Disclaimer

I bought the Legend Evo with my own money at Musicteck. So all opinions are my own.

I cannot recommend the shop highly enough. Great customer support and great delivery in no time. So hands up.

https://shop.musicteck.com/collections/empire-ears


Empire Ears Legend Evo - Specs

Legend EVO:

• Dual W9+ Subwoofers
• Five Precision Balanced Armatures
• Weapon X Bone Conduction Ultra Driver
• 9-Way synX Crossover Network
• Dual Conduction Architecture
• ARC Resonance Mitigation Technology
• Impedance: 4.5 Ohms @ 1kHz
• Frequency Response: 5Hz-35kHz
• Sensitivity: 103dB @ 1kHz, 1mW

GENESIS CABLE - EMPIRE X PW AUDIO:

• 24AWG Ultra-Pure OCC Copper
• Quad Conductor, Polypropylene Reinforced Core
• Insulated UV-Resistant Polyvinyl Chloride Sheath
• 4 Balanced Pentaconn Termination

Unboxing

So we have nothing fancy here. A nice clean white box with the earphones. You either have a leather or metal case, Final E tips, the Genesis cable, a cleaning cloth, paperwork, two stickers I think and a cleaning tool. What I have is the mesh divider pocket for each earphone so they won’t touch each other when you have them in a box. Really nice and I have to get those for my other pairs.


What do they sound like

Sources: Astell and Kern SE 200 and SR 25

Bass: So the bass response of the Legend Evo is massive. You get tons of bass. It really feels like a subwoofer. But it is also very well defined and detailed. For the lowest frequencies it really reaches deep and hits really hard. When we go up the latter the Evo provides a thunderous bass with a lot of articulation and musicality. The different areas of the bass are well separated and you get lots of detail here. The bass response is quite fast, musical and very engaging. The implementation of the Bone Conduction driver is excellent. It gives a body to the bass which I haven’t heard on any headphone. It is rich and full and adds another dimension in a kind of physical impact. It always puts a smile on my face when I can hear and really feel the double bass drum in a song. It is really strong and massive you can hear it and feel it when you listen to your music. What is most fascinating to me is the fact that the bass imaging is near to perfect. So with all the punch and slam the bass stays where it has to be in the mix. So I cannot give enough credits to Empire Ears on handling that. The bass is outstanding and is one of the best reproductions in class.


Mid-Range: Mid-range is interesting because it is well separated from the bass response so it stands on its own unlike Legend X. The lower mids have a great amount of body. It is more than enough to keep electric guitars on an authentic energy level. Palm Mutes sound the way they should sound. There is enough of energy in this area. The Odin lacked some of the energy here, where as a result guitars sounded a bit flat and less energetic. The Mid-Range is a bit forward sounding but not much. Vocals feel just a hair in front. Clarity and detail retrival are on a very high level. You can easily separate the different instruments if you want to. Again the mids are musically sounding and very engaging. The upper mids are a bit elevated but not as much as on the Odin which makes it less shouty. For the mids are great for rock and metal. It is the better pairing compared to the Odin in my opinion.


Treble: The treble area is well extended and airy. It is not too much like the Empire Ears Hero where the treble was hurting my ears somehow. Compared to the Odin the treble on the Evo has less resolution maybe due to the EST drivers missing here. But all in all, it is still enough but nothing too outstanding. Treble is on a natural side and connects well to the midrange. There may be something like an addition of more body due to the Bone Conduction driver but I am still not sure. For me it is just fine. Higher guitar notes ring as they should and the crushes of a drum kit have a lot of information without hurting by any means.


Soundstage: The soundstage is on the larger side. I wouldn’t describe it as holographic, but you get a great idea of depth and width. Instruments are well separated, and live recordings get alive. You get a great of being in the middle of the audience.



Comparison to other gear

Empire Ears Legend X: First I have to say that I don’t see much in common between the Evo and Legend X. Yes they are both bass orientated headphones but that’s it for me. For the Legend X there is bass all over the place. It is a more fun sounding headphone for me and will stay in my collection. The Evo has a different reproduction of bass. It Is hard to say if it is better or not. The Evo is better in its technical performance. Bass is more refined, better controlled and has more resolution. For the Legend X is there a still more quantity in bass and this guilty pleasure experience which is hard to describe.
The Evo is faster too overall, with a more detailed presentation and an airier treble. Evo is also more balanced and more neutral. I still think these two can coexist in a collection.


Empire Ears Odin: For me as I listen mostly to rock music the Odin is not my headphone. As much as I like the look and the cable it doesn’t fit my preference. It lacks the energy in electric guitars and the upper mids are elevated too much. Detrail retrieval is excellent with the Odin, better than the Evo. In all other categories the Evo just nails it for me. But things can be different for your taste and your library. Both are fantastic earphones but there these two dealbreakers for me.


Vision Ears EXT: As I am from Germany, I really like Vision Ears and the stuff they produce. The EXT is no exception. It is also bass orientated, but with another approach. The bass is a little faster I woluld say which results in a snappier bass response. The bass is also a bit drier, not in a bad way, it results in a very punchy bass experience where each note kind of explodes in a really hard hitting way and vanishes a second later. So it is not the boomy and overwhelming bass you have with the Evo but a bit more laid back and extracted bass but still very powerful.
The mids on the EXT are outstanding for me. Very musical, great separation and a very nice and holographic soundstage. I would also say that the treble is more extended so the EST drivers are very well implemented. The sound stage is more holographic but on the same size.
Which one is better? Hard to say, a bit more detail resolution and a “better” soundstage for the EXT vs. a best in class Bass reproduction and a more bodied overall signature. Fit is better for with the EXT. The Evo’s are more on the larger side and can feel bulky. EXT are rather small and fit in my ears very easy.


Unique Melody Mest Mk II: I bought the Mest Mk II some time ago because I was interested in this Bone Conduction thing. The Mest gives you a smaller soundstage with the advantage that the music is presented in a more energetic way. It is more directly in your face. The Bone Conductor is not full range as the Legend Evo. It is more like mids and treble or in the upper bass, I am not quite sure, but it is not a full range implementation. The difference between those two is obvious. Empire Ears has done a better job with the implementation. The sound has more body, a better bass response etc. For me it is a clear win for the Evo. What bothers me with the Mest is fit. I wasn’t able to get a good fit with my left ear, right ear is no problem, left ear always a pain even with different tips and sizes. But that’s just me and maybe a reason why I didn’t get the best sound quality out of it. So your situation may be different.
Is the Mest MK II a bad headphone. No, not by any means. It is a great headphone even for the price. So the Evo is not twice as good but at least a little better in every category. So the Mest has to go and the Evo will replace it.




Summary

So what do you get for your money? For me the Evo is a best in class in ear monitor. Really totl and I can only highly recommend it. Is it for everyone one? Hmm hard to say. If you want something completely neutral, there are better options. If you want something leaning towards fun and warmth with an exceptional and unique bass response, give it a try. The sound is really engaging and I enjoy every minute with it. There is no fatiguing at all and I can listen to the Evo for a long period of time.

Are there areas of improvement. As always yes. The fit can be better. Don’t get me wrong they fit and they are comfortable for their size. But they are on the larger side and they look out of your ear quite a bit. So for sleeping, not the best use case. I like the cable but the stormbreaker cable was a hair better for my taste. I like the fabric material on the outside of the cable.

Regarding the face plate, I love the black one but a flashier option like the Odin would be nice to see as an alternative.

Finally, sometimes I would wish a bit more detail, but I guess that’s the compromise you have to take for that again outstanding bass response. For me it’s worth it. So again, highly recommended.