The only thing that is regrettable about things of such soaring greatness as Empire Ears' Ravens is that they become much more difficult to interpret into language that captures or distills the primal essence of feeling music -- feeling in an almost entirely new way. It's a brilliantly frustrating thing, but I'm going to try (I owe it to you if you're interested in these and want to know what the experience is like)...but I'm not going to write a dissertation. Just the most salient points:
* If you like bass (both refined and 'basshead-y') and can afford these, I can't think of another pair of IEMs that better exemplify such an impressive range in bass. It's remarkably controlled in the right pieces and places, like the final thunderous moments of Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto (Moderato), which can sometimes sound overwhelmingly cacophonous with the wrong setup or IEMs just not up to the task. But here, there's decadent space between each instrument (separation that is enviable and partially responsible for creating the epic scale of the soundstage), and I don't believe I've ever felt Bone Conduction better executed than with the Ravens. True goosebumps...
* Just as much as I enjoy Classical 'deep cuts,' I also love well-produced (think: thumpy, big) hip-hop. A great track to test the proverbial 'wings' of the Ravens is "Intergalactic," The Beastie Boys' 1998 opener to "Hello Nasty." About four seconds in, my jaw was practically on the floor-- I'd never heard it rendered like this before: powerful, heavy-hitting beats, but overall, a surprisingly lithe, flexible sound that allowed for all the lyrics to be clearly heard and never washed away by all that wonderful, pounding bass.
* I promised not to go too far into the sonic weeds with this review, so I'll just end here, stating that I have spent ten years as a trained sound engineer. I know how this stuff works on a technical, usually overly mathematical level -- but how that is translated into emotive, often nostalgic sound that, yes, gives us goosebumps and evokes emotion? It's a mystery to me as much as any layman, and I'll say it right now: the Empire Ears Ravens, being my 66th pair of IEMs, achieve bridging the technical with that emotional sonic mystery with more verve, finesse and magic than ANY. OTHER. PAIR. of IEMs I have ever listened to.
Move over, Odins. The new endgames are jet-black, and they 'cawwwww' into your soul.
I love them and I love ordering from you guys you guys are awesome and amazing customer service. And very knowledgeable. That’s why I follow you guys on YouTube your break things down in the laymanterms and you get people excited .
I have had the pleasure of using the Raven for almost a year now, and I can safely say if you have a love of Bass and thump, there is no better IEM from my experience.
The Raven is very analytical as well, it is not a one trick pony at all. Whatever, genre you throw at it will sound sublime.
The Bone Conduction takes it to another level as well. The cool thing about it, is that you dont just hear the bass thumps and wubs, you can feel them, as if you were near a subwoofer. Those bone conduction vibrations are no joke, you are mixing the sense of hearing and the sense of feel with these IEMs.
A few negatives though. First, the nozzle is a thick boi, it is absolutely critical you get a good comfy pair of tips. I recommend Spinfit W1s, I could only stand using the Raven for about 30mins without them.
Another negative, which is subjective, these IEMs can be very fatiguing. You can easily get ear fatigue and a headache from these, you may have to build a tolerance to wear them for long periods.
Fantastic buy, endgame warm/bassy IEMs for me.
My search for a sound I would be happy with began with the Sennheiser ie900s:
Pro: Coherent and Beautiful Bass and Very Fun Dynamics. Fairly wide soundstage with more of an "in your head" feeling. Physical size. Put them in and forget they are there. Amazing sound and detail retrieved from such a small package.
Con: Midrange a bit dry and treble can be spicy to some making taking breaks listening a must.
Campfire Audio Supermoons:
Pro: Technical Performance is outstanding. Very fast transients. Notes are crystal clear. Fairly wide soundstage with average perceived height.
Con: A bit clinical sounding to my ears. Best paired with warmer leaning source.
Campfire Audio Astrolith:
Pro: Technical Performance is outstanding. Very fast transients. Notes are crystal clear. BASS is bumpin with a bit of warmth making it a bit more fun that the Supermoon. Fairly wide soundstage with average perceived height.
Con: Sounds excellent but like the Supermoons, they need a bit more warmth as it can still be a bit dry. Use a warm leaning source and things are much better.
Empire Ears Raven (EER)
Pro: Unbelievable sound stage. Very wide, tall and deep. Bass delivery is OUTSTANDING! Midrange is so smooth with vocal realism that blows all of the above away in my opinion. The emotion in both male and female voices can actually be felt. Add in excellent instrument separation and placement, the sound is unreal. The EERs are warmer sounding than those listed above making them easy to listen to for long periods of time. They are not as peaky as the others listed but detail retrieval is next level. Bass texture is almost spooky. Notes are very clear and impactful.
Con: (Not really a Con just different) Holographic sound stage can be strange coming from iems that concentrate soundstage "between the ears". The soundstage can make some songs seem a bit too spread out and less dynamic if that makes sense. PRICE !!! Never thought I would need to add IEMs to my home owners insurance policy...
The crazy thing about the EERs I am getting this sound from a midrange DAP, iBasso DX180. I plan to move up a step to either the iBasso DX260 or A&K SE300.
Overall I am completely blown away by the EERs. They are truly remarkable IEMs and have totally ruined my ears. Worth every penny!
This is my first pair of high-end IEMs, and they are crazy. The bass is unreal! Shipping was fast, and I'm very satisfied!







