Mine arrived today! I had no idea they were on their way. I was expecting the LCD-2C instead, but this was a welcome development!
Apparently, packaging specific to the EDC Velvet is expected, so don't judge your shipping expectations on this early delivery. I'm certainly happy to have it earlier.
I'm really happy they came with the case. I was worried, for the price, I'd have to get my own. I was thrilled with the screw-top case that came with my Noble X and this was the exact same.
It came with a simple variety of tips, but my ears must be odd, as very few silicon tips end up getting a good seal with me. Luckily, these work with comply 500's which I had lying around. I snapped them and started listening...
As was mentioned in the sponsored thread, the bass extension on these IS incredible. If you need an entry level IEM for some extra bass-y goodness. I can't think of a reason not to go with these.
I had two specific models I wanted to compare these too: The RE600s v2 and Dunu Titan 1's. The RE600s v2 goes on sale for close to 100 dollars, and the Dunu's were my first iem for around anything north of 50$.
Granted, my listening time with these are limited to but a few hours, but I'm not much of a believer in burn-in.
The testing rigs for this little comparison are:
PC->Bifrost Multibit->Violectric v200->IEM
PC->Bifrost Multibit->MAC 1900->IEM
Aune M2s->IEM
The following impressions are
ENTIRELY UNSCIENTIFIC. JUST GOING BY MY EAR!
Across the board, I'm getting a listening experience that to my ears follow the same general pattern:
A few things popped out to me during these comparisons:
The bass on the Velvet is surprisingly strong. I don't think it's the most controlled, but it blew me away how hard the bass was striking me, in a good way... usually.
The RE600s v2 is still the king of vocals.
The Dunu Titans don't have much great about them, but they're still pretty competitive. Normally it's the soundstage on the Dunu's that shine, but the RE600 and Velvet aren't that far behind, if at all, and the imaging, imo, are better on the other 2. (Used briefly for gaming to come to this conclusion)
The details and clarity of the RE600s v2 are also tops. It seems the bass might be bleeding into the mids, or the mids are recessed, or some combination, such that the upper bass and low mid range seems off. It cleans up towards the low treble, which is why I mention the graphs above being my impressions. It just felt like the mids were left behind a bit. Though these are pretty warm across the board, the EDC's general balance might be decided by the VERY (if not overly) present bass.
Switching between Ninja Sex Party's take on "Heat of the Moment", Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off", and Hayley Williams in Zed's "Stay the Night", I just felt like the vocals were the weakest in the EDC Velvet.
I moved on to Gym Class Heroes' "Stereo Hearts", Flogging Molly's "There's Nothing Left Pt. 1", and realized it was track dependent, as I felt the Velvet's pull ahead of the Titan's for vocals here.
BUT... If you have a taste for the wub-wubs, listening through the entire album of Magnatron by New Retro Wave was incredibly enjoyable on the Velvet's, and the bass experience was very unexpected from such small drivers.
I also found the Velvet's weren't bad for gaming. I played a few hours in Destiny 2 using them, and it was a surprisingly visceral audio experience.
All-in-all, the EDC's have something to offer if you're looking for a bass-heavy offering, or a pair of iems that aren't fatiguing to wear or listen to. I found hip-hop and electronic play best with these so far, but it's a process. I'm gonna keep tinkering with these until I get a better bead on how to make them shine the brightest, but so far, they're pretty good fun
EDIT TO ADD:
Pair the EDC Velvet with a neutral or bright source. Out of a warm source, they just sound muddy.