Global Cooling | Ice Lab Spectrumica Review
Ice Lab is still pretty new on the IEM scene, but they proved their ability to deliver IEM excellence with the $899 Prismatica, which used a simple 5 balanced armature design to deliver exquisite sound that became one of our favorites in 2024. The follow-up $1999 flagship Spectrumica goes in the opposite direction with an 8-driver quadbrid configuration, which aims to deliver a big upgrade to Prismatica’s natural delivery. Can Spectrumica capture the same magic that made Prismatica a fan favorite while elevating the sound to a $2000 flagship level?
Build and Design
At $899, Prismatica’s package was mind-blowingly good. At $1999, Spectrumica’s very similar package is still very good, but not as head-turning in a higher price class. The case, cable, and eartip selection are all excellent, with the “Mica” gold-plated copper cable being a particularly large standout. The other accessories like the protective pouch and leather clip add a heightened sense of quality and luxury to the package.
Internally, Spectrumica is an 8-driver quadbrid with 1 bone conduction driver, 1 dynamic driver, 4 balanced armatures, and 2 ESTs. The shell is made from aviation grade aluminum and designed specifically to maximize the effectiveness of the bone conduction driver. The look and feel is absolutely top class, and unlike some resin or more basic aluminum designs in this price range, Spectrumica’s shell wouldn’t be out of place on an IEM 2-3x the price. When you put it all together though, how does it sound?
Sound
One of the biggest challenges for multi-driver IEMs is managing the frequency response and impulse (the speed at which a driver reacts to input) of different driver types to maintain a cohesive sound. Many high-end tribrids and quadbrids are unable to fully overcome this challenge, and end up offering a technically impressive sound that lacks the natural cohesion of multi-balanced armature or single-dynamic driver IEMs. One of the first things I noticed about Spectrumica is that it is among the most coherent and cohesive sounding quadbrids that I’ve ever heard. While the sound is technically impressive, the presentation is also highly natural.
Part of this natural sound is how Spectrumica uses bone conduction. The low bass shelf isn’t as massive as many other IEMs that feature a subbass BC, but instead offers a natural sense of extension and a moderate helping of low rumble (though I do think you'll perceive more bass than the graph shows. The midbass has a bit of extra punch, with a touch of warmth as well. The end result is a low-end that’s visceral and satisfying while remaining natural and well-balanced.
The midrange is clean and transparent with a focus on clarity and vocal presentation. Vocals are slightly forward without feeling shouty. The transparency and clarity is especially noticeable with complex instrumentation, where Spectrumica demonstrates excellent layering and separation.
The treble provides a strong sense of resolution with good extension and air in the top-end. The treble lends a nice sense of space and enhances the clarity presented by the mids with its clean, resolving presentation.
Spectrumica’s soundstage and imaging are elite at the $2000 price point. Spectrumica provides a wide, deep, and truly three-dimensional feeling soundstage, and delivers lifelike, holographic instruments and vocals. One of the things that I noted it doing particularly well is providing a sense of an expansive space without pushing the instruments too far away from each other – making the soundstage feel 200 feet wide doesn’t mean that your guitarist feels like he’s 200 feet away from your drummer.
Partly on account of many of its strongest qualities being more nuanced, I found Spectrumica to be very sensitive to sources – both in terms of the DAP/DAC/Amp stack that you’re using, and the quality of your music files. It sounds fine listening to Spotify off your phone with a $100 dongle, but it won’t blow you away. Plug Spectrumica into a Astell&Kern SP3000M loaded with DSD files, or stream some 192kHz albums with Qobuz on an iBasso DX340, and you’ll start to appreciate the finer details of soundstage, clarity, separation, and imaging that Spectrumica delivers.
With a classic track like “Just the Two of Us” (the version from Grover Washington Jr’s Winelight), Spectrumica gives the a nice sense of the space around the electric piano at the start of the song, while offering a lifelike ringing out of the tines. When the bass guitar enters, you can really feel each note and hear the textures of the guitar. The percussion stands out at the edge of the mix, giving a sense of width to the stage while the kick drum hits hard, right down the middle, and the instruments, drums, and percussion are all expertly layered. Spectrumica presents excellent vocal imaging with a good sense of weight and placement to both Bill Withers and the backing vocals. The saxophone solo has a “just right” bite on the high notes, but a glassy smooth sound throughout.
Stone Temple Pilots “Interstate Love Song” opens with acoustic guitar and a simple lead line on electric guitar. Spectrumica provides a clear natural delivery of the acoustic guitar, and good placement of the electric guitar – off-center and a little bit off in the distance. When the band hits, you get a good demonstration of Spectrumica’s dynamics, and also its layering which effortlessly presents the listener with the fine details of each instrument. The vocals are big and in your face, but never cross the line into sibilant or shouty – which is an achievement with Scott Weiland’s something nasally vocal delivery.
On “Queen of the Sea” by Norah Jones, you get something a little different. The vocal delivery feels intimate and personal, with good blending and layering in the vocal harmonies. There’s a great interplay between the drums and bass, which Spectrumica captures in a natural cohesive fashion. Spectrumica puts you very much “in the room” with the band, but the electric guitar feels particularly raw and lifelike. The nature of the recording and performance combined with Spectrumica’s imaging really lets you visualize a stage with realistic placement of instruments on the stage and a sense of the air and ambience around the stage.
Comparison: Empire Ears Raven, Thieaudio Valhalla
There are a lot of excellent IEMs around Spectrumica’s $2000 price point, from classics like the 64 Audio U12t and Sony IER-Z1R to newer models like the Campfire Audio Clara or Thieaudio Valhalla. One way products can get “lost” in general is when they get overshadowed by another release, so I thought Thieaudio Valhalla was a good comparison to see how Spectrumica compared to the latest from a more established brand, but as a second comparison, I brought in the Empire Ears Raven because there was something about Spectrumica which really evoked Raven’s sound to me.
In terms of the build and design, Valhalla is one of the best looking IEMs that Thieaudio has made to date, and Raven certainly stands out with its all black shell and engraved faceplate, but Spectrumica remains the real standout here. The construction also offers a lot of confidence with its well executed aluminum shell.
In terms of sound, there are a lot of similarities, but each brings something slightly different to the table. In the below graph, you can get an idea of the tonal balance of each. Raven (Purple) delivers the biggest bass shelf and most subdued midrange. Valhalla (amber) adheres most closely to a classic Harman style signature, with a very clean, impeccably balanced sound. And Prismatica (Red) offers some of Raven’s warmth without the deeper end of the bass, and has vocal delivery and treble that’s a little closer to Valhalla’s reference style curve.
Practically speaking, I felt that Raven offered notably more bass, and the vocals were set back slightly from the other two IEMs, it also offered the most expansive soundstage and holographic imaging. Valhalla takes the prize for incredible cohesion and coherence combined with detail and precision. Prismatica’s defining characteristic in this pairing is that combination of imaging that nearly matches Raven, and a sense of transparency and clarity that avoids the slightly darkness of Raven’s sound signature.
The Bottom Line
Spectrumica might fly under the radar for many, but I think Ice Lab has achieved something special here. It delivers just about the most natural, cohesive quadbrid you can imagine at $1999, while matching many of the imaging characteristics of the much more expensive Empire Ears Raven. Put it all together and you get an IEM with an incredibly lifelike sound and natural delivery that can transport you into the room with the musicians for your favorite songs.
