Introduction

Are you “MAD”?!...

Why do we need 24 drivers in one ear? Does an IEM really need that much drivers in order to sound good? Or is it yet another marketing gimmick by Ambient Acoustic to win the IEM war by proclaiming that more drivers equates to better sound?

Now now… Before you guys take up your pitch forks and start getting into the “MORE DRIVERS” or “LESS DRIVERS” debate, let us take a deep breath and read on about Ambient Acoustic’s latest IEM offering, the “MAD” series.

Background

As most of you are already aware by now, Ambient Acoustic is an established company based in Ukraine that have proven themselves to be a rather formidable IEM brand. They have over the years, produced some really great sounding IEMs at very affordable prices. Not only are they constantly innovating with newer technology, they have also been providing re-shelling services to restore any aging IEMs to their former glory.

Instead of resting on their laurels after producing one of their greatest series the “LAM” in 2018, the team continued to innovate and this time, they have brought to the market yet another affordable and impressive line-up, the “MAD” series, which comprises of a modest 2 drivers IEM all the way to a whooping 24 drivers TOTL IEM.

Click on this link: LINK to access Ambient Acoustic’s English website.

Example of Some Cool Designs from Ambient Acoustic


My personal customised AM7


Beautiful Steampunk themed faceplates


Solid inner filled core

Communication

The communication process with Ambient Acoustic have always been top-notch and I am always delighted to be able to talk to their friendly representative, Yuliya, in regards to anything related to audio. Queries raised to them via Facebook messenger will always be responded within half a day (different time zone LOL), and Yuliya would never fail to entertain my questions regardless how minor they were. For me, been able to connect directly with the folks that develop and produce my IEMS is really one of the main factor that I would consider before parting with my hard-earned money.

For new audiophiles out there who are just getting into the world of IEM, trust me; drop Ambient Acoustic a message on their facebook! You will be surprised by how responsive and patient they are.

Packaging

Ambient Acoustic’s packaging for their latest offering is as per usual. A solid hard case with their logo embossed on it. Opening it reveals the IEM, a cleaning brush and a small bottle of desiccant. Nothing special nor anything to complain about.


*Have also tried dropping the case on my floor a couple of times to test its durability and I am sad to announce that there are sadly…. no visible damages to the box LOL. HAHA.

IEM Quality and Aesthetics

The 3 demo units that was sent to me, MAD24, MAD16 and AM5LE all came in the same color (black) and have their model number imprinted on their faceplate. The overall size for the 3 models were relatively the same with MAD24 been a tad thicker than the other 2 due to the increase in number of drivers. All three models feels solid with some heft to the monitors. Their heftiness did not come as a surprise as all of Ambient Acoustic’s IEMs have a filled core thus contributing to a more premium feeling when handling them. Putting them in the ears were comfortable and natural with MAD24 protruding a little more due to the increase in thickness. I would say that even though these monitors are not customized to my ears, they still fit very nicely in my relatively small ears. I did not encounter any ear fatigue or aching during any of my listening sessions.

Size differences between the 3 units


From left to right; MAD24, MAD16 and AM5LE.

Weight of the IEMs


MAD24


MAD16


AM5LE


My Personal Custom AM7

Sound Impression

Soundstage and Imaging

If I have to use only one word to describe the soundstage for MAD24, the word will be “Grand”.

The overall soundstage for MAD24 is designed to immerse you as if you are in a mini concert hall. The vocals are the star here. Complemented with a really dark background. Nothing seems overly congested with sufficient space in between instruments. Separation and imaging is simply breath taking. Vocals just flows to you naturally. Layering of the instrument and vocals is also done so precisely and effortlessly that I am able to pinpoint every instruments easily if I really wanted to.

However, the downside of having a concert type of soundstage is that there is a slight compromise in the depth of the sound signature. Sometimes, I was left yearning for the soundstage to be slightly deeper and much more intimate.

Treble

MAD24 treble is airy and sparkly. Nothing sounds too metallic or synthetic. Cymbals clash with precision and accuracy. However, female vocal tends to be a little too controlled so as not to produce any sibilance. Personally, I would prefer a slightly brighter treble to give the extra “oomph” to enhance the female vocals slightly.

Mids

Creamy and decadent like a melted piece of warm buttery toast. Vocals are so delicious and flows so smoothly that you would be left smacking your lips for more. One of the most coherent and crowd-pleasing signature that even the most critical critic will have problems nit picking on.

Bass

Ohhhh bass!! MAD24 most certainly does not disappoint in the bass department. Every drum note hits with precision and authority. Guitar and Bass notes vibrates with so much texture that you can literally feel the Musician plucking the notes beside you. The speed and decay of the Low notes were also done naturally without overshadowing the mids. I would be even bold enough to say that MAD24 bass is one of the best I have heard in a while. Simply breathe taking and lifelike.

Sound Comparison With Other IEMs

MAD24 (3500) VS MAD16 (2500)

MAD24’s sound stage is slightly wider and more spacious and airy as compared to MAD16. However, MAD24 seems to be darker sounding due to the more controlled treble. MAD16’s treble is brighter and a tiny bit hotter, hence resulting in a more colourful and lively sound signature. That would also means that MAD16 induces ear fatigue much faster than MAD24. Bass wise, MAD24 is much more impactful and is able to reach the deeper notes much more accurately. No contest in the bass department between these 2 IEMs. Overall, I would choose MAD24 whenever I want to appreciate music in their most true form and choose MAD16 whenever I am feeling down as MAD16 has the ability to make me smile ear to ear and makes me feel better instantaneously .

MAD24 (3500) VS Empire Ears ZEUS (2399)

Now this is a very tricky comparison to be made. Zeus has always been my go to IEM whenever I want to be enveloped by the vocals of female vocalists. For this, I will still say that Zeus’s mids and vocals is still undisputedly the champion of all IEMs. However, MAD24’s mids isn’t that far behind, though it is unable to reach the emotional level that Zeus is able to effortlessly portray in female vocals, It instead focus on clarity and details within the notes. It is akin to listening to a HD song as compared to a lower resolution yet emotionally inducing song for these two IEMs. Bass wise, Zeus is notably absent as compared to the authority of MAD24.

MAD24 (3500) VS AM7 (1050)

AM7 has a very similar sound signature to MAD16 which thus gives it a slight edge over MAD24 in terms of liveliness. However, MAD24 once again trounces AM7 in the bass department and a much more superior soundstage. Layering and imaging is still much more distinctive in MAD24. With that said, I do still miss the customisation ability of the AM7 with its switches. AM7 remains to be a very versatile and affordable IEM for new audiophiles.

AM5E (900) VS AM7 (1050)

Both have very similar sound signature. With AM5LE surprising having a slightly airier and wider soundstage as compared to AM7. Probably due to the addition of the sound port. Vocals sounds lusher and clearer for AM7 with AM5LE sounding a little diffused and less focussed. Bass impact also seems to take a sight beating for AM5LE although still managing to sound impactful and engaging. Ear fatigue for AM5LE is also considerably lesser due to the smoother sound signature.

Overall impression

After spending almost 2 months with the 3 new IEMs from Ambient Acoustic. I am really impressed by the different sound signature that Ambient Acoustic have chosen over their new line-ups. MAD24 was obviously tuned to be reference sounding with a slight emphasis on bass where MAD16 is tuned to be livelier and quicker. As for AM5LE, it is to cater to new audiophiles who are still exploring for their preferred sound signature.

Having said that, with such a difference in the sound signature of the 3 different IEM, this would also means that users would not suffer from any buyer remorse if they had decided to opt for MAD16 over MAD24 since both IEMs are catered to 2 different groups of people. You would not be left wanting for more if you decided to opt for the much lower cost MAD16.

So, to conclude, am I “MAD” to say that more Drivers equates to better sound? To be honest, this is a debate that will never end. Personally, if I had to choose only one IEM from Ambient Acoustic’s “MAD” line-up, I would no doubt choose MAD16 for that extra liveliness and oomph in the treble . The reason been that I really smile a lot whenever I listen to it and to me, that is what music and IEMs are about! To make you smile .

Introduction

Jack of all trade and master of all?...

Is it possible to be crowned this coveted title in this saturated sea of custom in ear monitors? Well, if you asked me this question in the past I would have shouted a resounding “No way!”, however that might all change with the arrival of the AM7 from Ambient Acoustic. Read on to find out .

Back Ground

So who is Ambient Acoustic? Ambient Acoustic is a company based in Ukraine who has been constantly churning out custom in ear monitors since 2009. However, they are not known globally or at least on head fi, as based on my understanding, their transition to the international market just took place recently with the first deployment of an English based website. In fact, most of us me including, were not aware of this company until I read a review of the AM7 by Headfi user “Cleg”. Cleg’s comprehensive review piqued my interest so much that I had to contact the great people at Ambient Acoustic to purchase my own AM7 for a review.

Click on this link: https://ambient-acoustics.ua/eng/naushniki-dlya-audiofilov/ambient-acoustics/am7-lam-s.html to access Ambient Acoustics English website.


Ordering Process

So after contacting the kind folks at Ambient Acoustic via their Facebook page (yes, they speak English there), I was given instructions on how to submit an order on their website. Ordering from the website was a simple process as the designer for the IEMs was designed to be pretty user friendly. You can choose the various colors for your monitors, faceplates etc and your selection will be shown in a preview window as like other IEM brands.

However, if you have already browsed through Ambient Acoustic’s Instagram, you would have noticed that they have more material choices available that might not be on the designer page, this can be rectified by communicating with them on your choice. Once the order is completed, the staffs from Ambient Acoustic will then contact you to request for either your 3D ear impression STL file or instructions on how to ship them your custom ear impressions.

Payment process however, can be a little tricky since I was told that PayPal was not an option in Ukraine and they only accepted payment via Payoneer which to me was a slight hassle as I had to create a new account just to pay for my AM7, a slight hiccup in the otherwise smooth ordering process.



That said, you will still be able to configure the type of cable connection you want and Ambient Acoustic will be able to provide you with the preferred termination since they make all their cables in house.


Am7 Packaging

Ambient Acoustic’s packaging for the AM7 is pretty standard, it comes with a standard Black Pelican case with your name and serial number embossed on the top.

Opening it reveals your beautiful IEM in the middle, a desiccant box, a mini screw driver, cleaning brush and lastly a plastic box containing 2 set of treble filters.

The AM7 came pre-installed with the white treble filters and you can change the filters out by unscrewing them with the provided screw driver.





AM7 Quality and Aesthetics

The quality of the AM7 to me is no doubt the best out of all the IEMs I currently owned. It is a solid filled 7 BA IEM with 3 sound bores and uses a 5 way passive crossover design. The AM7 weighs a hefty 20.27g as compared to the other hollow core IEMs such as Zeus (Empire ears) 12.36g and the CT500 (Cleartunes Monitor) 12.28g. However, even with the increase in the weight, when placed in the ear, the IEM fits comfortably and seals completely without causing any much ear fatigue.



AM7’s Special Feature

AM7 is packed with several special features. One of the most unique and the one that caught my eye was the special proprietary cableconnector to the IEM. Instead of using the traditional way of 2 pin or MMCX connection, Ambient Acoustic came up with their own iteration of the connection, and that is via the use of a single pin and a screw on configuration. Removing and reconnecting the cablenow is so much simpler as all you have to do is unscrew the connector and pull the cable out. Gone are the days of loose sockets and broken pins.




However, that said, even though Ambient Acoustic had adopted their own propriety screw on connector, they understand that audiophile around the world like me and you probably own a few dozen of cables with the 2 pin connector, hence for all the Custom version of their “Live Acoustic Mod” (LAM), AM7 including, will come with a special connector built into the IEM themselves which accepts both the proprietary connector and also ANY of the 2 pin connector you have. This feature totally works and I was also able to test AM7 with my other cables.



The second feature that the AM7 has is the LAM. The LAM system allows the user to tune the frequency of the IEM based on the music or location they are in. Users have the ability to manually adjust the low frequency in 4 increments, 0, +6dB, +10dB and +14dB, and also the vocal zone by 0dB and +5dB. This adjustment is done via the use of the switches on the IEM. Based on this theory, AM7 can in fact be tuned to have 8 different sound signature! More on how the different adjustment affects the overall sound signature can be found in the SOUND IMPRESSION section below.




Sound Impression

Now moving on to the most important part of the review. How does the AM7 sound?

Out of the box with all the switches turned off, aka “Flat” setting. AM7 sounded full and lush with a forward vocal emphasis, and there is also a slight bump in the low frequency thus resulting in a very lively sound



Treble

Treble for the AM7 in the flat settings is sparkly airy and clean. It extends very linearly with no exaggeration especially for the super high frequencies. Female vocals are able to reach their full vocal range without sounding sibilant or harsh. High hats sounded natural and not synthetic. The only complain I had for the treble in the flat settings is that it lacks a little of the extra oomph/energy at the top most frequency resulting in a slightly less satisfying feel when listening to certain vocals heavy songs.


Mids

The mids is where AM7 shines. It is lush and very full. The mids seems to envelope you like a beautiful orangey colored sunset. Vocals sounded smooth and emotional with very little coloration to the sound. Nothing is exaggerated, simply said they just sound right. Each notes carry their own weight and all of them just synchronous to a perfect harmonious blissful sound that will bring a creepy smile to your face. The mids in short is simply mesmerizing. Warm smooth and so seductive,

Bass

Bass for the AM7 is considered to be a surprise for me too. Coming from 64Ears A12, I have always thought that there will not be any BA IEMS that can give me the perfect accurate bass that A12 was capable of. But boy, was I so wrong. The bass from the AM7 is punchy and fast. The decay is also satisfyingly quick and clean. Nothing sounded bloated. In addition, the bass reaches all the way to a very low frequency and each beats comes with a satisfying gut pounding “Thud”. Bass quantity is always sufficient yet never overpowering. Guitar strums and cello plucks gives off a satisfying “twang” and provide goosebumps inducing vibrations. The speed of each beats is also fast and very lively and I find my toes tapping along to all sorts of music. It is just that fun.

Sound Stage

AM7’s soundstage to me is sufficiently big yet not overly wide. It is warm enough to provide an emotional rendition of vocal heavy songs yet airy enough to listen to poorly mastered pop songs. To put it to perspective, the soundstage seems to give you a sense of illusion that you are perhaps at the second row of a concert hall.

But as mentioned previously, the soundstage could perhaps extend more at the top to give the sound an extra energy and sparkle.




Sound Comparison with Other IEM

AM7 ($1050) VS CT500 ($700)

AM7 sounded quicker and more balanced than CT500. Bass quantity and texturing sounded better on the AM7. Vocals is pretty similar for both IEM however, AM7 has a slightly brighter tone as compared to CT500. Consequently, CT500 also stood out against AM7 with a crazy detailed layering and separation of notes.

As of right now, nothing beats CT500’s layering and separation, even with a slightly congested soundstage, CT500 provides a superior separation of instruments as compared to AM7. However, when listening to pop songs or poorly mastered tracks, AM7 provides a better rendition of the song as its wider soundstage provides a more spacious medium for the very complicated mesh-up “mess”, wherelse CT500 will sound bloated and messy.


AM7 ($1050) VS A12 (Replaced by A12T $1999)

Even though AM7 bass sounded really good, I will still have to choose A12 for its bass. The Adel/Module (mine was from Kickstarter) really did provided a much better bass texturing and layering. Mids wise, there is not much contest here, to me I have always felt that A12 lacks the magic in its Mids department, female vocalist sounded boring and lifeless. On the other hand, AM7 is lively and fun. Soundstage for both are equally on par however A12 might have a slight advantage due to the Adel port as it gives A12 a slightly more realistic soundstage.


AM7 ($1050) VS Zeus ($2399)

Now for most who knows me, I am a huge fan of Zeus’s vocals. It is just so creamy smooth and emotional. However, AM7 is still able to compete with Zeus for the best vocals. It reaches the same peak and smoothness as the Zeus but falls short of the Zeus weighty feel to the vocals. This is actually a good shortfall as it resulted in AM7 being more versatile as compared to Zeus. During a vocal heavy song, Zeus wins hands down for providing that raw emotion, however for other songs that is not vocal-centric, the lightness of AM7 notes will result in a much superior sound signature.



Sound impression when Tuning AM7

Red switch down, Blue and Yellow switch up. (+6dB low freq, +5dB vocals).

This was the configuration suggested to me by Ambient Acoustic when I asked them what will be the best configuration if I am listening to mostly female vocalist.

Lo and behold, after trying this configuration for a full week I can say that this is the configuration that I will stick to and be happy for the rest of my life. Remember how I mentioned that the treble extension was a little cut off at the top in the “Flat” settings? With the +5db in the vocals (Mids), this “flaw” has been resolved, now female vocalist soars with power and energy albeit sometimes sounding border lining sibilant. I like this extra oomph but it might be too “hot” for some to handle.

With the +6dB to the low frequency, bass quantity did indeed increases. Texturing and detailing of the bass remains as before, however I was able to notice a slight but noticeable increase to the impact of each bass beats.

Sound stage however took a little beating to the width, but this was compensated with a higher height and greater depth. All this points to a warmer and more intimate sound signature which is to me the “Holy grail” of how vocal-centric music should sound.


Red switch up, Blue switch up, Yellow switch up. (+14dB low freq, +5dB vocals)

Now with this configuration, the sound signature changes most drastically as compared to the “Flat” setting. Vocals became more recessed and further from the central stage. Instead of being at the second row of a concert hall, now you are at the middle row of the hall. Vocals sounded distant and lacks the energy. However, separation of instruments became much more apparent, and more details can be heard effortlessly. In addition, the bass quantity also increased to a large extent yet never bloating the entire sound signature. To me this configuration is the best if you are singing live in a concert or if you are doing live monitoring. The sound signature reminded me of how Empire Ear's ESR sounded like.


Overall Impression

AM7 to me is considered to be a highly versatile IEM. Its “Flat” setting is versatile enough to listen to all types of genre. Nothing sounded bloated or exaggerated. It is fun, lively and very enjoyable. With the implementation of the “LAM” technology, users can experiment with the sound signature as and when they like thus increasing its value. In addition, the ability to use the proprietary cableconnector and the standard 2 pins connection gives it an extra star too.

With a price of 1050 USD, the AM7 is indeed providing more value than it actually cost.

In conclusion, is the AM7 a Jack of all Trade and Master of all? I will say that it’s almost close enough but not yet there. It will be interesting to see how Ambient Acoustic can continue to improve the AM7 for its future “LAM” series!