come down to preference. I find that both work equally well with most of my library.

Technically, Z1R is a step up from Zeta, which as I mentioned above, lacks very little in most departments. Z1R is tuned for clarity, whereas Zeta is slightly fuller and warmer, with thicker note weight. Z1R is more resolving, more precise, more open, painting with a finer brush as it were. That said, both sound lifelike and realistic, despite these differences.

Very few IEM manufacturers can challenge Sony from a packaging and build quality perspective, and HiBy is no different. Many will find Zeta an easier fit, however, with lighter and more ergonomic shells, but I’m one of the lucky few for whom Z1R fits like a glove (with the right tips, of course). As pretty and shiny as they are, Z1R’s Zirconium shells are also prone to micro scratches, which Zeta’s coated titanium alloy shells don’t seem to be.

Overall, the best compliment I can give Zeta in this comparison is that I have no hesitation picking it alongside Z1R to get the same level of enjoyment, especially from bass and vocals. Make of that what you will, but know that I can count on one hand the number of other IEMs I can say that about.



Select pairings

Zeta is a warm-sounding IEM for sure, but it’s not dark, nor veiled or dry. It’s also not so warm that it doesn’t play well with warm-leaning sources. It has great synergy with all my DAPs, all of which are warmer than neutral, but if you prefer a more neutral, lighter or brighter sound, the combination of Zeta and brighter sources may be more to your liking.

HiBy RS8. HiBy’s flagship DAP, RS8 features a pleasant warm-of-neutral tonality with a distinctly analogue-sounding R2R character, and amplification that elevates it to the top of the portable player technical performance charts too. To me it feels like Zeta was tuned with RS8 in mind, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the marketing materials from HiBy featuring the pairing were taken long before Zeta was a known entity.

Since RS8 is my baseline for Zeta’s sound, I can only compare it to other sources by proxy. Everything I’ve described about Zeta to this point is drawn mainly from my experience of it with RS8. Zeta does change its profile to some degree with different sources, but to me achieves an almost perfect symbiosis of sound and function – including the minor MSEB tweaks I touched on in the review – with RS8.



iBasso DX300 MAX. I recently purchased iBasso’s ‘flagship’ DAP as a replacement for the last of my desktop sources, wanting a transportable alternative with desktop-grade driving power for my IEMs. In the DX300 MAX I found what I was after, along with a smooth, slightly warm and somewhat organic sound profile despite its delta sigma DAC.

The biggest difference I hear with the DX300 Max with Zeta is its absolutely effortless bass control. Bass notes are tighter, and land with more impact compared to RS8 – which is itself a superb bass performer. ‘3MAX’ takes bass control to a different level, separating it even further from the other frequencies while sharpening its focus and resolution. Where it doesn’t quite match RS8 is in vocal purity, although I find Zeta’s midrange better-resolved and slightly cleaner with the iBasso.

I also hear Zeta’s treble to be a touch more relaxed and ethereal with the DX300 MAX compared to RS8. It’s also more resolving, with a grander stage in all dimensions.

Sony WM1Z. There’s something to be said about Sony synergy, which is the main reason I bought Sony’s ‘gold brick’ to pair with Z1R, but I’m happy to say it’s equally at home with Zeta.

Some might tell you to steer clear of warmer sources like WM1Z with Zeta, but I personally don’t find Sony’s flagship (non-Android) Walkman to be skewed too warm in the first place. Instead, I find that unique combination of excitable yet rich, smooth and expansive Sony house sound to work well with Zeta’s natural tonality.

I also don’t hear Zeta’s bass as elevated any further than it is with RS8, which is to say tastefully elevated but not overdone for my preferences. In some ways it hits harder than RS8, but doesn’t have quite the same resolving power as the HiBy, or the delicate control of the 3MAX. Midrange notes are clear and concise, reminiscent of the 3MAX, while treble is given a touch more bite than the HiBy and iBasso, making Zeta sound a touch more excitable.

Like Z1R, some say Sony’s Walkman is showing its age, but I still find it to be competitive at the highest level with modern DAPs, and given fresh sounding, easily-driven IEMs like Zeta, very much has a place in any collection where streaming and Android functionality are not a priority.



Closing thoughts

If you’ve made it to this point without skipping a line, you’ll know that HiBy’s Zeta is quite a revelation. Not only is it an excellent performer at its price point, it’s the complete package in almost every aspect I look for in a top-tier IEM.

Tonally, Zeta is a smooth operator, with a warm, inviting sound that doesn’t oversaturate the music with colour, staying true to the spirit of most modern recordings while adding some welcome meat to the bones of older, thinner-sounding productions. With a bass delivery that’s as precise as it is powerful, there’s a weighty foundation to almost any track I play, with an organic, natural midrange and a thicker, more relaxed treble that’s still sparkly when called for and has enough air for most.

Zeta is one of the few IEMs that lets me play right through my library, discovering new details and aspects to music I’m already familiar with, and I’m yet to find a track that has me reaching for the skip button. This is a rare quality that I prioritise and value above most others, especially when the price sits north of a kilobuck.

I’d be remiss not to mention the sub-par cable braiding quality, and the mysterious suction effect I get with certain tips, despite the venting. But these are nitpicks that are quickly forgotten once the music starts playing. I have even less to complain about in terms of sound quality, and while I’ve heard a more refined midrange to treble transition, there are few examples I can use to showcase a more appealing sonic presentation for my preferences.

Anyone who dismisses Zeta as just another companion IEM from a DAP maker is potentially missing the opportunity to hear one of the most enjoyable IEMs I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing at any price. In fact, at its price, I consider Zeta to be one of the best-value high-end IEMs you can buy today, and it gets my highest possible recommendation.



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This review first appeared on The Headphone List.

Introduction

Custom Art is the brainchild of Piotr Granicki, a hobbyist like so many of us that, in pursuit of his ideal sound, decided to make his own IEMs to get what he couldn’t find elsewhere. The result is a company now going 10-years strong, with an impressive and growing collection of IEMs that have found favour from as many performing artists as they have audiophile enthusiasts.

FIBAE 5 is the company’s first attempt at a tri-brid IEM, and in true Custom Art fashion, goes against the ‘norm’ with an unusual combination of dynamic driver bass, balanced armature midrange and planar treble. It also eschews the neutral reference-leaning sound of its higher-end IEMs, opting instead for a sound that’s fuller and warmer.

That said, FIBAE 5 is quite different from what I consider a ‘bass-first’ tuning, or even a V-shaped monitor (which it most certainly is not, to my ears). But before we get there, there’s plenty of other aspects of this fascinating IEM to consider, from the custom process and design, to the matter-of-fact accessories, and the relatively modest price.



Packaging, presentation and accessories

For a company that leads with artistry, FIBAE 5 arrived in a rather non-artistic, utilitarian case inside a nondescript cardboard box, though to be fair, there’s no real need for anything else. If corners need to be cut to hit a price point, I’d rather it be packaging than sound quality.

But I digress, everything you need is in the case, and there’s even a convenient foam block cutout to keep the IEMs from bumping into each other or getting scratched by the cable. In fact, the case is large enough to hold other small accessories in the mesh lid pocket, like the Bluetooth necklace cable that Custom Art sent me to try out alongside the stock 4.4mm cable.

Speaking of cables, I was supplied with what looks like an 8-wire silver-plated copper cable with a gold-plated 4.4mm connector and Custom Art branding. It’s soft, supple, not too thick, with no microphonics, and the metal hardware looks good and feels robust. I tried switching it out with a few different cables, some significantly more expensive, but I keep coming back to the stock cable as the most comfortable with the best sonic balance to my ears.



No doubt you can probably push performance higher with super fancy cables, but without getting too controversial, unless you’re buying a cable for better aesthetics or bling, I personally don’t see the sense in spending more than the value of the IEM on a cable when you can get equivalent performance for free with subtle EQ tweaks.

Custom Art also includes a small add-on tool in the box, designed to insert and remove a tiny filter that fits into the bass vent to drop the bass shelf by 3dB. I’m not sure why you’d want to neuter the bass, but I guess if your preference is for a more neutral, bright-leaning signature, the option is there.

Overall, this a very practical package of accessories, especially if you’re a touring artist who needs maximum protection for your gear and a bit of space to spare for select extras. And it’s not like you’re spending thousands of dollars for a fancy storage box that will likely get dumped in the cupboard anyway.



Design and fit

Even though it’s not a balanced armature-only IEM, FIBAE 5 still features Custom Art’s Flat Impedance Balanced Armature Earphone technology (it’s literally in the name). The company claims it to be “the world’s first revolutionary IEM design providing flat impedance and phase”, which practically means the sound won’t go haywire when switching between sources with different output impedance, as often happens during live performances, and more rarely at home.

I only really mention this here because it explains the genealogy of the name, since I’ve seen this type of tech before from the likes of 64 Audio and FiR and it’s not really new to me. What is new is the idea of using a combination of drivers that, on paper, you’d think would throw up all sort of coherence issues, but in practice, somehow don’t.

FIBAE 5 comprises three sets of drivers, five in total: a single 10mm dynamic driver for bass, dual balanced armatures for mids, a single planar for low-mid treble, and a single planar for ultra-highs. I assume it also features some sort of crossover, although I don’t have the details of its design or configuration, but I do know there’s a 3D printed waveguide somewhere in the mix, along with Pressure Optimizing Design (POD) that’s supposed to normalise the pressure in front of the dynamic driver for a smoother, wider soundfield.



Sensitivity is a modest 109dB at 2KHz with 0.1V input, and with a nominal 10-ohm impedance (give or take 2 ohms with the flat impedance tech doing its thing), FIBAE 5 is fairly easy to drive off any source without exhibiting hissing or background noise of any sort.

Tech aside, let’s get to the best part of the experience: creating custom art. In my opinion, if you’re buying a Custom Art IEM, you should really, really get a custom art IEM. Yes, I know not everyone wants customs, and they’re nigh impossible to sell, and FIBAE 5 is indeed available as a universal option. But come on guys, why would you pass on the chance to create your own masterpiece from Custom Art, of all places?

The whole process of selecting a design was refreshingly new for me, and I must say quite intimidating at first. I chose Custom Art’s ‘famous’ nebula, which is not part of their standard price options and in fact needs to be hand-painted onto each IEM, so that no two nebula designs are ever the same.

To complicate matters, I asked for my nebula to feature red motifs for the right earpiece and blue for the left, and to wrap the nebula artwork around the faceplate so it creates a seamless transition with the main body before fading away gradually into all-black nozzles. Lastly, I didn’t want the Custom Art logo, cool as it is, to interfere with the design, so asked for it to be placed somewhere less conspicuous.

Not only was Piotr most accommodating of my many tweaks and requests (including the logo move), the end result, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is simply spectacular.



The only (slight) disappointment was that the nebula appears quite dark and unassuming at first, and only really comes to life in direct light. But again, I digress. Fit-wise, FIBAE 5 is my first experience of a full-size custom IEM – my very first CIEM foray being Campfire Audio’s Supermoon in its shallower audiophile fit option, which I’ll incidentally be comparing to FIBAE 5 later in this review.

I must admit to being somewhat concerned about using a deep-fitting custom IEM, with my tendency to not really tolerate any foreign objects deep inside my ears for any length of time. But from first insert FIBAE 5 felt right at home in my ears. It was actually too much at home, and I found that the seal was not ideal, the sound lacking any meaningful bass impact without pressing the earpieces tighter to my ears.

Yet again Piotr has no issues with me returning the IEMs for a refit, and aside from the lengthy delays in getting them to and from Poland over the busy festive period, the fit and feel was appreciably better second time round.

I will say though, the fit isn’t anywhere near as tight as I expected it to be, and as such, while isolation is good, as is the seal, I get more isolation from universal IEMs with their silicone eartips (and noise canceling wireless IEMs, for that matter) than I do with the FIBAE 5 custom. Whether or not that’s how it’s supposed to be, I’m not sure, but if you expect total isolation (as in, not being able to hear any external sounds at all), you might be left wanting.



Sound impressions

I’ve been listening to FIBAE 5 for the better part of two months, although some of that time was spent sending the IEMs back for adjusting the custom fit. My impressions today are quite different to my initial, out the box impressions, and I can only put that down to the combination of a better seal and driver burn-in. I’ll mention of the changes I’ve experienced in the notes below.

All testing was done across a number of different sources, including HiBy’s RS8 and iBasso’s DX300 MAX using my full set of test tracks and casual listening with newly released music.

Tonality

Custom Art describes FIBAE 5’s sound as “energetic, visceral and powerful” and “energetic, bold and engaging”. This was maybe the case out the box, when the bass was a touch loose and treble was, for want of a better word, wild, but over the past few weeks the sound signature has settled down into something much more sedate, laid back, balanced and refined.

Tonally I hear FIBAE 5 to have a U-shaped sound, bass and treble sitting ever so slightly ahead of the midrange, but never distractingly so. The solid sub-bass foundation and smooth midbass transition gives notes a hint of warmth, and neither encroach on the open, clean and controlled midrange. Treble was peaky to start with, the planar drivers occasionally jumping their lane, but all that’s changed now, and treble plays a supportive rather than leading role along with the bass.



Bass is definitely more sub- than midbass focused. The sub-bass vibrations in Caroline Polachek’s Hey Big Eyes (1:13) give my skull a deep massage, the rumble sustained and well extended, with excellent control, clearly showing off FIBAE 5’s sub-bass emphasis. Feist’s Tout Doucement also exposes the deep, vibrant sub-bass notes from the upright bass that complement and contrast with the lighter parts of the arrangement, and never interfere with the vocal delivery, which is sweet and clear even when the bassline continues in the background.

Moving up the FR curve, it’s always good to round off a bass quality and quantity test with the kick drum, and they don’t come any more kicky than in the build-up to the Eagles live performance of Hotel California. What you want here is a deep thud that’s felt more than heard, and the punch of mid-bass notes lingering slightly to emphasise the kick sensation. FIBAE 5 captures the size of the drums with good texture and a decay that doesn’t rush or linger more than it should, and sounds very natural if not as bold and authoritative as I’ve heard it.

The same goes for electric bass drum intro in A Fine Frenzy’s Elements, which doesn’t quite hit as hard or deep as more bass-focused sets.

Overall, FIBAE 5’s bass response, while definitely muscular, is more honed than bulky. Bass plays a supportive role here, but unlike sets that use BA drivers as a bass foundation, the inclusion of a large dynamic driver gives the bass the realism, texture and timbre that, when called upon, will satisfy most bass lovers’ cravings. This is by no means a basshead tuning, however, so if you’re think FIBAE 5 can double as the bassy set in your collection, think again.



Midrange being the ‘star of the show’ is a cliché, but in the case of FIBAE 5, it’s true. That said, I don’t think it quite fits the profile of a mid-centric set, because the bass and treble make themselves known more often than not. That’s why, to my ears, FIBAE 5 is a refreshingly balanced set, but definitely one of the more accomplished I’ve heard when it comes to midrange fidelity.

The first thing I listen for in the midrange is female vocal purity, and what better way to do that than with the opening 30-second instrument-free intro to Fran’s How Did We. Maria Jacobson must have one of the purest, most emotive vocal deliveries I’ve heard in a while, and it helps that the band’s latest album, Leaving, records it almost perfectly. If there’s any sibilance, grain or haze in an IEM’s delivery, you’ll hear it. FIBAE 5’s delivery is literally pitch-perfect.

If well-recorded vocals are too easy, take it up a notch and try out a potentially pitchy recording. For all of Ethel Cain’s brilliance on her first full-length LP, Preacher’s Daughter, the weakest part of the album is Ethel’s vocal recording, even on epic tracks like Thoroughfare.

With an IEM that has too much upper midrange or lower treble emphasis, or that shows a lack of quality in these FRs, or that doesn’t have the low-end to balance out Ethel’s warmer low notes with her higher pitched trailing edges, this track will be a real challenge.

Thankfully FIBAE 5 doesn’t flinch, with as smooth a vocal delivery as I’ve heard with this track. It doesn’t quite have the reach and heft in the bass delivery to make the drums (3:14) reveal the cathedral-like stage of the recording and which provides such an important contrast to the vocals, but conversely it presents a very balanced, nuanced performance you can just close your eyes and sink into.

Switching to raspy male baritones, Neil Diamond’s warm and emotive vocal delivery form The Jazz Singer’s Hello Again illustrates FIBAE 5’s ability as a vocal all-rounder. I’d like to say I’ve heard this track with more grit and gravitas, but here the delivery is every bit as emotive if a bit less upfront, more laid back than thickly laid. The bass notes play a supportive role, so you’ll hear more of Neil’s lower midrange emphasis than some of the bassy chestiness in the recording.

Moving away from vocals, FIBAE 5’s midrange strength lies in its accurate instrument timbre. Playing Daft Punk’s Within is a great way to quickly check for piano timbre, one of the hardest instruments for an IEM to accurately reproduce. I’m no timbre expert, mind you, but I know when a piano, guitar or drum sound ‘right’, and the way FIBAE 5 presents the ‘live’ instruments in this hybrid electronic track is right on point.

Allen Touissant’s The Bright Mississippi reaffirms my impression of FIBAE 5’s timbral strenghs. Not that I’m big on instrumental jazz, but this is another track I often turn to for checking instrument timbre, and also how well the different bass, midrange and treble notes play across a live performance. It’s also a great track to test for instrument separation and imaging, for the same reason, and FIBAE 5 scores high on both counts.

Overall, I find FIBAE 5’s midrange to be very lifelike, with smoothness and warmth overlaid on clarity and nuance. It’s not the most resolving midrange delivery I’ve heard, but I’m not missing any details either, and very often I find hyper-resolving sets don’t lend themselves to a relaxing listen. In that regard FIBAE 5 is more forgiving of poorer recordings than some, and to me that’s a strength that shouldn’t be underestimated.



Treble is where opinions of the FIBAE 5 will probably be split, depending on how sensitive you are to treble vibrancy. Initially, I feared that the set would be hamstrung by the planar driver’s propensity for sharpness – out the box, some treble notes cut like a knife, and threw off the balance of the entire presentation.

I’m glad to say that, for me, this is no longer the case. Whether it’s the 100-plus hours of burn-in, or the slight adjustment to the fit of my customs, treble now mostly keeps to its lane, complementing and highlighting the details in tracks where necessary, but otherwise staying out the way.

Nils Lofgren’s Keith Don’t Go is a reference track if you want to find out how detailed, accurate, fast and clear an IEM’s treble delivery can be, or to test if you’re going to run into issues. It’ll also give you plenty of other information – male vocals, bass texture, resolution – but treble is what we’re here to hear.

When Nils plucks the high notes on his metal strings, they have every change of making you wince if not presented properly. Turn your attention to the sequence from 3:22 onward, and you should hear some extremely sharp and detailed high treble notes. There is a short sequence from 4:40 where FIBAE 5 comes really, really close to crossing the line, and teeters just over once or twice, so if there’s any weakness to its performance, this would be it.

This is an extreme example, but if your library comprises lots of steel guitars and high-pitched, bright arrangements, you might want to give the planar drivers at least 100 hours or more to settle like I did. Whether or not that will tame them enough for you, I can’t say.

Ilan Bluestone’s Will We Remain is another high-energy, treble-dominant track, but switches pace completely. FIBAE 5 is probably too laid back for this type of music, but it’s still a good way to test out the treble extremes, especially as it approaches the crescendo at the 3:15 mark. Treble is certainly lively here, but never crosses over to hot or harsh, and is nowhere near as sharp as Nils Lofgren’s guitar strings.

Orchestral strings are where you really want your treble timbre and detail to be on point, and FIBAE 5 absolutely gets it right with Max Richter’s Winter 1. There is just enough detail here to tell the difference between different string sections, and none ever come close to sounding strident. If anything, they’re quite mellow.

Overall, I’m very comfortable recommending FIBAE 5 for its treble performance, but caution that it did give me trouble in the past, and I’m not sure if what mitigated the issues on my set will happen with yours. I’m also about as far from a treblehead as you can get, and anything too bright or lively sends me reaching for different IEMs. FIBAE 5 is very well behaved in that regard, which is usually the best complement I can give this type of set.



Technical performance

There’s no denying that the higher the price, the more you’d expect from an IEM’s technical performance. To that end, FIBAE 5 doesn’t disappoint, but will most likely disappoint those who favour technicalities over tone. That’s because you’re not going to get envelope-pushing performance here, although for the asking price (which is still a very significant amount of money, to be sure) you’re not going to get short-changed either.

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra’s binaural recording of La Luna is a natural test for soundstage size, and reveals what I’ve been hearing consistently throughout my time with FIBAE 5. The stage is larger than average in terms of depth and height, but only moderately wide. It’s definitely not an intimate stage, and manages to spread out in all directions when the music, like this track, calls for it. But it’s not artificially expansive, and I probably wouldn’t call it holographic either. Sounds sit comfortably outside my head, but not so far away that they appear distant or diffused.

With its 50th anniversary coming up this week, Pink Floyd’s On The Run from Dark Side of the Moon is another great test for stage, but also resolution and imaging. It shows FIBAE 5 to be reasonably resolving, with imaging that won’t win any awards for pinpoint precision, but is more than acceptable at this price point.

Listen for the PA announcement that plays over the early part of this track. It fades quickly once the main effects start to play, so the IEMs aren’t squeezing the very last drops of information from what’s available in the file. Still, if you didn’t know what to listen for, you wouldn’t know anything was amiss either.

Pink Floyd’s Time follows on from On The Run, and reinforces what I picked up previously, in that resolution is very good but not outstanding, and imaging and separation are all at a very high standard too, but short of what you’d want for triple the price. For the record, this is another great treble and timbre test, and while some of the higher-pitched clock effects bordered on forward, none were so sharp that I needed to turn down the volume.



I specifically wanted to use Armin Van Buuren’s Intense for this review to make the point that FIBAE 5 is anything but what the title suggests. This is not a highly dynamic, in-your-face delivery; I can close my eyes and relax to music like this, which is probably not what the artist intended.

On the flipside, FIBAE 5 lets you revel in the beautiful tone of Miri Ben Ari’s electric violin, and while I did find myself head bobbing to Armin’s beat, I was drawn more to the composition and layering of the various effects in the track. If you’re someone wanting big notes with power and groove at full speed, this is not the IEM for you. If you prefer to focus on the melody, however, even in faster tracks like this one, FIBAE 5 is more likely your speed, as it is mine.

Overall, I really like what Piotr has achieved with the technical tuning of this set. You’re definitely a level or two up from mainstream, sub-$1,000 sets with stage size, depth, layering and separation, and there’s no shortage of resolving power either. It might not be the fastest and most dynamic sound at this level, but it’s not flat and uninspired, if that’s what you’re thinking.

Perhaps the best way to make the point is to compare and contrast FIBAE 5 with two other IEMs in the same ballpark price-wise to get a sense of where it sits technically, so I’ll do that next.



Select comparisons

HiBy Zeta ($1,299). HiBy’s 9-driver titanium body flagship is a relative newcomer to the IEM scene, with very little information actually out in the wild about it (shameless plug – THL review coming soon). The most obvious and immediate difference to FIBAE 5 is its warmer tonality; Zeta has a visceral, powerful midbass response that colours all the remaining frequencies with warmth, far more so than the more neutrally-tuned FIBAE 5 midbass.

It also has a relatively forward upper midrange that requires some EQ tuning, and treble that’s smooth but lively when it needs to be, compared to FIBAE 5 which is far more balanced in these areas. As such there’s more dynamism and contrast in Zeta’s sound, more realism and tonal accuracy in FIBAE’s.

Technically the two are very close. FIBAE’s stage is actually wider and deeper than Zeta’s, which is hampered by its added warmth. Resolution is on par, which is to say very good but not quite summit. Being a custom, FIBAE 5 obviously wins out in comfort, but Zeta is on the more comfortable size as far as universals go, especially with softer silicone tips. Its titanium shell is skin smooth, with no hard edges, and even though the metal earpieces are slightly heavier than FIBAE’s resin, they’re quite a bit smaller.

Overall, the two IEMs complement each other well, FIBAE being more balanced and accurate, Zeta warmer and more powerful. Zeta’s more elaborate packaging and higher quality accessories explains its larger pricetag, but both IEMs can be said to perform at a level that justifies their ticket price.

Campfire Audio Supermoon ($1,500). Planar IEM drivers are still new, and have some way to go before they can match their full-size counterparts. That said, Supermoon is the most complete example yet of a high-end planar driver in IEM form, showing off the good (and bad) of the driver’s characteristics.

Tonally, Supermoon is brighter and lighter than FIBAE, and lacks some of the iridescent warmth from the dynamic driver bass. This affects midrange and treble presentation too, both of which are on the thinner side compared to FIBAE’s fuller notes. Timbre accuracy is where FIBAE eclipses Supermoon, especially with vocals and live instruments.

Where Supermoon shines is its technical performance. It resolves as well as any IEM I’ve heard, regardless of price, and is faster with a better-defined stage than most summit-fi IEMs in my opinion. On the flipside, it lacks dynamic energy, and its tonal ‘flaws’ – especially a metallic sheen to some upper midrange/lower treble transients – takes some of the polish off its exemplary technicalities.

Overall, Supermoon offers a stark contrast to FIBAE 5’s lifelike, natural and balanced sound, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences and need for a variety of different-sounding IEMs in a ‘collection’.



Closing thoughts

There’s something to be said for IEMs that represent more than just devices for music listening. Custom Art’s FIBAE 5 is the embodiment of this ideal, an IEM that, initially at least, is more about creation and craftsmanship than it is utility.

The care, dedication and skill that went into making my set of custom IEMs is an experience I’d wish on anyone. To my mind, it’s the main reason someone would seek out a Custom Art work of art. The only downside is the crazy variety of choices you’re faced with when deciding on the look of your personal set, something that admittedly gave this minimalist reviewer choice paralysis for a while.

When you start off on such a high note, everything that follows is sometimes a letdown. Thankfully, FIBAE 5 performs as well as it looks. While I had my teething issues with the sound, more specifically the planar treble liveliness, time and patience (and a quick visit back to Poland) ensured all was well once the treble settled.

Confoundingly though, I don’t hear FIBAE 5 as the energetic, dynamic IEM it’s ‘supposed’ to be, but rather a more relaxed, refined version of that ideal. It has the quintessential qualities of a dynamic driver bass foundation, and an expertly-tuned midrange that, I’m lead to believe, is Piotr Granicki’s trademark tuning. I can only assume the planar treble decision was an attempt at doing something oddly different with this IEM, to separate it from its siblings, perhaps?

Ultimately, it’s an experiment that seems to have worked in FIBAE 5’s favour, because the sum of this IEM is definitely greater than its parts. On the whole I hear no coherence issues, which speaks to the skill with which it’s been tuned. That said, it’s not the most technically-proficient performer I’ve heard, nor did I expect it to be, but at the same time, unless you’re willing to pay significantly more for a technical upgrade, it’s not going to let you down.

For me, FIBAE 5 is the consummate kilobuck all-rounder. I haven’t personally experienced a better all-round performer at this price. Considering the price includes your own set of personalised ear jewelry, I believe FIBAE 5 stands alone as the most enjoyable, comfortable, showoff-able and, importantly, affordable everyday listen I’ve come across in this hobby. Highly recommended.




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This review first appeared on The Headphone List.

Introduction

It’s always interesting when a cable company ventures into IEM design, but unlike Effect Audio’s previous homegrown effort, Axiom, they’ve partnered with a specialist IEM maker in Elysian Acoustic Labs for their new collab, Gaea.

QM Lee, the mastermind behind Elysian’s now-famous Annihilator and X flagship IEMs, is renowned for his tuning prowess. Going against the grain of bass-fronted designs, his IEMs are in essence perfect contradictions, often featuring strident, elevated midrange or treble that somehow still presents as silky smooth and balanced, with exceptional quality.

If you’re looking for the same sort of funky tuning and Elysian DNA in Gaea, you’re in luck. This is not your traditional IEM by any stretch, and even though the marketing spiel speaks of earthiness and female vocal bliss, as you’ll soon see, it’s not exactly what you’re getting.



Packaging and accessories

Priced at $1,300 retail, Gaea is a premium product by any measure. It ships in an environmentally-friendly gold-flecked black cardboard box, adorned with an intricate gold foiled design of the primordial Earth goddess herself.

Removing the lid reveals a translucent sheet inscribed with a feel-good greeting from (EA founder) Suyang and (the other EA’s) Lee, beneath which the blue stabilized wood earpieces nestle inside matching foam core cutouts. The top tray holding the earpieces lifts away to expose an accessory box that holds two smaller boxes, one labeled ‘Ear Tips’ – one set of SpinFit’s new medical-grade W1 tips in three different sizes; the other labeled Cleaning Kit – a lint-free cloth and wax picker brush.

EA also includes a sturdy felt-covered case with a magnetic lock and internal mesh pockets that comfortably holds the IEMs and cable along with the packaged accessories. Just be aware that the cover material will attract every bit of dust, hair and fluff it comes in contact with.



Design and fit

This is my first encounter with an Elysian IEM, and I believe it represents the new smaller shell design Lee is rolling out for his other IEMs too. It’s still a fairly chunky IEM, nicely finished in a thick-feeling solid gloss black resin shell and lacquered blue wood faceplates. EA and Elysian logos are emboss-foiled in gold on each earpiece respectively.

While the shells themselves aren’t too cumbersome, I find the nozzles on the thick and fairly long side, which usually spells trouble for my small ear canals. Sadly, my fears were confirmed as soon as I tried to fit one of my go-to eartips, Sony’s EP-EX11, onto the bulbous nozzles. No go…they stretched over the nozzles with some difficulty, only to pop back off almost immediately. Spiral Dots were the next tips I tried, and while they slid on easily, they also slid off easily, remaining firmly wedged in my ears. Final’s E-Type tips were only marginally better; I managed to get them on, but eventually one or other tip slid off the nozzle.

Long story short, only Acoustune AET07 and the stock SpinFit eartips seemed to fit. Even then, the smallest size stock tip was too big for me, which meant the nozzles couldn’t sit very deep, leaving the earpieces to dangle from my ears, balanced on the stems. This wasn’t totally uncomfortable, given how light the earpieces are, but a word of warning to anyone with similar ears to mine: this is not the most comfortable IEM I’ve used, nor could I use it for anything but shorter sessions without some sort of discomfort.

On a positive note, I really like the colour-matched cable, with its stabilized wood splitter. The cable itself features gold and blue EA Ultra Flexi plasticated sleeving, with a combination of 24awg OCC copper litz and silver-plated copper litz wires. It also features EA’s proprietary ConX system, letting you switch from the stock P-Ear connector to mmcx or 2-pin connectors for use with other IEMs. P-Ear is meant to be a sturdier variant of the swiveling mmcx connector, though I found it to be more fragile and prone to bending than the shorter, stockier mmcx connectors I have on other cables.



Tech and specs

Gaea is a five-driver hybrid IEM, with one Foster-made dynamic driver for bass and four Sonion balanced armatures covering mids to highs. A four-way crossover connects the bass dynamic driver with the low-mid BA, mid-high BA and two high-frequency BAs. The dynamic driver is dual vented (DiVe Pass II Dual Ventilation Technology in marketing-speak), primarily to prevent driver flex from what I understand.

With a 10-ohm impedance at 1khz and a nominal sensitivity of 102db at 1khz, Gaea is not difficult to drive. It needs 5-10 clicks less juice than most of my other IEMs, volume matched.



Sound Impressions

First and foremost, your impressions of Gaea will depend on the tips you manage to fit on them. As mentioned earlier, I couldn’t get any of my go-to tips to fit, and even the stock tips were a struggle, both to get onto the nozzles and then into my ears. The two tips I liked most with Gaea are Final E (when they stay on), and, more consistently, the stock SpinFit W1 tips.

Tonally, Gaea has a U-shaped tuning profile, with a moderately emphasized (10dB) sub-bass shelf, a ‘generously’ elevated pinna gain/upper-midrange, and a likewise elevated but un-peaky treble response. If I were to sum up the sound presentation in three words, I’d say clear, crisp and aggressive. This is not a sit back and relax sound, nor a warm and romantic sound. It’s in your face, all the time, with no letups.

To break it down for you, I’m going to flip the usual bass-mids-treble order because I feel Gaea is a treble and mids-first IEM.



I’m no treblehead, quite the opposite, but I respect and appreciate good quality treble, and Gaea has that in spades. Elysian is known for its treble tuning quality, and Gaea is no different. Even though it lacks the e-stat drivers of higher-end Elysian-made IEMs, the Sonion BAs used here are tuned to perfection, delivering a crisp, energetic yet smooth and evocative treble.

Listen to Miri Ben-Ari’s violin solo in the build-up to Armin van Buuren’s Intense, and you’ll hear the soaring intensity of the strings with almost pitch-perfect timbre, for example. String sections of classical pieces like Max Richter’s recomposed version of Vivaldi’s Winter 1 is another good example. But keep in mind this is not necessarily a true-to-life reproduction; I find treble levels elevated well above the norm, to my ears, and coupled with the even-more-intense upper midrange, the ‘wall of treble’ sound can be unnerving if you’re not used to it.

This makes Gaea a bright-leaning IEM. Sibilance is actually very well controlled – better, in fact, than many less-trebly IEMs – and while much of that is tip-dependent, this is still ranks as some of the better ‘elevated’ treble I’ve heard in an IEM.



If Gaea’s treble is too much for you, hold on to your hat when you hear its midrange. There’s so much presence and energy in the midrange – especially the upper midrange – that you’ll struggle to hear anything else above the din.

Lower midrange is neutral, maybe even dipped slightly below neutral, so male vocals, come off a bit thin, especially without any added midbass support (see below). Some male vocalists like Neil Diamond sound less raspy or chesty in their performance (Hello Again a great example from the fabulous The Jazz Singer LP). Higher-pitched male vocals, like the Weeknd’s contribution to Lana Del Rey’s Lust For Life, are pushed further up the octave scale by the steep rise to the upper mids, so are generally exempt from the low midrange dip.

Female vocals, however, are where the designers seem to have set their sights. There’s a real presence and forwardness to female vocal music, even though quality swings between perfectly sweet and wincingly shouty. If you’re a fan of bright, articulated, crispy vocals of the female persuasion, you’ll find a great partner in Gaea; not so much if you’re after the soft, soothing and romantic.

Listen to Rosie Thomas singing Why Waste More Time and you’ll think exactly that (I actually turned it off pretty quickly). Rosie has a beautifully articulate and young-sounding voice, very closely micced, but Gaea makes her sound like a pre-pubescent teen. I’m not a K-pop/J-pop listener, so I’m not sure if this is the effect that lovers of this type of music go for, but if it is, they'll want to give Gaea a listen.

More energetic female vocals, like Nevve in Seven Lions’ Island, are so bright you’ll want to wear shades before pressing play…but, that could be a good thing if you want that sort of energy in your life. Likewise, Ilan Bluestone’s Will We Ramainsounds epic on Gaea, and even though I personally find it too much, I’ve spoken with many who don’t.

Real instruments, on the whole, fare quite well. Timbre is believable, and even higher-frequency midrange sounds, like stick hits and shakers, don’t land with too much zing. As midrange blends into the treble, it maintains a fairly even keel, and there are no sudden spikes up top that make instruments or vocals sound ‘off’, as is the case with some overexuberant upper-midrange and lower-treble-elevated IEMs.



Bass is where I have most of my issues with Gaea. Even though I don’t enjoy an elevated midrange, I can respect the tuning for where it’s aiming. But I’m far more particular about bass delivery, and while I get that the bass here is mostly meant to support the upper frequencies, I don’t think it does so particularly well.

Delivered by a Foster dynamic driver (the same driver used in Elysian’s current flagship, Annihilator), the bass is focused more in the sub-50Hz sub-bass region, with a linear drop towards the lower mids. That’s not the issue, since I actually prefer a sub-bass focus. What I don’t like I how fast the bass decays. It sounds unnatural to me.

The big bass drums that kick off A Fine Frenzy’s Elements are punchy, sure, but they decay so quickly you’d think you’re listening in an Anechoic chamber. There’s also a lack of sub-bass extension that renders the subtle sub-bass rumble in Kristin Hersch’s Your Ghost almost inaudible, especially with the elevated midrange placing the accompanying guitar strums far further forward than I’m used to.

While the driver is adequately vented, giving it more room to fully express the bass notes, I actually find the bass levels too low and the delivery too fast to balance out the rest of the frequencies. As such, I find bass notes are too often masked by the elevation of the other frequencies, upper midrange in particular.

All of the above suggests the bass is tuned to play a supporting rather than a leading role in the mix, and that’s exactly how I hear it. There’s a flatness to the bass delivery that means it never dominates, even where bass weight is called for. It lacks some of the richness, detail and texture you’d expect from a more forward bass presentation, and so if you’re someone who prefers bass that lays a foundation for the music and does little else, you’ll probably find Gaea to your liking. Bassheads, or even bass enthusiasts, won’t find much to like here however.



Technically, Gaea is a very competent performer. Resolution, partly due to its clean and extended treble, is excellent, though not quite class-leading. Stage is natural, with decent width and depth, but can start to feel cramped when music gets busy, especially bright busy. When that happens, instruments tend to smear and vocalists shout over each other. Play the crescendo to Daft Punk’s Contact and you’ll feel every shred of the violent interstellar explosion it depicts.

Instruments and vocals are otherwise well separated, but imaging is just ok. I get a good sense of where instruments are placed on the stage, but it’s more a general layout rather than pinpoint precision. That’s probably because some sounds, especially higher pitched metallic instruments and guitar strings, tend to dominate.

Gaea is quite dynamic, especially in midrange- and treble-dominant tracks. It’s an exciting, involving listen, not an IEM I could ever kick back and relax with. There’s an energy to the sound that can be quite fun with the right music (electronic music in particular), and those who love their jazzy music aggressive, their Dire Straits crispy, and their electric guitars crunchy, are going to enjoy the ride.

Conversely, it can be quite unforgiving of poorly recorded and brighter, compressed music. Modern pop would have to be well mastered to sound good without overloading, especially female vocal-fronted pop, and I’m not convinced you’ll survive a strident soprano opera with these.

Overall, Gaea is certainly…different to what I’m used to. Right off the bat it doesn’t have the bass quantity or quality I enjoy, but is not the worst I’ve heard here by any stretch. Midrange, while rich and dominant, is somewhat overdone, and treble, well, there’s lots of it too, but in a good way.

It’s not your mainstream tuning, and it can be peaky and coloured with many genres. But for those wanting something that challenges convention, and eschews the usual bass-dominant tuning of many modern (Western-tuned) IEMs, it could have much appeal. If you love your treble, and aren’t sensitive to upper-midrange forwardness, you may even find Gaea to be right in your lane.



Pairings and comparisons

I won’t be going into source pairings in detail, so I’ll just say that Gaea seems to be quite source-sensitive. For example, I found it far more agreeable using Sony’s smoother, more evenly-tuned WM1Z compared to HiBy’s RS6, which tends to double-down on upper-mid-forward IEMs. HiBy’s new RS8 R2R flagship was even better than the Sony, although possibly less forgiving of Gaea’s upper-mid stridency.

Just be aware of this when auditioning Gaea for yourself, and unless you’re a masochist, try avoid overly bright sources.



Campfire Audio Supermoon ($1,500). Campfire’s new single-driver planar was designed specifically as a custom IEM, so a direct comparison with Gaea isn’t really fair, especially when it comes to comfort. Sound-wise, Supermoon’s is a bass-dominant tuning, with a more neutral midrange and sparkly, extended, but not quite as elevated treble as Gaea’s.

Both IEMs have a brighter and arguably slightly ‘digital’ tonality, but I do find Supermoon sounds smoother through the bass to midrange transition, especially with vocals. Supermoon’s treble can display some metallic timbre or digital ‘glare’ on occasion, but where it doesn’t, I find it to be an easier listen than Gaea with my library.

Where Supermoon is, to me ears, unarguably superior to Gaea is resolution, cohesion and staging. Gaea is more dynamic, and the its higher frequency delivery is more natural. Your choice between these two will come down to how much brightness you prefer up top, and in turn, which one plays better with your music library.



Sony IER-Z1R ($1,800). I find it quite ironic that the IEM that’s roundly considered one of the least comfortable for many users is significantly more comfortable in my ears than Gaea. The Sony’s thinner, shorter nozzles work better with my ear anatomy (small ear canals), and also take a much wider range of tips without issue.

Sonically, I consider the Z1R’s bass almost peerless, with a deep, weighty, powerful and articulate sub-bass to midbass elevation that gives music a cavernous space in which to play. Compared to Gaea's anaemic bass, it's no contest. While Sony's midrange is considered recessed by some, I hear it as very clear, clean and more analogue-sounding than Gaea’s. Male vocals on the Sony are quite neutral, like Gaea’s, while Gaea’s female vocal delivery is notably more forward and less natural or organic than Sony’s.

Treble is interesting, because both IEMs have excellent quality treble. I feel Gaea’s treble quality is slightly handicapped by its upper-midrange aggression, though, while Sony’s, by comparison, is sparkly and precise but also more elevated in the lower treble, which could be bothersome for those with a lower treble sensitivity. Technically, I feel Z1R has the upper hand across the board, though you could argue the two are more similar than different in resolving ability and dynamics.



Closing thoughts

I’ve read so much about Lee and his uniquely-tuned IEMs, but until I tried Gaea for myself, I couldn’t quite make sense of them. Fast and aggressive but also…smooth? Bright and clear but also…balanced?

These are just some of the contradictions I hear with Gaea, and while I can categorically say that it’s not the type of sound I go for, I can see why so many people enjoy it.

Ironically, I like it least for the ‘theme’ it represents: earthy female vocals. Gaea makes female vocalists sound much younger and more aggressive than they are, and some male vocalists too, but I think that was the intention. If you want a warm, organic, jazz lounge-type tuning, or something to relax or mediate to, I don’t think Gaea is the right fit. But for gym workouts, motivation sessions or some headbanging fun, why not?

Cosmetically these are well-made IEMs, befitting their premium pricetag. While I personally have issues with the chunky fit, that’s specific to my anatomy, and I’ve seen very few complaints from others in this regard.

I think Effect Audio made the right move by enlisting a reputable and talented IEM tuner like Lee for their Axiom follow-up. This is a much better IEM all-round, and while it hasn't quite won my approval, it could very well win yours.

Introduction

I’ve been getting to know Effect Audio’s range of bespoke cables over the past year or so, including the original Cleopatra, and I consider the company quite bold in how it makes and markets its entry-level and midrange cables. To me, EA is synonymous with value for performance, and as you move up through the tiers, elegance as well.

While new Signature Series cables – specifically the Ares S I was fortunate enough to test earlier this year – set a new benchmark for entry-level upgrade cable quality, Cleopatra II represents quite a jump, in both price and performance. At $999, Cleo II is every bit as catchy on the eye as it is on the wallet, and as such my expectations for everything from build quality to technical performance are markedly higher.

Thankfully, she doesn’t disappoint. From its understated but expertly-finished hardware to its ultra-smooth silk sleeving and refined sonics, Cleo II is every bit the premium upgrade cable you’d expect at this level. Let’s deep dive into the finer details to find out why.


Fit and finish

Based on what I’ve seen online and discussed with my colleagues, the packaging and presentation of the new Cleo is of a fairly high standard. If the Ares S packaging is anything to go by, I really like how EA have modernised their presentation game. The stylish vegetable leather case included with Cleo II is a nice but expected to touch for a cable of this pedigree, although I must admit to being somewhat disappointed that the opulent chrome-polished steel presentation box that adorned the original Cleo is conspicuous by its absence.

The cable itself is made with high-purity silver using a dual geometry design which, according to EA, allows for both excellent detail retrieval and a more full-bodied warmth to the sound. The wire itself features Kevlar-infused individually-enameled Litz strands, covered by EA’s ‘Ultra Flexi’ insulation. Whatever it’s made of, the insulation is really supple and soft to the touch, smooth but not sticky, and seemingly very kink- and twist-resistant. It also has zero microphonics and the earhooks and lightweight materials make it very comfortable on-ear with all my IEMs.

Cleo II sports all-new, genuine titanium hardware, at least for the Y-splitter, chin slider and ConX-equipped connectors. Since titanium is easier to scratch than steel, the hardware parts are fitted with plastic sleeving to protect them during transport, a nice touch, but something you’ll want to remove to enjoy the smooth skin-like texture of the titanium finish.


ConX and TermX

I’ve mentioned ConX in previous EA cable impressions, and continue to be impressed with the ease of use and versatility of the system. One twist of the included removal tool and you can easily switch between mmcx, 2-pin, and other termination types. Best of all, EA’s mmcx implementation works seamlessly with the ‘proprietary’ mmcx connectors on Sennheiser’s new IE 600 and IE 900 IEMs, and also Sony’s IER-Z1R.

TermX is a more recent development, allowing you to swap out the source termination. The version shipped with my Cleo II sample includes gold-plated 2.5mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm connectors, although I found it more difficult and less intuitive to use than the ConX system at the other end of the cable.


For one, TermX uses a 4-pin system to connect the termination plug to a female connector attached to the cable. While it’s easy enough to remove and reconnect the plugs, you must be careful to align the easily visible ‘notch’ on the plug to the virtually invisible notch on the cable side. I didn’t realise the pins had to be aligned at first, so my first listen out the box was, to be diplomatic, horrible. Align the notches, and the sound magically snaps into focus.

I also find the build quality on the TermX plugs a step down from the beautiful titanium hardware on the cable itself. That said, once connected and screwed back into the TermX housing, the system works perfectly, and I didn’t detect any notable sound degradation in my listening so far. EA does offer a ‘performance’ option for Cleo II, a soldered OCC 4.4mm plug that it claims offers more refined midrange performance, so there are possibly some performance points to be gained by ditching TermX. Unless you need the versatility of multiple plugs, I’d definitely stick to the performance version myself.


Sound impressions

I have a love-hate relationship with pure silver cables. Unless they’ve very well made, with high-grade, high-purity materials, silver tends to thin out the sound of most IEMs for me. While this works for some people wanting the purest, most detailed signal possible, it negates some of the inherent warmth and body of well-made copper cables.

Thankfully, Cleo II doesn’t suffer from such downsides. My first impression of the sonic ‘qualities’ it offers is of a slightly flatter, but not necessarily colder tonality, with a richness in the bass and lower mids that’s quite unusual for a silver cable. As I listened more, I liked how Cleo II held back on some of the raw ‘aggression’ of purely detail-oriented silver cables, and in fact I found it sounding quite laid back, at least compared to what I was expecting.


Compared to the original Cleo, I also find Cleo II more balanced, rather than emphasised at the extremities. Yes, there’s the trademark detail boost in the treble, and tightness in the bass, but the effect doesn’t sound forced, and the midrange, while not warm by any stretch, is natural and moderately full-sounding too. What I’m getting here is excellent end-to-end extension, with a rich-bodied but also detailed sound that doesn’t over-rev the engine, so to speak.

Using Cleo II with Campfire’s new Supermoon custom planar IEM, I’m getting a smoothness and richness that helps quell some of Supermoon’s occasionally strident upper-midrange and lower-treble energy or ‘glare’, although it doesn’t filter the energy completely. The upper registers sound even more airy and detailed, and stage seems slightly larger in all dimensions, but there’s not really much warmth added to the sound. Cleo II is certainly a looker when paired with Supermoon, although the option of silver rather than gold-plated mmcx connectors would work even better with the Supermoon aesthetic.


Comparing Cleo II to some other cables lower down the price tiers reveals just how much – and also how little – cables finesse the sound of the IEMs you’re using. Compared to EA’s $179 Ares S, Cleo II eschews Ares’s warm, pillowy tonality that adds body but also dulls some details in the upper registers, replacing it with heightened detail but reduced impact, especially down low. Cleo II’s technical performance is also notably higher, although at more than four times the price, that should go without saying.

Compared to Lavricables’ $210 pure silver Ultimate Silver cable, Cleo II is definitely more bodied and airier up top and more impactful down low, but falls short of Lavri’s crystalline detail retrieval. Cleo II is also better built than Lavri’s more utilitarian build, but again, that’s the least you should expect at these price points.

Cable pairings are as much about synergy as they are about quality and refinement. As long as Cleo II’s sonic qualities complement your IEM’s and source’s sound profile to deliver the type of sound you’re looking for, you can sleep easy knowing all the other stuff – build quality, materials and flexibility – are as premium as the asking price suggests.


Closing thoughts

In Cleopatra II, EA has released a formidable successor to the original and much-loved Cleo. The shift from a more traditional hard-edged silver-sounding design to a more ‘analogue-like’ smooth and silky profile is personally desirable, and makes Cleo II a much more versatile upgrade cable for a wider range of IEMs, in my opinion. The titanium hardware is premium and expensive-looking, and the fit and finish is all top-class, albeit not quite at the level of super-luxury multi-kilobuck TOTL cables.

Sonically Cleo II is every bit the high-end performer I expected it to be. If you find the right synergy pairing, the sound is both refined and extended without being aggressive or pushy, and doesn’t thin out the bass on my dynamic driver IEMs anywhere near as much as pure silver sometimes tends to do. Midrange performance is impressively clean, and treble air is plentiful without any unwanted shine or glare. This a rich sound that, while not quite mimicking the same qualities of a warm copper cable, certainly leans in that direction, but with its own distinct personality.

If you’re in the market for a serious upgrade to your IEM’s stock cable, and are willing to spend a little extra for some premium finishes and refined performance, Cleo II should definitely be on your audition list.

Introduction

Campfire Audio is a name that needs no introduction, but here’s one anyway. In 2009, Ken Ball started a small boutique audio cable company in the green city of Portland, Oregon, called Audio Line Out, better known today as ALO Audio. From those humble beginnings the company evolved, and then split in two, with Ken’s sister company, Campfire Audio, introducing handcrafted in-ear monitors to the product line.

Fast-forward six years and 45 new or derivative designs, and Campfire is once again looking to disrupt a now mature IEM market. Supermoon, the company’s third custom IEM, is not only the world’s first custom planar magnetic IEM, but also the first high-end sealed planar monitor. Featuring a custom-developed 14mm planar driver and Campfire’s unique solid body sound chamber, the $1,500 Supermoon is already changing the price-performance equation of single driver IEMs at the highest echelons of the hobby.


Planar technology explained

You may be new to planar magnetic technology, especially in IEMs, but know that planar technology itself is not new. Planar magnetic designs have been around for years in full-size headphones, and even longer in speakers. What’s new here is the miniaturisation of the technology without sacrificing the inherent properties that make these drivers so effective in larger formats.

Unlike dynamic drivers which use a cone-shaped diaphragm, planar magnetic drivers use an ultrathin flat diaphragm and an array of magnets that push and pull the surface of the diaphragm to create sound waves. Compared to their headphone-size counterparts, there’s a limit to how large the diaphragm can be inside an IEM, and also how many magnets are used to energise the diaphragm.

Broadly speaking, planar drivers extend the frequency range in both directions, particularly bass, down to 20Hz and beyond 20,000kHz, while maintaining better linearity, a faster transient response, and lower distortion than even the most advanced dynamic drivers. The downside is that despite their exceptional extension, planar drivers tend to lack the dynamic contrast of the best dynamic drivers, even though they produce a ‘cleaner’ sound overall.

Supermoon specifically uses several techniques unique to Campfire Audio for refining its planar driver performance:
solid body design and 3D-printed interior. According to Campfire, solid body design ‘uses a single housing with specially designed ports…allowing [the] driver to be routed to the nozzle of the earphone’. The body-and-driver assembly is then ‘inserted into the housing much like an engine being lowered into a car’. This makes assembling the IEMs easier, and reduces sample variance by ensuring the design of each 3D printed earpiece is accurate and precise.

Supermoon also features a 3D printed interior, individually modelled to optimise acoustics relative to each user’s ear anatomy. In theory this lets Campfire design a unique acoustic chamber that helps shape the sound of each driver for a specific target, eliminating any variance in frequency response for consistent sound quality between units.


Packaging and accessories

I’d heard good things about Campfire Audio’s unboxing experience, and this being my first ever Campfire IEM, I wasn’t disappointed.

There are actually two parts to the ‘unboxing’. The first is an intricately folded cardboard sleeve with the Supermoon logo label on top, and a unique identifier label with the serial number and a ‘Nicely Done’ message, with my name, on the side. I really like how the personalisation of the custom IEM experience starts right from the very first impression.

Second, the actual hardboard box, complete with a more traditional hinged lid, contains the IEMs and accessories and sits inside the sleeve. Don’t throw the sleeve away, even though you won’t need it after opening.

Inside the box is one of the largest, nicest looking and feeling cases I’ve seen for an IEM. Campfire takes pride in their leather (outer) and wool (inner) cases, and the case that comes with Supermoon is no exception. Unzipping the case reveals two Campfire-branded drawstring mesh bags: a larger bag with the instruction leaflet, cleaning tool and Campfire logo button brooch; and a smaller bag holding the earpieces and attached stock cable.

The cable that came with my Supermoon is not the Smoky Litz cable advertised on Campfire’s website. Apparently there’s a shortage of 4.4mm cable terminations, and since I wanted a 4.4mm cable, Campfire opted to send me a different, slightly upgraded cable, the $199 4-wire Super Litz. This silver-plated copper cable is light, supple, and very ergonomic with molded, wire-free moulded ear guides. It exhibits zero microphonics in use, and is fitted with a decent looking Y-splitter and gold-plated plug. The MMCX connectors, on the other hand, are made with clear plastic, which cheapens the look slightly in my opinion, but does nothing to usability of course.

Overall the packaging and accessories are of a very high standard, and rightly so for a premium IEM that commands a relatively premium price.


Design, construction and fit

For a single driver IEM, Supermoon’s shells are large. If you were hoping for a tiny shell that almost disappears in your ears, this is not it. That said, the earpieces are quite beautiful to behold, with their deep dark-blue acrylic resin, hand polished and perfectly finished to the exact contours of your ears.

The driver assembly, electronics and cable connector are housed beneath a chromed stainless steel ‘faceplate’ abutting each earpiece, with the solid body acoustic chamber inside the shell itself.

Build quality is excellent; there are no surface irregularities, the faceplate is seamlessly melded into the resin body, and Campfire’s custom beryllium and copper MMCX connectors are renowned for their hardiness and reliability. The resin itself seems thick and robust, and although the nozzle is wide and appears unprotected, there’s a cloth-like mesh between nozzle and driver to keep earwax and other nasties away from the sensitive parts.

As for fit, this was the part I was most nervous about, Supermoon being my first custom. But the second I twisted the earpieces into place, I knew the fit was perfect. In fact, I thought something must be wrong, because there was literally no pressure anywhere, not where the shells rested against my outer ear, and not where the shorter ‘audiophile fit’ nozzles entered my ear canals.

It’s important to mention here, as I hinted above, that Campfire offers two different types of fit with their custom IEMs: audiophile and artist. Audiophile is a shallower fit, the nozzle protruding maybe half a centimetre into the canal. This is meant for home use, where you’re unlikely to be moving around too much, and don’t need the stronger isolation of a deeper nozzle.

Artist fit is a more traditional nozzle that goes past the first bend in the ear canal, giving you better isolation and a more secure fit at the cost of some intrusiveness and a potentially brighter sound, with the nozzle tip being relatively closer to the eardrum. Choosing the fit best for you is more a preference, and I’m assured by those that have tried both that there’s very little difference by way of sound and comfort with either.


Sound impressions (track notes are available in the full review)

Supermoon has an advertised sensitivity of 94dB, so it’s theoretically not the most sensitive IEM. Practically, though, it needs about the same amount of power as the Sony IER-Z1R (104dB sensitivity) to reach the same volume level, so while I’d say it appreciates moderately powerful amplification, it doesn’t need it to reach a moderately high volume.

I tested Supermoon over a one month period, using a broad range of test tracks and albums, many of which I’ve referenced below. Listening notes were made using HiBy’s RS6 and Sony’s WM1Z DAPs set at moderate volume. All tests were done using the ‘stock’ Silver Litz 4.4mm balanced cable.

Tonality

Before I’d seen any graphs of Supermoon’s frequency response, my sense was that it displayed a soft ‘W’ or moderate U-shaped tonal curve, depending on the source and the music. That’s to say, bass was emphasised a fair bit above neutral, from the very lowest sub-bass to upper bass, before gently dropping into the mids then rising up evenly from centre to upper mids and tapering off into a moderately emphasised and extended treble.

Bass

Let’s start here: if you enjoy a bass boosted IEM, you’ve come to the right place. Not only is Supermoon’s bass elevated, it’s done in a way that doesn’t beat the other frequencies into submission. I find bass emphasis leans towards the sub bass frequencies, where it extends almost infinitely low, but mid- and upper-bass are still very well represented. There’s zero midbass creep or bloom from what I’m hearing.

The sheer quality of Supermoon’s bass, however, is what sets it apart from many other excellent bass-focused monitors: it has a sublime combination of visceral punch, weight, electrostatic-like speed, and decay that surpasses some of the best dynamic driver bass. It doesn’t quite match the very best dynamic drivers for natural decay and timbre, but it has its own infallible character, easily out-resolving most dynamics I’ve heard, and making it unique among the current crop of top-tier IEMs.

In short, Supermoon’s bass takes me back to my full-size headphone days, where the mighty Audeze LCD-3 was my pride and joy. It renders every facet of bass almost perfectly, with restrained power and delicate control, punching tremendously hard and deep when it needs to, and rumbling gently if that’s all the track calls for. It doesn’t flavour every track with bass, but where the bass is the focus, that’s what you’ll hear and feel. Supermoon is a bass connoisseur’s delight, and its bass delivery is, for me, one of several stars in its show.


Midrange

I hear Supermoon’s midrange as fairly linear and supremely resolving, with a well-defined and textured lower midrange (male vocals sound natural and sufficiently chesty), and a moderate rise to a healthy but not overly forward upper midrange and pinna gain.

My personal midrange focus is vocals, and primarily female vocals, and I find the timbre of female vocals almost spot-on to my liking here. Male vocals are admittedly under-represented in my library, but those I regularly listen to sound about as lifelike as I’ve heard them.

Not once have I felt that Supermoon underplays or recesses either male or female vocals, but it can be temperamental when it comes to poor or compressed recordings. Whether that’s a result of Supermoon’s supreme resolution or unforgiving clarity in the upper midrange (and possibly lower-to-mid treble) I’m not sure. It’s not as rough as I hear it with some overly bright and mid-forward monitors, but it’s not as smooth or silky as Oriolus’s Traillii rendition, for example.

If I have to be critical of anything here, Supermoon doesn’t have the warmest, wettest or fullest midrange I’ve heard by any measure. It’s not a dry delivery as such, but it edges closer to thin, especially on older rock songs. If you are a stickler for instrument timbral accuracy, you might find Supermoon skews more synthetic for you, but if you’re a lover of emotive vocals and a sound that lets you hear every detail in a vocal recording, this is unquestionably Supermoon’s strength.

Treble

There’s a difference between generous treble and harsh treble, and Supermoon’s is definitely the former. I’m particularly sensitive to sibilance in vocals, spiky zing in a string solo, and harshness in a cymbal strike, and not once have I encountered any of the above with Supermoon.

Like bass, Supermoon’s treble is very well extended, at least right up to where my hearing trails off at around 12kHz to 14kHz. There’s bite to some recordings, and I warn those who think they can get away with playing overly bright poorly mastered recordings. Do that, and Supermoon will find you, and it will kill you.

This is not a consistently smooth treble, coming off as quite ethereal, and lending to some of the thinner notes the upper midrange can sometimes suffer from. But it also rewards great recordings with crisp, clean, and highly detailed highlights, with plenty of air where the track calls for it.

As someone who only really notices the treble when its harsh, grainy or corrosive, I’ve only ever paid attention to Supermoon’s treble for what it was doing right. This is treble filled to the brim with texture, and more detail than I sometimes care to hear. But, as with everything else, Supermoon is not forcing its treble detail on me, and I find myself listening to tracks on shuffle for hours on end without fatigue as a result.


Technicalities

As much as I enjoy Supermoon’s sometimes quirky but always engaging tonality, the wow factor has to be its technical ability. Supermoon’s technicalities are not just excellent, they’re supreme. It’s technical acuity is not one-dimensional either, and it excels in all but one measure, which I’ll get to later.

Stage size is wide and very deep by any standard. Supermoon can cast the tiniest notes about as far wide as I’ve heard them, maybe just shy of Traillii and 64 Audio’s Tia Fourte. Stage depth is where I feel Supermoon takes it up a notch. It has this ability to put different sounds closer or further away on the stage, giving it a great sense of instrument and vocal separation and an almost onion-like sense of layering.

Imaging and separation are both of the highest calibre, the latter even more so than the former, but resolution and clarity, as I’ve hinted before, are really what separates Supermoon from some of its highest profile competitors. This IEM is a sonic microscope, revealing even the smallest detail in a track without much fuss. It doesn’t always do this with the deftest touch, however, so the shortcomings of compression artefacts, cheap samples or sub-par recordings in poor quality tracks are often brutally exposed.

Where Supermoon doesn’t shine quite as brightly, if you’ll excuse the pun, is dynamic contrast. It suffers from what I believe to be a common planar magnetic trait in that the difference between the softest and loudest sounds in a track are not articulated quite as well as they are with some other driver types (notably dynamic drivers, but also balanced armatures).


Compared to…

Sennheiser IE 600 ($699). It’s probably fairer to pitch Supermoon against Sennheiser’s $1500 IE 900 flagship from a price point perspective, but since I currently only have its sibling with me, it’ll have to do. Aesthetically I really like the IE 600, which mirrors its flagship brother’s super small size, supreme build quality and comfort. If Supermoon wasn’t a CIEM, chances are IE 600 would be more comfortable, but nothing quite compares to a custom once you’ve tried it.

Tonally IE 600 ‘correct’, to the point where some might find it unengaging or boring, and that’s very much the case when I compare it to Supermoon. While I appreciate the safety in IE 600’s tuning, it doesn’t grab me quite like Supermoon’s. IE 600 has a touch more warmth and that single dynamic driver naturalness to it, but Supermoon isn’t far off.

Technically, though, the two couldn’t be further apart. Supermoon is significantly more resolving, to the point that you’ll be surprised just how much information you’re not hearing with IE 600 when switching between the two. Supermoon’s stage is also much larger in all dimensions, IE 600’s otherwise decent stage coming off as flat and intimate by comparison. Whereas I’d easily recommend IE 600 as an every day carry IEM, Supermoon is a more serious, refined, exciting and superior IEM all round.

Sony IER-Z1R ($1800). Sony’s flagship is getting a bit long in the tooth now, but still holds its own against the very best in the business. It also happens to be my all-time favourite IEM. From a fit perspective, Supermoon makes quick work of Z1R’s unconventional ergonomics. The Sony fits me just fine, but the same can’t be said for many who have tried and failed, often repeatedly. Build quality, however, goes to Sony, as few IEMs come close to rivalling its expert craftmanship and drop-dead good looks.

Tonally I hear Z1R to be warmer, lusher and also slightly edgier than Supermoon, especially in the lower treble. Its bass and treble are of such high quality, however, that even Supermoon’s pristine presentations struggles to match them. Sony’s big dynamic driver bass is fast, but not nearly as fast as Supermoon’s planar, although Z1R’s timbre is a shade more natural. I also prefer Sony’s vocal timbre, and although treble is more emphasised, it’s a dead heat from a tuning perspective.

Technically the Sony is excellent, one of the best when it comes to its sheer depth of stage and powerful dynamics, but Supermoon out-resolves it, has a wider stage, and also better imaging, layering and separation. What the Sony has over Supermoon in return is a unique presentation that puts vocals dead centre with instruments and effects all around you, sometimes even further beyond your head than Supermoon can manage. It’s also better suited to more dynamic music, and any track with a subwoofer is simply made for the Sony.

I find Supermoon and Z1R complementary. They’re both operating at a high technical level, and trade blows with each other tonally, but each brings its own version of events to every track. Z1R gives you that in-the-room feel and a wonderful sense of space, while Supermoon creates its own space and spreads the sonic elements all around you. With Z1R you’re fixed in front of the singer, far removed from the band. With Supermoon you’re on stage but free to walk around at will. Take your pick as to which you prefer, but in my opinion you can easily live with both and switch them up as your mood takes you.


Closing thoughts

Everything about Supermoon, for me, is ground-breaking. It’s my first CIEM, sure, but more than that it’s the first time I’ve heard planar technology shrunk down to IEM form. Not only that, it’s outperforming full-size planar headphones that pride themselves on driver size and magnet power, with a driver the size of a fingernail.

Overall, I find Supermoon’s combination of engaging, coherent tonality and world-class technical ability to be one of the high watermarks of IEM evolution. Sure it has some issues – a touch of glare, a treble niggle here or there, and a more genteel take on dynamic contrast. Like Ken says, it’s ‘far from perfect’. But show me a perfect IEM and I’ll show you one that doesn’t exist.

Are any of its issues showstoppers? That’s not for me to say on your behalf. I can only tell you that, from my perspective, the pros far outweigh the cons.

Supermoon is likely not for you if you prefer a neutral sound with less bass focus and a more even-keeled midrange and treble. It’s also not for you if you want a thick, luscious sound that romanticises everything you hear. And it’s not ideal if you mainly listen to compressed files, or low bitrate streaming, directly out your phone or computer. Supermoon is unforgiving in how it presents music, so be mindful of what you feed it.

All that said, if you’re the type of person wanting something completely different from the vast majority of high-end IEMs out there, Supermoon is just the tonic. It won’t wow you with textbook-perfect instrument timbre, but it’ll seduce you with how those instruments sound alive regardless.

A friend of mine recently called Supermoon a market disruptor, and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve heard none better at its price, and I’ve heard few better at twice and three times the cost. If you want the best value high-end IEM money can buy right now, this is it.

Preface: I was sent a review sample of the Meze Advar as part of the global Tour (thank you @Andykong). Prior to reviewing, I spent two days burning in the drivers, though didn’t make any notes on burn-in changes. I was also sent Meze’s 4.4mm balanced cable for Advar as part of the tour package, which is available separately for $149 direct from Meze. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, based on my music library and preferences.


Introduction

Meze is a company that has always impressed me, first and foremost, with outstanding industrial design, build quality, and ergonomics. Founded in 2011 by Antonio Meze in the picturesque town of Baia Mare, Romania, the company came to prominence with the launch of the 99 Classics headphone in 2015. The Classics were starkly different from other mid-priced over-ear headphones at the time, with a striking wood-metal-and-leather design that turned heads, if not ears, to its exemplary craftsmanship.

Since then, Meze has released several iconic products, including its most recent Empyrean and Empyrean Elite headphones that occupy the high ground in headphone styling and comfort. Its smaller-format IEM products have made less of a splash, however. The 12 Classics is rather basic sound-wise but still elegantly made, while the Rai Penta ‘flagship’ received mixed reviews for its laid-back sound, but across-the-board admiration for class-leading build quality and comfort.

Enter Advar, Meze’s new IEM that, at $699, sits between the cheap $69 12 Classics and not-so-cheap $1099 Rai Penta. Unlike Rai Penta’s multi-driver design, Advar is based on a 10.2mm dual-vented dynamic driver, encased in a small, ergonomic stainless steel shell polished to a brilliant black finish, with a distinctive circular brass inlay that doubles as one of the bass vents.



Single driver designs seem to be enjoying a mini-revival in the higher-end IEM market, and, when well-made and tuned, bring with them the advantage of perfect sonic coherence, light weight, accurate timbre, and easy-on-the-ear ergonomics. The ‘downside’ is that they generally struggle to match the technical ability of higher-end multi-driver IEMs, which employ fast and precise BA, electrostat or planar drivers (and often a combination of these) to bolster an IEM’s ability to resolve more detail, achieve higher speed, or create a larger sense of stage.

Advar embraces all the single driver advantages I listed above, with technical ability that won’t be embarrassed alongside costlier multi-driver IEMs. It also features one of the most unique shell designs – with an exceedingly comfortable universal fit – that I’ve come to expect from the Meze standard. But before I prematurely start singing its praises, let's take a closer look at what you get, how I hear it, and let you be the judge.


Packaging and presentation

Advar ships in a black hardboard box, adorned with a gold foiled crest of what I presume to be a symbol from Romanian lore. Removing the slip cover reveals a black foiled version of the crest on the box lid. Inside, the first thing you’ll see is the Advar shells, inlaid into a velvet-lined foam block, like two pieces of fine onyx and brass jewelry.

Beneath the shells, Meze has included some quality accessories, though it’s not what I’d call a generous package. This includes a beautifully-printed high-gloss booklet with hi-res images of Advar and some words about Meze’s design philosophy; a superbly made and styled hard-shelled case with faux leather exterior and soft felt interior, with two mesh pockets for storage; a silver-plated copper single-ended (3.5mm) mmcx cable; a cleaning brush, a clever mmcx removal tool that actually works; and a selection of genuine Final E-type silicone tips.


I would have preferred to see a 4.4mm cable in the box, with either a single-ended adapter or a second single-ended cable as standard. While Meze’s balanced cable – which I got to test as part of the tour – is available for a not-too-hefty $149, neither cable is what I’d call premium, being rather thin, wiry, and prone to tangling.

This doesn’t quite fit with the darker styling and premium build of the IEMs, and ergonomically the weight of the stainless steel earpieces makes them feel unbalanced on the thinner cable, despite the moulded earhooks. I’d personally opt for a higher quality third-party cable in any case, not necessarily for better sonics, but definitely for better ergonomics.


Design and Fit

Make no mistake, Advar is as beautiful in hand as it photographs. The smooth steel fascias exude quality craftsmanship, as does the distinctive ‘horn-like’ inlay on each earpiece that reminds me of the aspirational Bowers & Wilkins Nautilus. In the ear, the small size and shallow brass nozzles make for an easy fit, the cool metal shells lending themselves to all-day wearing comfort.

This is not the warm, skin-like metal finish of Rai Penta, one of the most comfortable IEMs I’ve used to date, but after a solid three-hour session I don’t feel any discomfort from the tiny Advar shells. You may want to go one-up on your tip size, depending on the size of ear canals, in order to get a tight fit. As with any IEM – but with Advar in particular – a tight seal is crucial for optimal sound, without which the Advar might only appeal to those who love shrill, piercing highs.


As an aside, I don’t recommend the included Final E-type tips. While I managed to get a decent seal (I have small, narrow ear canals so that’s never a problem for me), I found the E-types played havoc with the midrange and lower treble, letting in too much air and spoiling the midrange balance. Therefore, all my impressions for this review were made using original Spiral Dot tips, which edged out Acoustune AET07 tips for comfort for me, and didn’t lose much to the Acoustunes for sound. I also tried my go-to Sony EP-EX11 tips, but found the treble too sizzly for my liking.

I tried a quick cable swap too, but found little to encourage further rolling from a sound perspective. Regardless of the cable you choose, I suggest you take your time tip rolling extensively, especially if you find Advar’s treble too forward or harsh at first listen.


Sound Impressions

For an IEM with a fairly sizeable dynamic driver, I found Advar’s overall tuning very balanced. Tonally it’s a slight W-shape to my ears, with bass elevated above neutral (but only slightly), mids – especially upper mids – crisp and clear, and treble confidently forward, detailed and airy, but also smooth and natural. This is not a warm tuning, but it’s not overly bright either. The crystalline treble and articulate bass lend themselves to hours of fatigue-free listening, and I’m yet to hear any hint of sibilance – other than when I wore the ‘wrong’ tips.

Bass. Controlled yet powerful is how I’d describe Advar’s slightly north-of-neutral bass delivery. You can tell there’s a proper dynamic driver inside that steely shell, with a good sense of rumble and weight where the music calls for it, and a neatly-struck balance between sub- and midbass.

The big drum salvo in Heidi Talbot’s Cathedrals fills the space with heft and commendable texture, without ever drowning Heidi’s delicate vocals. Sub-bass reaches deep in James Blake’s Limit To Your Love, though it doesn’t quite rattle the skull like some subwoofer-style IEMs, while at the other end of the bass spectrum, the kick drums in the Eagles’ live performance of Hotel California have all the hallmarks of a really well-tuned bass driver behind them.

Overall, I wouldn’t qualify this as basshead bass, but it’s a satisfying bass nonetheless. It doesn’t add much warmth, nor does it add fullness to the notes. Still, it’s cohesive and detailed, with a natural decay that makes bass-driven tracks thoroughly enjoyable.


Midrange. Lower mids are fairly neutral, male vocals coming across neither overly full nor forward or recessed in any way. This lends itself to the more neutral-leaning tuning, but also makes way for some of the most open and revealing upper mids I’ve heard lately. This is not a forward upper-mid tuning either, but the way vocals (particularly female vocals) tend to sit in front of, or at least level with, most instruments, without ever being shouty or sibilant, is quite an achievement. Those looking for strident upper mids won’t find them here, but I don’t find them lacking either.

If the mids lack anything, it’s probably vocal resolution (I’ll get to that shortly), but it’s not as if Advar is unresolving. Rather, it’s tuned for smoothness over ultimate detail retrieval, and if I had to pick a preference, that’s what I’d go for. It’s also not the fullest sounding IEM I’ve heard, and goes for clarity over warmth. It’s not dry to the point of being sterile, but it’s not what I’d call an overly organic sound either.

Alanis Morisette’s distinctive vocals on Uninvited are delivered with a smoothness I don’t often hear on this powerful track, as is Missy Higgins’ crisp, sibilant-prone voice in Shark Fin Blues. Some would say both tracks are a touch too smooth, even, but I’m hearing enough nuance and clarity to make them stand out from the mix, and I much prefer this type of laid-back presentation to a mid-forward, high-energy sound. I also like how male vocals are presented distinctly and don’t get lost in bass-driven tracks like Peter Gabriel’s Grieve. The same goes for busier tracks like Richard Marx’s Hazard, with his voice rising above the punchy bassline and ever-present tambourine treble.

Overall, there’s much to like in Advar’s midrange delivery. On some tracks, like Ocie Elliott’s Slow Tide, I even hear it as slightly mid-centric, without having to resort to muted bass or stunted treble as is the case with some other mid-centric IEMs I’ve heard of late.


Treble. This is where impressions might swing wildly, depending on the tips you use. If I couldn’t tip-roll beyond the stock E-Type tips and the Sony EP-EX11s, I’d swear the Advar’s treble was way too hot and sizzly for my liking.

Thankfully, using Spiral Dot and Acoustune tips saved the day, and I have to say Advar’s treble is now one of beauty to my ears. It has the ability to highlight the small, shiny sounds and effects in most tracks, the ripples off guitar strings, and pings of bells and chimes, and almost render them on a separate layer to other sounds. It gives the music a sense of crystalline clarity, with just enough air between vocals and instruments, and plenty of sparkle without ever crossing the line to sibilance.

The medieval flutes and bells in Angels of Venice’s Trotto are pristinely rendered, as are the stick instruments and shakers throughout this lively instrumental track. The striking highlights of the clocks in Pink Floyd’s famous intro to Time are also perfectly pitched without ever getting too spiky, and the strings of Max Richter’s orchestra in his recomposed version of Vivaldi’s Winter 1 are spritely, lively, and lightning-quick, without ever getting too pitchy.

If anything, I’d say Advar’s treble, once tempered with the right tips, could even be a touch too smooth for some listeners, especially those who want extra energy and crunch from their guitars and cymbal crashes. Then again, they can probably get that with a tip swap, although I think the added quantity won’t come with a corresponding jump in quality.


Stage, to my ears, is above average in all dimensions. It’s not quite as wide and cavernous as some, but I never felt the stage dimensions holding me back or presenting a track more intimately than I’m used to hearing it. Meiko’s Crush, masterfully recorded with a binaural microphone, is presented with a wide, deep sense of stage. It’s not what I’d call holographic, but rather more cohesive and realistic.

Layering and separation are excellent, some of the best I’ve heard from a single dynamic driver. The wide, deep stage lends itself to instruments and vocals occupying their distinct space, and that’s exactly what I hear, on the whole. Midge Ure’s 80s classic, Dear God, is replete with echoes and shimmers, all of which find their own niche on the stage. I’ve always wondered how that’s even possible with a single driver, but Advar is an example of how it’s not only possible, but when done well, can be quite mesmerising too. Imaging on this track is also very good, though in this case, not quite as accurate as you’d expect from a higher-end multi-driver IEM.

Resolution is the one aspect I wouldn’t rate as outstanding. While I still consider Advar a fairly resolving IEM, it’s not really digging into all the details I know are present in some vocal performances, Whitehorse’s Dear Irony and Angel Olsen’s Chance being two that come to mind. It’s only apparent when you know there to be more to a track than you’re hearing, and I mostly notice this in vocals rather than instruments, but if you want the last word in resolving power this isn’t it.

That said, I don’t think Advar is meant to be a detail monster, and I consider the smoother, more relaxed tuning one of its strengths. If you’re looking for a more contrasty, powerful sound, with wild macrodynamic swings, this probably isn’t it.


Select Comparisons and Pairings

I don’t have many other IEMs on hand to draw meaningful AB comparisons, but I can give you a general idea of where I feel Advar sits on the spectrum compared to IEMs I’ve used before.

For starters, I do have a BLON BL-03 that I keep around just because it’s too good not to. For you BLON fans out there, Advar is unquestionably the better-made IEM, with a more secure fit and significantly higher quality accessories. The BLON has one of my favourite tunings of any IEM at any price, however, which is to say it’s slightly warmer than Advar, with fuller notes and bass that hits harder and bigger too. Advar eclipses the BLON technically: it’s more resolving, more nuanced, and the sound is generally a step up in most metrics and overall quality. Both are excellent all-rounders, and if you’re willing to pair the BLON with better tips and a proper cable, it’s an easy recommendation for not a lot of money.

While I no longer have it with me, Sennheiser’s IE 900 is (and remains) my top pick for a single dynamic driver IEM. It has a similarly open, clear sound to Advar, but ups the bass quality by a notch or two, and is overall more resolving and refined. Advar by comparison is more evenly balanced, without the IE 900’s upper midrange dip and lower treble peaks that prove problematic to some (not me). Vocals are clearer and more forward with Advar, but IE 900 is more dynamic, with a bigger, more life-like sound. IE 900 also ships with better cables (two balanced cables as standard), and a wider selection of tips, and isn’t quite as tip sensitive as Advar for getting great sound out the box. Both IEMs are small enough with shorter nozzles that ‘disappear’ in my ears, with IE 900 just edging Advar for all-day comfort.

At the time of writing, I’m still waiting for my review sample of the newer Sennheiser IE 600, which sound-wise and price-wise should be more directly comparable to Advar.


Advar is a fairly transparent IEM, and though it doesn’t need much power at all given its easy-to-drive 111dB/31-ohm sensitivity, it still scales upward with source quality.

My favourite pairing was with HiBy’s RS6 R-2R DAP. It has a warmer, fuller tonality that works well with Advar’s slightly cooler tuning. Vocals are clear and natural, with a punchy, extended bass and smooth, crystal-clear treble. This is also the most balanced-sounding pair-up I tried, with no frequency over-dominating, and the technical level of both DAP and IEM are neatly matched.


A small step down from the RS6 in terms of preference – though not quality or power – is iFi’s xDSD Gryphon. Retailing for around the same price as Advar, this would be my pick if you don’t need a DAP, and prefer to keep tonality fairly neutral and revealing. While Gryphon gives you the option of adding some punch (xBass II) and air (xSpace) to Advar’s sound, I generally didn’t find myself using either. Treble is slightly thinner compared to RS6, and vocals are less full, but detail and extension are improved, so if you’re more of a technical listener, this pairing works better.

I also tried Advar briefly with iFi’s GO Blu dongle (using a wired connection to my LG V60 phone), and direct from the LG too, and while both had more than enough power, I didn’t find the overall sound balance satisfying with the smartphone only. I’d definitely recommend adding the GO Blu over listening directly from a phone, if only for the jump in refinement in sound (and my general dislike for the ESS Sabre DAC in the V60).


Closing Thoughts

Whenever Meze announce a new product, you just know it’s going to be a work of art. Advar continues the Romanian company’s tradition of creating uniquely styled and impeccably-crafted ear jewelry that satisfies beyond the listening.

There’s something both exciting and rewarding in owning a beautifully-made IEM like Advar. Importantly, though, I feel in Advar, Meze has finally realised the potential of its ‘house sound’ – which is as easy on the ear as it is on the eye – without compromising technical performance.

Advar, to me, is the most accomplished Meze IEM to date. As long as you’re willing to tip roll, it has a balanced, clear sound, with more than enough power in the bass, refinement in the mids, and sparkle in the treble to suit almost any genre without ever sounding harsh, sibilant or dull. It also has all the benefits of a single driver design, with fast, coherent sound, and a wider, deeper stage than other IEMs I’ve heard – especially in its price bracket.


For some reason, Meze is stubbornly consistent with its omission of a balanced cable as part of the stock package, and even its balanced cable is nowhere near as nice as similarly-priced but far better-made, more robust options from the likes of Effect Audio and PW Audio. But that aside, it’s a small price to pay for an IEM that, to me, is easily the flagship of the range, at least in terms of performance.

It may not be as technically advanced as more expensive options from Sennheiser, and doesn’t quite hit the level of the best multi-driver IEMs, but that’s comparing apples and oranges really. For the cost of entry, it sits alongside the IE 900 as my current top pick for a single dynamic driver IEM, and is big step up from the likes of Sennheiser’s IE 300 and Oriolus Isabellae.

There are few IEMs that can compete with Advar’s combination of world-class design, ergonomics and build quality, rivalling some of the very best multi-kilobuck IEMs in look, feel, finish, and comfort. I highly recommend Meze’s Advar to anyone looking for a well-priced, balanced-sounding, easygoing all-rounder of the highest order.

Full disclosure: HiBy kindly sent me a sample of the HiBy R5 Gen 2 in exchange for my honest review, without any expectations. Due to shipping delays and other unforeseen circumstances, publishing this review has taken me longer than anticipated.

Introduction

They say the best stories are the ones with a twist you weren’t expecting. In the case of the HiBy R5, now in its second generation, there are not one but two exciting twists that make this midrange digital audio player a standout: class-leading battery life, and Class A amplification.

Sadly, as the adage goes, you can’t have your cake and eat it too; you can’t have the seemingly endless battery life while using the class A amp. But the fact that you get to choose one or the other at this price point is what makes this story somewhat different from what’s come before.


Packaging and presentation

The HiBy R52 (as I’ll be calling it throughout this review) arrives in a predominantly purple-themed box with the name of the player on the front and sides, and some Chinese writing on the back. Nowhere is ‘Gen 2’ mentioned, so I’m guessing the purple colourway is what HiBy uses to differentiate generations.

The box itself is fairly small, without the frills or heft of the folding-box design of the RS6, or the luxurious launch edition briefcase of the R8, but then I wouldn’t expect many frills at this level. Remove the lid and you’re greeted with a simple foam cutout housing the player itself, a high-quality HiBy-branded USB A to C cable, a spare plastic screen protector (two are generously pre-applied to the player, front and back), some paperwork, and best of all, a well-made, tight-fitting faux leather blue-purple case.


It's a rather basic set of accessories, but also very complete, and the case and screen protectors are welcome additions that similarly-priced DAPs don’t often include. I would have preferred to see tempered glass protectors pre-installed, given they don’t cost much more than plastic and do a much better job of protecting the player against knocks and fingerprints, but it’s a minor gripe, and plastic does have the advantage of a smaller footprint.

Design and build

Taking a departure from the rounder-edged designs of previous R5 iterations, the R52 joins the ‘masculine’ design language of the R8, R6 2020 and RS6 before it. It’s also larger than previous R5 players, sporting a new 4.7” 720P screen, but relative to the higher-end HiBy players, it’s still relatively small and very light. If you’re looking for a pocketable-size DAP, it fits.


One major departure from the previous masculine motifs is the switch from wheel-based to button-based volume controls. I personally prefer buttons for volume, with the exception of one or two ultra-high-end wheel designs that I’ve personally used on a DAP. I think HiBy missed a trick, though, by putting the volume buttons on the opposite side of the payer to the other functional buttons, but again, it’s a small usability gripe.

Note that if you’re using the case, the buttons do become harder to push (because the case covers the buttons), but again that might be a good thing if, like me, you’re prone to wild swings of the volume dial.

As already suggested above, there are four buttons on the right side of the player, one each for power, play/pause, track forward, and track reverse. A small LED sits between the buttons and denotes playback file quality and charging mode. The output ports are lined up along the bottom of the player: a 3.5mm single-ended headphone out/line out, and two balanced headphone outs (2.5mm and 4.4mm).


The back and top of the player are glass-covered, supposedly to maximise the wireless and Bluetooth range of the built-in antennas. The screen itself is clear, adequately bright (for outdoor use too), and with decent viewing angles. Don’t expect the latest OLED or retina display technology and you won’t be disappointed. For a pocketable music player, it’s more than good enough.

Overall, the size, shape, and weight of the R52 make it very easy to hold and use one-handed. The angled corners give your thumb and palm a solid surface to rest on, which makes the player easier to grip and harder to drop. It’s a sleek, modern design made of solid materials, and comes well protected for everyday use.


Standout features

The midrange DAP market is crowded and hotly contested, so anyone designing a competitive product needs to deliver something other than just excellent sound quality, reliability, and usability, even on a budget.

With its heritage in software design for portable players, HiBy has the software and usability part down pat (I’ll get to this in more detail down below). What it’s added to the R52 in terms of hardware, however, is quite new for the under-$500 DAP market.

For one, you get as-advertised 30-plus-hour battery life with the larger-than-usual 4500mAH battery. There’s a catch: to get your full quota of juice, you need to use the DAP’s built-in ESS9219C DAC/amp, with single-ended output, with the stock HiBy Music app playing local files, and go easy on the streaming/screen use.

So basically, it’s a ‘best-case scenario’ battery life, not typical use battery life, but even if you halved the battery life in favour of extended streaming time and screen use, you’re still getting far more uptime with the R52 than you would with most other Android DAPs in its size and price class.

It’s important to remember this is an Android DAP, first and foremost, which comes with numerous overheads before you even get to the music player software. The cynics might point to the fact that HiBy limits the R52 to an older version of Android (8.1), running an older SoC (SnapDragon 425) with limited RAM (2GB).

But you can just as easily flip that coin to show that the budget was instead spent on quality audio components, including dual ESS Sabre DACs, 163 high-precision resistors, 19 Panasonic tantalum POSCAPs, and 4 ELNA electrolytic capacitors.


Not to mention, the second standout feature of the R52: Class A amplification. While debating the pros and cons of Class A and Class AB amplification is beyond the remit of this review, in a nutshell, Class A amps deliver the purer and less distorted signal transmission between the two (HiBy quotes an impressive THD of 0.0006% for the R52’s Class A amps), at the cost of needing more power – hence the sacrifice in battery life (down to 7 hours using Class A and balanced output).

In practice, there’s no debate: activating the four discrete Class A amps on the R52 audibly improves sound quality, to the point where not using Class A is a compromise. I’ll describe the benefits in more detail in the sound Impressions section below, but suffice it to say that having Class A as an option for less than five Benjamins is quite something.

As a quick aside, it’s important to note that, in my experience, Class A doesn’t equate to more volume. What it gives you is more driving power with less distortion. The R52 is already a fairly beefy DAP in the power department, and should easily drive most IEMs to ear-splitting levels with its basic amps. Class A further reduces distortion, which adds weight, stage, and fullness that is audible even at lower volume levels with IEMs, but also scales up smoothly with larger, less sensitive headphones.

Neither of these standout features – extended battery life and Class A amplification – are of much use if software and usability fall short, so I’ll cover these first before getting stuck into the sound.

User experience

In my opinion, whether you’re spending $500 or $5,000 on a DAP, you’re buying the user experience (UX) as much as you are the sound quality. Otherwise, you might as well just get a portable DAC/amp for your phone.

For me, UX is the combination of the base software, UI design, responsiveness, and stability. A full-featured, up-to-date software suite that continually crashes is poor UX, as is a super-slick, super-fast UI with clunky, incoherent software. Thankfully the R52 delivers an excellent – albeit not quite top-tier – UX, with its HiBy-modified HiBy OS platform, system-wide DTA architecture (that bypasses the Android audio stack), and system-wide MSEB sound design software (which is like an EQ, but arguably better).

Bootup is a relatively slow 23 seconds, but once you’re in, the excellent standby time means you don’t have to put the player to sleep or switch it off when not in use. In my testing so far, standby battery drain (with WiFi and Bluetooth off) is paltry, maybe 2 percent a day, if that. This means that as long as there’s enough charge, you can put the player away for days, even a week or two, and still come back to a charged-up player ready to go when you are. Moreover, since the R52 features QC 3.0 charging technology, you can go from zero to full in a couple of hours.

In use, the R52 presents a very basic UI, with an uncluttered home screen, five app icons, and the standard three-button Android 8.1 navigation bar. A few oddball apps are installed by default, but as I do with any Android DAP, I quickly uninstall or disable what I don’t need and add my choice of apps for music playback, file management, and Web access (UAPP, Solid Explorer and Chrome respectively).

Since Google’s Play Store is preinstalled on the international version of the R52, adding apps is easy, and I’m yet to find an app that I need that’s not compatible with the base Android version. There’s much talk about streaming apps not supporting older Android versions, but I’m yet to see that in practice, and indeed expect all current streaming apps to work reliably with the R52 for years to come. Put another way, chances are you’ll be using a different DAP by the time Tidal or Spotify stops working reliably on the R52.


But I digress. Swiping down from the top of the screen brings up a quick launch panel that lets you quickly activate or deactivate functions, like Wifi, Bluetooth, and gain level. There’s also a quick toggle for the Class A amp, so you can easily switch between amplification modes without navigating the Audio Settings menu.

Speaking of audio settings, aside from amp mode, you get a limited choice of two low-pass filters (anodizing and linear fast roll-off), line-out mode (to switch between single-ended headphone and line-out – sorry, no balanced line-out option here), plugins (to install HiBy’s useful selection of system-wide plugins, like the excellent Convolution filter), MSEB control, DSD compensation, channel balance, and a volume limiter.

Depending on your tweaking habits, some of these controls – especially MSEB – can be quite useful, and the fact that they’re active system-wide, even with streaming apps, is another HiBy differentiator.

Other settings you may find useful include Bluetooth options (Connected devices) such as wireless casting and nearby file-sharing; Battery options that let you set all manner of shutdown timers and enable battery saver mode in case you’re really, really frugal; and Display options that let you change wallpaper, set a display sleep timer, disable the side LED, and even use HiBy Music in full-screen mode so you can pretend you’re not using Android (although all this does is hide the bottom navigation bar).

If you’re familiar with Android (or smartphone settings in general) there may be a few other settings you might want to mess with, like app permissions, notification settings, and so on, but by and large, I leave these untouched and unused on all my players. Still, it’s good to know you get fairly deep system-level tweaking functions should you need them, and you can even enable Developer Mode for more advanced settings options (go to Settings - About Device and tap on ‘Firmware Version’ seven times).


Music playback

The most important function of any music player is, er, music playback. HiBy provides its own mature music player, HiBy Music, and generally speaking it’s a well-rounded, stable, and feature-rich player.

I never use it – and in fact, I disable it on my HiBy players – preferring the excellent and far more polished and sophisticated USB Audio Player Pro (UAPP) for all my playback needs. But don’t see this as a slight on HiBy Music, rather as one of the main benefits of using an open Android-based player: choice.

Not only do I get to choose which playback software I use, I can also install other useful apps, like wireless file management, to simplify my DAP life and give me all the functionality I need without ever having to connect the DAP to a physical computer.

I covered some of my playback and file management habits in great detail in my HiBy R8 review, and since I could easily configure the R52 the same way, it may be worth your while to skim over my R8 notes, if only to see what’s possible using different apps and settings.

Navigating my Plex library, local files, and Tidal with UAPP on the R52 is generally smooth and glitch-free. I can tell that the scrolling speed isn’t quite as snappy as it is with one of the faster SoC players like the RS6 and R8, but it’s not too laggy either. Album art takes a second or two to appear after a fast scroll, but playback controls initiate almost instantly, so it’s not something I find distracting. Again, don’t expect modern smartphone speeds and you won’t be disappointed.


Another important music playback factor is wireless support. As a modern player, the R52 has all the wireless features you need, from 2.4GHz and 5GHz WiFi, to LDAC, UAT (HiBy’s proprietary high-speed format), AptX, and AAC Bluetooth (though Bluetooth is limited to version 4.2, if that means anything to you).

It’s noteworthy that the R52 supports Bluetooth transmission and reception, so you can connect it to your wireless IEMs and headphones and use it as a Bluetooth DAC/receiver, though not at the same time. It also supports HiBy Link, meaning you can use your phone as a virtual remote control for the R52. Unfortunately, HiBy Link is limited to HiBy Music, so you can’t use it with other playback software.

File support, as expected, is extensive, from hi-res 384KHz PCM to native DSD256. You can also use it as a USB DAC with your phone, laptop, or PC/Mac, with all the benefits of hi-res format and DSD support thrown in. The R52 is also fully MQA 16X certified, meaning full hardware unfolding from the Tidal app or UAPP (or local MQA files if you have any). Since the playback bitrate is always displayed on the top status bar, you can immediately check that your files are being processed (or upsampled, as is the case with MQA) correctly.

Aside from the slightly slower UI responsiveness, there’s little that separates the R52 from HiBy’s more mature and expensive high-end players in terms of functionality. This is testament to HiBy’s software smarts, and for me continues to be one of the main reasons I recommend HiBy ahead of several other more established and prestigious Android DAP brands on the market.


Sound impressions

For a long time, I believed that the sound quality of a portable system is almost entirely determined by the IEM or headphone, and that the source plays a small but insignificant role in what you hear. I was wrong.

As with anything gained from experience, I’ve come to temper that opinion somewhat, and while I still consider the transducer to be the primary determinant of sound quality, the source – be it an amp, DAC or DAP – is more important than I gave it credit for. Sources can and do colour the sound, be it through tuning choices, DSP or components used, and they can also limit (or enhance) technical performance, be it resolving ability, dynamics or stage size.

Most of all, the source’s tonal and technical characteristics are inherently tied to the single most important factor of any playback system: synergy. A lesser source that has ‘better’ synergy with a given IEM will lift the performance of the system far more than a better source that lacks the same synergy. This is why your choice of player should ultimately be based not on pure performance, but rather a combination of the features you need and the synergy the player has with your choice of IEMs.

The above is an important segway to my summary of sound impressions with the R52 not because of any particularly great synergy I discovered while using it this past month, but because one flick of a switch very clearly shows up my debunked theory that sources don’t matter.


A different Class

I’m generally not a fan of Sabre DACs. To me, they’re the epitome of modern Delta Sigma technology: clean, clear, crisp, resolving, so very ‘hi-fi’. They’re also cold, clinical, and despite what anyone tells you, still haven’t shaken off the so-called ‘Sabre glare’ that gives some vocals and higher-pitched instruments, particularly when poorly recoded, a faint glassy sheen. They’re the poster child of digital sound.

Yes, this is subjectively my opinion, but it’s also been my consistent experience over many years with many different DACs, DAPs, and other Sabre sources.

The R52, with its dual Sabre DACs, is however one of the better implementations I’ve heard. HiBy has almost (but not completely) eliminated the ‘Sabre glare’, giving it a clean but vivid presentation out the box, which becomes ever-so-slightly more refined after 100 hours’ burn-in. For casual listening with mainstream IEMs, it’s a very pleasant sound indeed.

However, in its stock configuration, what remains is still a somewhat dry, flat sound that tends to hold back the organic performance of some of my best-performing IEMs. This becomes readily apparent when doing A/B comparisons with other DAPs. The R52’s ‘default’ sound is about as far away from the warm, lush, yet resolving sound of the RS6’s discrete R-2R DAC, or the wide, airy, effortless sound of the R8’s AK4497, for example.

On the whole, the R52’s direct-from-Sabre sound is neutral, as it doesn’t emphasise or underplay any specific frequency. It’s also quite transparent, but as I mentioned above, is limited by the technical performance of the stock DAC/amps.


This all changes when you – literally – toggle the Class A switch. No warm-up time is needed; the sound that was a bit thin with some of my music now has actual meat on the bones. The tonality doesn’t shift too far left, but the fuller sound does make the bass more impactful, adding a slight warmth that was missing before. Vocals (and the midrange in general) become more pronounced – not forward, per se, but better articulated, though the DAC’s inherent dryness is still somewhat evident. Treble is still crisp but less strident.

But the biggest change is the technical performance. Depending on your IEMs, what you may have previously perceived as a flat stage in the stock configuration is now more open, with better depth. It’s still not the widest of stages, even with wider-stage IEMs, but feels less hemmed in than before. Resolution is also improved, and if you have resolving IEMs, you’ll be hearing that with the R52 in Class A mode. It’s still not quite as articulate as the RS6, or as resolving as the R8, but it’s not far off.

The Class A ‘feature’ brings the R52 much closer to the HiBy ‘house sound’ of recent-generation DAPs: clarity and musicality in equal measure, with a hint of warmth, tasteful midrange colour, and a treble that sparkles without overdoing it. It’s a fuller, beefier sound, and goes to show just how easy it is for a source to change the overall balance of a portable system. Again, don’t expect the vastness and effortless tonal range of HiBy’s high-end players, but you’re definitely not getting sold short for the money.

Closing thoughts

HiBy is still relatively new to the DAP world, at least with its own players. But a long heritage of creating proprietary software for other DAP manufacturers – including sister company Cayin – and continually refining its HiBy OS open Android platform (which also powers other popular players such as Cayin’s flagship N8ii), makes it appear far more familiar and established than it is.

Ironically, it’s the hardware features in the new R52 that sets it apart from other midrange competitors, like FiiO’s M11-series and Shanling’s M3. While it’s not the first to use the new streamlined ES9219C platform, pushing battery life beyond the 30-hour mark and pushing sound quality with discrete Class A amps is a nifty double-blow that knocks out the direct competition with versatility and quality in equal measure.

While it doesn’t quite reach the level of higher-end DAPs, for less than a third of the price, most users will get substantially better audio performance than they would from a $200 dongle, especially if they're wanting to drive larger headphones, and more functionality than they would from transportable DAC/amps.

The R52 is small and light enough to carry even if you’re already carrying a phone, and can double as a wired or wireless DAC for your phone if you so choose. It also has better Bluetooth support than most phones (especially AAC-limited iPhones).

As a standalone music player, however, the R52 comes into its own, with all-day battery life when you’re out and about on hikes or at the gym, and a step-up in Class A sound quality when you’re listening intently at home.

Coupled with HiBy’s rock-solid software platform, the R52 is the ideal pocketable music player for almost any occasion or use case, and despite some obvious shortcomings, it still ticks almost every box: usability, versatility, reliability, sound quality, and wired/wireless compatibility.

If you’re in the market for a modern DAP that bridges the gap between phone, dongle, and flagship, at $450 the HiBy R52 is an easy recommendation from me.

I received a review unit of the VE Elysium EXTended (EXT) as part of the official VE South African Tour, which also included the new all-BA Phönix flagship. The tour was made possible by Marcel and Jonas at @Vision Ears, and I’d like to once again EXTend my thanks to the VE team for their generosity of spirit and enthusiastic support of our far-flung community.


Introduction

While I haven’t been fortunate enough to hear the original Elysium for myself, that IEM’s reputation preceded it. Famed for its ‘peerless’ midrange, I was less enthused with the idea of Elysium’s bass playing only a small part in the sound signature, with a single, sad and lonely BA driver left to do bass duty while the mids and treble got all the good stuff.

So, when VE announced a ‘new’ Elysium, that ‘course corrected’ with a full-blown 9.2mm dynamic bass woofer to go with an improved 6mm midrange dynamic driver and second-generation Sonion treble electrostatic drivers (four instead of Elysium’s original two), excitement levels hit fever pitch. In fact, it was only because of my interest in EXT that I got to hear its maternal twin Phönix, and if you read my Phönix review, you know how glad I am that I did.

But I digress. EXT, from what I understand, is about as far removed from the original Elysium as chalk and cheese. Yes, the hearty midrange was retained, but everything from bass to treble to tuning to form factor (more on that zany form factor later) was changed. You’ll find numerous reviews comparing the two, so if that’s what you’re looking for from me, you may want to look elsewhere.

What I will be doing in this review, however, is pitting EXT against my current all-time favourite IEM, the Sony IER-Z1R, mainly because on paper the two IEMs compete for a similar audience – someone like me who demands the very best in DD bass with a healthy dollop of midrange goodness thrown in for good measure.

But before I do all that, let’s take a closer look at EXT, what it comes with, how it’s made, and how well (or not) it fits the ear.


Presentation, fit and finish

As I mentioned in the Phönix review, the tour samples of both EXT and Phönix didn’t ship with retail packaging, though from what I’m told, EXT’s unboxing experience is spectacular. I can believe it too; seeing and holding EXT for the first time, it’s clear that a lot of attention has gone into its design and construction.

The shells themselves are quite small, though not quite as small as something like Sennheiser’s single dynamic driver IE 900. Each earpiece features an aluminium faceplate anodised in a custom ‘Vision Ears’ deep purple colour. The faceplates are grooved with a striking ‘X’ design that reveals a silver-finished acoustic aluminium mesh, which does double-duty as a protective cover and dynamic driver vent.

On the flipside of the faceplate is where things get funky. The nozzle and driver housing are made of a seamless opaque black acrylic, with a flat base and an odd-looking bulb just below the thick, oval-shaped nozzle. The reason for the bulb is the four Sonion estats that VE decided to place close to the nozzle opening, most likely because two sealed dynamic drivers and a three-way crossover take up the bulk of available space, and expanding the shell cavity would have made the EXT unyieldingly large.


There’s also a small ‘clear’ section in each nozzle that reveals some of the wiring and VE’s proprietary second-generation HALC (High Precision Acoustic Leveling Chamber) that helps tune the dynamic drivers to spec. Unfortunately, while the final design and aesthetic is one of form as well as function, it’s not ideal – at least not for me.

I have fairly small, narrow ear canals, and generally use small or medium-small tips with ‘traditional’ IEM nozzles of regular length and thickness. EXT’s are neither traditional nor regular, shaped more like a semi-custom IEM that requires some acrobatic counter-clockwise twisting to slide and ‘lock’ the bulbous, angled nozzles inside your ears.

With a little practice, they slide and lock very neatly, and if my ear canals were a millimeter or two wider, there would be plenty of room for both the bulbous acrylic shaft and its accompanying eartips. However, even with the most comfortable eartips I have (JVC Spiral Dots), I can feel the pressure of the nozzles and eartips inside my ear canals almost immediately, and while it’s not uncomfortable per sé , I’m constantly aware that I’m wearing silicone plugs in my ears (and yes, before you ask, I tried different sizes, with one size down being too small and not sealing properly).

It's all good and well if I insert them once and leave them be. If, on the other hand, I remove the earpieces regularly, as I had to do during testing, the constant chafing of the silicone from the in-out twisting motion hurts my ears, to the point where they become red and painful after an hour or two, and I have to stop listening for the day. So, while I can live with the pressure of the fit for shorter listens, I’m yet to find eartips that would allow me to wear them for longer sessions.

To be clear, I can really only talk about the fit from my own perspective and have read plenty of impressions from those for whom EXT fits like a glove, so don’t let my experience dissuade you from trying EXT for yourself. It took me almost four years to finally muster up the courage to buy Z1R despite all the negative reviews of its ‘atrocious fit’, which turned out to be anything but, and I ended up missing out on its spectacular sound quality for way too long.


There’s a lot to like about EXT too, as you’ll soon find out, but before I get to that, a quick comment on accessories. The stock cable is an 8-wire silver-plated copper design, which, like the Phönix cable, is terminated with 0.78mm 2-pin connectors on the earpiece side and a 2.5mm balanced connector on the source side. The retail box comes with a 2.5mm to 4.4mm balanced adapter, though I used a DD Hi-Fi connector for the review as the VE connector didn’t ship with the tour kit.

Two different types of silicone tips are also included in the box: Azla Crystal and Spinfit CP-155. I preferred the SpinFits to the Crystal, which were almost impossible to fit onto the thick nozzle (eventually, with some practice, I managed). Neither were particularly comfortable though, which is why, after cycling through about a dozen different tips, I settled on the Spirals for both sound quality and, more importantly, comfort. This brings us to the part most of you probably skipped to anyway…

Sound impressions

I’ve been listening to EXT on and off for about three weeks now, mainly using HiBy’s R2R-based RS6 DAP, which I found to have excellent synergy as a pairing. I also used iFi’s xDSD Gryphon, though most of the review impressions – including the Z1R shootout – were made with the HiBy. EXT needs about the same amount of power to get to the same volume level as Z1R, and with almost 700mW into 32 ohms, the RS6 has plenty of power on tap for both IEMs without breaking a sweat, delivering a clean black background with zero hiss and ample headroom.

The following section will be slightly different to my usual sound impressions in that I’m not going to reference specific tracks but will instead talk more generically about the sound, and leave the music mentions to the shootout section that follows.


Tonality

I hear EXT to have a warmer-than-neutral tonality but with extreme clarity as its defining attribute. Even though it has a powerful bass driver EXT can have a bright and forward sound, but again not in the way you’d typically think of a bright-leaning monitor. Its brightness comes from an elevated and very extended midrange-to-treble plateau, especially upper treble, which gives the sound plenty of shimmer and lightness. This lightness feeds back into the midrange and balances out any bass ‘heaviness’ that would have been there, were it not for that treble infusion.

If I had to describe the tonality as a shape, it would be closest to a W, but without the typical ‘peakiness’ that some W-shaped monitors suffer from. EXT is generally smooth across the board, with almost zero harshness, but depending on the recording, there can be some residual sibilants or glassiness in some vocals (mainly female vocals) because of the sheer amount of air and clarity in the signature. As such, I find EXT to be less forgiving of poor recordings than its more refined sibling.

Overall, I’d say EXT’s presentation is one of power, dynamism and energy, but with the ability to resolve even the finest feathery nuances in each of the main frequency ranges. It’s a ‘bright daylight’ type of tuning that exposes your ears to all the details and textures in the music, but for all its liveliness I find it sometimes leans more cerebral than musical, especially because the overall tone is drier and lighter rather than organic or earthy. On the whole, it still sounds very natural, but if you’re looking for rose-tinted romanticism in your music, this is probably not the monitor for you.


Bass is the biggest change from the original Elysium, both in tuning and the hardware used to deliver it. The large 9.2mm driver is put to very good use to dig deep into the lows, though the balance is tilted slightly more towards midbass than sub-bass. There’s no midbass ‘hump’ to thicken the music, but the elevated midbass does subdue the sub-bass energy on some tracks, and so while there’s plenty of rumble where there should be in the music, it’s not a warbly, subwoofer-like rumble but rather a tighter, more measured physicality.

Where EXT really shines is bass texture, delivering subtle shades of bass that are usually the domain of nimbler BA drivers, only this time with the air movement that makes dynamic driver bass so much more visceral and natural sounding. While it doesn’t quite have the full range of tactility because of its slightly muted sub-bass response, the details that are felt rather than heard are all still there, but maybe not as obvious as they would be with a monitor that puts more focus on sub-bass weight.

This is not the world’s fastest bass by any measure, but I don’t find it slow either. Decay is actually very fast for a large dynamic, and on some tracks, I hear it to have more BA-like characteristics, in terms of decay at least, and attack is even faster. EXT has a real talent for keeping pace with even the fastest basslines, but is not as adept at sustaining the decay – something many would no doubt see as an advantage because it prevents the bass from bleeding and helps expose more detail in the midrange.

Overall, I find EXT’s bass exceptional, among the best I’ve heard from a dynamic driver IEM in terms of detail and texture. That said, it’s a fairly reserved bass, even though it’s elevated above neutral, and doesn’t punch quite as hard or rumble quite as low as class leaders like EVO and Z1R. It can also go missing altogether on bass-light tracks, and therefore may not satisfy the die-hard bassheads among us.


Midrange is what made the original Elysium famous, and while I’ve already confessed to having never heard the original, listening to EXT I get a sense of how that reputation was forged. Lower mids, in particular, are awash with texture, male vocals presented with their full chesty tone, but they do lack the lushness of some other monitors (even with a lush vocal-oriented source like RS6).

Upper mids aren’t quite as forward, and female vocals that sit closer to the upper midrange definitely reflect the treble elevation up top. Like male vocals, they tend to be on the drier and lighter side, with notes not quite as full or weighty as I’d like, but not fluffy or brittle either. Some female vocals can suffer from a hint of hollowness, which I personally feel is the result of the overabundant air up top, and the higher-pitched the vocals, the wispier and more ethereal they sound as a result.

Instrument tone and timbre is spot on; strings ooze with texture and piano strikes shimmer with detail and realistic weight. EXT has this way of creating three-dimensional images of instruments that give them a realism I’ve rarely heard before. It also helps separate instruments on the stage and sets them apart from vocals, and although these are more technical than tonal attributes, I find it relevant to mention them here because of how big a part the tuning plays in the overall midrange presentation.


Treble is where EXT might split opinion. I’m still undecided on whether or not I like the elevated treble tuning, but there’s no question its airiness and speed are what contribute to EXT’s overall clarity and tonal spaciousness. The upper treble elevation helps create pitch-black spaces between instruments and vocals, but also contributes to their lightness of tone.

As far as estats go, this is one of the best implementations I’ve heard, right up there with standard-bearers like Traillii. There’s so much shimmer to the music you’ll want to reach for your sunglasses, but this isn’t a glaring treble, nor is it peaky or harsh. It’s silky, but not in the sense of sounding organic and relaxed like Phönix or Z1R.

There’s a smoothness to the treble I really like, even though it lacks some bite in the lower treble region, but that can be a good thing too, depending on your preferences. This also makes it more consistent with the overall smoothness of the tuning elsewhere, and makes for a cohesive and coherent sound despite the different driver types.

Overall, while some consider EXT’s a bass-dominant signature, I somewhat disagree, finding that treble plays a bigger role, at least with the music I listen to. Thankfully treble quality is outstanding, so this isn’t an issue, and despite the prominent treble, bass is very well balanced and in the signature as a whole.


Technicalities

There’s a sense in the community that EXT isn’t the most technically proficient monitor around, and while that’s true, it has to be taken in context. I find EXT performs at a very high technical level, with excellent resolution and detail retrieval across the board. It may not have the microscope-like resolving power of Traillii or Fourte, but it also doesn’t have the BA driver tech designed specifically to extract that insane level of detail in a monitor, especially in the midrange.

Stage is wide and natural, with a decent sense of depth but not much height. On the right tracks, sounds can stretch beyond my ears, but the stage generally lacks the sense of holographic staging I get with other monitors like Traillii or Z1R. As I mentioned earlier, EXT has an uncanny ability to render 3D instruments but lacks the tonal weight to make them sound life-size.

Imaging is very precise, and I always get a good sense of where individual instruments and vocals are placed on the stage. Separation is also excellent, as is layering, although again we’re not talking class-leading but still in touch with top-shelf monitors. I certainly don’t feel shortchanged by EXT’s technical ability, and any more would push the overall presentation too far towards clinical for my liking.


Select comparisons

I originally intended this review to be a shootout between EXT and my current favourite IEM, the Sony IER-Z1R, but felt that would be too narrow a focus and do both IEMs a disservice. I’d already written more than 5,000 words’ worth of track notes, however (yes, that’s more words than this entire review) so, instead of throwing all that bedtime reading material away, I’m going to use this section to summarise my findings between the two IEMs and let you decide if you want to sift through the track-by-track, blow-by-blow details.

If you do, you’ll find them all in the Track Notes – EXT vs Z1R spoiler below, complete with YouTube and Tidal links, so you can listen along and come to your own conclusions:



If it’s now three days later and you’ve managed to wade through all my track notes, congratulations and thank you! For the rest of you lazy buggers, here’s the executive summary.

While I consider EXT to be competitive with Z1R, it’s only in the sense that it competes for the one spot I have in my IEM ‘collection’ for a TOTL multi-driver IEM. This is the IEM I personally use for focused listening sessions, when I want the absolute best quality that aligns closest to my sound preferences. Z1R took that spot last December, and since then no other IEM I’ve heard has come close to replacing it. To give some more context, prior to Z1R, the mantle was held by Empire Ears’ EVO, Legend X before that, and 64 Audio’s Tia Fourté before that.


I hear Z1R to have a slightly warmer, fuller tonality than EXT. This stems from Z1R’s peerless sub-bass weight and extension, which, as those who have heard it will attest, creates a cavernous sense of space that makes instruments and vocals sound almost life-size, or as close as they can be to life-size from miniature drivers.

EXT’s sub-bass is more subdued and lighter in feel by comparison. I don’t get the same abyss-like sense of height and depth with EXT that Z1R creates with its slow, sumptuous sub-bass decay. EXT’s midbass amplitude is higher than Z1R’s by comparison, and neither EXT or Z1R’s midbass is thick enough to veil the midrange. EXT’s midbass decays faster relative to Z1R, while the Sony has a slower, more natural decay to my ears, and consequently warms up the signature more than EXT, at the expense of EXT’s greater sense of clarity.

The midrange presentation of the two IEMs is also quite different, EXT being fuller and more textured in the lower midrange, Z1R being slightly more forward and wholesome in the upper mids. Unlike many, I don’t find Z1R’s lower mids problematic, nor do I find male vocals scooped or distant, but vocals, in general, are set a row or two further back with Z1R than they sound with EXT. EXT also brings out more contrast, clarity and texture to the midrange, with a drier and lighter note weight, while Z1R has fuller notes and a more earthy, organic sound to midrange instruments and vocals.

This plays out in how the two IEMs present stringed instruments, for example, EXT with more definition in attack, Z1R with a slightly softer attack and a longer decay. Male vocals are slightly chestier with EXT, while female vocals are wispier and lighter. Z1R doesn’t have EXT’s male vocal weight, but still sounds natural to my ears, and female vocals sound fuller and more organic with Z1R. I personally don’t hear the vocals or midrange of either IEM as recessed, but objectively speaking they do sit slightly behind – or at least closer in line – with the bass.

Subjectively I don’t see this as better or worse, and in fact, it’s my preferred presentation in many ways. Too forward and vocals become shouty, especially female vocals at higher volumes, and EXT is more prone to this than Z1R in my experience.


Treble is where EXT and Z1R diverge even further. With four estats to Z1R’s one custom BA (which is only partly responsible for treble) and a 4mm dynamic ‘super tweeter’ driver for ultra-high frequencies, the two IEMs approach treble from vastly different perspectives. I’d actually go as far as saying EXT’s is fractionally more of a treble-focused signature, while Z1R with its powerful but narrowly-focused woofer is more bass dominant overall.

EXT’s mid-and-upper treble elevation also balances out its bass response, more so than Z1R’s relaxed (but very well extended) upper bass. Z1R has more energy in its lower treble, by comparison, with a 6kHz peak that adds some spice to electric guitars and female vocal overtones – minus the sibilants – while EXT’s has far more upper treble energy that infuses its entire signature with plentiful air and crystalline clarity. EXT, to my ears, is, therefore, brighter, mainly on account of its treble, and although Z1R is not a dark-sounding IEM by any means, it’s warmer and comparatively darker, with a more liquid sound overall.

Technically I find each IEM to have its own strengths. EXT is the more resolving of the two, with the clarity of its midrange and treble in particular making fine details easier to hear. Z1R doesn’t skimp on those details, but they’re not as apparent, and sometimes partially hidden behind the longer decay of a bass guitar or kick drum.

Both EXT and Z1R have wide stages, Z1R maybe a fraction wider, but Z1R pulls away when it comes to stage height and depth. In tracks where the sub-bass lends weight to the music, Z1R’s sense of spaciousness can be jaw-dropping, while EXT doesn’t do anything to excite in this department. Imaging and separation are neck-and-neck, with neither IEM lacking nor class-leading.

On the whole, technicalities are still very much TOTL, in my opinion.

If you’ve read my track notes, you’ll know which IEM I ultimately prefer overall, but I want to make it clear that this preference is very much based on what I consider to be important, specifically with the music I listen to.



If you love your sub-bass, and get a deep (excuse the pun) satisfaction from feeling the weight of a bass drop or drum rumble against your ear canals and down to your chest, few IEMs come close to Z1R, which captures that sensation almost perfectly. If you predominantly listen to female vocal-driven music, and prioritise vocal purity and feminine sweetness above huskiness or the chestiness of male vocals, Z1R is tuned to deliver.

On the other hand, if your checklist starts with midrange clarity, detail and texture, especially for male-driven vocals or instrument fundamentals, EXT is close to the top of the pile, to my ears. It literally has a dedicated dynamic driver expertly tuned to deliver that and only that. If you like your midrange partnered with a solid dose of midbass and a fair amount of sub-bass extension, but don’t want it to dominate midrange clarity and treble, that’s exactly how EXT is tuned.

Genre-wise, EXT is ideal if your library is mainly made up of instrumental music such as big and small band jazz, classical, acoustic and ambient, or if you’re into classic rock, pop and folk – especially with male vocal leads. It’s also superb for electronic music, and EDM if you like your EDM to sound relatively faster and tighter.

Z1R would be my pick for female singer-songwriter, especially if the music has bass drum or string bass elements to it. It’s also my pick for modern female vocal pop, indie pop, dream pop, shoegaze, new age and folk, along with bass-driven EDM, electronic and ambient music. Movie soundtracks and epic/trailer music are also given more gravitas and emotional impact with Z1R in my opinion.

Both IEMs are great all-rounders though, despite their individual strengths, and both play every type of music I listen to exceptionally well – especially when I wasn’t focused on comparing them. They will serve you equally well in a single or small IEM collection, and complement each other nicely in a larger collection too. Ultimately, if you have to choose, pick the one that speaks to you more with your music.

Oh, and that’s that for comparisons, sorry. I compared EXT to Phönix in my Phönix review, so if that’s of interest, click on the link. You’ll find more in @Damz87's, @Barra's, @SLC1966's and @davidmolliere's excellent reviews below too, along with notes on numerous different source and cable pairings.


Closing thoughts

Living where I do, it’s not often I get to hear not one but two top-tier, luxury IEMs while they’re still new on the market, but thanks to the guys at Vision Ears, I’ve now had that privilege. EXT follows hot on the heels of Phönix as a high-performance monitor designed to be as flashy and boisterous as its sibling isn’t.

Where Phönix aims for understated elegance, EXT goes for fun, with a clear, clean sound that’s balanced with solid bass at one end and silky treble at the other. At heart, this is a midrange lover’s dream IEM, with detail and texture in both male and female vocals and outstanding timbre when reproducing live instruments.

Extremely well made using premium materials, EXT follows a very different, edgy design motif based on VE’s distinctive colour, both visually and sonically. It’s a monitor that’s been expertly tuned by masters of the craft, and while it doesn’t always match my preferences, I respect how cohesively it presents the signature it’s going for.

Unfortunately, EXT’s unconventional shape is also its Achille’s Heel as far as comfort goes, and I’m not the first and won’t be the last person to find the fit more than a little testing. I’m generally fine when it comes to conventional nozzle shapes, and even some unconventional fits, like Z1R, seem to somehow settle neatly in my ears. But having to twist and fit EXT’s nozzle deeper inside my rather narrow ear canals – especially since my left ear won’t allow any but the smallest tips to pass – is a challenge, and one that despite my best efforts, I haven’t fully overcome.

It's a testament to how much I enjoy EXT’s sound that I persevered, despite the fit-related struggles. Its midrange mastery is something you have to hear for yourself, and combined with powerful bass that partners rather than merely supports the delivery is a masterstroke. Personally, toning down the treble would have thickened up the midrange and elevated the bass weight just enough for me to like it even more, but I appreciate how the treble tuning boosts the cleanliness the designers were clearly going for.

Given time, I would have liked to try EXT with different sources, and I don’t doubt there’s a set of tips out there that would not only make the experience more comfortable, but because the sound is so tip-sensitive, also get it sounding closer to my preferred tonality. I’ve read that EXT scales with desktop power, for example, giving it a more forceful bass response, and that’s one place where I feel it can use a tweak. A cable swap could possibly also add a touch of weight and warmth to the midrange, especially when listening to female vocals, which is another area where the warmer, fuller Z1R one-ups EXT for me.

All that said, I have no hesitation in giving EXT my highest recommendation, with the proviso that I strongly suggest you try before you buy. Minor sonic characteristics can be fixed with hardware and software, but a poor fit is generally a deal-breaker. That said, if you can get a comfortable fit with EXT, you’re in for a very special treat indeed.

I received a review unit of the VE Phönix as part of the official VE South African Tour, which also included the new VE Elysium EXTended (review to follow soon). The tour was made possible by Marcel and Jonas at @Vision Ears, and I am humbled and grateful that they saw it fit to send their new flagships to my part of the world, asking for nothing but my honest opinion in return. These guys know a thing or two about impeccable service, so thank you, sincerely.


Preface

Believe it or not, Phönix is my very first experience of a Vision Ears IEM. For one or another reason I never thought to actively chase down a VE monitor before, but with the ‘new Elysium’ EXT piquing my interest, Phönix was part of an enticing double-act that I just had to hear for myself.

If you know anything about me or my preferences (hint: check my sig), you’ll know I’m not the biggest fan of all-BA driver IEMs, or at least non-dynamic driver IEMs. There’s something about the physicality of dynamic driver bass that’s essential to the engagement I want from my music, and without it – generally speaking – the music I listen to is a bit like my favourite broth with a missing ingredient, if you’ll excuse the mixed metaphors.

With all that said, I promise I’m not setting Phönix up to fail, but I want to be clear that any prejudices that might come across in my review stem from this preference, so please keep that in mind.


About Phönix

Rising from the ashes of Vision Ears’ limited edition Erlkönig (a mistranslation of Elf King), Phönix features the same number (13) of balanced armature drivers as its predecessor. Four drivers each are used for the three main FR ranges (bass, midrange and treble), one open-top super tweeter for ultra-high frequencies, and a passive five-way crossover that makes them all sing together.

With a sensitivity of 125dB/mW and 18Ω impedance at 1KHz, Phönix is exceedingly sensitive, but less so than the infamously sensitive Andromeda and Solaris IEMs from Campfire Audio. Unlike Erlkönig, Phönix ditches the dip switches and settles on one sonic presentation (according to VE, a close match to Erlky’s ‘2’ setting, if that means anything to you), Since I generally dislike fiddly switches on IEMs, that’s a good thing in my book.

At an eye-watering retail price of $3,900, Phönix has unabashedly taken the flagship mantle as VE’s most expensive current IEM (Erlkönig was even costlier). Whether or not that represents good value is not for me to say, but hopefully there’s enough information in this review to help you make up your own mind in this regard.

Presentation

I’ve heard great things about VE’s legendary unboxing experiences. Unfortunately, the tour packs for both Phönix and EXT are not the same as the retail versions. Both IEMs were sent in plain-looking black boxes, packed inside their respective carry cases, with extra tips in separately-packed black pouches and clear plastic bags. I can tell that the care and protection afforded this functional rather than fancy packaging was still of the highest level, so I have no doubt you’re in for a real treat when it comes to the actual unboxing.

Phönix’s carry case is bean-shaped, zippered, and made from what appears to be PU leather (apologies if it’s genuine). The earpieces are kept apart by a clip attached to the felt-lined lid of the case, though there’s nothing protecting the earpieces themselves from the cable and connectors. Speaking of which, the stock cable is a 4-wire silver-gold alloy/OCC copper-litz 2-pin affair, soft and pliable to the touch with a rubberised black finish that can get a bit tangly at times. The cable features pre-shaped ear guides without memory wire, but the 2.5mm connector is so 2019. The review packs didn’t ship with the 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapter that’s included in the retail box, so I used a DD HiFi adapter instead.


I’ll admit to being underwhelmed by the photos I’ve seen of Phönix to date, but in person, the earpieces really look every bit as premium as they feel. There’s some heft to the carbon fibre shells despite being ultra-light, and the ruby red faceplates and floating gold phoenix logo are subtly elegant and impressively reflective when held against the light. It’s an understated look that doesn’t scream ‘bling’ like some recent designs, yet quietly exudes luxury, and that’s precisely what you’re buying here.

Fit-wise, the shells are relatively small and nicely rounded, with a shape that lends itself to nesting inside my outer ear. The nozzles aren’t too long but are quite thick, and don’t have a lip to hold tips in place, though I haven’t had any issues with tips coming off in my ears (oops, I just did as I wrote this, so user beware).

The review kit came with several pairs of SpinFit CP145 tips and one pair (one pair!?) of Azla Xelastec tips, but I imagine you’ll get a full set in the retail box. Comfort is good with the pre-installed SpinFits (I don’t like and didn’t try the Xelastecs), though not the best I’ve had, since I find you need a fairly deep insert to get the best sound quality, which is not my preferred fit.

Switching to Spiral Dot tips improved the comfort some, and Phönix is certainly more comfortable than larger IEMs with longer, more intrusive nozzles. Anyone with wider and longer ear canals than mine should have no issues with comfort whatsoever using any of the supplied tips.


Sound impressions

I tested Phönix over the course of the week using HiBy’s RS6 DAP and iFi’s xDSD Gryphon, though most of the review impressions were taken using the more neutral Gryphon. I only tested with the stock cable and a DD HiFi adapter into 4.4mm balanced outputs, even though Phönix is sensitive enough to not really need an amp, let alone a powerful balanced amp. Despite its sensitivity, I detected no waterfall hiss at my moderate listening volume.

More than 30 tracks were used, spanning a variety of genres, though I generally gravitated towards material I found more suited to Phönix’s sound profile. Artists included Lana Del Rey, Bjork, Holly Throsby, BEYRIES, Vera Sola, Billie Eilish, Heidi Talbot, Jethro Tull, Agnes Obel, Angels of Venice, Ocie Elliott, Max Richter, Ottmar Liebert, Eagles, Carpenters, Abba, Angel Olsen, Alphaville, Katie Pruitt, Brandi Carlile, and many more. No metal, rap, RnB or hard rock was allowed anywhere near this review.


Tonality

The Phönix eschews colouration for a more balanced sound profile, where no one frequency stands out from the rest. That said, the relatively flat bass profile and early sub-bass rolloff puts more focus on the midrange, to my ears, but not excessively so.

I wouldn’t necessarily call Phönix’s a neutral tuning, because it has a good amount of warmth and fullness to the notes, but it’s still a very balanced presentation. As such, if I was to describe the tonal shape, it’s fairly linear, not your more common U, W, V or L shaped curve, because it doesn’t have any notable dips or peaks anywhere, not that I can easily perceive anyway.

Bass is admittedly the ‘weakest’ part of the tuning for me, but only for the reasons I already mentioned above. While Phönix has excellent bass speed, texture, detail, and definition, and is some of the best BA-driver bass I’ve heard (second only to Traillii), it lacks the physical weight I enjoy in an IEM.

The balance is also skewed more towards midbass than sub-bass, which suits some tracks over others. The thicker bassline in Massive Attack’s Angel, for example, is rendered with authority throughout, but the visceral sub-bass of Billie Elish’s NDA sounds meek by comparison.

The lack of bass weight affects the realism of physical instruments like bass guitars and drums, to the point where I’m always aware that I’m listening to a high-fidelity recording – excellent as it is – rather than a live performance. Babatunde Olatjuni’s Stepping, from his Circle of Drums DSD, is awash with the texture and rhythm of the drumbeats, but lacks the sense of realism you’ll feel with a high-end dynamic driver IEM like EXT or Z1R.

Many people actually prefer a more subdued or ‘descriptive’ bass that supports the other frequencies and acts as a foundation for the music, rather than taking centre stage or calling itself to attention, and if you’re one of those people, you’ll find lots to like in how Phönix does bass. Also, if your ears are sensitive to the physical vibration of a dynamic (sub)bass driver, then Phönix may be just the tonic you need.

If you’re like me, on the other hand, and get a thrill from the physical force and natural decay of a real kick drum (or bass drop), and are willing to give up some midrange nuance for tactile engagement, there are better IEMs for the job (like Phönix’s purple brother, for example).


Midrange is where Phönix comes into its own, with near-perfect low-to-upper midrange tuning. Vocals have a soothing, almost halo-like feel to them with plenty of depth and an incredible amount of detail. Both male and female vocals are on point, neither recessed or too forward, though Phönix does tend to project vocals more than many of the IEMs I’ve compared it to. Holly Throsby and Mark Kozelek’s respectively sweet and chesty vocals on After A Time play off each other with a satisfying contrast, the bassline literally playing second fiddle here.

Midrange clarity is one of the benefits of keeping the low-end in line, and the sheer quality of the tuning is readily apparent, even on first listen. It’s not an intense midrange either, and doesn’t force the sound into your head. I can kick back, relax and lose myself in the music without the impulse to toe tap to the rhythm. A party-out fun IEM Phönix is not, but rather a more refined, mature, and elegant performer.

It’s not all glory, though. Switching between Phönix and other IEMs I do sometimes miss the natural realism of a dynamic driver midrange, and at times Phönix sounds more like an excellent facsimile rather than the real thing. I can’t really put my finger on it, but vocals occasionally sound ‘off’, at least compared to other IEMs in my collection, but I stress that brain burn-in generally compensates for this on longer listens. Heidi Talbot’s alluring voice in Cathedrals is flatter than I’m used to hearing it, but then sounds fine after a while, especially when I’m not comparing.

The same can’t be said for instrument timbre, where guitars (and stringed instruments in general) are among the most realistic I’ve heard, although again, the physical tactility of piano keys and some wind instruments is conspicuous by its absence. Both Angels of Venice’s Trotto and Jethro Tull’s The Waking Edge dial instrument timbre to 10, despite never hitting the physical heights that I know these tracks to have with other IEMs.


Treble is the standout FR, for me, with virtually limitless extension, plenty of sparkle and air, without a hint of sibilance, harshness or peakiness anywhere. It’s at the same time inoffensive and engaging, and I thoroughly enjoy the subtle highlights Phönix imparts to the music, cutting across everything else without being cutting, if you know what I mean.

The smallest details are easily discernible, and the texture and speed in violins and other higher-pitched string instruments is often mesmerising. Nils Lofgren’s guitar licks in Keith Don’t Go are so incisive, I can virtually see the reverberations on the strings as he plucks them. Likewise, the string sections of Max Richter’s Winter 1 are easily discernible, which is not always the case with other IEMs, and even the upright bass weight is somewhat satisfying.

While I generally wouldn’t recommend energetic EDM like Seven Lions’ Island (featuring Nevve) for an all-BA IEM like Phönix, this track has become a bit of a meme for me, and I now regularly use it as a treble/brightness torture test. I have to say Phönix does a remarkably good job with it. It’s rare that I don’t wince listening to this track, but not only did I not wince with Phönix, I was actually able to make out many details I missed with other IEMs.

All that said, this is not a treblehead’s IEM. It’s not a forward or brash treble, nor is it cool or clinical. There’s a warm musicality to the tuning regardless of genre, but most apparent in acoustic and classical pieces. There’s no glittering shimmer like that of EXT’s or Traillii’s estat treble, but in many ways, I prefer Phönix’s more natural and less ethereal treble presentation.

Overall, I describe Phönix’s tonality as musical reference. It sounds ‘right’ more often than not, even though it lacks the physicality I prefer, with an air of warmth that thankfully never sounds clinical or surgical. There’s a simple joy to Phönix’s delivery, from the faintest vocal shiver to the boldest orchestral crescendo. It’s the perfect IEM for listening to music, even though it’s not always ideal for feeling it.


Technicalities

As you’d expect from a TOTL flagship IEM, Phönix is technically outstanding. While not quite as dynamic as some IEMs, dynamics are by no means lacking. That’s not the focus here, however.

Phönix’s sense of space is excellent, with a large, natural stage along all three axes. It’s not ultrawide, like Traillii or Fourté, but more than wide enough to never feel cramped. Depth is very good too, and Phönix’s ability to separate and layer instruments and vocals without sounding surgical is refreshing. Where Phönix excels, technically, is imaging, with an uncanny ability to place musicians and instruments delicately and precisely across the stage, with a good sense of depth and distance between them where necessary.

I don’t hear Phönix’s stage as completely holographic, though, so if you’re looking for a holodeck-like experience, that’s not quite what Phönix is about. Think of it more like a 3D TV, with the effect of being able to see deeper into the music, sounds fading into the near distance, but never quite reaching out around or behind you.

Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra’s binaural rendition of La Luna is a case in point, with a wonderfully wide and deep effect of the recording spreading outward but rarely behind or above, as it can do with some IEMs. Other reference-quality recordings like the Eagles’ live performance of Hotel California spread outward, with a lifelike sense of depth, but lacks a certain physicality to its stage.

Detail, as I’ve intimated before, is top tier. You’ll literally hear everything in the recording, and some things you didn’t even know were in the recording. Importantly, though, that detail isn’t shoved in your face, like it is with some treble-forward IEMs or overly-aggressive pinna gains.

In that regard, Phönix is a fairly forgiving IEM, with less contrast to the notes and absolutely no harshness anywhere. It’s more about the bigger picture than the microdetails, a smooth listen with a satisfying fullness that gives the music a wholesome richness lacking from more clinical IEMs.

Overall, I’d say Phönix stands shoulder to shoulder with the best technical performers on the market, past and present, but leads with its musical sensibilities rather than its technical acuity.


Select comparisons

Vision Ears EXT ($2,960). I’ll cover VE’s new ‘co-flagship’, Elysium EXTended, in more detail in its own review, but it’s worth comparing and contrasting VE’s two new Premium Line monitors, if only because they’re so different from each other.

Right from the unboxing, Phönix’s sleek and elegant carbon fibre shell and warm red-and-gold inlays are a telling contrast to EXT’s brash, bold metallic purple styling, with its angular lines and silver mesh representing the overall gestalt of its exciting, lively, and powerful sound. EXT is also more aggressive in its fit, locking in like a semi-custom and taking no prisoners if you have small, sensitive ear canals like mine, whereas Phönix is less intrusive and more ‘traditional’ by design.

Sound-wise, where Phönix is fairly balanced and even across all frequencies, EXT is unashamedly bold in its bass, midrange, and treble presentations. EXT’s bass extends further down and elevates further up, with a sub-to-midbass split that favours midbass but still sounds bigger and more natural than Phönix. Where I felt Phönix lacks a certain physicality down low, EXT more than makes up for it, and tuning aside, that’s simply the benefit of using a full-size dynamic bass driver – if this is your preference. I also hear EXT’s bass with more detail, probably because it’s easier to hear and feel the bass in the mix compared to Phönix.

The two midrange presentations couldn’t be more different either. Both Phönix and EXT share what I’m told is VE’s astute midrange DNA, but where EXT loads up its lower mids and reflects the brightness of its upper treble in upper midrange harmonics, Phönix is more even-keeled, with a fuller, more organic sound that’s left completely untouched by both extremes. Phönix’s mids are also slightly warmer and fuller, while EXT’s are drier, thinner and crisper, especially notable in stringed instruments, piano strikes and female vocals.

Treble, like bass and mids, can be said to be a tale of two driver types. EXT’s quad estat drivers have a shimmer and extension that goes beyond their elevated upper treble tuning. It’s a crisp but super high-quality treble that’s able to feather even the softest high-frequency sound and make it radiate around the stage, lending EXT’s stage a certain depth and grandness of scale, but can occasionally sound strident.

Phönix’s treble, by contrast, sounds more grounded and natural, with an effortless air that renders only what’s in the music without overemphasising harmonics, like EXT tends to do. Trebleheads will get more bite from EXT, but Phönix won’t disappoint either; it’s really a matter of preference and will likely come down to your music choices.

Both monitors are technical champions, though Phönix edges EXT when it comes to raw resolution, imaging precision and stage size. EXT is possibly faster up top, with better clarity, but imaging suffers a bit from its midbass forwardness compared to Phönix, as does layering and separation. To be honest though, neither IEM is hamstrung by any perceived technical ‘shortcoming’, and both are tuned better for their respective sound profiles than far more technical IEMs I’ve heard at this price point.

Overall, Phönix and EXT are designed to complement rather than compete with each other, but depending on your musical taste and preferences, you might find yourself gravitating to one much more than the other. EXT would be my pick for anything with visceral bass – electronica, EDM, epic scores, rock and modern pop – whereas Phönix would be my pick for orchestral and small ensemble classical music, folk, acoustic, and singer-songwriter music, and jazz.


Sony IER-Z1R ($1,700). Some will say Sony’s flagship is getting a bit long in the tooth now, but to my ears it holds its own against Phönix cosmetically and sonically.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I still consider Z1R to be the best-looking, best-built monitor I’ve used to date, an opinion that VE’s unquestionably beautiful Phönix hasn’t changed. I also find Z1R fits me better and more comfortably, allowing for a shallower fit that exerts less pressure on my ear canals despite the added bulk of its solid zirconium shells.

Like EXT, Z1R couldn’t sound more different to Phönix, but there are more similarities between the two than there are between the VE twins. I’ll get to those shortly, but the biggest difference is Z1R’s peerless sub-bass. Both extension and quality far surpass Phönix’s reserved low-end personality, with a cavernous presentation that gives the Sony a grand, cathedral-like stage unlike any other monitor I’ve heard, Phönix included. Interestingly Phönix has slightly more midbass presence than Z1R, which lends a thickness to its notes the Sony lacks by comparison.

Z1R’s midrange is generally regarded as its ‘weakness’, especially its relatively flat lower midrange, yet I find Sony’s male vocals benefit more from its bass presence than Phönix’s, and female vocals, while a touch more distant on Z1R, are nonetheless just as clear and organic, and I daresay more natural-sounding too. I mentioned earlier that Phönix’s vocals sometimes sound ‘off’ when I compare them to EXT and Z1R, and that still holds true. I also prefer Sony’s instrument timbre, with everything from drums to piano and strings sounding more present and physical, even though Phönix is easily the better monitor for sheer detail and texture, which lends to a heightened sense of realism.

Both Z1R and Phönix share a natural, relaxed and extended treble, though Z1R puts more emphasis on lower treble while Phönix is more even-keeled with a better sense of air up top. Cymbals strikes are crisper with Z1R, more elegantly rendered on Phönix. Some people find Sony’s lower treble forwardness spicy as a result, though I’ve always considered it the smoothest, most articulate IEM treble I’ve heard. Phönix easily matches it in quality without any harshness whatsoever, and tonally at least I enjoy both treble presentations equally, moreso than I do EXT’s.

Technically Phönix one-ups the Sony with its imaging ability, speed, and detail retrieval, but I find Z1R to be more dynamic, with a more grandiose, holographic stage. Phönix is also better at layering and separation, and sounds more coherent across the board, though I’ve never had any issues with Z1R’s coherency.

Overall, the two share a richness and warmth to their sound, though Phönix is more easygoing and effortless, while Z1R can be more dynamic and intense at times. Phönix will give you more insight into the music, while Z1R is all about engagement and fun, especially when the woofers are pounding. As with EXT, Z1R’s boldness can be the perfect complement to Phönix’s refinement, depending on your musical tastes, though I find Z1R a better all-rounder and more suited to a wider range of music than Phönix and EXT respectively.


Senneheiser IE 900 ($1,300). Why gLer? Why would you compare a single dynamic driver IEM to a 13-driver BA behemoth that costs a full $2,000 more? Only because I can, and, if you still haven’t heard it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at what this little guy can do.

Fit-wise, nothing in my experience touches the Sennheiser. I can wear IE 900 all day (and all night) and almost forget it’s there. Small, sleek, and built like a tank, IE 900 is easily the most comfortable IEM I own, and for that reason alone it has a permanent place in my collection.

Sonically you’d think Phönix is on a different plane, and on the whole, it is. There’s a polish to Phönix’s detailed soundscape that’s hard for any monitor to match, let alone a tiny aluminium tot like IE 900, but the Phonix doesn’t have it all its own way. IE 900 is almost peerless when it comes to bass quality and quantity, for example, in my opinion surpassing the legendary Legend X, and bettered only by Legend EVO, Z1R and EXT. If you want – or, like me, need – that physicality in your drum kicks and bass guitars to properly connect with the music, IE 900 does it bigger and better than Phönix.

From the bass up, however, IE 900 can’t really match Phönix’s precision. While I personally enjoy the gentle rise from lower mids and slight recession in the upper mids and lower treble of the IE 900’s tuning, Phönix strikes a better balance here. That’s not to say I find IE 900 unnatural – that, for me, is its biggest strength – but Phönix’s realism is off the charts, even if its vocal timbre, by comparison, is occasionally off.

Phönix’s treble is also better articulated and less ‘peaky’, with IE 900 tending to every so often over-emphasise some mid-treble frequencies. I still consider both treble presentations above average, with Phönix redefining what’s possible to achieve with BA drivers, and IE 900 making a mockery of the so-called ‘limitations’ of a single DD design, albeit with the benefit of Sennheiser’s cleverly-engineered Helmholtz resonators.

Technically it’s much less of a contest, with Phönix outstanding across the board, and IE 900, while excellent in its own right, not quite at the same level. That’s not really surprising given all the tech that’s crammed into Phönix, though I’ll say the IE 900 is naturally more coherent. IE 900 is also more dynamic, but now I’m really splitting hairs.

Overall, I find IE 900 is the ideal everyday carry, and probably the best all-rounder I’ve heard from a fit and sound perspective. Anything and everything sounds good on the Senn, while Phönix reaches far higher sonically and stylistically, but only with specific genres that play to its strengths.


Conclusion and verdict

Phönix is a statement piece. At a time when exotic usually means multidriver IEMs with all manner of electrostat, bone conduction, and open-ported bass technology, Vision Ears have gambled on a straight-up all-BA flagship with a summit-fi pricetag that doesn’t need to flex to be fancy.

You’ll struggle to find a more natural, effortless sounding IEM anywhere else, at any price. Even though some – myself included – might prefer a slightly different tuning or more physicality than Phönix can muster, there’s no question this is an IEM that breathes rarified air right at the very top of the portable hi-fi pantheon.

I’ll leave direct comparisons to the other ‘bird’ I consider its direct competitor – Traillii – to others who own and use it regularly, but based purely on my listening notes, the differences between them come down to tuning and preferences, significant price disparity aside. Comparing Phönix to the IEMs I do own and listen to isn’t exactly like-for-like, given I have a penchant for dynamic drivers, but I’ll happily concede that, for the vast majority of music in my library, Phönix would be an easy pick for almost any chillout session.


It’s an easy listen, which is not always a given at this extreme performance level. Many IEMs are made with tuning quirks that set them apart from the pack, with over-emphasised bass or mids or treble that grab the attention. Phönix has no use for such party tricks. It simply plays what you give it with a smoothness and fidelity that goes beyond what any reasonable enthusiast would consider premium.

I can almost picture a jazz musician or concert pianist coming off stage after a live performance, kicking back with a glass of port wine and a pair of Phönix, and wearing a knowing smile when the music starts to play. It’s not a rock-out IEM; it’s made for leather loungers and Cuban cigars, smoky bars, and quiet moonlit nights, when you want to connect with the essence of your music and savour every nuance it has to offer.

If you can afford it, if luxury is something you value above novelty, and if measured refinement is your speed, Phönix has to be part of any conversation when it comes to the world’s finest in-ear monitors. It’s not something I would necessarily recommend to newcomers to the hobby, because the subtleties it offers aren’t always obvious to the first-time or casual listener. A blind buy it’s not, in my opinion, but if the asking price doesn’t make you blink, I couldn’t think of a safer suggestion. Highly recommended.

Full disclosure: @EffectAudio sent me an Axiom review sample on loan, without any expectations other than my honest opinion and write-up. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own, based on my personal preferences, music selection, and mood swings.

Singapore-based boutique cable maker Effect Audio has been a very active company of late. Between new Roman-themed gold-infused cables (that literally cost their weight in gold) and interesting takes on modular connectors (at both ends of the cable), it seems Effect Audio is looking to seriously broaden its horizons.

What better way to do that than release your own set of IEMs? Enter Axiom, a pair of premium IEMs that not only bucks the trend when it comes to what you’d expect to get in the box for a premium price, but also advances the theme of perpetual modularity.


The pitch

Axiom is billed as a reference-quality hybrid IEM, featuring one 12mm magnesium dynamic driver for lows and mids and twin Knowles balanced armature drivers for highs.

But Axiom is also different to most other IEMs by virtue of the new Modular Unit (MU) system, user-swappable modules that let you switch between MMCX and 2-pin connectors on the IEM shell itself, and promise to add sound tweaks and improvements to the base configuration with future modules.

The reason for the connector choice: Axiom is only IEM I’m aware of that ships without a cable, ironic considering Effect Audio is first and foremost a cable maker. I get the reasoning here; most IEM enthusiasts, especially at these price points, either have their own collection of cables, or will likely roll whichever cable would have shipped with Axiom anyway.

This follows on from Effect Audio’s stated intention to build more environmentally sensitive products, if you read the marketing verbiage anyway, which means reducing the number of superfluous accessories and packaging extras that ship with Axiom.


But to say that Axiom’s packaging and accessories, nevermind the missing cable, are spartan would be an understatement. For a $1,500 IEM, what you’re getting in the box – goodwill aside – is positively barebones. One type and set of eartips (S, M, L silicone), one set of MU adapters, and a screwdriver to affect the module change.

That’s it. No case, not even a raw hessian-milled pouch made of biodegradable compost. You get two plastic info cards (recyclable, I hope!) with QR codes to the user manual and other information, and, wait for it, a bag of exotic tea leaves, for when you’re finally ready to sit down and relax with a cuppa.


Look and feel

Make no mistake, Axiom is very well built, using smooth anodised aluminium and featuring a fascinating, highly-polished He Tian jade inlay on the faceplate. What spoils the whole look, for me, is the bulbous MU module that sticks out the back of the IEM like a tack-on, although it appears to be seamlessly integrated into the shell. The result is a rather odd-looking half-moon shell that’s a lot bigger and fatter than a two-driver hybrid would otherwise be; heck I’ve seen eight-driver IEMs with less bulk before.

Despite the bulk, Axiom’s shells are fairly light and admittedly quite comfortable in the ear. The nozzle is on the thick side, but short enough that it doesn’t try skewer your eardrums, and can be worn with a shallow or deep-fitting eartip depending on your preferences. For the purpose of this review I used Axiom with my go-to Acoustune AET 07 and JVC Spiral Dot tips, and had no issues with the fit or seal with either.


Each nozzle is protected with a mesh inlay to prevent wax getting into the IEM cavity, and the nozzle base is shaped like cookie batter being poured into a tray, for no apparent reason other than to make it look more interesting.

On balance, then, this is a delicious-looking, well-fitting, well-made IEM, as it should be for the asking price. The only issue I have with the overall design circles right back to that bulbous MU module, and it’s not so much the look but the concept.

A conundrum of concoctions

I’ll be honest, I’m not a fan of modularity, at least not when it comes to a finished retail product. To me, modularity, especially in audio gear and specifically in IEMs, smacks of wastage – the exact opposite of what Effect Audio has supposedly set out to achieve with Axiom.

In pitching for convenience and choice, trying to cast a wide net to match as many tastes as possible with a single product, what ultimately happens is that you land on a favourite combination and stick with it, at which point any possible benefits of modularity go out the window. Not only does this add to the cost, it also adds to the complexity, and as far as I’m concerned, complexity needs to stay as far away from the end-user experience as possible.


The very notion of giving users a choice of different connectors and sound profiles, while possibly being attractive to the indecisive among us, is a solution looking for a problem. It gets worse though – try as I may, I couldn’t figure out how to switch out the MU connector, which seemed intent on sticking firm despite me taking care to remove and not lose the tiny screw that secures it in place (a small storage case for the MU units and spare screws would have been useful here). I’m sure it’s easy enough once you’ve figured it out, just as I’m sure someone, somewhere, is going to end up with broken connectors.

And as for swappable connectors, why? Yes, this lets you use your own cables regardless of termination, but why is Effect Audio not taking the opportunity to promote and upsell their very own, very excellent ConX system, which takes care of any termination issues you might have, even with your own cables?

I’m sorry to say but in my opinion, this ‘simple’ idea is an over-engineered mess that this user could have done without. At best it’s an attempt to reduce waste, but more likely it’s a clever way to get people to try different cables without adding to the base cost of the IEM, and at worst it’s just a strongarm way to get you to buy more cables (but not ConX cables, which are made redundant by the swappable modules).

I can only think that somewhere along the line, everyone in the design department put up their hands with an idea for a new IEM, and in the spirit of inclusiveness, environmental advocacy, and peace on Earth, no idea was left behind.


The right stuff

Thankfully, Axiom is more than just pie-in-the-sky and strangely missing accessories. It’s a damn fine IEM, and performs at a level I’d expect at this price range. Is it competitive against similarly-priced IEMs? I’ll answer that later; first I want to cover what you’re actually getting for your money, sound-wise, and then you can decide whether it’s the right IEM for you, cost and conundrums aside.


Tonality

Axiom is stacked in the bass department, with a ton of low-end weight and presence. This surprised me actually, as I was expecting a more balanced tuning, but to be fair, the bass, while big, didn’t crowd out the other frequencies, especially where the bass isn’t baked into the track.

There’s plenty of sub-bass rumble in Lorde’s The Louvre from the big 12mm dynamic driver, but an equally generous amount of midbass. This is not the fastest bass I’ve heard, not the most textured, but it’s not the slowest or flattest either. It doesn’t quite keep up with the bass benchmarks I compared it to, smoothing over some of the tense sub-bass-driven buildup in Hans Zimmer’s Mountains, for example, but it’s better than many others I’ve heard at this price. You might be a cable short, but you definitely aren’t going to be shortchanged by the bass.


The midrange is where things get a bit trickier. I’m not an authority on what constitutes a great midrange by any measure; what I generally listen for is vocal purity, vocal clarity, and instrument presence and timbre (or at least realism), and Axiom didn’t fail on any score. Mind you, it didn’t ace them either. Vocals, both female and male, were forward and clear, but Ocie Elliott’s Jon Middleton sounded a touch thin and sibilant on Slow Tide, and Rebecca Pidgeon was a touch more wistful and airier than I’m used to hearing her on The Raven.

There is also a dryness to Axiom’s vocals that will please some people and displease others. I Personally prefer my vocals a touch more organic and natural, and if you’re someone that doesn’t listen to lots of vocal-driven music, the point is probably moot for you anyway.

On reflection, this could be more a factor of Axiom’s BA treble poking around where it doesn’t belong and infusing the DD mids with some glassiness. There’s definitely a hint of the lower treble vocal harmonics being a hair too sharp here, like static on the trailing edge of the high notes. The liveliness up top is also apparent in instrumental tracks, where Daft Punk’s Within delights with its full and rich piano strikes – dampened slightly by the warmth in the bass – but the zing in the ‘tss’ of the hi-hats is a touch too tizzy for my liking.

Overall I hear Axiom to have a steep U-shaped (bordering on V) tonality, with elevated bass, neutral mids, and at least two upper-midrange/treble peaks I could pick out (looking at @crinacle's Axiom graph, these appear to be at 5kHz and 8kHz respectively, with some added air infusion above 15kHz too). It’s not bright per se, but brighter than I’m used to. If like me your tinnitus is triggered by zingy treble, just don’t pump the volume too high and you’ll be fine.


Technicalities

Axiom is a competent technical performer at this price point. Stage is fairly wide and spacious with the relative recession in the mids lending more space for the notes to live in. The many overlapping layers in Owl City’s Saltwater Room, for example, never got overwhelming to my ears, and vocals were neatly separated from the electronic effects.

Detail retrieval is also very good, but maybe a touch overdone and unnatural with some sibilance creeping in from the overenthusiastic treble. Still, nothing I found too fatiguing. To explain myself better, it’s the type of detail that I find to be forced rather than real, with highlights getting extra shimmer and ‘spittle texture’ (for want of a less colourful phrase) being a little too coarse. It’s all there in the track, but it sounds like details are pushed towards you in some instances, rather than letting you pick and choose what to listen for. Once again, your own preferences will determine if this presentation is a pro or a con for you.

Overall, I’d say Axiom mixes up musicality with technical acuity quite well. I personally hear it as being more analytical than musical in its execution – generous detail, separation and dynamics but lacking some fluidity and smoothness – which will suit some more than others. I find this to be a disconnect between its bass and midrange tuning, which is very good, and its treble, which is not as good, leading to some coherency issues – and I generally never pick out coherency issues in an IEM.

Select comparisons

Sennheiser IE 900. While not exactly a 1:1 comparison, given the single-driver design of the IE 900, Sennheiser’s flagship IEM comes in at $200 cheaper than the Axiom, including two excellent cables and a case. Where Axiom makes it easy to interchange almost any cable, IE 900 makes it harder, with proprietary recessed MMCX connectors that, ironically, are perfectly suited to Effect Audio’s ConX system. In fact, it was the Sennheiser’s cable that I used for testing Axiom.

Sound-wise, I hear Axiom to be fuller but also slower and less articulate in the bass, with more midbass emphasis than the sub-bass-focused IE 900. I’ve often said IE 900 has one of if not the best bass presentations I’ve heard in an IEM, and that still holds despite Axiom’s bombastic bass bravado.

Axiom’s midrange is more forward than Sennheiser’s, but also drier and more abrasive, whereas I hear IE 900’s vocals and midrange instruments to be more natural, if slightly recessed. Some take issue with IE 900’s treble, finding it a bit too bright and distended, but it’s positively laid-back compared to Axiom’s zing, at least to my ears. IE 900 is smoother and more linear by comparison, but some will prefer Axiom’s liveliness up top.


Sony IER-Z1R. I’ve had the Sony in my stable for about the same amount of time as I’ve had Axiom, and in that time I realised there’s not really any contest here for my preferences. So, I’ll stick to describing the differences I hear and let you guys decide which is preferable. Price-wise, Z1R retails for about $300 more than Axiom, but comes with two stock cables that don’t need rolling, a massive selection of tips, a luxury case, and a premium presentation fit for jewelry. That it can be bought used in mint condition for far less than Axiom is also something to consider.

For sure the Sony is a bigger, bulkier IEM than Axiom, and yet feels far more premium and sophisticated with its mirror-like Zirconium finish and pearlescent faceplates. Fit is hit-and-miss for Sony (it fits me like a glove, but it doesn’t for everyone), so on fit alone it’s much easier to recommend Axiom.

Sound-wise, Axiom again has more bass elevation than Sony, but is also bloomier and less refined. Considering Z1R is now the standard by which I measure all IEM bass, Axiom didn’t really stand a chance here, but for many who prefer the added midbass heft and resulting warmth in Axiom’s signature, it may prove to be a preferable tuning to Sony’s sub-bass-focused, speaker-like bass presentation.

Like IE 900, Z1R is often criticized for its ‘recessed’ midrange, which to my ears doesn’t really add up. I hear Z1R vocals to be far more fluid and natural than Axiom’s, with none of the grain or sibilants in the latter, even though Axiom is more forward and on balance more ‘clear’. Treble-wise, it’s a no-contest. Sony’s combination of custom-BA and super tweeter dynamic treble is silky, extended, airy and incredibly polished, whereas Axiom’s is more lively, zingy and strident. You may indeed prefer the latter, but I can’t say I do.


Verdict and conclusion

Axiom is a fascinating IEM. It bucks the trend of set-and-forget IEMs because unlike most IEMs, it expects you to do a fair amount of work before sitting down to listen.

With Axiom, every component matters – you need to find the right cable, and makes it easy enough to cycle through an entire collection if you already have one. You need to find the right tips, because the base tuning might not be to your liking and tips are a sure way of tweaking that. You also need to find the right source; it’s easy to drive with anything, so your phone might be enough, but it’s also sensitive enough to be influenced by source tonality, output impendance and other factors.

In short, Axiom is a high-end tweaker’s delight, which should come as no surprise given it’s made by a company that sells tweaking for a living. If you’re the type of person that revels in variety and choice, and wants every product to give you as much of that variation and as many configurable options as possible, you’ll find lots to like about Axiom.

I’m not that type of person. I prefer my IEMs to be intricately designed from the ground up to give me a very specific experience, even if I have to pay more for the privilege. I find an abundance of choice paralysing and counterintuitive. So perhaps I’m not the right demographic for Axiom, but I can certainly appreciate the intention, and give credit where credit is due for what it does really well.

As such, despite some tuning choices that don’t quite match my preferences, quality is high, harshness is low, and if you love your bass and treble in equal measure, this is an IEM I’d add to the list. Cost no object – it can’t be when you have an IEM this costly that demands even more investment in peripherals – Axiom gives you a malleable base to work with, and if you like the look, feel and overall sound signature, can potentially outlive many other IEMs by virtue of its evolving MU options.


TL;DR Effect Audio made some bold choices here, not least the idea of developing an IEM in the first place. Whether it’s more of a sales tool for their range of excellent cables or a serious attempt at creating a new market niche for modular IEMs doesn’t really matter, because if nothing else it adds something new and different in a market fast reaching saturation point. I’m not convinced Axiom is competitive enough at the price point yet, but as a blueprint for future designs, it may be just that.

Once in a while, I come across a product in this hobby that doesn’t quite fit into the normal boxes. iFi’s xDSD Gryphon (or just Gryphon if you’ll allow me) is a good example.

Combining elements from two previous products – xCan and xDSD – and adding some interesting new tech of its own, Gryphon is a new portable DAC and headphone amp platform that combines many different technologies introduced and perfected in other iFi products into a compact, advanced, and very accomplished performer.

In doing so, it ambitiously aims to cover multiple bases for multiple use cases. Whether you want hi-res Bluetooth input (including LDAC support), hardware MQA decoding, a proven multibit DAC with native DSD and DXD support, a fully-balanced amp architecture with 4.4mm inputs and outputs, Gryphon does it all, and much more.

In fact, it tries to do so much that it risks becoming a jack-of-all-trades, but as I discovered in the past few weeks, it pulls it off the juggling act remarkably well, making it far more than the sum of its many parts.


Spec sheet

Before we dive into the review proper, let’s take a bird’s eye view of everything Gryphon:

• DAC: Hybrid multibit Burr Brown
• Formats: PCM 768/DXD/DSD 512/MQA Studio Master
• Outputs (headphone): 4.4mm balanced / 3.5mm single-ended + S-Balanced (3.5mm balanced)
• Outputs (line): 4.4mm balanced / 3.5mm single-ended
• Inputs (analogue): 4.4mm balanced / 3.5 single-ended
• Inputs (digital): USB-C (up to 768kHz), SP/DIF (up to 192kHz), Hi-Res Bluetooth (up to 96kHz)
• Bluetooth (input only): v5.1 support (SBC, AAC, AptX Adaptive, LDAC, HWC)
• Battery: Up to 8 hours, separate USB-C charging port and dual digital input/charging port
• Power output (single-ended): >320mW @32 Ω (headphone); 3.5V variable (line out)
• Power output (balanced): >1W @32Ω (headphone); 6.7V variable (line out)
• Output impedance (headphone): <1 Ω
• THD: <0.005% (1V @ 16Ω)

A boxful of tricks

The unboxing experience is much the same as that of other recent and past iFi products, which is to say very high quality. Gryphon ships in a lidded box, complete with a colorful cardboard sleeve full of specs, features, and lots of pretty pictures. Inside, you’ll find Gryphon covered in a soft wrapper, along with a warranty card, fold-out user guide, a velvet-lined carry pouch, and three cables: two short USB-C to C and USB-C to Lightning cables for connecting to smartphones and tablets, and a longer USB-C to A cable for hooking Gryphon up to laptops and desktops.

I would have preferred a harder protective case (I have one on the way from my go-to case maker, Miter), which would have been a welcome addition for someone like me who babies gear against all manner of domestic household dangers. Also, since Gryphon is small enough to be used in a stack with a phone or DAP, I’m surprised iFi didn’t include any elastic rings to keep the stack together. Quibbles aside, the accessory list is more than sufficient, and any of the add-ons I mentioned should soon be available to buy separately anyway.


Build and design

On seeing Gryphon for the first time, I had two reactions: it really does look just as good in person as it does in the marketing material, and it also looks and feels substantially smaller than I expected it to be for such a full-featured device.

The last iFi DAC/amp I owned was the original Micro iDSD, and that was big, bulky, and rather ugly by comparison. Gone are the industrial lines of the iDSD, replaced by a flask-like two-tone shell with a premium-feeling (and importantly, fingerprint-resistant) space grey matte finish. The case itself is about the same size and thickness as a pack of playing cards, which is to say shorter than a modern oversized smartphone but more than twice as thick. It’s also fairly stocky at 215g, which is understandable given all the tech and components it crams inside the metal shell.

Inspecting the buttons, dials and knobs reveals high-quality, precision mechanical finishes with just enough tactile give for fluid movement and haptic feedback, but without feeling too loose or wobbly (I’m aware of some reports of rattling volume dials, but my unit has no such issues). Four slim rubber feet adorn the base, cleverly keeping it stable on a tabletop and safely raised off your smartphone or DAP when using them as a source.

For all the possible permutations, not a single space, button or knob is superfluous. Make no mistake, Gryphon is a brilliant piece of industrial design, and one that can serve as a blueprint for even more potential functionality in future iterations (more on that later).


Features and functions

It’s worth covering all the buttons and their associated features together, because of how interconnected they all are to each other.

Starting with the most visible of these, the volume dial, not so much a dial as a multi-function knob, acts as an on/off power switch, menu selector (when inside the settings menu), and most importantly as an analogue volume control. Did I mention it can also be used to mute the volume (single press) and, with the latest firmware, gives you full pause/forward/reverse track control when connected with Bluetooth?

The fit and finish of the dial is top-drawer. Turning the dial feels very satisfying and solid with perceptible click-click-click feedback in small intervals for fine (1dB) adjustments, but without ever feeling like it’s going to slip or skip multiple volume steps (unless you turn it faster). The way it’s been positioned slightly forward means you can set Gryphon flat on a desk or hold it in one hand and still turn the dial with a gentle one-finger push or pull, which is very well thought through.

While Gryphon features a variable brightness OLED screen, you can also eyeball the volume level by the colour of the LED ring around the volume dial and the LED light on the dial itself. There are six possible ranges, from mute (no light) through to -2db to +6dB (red). Visually setting the dial to magenta (-56 to -39dB) or green (-38dB to -21dB) is an easy and safe way to know you’re not going to blow your ears off when you hit play with sensitive IEMs or headphones plugged in.



There are two more mechanical push buttons on the front face – a smaller selector button (furthest right) that switches between input types (more on these later), and a slightly larger button that toggles between the built-in XBass II and XSpace functions (again, more on these later), and also activates the settings menu with a longer press. Opposite the buttons, on the left-hand side of the face, are the two headphone output ports, 3.5mm S-Balanced and 4.4mm fully balanced, sized the same as the adjoining buttons to create a neatly symmetrical layout on the fascia.


There are also two other levers on Gryphon: one on the base that lets you activate two different levels of iFi’s IEMatch technology for sensitive IEMs, and one at the back, which toggles between three different options for the XBass II feature.

Starting with IEMatch, the options are labeled 3.5mm, 4.4mm, and OFF (default), supposedly because the more powerful 4.4mm output requires higher output attenuation than the ‘weaker’ 3.5mm output, although both settings work with both outputs. Since I don’t use IEMatch I didn’t spend much time testing for quality differences between the two, but iFi have since confirmed this is the same IEMatch technology used on its standalone and well-received balanced IEMatch accessory, which makes it a great value-add for sensitive IEM users (notably any IEM from Campfire Audio).


The additional XBass II functionality is quite different, and as far as I know, unique to Gryphon. According to iFi, with XBass II ‘you can select ‘Bass’ and/or ‘Presence’ so that the upper midrange frequencies are correctly added back into your favourite recording’. This is something I would have missed entirely had I not checked what the back toggle was all about. It also means that XBass II is more than just about bass, because it can boost upper midrange independently of bass, a potentially useful feature for IEMs or headphones that dip the presence region but don’t need any bass correction.

Combined with XSpace, which mainly affects the treble frequencies to add more air into recordings, Gryphon now has limited but effective analogue-based EQ toggles for bass, upper-midrange and treble, either independently or together in different combinations. I can personally attest to using all three settings to add flavour to some recordings, and in different ways depending on the IEM or headphone I’m using. The fact that it’s so easy to do, and that the effects are never overdone, makes this a very powerful addition to Gryphon’s feature set.


Even more features

Given the smorgasbord of genuinely useful features packed into Gryphon, perhaps the best feature of all is the DAC itself. When I reviewed iFi’s other new portable Bluetooth DAC/amp, GO blu, I noted the ‘missing’ hybrid multibit Burr Brown DAC that iFi uses for almost all of its products. Thankfully, the BB DAC is back with Gryphon, and with it, the very respectable hi-res decoding numbers and formats I felt were lacking on the smaller dongle, including full PCM 768, DXD 768, and native DSD 512 support.

Admittedly these ultra-hi-res formats are only available with direct USB input, but the fact that they’re available at all is the point here.

The DAC is ably supported by a plethora of hardware and software features, including a customised negative feedback amplification design that iFi calls OptimaLoop, which apparently uses different types of negative feedback circuits for optimal performance. Another amplification tech iFi calls PureWave is meant to be a type of optimised dual-mono balanced topology (previously only found in iFi’s higher-end NEO and Diablo amps) for Gryphon’s balanced inputs and outputs, which in theory reduces distortion and improves linearity.

Switching to software features, Gryphon offers a choice of three DSP ‘filters’ (in fact two filters and one unfiltered bit-perfect mode), selectable via the settings menu from the OLED screen. STD is a moderate digital filter with zero pre-ringing and modest post-ringing properties, while GTO (Gibbs Transient Optimised) is a proprietary iFi digital filter that upsamples all content to 384kHz/352kHz depending on the clock source, with only moderate pre- and post-ringing, which, from what I understand, combines the advantages of oversampled delta-sigma processing without the associated ringing artefacts.


Whether or not you think these filters add anything useful is again entirely up to you to decide, but I have to admit hearing some added clarity and dynamics in the sound with GTO enabled, without the presentation becoming too digital.

Speaking of the OLED screen, this is yet another major feature that’s entirely new with Gryphon, and to my mind changes it from a dumb terminal-like DAC/amp (i.e., every other iFi portable product) to something entirely different, and better. Not only does the screen look really cool, it’s also dimmable, can be switched off, and offers a second, very visible and very easy way to check which settings, volume levels, Bluetooth codecs, and inputs and outputs are active at any one time.

The screen also makes it easy to visually make fine volume changes, and is a good way to double-check you’re not about to blow your eardrums with a CyberSync malfunction. iFi has also gone as far as using special low-power circuits for the screen that supposedly don’t add any interference (noise) to the sound. They’ve even given it a name, SilentLine, if you can believe that.

But aside from being a marketer’s dream device for cool-sounding feature names, Gryphon is undeniably packed full of genuine audio-optimised hardware parts from the likes of Alps, Kemet, MuRata, Panasonic, TDK and Diodes, and I believe the quality of parts reflects in the quality of sound.


Ins and outs

Okay, this is the last stop before we get to the good stuff about sound, but to me, the star of the Gryphon show is quite simply its versatility. By that I mean all the different ways it gives you to get your music in from different devices, and the simple yet powerful ways it lets you push it out again with exceptional quality.

Starting with inputs, Gryphon supports an almost full range of digital and analogue inputs, especially for a battery-powered portable device. These include 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced analogue inputs, S/PDIF optical and USB digital inputs, and the piece de resistance as far as I’m concerned, hi-res Bluetooth digital input. There’s even a separate USB-C input port for charging the battery independently, letting you charge up while connected to any other input (though you have the option of charging while connected to the USB-C digital input as well).

For playback, Gryphon features four types of outputs: dedicated 3.5mm (single-ended or iFi’s 3-pole 3.5mm S-Balanced) and 4.4mm fully-balanced headphone outputs, and dedicated 3.5mm and 4.4mm line-outs. To save space, Gryphon’s analogue inputs cleverly double as line-outs, switching function automatically whenever you’re using a digital input (like Bluetooth or USB) at the same time.

Since most of the above is self-explanatory, I want to rather spend some time focusing on what I consider Gryphon’s biggest advantage over other similarly-priced (and even higher-priced) portable DAC/amps: Hi-Res Bluetooth. While Bluetooth input is nothing new, the level at which iFi has implemented and refined its Hi-Res Bluetooth input technology sets it apart from any other Bluetooth-equipped device I’ve heard to date. If GO blu surprised me with the quality of its Bluetooth sound – which was only marginally inferior to its wired input – Gryphon pushes Bluetooth quality even closer.

In fact, the difference in sound quality between Gryphon’s LDAC and USB inputs is so small, for anything but the most focused listening sessions, I don’t even bother to wire it up.


There is a small sting in this tail, however. I found a bug – not in Gryphon, but rather in some source devices, like the LG V60 smartphone and a few other smartphone models – that prioritise the AptX Adaptive codec over LDAC, and therefore won’t allow Gryphon to switch into LDAC mode. While this is a very niche bug that affects a very small number of devices, the solution is seemingly a simple one – allow users to manually enable/disable the various Bluetooth codecs in Gryphon’s settings menu. By disabling AptX Adaptive in Gryphon, the buggy sources will see it as an LDAC device.

Sadly, this is not possible, yet, but I’m reliably told that the feature request has been escalated, and hope to see it made available soon. It’ll certainly return Gryphon to optimal functionality for my use case.

There’s also one more feature I’d like to see added, either to the current Gryphon – if it’s at all possible – or to a future version: Bluetooth transmission. While it might seem counterintuitive to pack Gryphon full of dedicated, high-quality audio components designed specifically for analogue output – only to bypass all of them by switching to Bluetooth – there’s a case to be made for turning Gryphon into the ultimate audio interface with this one, simple tweak. Just a thought, iFi; you can thank me later.

Sound impressions


I mainly tested Gryphon using a pair of Sennheiser IE 900 IEMs, but I’ve also made notes on how it sounds with other IEMs and headphones, including Sony’s IER-Z1R IEM and MDR-Z1R headphone. Digital sources included HiBy’s RS6 DAP, LG V60 Thinq smartphone and MacBook Pro. I used a variety of test tracks that I’m very familiar with, including (but not limited to):

• Lana Del Rey – Dark But Just A Game
• BEYRIES – Alone
• Brandi Carlile – The Story
• Eagles – Hotel California (Live)
• Agnes Obel – The Curse
• Bjork – Hunter
• Daft Punk – Contact
• James Gillespie – What You Do
• Jillette Johnson – Bunny
• Jethro Tull – The Waking Edge
• Angels of Venice – Trotto

Tonality

I hear Gryphon to have a fairly neutral and linear tonality, with slight warmth in the lower registers, but overall a clean, balanced, and generally transparent presentation. It follows a similar tuning philosophy to GO blu, which again seems to be a departure of sorts from the company’s more pervasively warmer house sound that it still uses in the Micro iDSD series.

This is not neutral in the sense that it’s reference or worse, lifeless, but rather strikes a very healthy balance between overt cleanliness and musicality. It’s not overly analytical, though it won’t do much to change the analytical nature of IEMs that lean that way unless you make use of its sound-shaping features. Instead, I find it delivers quite a rich palette for IEMs and headphones to work with, excellent timbre throughout, and just the right amount of emphasis without oversaturating the sound.

It doesn’t make sense to break down the bass, midrange and treble response other than to say there’s no obvious boost or dip in any of these frequencies, other than a slight emphasis on note solidity and speed down low, and some added air up top. Whether or not that’s a good thing for you depends on what you’re looking for from a source, and what you’re pairing with it. Personally, I prefer linear and transparent sources that support rather than those which affect specific frequencies and run too warm or too cool.

In saying that, with XBass II (and its midrange-shaping capabilities) and XSpace, Gryphon can indeed ‘correct’ the shortcomings or enhance the qualities of IEMs or headphones that need some tweaking. More importantly, it does this in hardware, not software, so there’s no quality hit to the audio chain.

I found XBass II’s bass impact is more prominent than GO blu’s, but can be tempered down using the Bass + Presence setting. The Presence-only setting is also useful for restoring upper midrange bite to IEMs like IE 900, in cases where its dip in this region is too deep for your liking.

XSpace is less a treble bump and more a subtle spatialisation effect, still affecting mainly the treble region but less obviously so than GO blu. If you’re using IEMs or headphones with limited stage width, depth or height, it’ll give you some much-needed breathing room, but I mostly left it off since stage size is never an issue with my gear.


Technicalities

The key to Gryphon’s technical performance is its ultra-low distortion and noise floor, allowing the technical performance of the IEMs and headphones I used to shine through. I don’t perceive any drop in detail or resolution, and if anything, resolution is slightly improved over the R2R-based HiBy RS6 (I’m splitting hairs here, but the RS6 does cost almost three times as much as Gryphon).

Essentially, you’re not making many – if any – technical compromises to resolution, imaging, dynamics or layering and separation when switching from a higher-end source to Gryphon. Some may perceive a slight drop in stage width compared to higher-power desktop amps, but this really depends on what you’re driving, and how well your IEMs/headphones scale with more power. In every torture-test I put Gryphon through, such as the collision sequence in Daft Punk’s brilliantly atmospheric ‘Contact’, it didn’t skip a beat, keeping the different elements separate but cohesive, and keeping a tight grip on the drivers, be they 7mm in IE 900 or 70mm in MDR-Z1R.

There are caveats to this otherwise sterling scorecard, of course. You will hear a slight drop in technical performance when switching to Bluetooth input, especially when using lower-bitrate codecs like AAC or (shock-horror) SBC. Even with LDAC, with its support for almost 1Mbit of bandwidth, the soundscape will flatten, and the fringes of vocal and instrument transients may not be rendered quite as crisply as they would with a bit-perfect wired connection.

Gryphon is also, ultimately, a highly portable, hand-held source, and as such it won’t give you the same headroom as even a basic AC-powered desktop stack. But again, unless you’re driving large planars or similarly insensitive headphones, you probably won’t notice the difference, especially with easily-driven IEMs.

Even if performance is not 1:1 on par with similarly-priced desktop gear, the convenience and freedom of being untethered from a desk (or phone) outweighs any performance issues. Moreover, Gryphon is less affected by cable power noise issues that can be problematic on desktop sources, and sometimes cost more than the sources themselves to mitigate, so you may in fact find its performance exceeds your desktop gear in some aspects.


Select pairings and comparisons

Gryphon is one of three recent releases in iFi’s portable product portfolio, along with GO blu and hip-dac 2. hip-dac lacks GO blu’s Bluetooth input functionality, but compensates with added power and more robust format support with its Burr Brown DAC and higher-end audio components. Gryphon combines the best features from both devices, and ups the ante across the board: more power, better Bluetooth quality and range, higher-spec components, broader format support, more inputs and outputs, and an overall bigger, better user experience.

Compared to Go blu ($299), Gryphon refines both wired and wireless sound quality. You can step further away from your source when connected wirelessly, and take advantage of higher-res format support, and even questionable software features like CyberSync if you’re so inclined. Both devices are tuned similarly, with a clear, crisp but still engaging and musical presentation, but Gryphon adds more note weight, definition and stage size, and is able to drive bigger and less sensitive headphones. Its sound shaping features and DSP filters are also more robust.

Where GO blu wins hands-down is ultra-portability, and the simplicity of being able to connect-and-forget while on the go, and sound performance is close enough to leave Gryphon at home and take GO blu on the road, even for longer trips.


Compared to HiBy RS6 ($1400), Gryphon takes a different approach sound-wise, being more neutral and transparent compared to RS6’s warmer, fuller and more organic tilt. RS6 does sound more natural with certain genres, especially with vocals, by virtue of its discrete R2R DAC, although Gryphon’s hybrid multibit DAC and features like the GTO digital filter get Gryphon really, really close in terms of naturalness. Gryphon also has more output power and a lower overall noise floor, even though both devices are hiss-free and more than powerful enough to drive all but the most stubborn headphones. In terms of absolute SQ, Gryphon matches RS6 blow-for-blow and is even slightly more advanced technically, with a wider stage and better clarity.

I’ve actually found the two to be complementary in the time I’ve spent with them so far, often using RS6 as my wired and Bluetooth source for Gryphon, especially when I want to use Gryphon’s extra output power. Another benefit of using the two together is connecting them using a balanced cable, effectively combining RS6’s excellent R2R DAC with Gryphon’s powerful, low-distortion amp.

Since RS6 is a self-contained DAP, it has its own advantages over a DAC/amp like Gryphon, not requiring external sources for one, and being able to navigate and manage multiple music sources from the device itself. If you’re after a standalone device for music playback and want to keep your music player, phones and computers separate, then RS6 is an excellent Segway from devices like Gryphon, but if sound quality is your only measure, you won’t lose anything with Gryphon and it’ll cost you significantly less.


I can highly recommend iFi’s brilliantly-made 4.4mm interconnect cable if you’re planning on tethering Gryphon to a balanced DAP or desktop amp – easily one of the best-looking, best-built and best-performing interconnects I’ve had the pleasure of using.


It’s been a while since I’ve used any of iFi’s larger portable devices, and I haven’t had the pleasure of trying out the newer xDSD and hip-dac series for that matter, but I’m confident enough to say that I don’t really see a use case for myself with any of them. Gryphon’s Bluetooth support and quality, for instance, makes the thought of using a wired-only external DAC/amp or dongle unpalatable at best. We’re fast-moving towards a time when wireless source quality will match wired performance, and with Gryphon (and GO blu to a lesser extent), the differences are already too small to warrant wired sources most of the time.

What hasn’t changed is our reliance on wired IEMs and headphones for maximum sound quality. Pairing Gryphon with a good pair of IEMs is the optimal use case for me, and the synergy with both the IE 900 and IER-Z1R is exceptional. But Gryphon is just as adept at powering easy-to-drive full-size headphones, like Sony’s MDR-Z1R. Unless you need the absolute portable freedom (and advanced features) of true wireless IEMs or headphones, you’ll get maximum sound quality with only a small loss in portability using Gryphon as a Bluetooth streamer for your wired IEMs, and if you want to get even more portable, GO blu.


Verdict and closing thoughts

When I first read about Gryphon, I didn’t quite see how it would fit for me, having switched to using IEMs exclusively, and using them exclusively with a DAP. It was GO blu that opened my eyes to the usefulness of a Bluetooth-enabled source for my wired IEMs, especially when I wanted to use my higher-end IEMs on the go. That’s when I joined the dots and fully understood Gryphon’s potential.

In one compact and still (for me) very pocketable device, iFi has evolved the concept of a portable Bluetooth streamer, bringing along all the advantages – and sound quality – of its upmarket wired DAC/amps, throwing in a few extra new and improved features in the bargain. For much less than the cost of a high-end DAP, you can now buy equivalent sound quality, better versatility, and enough power to drive not only IEMs but also full-size headphones, and still be able to move about freely with your music.

From the very first time I used it, Gryphon started changing the way I engaged with my music. For one thing, I credit Gryphon with encouraging me to re-look at getting a full-size headphone as an alternative to my IEMs. Then, using a smartphone with more ‘smarts’ and speed than any DAP, meant I didn’t have to skip a beat between the music player interfaces I’m already familiar with (specifically UAPP on Android).

With its outstanding Bluetooth input quality, I also wasn’t constrained by having to wire up the phone, and in fact, could even use the DAP as a source if I needed the phone for other tasks. And, when I wanted to max out sound quality, Gryphon includes everything I need to wire up my sources in the box.

iFi may have been a bit ambitious in claiming Gryphon as the ‘birth of a head-fi legend’, but I will say it’s easily the best portable device I’ve used in all my time as a portable audio enthusiast. That includes the flagship Lotoo and HiBy DAPs I’ve used in the past (and still use today), both in terms of sound quality but, just as importantly, flexibility, functionality and versatility. It liberates you from worrying about how to get your music in or out, which sources you can connect to, or which IEMs, headphones, or even speakers you want to use, without having to worry that sound quality and driving power will be compromised.

Sure, it had some teething issues, CyberSync being the most obvious and one that I suspect will still take some time to fully resolve. It has some missing parts – a case would be nice, and some stack loops too while we’re at it – and if someone at tech central could please fix the annoying AptX Adaptive ‘bug’ for me that would be much appreciated!

But these are hair-splitting gripes. Gryphon is just about the complete package, and I believe it’s only going to get better as iFi fine-tunes existing (and potentially new) features in firmware. Where it goes from here is anyone’s guess, but knowing iFi, there’s an upgrade path in development, if not already in production. As a version 1.0, Gryphon sets the standard for what’s possible in portable audio today, and I keenly await to see how the platform evolves in the future.

If, like me, you prioritise portability as much as you do absolute sound quality, and don’t want or need the extra headroom (and potential benefits) of full-size desktop gear, then Gryphon is an unequivocal must-buy. Highly recommended.

Full disclosure: @iFi audio sent me a sample GO blu in exchange for my honest review, and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own. My review unit was supplied by AudioExchange, South Africa's official iFi reseller.

Introduction

iFi is no stranger to the head-fi community, having established itself over the past few years with a range of well-received source gear for almost any use case and budget. The UK-based company is actually a subsidiary of Abbingdon Music Research (AMR), one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of high-end audio systems, so when it comes to pedigree, iFi is not just another niche player or nameless mass-producer vying for a share of the limelight.

GO blu is iFi’s first attempt at an ultra-portable ‘dongle’, but unlike the majority of cable-tethered dongles from other brand-name vendors, Go blu is first and foremost a ‘hi-res’ Bluetooth dongle. That means it supports the highest Bluetooth codecs currently available, including Sony’s LDAC, which theoretically has enough bandwidth to stream hi-res music files (up to 24/96), albeit using lossy algorithms.

I’ve spent the past two weeks getting to know GO Blu more intimately, using it as my main DAC/amp (with my smartphone as the source), and comparing the experience to the higher-end DAPs I’m more familiar with. To say it’s been an eye-opening fortnight is an understatement; GO Blu has so far been one of the more pleasant surprises I’ve enjoyed in the hobby. Read on to find out why.


Tiny but mighty

The first thing that struck me about GO blu was not the stylish metal faceplate, Swiss-like chronograph, or practical non-slip rubber surround, but rather how small it was. By small I mean absolutely tiny – 54mm x 34mm and only 13mm thick. It’s also light, so light that iFi claim an AA battery is heavier, which is true by the way.

As tiny and light as it is, it still manages to house two headphone output ports, including a genuine Pentaconn-certified 4.4mm fully balanced socket. The chronograph – or ChronoDial, as iFi calls it – is the other striking feature. As far as I can tell, GO blu is the only dongle that features a rotary volume dial, though the ChronoDial is more than that, doubling as a click-button for pause/play, next/previous, and call answer/reject controls too.

There are two other buttons, one below the ChronoDial that’s used to switch between GO Blu’s nifty XBass and XSpace features (more on these later) and Bluetooth pairing mode, and one on the opposite side for power on/off and Bluetooth pairing confirmation. At the bottom of the case is a single USB-C port that doubles as a charging and digital data port (for wired DAC functionality), a small LED light for power state, and two pinholes, one for factory reset, the other for the built-in microphone (yes, you can make and take calls while connected with GO blu, although I didn’t try out this functionality myself).

The packaging is neat and simple, typically iFi-like with lots of information all over the box. A slide-out tray holds GO blu in its own cavity, with a small separate box for the included USB-C to A cable and velour-style carry pouch. I would have preferred to see a USB-C to C cable included considering GO blu is most often going to connect directly to a smartphone, and most modern laptops feature USB-C connectors too.

For the asking price of $199 a USB-C to lightning cable wouldn’t have gone amiss either, if only so that iPhone users would have one less thing to complain about because let’s face it, who wants to fall back on AAC?

But I digress; GO blu ships with everything you need to get up and running in the box. Build quality is excellent, and not just for the price, and the styling is unique and, if I may say so, quite stylish, more so than iFi’s usual utilitarian designs.


Swiss Army dongle

At the heart of GO blu’s functionality is a compact Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC, which according to iFi is going to form the basis of their ultra-mobile product lineup. I can only assume there’s a good reason that iFi decided against using the traditional hybrid Burr Brown DAC that powers just about all their current devices, and if I had to speculate it’s probably because they were aiming for a much lower power draw than was possible to achieve with the standard DAC.

As it is, GO Blu’s 450mAh lithium battery supplies up to 8 hours’ runtime, depending on the headphones used and processing requirements, which is plenty for all-day use, considering it only takes an hour or so to charge it back up to full. Since GO blu also uses its battery in tethered mode, you can maximise sound quality from your phone by wiring it up without draining the phone’s battery, something many other dongles don’t offer.

GO blu incorporates the same dual-mono fully balanced architecture common to many of iFi’s recent portable products. This not only helps clean up the signal, but also provides much more power to drive even demanding headphones – up to 245mW into 32 ohms to be exact. You’ll struggle to find this much muscle in any other dongle in this price range, and even more expensive (and less portable) amps generally don’t go this high either.


Ironically the additional power seems to have caused some teething issues for early adopters, with reports of some GO blu units emitting unacceptable levels of amplification noise, especially with sensitive IEMs. In my own testing, I’ve found no such issues with my particular unit and my IEMs, so it’s likely more a factor of quality control than it is a design flaw, or at least I hope that’s the case.

Other amplification features making their way into GO blu’s spec list include DirectDrive, which eliminates the coupling capacitor typical in many circuit designs to provide a more direct signal path that, supposedly, helps further eliminate noise and reduce distortion. The capacitors that are included are sourced from TDK and MuRata, much like those used in ifi’s more expensive desktop-grade devices.

Also adapted from other iFi designs is analogue DSP functionality, which in GO blu take the form of XBass and XSpace effects. XBass, as the name suggests, helps fill out the lower octaves with a subtle dose of extra weight, an effect I can heartily recommend even if you’re using bass-savvy IEMs or headphones. XSpace is less convincing, adding a touch of air and pseudo ‘space’ to the sound, which could be useful if you’re using intimate-sounding headphones. You can also use both effects together, but I tend to just leave XBass on and forget about it.

The last arrow in GO blu’s sizeable quiver is a Qualcomm QCC 5100 Bluetooth controller. This brings GO blu up-to-date with the latest Bluetooth 5.1 receiver spec and supports almost every conceivable Bluetooth codec, including AAC, SBC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, aptX LL, LDAC, and LHDC/HWA. Conspicuous in its absence is Qualcomm’s newly- announced AptX Lossless codec, although I don’t believe there are any devices that support this codec at the time of writing.


Sound impressions

With so many features and so much power in such a miniature space, iFi has taken a leap of faith that all these moving parts, figuratively speaking, will click together to deliver a quality audio experience on the go. The combination of hi-res Bluetooth and 4.4mm output makes GO blu particularly potent for users of higher-end and higher-power IEMs and headphones.

I decided to test GO blu by using it exactly how I expect most people to use it: first, with Bluetooth and a smartphone, and second, wired to a laptop. All tests were done with a pair of Sennheiser IE 900 IEMs using the 4.4mm balanced output.

My playlist included tracks by Lana Del Rey, Beyries, Angel Olsen, Ane Brun, Max Richter, Def Leppard, Brandi Carlile, Britney Spears, Linda Ronstadt, Eagles, Lola Marsh, Cranberries, Carpenters, and a host of other obscure indie singer-songwriters I won’t list here. I mention these only because my taste in music will likely differ from yours, and it’s important to remember that my impressions will be biased to my preferences accordingly.


As a Bluetooth receiver

To be honest, I was skeptical about using Bluetooth for serious listening. While I’ve experienced exceptional power and quality from tiny dongles before (EarMen’s Sparrow comes to mind), this is the first time I’ve gotten to hear just how far we’ve come with wireless in the mix.

The Sony WF-1000XM4 true wireless IEMs are my go-to for ‘casual listening’, with a smooth, punchy and inoffensive sound I can listen to with ease all day long. But when I want a more involved listen with better quality throughout the playlist, I generally turn to more capable (and correspondingly more expensive) IEMs like the IE 900.

Unlike TWS, GO blu relies on Bluetooth for input only, since all the digital conversion and amplification happens internally. That makes a Bluetooth dongle very different to TWS IEMs, which rely entirely on the tiny DACs and amps built into each earpiece for sound processing. It’s a distinction I feel is important to make, in case you’re thinking there’s little difference between the two, even though they both use Bluetooth in the chain.

Pairing GO blu to an LG V30+ phone was a quick and simple process. Switching the blu on for the first time automatically puts it into pairing mode (denoted by alternating blue/red LEDs on the top panel). Once paired, it’s important to select ‘Best Quality’ under the pairing’s Bluetooth settings – if your phone doesn’t select that option by default – else you may get paired using AAC or worse, SBC.

Note that if you’re an iPhone user, AAC and SBC are your only options, so this only applies to Android users. Most modern Android phones should support the LDAC and/or LDHC codecs, so make sure that’s how you’re connected before proceeding. If you’re unsure which codec you’re paired with, double-click the button on the left panel, and a sexy voice will reveal the codec and bitrate (‘LDAC 96 kilohertz’ is what you want to hear).


My very first thought at hearing the opening verses of Lana Del Rey’s Video Games though GO blu, streaming over LDAC from my trusty LG, was a distinct sense of familiarity. This was not the sweet but smoothed-out sound of the Sony TWS IEMs; this was very much the same tone, same texture, same quality I was used to hearing from the IE 900 plugged directly to my phone, to the Sparrow, or to just about any other excellent, amplified source.

Instrument timbre is as good as I know the IE 900’s timbre to be, and layers beautifully with Brandi Carlile’s smoky vocals in The Story. Overall tonality is neutral with a hint of warmth, very much as I expected from an iFi device. This has been the ‘house sound’ since my first encounter with the venerable Micro iDSD more than four years ago, although I find the GO blu to be slightly more transparent and airier by comparison, if memory serves.

Male vocals are delivered just as deftly as female, Don Henley’s iconic performance of Hotel Californiaperformed live on the Eagles’ Hell Freezes Over a case in point. GO blu takes firm control of the IE 900’s powerful dynamic driver, pushing punchy, bouncy bass notes that hit with authority, and more complex passages like crowd noises and guitar duets are never muddied or overwhelmed, even though I can pick out a hint of smoothness that probably shouldn’t be there in some raspier vocals.

While not the most technical high-end IEM I own, the IE 900 is still very technically adept, with a generous stage, excellent layering and separation, and fairly precise imaging. To my ears none of these are hamstrung to any significant degree by GO blu as a Bluetooth dongle. It may not drive the IE 900 as precisely and expansively as the HiBy R8, for example, but the difference is far smaller than the $1800 difference in price between the two would suggest.


As a wired dongle

I have to take issue with iFi for ‘crippling’ the Cirrus DAC by limiting its maximum supported resolution to 24/96, not enabling native DSD support, and not even contemplating MQA support. I suspect these were conscious choices made by the company to either maximise battery life or reduce size and cost, but at the very least the very capable DAC should have been allowed to do its thing with PCM?

Regardless of the reasons, when I connected GO blu to my MacBook Pro, these limitations were clearly displayed in Audirvana’s control panel. However, it didn’t stop GO blu from continuing to show off with its crisp, clean delivery. Linda Ronstadt’s evocative vocals in Dreams to Dream made me tear up like a baby – as they always do when the delivery is spot on – and with GO blu, it was absolutely on the mark.

Switching to something more modern and poppy, Britney Spears’ If You Seek Amy was a bassload of fun, complete with sketchy sample quality and imperfectly recorded vocals. If nothing else this speaks to GO blu’s transparency as a source, because it’s exactly how I know this track to sound with the IE 900. The slight injection of warmth is welcome, and I could swear this is some of the best bass weight I’ve heard from the IE 900.

Replaying some of the tracks I heard wirelessly, I could try to make a distinction between the two, but I’d probably be off-target half the time. What struck me more than anything was how much fun it was to work and play with the MacBook Pro delivering insanely good sound quality with nothing more than a little dongle dangling from the USB port. I could AB and pick out minor differences here or there, but really, why?

It’s not all roses though. For example, I struggled with figuring out how which device – GO blu or MacBook – ultimately controlled volume. Turning the volume of the ChronoDial changes the volume on the Mac, but sliding the volume up or down in Audirvana leaves the ChronoDial setting as-is. Also, I can only raise the volume about 10-15 percent on Audirvana before the IE 900 becomes too loud. There’s probably a setting in Audirvana or the Mac itself that I haven’t studied properly, but out of the box, it’s unnecessarily complicated compared to Bluetooth mode.

Also, it seems I can’t pause/play or skip tracks using the ChronoDial when in wired mode. I’m not sure that’s even an option, but if it’s not, that’s one less useful feature you lose when you wire up.


Closing thoughts

GO blu appeared out of the blue, so to speak, not really aligning with anything iFi has done in the past, and yet when you use it, it makes perfect sense. It’s the ultimate expression of iFi’s portable DAC/amp philosophy – an ultraportable device that gives up very few features iFi users almost expect by now, like analogue DSP, sophisticated amplification, and a well-tuned, well-specced DAC untethered from the desktop and able to drive almost any mainstream headphone.

The killer feature, for me, is Bluetooth. It’s such an obvious feature I’m actually surprised so few of the many dongles flooding the market right now actually offer it. Considering how good GO blu sounds in Bluetooth mode – so good, in fact, that wiring it up makes a small but arguably insignificant difference to sound quality – and it almost doesn’t make sense that dongles don’t offer wired mode as an option instead of default.

That said, GO blu isn’t perfect either. While my own unit, with my IEMs, has no audible hiss or hum during playback or between tracks, but there are enough reports out there that suggest it’s not ideal for all IEMs, and that QC could be an issue. It also lacks many features that iFi have either purposefully withheld to optimise battery life and performance, or perhaps ‘cleverly’ withheld so as not to cannibalise other products. After all, if they gave us IEMatch and their famous Burr Brown DSD-capable DAC, there wouldn’t be much sense in spending twice as much on a device twice the size and harder to carry around, right?

But cynicism aside, I’m excited by GO blu, even if it is version one-point-oh. It’s already ‘better’ than any other dongle I’ve used by virtue of its ultimate Bluetooth portability and infectiously-good sound quality. It’s well made and seems to be fairly stable, and with any luck, iFi will see fit to add to the current features with future firmware updates. Best of all, it takes the IEMs I know and love, and drives them with a steady hand, infusing its own very subtle character but really just allowing them to do what they do best.

I can think of no better endorsement than the fact that, for two weeks, I’ve been using a $200 dongle instead of a $2000 DAP and haven’t for a minute felt poorer for it. GO blu is an easy recommendation from me.

Full disclosure: HiBy sent me a review sample of the RS6 in exchange for my honest feedback and a comprehensive review. No other expectation was made of me, nor any deadlines set to deliver. They were also fast on the draw to sort out some technical issues that befell my particular unit, and I’d like to extend a special mention and thank you to @Joe Bloggs who was instrumental in making it happen. That said, the opinions expressed in this review – for better or worse – are entirely my own.

If you haven’t read my first impressions overview of the RS6, please take a few minutes to do so now, as I’ll try not to repeat too much of what I already wrote.



Preface

Without pulling any punches, the HiBy RS6 heralds a new dawn for DAPs.

It is the first-ever DAP built on relatively current hardware and an open Android software platform that features a fully discrete non-oversampling resistor ladder (R2R) DAC. This is a significant technical achievement given the inherent difficulty of engineering discrete R2R technology into a device the size of a deck of cards – especially considering all the other components that need to fit in alongside the actual DAC.

But overcoming technical hurdles is one thing; what most DAP buyers care about is how good it sounds, and how well it performs the various tasks a modern Android DAP should be able to perform. In that regard, the achievement is arguably even more impressive, because frankly, the RS6 aces both.

You may already be familiar with other HiBy DAPs like the R8 and R6 2020, both of which have essentially the same hardware and software platform (other than the new R2R-related stuff), in which case feel free to skim over the big chunk of the review that covers the software, and make your way to the Sound Impressions section.

But if you’re entirely new to Android DAPs in general and HiBy in particular, I encourage you to read through the Setup and Software and Personalising the RS6 sections in more detail, as I feel that’s where a large part of the value of the RS6 ‘experience’ resides. We can always debate the importance of the experience of using a DAP later, but in my opinion, it goes hand-in-hand with sound quality and IEM pairing.



Introducing the RS6

The RS6 is the first in a new series of DAPs based on HiBy’s so-called ‘DARWIN’ architecture. I’m not sure why that particular name was chosen, or what it stands for, but I assume it’s meant to evoke the idea of evolution. While R2R is not new, and in fact predates the more commonly used Delta Sigma DACs used in most modern DAPs, DARWIN is less about R2R and more about the flexibility and configurability of the system as a whole.

DARWIN’s biggest selling point seems to be how easily it allows users to tweak the sound to their preference. This is enabled by a series of technologies, including:

A 256-tap adjustable finite impulse response (FIR) filter. This is the core technology used to configure different aspects of sound, including noise-shaping filters, oversampling of the input signal, and tweaking the sound to suit different brands and makes of IEMs. In a nutshell, it provides a nifty way of tweaking the sound with various filters without any loss in sound quality.

Switchable Non/Oversampling. The ability to convert digital signals to analogue sounds without oversampling is – theoretically at least – the most accurate way to preserve the musicality of what you’re hearing, for a more, er, analogue presentation.

DSD bypass for native DSD decoding. By their very nature, R2R DACs cannot process 1-bit DSD signals (that’s the preserve of Delta Sigma DACs). Most R2R DACs either don’t provide any support for DSD formats, or internally convert DSD to PCM before sending them to the DAC for processing.

The RS6 has a separate dedicated 1-bit DSD processor that natively handles DSD files before sending them to the amplification stage for output. Whether or not it completely bypasses all R2R circuitry is unclear. Most playback software will also allow you to convert DSD to PCM on the fly, and therefore make full use of the R2R DAC and its features. I’ve done some testing to at least validate what I’m hearing in the Sound Impressions section below.


Everything else about the RS6’s software platform is basically a copy/paste of the Delta Sigma-based R6 2020 released last year. This includes:

• Full 16x hardware-based MQA support, the highest MQA level of any current DAP;
• HiBy’s Direct Transport Architecture (DTA), which now includes Android bypass for bitperfect output via USB;
• HiBy OS, a highly-optimised UI and underlying OS based on Android 9 with full support for Google Play Services; and
• HiByLink, which gives you full control of HiBy Music software via the same software on your smartphone.

Powering these technologies is the same hardware platform that remains, at the time of writing, the fastest available on any DAP at any price:

• Snapdragon 660 SoC, based on a 2.2GHz 8-core Kryo 260 CPU and an Andreno 512 GPU,
• 4GB RAM and 64GB solid-state internal storage;
• Dual wideband 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi;
• Bluetooth 5.0 (transmitter and receiver) with UAT, LDAC and AptX HD support, among others; and
• Full-speed USB 3.1 connectivity.

Externally the RS6 is a facsimile of the R6 2020, at least by way of form factor, screen, and input/output ports:

• 1080P (443ppi) 4.97-inch IPS screen;
• 3.5mm single-ended and 4.4mm balanced headphone ports and a separate set of matching size line-outs;
• USB-C power and data port;
• 4500mAh battery (up to 8 hours playback, less when playing back hi-res files and DSD);
• Angled back, pause and previous buttons;
• LED indicator that changes colour based on charging state and playback bitrate; and
• Micro-SD card slot supporting cards up to 2GB.

It also features the same knurled volume dial on top of the player, which I must say is irritatingly small and fiddly, especially with the leather case in place. At least the dial turns with discernible clicks, unlike the R8’s smooth yet somewhat laggy volume dial.


What has changed with the RS6 is the build material, switching from the R6’s aluminium frame to a copper or copper alloy material supposedly better suited to heat dissipation. The copper has been plated in a rose gold finish that at first was a bit too feminine for my liking, but over time has grown on me. I still prefer the all-black matte finish on the R8 though. One result of the switch is an increase in weight to 315g, about 100g heavier than the R6 2020 but still significantly lighter and slimmer in dimensions than the R8. If you’re after a pocketable DAP, the RS6 will fit very nicely indeed.

Both the back and front of the RS6 are made from Corning Gorilla Glass to prevent accidental scratches, but HiBy provides pre-installed screen protectors on both sides just in case. The back also features a new carbon fibre inlay pattern, which good as it looks, disappears the minute the leather case slips on.

Speaking of which, HiBy includes a free tan-coloured leather case that appears to be slightly better designed than the cases provided for the R6 2020 and R8, but not nearly as nice as the limited edition Dignis case supplied with early editions of the R8. I got my unit with an emerald green case that HiBy sells separately for $80, which is probably worth it if, like me, you prefer the green to the tan (though I admit $80 for a case is excessive).

There’s also a much cheaper ($22) third-party aftermarket silicone case that’s become popular among R6 2020 users and which is said to provide a better grip and an overall better fit. I’ve ordered one myself from here, although it hadn’t arrived at the time of writing.

The only other accessories in the box are two cables: a USB-C to USB-A charging and data cable, and a custom HiBy USB-C to coaxial cable for digital output to an external DAC. Both cables look to be of very high quality indeed, as does the overall packaging presentation. I covered the unboxing in some detail in my first impressions overview so won’t repeat it here, except to say that you should take care when opening the box for the first time as the top part of the package (housing the cables) tends to fall straight out as soon as the two halves of the box are pulled apart.


Setup and Software

The RS6 is a full-featured open Android DAP, meaning it’s based on the same software ecosystem that powers most modern smartphones. While it’s not a smartphone, and isn’t intended to be used as one, it can perform many of the same functions, using the same apps.

The first time you switch on the RS6 you’ll be asked to specify a language, then a time zone, and a few seconds later, after sitting through an all-new DARWIN bootup animation, you’re in.

The landing page, also adorned in DARWIN-themed regalia, is fairly spartan. At the bottom of the screen is a launch bar with five icons – not your usual Android icons, but rather HiBy’s customized Darwin designs. From left-to-right there’s an icon for Snapdragon Gallery, File Manager, HiBy Music, Via (whatever that is), and Play Store.

Pressing the app drawer icon reveals four more preloaded apps: Calculator, Clock, Files and Settings. Swiping down from the top of the screen reveals the editable quick launch bar, with icons for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Auto Screen Rotation, 180-degree Screen Flip, Audio Settings and DARWIN Controller. Drag down and you’ll get a few more options, like screen brightness control and gain level settings. The only other visible information on the screen is the status bar on top, showing time, volume level, output used, Wi-Fi status, sample rate (when active), and battery level.

Of all these ‘apps’ and options, the only ones you actually need to configure the RS6 are Settings, Audio Settings and DARWIN Controller, so let’s briefly work through the different screens so you know what’s what before I flip the script and show you how to really take control of this DAP.


Settings

The RS6’s Settings section is where you get most of the configuration work done, connecting you to Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, setting battery limits, customizing display elements, and tweaking security and accessibility options, as just some examples. Without going section by section, here are the most important configuration options you should consider:

Wi-Fi (Network & Internet). Unless you’re not going to use the Play Store, or stream, or do anything with the RS6 that requires Wi-Fi – in which case I have to ask, why did you even buy a Wi-Fi-capable DAP? – connecting to a Wi-Fi network or hotspot is the first thing you’ll want to do, as it basically leads into everything that follows.

Bluetooth Settings (Connected Devices). If you need to pair Bluetooth headphones, this is where you go to pair them. Also, if you want to set up the RS6 as a Bluetooth DAC/receiver, Bluetooth Audio Input is what you’re after.

Default USB configuration (Connected Devices). This option lets you set up the RS6 as a USB DAC with the option of charging it at the same time, or disabling power input for a cleaner signal. You can also put the RS6 into file transfer mode for connecting it directly to a PC or Mac.


Apps & notifications. This is where you go to mess around with installed apps, set their notification status, and set default apps for the home page and web browsing, among other tasks. The only time I’ve had to use this option was to disable certain apps, like HiBy Music (more on this later).

Battery. This is an important option for one key setting: Max battery. It’s a good idea to set this to 80% or 85%, and as long as you’re charging the RS6 while it’s powered up, it won’t charge to more than the set limit. This sort of works, with my maximum setting of 80% usually exceeded by a few percentage points, but it’s no biggie. Just make sure Idle shutdown is switched off, or else the RS6 will go into sleep mode and charge to 100%.

Display. Feel free to mess around with your display options here, the most important of which is setting the Ambient Display to show New Notifications (useful for showing new track titles when they start playing while the screen is off), and keeping the LED light on when powered on (to see when playback is active or stopped while the screen is off).


Security & location. This is a strange place to put the toggles for activating or deactivating the volume dial and navigation buttons when the screen is locked, but it’s where you’ll find them. You can also set other useful options from here, like Lock screen preferences and gestures. I also enable Find My Device.

Accounts. This is where you can set up new Google accounts or activate existing accounts, useful if you’re going to use the Play Store. If you want to tweak specific account settings, go to the Google option a few rows down.

Gestures (System). The only thing you need to check here is that Double click wake up is on, considering how important this is for overall usability (trust me). Later on, I’ll show you how to enable double tap to lock screentoo, so stay tuned. Another feature I enable from here is Swipe up on Home button. This discards that ‘old’ 3-button navigation control in Android and replaces it with a more modern multifunction button and context-sensitive back arrow.


System updates (System). This is an important option for checking that you have the latest firmware installed, although if you’re regularly connected to Wi-Fi you’ll be automatically notified when a new firmware version becomes available.

Build number (About device). This is a trick I learned early on in my Android journey. Click on Build number 7 times to enable a ‘hidden’ Settings menu called Developer Options, from which you can set all manner of hidden attributes, like Bluetooth codecs, USB debugging, and other potentially useful features. If you don’t need these, leave it alone.

Audio Settings

Now that you have the Android system and usability functions set up to your liking, it’s time to configure the music playback options. You’ll find all the important options in the Audio Settings menu as follows:

Gain: low, medium, high. I’ve set all my DAPs to high by default as I find it gives me the most dynamic sound, at the small cost of less play on the volume dial. The RS6 doesn’t have the R8’s Turbo option, but I find that High Gain drives my IEMs louder than the High Gain + Turbo setting on the R8, even though the RS6 has half the power output of the R8.

Plugins: developed by our good friend @Joe Bloggs, you have the choice of downloading three plugins: Convolution (misspelled Convlution), Sound Field (misspelled Sound Filed – come on HiBy!), and Balance. Of these, I’ve only ever tried the Convolution filter, which lets you play around with various custom profiles on 44.1kHz PCM files. Personally, and with all due respect, unless you’re a serial tinkerer, leave these well alone.

MSEB: another genius piece of software written by Joe, this one is absolutely useful. It’s also the only system-wide EQ software I’m aware of for Android that works seamlessly with any application at any bit-depth, other than MQA (which can’t be EQ’d by design). If you’re unfamiliar with MSEB – or Magic Sound 8-Ball as it was previously known – it’s a unique take on EQ in that it allows you to tweak actual audio elements, like temperature, bass extension, note thickness and sibilance, rather than using preset frequency bands.


The latest version of MSEB gives you more granular control of each element, adds + and – buttons for easy one-click adjustments, lets you choose from three preset tuning styles, and also adds the ability to import custom tuning files from other users. In my experience, MSEB leaves sound quality intact while allowing for subtle to not-so-subtle changes to the sound. It’s particularly useful for when you have minor issues, like moderate sibilance, with one of your IEMs or on certain types of music, which can now be fixed with a few quick clicks, irrespective of the app or streaming service you’re using.

There are three other sliders in Audio Settings you might find useful:

DSD gain compensation, for adding volume to DSD playback, considering many DSDs are mastered at lower-than-normal volume (I set this to +6dB by default).

Channel balance, for adjusting left and right channel volume balance, useful if your hearing is stronger in one ear or the other, or if your IEM has a slight channel imbalance.

Max volume, for setting the maximum allowable volume. This is a critical setting, and I recommend everyone sets maximum volume to 50% to prevent accidentally swiping the on-screen volume slider to 100% with IEMs plugged in (I’m speaking from painful experience).

DARWIN Controller

This is an all-new menu option for the RS6 (and presumably future RS devices) and allows for some very interesting fine-tuning using adjustable filters in the audio chain. That said, other than switching between NOS and OS, I can’t hear any changes to the sound, even subtle changes, when changing any of these filter options. This includes:

Low-pass antialiasing filters, labeled Darwin Default and Darwin 1 through 10. Regardless of filter, the sound stays the same, or maybe my hearing just isn’t acute enough to resolve the change.

Atmosphere Enhanced. I have no idea what this does, but like the low-pass filters, makes no perceivable change to what I’m hearing.

Customized Presets. This offers selectable filters for 19 current and legacy IEMs from the likes of QDC, Softears, Unique Melody and 64 Audio, but try as I may I can’t hear the difference with my own IEMs, which aren’t on the list.


I can only assume HiBy will build more options into the DARWIN Controller as the platform evolves, but for now, I consider it a curiosity more than a valuable resource.

Personalising the RS6

Settings aside, the real power of an Android DAP is what it allows you to do with software, specifically apps. The RS6, like other current high-end open Android DAPs, lets you run basically any app you can think of, which I consider both a blessing and a curse.

It’s a blessing because I can pick and choose which apps to use for the most important DAP functions for my use case: music playback, streaming, and file management. But it’s also a curse because it unlocks a smorgasbord of compelling apps that I could be tempted to try, even though I don’t really need them.

In this section, I’ll cover some of the most important apps I use on the RS6. If you’ve read my R8 review you’ll already be familiar with these apps, which work in exactly the same way on the RS6. To save you time, the information below is lifted almost verbatim from that review.

Launcher

The first step to customizing the RS6 requires taking control of the landing page, lock screen and overall appearance of apps and notifications. The easiest way to do this is with a Launcher app. My Launcher of choice is Nova Launcher, available as either a free (ad-supported with limited functionality) or an inexpensive premium (Prime) version.

Nova gives me complete control of the RS6’s interface, from the apps and widgets that appear on the home screen, to the way notifications appear on the lock screen, and even how I group and arrange the apps on the player. Once installed, every single interface element is controlled from the Nova Settings app.

I won’t go into great detail here, other than to say your choices are almost limitless. From the shape, size and colour of icons (I use an excellent third-party icon pack called Lines to get that minimalist look) to the app drawer, launch bar, folders and other UI elements, it’s now all under your control. It also allows you to hide icons of apps that you don’t use, making for a far less cluttered UI.

One thing I will mention here is gestures. The RS6 already comes with the most useful of modern Android features, Tap to Wake (oddly called double click to wake in Settings), which as the name suggests allows you to double-tap the screen to wake it from sleep without having to press the power button. As with the R8, the RS6 doesn’t include the reverse feature, Tap to Sleep (or Lock), but fear not: a few clicks in Nova’s gestures options and it’s there.


File Manager

The RS6 is essentially an Android smart device, so why not use it like you would any other Wi-Fi-capable smart device? A basic file manager is included as standard (two actually), but you’ll want a more advanced app to take full advantage of the RS6’s capabilities. My rec here is Solid Explorer, which among other things, allows me to manage my entire music library wirelessly over my home network.

With Solid Explorer installed I never need to remove the SD card or attach the USB cable for file transfer. Everything I need to copy music and other files to or from my networked devices can be done wirelessly from the RS6. Solid Explorer gives me SMB access to my desktop Macs, workgroup access to Windows PCs, and remote access to NAS, FTP and Cloud storage, including Dropbox and other services. All of it can be done securely, and even encrypted, just as you would from any other computer.

With fast 5Ghz Wi-Fi support and a gigabit wireless mesh network at home, copying files to and from the RS6 is much faster than doing so the old USB 2.0 way, and almost as fast as connecting the RS6 directly with USB 3.1. I can also access and play music files remotely from Solid Explorer, but for that I use the remote playback capabilities of UAPP instead.


Music Player

Saving the best for last, no Android DAP should ever be without USB Audio Player Pro, or UAPP for short. UAPP helps me make the most of the RS6’s native audio hardware and networking features and turns it into a fully-fledged music playback and management system second-to-none. Since I also use UAPP on my smartphone, the experience is consistent and seamless, regardless of which device I use to listen to music, so much so that the first thing I did with the RS6 was disable HiBy Music in App settings (sorry HiBy).

The most important reason I use UAPP is its built-in support for the RS6’s audio hardware, bypassing the Android audio system and ensuring bitperfect output from headphones, line out and USB. It’s a very mature, very responsive and very stable application, with a clean, uncluttered, modern interface, including nifty features like background colours that match the cover art of the playing album, lock screen controls - including ambient display notifications on the RS6, and refined English-accurate menu and navigation structure.

It also features superb media management, including automatic updates to the main library when adding or removing music files, metadata editing, extensive album art support regardless of file type, and finely-tuned sorting capabilities, including Album Artist that many OEM music apps still seem to lack. And it’s fast, very fast. Everything from loading your library to gapless playback to scrolling and database updates is superbly optimized on the RS6.

UAPP integrates Tidal (with full 16x MQA support), Qobuz and YouTube Music, giving you access to your favourite streaming service with its native playback engine, though it doesn’t support offline downloads, and MQA support comes at an additional nominal fee. It also features advanced playback controls and effects, including optional ToneBoosters professional PEQ, Crossfeed and Morphit plugins, each as an optional add-on.

And lastly, it’s scalable, with built-in automatic support for external DACs that turns the RS6 into a high-end digital source for a desktop system. It also supports built-in DLNA and network music playback support, so you can access any of your local shares (including Plex libraries, in my case) directly from the UAPP interface.


Quick shout out to @Davy Wentzler, the creator of UAPP, for being highly responsive to my request to add native support for the RS6. Within 24 hours of speaking to him, he sent me a beta version of UAPP with RS6 support, which has now been added to the main retail version on Play Store.

Streamer

Most people choose Android DAPs for their streaming capabilities, and the RS6 is one of the very best in this regard. Not only does it support the highest level of hardware MQA decoding (16x) for Tidal users, it also supports bitperfect playback from hi-res streaming platforms like Qobuz, Apple Music and Amazon HD.

As a native Android player with built-in Play Store support, you have access to any of the major streaming apps out the box, including Tidal (which I personally use), Qobuz, Amazon HD, Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube Music, among others. If any of these apps support offline playback on Android, you’ll be able to use that feature with the RS6, and even choose where to store your offline files (internal storage or SD card).

One of the benefits of using a fairly modern Android version with a fast SoC is evident from how quickly the latest streaming apps load and run on the RS6, which to me feels even more responsive than the R8. Tidal is not the world’s fastest app, but the experience is as smooth and seamless as it is on my smartphone, which is to say excellent. Searches are instant, and scrolling through large playlists is lag-free.

Other useful apps

While I have other applications on the RS6 that can be used for music playback (including the native Tidal app and Plex), I generally don’t venture too far away from UAPP for most of my listening. Aside from UAPP, Plex is the only other app that requires the Google Play Store, which is why Play Store support is essential, for me, in an Android DAP. While Plex isn’t perfect (I mainly use it at home for TV and movie playback), it does have one invaluable music feature: remote support. Basically, this means that when using the Plex app on the RS6, I can access my entire 4TB+ music library wherever I am in the world.

Unfortunately, the Plex app doesn’t take advantage of HiBy’s DTA for bitperfect playback, downsampling all my hi-res FLACs and DSDs to 44.1 PCM, but that still beats not having access to my music library wherever I go. I do get full hi-res and DSD support, though, when I access my Plex library at home using UAPP’s built-in DLNA browser.

One last word about personalising the RS6: I can’t stress enough how big a difference a smooth, fast interfacemakes to the overall user experience. This was always a bottleneck with older, smaller Android DAPs, or DAPs with underpowered SoCs and older Android versions. That’s no longer the case with the RS6.


Sound Impressions

As I mentioned in my first impressions, and also in the R8 review, DAPs don’t have their own sound per se. They do, however, affect the sound of your IEMs or headphones by virtue of how much, or preferably how little, they emphasise different frequencies, but also by how resolving and technical they are.

This is important because it impacts the synergy between DAPs and different IEMs. A warm IEM paired with a ‘warm’ DAP (that either boosts midbass frequencies, relaxes treble frequencies, or both) could prove too much of a good thing. Conversely, the same DAP could be just the tonic to balance out a cooler or brighter-sounding IEM.

My personal preference is a transparent and technically capable DAP that doesn’t veer too far away from a neutral tonality across the FR and provides an even playing field for almost all IEMs. That way, I get to pick the ‘flavour’ of sound I want by picking IEMs with certain tonal characteristics, knowing that the DAP I plug them into won’t change them too much.

With that in mind, let’s discuss where the RS6 sits on the spectrum. Note that all impressions were made using the RS6 in high gain mode, with a Sennheiser IE 900 and Empire Ears Legend EVO plugged into the 4.4mm balanced output. I’ll discuss both these pairings throughout, and also compare the tonality and technical ability of the RS6 with the R8. The RS6 was ‘burned in’ for 150 hours prior to testing.

For a more comprehensive comparison between the RS6 and other DAPs, and notes on a wider variety of IEM pairings, keep an eye open for @twister6's review here.


Tonality

The RS6 is not a neutral DAP. There, I said it. While I haven’t heard the R6 2020 for myself, I did own the R6 Pro, which had some power to its tuning but was overall a balanced sounding DAP. While the RS6 is also relatively balanced, it does emphasise some frequencies more than others.

I’m hearing the RS6 to have a prominent bass lift, centred around the lower-midbass frequencies, and also a dominant upper midrange that sits a few notches above neutral. There’s also something happening in the treble region that’s adding more sparkle to certain high-pitched instruments like bells, chimes and higher-register strings than I hear with the R8. This gives the RS6 a warmer, slightly thicker sound than I’m used to with other DAPs, but with plenty of clarity through the midrange and treble. It’s not a veiling thickness, in other words.

The bass and midrange emphasis was initially more apparent out the box, before I had time to burn-in the player for a few days, but even after burn-in I could still hear the prominence in these regions, albeit far less abrasively. For example, basslines on tracks I know well, and which are evenly presented on the IE 900, were more apparent with the RS6, so Katie Melua’s Red Balloons had a weight and rhythm to its thick and lustrous bassline that was more dominant than usual. Similarly, Jillette Johnson’s edgy vocals on Bunny were a touch edgier here, the vocals themselves brought more forward in the mix.

To be clear, I’m not saying any of this in a negative way, because while the IE 900 is presenting with the same balanced sound I love it for, its energy is turned up a notch, and some vocals that are subtly recessed with other players are far less so with the RS6.

Conversely, switching IEMs to the mid-forward and bass-emphasised EVO tips the scales too far on some tracks. Anything with an aggressive midrange or an already-compressed cacophony of instruments, like Seven Lions’ Island (featuring Nevve) or Daft Punk’s Contact, both of which are borderline edgy on EVO already, are fatiguingly so with the RS6 (even though the latter was recorded far more proficiently than the former, it must be said).

This is where the synergy I spoke of earlier comes into play. The RS6 pairs up more agreeably – and in some instances preferably – with the IE 900, but less so with EVO. Of course, that’s just my perception, and you might find the extra energy with both IEMs more to your liking. The point I’m making is the RS6 is changing how I hear these IEMs compared to how I hear them with my reference DAP (the R8), but not always in a bad way. EVO still sounds great with most of my library on the RS6, as does the Legend X it replaced.

If I were to graph the RS6’s tonal ‘shape’ it would be a flat W, with the bass and midrange upticks slightly longer than the treble’s, but overall flatter than a prominent W-shaped IEM tonality. It’s a rich sound that pulls out enjoyable bass texture and kick-drum ‘kicks’ in tracks like James Gillespie’s What You Do, and adds more clarity and immediacy to many vocal performances.

Where the RS6 excels, to my ears, is vocal purity and realism. There’s a sweetness in the vocals of almost every track on Lana Del Rey’s masterpiece Norman screw*** Rockwell! that I haven’t heard with other DAPs, not even the R8, and as good as she sounds with both IE 900 and EVO on other sources, she’s absolutely sublime on the RS6.

This could well be the analogue nature of the R2R sound at play, and if so, is reason alone to pick the RS6 over other players in this price range, especially if you’re fan of sweet and sultry female vocals. Just be mindful of IEMs that present female vocals as forward bordering on shouty, because the RS6 won’t do those IEMs any favours, at least not without some judicious EQ (-3dB at 3kHz does the trick for me, thanks @MatW).

Overall I can describe the RS6’s tonality as warm but clear, full but not overly thick, and well extended at both ends. It’s not a light and airy sound, so if that’s what you’re after, best look elsewhere. But if it’s lushness, texture and bigger note weight you’re after, give the RS6 a listen.


Technicalities

With a midrange and low-end emphasis, the RS6 presents a natural but not overly-wide or spacious soundstage. I wouldn’t call it intimate, though it certainly can be with an intimate IEM, but it won’t close in your already-wide IEMs if that’s a concern. I also wouldn’t call it compressed – contrasty is a better word. There’s slightly less space between notes and instruments, but not in a thick and sludgy way, and not because of any added noise in the signal, but because the sound is pushed warmer and fuller than neutral.

Playing Agnes Noble’s The Curse, I notice how the opening instruments are set closer in from the extremities than they are with the R8, using both my IEMs. Agnes’s voice is also notably off centre and slightly to the left of the microphone with the R8, but is positioned more centrally with the RS6, at least relative to the smaller projected space.

The track itself plays with a dark background, warmed up slightly by the bass and the lushness of the vocals. The signature cellos in this track seem to purr and vibrate, adding a lovely texture and authentically analogue veneer to the presentation. Stage-wise, I’m sitting about five rows further back with the R8, while the RS6 brings me up close and personal to the performance.

I’m not hearing any hiss or fuzziness from the noise floor with any of my IEMs, even on high gain. Some consider noise an issue with HiBy DAPs in general, but I don’t hear it. That said, anyone using ultra-sensitive IEMs (like anything from Campfire Audio) would be best served with a lower gain level, at which point I can’t imagine noise ever becoming an issue.

The RS6 is very resolving, and at least on par for what I’d expect from a DAP at this price. The slight treble emphasis plays a part here, not in creating false detail through added brightness as some DAPs tend to do, but rather by adding focus and proximity to the shimmer and ‘ping’ of some high note instruments. The guitar plucks in Jethro Tull’s The Waking Edge are delicately sharp and very lifelike, while on other tracks, like Holly Throsby’s What Do You Say?, I’m hearing subtle guitar plucks far more clearly than I do on the more reserved and spacious R8.

This doesn’t mean the RS6 is necessarily more detailed than the R8, and in fact I’m hearing more subtle details in the R8’s vocals than I do with the RS6 despite the latter’s mid-forwardness, so it’s likely a combination of different emphasis on certain sounds, and also more overall contrast from the RS6, which tends to put greater emphasis on lower and higher-frequency sounds in particular.

Where the RS6 does fall short of its big brother flagship is in imaging and layering, and specifically how distinctly it places and separates elements on the stage. The subtle backing vocals in BEYRIES’ Alone, for instance, are easier to pick out with the R8 than they are with the RS6, and while the futuristic synth effects in Pink Floyd’s On The Run are well imaged on both players, they follow a larger and more precise left-to-right arc on the R8.

Overall I’d say the RS6 is excellent technically, though not quite at the same level as the flagship DAPs. It won’t diminish the technical ability of your IEMs, but it won’t enhance them either. The emphasis is more on tonality and overall musicality – if your definition follows mine – rather than pure technicalities. This is not an analytical sound, far from it, but then that’s exactly what I’d expect, and want, from an R2R-based player.


More on Sound…and Features

In the course of writing this review I’ve had a chance to engage with several users – and potential users – of the RS6, who asked a variety of not-quite-mainstream questions about sound quality and features. I’ll try and address a few of those in this section, before wrapping up.

DSD playback quality

As mentioned earlier in the review, the RS6 supports native DSD playback by using a separate DAC circuit specifically designed to decode DSD signals, something an R2R DAC can’t do without first converting from DSD to PCM. This means the playback chain for DSD is different to that of PCM audio, and so the question was rightly asked: how does it affect DSD playback quality?

That’s a difficult question to answer, but going back and forth between a native DSD (.dsf) version of Norah Jones’s Come Away With Me, and a bitperfect PCM conversion of the same track (.flac) does reveal subtle but audible differences. Whether or not you prefer the sound of the native DSD file or the converted flac file is very subjective, but what I’m hearing is slightly smoother, slightly warmer playback of the PCM file, compared to a cooler, more ‘precise’ rendition of the native DSD file.

Specifically, I’m hearing Norah’s voice to be sweeter with less grit in the PCM playback, and a touch edgier and more forward in the DSD version. The bass guitar strum at the bottom of the stage that accompanies the intro is warmer and fuller in the PCM version, and less pronounced in the DSD version, and the faint guitar plucks in the right channel are also more obvious in the DSD version while still present but less prominent in PCM.

You’d have to sample a variety of different DSD tracks and conversion formats to determine how these subtle – and I do stress they’re subtle – differences impact your perception and enjoyment of the music, but for all intents and purposes I enjoyed both, and without comparing side-by-side repeatedly probably wouldn’t have picked out most of the differences myself. There’s no doubt the differences are there, however.

RS6 as a DAC

Another point that came up in discussion was how the RS6 performs as a DAC for an external source, like a PC, and as a source for an external DAC.

The RS6 is one of the few DAPs with the ability to function as a wireless or wired DAC, via Bluetooth or USB respectively. As a Bluetooth DAC it can receive files in ‘hi-res’ Bluetooth formats like LDAC (990kbps) or HiBy’s own UAT format (1200kbps), making it essentially transparent as a DAC for redbook and some hi-res files, even though Bluetooth is inherently lossy. It can also transmit to Bluetooth headphones and IEMs using LDAC and UAT, which results in much-improved performance over standard SBC and AAC Bluetooth codecs, which I verified by casting LDAC Bluetooth from the RS6 to my Sony XM4 LDAC-capable TWS IEMs.

As a USB DAC the RS6 can not only decode files in any format from an external source, but also be set to receive input power while doing double duty as a DAC, meaning you don’t have to use up the battery while the RS6 is plugged into your PC. As a source, the RS6 can also output bitperfect audio to any external DAC, in all the formats it supports, including DSD.

This makes the RS6 extremely versatile, both as a standalone DAP, but also as an integral source or playback component in a computer system or larger hi-fi setup. The fact that it can also send and receive files wirelessly at the highest possible quality is just another arrow in its already well-stocked arsenal.

NOS vs OS

For most of this review, I’ve been referencing the RS6 from the viewpoint of its NOS sound quality. That’s because this is my review and I get to pick and choose how I write it. Jokes aside, this doesn’t hide the very obvious fact that the RS6 is not an exclusively NOS device, far from it. Indeed the most sophisticated hardware and software programming for DARWIN went into the creation of a 16X oversampling engine that, for many listeners, will provide a preferable sound profile to NOS.

I spent a fair amount of time testing different tracks while jumping between NOS and OS modes, and honestly the differences I picked up were subtle at best. Bass is ever so slightly richer and more saturated in NOS mode, and vocals ever so slightly crisper in OS, but going back and forth and switching tracks and musical styles and one could easily get confused between one and the other.

My experience with full-size desktop R2R DACs is that oversampling can have a far more dramatic effect on the music, bringing it closer to the precision and character of many Delta Sigma DACs in the process. The best DACs I used offer a gradual ramping up in OS levels, allowing you to gradually introduce the effect of oversampling, or bypass it altogether. I’m sure HiBy will develop these features further, and I expect to see more obvious differentiation between the two modes in future firmware revisions of the RS6 and even more so in future DARWIN designs.


Verdict and Closing Thoughts

When I decided to switch from desktop head-fi to IEMs, I was consciously aware that it meant giving up the type of sound I’d grown accustomed to over the years: the sound of a natural, earthy and authentic discrete NOS R2R DAC.

Over the years I’d come to learn and then appreciate the differences between Delta Sigma and R2R DACs in the same way that people differentiate between most things in the hobby. For me, the preference was squarely in the ‘measures poorly but sounds great’ world of R2R versus the ‘measures well but sounds flat’ world of Delta Sigma.

I’m exaggerating and generalising here, but the picture I’m hopefully painting is one where R2R – and specifically discrete NOS R2R – is synonymous with a rich, warm, comfortable sound that doesn’t exaggerate detail or technicalities yet still gives you an accurate and holistic representation of the music itself.

Until the RS6 was announced earlier this year, discrete R2R in DAP form was the preserve of the well-heeled. As far as I know, the P6 Pro from Luxury and Precision, at three times the price of the RS6, was the only currently selling discrete NOS R2R DAP available, with other R2R DAPs using chip-based R2R solutions instead. Cayin’s R01 discrete R2R board for the N6ii DAP, which preceded the RS6 and on which the R2R DAC in the RS6 is based, does not feature NOS support either.

Where the RS6 changes the game, so to speak, is not its R2R credentials as much as it is the combination of R2R and a modern Android platform. In the RS6 we have the world’s first, and fastest, open Android DAP with full streaming support, high-speed wireless and Bluetooth functionality, and fully discrete, NOS R2R audio hardware.

It could be the start of a trend, or just an anomaly in DAP design in response to the audio chip shortages currently befalling the industry (here’s hoping it’s the former). But nothing changes the fact that if you want the very latest in DAP features and performance along with a healthy dose of R2R, the RS6 is currently – and for the foreseeable future – your only option.

And honestly, it’s a great option. With the same tested, proven and stable software ecosystem as HiBy’s R6 2020 and R8 DAPs, the same design features, and the same powerful hardware, the only thing the RS6 really changes – and significantly so – is its sound profile. Gone is the reference sound of the R8; this is a more lively, punchy take on music delivery, with all the pros and cons. It sacrifices broad synergy for unapologetic energy, and trusts there are enough sliders and buttons for anyone to dial in their ‘perfect sound’ with their preferred IEMs.

Indeed the new DARWIN architecture is as exciting for its potential as it is for anything it tangibly delivers today with the RS6. Not only did HiBy opt for an entirely new sound system, using R2R in a radical departure from all its previous DAPs, but it built an entire software and hardware system around it, allowing for future expansion and configuration options with huge upside potential and very little downsides.

The RS6 is, in and of itself, a polished and capable performer already, even if it’s only version 1.0 of the new series. Technically it performs just short of flagship level, and yet has some of its own technical strengths over the flagships. Tonally it’s a departure from most other DAPs I’ve personally heard myself, with a warmer, fuller, more immediate sound that demands attention, especially so with strident or aggressive music and IEMs. But it also has a vocal sweetness and realism that belies the analogue nature of its NOS sensibilities.

Does enough to command a doubling in price over the virtually identical R6 2020? Personally, it’s no contest, given my affinity for R2R, and, now that I’ve spent some quality time with it, my affinity for its sound. Whether or not it ‘betters’ the R8 is a more difficult question to answer, and I admit the jury is still out as far as my personal preferences are concerned.

For me, a great DAP is the sum of all its parts – features, performance, stability, design, UX and sound quality. In my experience, few other DAPs comes close to the RS6’s combination of features, flexibility and sound quality, and no other DAP offers all of that plus R2R in one sweet and shiny copper package. Highly recommended.

The HiBy RS6 is available direct from Musicteck here: https://shop.musicteck.com/collections/hiby/products/hiby-rs6?variant=39597894795326

Full disclosure: Empire Ears sent me an EVO sample in exchange for a full and honest review. It’s not mine to keep, and if I want it, I need to buy it, like everyone else. The views and opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Also: The review features an exclusive Q&A with @Jack Vang about the motivation, challenges, and design of EVO, so you can enjoy some insights direct from the source. I’ve included Jack’s comments as ‘spoilers’ throughout the review, so you can choose to read it with or without his input.


First, some context

Basshead.

It’s a loaded word that, in the not-too-distant past, was used to distinguish ‘purist’ audiophiles from those who enjoyed blood and thunder with their music. IEMs with boosted bass were generally relegated to cheaper models, and the higher up the ladder one climbed, the more reigned in the bass seemed to be. If you wanted bass, went the saying, get a pair of Beats.

But then, one fine day in 2017, Jack and Dean Vang and their Empire Ears crew unleashed an IEM so confounding, so contrary to the norm, that it literally turned heads and had audiophiles of every ilk giggling like schoolgirls caught in a lie. Legend X, a derivative of Empire’s previous Legend lineage, almost singlehandedly upended the commonly-held notion that big bass had no place in civilized audiophile company.

It became, quite literally, a legend in name and reputation, and still holds sway today as one of the very best ways for serious audiophiles to have their bass fix and eat their Diana Krall/Eagles/Vivaldi cake too.

Still, despite the inclusion of higher-end technicalities and sophisticated tuning, Legend X wasn’t for everyone. Out the box with stock tips and cable, it was unashamedly a big bass sound first, refined listen somewhat distant second.

Over time, audiophiles started to find ways to fine-tune Legend X to their liking. They discovered it was very amenable to tip and cable rolling, and combined with neutral sources and some healthy burn-in time, it delivered a more balanced sound with bass still very much the foundation, but with its inherent technical strengths brought to the fore – like excellent resolution, a comfortably-wide soundstage, and a more open midrange.

Legend X was usurped as Empire Ears’ flagship long before the current flagship, Odin, was unveiled at the height of the 2020 pandemic, but even then, Dean and his team were quietly working on a new IEM that would take the very best of the technically-gifted Odin, and marry it with the raw power and sex appeal of Legend X. It’s an evolution of everything that the X began, matured and transformed, and appropriately called Legend EVO.



Introducing EVO

The headline feature that separates EVO from every other Empire Ears IEM before it is the all-new Weapon X full-range (5 – 35Hz) bone conduction driver. Using Japanese-made materials and a strong neodymium magnet, coupled with anti-resonance technology that minimises vibration diffusion, Weapon X affects and enhances EVO’s sound in different ways, from adding impact and physical vibration to the sub-bass response, to padding the air and volume in midrange notes and infusing a tweeter-like physicality in the highs.

This is a very different take on bone conduction than we’ve seen in other IEMs, with the main vibration channel working through a dedicated solid bore that connects Weapon X to the nozzle tip. It also means foam tips and very soft silicone won’t be as effective as solid core silicone tips for the bone conduction effect, something to keep in mind when pairing tips with EVO.


Weapon X is not the only new addition to EVO’s internals. The two Weapon IX woofers that made Legend X famous have been upgraded with the new Weapon IX+ drivers first seen in Odin, only this time they’ve been allowed to deliver their full, unbridled power, rather than tuned to neutral as in Odin. The same five custom-made BA drivers used for the midrange and treble frequencies have also been included, but re-tuned for EVO. Lastly, EVO sports an all-new nine-way proprietary synX crossover circuit that was designed specifically to work with Weapon X’s full range frequency extension in EVO’s Dual Conduction design.

Also present is Empire’s Anti Resonance Compound (A.R.C) coating that’s meant to eliminate internal resonances from those giant woofers inside the confined IEM shell. Build quality, as always, is top shelf, with the same seamless shell molding that makes Empire’s IEMs lightweight, comfortable, and highly resistant to shocks, though I’m still always ultra-careful bordering on pedantic when handling resin shells.

Presentation, design and fit

If you’re familiar with any of Empire Ears’ latest releases, from their ‘entry level’ Bravado Mk II to the aforementioned flag-bearers, then you’ll also be familiar with the attention to detail that goes into the retail packaging and presentation of these IEMs. EVO eschews some of the fancier elements – like the pull-out tray – and downsizes the box too, making it less bulky but also more environmentally friendly, while retaining the same solid appeal and obvious brand identity.

Gone is the magnetic foldover, replaced by a sturdy lid that lifts off to reveal some branded documentation and, beneath it, Empire’s exceptionally solid Pandora storage case, emblazoned with the all-new EVO logo. The first tranche of EVO preorders will receive, in place of Pandora, a custom Vishnu Leather case of similar dimensions, which may or may not be preferable, depending on your penchant for leather or metal.

Also breaking from tradition, EVO’s earpieces are no longer displayed in foam cut-outs and are instead shipped inside a small mesh pouch – separated down the middle to keep the earpieces from rubbing against each other – inside the case. Mine were sent already attached to the cable, so I assume retail versions ship with the cable pre-attached too – unless yours was shipped sans cable due to some unforeseen production issues at the time of launch.

On first removing the earpieces from their bubble wrap pouch (I didn’t get the mesh pouch with my review unit), I was struck by how similar-but-different they looked to Legend X. Made of solid resin, the shells are mostly opaque, polished to a brilliant piano black finish and coated with clear lacquer resin. EVO is notably bigger and bulkier than Legend X, but also translucent in parts, giving you a clear view of the Weapon X drivers when the light hits the shells just right. The left shell features the new EVO logo – and did I mention how much I like the new EVO logo? – while the right features the same Empire Ears ‘Wings’ logo that adorns recent Legend X iterations.


Size-wise they remind me of the new Bravado shells, only bigger, with slightly longer and thinner nozzles than Legend X. My main concern, prior to receiving EVO, was that the nozzle would be too long and thick for my smaller ears and canal openings. I personally dislike deep-insert IEMs, so it was with some trepidation that I picked the smallest-size Final E-type stock tips and, after saying a little prayer, carefully fitted EVO for the first time. To my surprise, the smallest tips were too small, and moving up a size allowed me to get a good seal – denoted by the customary ‘pop-pop’ of the Weapon IX+ driver flex – with a fairly shallow and reasonably comfortable fit.

Despite the better-than-expected fit, these are not the move around, walk outside, use for gym-type IEMs, at least not for me. Even with comfortable tips I still get some pressure, after a while, just inside my ear canal, and if I don’t tilt the earpieces just right, I can feel them pressing against the sensitive parts of my outer ear. You could argue this means the fit isn’t perfect, and I agree; they require careful positioning to seat just right. They’re large, cumbersome, and there’s no getting away from the feeling of having two large, intrusive objects stuffed in your ears, at least initially, and that feeling does go away after a while.

That said, they’re comfortable enough for how I use them, seated or lying down, on a couch or in bed, taking in an hour or two of quality listening. If you’re anything like me, they won’t work for all-day listening, but then few IEMs do. If, on the other hand, you’re blessed with big ears and even bigger earholes, EVO should fit you just fine, and so, like everything else in this hobby, YMMV.

One other thing to note is that EVO sports dual tri-port vents, unlike Odin and Legend X’s single port, likely to accommodate the new Weapon X driver, or possibly because twin Weapon IX+ drivers pushing air at full tilt need more pressure relief than previous designs. Regardless of the reason, the added port means slightly less isolation, though in practice EVO isolates extremely well, and I literally can’t hear anything else in my surroundings once the music starts playing. As far as I can tell, it doesn’t leak any sound either.


Cable and accessories

The new made-for-EVO Genesis cable (nice one guys…Genesis, EVOlution, get it?) is a 4-wire, 24-gauge, pure OCC copper cable by PW Audio. It features the typical PW Audio angled ear-hook design, which I’ve always found to be very natural, and appears to be a well-made higher-end cable in the same vein as PW Audio’s Anniversary-series cables. It also sports PW Audio’s updated matte-black Y-split hardware and chin slider, though the slider is irritatingly too big for the wire gauge and slides loose most of the time.

Dean clearly had a target tuning in mind when he picked Genesis for the EVO pairing, but it’s not my personal pick for EVO. Genesis is not in the same league as Odin’s Stormbreaker, which is based on PW Audio’s ‘The 1960s’ 2-wire/4-conductor design, or my custom-made @doctorjuggles Cardas copper cable for that matter – though I can only vouch for the sound and ergonomic improvements of the latter. It’s also slightly stiffer than I’d like, and the decorative blue core that’s visible through the translucent PVC jacket doesn’t quite gel with the EVO’s sleek black-and-gold colouring for me.

Still, it’s good enough, with a throaty, full-bodied sound that’s awash with detail, consistent with Peter Wong’s copper cable mastery. It’s also the first genuine Pentaconn-terminated Empire Ears cable, a welcome move that will surely be mirrored by all serious IEM manufacturers in the near future.


Along with Genesis, Empire Ears provides the same set of Final E-type black silicone tips in five different sizes, as I may have mentioned earlier, which again are not my personal pick for EVO. While comfortable enough, I’m not a fan of the Final E’s penchant for boosted bass with attenuated treble, as I feel EVO – even though it’s inherently more balanced-sounding than Legend X – sounds better with tighter bass and a tip that helps clarify and smooth out the upper mids and treble. For the record, I prefer Acoustune’s AET07 tips, which I also use with Legend X.

Regardless of how comfortable you are with tip and cable rolling, I strongly suggest trying out different tips and cables with EVO. I find EVO fairly sensitive to sonic changes, mainly with tips but also with cables, and if you’re not completely sold on the sound after a sufficient burn-in period (more on this below), switching up accessories could be the difference between good and great for your preferences.


Sound impressions

Unlike some reviewers, I don’t have access to a large number of different sources with which to test my IEMs, and I generally prefer a close-to-neutral source, which currently takes the form of HiBy’s flagship R8 DAP. As such all the impressions below are based on this pairing only, with the R8 set to high-gain Turbo mode, as it is for all my IEMs.

Keep this in mind if you’re using more coloured sources, because this can skew EVO’s sound significantly, based on my discussions with other enthusiasts. For a more comprehensive appraisal of different source pairings with EVO, check out the ‘Source Pair Up’ section of @twister6's outstanding EVO review here.

Another thing to keep in mind is that EVO is much easier to drive than Legend X, or the single-driver Sennheiser IE 900 for that matter. Despite being only 1dB more sensitive than Legend X on paper (103dB for EVO vs 102dB for Legend X), it takes a full 10 clicks on the dial to volume match the two. Moreover, I find EVO’s bass to be significantly more powerful, from sub-bass through midbass, at a much lower volume than it takes to achieve the same bass levels with Legend X, and with EVO also being a more dynamic and resolving listen, this makes it much easier to listen at lower volumes, not to mention safer too.

Lastly, my impressions allow for a 100-hour-plus burn-in period, and I wouldn’t recommend any proper assessment of EVO’s sound until you’ve put your EVO through a similar process. Without sparking the usual burn-in debate, I can say with confidence that EVO sounded very different out the box than it does today.

Initially, I found the bass was quite boxy and not very nuanced, almost too ‘big’ in fact, but within days it tightened up and became more precise, without losing any of its initial impact. I also heard some hardness or brittleness, for want of a better word, in more mid-forward tracks with very busy upper-mid/lower-treble sections, and this also settled after burn-in, continuing to settle even more after a few weeks’ regular use.

As a side note, you’d be well within your rights to suggest that a $3,000+ IEM should not have to be ‘seasoned’ like this to reach its best possible level, but this isn’t unique to EVO or Empire Ears IEMs, nor is it uncommon to most high-end, precision audio gear, especially gear with moving parts and/or dynamic drivers.


Tonality

While it probably makes more sense to compare and contrast EVO’s sound characteristics to its ‘predecessor’, I’ll leave that for the ‘Select Comparisons’ section below and instead focus on how I hear EVO on its own merits.

To my ears, from the very first post-burn-in listen, EVO shirks any suggestion that it’s a gung-ho L-shaped bass-heavy IEM. Instead, I’m hearing a very well-balanced W-shaped tonality, with some added oomph in the bass department only when it’s called for in a track. Even then, the way Dean tuned the mids – especially the upper mids – to generally follow the Harman target curve, means the added clarity and quality of EVO’s midrange is never overpowered by the bass.

With lower mids and upper treble slightly more relaxed, though still well within touching distance of the curve, and the transition from upper mids to treble being fairly gradual, there are no parts of the FR that sound unnatural to me. Upper mids are more forward than I’m used to, but I’ve come to appreciate how this plays into the overall tuning, allowing for listening at lower volume levels without any loss of detail, despite my moderate‘cookie bite’ hearing loss (worth a Google, if you’re curious).

Even for a non-musician like myself, I can tell that EVO has been tuned with instrumental accuracy in mind. The timbre of live instruments, especially drums and guitars, seems very realistic to me, and I’m also liking how EVO presents the attack, fundamentals, and decay of piano strikes right across the frequency spectrum. It’s not a dry, clinical tuning, but rather more lifelike, as I’d expect to hear these instruments played by actual musicians in person.


Bass is unquestionably the star of the EVO show, however. The same way you buy a performance car for its horsepower, you buy EVO for its bass. Yes, it has much more than just bass to offer, but there’s no reason not to flaunt your superpower when you have one. It’s difficult to describe EVO’s bass with one word, because it’s got not one, not two, but three different drivers contributing to a multi-faceted, multi-layered, almost multidimensional range of lower frequencies that are felt as much as heard.

EVO extends lower into the sub-bass region than any other IEM and virtually any other headphone I’ve heard before. At frequencies this low, sub-40Hz, the bass is more a feeling – a rumble – than an auditory experience. Before EVO I couldn’t imagine an IEM replicating the sensation of feeling the bass in my body, like a life-size subwoofer, and yet on several occasions, I’ve had similar sensations with EVO.

Take James Blake’s Limit To Your Love for a spin, and EVO might just leave you feeling a little seasick. From 0:55 both sets of Weapon IX+ woofers are activated simultaneously in a wavy, warbly sub-bass rhythm that's difficult to describe but oh so delicious to experience. I’m convinced there’s some bone conduction magic happening here too, since the intensity is so focused and also sandboxed in the sub-bass region, with almost no bleed into the upper bass and lower midrange.

Working through my checklist of sub-bass test tracks, EVO hits every low note with authority, from the door slam (0:13) in Rosie Thomas’s Why Waste More Time, to the ghostly rumble (0:59 and 1:07) in Kristin Hersh’s Your Ghost, and the repeating boom (from 2:21 onward) in Lana Del Rey’s Video Games. These brief moments add so much gravitas to each of these tracks that I can’t imagine them otherwise.

Moving further up the bass shelf, EVO doesn’t have a perceptible midbass ‘hump’ like many ‘bassy’ IEMs, and the curve dips gradually downwards towards the lower midrange, keeping midbass elevated, more so than other monitors but still very much in check. For me, this serves two purposes: to retain the maximum slam and punch in the bass when called for in instruments like kick drums, but also prevent the mid-to-upper bass notes from ‘veiling’ the detail in the midrange.

There are some great tracks I use to test out how ‘thick’ an IEM sounds as a result of its midbass emphasis. Ingrid Michaelson’s delicate vocals in The Way I Am can sound muffled when there’s too much midbass in the meaty upright bass plucks in the intro, which continues as a constant bassline throughout the track. With EVO the plucks are indeed weighty – and also perfectly textured – but stay well clear of the vocals when they start (0:17 onward). Likewise, Katie Melua’s indulgent bassline in Red Balloons sometimes obscures her vocal finery, but not with EVO.

Unlike many bass-boosted IEMs (like Legend X) that use special tuning tricks to keep elevated midbass from bleeding or bloating, EVO does it while retaining extremely healthy levels of bass quantity. With EVO it’s less a case of added midrange emphasis as it is sound shaping the bass.

The last thing I want to say about EVO’s bass is that, quantity aside, the quality is equally if not more impressive. This is not the slower, more elongated bass of the Legend X, or, the speaker-like but somewhat subdued bass of the Tia Fourte, or the hyper-realistic but ultimately less visceral bass of the IE 900. There’s a tactility and speed to the low notes that, to my ear, is a combination of very high resolution and precision. Then there’s the positionality (a combination of imaging and layering) that can only be achieved, it seems, with something other than traditional air conduction drivers, and so the combination of all three creates a bass presentation that, as far as I can tell, is unique to EVO and Empire Ears.

This isn’t limited to instrumental bass either; EVO makes EDM drops sound exceptionally clean, crisp and powerful, effortlessly keeping pace with even the fastest kick beats. Take DZP and Zanon’s hot single Indica,for example, featuring super-fast bass drops double timed with funk-like instrumental effects and exotic vocals. EVO can just as easily deliver skull-crushing bass on demand. A track like Groove Delight and Black Jacket’s Baiana, with some of the hardest-hitting drops I’ve heard (1:00 onward), makes EVO one of the most enjoyable EDM IEMs I’ve personally experienced.



Midrange is where things get interesting with EVO, and is perhaps its biggest tonal departure from Legend X. Empire Ears’ recent tunings have tended to introduce more upper midrange energy to the sound, most notably with Odin and, to a lesser extent, Hero. EVO follows a similar path, but in a less aggressive manner.

Before we get to the upper midrange minefield, however, a quick note about the lower mids, where most male vocals and the fundamentals of deeper female vocals tend to sit. On balance, EVO’s lower mids are maybe a hair below neutral, but there’s still enough residual energy from the upper bass, I feel, to impart male vocals with very natural if not overly chesty tonality.

Neil Diamond sounds very much like Neil Diamond in Hello Again, from the classic The Jazz Singersoundtrack. All the detail in his slightly coarse delivery on this track is there to be heard, with a hint of bass supporting his baritone, but it’s not the warm or coloured presentation that may be preferable to some. The same goes for Mark Kozelek’s brilliant supporting vocals in Holly Throsby’s What Do You Say, which I say sounds very natural indeed. I’ve heard him sound more weighty with other monitors, but I like how he sounds with EVO, and it’s probably more true-to-life too.

The upper midrange, as I’ve already hinted, is where things get interesting. Upper midrange/lower treble tuning – the so-called presence region of the graph – is an ongoing debate in audiophile circles. Some swear by boosted treble and recessed upper mids, a-la Tia Fourte and, to a lesser extent, IE 900, while others prefer boosted upper mids and/or upper treble to provide as much clarity, detail and air as possible.

EVO, for me, takes a measured approach. Yes, the upper midrange frequencies sit well above the lower mids, but the rise from lower to upper mids is more gradual than it is with Odin, for example. Beyond 5kHz, which is probably the upper limit of the upper midrange, EVO’s treble, which I’ll discuss in more detail below, doesn’t deviate sharply upward or downward, continuing the smooth transition from the midrange.

I therefore hear EVO, on the whole, as forward but smooth in this area, without any shout (in all but the poorest of female vocal recordings). It’s a midrange that’s neither too full nor too thin, too wet or too dry, but clear and full-bodied and definitely not sterile. This is tasteful colour, and when it works with the music, it works surprisingly well (for someone like me, who until recently was firmly in the recessed-is-best camp).

Norah Jones’s earthy vocals and accompanying instrumentation in Come Away With Me are so realistic, it’s as if I’m standing right next to her through the performance. There’s no hint of grain, glassiness, or sibilance in any of the tracks I use to test for them, including Katie Pruitt’s It’s Always Been You, Brandi Carlile’s The Story, BEYRIES’ Alone, Lana Del Rey’s Dark But Just A Game or Maggie Rogers’ Satellite. By the way, if you haven’t heard this last track, do yourself a favour and check it out, keeping in mind she recorded it as a teen with her high school band in a high school music studio.

While I do hear some added emphasis in the higher pitches of some female vocals on specific tracks, like Stevie Nicks in Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams, they’re never shouty – unless there’s shout in the recording. Vocals are also less forward than they are with some midrange-focused monitors, like Isabellae and, to a lesser extent, Traillii, but are so detailed that any hint of recession is overcome by the clarity.

It’s not all rainbows and roses, however. Out the box, one of the few issues I had with EVO was a brittleness or hardness in the presence region that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It only cropped up on certain tracks, and then only in very specific sections of those tracks. Def Leppard’s Love Bites was one of those tracks, and I say was because, post burn-in, the roughness I initially heard in the parts where the melee of snare drums, grinding electric guitars and Joe Elliott’s pitchy vocals (1:20 – 1:30) was less confronting.

Still, there’s a vibrancy and energy when instruments and vocals get wild and heavy in this FR range that’s palpable, and potentially more fatiguing, than they would be with sedate monitors. Some extreme examples include the crescendo to Jillette Johnson’s Love Is Blind (2:08 – 2:16), and one I picked from the forums, Seven Lions/Wooli/Trivecta’s Island (featuring Nevve), where the combination of compression, bright vocals, and intense electronic instruments (especially from 1:48 onward) sounds like a wall of razorblades on EVO, especially at higher volumes.

My personal view is that, extreme examples aside, there’s an intimacy and immediacy to EVO’s midrange – a tuning choice from what I understand – that works well for the vast majority of my music library, but on occasion shows up the lemons in the mix. Why that is exactly, I’m not sure.

What I am sure of is that EVO is less forgiving than Legend X, or IE 900, or any other number of IEMs with a ‘safer’ tuning. EVO’s midrange, like its bass, is highly resolving, not far off from the most resolving IEMs I’ve been privileged enough to hear, like Fourte and Traillii. The added dimensionality of the bone conduction driver also can’t be understated, often presenting music or specific sounds in surprising and unfamiliar ways, and it could well be this unfamiliarity that jars, at least at first.


Treble, thankfully, is far from jarring. I could probably stop right there, because unlike its bass or midrange, EVO’s treble is rather inconspicuous. That’s not to say there’s a deficiency here, at least not for my personal preferences. I hear EVO’s treble as smooth, natural and polite, supporting rather than headlining.

There’s no lack of sharpness or detail to Nils Lofgren’s exceptionally trebly guitar play in Keith Don’t Go, or Max Richter’s cacophony of violins in his recomposed version of Vivaldi’s Winter 1. What it does lack is peakiness, harshness or mid-treble zing, preferable, in my opinion, to Legend X (occasionally peaky), Tia Trio (occasionally zingy) or Tia Fourte (occasionally strident).

Despite its bass emphasis and relatively milder treble, you’d think EVO was a darker-tuned IEM, but that’s not the case. It’s not bright – though some tracks lean that way when they hit the lower treble region with too much energy. For those seeking more energy up top, and like their treble to sparkle like a Christmas tree, EVO is probably not your IEM. The same goes for those who seek an abundance of lightness and air.


Technicalities

Where EVO is a shift away from the warmer, more organic-sounding Legend X tuning, the two are even further apart when it comes to technical ability. Let’s not forget that Legend X was, and is, technically very capable. It has excellent wide staging, good resolution, and commendable imaging and separation despite an overall thicker sound profile. EVO, on the other hand, is a technical upgrade in every single metric. In fact, I don’t think there’s any technical aspect of EVO’s performance that Empire Ears hasn’t managed to improve, either through fine-tuning, better drivers (Weapon IX+), a more efficient crossover network, and of course the inclusion of Weapon X.

Soundstage is the first metric that’s audibly wider with EVO. While depth and, to a lesser extent height has also been improved, the added width gives EVO a spacious, elliptical-shaped stage with many instances of out-of-head sounds appearing from virtually nowhere. Listening to the right and left channel shakers in the intro to the Eagles live performance of Hotel California captures the sense of space in the venue, combined with the layered crowd effects. Meanwhile, Yosi Horikawa’s Bubbles are generously spaced out on a wide and, on this particular track, tall stage.

With Weapon X adding reverb to certain sounds in the mix, I’m hearing more space and ‘air’ around the vocals. Normally intimate vocals, like Heidi Talbot’s in Cathedrals, shrink the stage the closer they come to the listener, but instead EVO creates a void around the vocals so they’re almost floating in space, perfectly centred, with instruments and effects moving around and beyond them. Instead of creating silos on the stage, however, EVO somehow integrates them into a cohesive soundscape.

Imaging is the most obvious beneficiary of EVO’s fleshed-out stage, with instruments, effects and vocals precisely positioned – and sometimes not where you’ve heard them positioned before. The centre image is very solid, without any diffusion or confusion about where the vocals are coming from. Better yet, on some recordings where the singer moves around the microphone, like Meiko covering Crush in David Chesky’s binaural recording of Playing Favorites, it’s easy to follow her as she takes even a few steps to the left, right or backwards. This precision certainly isn’t unique to EVO, but I’ve only heard it presented this convincingly on the very best technical IEMs like Fourte and Traillii.

Separation and layering of the different sounds and elements are the third major quiver in EVO’s technical bow. Regardless of how complex the music becomes (with a few notable exceptions), no instrument, vocal, or special effect is lost in the mix. Even subtle details can be picked out from the crowd, and backing vocals two or three rows deep are distinct in their own space.

The soft backing vocals whispering behind the lead singer in Dadawa’s Sister Drum are never impeded by the main vocals or instruments, and Luke Doucet’s vocals are clear as day even though they’re tucked right behind Melissa McClelland’s lead (and a droning bassline) in Whitehorse’s Dear Irony.


Resolution is the glue that ties these technical elements together. I don’t think EVO would be able to pull off this level of technical acuity without top-tier resolution across the board, and the jump up in resolving power from the likes of Legend X and IE 900 is significant. It’s not just the clarity that’s been added by tuning tweaks, or the space created by Weapon X, this is raw resolution.

Plug into a highly resolving source, like an R8 or Hugo2, and you’ll be rewarded with inflections of vocal chords and the wet breath of singers standing way too close to the microphone. Play back the famous ‘clocks’ intro to Pink Floyd’s Time, and every gear shift, every hand movement, is clearly audible. You’ll even hear the PA announcer directing passengers to their seats in On The run, the preceding track on Dark Side of the Moon, all the while spaceship and laser gun effects zoom past your head, left to right.

Dynamics could be a descriptor for EVO itself. It’s an incredibly dynamic IEM, with an ability to shift from the quiet, monotone build-up to Hans Zimmer’s Mountains, for example, before exploding into life in a rousing, emotional wave of sound (2:02), an experience in-ear as much as it was on screen. Angel Olsen’s Lark is a more contemporary example, with bursts of powerful vocal crescendos mixed with quiet, contemplative passages and subdued instrumentation. As is the climactic conclusion to Daft Punk’s Contact, a crazy mix of crunchy sound effects and explosions that puts you inside the doomed space capsule.



The X-factor

This is where I’d normally end the sound impressions section for most reviews, but I’d be remiss not to mention the importance of bone conduction in general and Weapon X specifically when it comes to shaping EVO’s overall tonal landscape.

The way Weapon X affects what you’re hearing really depends on the information in the track. It’s not a blanket ‘filter’ that’s going to predictably make certain changes to the sound. The effect can be subtle, and most often is, but at times is also very obvious. For me, EVO’s X-factor, excuse the pun, is in how it blurs the lines between what’s heard and felt, which adds to the realism and accuracy of certain instruments and sounds.

Take the kick drum in the intro to Big Thief’s recently released single, Changes. Most of us have heard a real kick drum before, and when pedal hits the skin, it’s much more than just a sound you’re hearing. You can feel it, from the initial punch to the hardness of the hit, to the natural decay. Many IEMs with good dynamic driverssimulate this feeling quite effectively, but EVO adds a realism I can genuinely feel from my head to my torso. Of course it’s not the same full-body feeling you’d get from a live performance or actual speakers, but it makes it much easier for your mind to take you there.

Weapon X doesn’t just add to the realism of sound, it also adds to realism of stage. This isn’t limited to the bass frequencies either, although if you’re wondering how EVO manages to keep the thunder so separate from the lightning, so to speak, it’s because Weapon X is working on the resonance and reverb and other aspects of the sound that help place it on the virtual stage.


Angel Olsen’s pristine vocals in Chance, the closing track of her brilliant LP All Mirrors, don’t just decay, there’s an added echo that helps me see the size and shape of the space she’s singing in. This is a very specific Weapon X effect that affects vocals in particular, since I haven’t heard them presented in quite the same way with other IEMs. Another Weapon X feature affects the treble frequencies, predominantly in bell and chime sounds such as those in the mediaeval instruments of Angels of Venice’s Trotto. The last time I heard this type of sound reproduction was from a full-size silk-domed tweeter.

With its new Weapon IX+ drivers and re-tuned custom balanced armatures, EVO would still have been a worthwhile, if less substantial, revision to Legend X. Adding a full range bone conduction driver in Weapon X makes EVO a new class of IEM altogether, and something that I believe we’ll be seeing much more of in the not-too-distant future.


Simply put we’ve maximized and mastered the performance of current IEM driver technologies through air conduction. From here, our only goal was to elevate the listening experience, evolving it once again to redefine what’s possible with IEMs. [For example] EVO’s ability to effortlessly compartmentalize and layer lower bass without interfering with any of the other frequencies is perhaps one of the most challenging yet remarkable things we’ve achieved to date. It really just takes what the Legend X did well to an extraordinary new level.


Select comparisons

EVO and Legend X. Seeing how I kicked off this review with a preface about Legend X, and how EVO came to be, it’s only fitting that this is the most relevant and important comparison to make. It wasn’t too long ago that Jack hinted there was not going to be a Legend X successor, and from early EVO impressions, some are saying there indeed isn’t and that EVO is something entirely new.

For me, EVO is very much a Legend X successor, at least spiritually. The mantra that ‘you can’t go past Legend X if what you want is the best and biggest bass in the business’ has now unequivocally been passed on to EVO. That EVO grabs this notion and takes it well beyond the capabilities of Legend X doesn’t mean it’s no longer comparable, but rather that, like anything audio, some may prefer Legend X’s more restrained tonality and forgiving technicalities over EVO’s extension in every metric.

Design and fit. EVO is notably larger, thicker, and heavier than Legend X, although EVO’s nozzle makes it slightly easier for me to get a good ‘shallow fit’ seal than I do with Legend X. So, while Legend X’s shells fit more easily inside my outer ear cavity, EVO’s fit fine too, even though they fill out my ears completely.

Neither IEM ‘disappears’, to put it another way, and while I’m constantly aware of both of them while listening, it’s not to the point of distraction, and some may even prefer that ear-filling feeling. Both IEMs also share the same silky-smooth finish and classy all-black design that make them, to my mind, two of the better-looking IEMs currently available – yes, even better looking than flashy abalone or Bifrost, if you ask me – though EVO’s black shell is slightly less opaque.

The supplied accessories for both IEMs are visually the same, except for EVO’s Genesis cable being far superior in every way to Legend X’s entry-level Effect Audio Ares II – a decent cable in its own right but no match for the PW Audio alternative.

Sound. Tonally, both IEMs are variations of a W-shaped tuning, though it’s easier to push Legend X closer to an L-shaped tuning, especially with its stock tips and cable. I don’t hear EVO to have less bass than Legend X, especially since it’s much easier to power EVO’s Weapon IX+ drivers than it is to get Legend’s dual Weapon IX drivers to wake up, but quantity is neither here nor there; these are both unashamedly bass boosted IEMs, and proud of it.

Where they differ more drastically is bass quality. EVO’s bass quality is a step or two up from Legend X, its upgraded woofers more resolving, more controlled, more precise, more multifaceted. EVO’s bass is also faster, effortlessly keeping pace with quickfire EDM basslines, while Legend X has a warmer, more organic quality to its bass, with slower attack and decay making it sound more romantic than natural.

EVO’s boosted (upper) midrange is another departure from Legend X’s more recessed tuning. Legend X, with its thicker lower mids and warmer upper mids is also wetter and more organic than EVO, which is clearer, more resolving, more forward, and more neutral leaning in tonality. Most people I’ve spoken to who prefer Legend X’s tuning to EVO’s cite the midrange differences as the main reason.

Both EVO and Legend X have a relaxed approach to treble, at least in comparison to their elevated bass, though EVO’s is more extended, smoother, and less peaky than Legend X’s, which can sometimes be a touch spiky, especially because it rises further up from the relatively subdued upper mids. Where Legend has a touch more sparkle, EVO has more air up top, and also sounds more natural to my ears.

Technically, as I’ve hinted earlier in the review, EVO is a step up from Legend X, literally across the board. Wider, larger soundstage, more precise imaging, better separation and layering, more resolution, and better dynamics are all checkboxes in EVO’s favour. Where Legend X has excellent technicalities for a top-tier IEM, EVO stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the best technical performers on the market.

Jack and Dean consider EVO to be the Legend X successor, and I agree. Other than a relaxed midrange tuning, which is possibly better suited to more aggressive genres, and the sentimental value of owning the original, iconic audiophile basshead IEM, I can’t see any reason to keep Legend X and EVO in the same collection when the latter performs at a consistently higher level with most types of music.


EVO and IE 900. Why would I compare a diminutive single dynamic driver IEM with one of the largest 8-driver tribrid behemoths? Probably because anyone who’s heard Sennheiser’s flagship can attest to how far it punches above its equally ‘diminutive’ pricetag, for a flagship anyway, and how bass performance is one of its standout features compared to any current IEM, regardless of price. Other than Legend X, it also happens to be the only other TOTL IEM in my current collection, so there’s that.

Design and fit. If there’s one aspect where the IE 900 has EVO beat hands-down, it’s fit. Yes I know, some have tried and failed to find a good fit with this laughably small IEM and its basic set of stock tips, but slipping on my trusty Acoustunes I was floored at how simple, seamless and comfortable it is to wear, even with a slightly deeper fit than I’m normally used to. Unlike EVO, the IE 900 literally does disappear in my ears, and after a few minutes’ use, I almost forget I’m wearing them, which adds to the spooky effect of its massive sound coming from seemingly nowhere.

The IE 900 has a fold-over shape like many on-stage monitors – even though it wasn’t designed for stage use – that slips into my ear canals with only a small faceplate on the outside to show for it. It’s made of precision CNC-polished aluminium that weighs next to nothing yet feels cool to the touch, and will likely stand up to far more punishment than EVO’s shiny resin shells ever could, not that I handle it any less carefully than I do EVO.

Sennheiser’s choice of stock cable is also controversial, with memory wire ear loops that are thicker and heavier than the shells themselves, and a tendency for microphonics when rubbed up the wrong way. That said, in my opinion, the stock cable is a better fit for the IE 900 than Genesis is for EVO, and while I do get better performance out of my custom Cardas cable, it doesn’t warrant the change as much as it does with EVO. Sennheiser also supplies three cables, each with different terminations, while EVO ships without any adapters for Genesis’ Pentaconn plug to other common formats.

Sound. Sennheiser’s flagship was a surprising revelation when I first heard it, with a natural sound that kept everything in balance, an easy-listening tonality, and bass quality unlike anything I’d heard before in an IEM. Even with Legend X in my collection, IE 900 rendered bass in such a unique way that I started giving it more ear time despite my penchant for Legend X’s low-end wiles.

EVO turns the tables with a bass presentation that goes even further. Its bass is more visceral, physical and multi-dimensional, making IE 900 sound neutral by comparison, even though they’re not too far off each other in actual elevation. EVO’s bass is also more resolving, reaching deeper into the sub-bass, although both put more focus on sub-bass with a gradual rise to a flatter midbass, my preferred bass tuning.

IE 900’s midrange is airier and more diffuse. Lower mids are fuller and more present than EVO’s, giving gravitas to thicker male vocals and instruments in that region, while upper mids sit well below EVO’s and lower, relatively, than the bass, reducing the emphasis in the presence region and placing vocals slightly farther back as a result.

EVO’s treble is more relaxed than IE 900’s, where the Sennheiser has significantly more treble energy in the lower and middle treble between 5kHz and 10kHz. That said, IE 900’s treble isn’t harsh, sibilant or bright, but can, occasionally, colour the upper midrange harmonics with some added zing, whereas zing doesn’t exist in EVO’s treble vocabulary.

Technically, while IE 900 is a strong performer, EVO is in a different class altogether. It has a wider stage, comparatively, though IE 900 matches EVO’s stage for depth and, track-depending, height. IE 900 is more coherent, but EVO is in turn multi-layered, with more precise imaging, better separation, and higher resolution across all frequencies. EVO is also more dynamic, but IE 900 is lively in its own right.

Ultimately, I find EVO and IE 900 to be more complementary than competitive. IE 900 is an easier, safer, more balanced all-day listen, with its exceptional comfort and miniature dimensions, whereas EVO is better suited to shorter, more focused listens when nothing but the very best sound quality with maximum intensity will do.


EVO and Traillii. This is the big one, isn’t it? EVO compared to the summit-fi darling, the IEM that can do no wrong. I’m being glib, of course, because I really do love Traillii, and these two IEMs couldn’t be more different if they tried. But don’t let facts get in the way of a good dust-up, and let’s see what happens when the unstoppable force that is EVO hits the immovable object that is Traillii.

The elephant in the room, as is often the case with Traillii, is the sticker price. Traillii retails for twice as much as EVO, and even though it includes a much more expensive cable, its value proposition is ultimately nowhere near as attractive as EVO’s. Traillii also appeals to a very different audience, one less enthused by bombastic sound and favours a safer, more relaxed, and arguably more versatile tuning. Ultimately these two IEMs make better bedfellows than they do competitors, and if money is no object, make an almost ideal complementary pair for truly summit-fi sound.

Design and fit. Traillii and EVO are not entirely dissimilar in their build. Traillii’s clear, medical-grade resin shells and painted top plate are similar in feel to EVO’s, though I’m unsure if Traillii shares EVO’s protective lacquer coating. Size-wise Traillii is a fair bit smaller than EVO and about the same size as Legend X, with a shorter, thicker nozzle. Traillii’s nozzle notch makes it easier to keep silicone tips secure than EVO’s smooth, notch-less nozzle, but also harder to get many tips on in the first place. The thicker nozzle also limits the type of tip that fits.

In the ear, Traillii is the easier wear, and those with larger ears may need larger tips to fit them securely. And, as mentioned earlier, Traillii’s PW Audio-made cable is a more expensive variant of the company’s 4-wire ‘The 1960s’, a $2,000 cable that’s better performing but less ergonomic than Genesis.

Sound. While Traillii and EVO share a W-shaped tonality in theory, Traillii is more balanced and closer to neutral, while EVO is bolder, especially in the bass and upper midrange, with a more relaxed, tapered treble.

It’s difficult to compare the apples and oranges that are EVO’s and Traillii’s bass, the former powered by twin 9mm dynamic subwoofers and a 10mm bone conduction driver, the latter by two miniature BA drivers. Traillii’s bass makes a good case for the most realistic, and I daresay dynamic driver-like bass, in a BA-bass IEM, at least of the ones I’ve heard, but it doesn’t really challenge EVO’s powerful, deep-reaching, visceral bass in terms of quantity or, in my opinion, quality. That’s more preference than fact, and I know many people who actively seek out less bass than what EVO has on offer, for that very reason.

Midrange is a wash between the two, Traillii being fuller in the lower mids compared to EVO, and not quite as forward in the upper mids, giving it a lighter touch with female vocals. Traillii’s lower treble dip makes it sibilance-proof, much like EVO, and further up, its quad e-stat drivers deliver more sparkle and air compared to EVO’s neutral-leaning treble.

Technically, both Traillii and EVO are tour de force IEMs. Traillii’s stage is wider, deeper and taller, but only fractionally. Imaging on both is top-notch, with Traillii putting more air between instruments and revealing more layers in the music. Resolving power is on par, with EVO improving on Traillii’s bass and midrange detail and clarity and Traillii countering with more detailed treble.

Where EVO puts you on stage with the band, up close to the singer and right next to the drums and horns, Traillii seats you in the fifth row, close enough to enjoy every nuance and detail of the performance, yet far enough that nothing jumps out at you unexpectedly. As mentioned above, these two IEMs deserve a place alongside each other in any high-end collection, and work better together than apart to cover almost every genre, presentation and mood imaginable.


Final analysis and closing thoughts

Where does one begin summarising the strengths of an IEM that’s so different to anything that’s come before? Before I give you my verdict, here’s Jack’s take:


With a legacy born of Empire Ear’s class-defining icon that is Legend X, Legend EVO is the new dawn, giving us the first tangible glimpse of what the future holds for the brand and the sound. Bass is again the foundation, but it defines EVO far less than it did its predecessor, with a tonality that seeks balance over brawn, and technicalities that elevate it to the top tier of contemporary high-end monitors.

Emotionally and physically, EVO puts me in the front row at a live performance, sometimes even closer – on stage with the band. It’s a powerful, energetic sound that is more immediate than holographic but still has a unique 3D presentation that I haven’t heard with other IEMs. At the same time, its timbral accuracy is astonishing, rendering instruments and vocals so realistically I can almost touch them.

Key to EVO’s sound is a wholly-reimagined approach to presenting music, using specialised bone conduction technology in a new and unique way that goes beyond what was previously possible with traditional multi-driver air conduction techniques. Weapon X might be the first driver of its kind in an IEM, but it won’t be the last, and I expect the technology will filter down to the mainstream before long.

For now, EVO is a compelling prospect for any audio enthusiast for whom powerful, energised, dynamic, and emotionally engaging sound is a priority. It shirks safe for stupendous and does things with familiar music that sometimes takes several listens to appreciate and embrace. For me, it’s an easy recommendation, epitomising the state of the art and ticking almost every checkbox I have for a high-end musical monitor.

Effect Audio needs no introduction in the world of bespoke IEM cables. Founded by Sy (Zou Su Yang) in 2009, EA quickly became one of Singapore’s go-to companies for custom cables, and remains so to this day.

I’ve personally had limited experience of EA’s products to date, the Ares II – which I received as the stock cable with the Empire Ears Legend X – was technically my introduction to the brand, but Cleopatra is my first exposure to the type of cable that put Sy on the map as an innovator and groundbreaker.


The pitch

Cleopatra forms part of EA’s Heritage Series, second only to the company’s Hall of Fame ‘Summit-Fi’ cables. It’s an unmistakably well-made, precision-engineered, high-end cable, made with pure silver wire and a plethora of technologies EA considers its own. But unlike traditional silver cables, Cleo’s claim to fame is that the effect it has on sound is nothing like the bright, cool, shimmery cables that silver is often known for.

Instead, Cleopatra is a smooth seductress, infusing my IEMs with subtle warmth, but retaining the sparkle and open treble of a pure silver conductor. While I’ll get into specific tonal characteristics and pairings later, it’s fair to say that, like its namesake, Cleopatra is beautiful, soft, and oh so easy on the eye.


Like jewellery

If you’re anything like me, buying a high-end audio cable is as much about the look and feel as it is about the sound. With Cleo, however, you’re getting more than that. This becomes immediately apparent as soon as you hold the oversized box in your hands and feel the sheer weight of the packaging. The dark grey exterior features a slide-out section, with Cleopatra screen printed in clear white on the top half, and the Effect Audio logo embossed on the pull-out ‘drawer’ at the bottom.

Sliding out the bottom section reveals a velour-covered lid, below which sits one of the most elegant cases I’ve seen on any audio product, let alone an IEM cable. Like a fine piece of jewellery befitting a queen, Cleopatra is housed inside a solid, heavy-set box of carved stainless steel, hand-polished to a perfect mirror finish with a small, etched EA logo on the lid.

For a minute I completely forgot what I had in front me, and simply lost myself in the reflections of this orb-like object, as if it were some strange artefact gleaned from a visiting spaceship. Hesitating, I realised that touching any part of this glorious edifice would smear it with fingerprints, but, eventually, I just had to get on with it… (video of me polishing the mirror case for half an hour goes here)


Look, feel and features

Cleopatra takes the silver theme quite literally, with a see-through PVC jacket revealing the fine silver strands, and a custom polished steel Y-splitter that looks like a solid silver nugget. Even the chin slider is mirror-polished. The only part of the cable that looks ‘out of place’ is the 4.4mm Pentaconn-certified plug with its gold-plated finish and black carbon motif (which I suppose you can’t see when in use).

I ordered Cleo with EA’s new multi-connector system, ConX, which comes with matching polished steel housings (though you can select a glossy black option too). This being the Reserve Edition of ConX, EA included a small case with spare gold-plated 2-pin and mmcx screw-on plugs. ConX makes Cleo usable with all my IEMs, and is a highly recommended, inexpensive ($30) add-on to any new EA cable order (see my ConX impressions here).



Compared to the Ares II cable, which I’ve always considered quite stiff, wiry and tangle-prone, Cleopatra’s is finished in EA’s silky smooth UltraFlex PVC jacket that makes it both supple in hand and almost totally tangle-free. Try as I may, I’m yet to see an errant kink anywhere, and however I fold it, Cleo always returns to its svelte original form. Even the moulded ear guides are made of an ultrathin material that almost looks like part of the jacket itself, and disappears when wrapped around my ears.

Speaking of which, Cleo has to be one of the most comfortable cables I’ve had the pleasure of using. The combination of not-too-thick wire and an ultrathin, ultra-supple sheathing means once it’s in place, chances are you’ll soon forget you’re wearing a cable. The combination of the PVC jacket and cleverly designed Y-spit also makes Cleo the least microphonic cable I’ve used to date. No matter how much I rub the cable, against hand or fabric, almost zero friction noise makes it to my ears.

Not only is Cleopatra good-looking, like the feeling of soft, pampered skin, there’s some serious technology beneath the surface too. For starters, the cable itself is made up of four 26AWG gauge, extremely high-grade purity UP-OCC silver wires, Kevlar-reinforced, and arranged in a multi-strand formation based on the Golden Ratio principle. The 7-core wires are made with Litz materials, meaning each individual strand is enamel coated, giving it a larger surface area for signal conduction.

Whether or not you believe that arranging multiple strands of varying thickness wire in a naturally occurring pattern makes any difference whatsoever to how a cable conducts electric signals, you have to admit there’s a certain romanticism behind the idea. What’s not in question is the quality material that went into making this cable, which makes it as much a precious object as it does a utilitarian accessory. If you ask me, that’s exactly what you want if you’re spending the better part of $1000 on a cable.


Sound impressions

Before I start dissecting how I hear Cleopatra, I just want to clarify that I’m not actually hearing Cleopatra at all. It feels silly to even say it, but cables don’t make any sound. Duh, you say, but read enough cable reviews or engage in enough heated cable discussions online, and you’d almost swear they do! But alas, all cables do is move a signal from point A (your amp) to point B (your IEMs or headphones). Yes folks, it’s true, shocking as it may seem, it’s the IEMs you’re hearing, not the cable.

Silliness aside, I’m a firm believer that cables can and do affect how you hear the sound coming from your IEMs. Without getting into a scientific dissection of measurements and whatnot (cable deniers, please feel free to leave the room at this point, if you haven’t already), it stands to reason that if your IEMs sound warmer, cooler, thicker, duller, clearer or punchier, with the only changing variable being the cable, then the change in sound must be coming from…the cable, right? This is especially true if many different people in different parts of the world hear similar changes, right? Otherwise, the power of suggestion and hive-mind placebo must be a serious force to be reckoned with!


But I digress. This is how I hear the actual, audible changes Cleo makes with the IEMs I use:

Tonally, I hear Cleo to have a subtle warming effect on the sound. I believe that’s because it’s affecting the level of midbass, or midbass focus, relative to how the IEMs themselves present midbass. For example, the Sennheiser IE 900 has a more sub-bass-focused presentation, with a linear midbass that Cleo amplifies slightly and, in doing so, changes the balance of how I perceive the bass overall.

To my ears, sub-bass rumble is slightly reduced in favour of a smoother, more organic but less weighty bass profile, so the bass-heavy undertones in Katie Melua’s Red Balloons is not quite as solid and slightly more nimble when listening with Cleo (compared to the IE 900’s stock cable).

I’ve read some impressions that suggest Cleo elevates bass levels quite significantly but compared to the pure copper cables I’m using, the bass elevation is modest, at best, and tending more mid-than-sub-bass, as I described above. That means it’ll affect different IEMs in different ways, depending on the stock or aftermarket cables you’re already using with them.

Switching the Legend X’s Ares II for Cleo, for example, reduces the overall bass saturation, tightening up the bass notes and revealing some additional texture that may be missed with the stock cable in place. Switch out Cleo for a Cardas copper cable, however, and the impact and power of the Legend’s bass is pushed upward without the additional warmth of Cleo’s midbass saturation, tightening the sound further and giving it more slam while opening up the higher frequencies and revealing more detail in the midrange too.

While I don’t find cables affect the midrange frequencies directly, Cleo’s midbass lift adds a smoothness and musicality to the midrange compared to the brighter midrange voicing of the stock cables on both the IE 900 and Legend X, and is also smoother than how I perceive midrange of the new Legend EVO with the Cardas copper cable, albeit at the expense of some vocal detail. Lana Del Rey’s sultry vocals in Yosemite are more whisper soft with Cleo than they are crisp and ever so slightly coarse, but more nuanced, with the Cardas cable.


Where Cleo differs most from the generally warming copper cables I’ve used is in its effect on the treble, which is to say, it doesn’t necessarily brighten it up (as you’d expect of silver), but rather opens it up with the same smoothness it has lower down. As such I’m not hearing any added bite or sharpness to the music, but am hearing a touch more air and definition up top.

This is more apparent in IEMs that have a relaxed mid-to-upper treble emphasis, like Legend X and EVO, with less influence on the already sparkly IE 900, for example. Jethro Tull’s instrumental intro to The Waking Edgehas a touch more bite and ‘ping’ to it with the Legend X than it does with the stock Ares II, but it’s not through added harshness but rather more space for the instruments to breathe. How Cleo manages this juggling act while raising the temperature on the lows is something only Sy can tell us.

I’m not going to claim I hear any mind-bending technical improvements with my IEMs using Cleo, rather, that their technical abilities are highlighted (or downplayed) consistently with the subtle tonal shifts Cleo introduces. The more open treble does add to the sense of space in the soundscape, but that’s countered by the somewhat warmer midbass and smoother midrange. As such, I’d say Cleo isn’t going to magically expand the soundstage of your IEMs, but you might find it slightly easier to discern fine details in the music, especially in the upper midrange and treble.


Select pairings**

Sennheiser IE 900 vs stock cable. I hear a slight reduction in sub-bass weight and a slightly lifted midbass, which does change the overall bass presentation, integrating it more into the mix. Mids, especially lower mids, are rendered smoother, but the open treble does highlight the occasional treble peak that creeps into poorly or brightly recorded music with this IEM, more so than the stock cable. Overall I hear the IE 900 to have a smoother sound with Cleo, dialing down its inherent liveliness a notch or two.

Empire Ears Legend X vs stock cable. I hear a slight elevation of bass (possibly both sub- and midbass, but more evident in the midbass). This raises the overall perception of the bass, but doesn’t come at the cost of details, which are brought slightly forward by the more linear, extended treble response. The smoothness I heard with the IE 900 repeats here, and the Legend X’s already organic mids take on a more earthy tone as a result. This is a great pairing if you want to keep the Legend X’s legendary bass boost without smothering the rest of the frequency range and actually cleaning up the upper registers a touch more than stock.

Empire Ears EVO vs stock cable. Oddly I’m not hearing the same level of bass elevation using Cleo with EVO, and if anything the bass impact is either shifted slightly or reduced somewhat compared to the stock Genesis cable. This could be because the effect is skewed by the Weapon X bone conduction driver, but overall I’d say Cleo smoothens the EVO’s sound and takes a bit off its edginess but at the cost of some bass slam and impact and definition.

**All testing was done with a HiBy R8 in high-gain Turbo mode using the 4.4mm headphone output.


Closing thoughts

Cleopatra is a simply sublime silver cable that defies what most of us have come to associate with silver cables. Instead of pushing detail with a brighter, more forward treble tonality and/or a reduction and tightening of the bass frequencies, Cleo pleasantly surprises by adding a subtle warmth and deft smoothness without any loss of detail or clarity (with my IEMs anyway).

Depending on the IEM you pair it with, you can generally expect a healthy midbass bump and perhaps a touch of sub-bass elevation, which will present differently depending on how your IEMs present the bass in the first place. It also filters out some graininess in the midrange, possibly from the added warmth, but just as likely from the clever combination of rich, pure materials and ‘secret design sauce’ used in its construction.

I’ve resisted making too many subjective comments about the positives or negatives these changes have on my personal IEMs because, as we know, everyone hears these IEMs differently. What I will say without pause is that from a purely aesthetic, build quality and ergonomic perspective, Cleopatra takes pride of place among the very best luxury cables I’ve used.

It’s not too thick (though an Octa version is available for those that enjoy hosepipe cables), not too thin, with almost no microphonics. It’s also silky smooth and supple, making it virtually tangle-free, and takes full advantage of the high-purity silver in its core for a premium look and feel.

If you want a silver cable that behaves more like copper but without the occasional ‘copper veil’, or simply want a high-end cable for your high-end IEMs that won’t simultaneously break the bank with a daft multi-kilobuck pricetag or finger-thick aesthetics, I’d put Cleo at or near the top of your list.