Disclaimer

I received the Advar as part of the review tour. I'm not sponsored by Meze Audio or received any compensation for my review, or under any influence. I'm required to return the unit after I finish the review.
Thank you Andy Kong and Meze Audio for sending it.
The review is purely based on my own biased music taste.


About me

I'm an Asian guy living in Europe. I'm not a specialist in audio or anything. Music is my hobby. 95% of my library contains Japanese music. The rest are some western pop/rock.


About the IEM

Meze Audio was founded in 2011 in Romania. The Advar is their latest single-DD offering. At the time of writing, its retailed price is 699$/699€. I haven't had the chance to try any Meze products before, but from what I learned, Meze's IEMs and headphones are always built with a very high standard. The Advar is no exception - it is one of the most beautiful IEMs I have ever seen!


Unboxing



The Advar arrived with a compact but premium package. The outer sleeve with golden printing emits a premium feel to the box. After sliding it over, I was greeted with a simple and compact cardboard box. Lifting the lit and the IEM is positioned nicely in the foam cut out.

The rest of the box includes:

• User manual/marketing booklet
• A leather pouch big enough to carry all accessories inside
• 3.5mm SPC cable with MMCX connectors
• Final E tips
• Cleaning brush
• And a very nice MMCX removal tool

Of all the accessories, I'm very impressed with the MMCX removal tool. I wish Meze would sell it separately! It is built to last and very solid.



Fit, comfort and isolation



The outer shell of the IEM is made of stainless steel, which makes it feel quite heavy on the hand, considering how small it is. However, it is very comfortable once I put them on my ears. The contour of the shell fills the contra nicely, and creates no fatigue or pain with long hours of listening - I could wear them for the whole day. The nozzles are on the short side though, so YMMV. The IEM is painted with a deep glossy black/brown finish, which is prone to scratches and fingerprints. Nevertheless, the finish somehow hides any blemishes pretty well - I won't be able to see them if I don't inspect them very closely at a bright light source, which is uncommon anyway.

The included cable is very soft, but sometimes I feel like it is too soft and fragile - I can't comment on long-term durability. It is also very easy to get tangled. The hardware is all plastic, but at 699$, I can't complain much. The upside is that there is 0 microphonic coming from the cable while I walk around with it.

Isolation is above average. Despite being a vented IEM, passive noise blocking is quite good once I get the tips fully sealed.


Technology

• Driver: 10.2mm Dynamic driver
• Frequency Range: 10 Hz - 30 kHz
• Impedance: 31 Ω
• SPL: 111dB/mW
• Distortion: <1% at 1kHz

Upon closer inspection, there is a vent at each nozzle. Due to the short nozzles, the tips can potentially block this vent. I'm not quite sure if the vent on the front of the shell is for acoustical reasons or only for decoration, but it looks cool nonetheless.

I hear no hish or noise coming from the IEMs, regardless of the sources. The Advar is not a difficult one to drive, so source pairing usually comes down to the sound signature that creates the best synergy.


Sound
The Advar has a mild V-shape sound signature, with slightly greater emphasis on both ends of the sound spectrum. Overall tuning leans toward the warm and rich side. There is a very huge peak at 8kHz that can make-or-break the tuning. As long as you are fine with this peak, or have a way to tame it, the Advar's tuning is very easy to like.

Treble
Let's start with the most controversial part of Advar's tuning, the treble region. The massive peak at 8kHz gives the IEM lots of clarity for bells/chimes or string instruments, but at the same time, this peak aggressively pushes cymbals and vocal air to the front of the mix, masking other parts of the sound spectrum. At the default configuration (Final E tips and no EQ), this peak really ruins the experience for me.

Luckily, the Advar is very easy to EQ. Simply drag the 8k region down a few notches from the EQ of my Sony ZX300, it fixes the problem. The Final E tips also partly contribute to the annoying peak here. Frankly, I couldn't find any sets of silicon tips that fixes the problem. In the end, I used a set of unknown foam tips with additional filter inside the nozzle, which has (more or less) the same effect as EQ-ing.

Thankfully, from that moment on, I can enjoy the Advar on almost any device. Its treble region really brings out the smallest bits of details that I never heard before in an orchestra. With the 8kHz tamed down, I found myself pushing the volume higher just to enjoy the addictive and vibrant sound. Advar sounds best with soundtracks, symphonies, and orchestras. I listened through my whole discography of Joe Hisaishi during the test, but keep coming back for more!

Mid
Out of the 3 regions, the midrange was not the one grabbing my attention at first, but it is what tied the treble and the bass together in a natural way. There was a slight warmth coming from the lower mid that provide enough body for instrument and vocal to sound "right". Detail is not on the same level as the treble, however, I appreciate its characteristic during long listening sessions. Its timbre is also excellent. Vocal-wise, the Advar gives a slight edge for male vocal, nevertheless, female vocal sounds sweet and upfront, lacking just a tiny bit of the last octave (as my library contains mostly Japanese music, I would appreciate a bit more energy here, but that's just me).

Bass
At first, I have a false memory of Meze's house sound being warm with abundant amount of bass. I have never listened to any of Meze's headphones or IEMs before, but the amount of bass in Advar is just in the sweet spot for me. Subbass is tastefully lifted to provide some thumping beats, whereas the midbass stays just right to avoid bloating. The result is a clean but pronounced bass to create a firm and big foundation for the rest of the mix. Electronic genre would greatly benefit from the bass of Advar.
Combined with the emphasized treble, my personal favorite is SEKAI NO OWARI. Their music combines deep electronic beat mix with beautiful instrumental melody, which is rendered perfectly through the Advar.


Technicalities

The soundstage is wide with more height than depth, leaning toward an ellipsoid shape rather than a sphere. Although the soundstage is on the intimate side, but it never felt congested. Layering-wise, it's pretty accurate and nicely separated. Incoherency is non-existent here.

The position of the mix is always slightly above my eyes, which makes me feel like sitting in the front row of the concert hall.
In terms of resolution and detail, I never feel like missing anything. The Advar is also a very dynamic IEM, being able to render the slightest sound all the way to the explosion in an orchestra.


Pairing

Tips
As mentioned previously, Advar is quite sensitive to tips-rolling. I used a pair of foam tips with filter to tame down the 8kHz peak, but YMMV

Source
Being a fairly efficient IEM and very low (almost 0) hiss, I could pair it with many different sources. My favorite combination is pairing with the Sony ZX300 to add a bit more flavor to the signature. With the QLS QA361, the sound turns toward analytical, but is still very natural.


Comparison

FAudio Dark Sky (1150$)
A single dynamic driver IEM. Despite the price difference, both IEMs share a lot of similarities in terms of sound tuning. The Dark Sky has a brighter but more agreeable treble, a tad more aggressive upper mid, and a lot more bass (which can be overwhelming with certain tracks). Between the two, Advar is a more musical tuning. Technicalities are about the same, with the Dark Sky having more depth but with less height. Considering sound alone, Advar offers a very good value at 699$. But I would say the Dark Sky offer a more complete package, with a better (balanced) cable, more tips selection. But if this is not your priority, I will pick Advar over the Dark Sky.


Conclusion

If you're fine with the treble out of the box or willing to tame it with EQ or tips, and you're looking for a coherence single dynamic driver without breaking the bank, not to mention a solid build quality, look no further. The Advar punches way above its class. If I don't have the Dark Sky already, I must confess that I am very tempted to add the Advar into my collection. In a world multi-driver IEMs taking the spotlight, it's always refreshing to return to a simple, well-built single dynamic driver IEM.

Disclaimer
I received the Axiom as part of the review tour. I'm not sponsored by Effect Audio or received any compensation for my review, or under any influence. I'm required to return the unit after I finish the review.
Thank you Nic and Effect Audio for sending it.
The review is purely based on my own biased music taste.


About me
I'm an Asian guy living in Europe. I'm not a specialist in audio or anything related.
Music is my hobby. 95% of my library contains Japanese music. The rest are some western pop/rock.


About the IEM
Effect Audio is a well-established IEM cables maker. As far as I know, the Axiom is their first attempt at creating in-ear headphones fully from the ground up. They also present here an interesting concept with swappable modules (on the IEM itself) to change the sound tuning and connector type for different cable connectors.


Unboxing
Square is the theme here. The package I received includes a paper box for the IEM, a smaller paper box for a different set of modules, and a cable in a plastic bag.

The first 2 square paper boxes were wrapped in colorful packages, opened by a pull tab running around the box. Once opened, the actual box is presented with simple classy black paper.



Main box
- A pair of Axiom (with black module pre-installed, this one in MMCX)
- 3 pairs of silicone tips
- An extra pair of swappable modules (with 2-pin connector)
- A small screwdriver for changing the module
- And some plastic cards for warranty and instructions

Second box (will be included with the Axiom purchase)
- A pair of silver modules (with 2-pin connector)
- Another plastic card with QR code for instructions



An additional Thor Silver cable is included for the review purpose

Nic mentioned that a special cable will be included in the future. Because of this, I cannot comment on the performance or the usability of the future cable. But I hope that being a cable manufacturer, they will not disappoint.

In comparison with other offerings from China brands, the presentation here is rather poor, but it does the job well. It doesn’t radiate the high price tag of the Axiom though (1499$ for the IEM - and hopefully that covers a cable in the future as well). Bare minimum is the theme here. But I’m fine with that. A nicer box cannot cover any faults in the actual sound of the IEM anyway, but it also gives buyers a better experience in owning the IEM.


Built, fit, comfort and isolation
When I first put on the Axiom with the included tips, I must say, the included tips suck! They are pretty hard, provide not enough sealing for the IEM sound properly, and cause some discomfort to my left ear. I switched to Final’s tips and it is much better ever since.

The shell is big, but I have no problem fitting them. The nozzles are large and short though, so I advise those with small ears to try them on first if possible. Here we have aluminum as the main shell’s structure, titanium for nozzles, and natural stone for faceplate. The modules are also covered in aluminum. They are pretty well built and elegant. The shell is a bit heavy though, but it does not fall out on its own when I’m walking around. YMMV.



Since I don’t know which cable will be included in the future, I can’t comment on that. The one included for the review, Thor, is pretty well made, soft and microphonic-free. I expect no less for the cable that is included in the future - but this is just my own expectation (more on that later)

Isolation is average, due to the vent for dynamic driver inside the IEM. I can hear the noise, even with music on. The included tips also contribute to some of that as well.


Technology
The sound of the Axiom was generated by a 12-mm magnesium dynamic driver for bass-mids, and 2 Knowles BA drivers for high frequencies. The sensitivity is at 112 dB/mW, so it’s fairly easy to drive. One thing I would like to mention is that the Axiom picks up hisses from sources pretty easily. I couldn’t pair it with the Hifiman Supermini or the Fiio Q1mkII. There was only faint hiss from the 3.5mm output of the Sony ZX300, and totally clean from the QLS QA361, so please keep that in mind when pairing the IEM.

The highlight of the Axiom is the ability to change modules for different cable connectors and also change the tuning. This is not the first IEM with swappable modules, but definitely the first one with different connectors! The module's built quality is very solid and locks in place via some guided tabs and a screw.



The idea is you will reuse any cable lying around, regardless of the connector type, but in practice, it was quite difficult to swap the modules. There is a trick to take out the module, whereas to put the module in place, you may need to press down until you hear a click.

I was given the silver module with 2-pin connector for the review purpose, and was told that it will come bundled with the package. The changes in sound result from the modules serving as an extended crossover, so different configurations of that affect the tuning.


Sound
The sound of the Axiom is heavily influenced by the module installed. At the moment, Effect Audio offers 2 different modules: MU (the black one comes preinstalled with the Axiom), and YU (the extra silver module).

To summarise: both modules create a very colored sound, definitely not a neutral/reference tuning. The black module has a strong V-shaped sound, with an emphasis on mid-bass and upper mid/high. Personally, I don’t like this sound tuning at all. There was too much mid-bass that is bloated into the lower mid, but it lacks the punch from the sub-bass. The vocal (both male and female) is super thin and sibilance, also with plasticky high that makes the cymbal sound mushy and unrealistic.

I‘m glad that I managed to swap the silver module in. Without it, I don’t think I could continue with the review. The silver module definitely helps by adding more body to the mid, the vocal sounds fuller and more relaxing. The bass is still quite overwhelming for my taste, however, the whole signature goes toward a more balanced, relaxed, and lush listening experience. My review will mainly focus on the sound coming from this module (with some comparison with the black module occasionally).

In short, I would say the sound signature would work well with EDM or slow acoustic songs. It struggles in fast pace rock tracks or classical music, due to the big midbass hump.



Bass
Thick, heavy, and strong were my first impression when I first put the Axiom one. For some reason, I felt like the silver module has a bit more texture and more control, while the black one is more midbass emphasized.

ANTI-HERO by SEKAI NO OWARI, the intro starts with satisfying string pluck. The pronounced midbass did a very good job here highlighting the vibration and texture of the Double bass. The same experience can be found in the third opening of My Hero Academia, Speed to Masatsu by amazarashi. Through these 2 songs, the heavy and lush bass really sets the dark and violent mood. But Axiom's presentation of the intro in The Greatest Show on Earth by Nightwish was what impressed me the most. Its explosive, skull rattling type of bass absolutely blows me away. It's how the Big Bang feels through sound!

On the other hand, this level of bass frequently gets into the rest of the frequency. For instrumental/classical pieces or fast pace live concerts, the low section was emphasized too much that it makes the song feels congested. I wish there was a bit more sub-bass in exchange for midbass, that would help to balance the whole frequency range much better.

Mid
Continue the theme of relaxed tuning, the mid range shows a very smooth vocal, but at the same time can be sibilance. This is way more pronounced on the black module, where the vocal lacks body and gets too sharp, while being lost in the bass.

Switching to the silver module, the vocal is now fuller and more balanced, but I wish there is a bit more detail in the mid-range. For example, in The Greatest Show on Earth, some of the grunt at the highest notes of Floor Jansen is lost. Another example is Night Light by 守夜人, where the midrange is smooth over the little whisper sound. Though I assume this is the direction of the tuning, being relaxed over resolution.

Treble
There's not a lot to talk about the treble of the Axiom, and I think this is the weakest part of it. The black module shows a better treble extension, however, it sounds unrealistic with incorrect timbre. The silver module gives a better timbre, but the definition and the energy of treble are also reduced, thus I frequently crank up the volume to get some more info in this part. I wish there was more sparkle and bite from the upper frequency for high-pitch electric guitar, with the silver module, it feels small and lack proper energy.

Technicalities
Some of the details here have been mentioned above, but I will still mention them again. The tuning goes for relaxing over detailing, thus, the resolution is not its highest strength. Surprisingly, it still manages a very good imaging and soundstage. The soundstage, while not being very large, it has good left-right separation. It's not very deep or high however, making more of an elliptical shape.

Imaging is quite sharp, with good definition between each instrument. Dynamic-wise, it's just at acceptable level, however, considering the tuning, I think it would be alright.

Coherency with the black module is not very good, with BA timbre being present in the high frequency. The silver module presents a much better blend of dynamic and BA driver, however, it can't compete with the single DD.

Pairing
The Axiom is quite sensitive, thus phones can drive it with adequate volume. However, the technicalities improve with better sources.
Due to the nature of the tuning, I prefer pairing the Axiom with a more neutral or bright source to tame the bass. The QLS QA361 with its neutral but smooth sound goes well with the Axiom. The Sony ZX300 gives the bass some extra push, so I don't really like it.



Comparison

FAudio Dark Sky (reviewed here)
Right off the bat, the box presentation indicates a premium product from FAudio. It comes with a lot more accessories but cost 400$ less (MSRP). It's also easier to drive, but not by a lot.

Sounds wise, I much prefer the tuning of the Dark Sky: the bass is more controlled but still quite tastefully emphasized. Midrange has more detail especially at the vocal department, while also having better extension and resolution in the treble. The tuning of Dark Sky plays well with more genres, especially Pop, Jazz, and Rock.

In terms of technicalities, the Dark Sky is a tad smaller in left-right direction, but it is deeper, making a more complete sphere. The imaging and separation is similar between the two. But with coherency, Dark Sky wins hands down, with its single dynamic driver.

Nitpicking
The Axiom would get a solid 4-star from me, even though its tuning does not play well with my music library. At its current state, 1499$ is quite a high price, considering that there's no cable if you buy it directly from Effect Audio. The information is quite lacking and outdated on their website, although I don't think anyone would buy a 1499$ IEM without some research. At the moment, the silver module is bundled with the package, however, I couldn't find any information about it anywhere, only after asking Nic.

Effect Audio could also do better in terms of user manual/instruction. At the moment, I found some problems:
1. There were no instructions inside the box. With the QR code, I was presented with some upcoming news about collaboration, but no proper instructions on how to actually change the module (the same link on each QR code I could find). There was a very short video on their website for commercial purposes.
2. The black module that offers by default with the IEM has 2 pairs for MMCX and 2-pin connectors. The silver one was not so generous - giving only the choice of 2-pin only or MMCX only. I couldn’t find any information about the extra module from the Axiom introduction page on Effect Audio website, or whether they can buy or get the silver module in MMCX.

The biggest problem for me, however, is the lack of cable.
Bringing up the environmental excuse is lame, I would say. If the IEM comes with decent quality cable, then we won't have to throw them away. At the same time, Nic said that they don't have intention to redesign the package at the moment. I understand that there's a certain MOQ for each component order, boxes being one of them, but if you would really go for the environment, then the package should be as small and compact as possible, not spreading into an extra box just for the extra module.

Please note that a special cable will be included in the future.

Conclusion
I am very grateful to Effect Audio for sending me the Axiom for review. It's great to see new ideas coming up, and modular is certainly an interesting direction. However, at the price of 1499$, it will surely encounter some fierce competition from 1000$ IEMs. If you are basshead, and like the idea of swappable modules to incorporate different connectors and especially vastly different tuning, this is definitely a unique combination for you. I feel like the drivers are of high quality and quite capable, so I'm interested in what future modules will bring to the table.

Disclaimer:
I bought the IEM from Musicteck at MSRP (1150$) with my own money. I'm not sponsored by FAudio, Musicteck, or received any compensation for my review, or under any influence.
The review is purely based on my own music taste. This is my first IEM at 1000$ so it may have some bias.


About me:
I'm an Asian guy living in Europe. I'm not a specialist in audio or anything. Music is my hobby. 95% of my library contains Japanese music. The rest are some western pop/rock. Due to geographical limitation, my exposure to the high-end market is limited.



About the IEM
FAudio is a Hong Kong brand, started in 2014. They are relatively famous in China, but do not have much coverage elsewhere. The Dark Sky is the successor to their previous flagship universal IEM, Major. Introduced in Summer 2021, I believe the Dark Sky is their first model being sold outside of Asia. Same as the previous flagship UIEM, this IEM contains a single dynamic driver only. Unfortunately, their website does not even cover the Dark Sky yet, which is a shame.



Unboxing

The IEM is packed inside a fairly premium box. Dark blue (or Dark-sky blue) is the theme here. Apart from the IEM itself (and the cable), FAudio provides a good selection of accessories:

• Leather case
• 3.5mm and 4.4mm adaptor
• 2 types of silicone tips and one pair of foam tips
• Cleaning brush
• Soft pouch for each side
• Protective silicone covers for the IEM’s housing

Inside the Service Pack, we have the Warranty Card, User Guide, cleaning cloth, and another textile pouch, all in high quality.

With the real estate inside the box, I would prefer having the tips laid out in a structured table, rather than stuffing everything inside a tiny plastic zip bag inside the leather case. It will greatly help to explain the difference between the types of tips (more on that later) as well as easier to find the size.

I particularly like the soft protective cover for the housing, as well as the 2 adaptors. Since the cable terminates at 2.5mm balanced connector, the adaptors will ensure compatibility with any DAPs. The silicone covers are very soft and provide great protection for the IEM. Wearing the IEM with the covers gives me quite a funny feeling: the outer part is very soft and snugly fit, while the inside is solid and cold.



The cable is made out of pure silver alloy, divided into 4 strands with matching color. The hardware parts are CNC machined, which gives a very solid and premium feeling. The outer jacket is very soft and pliable, however, the pre-curved 2-pin connectors are pretty stiff, which may affect the fit and comfort. Nevertheless, it’s a good one and I bet you will like it.



Fit, comfort and isolation

The shell of the IEM is made of lightweight aluminum. There are no sharp edges, and its design fits wonderfully into my ears, even without any cable support. My girlfriend, who has particularly small ears, also praised the design as this is my first IEM that actually fits her ears I’m a bit worried about long-term duration of the paint coating though, seeing it being scratched from various photos (on Weibo).

The cable, while being very soft and flexible, is on the heavy side. The pre-curved parts, on the other hand, are very stiff. They rotate the IEM inside my ears, causing a very uncomfortable pain. It took me a few days to bend them to the shape I want. Even then, due to the non-rotatable nature of the 2-pin connectors (vs MMCX), very often the cable is pushed out from the back of my ears. I use the chin slider to keep the cable from moving too much, but this is not my preferred choice. Nevertheless, once I fixed all the problems with the cable, it is now very comfortable. There is no microphonic coming from it while walking.

Isolation is average (or should I say below-average), due to the shell design – with 2 vents on each side for the acoustic chambers, I can hear the conversation quite easily even with music on, thus I won’t recommend using it on public transport.



Technology



Given that the IEM carries only a single dynamic driver on each side, there must be some serious technology to back up the hefty price. Fortunately, in this IEM, we have the second generation of the design inherited from Major. The same Triple Built-in Acoustic Chamber (TBAC) is used, but now the nozzle is now made of stainless steel to avoid oxidization problem. What are the 3 chambers, you may ask? They are the nozzle, the outer shell, and the actual housing of the driver, each has a different function.

The driver itself is a 10.2mm double diaphragm dynamic driver. One is Fiber material and the other is a DLC material diaphragm. The driver is actually very easy to drive, having 24ohm impedance and 114dB sensitivity.

How does all that affect the sound? Let’s dive right into it.



Sound

Frequency response from Crinacle

The Dark Sky has a W-shaped signature, with emphasis on the bass and the treble, but never becomes harsh. Mid takes a slight step back, but it is still quite pronounced. Here I would like to take a quote from Twister6, who had wonderfully summarized the sound signature of Dark Sky in one sentence:

In a way, it allows you to analyze details of instruments and vocals in non-analytical way.

Click to expand...

I strongly recommend at least 100 hours of burn-in. After this, the bass gets tighter, there is no bleeding, mid gets smoother and the soundstage expands outside your head a bit more.

Bass

Oh, the bass! I’m not a bass-head, so I was skeptical judging from the frequency response. At first, I was not very familiar with the level of bass in the Dark Sky, but after the burn-in period, the bass evolved to wow me: it extended well into the sub-bass region with great impact when it is called for. Midbass never gets into lower mid. The bass region is very articulate with excellent texture and natural decay. The downside? This is not a neutral bass by any means, but a very fun bass shelf that will make your heart thump!

An example: ANTI-HERO by Sekai No Owari. The beginning of this song starts with a string of double bass, follow by a very low piano note. The Dark Sky portrays both with wonderful texture, and the rumble from the bass is pronounced without muddying the piano.

Midrange

The midrange can be described as clean and lively. From this part, your experience may vary greatly depending on the tips and source matching (more on that later). In general, the lower mid stays flat with a slight bump just to keep a nice body. The Upper mid has a proper boost to provide details and presentation to the vocal and instrument. Vocal is well separated from the instrument (sometimes I find it too separated from the background track on certain tracks). The tuning favors Asian music, where vocal often stays at a higher pitch than the Western counterpart. The midrange is always full of detail with very good layering, but never becomes harsh. Texture is well-defined and has great accuracy in timbre.

For example: Yorushika – Spring Thief - suis’s vocal fluctuates beautifully from the lowest note to the highest note. There is a great separation and dynamic coming from the initial guitar to the main chorus. I can discern each instrument from the mix very easily. For a busier, fast-paced track, like MY FIRST STORY – 1000000 TIMES (ft. chelly), the Dark Sky never skips a beat and keep everything at great clarity, nothing is lost in the song, with Hiro’s and chelly’s voice standing in front

Treble

From the upper midrange to the treble region, based on the graph, initially, I was afraid that it would be harsh and sibilance. After proper burn-in, I’m glad that it was not the case. Violin is airy and has a very good texture. Cymbal comes out with an accurate timbre, and never jumps out too much or becomes harsh. The energy coming from the treble produces crunchiness and extended very well into the Air region. But, I can see that this level of treble can be fatiguing to some. Nevertheless, I don’t hear any annoying ‘s’ and ‘ts’, so the treble-sensitive shouldn’t be worried here.



Technicalities

My exposure to the high-end market is limited, so please take it with a grain of salt

Even though the soundstage is no match vs open-back headphones, this is the largest soundstage from an IEM that I have experienced. It has a proper left/right extension, with depth greater than height. With proper tracks, the space is accurately portrayed, nothing exaggerated. I particularly love listening to live recordings with the Dark Sky, it makes me feel like I’m in the concert hall, front row. Everything is laid out in 180-degree field, maybe even a touch more. But, the stage can get intimate if the song demands it.

Unfortunately, it does not have enough height for orchestras. Nevertheless, the Dark Sky redeems itself with pinpoint imaging and excellent layering. The center image is very strong, making me feel like having the singer right in front of me. It spots a great macro-dynamic as well, being able to swing from the quiet note to the explosive chorus, in Nightwish - The Greatest Show On Earth for example. Being a single dynamic driver, the Dark Sky is very coherent.

The tuning works well with all types of music. Due to its energetic presentation, bad recordings will be exposed here.



Pairing

Tips

The Dark Sky comes with 3 types of tips: foam (which is not my favorite type of tips, so I didn’t touch it), grey tips, and white silicone tips. With some digging, I found that the silicone tips actually have different purposes, with grey tips being dubbed as ‘Vocal’ tips, and white tips being ‘Instrument’ tips.


As their names suggest, the Vocal tips push the vocal upfront even more, while the Instrument tips favor the instruments, and have the vocal blends more with the background track. In both cases, I find the upper midrange a tad fatiguing.

For example, with Reona’s まっさら, during the chorus, from around 0.56, it gets particularly high with Reona’s voice and the instruments all raise up together.

With this, I return to my good old Final E tips. This helps to shave away some sharp edges up top, while maintaining a good vocal separation at the level between the grey tips and the white tips. I highly recommend this combination if you find the upper mid/lower treble region too bright.

Source

The Dark Sky is very sensitive, so it is relatively easy to drive. On the other hand, it does hiss, so you will need a clean source for a dark background. With my QLS QA361, there is no hiss coming from the single-ended output, but there is a faint hiss from the balanced one. No hiss from the Sony A55 either, but it hisses terribly with the Hifiman Supermini even with the single-ended output.

I prefer pairing the Dark Sky with a neutral source, like the QA361. With the Sony A55, the mid-bass can get too pronounced at certain tracks. The Dark Sky also benefits from the extra definition and resolution from the QA361.





Comparisons

final A8000 (1999$)

The flagship IEM from final houses pure beryllium dynamic driver and cost almost double the price of the Dark Sky. The shells are the top-notch Japanese quality. It’s a bit heavier than the DS, but more comfortable in my ears. The accessories however don’t justify the price tag, but the overall experience is still flagship-like.

The tuning of A8000 is very similar to the Dark Sky. Surprisingly, the bass of the A8000 is on the same level in terms of quantity, even though frequency response didn’t suggest that. Quality is on another level: quick, punchy, squeaky-clean, and detailed. The best type of bass.

Mid is somewhat similar as DS, however, it’s a tad brighter. Male vocal has less warmth, while female vocal is borderline shouty (to me). It can get a bit fatiguing in some J-Pop tracks. This brings us 2 issues: vocal can get unnatural sometimes, and the mid does not tolerate any bad recordings.

On the other hand, A8000 shines the brightest with instruments. Combined with hyper detailed but smooth high, anything with strings sounds absolutely heavenly. I never feel the string pluck to be rendered so life-like in any IEMs. The A8000 is made for classical and symphonies.

Technicalities are what really pull the A8000 ahead. Soundstage is wide, tall and deep, but not in an exaggerate way. It can paint a very accurate picture of the recording: if the recording is intimate, the vocal and the band sit right next to you; but if the recording includes spatial cues, the A8000 can also express it. Imaging is even more precise than DS, so does dynamic. All I can say is that the A8000 is in a different league when it comes to technicalities.

Sennheiser IE600 (699$)

Another DD IEM, this time from Sennheiser. I could only spend 30 minutes with it, so please take this comparison with a grain of salt. Both IEMs share a very similar sounds profile, with the IE600 being a little more relaxed and refined. The bass profile is very similar, but the IE600 is slightly cleaner and has better definition here. Same goes for the mid, where the IE600 demonstrate a very similar character. The high is where I found the biggest difference: the IE600 has slightly better extension, but also can get hot with the S and Z sound. Soundstage is slightly narrower, but overall, at 700$, I can't complain about it!

Meze Advar (699$)

Cross-posting from the Advar review: Despite the price difference, both IEMs share a lot of similarities in terms of sound tuning. The Dark Sky has a brighter but more agreeable treble, a tad more aggressive upper mid, and a lot more bass (which can be overwhelming with certain tracks). Between the two, Advar is a more musical tuning. Technicalities are about the same, with the Dark Sky having more depth but with less height. Considering sound alone, Advar offers a very good value at 699$. But I would say the Dark Sky offer a more complete package, with a better (balanced) cable, more tips selection. But if this is not your priority, I will pick Advar over the Dark Sky.



Conclusion

In the end, I find that the Dark Sky did live up to its name: a thick, black space with sparkling stars. In the end, it all comes down to personal preference, but if you are looking for a fun-sounding IEM, with great technicalities and coherency, this might be the one. I'm eager to see how FAudio moves forward from here!

Disclaimer:
I received the Fantasy as part of the review tour. I'm not sponsored by Cayin or received any compensation for my review, or under any influence.
Thank you Andy Kong and Cayin for arranging the tour.
The review is purely based on my own bias music taste.

About me:
I'm an Asian guy living in Europe. I'm not a specialist in audio or anything related.
Music is my hobby. 95% of my library contains Japanese music. The rest are some western pop/rock.
For the testing purpose, here is the music I listen to:

• Yorushika
• amazarashi
• Aimer
• Anime OST (mainly Ghibli)
• ONE OK ROCK
• MY FIRST STORY
• ReoNa
• Nightwish
• Passenger

About the product:
The Cayin Fantasy featured a single dynamic driver with beryllium-coated diaphragm.
The included cable is constructed by a mix of OCC copper and silver-plated copper. It features 2-pin 0.78mm gold-plated connectors and 3.5mm single-ended plug.
Price: 799$

Unboxing:
The whole unboxing experience is very satisfying. It reminds me of some expensive jewelry boxes. The box is very well designed, easy to open with cut-out holes and magnetic closure.


After sliding out the external sleeve, the box construction is revealed:


From top to bottom:

1. The IEMs
2. Tips and leather storage pouch
3. Cable and Accessories (cleaning brush, cloth, tweezers, cable clip and user manual.

Fit and Finish:
The shell is made from 316 stainless steel - the same material as watches. It is very well made, there is no sharp edges or gaps.
Cayin chose to finish the steel in polished instead of brushed. It provide some high-end "bling", however, it makes the shell prone to fingerprints and scratches. But you can always polish it with some Cape Cod (or any metal polishing compound).

The biggest downside to me is the weight. The Fantasy is on the heavy side, but the tips help to keep the IEMs in place. From time to time they tend to slip out and lose the seal, thus I need to readjust it. Anyhow, being a vented system, they are not very good at sound isolation compared to a full BA system.

As I mentioned earlier, the Fantasy uses 2-pin connectors and 3.5mm TRS plug. All of them are solidly built. I especially love the extruded 2-pin connectors. Combining with the cable, it makes swapping cables feel a lot more secure and premium.



Unexpectedly, I could unscrew the metal mesh filter at the nozzle. This might be for cleaning (another clever trick), but would be great if there was a tuning system via filters.

The included cable is very supple. It has no microphonic when I walk around.

General tuning:
Emphasize on upper midrange and treble region. On a neutral source, it might sound very piercing. But, the upside is that it delivers a very airy signature with expansive soundstage. Imaging is pinpoint accurate.

Pairing:
The Fantasy is not super hard to drive. With Sensitivity at 108 dB at 1kHz and Impedance at 37 Ohms, you can plug it directly to your phone. However, it only truly shines when pairing with a good source.
Why do I want to put it first? I must say, it's a very niche tuning - with big emphasis on upper midrange and treble. Out of the box, they sounds very painful with sibilance.
They definitely needs a warm source to tame the signature sound.

QLS QA361: I consider it to be a neutral source. It has ok bass energy, but the mid and treble are very shouty as if they are screaming at you. Cymbal hit is splashy, the s, ts, ss is very pronounced. The vocal is on the thin side. Instruments have a metallic timbre to them, especially piano. Due to the high energy of the upper mid and treble, I couldn’t turn up the volume to hear the lower end of the sound spectrum. On the plus side, the soundstage is wide and airy. Instrument separation is very good. I love how string instruments sound is portrayed here: there is a raw sense that makes them sound quite engaging, even though sometimes it feels artificial.

Hifiman Supermini: The female vocal sounds more balance here but the treble is still fatiguing. There is still a slight sense of metallic timbre.

Sony A50 + MrWalkman A50Z mod (Plus mode): Oh. My. God. This is what is supposed to sound like! No more metallic timbre, the treble is well controlled, the bass is elevated in a tasteful way. Vocal, both male and female, has more lower-end energy. Soundstage is a touch smaller, but separation is still very good. Detailing is slightly reduced, but thanks to that, the Fantasy sounds a lot more musical. Which makes me question whether this is Cayin’s intention to pair the Fantasy with their Tube amp DAPs? I imagine they would be a great match, but I couldn't verify this. The rest of my review of the Fantasy is based on this combination, even though this might not be the true nature of the IEMs.

Sound (through Sony A50Z + Mr.Walkman mod):
Bass: the bass of the Fantasy can be described as neutral. Sub-bass is a bit lacking, it does not provide enough rumble when needed. On the other hand, mid-bass is absolutely clean and can be EQ-ed without bleeding into the lower mid. The bass section has a very good texture and detail though. I wish there is a touch more sub-bass, but the best thing about the Fantasy is that it responds very well to EQ, so you can tune it however you want!

Mid-range: the mid-range is literally the star of the show (to the point where it is too bright). As mentioned previously, the mid is pushed to the front, so you can hear a lot of details in this section, at the cost of shouty due to hot upper mid. With the A50Z mod, it tames down the shoutiness, and here is when I start loving the Fantasy. The instruments are crystal clear. Piano sounds absolutely natural, there’s no more sense of metallic. With the added warmth, vocal sounds fuller, while still retains their vividness. It's a bit dry though, you won't find a lush and sweet performance here. Everything is at 150% detail enhanced.

Treble: String instruments shine the best here, the grunge, the power,…it is phenomenal. I can hear every detail from the highest notes of a violin. Separation and resolution is top-notch, maybe a bit over the top from time to time.

Technical performance: With an emphasis on upper midrange and treble region, it's no surprise that the Fantasy is super airy and spacious. Soundstage is wide, with enough depth and height. It's not a concert hall though, more like a medium hall. Imaging is excellent, I can pick up small nuances here and there. I love listening to soundtracks with the Fantasy - it feels like the symphony is laid out in front of me.

Conclusion:
Cayin Fantasy is the IEM with very good technical performance. Sadly, its niche tuning won't please the majority of listeners. Its definitely shines the brightest with a warm source and certain music genres. The 799$ price tag is a tough sell, considering the competition under 1000$ price bracket. If you're a basshead or looking for a jack-of-all-trade IEMs, this is not for you. But if you need a (very) bright IEM with good technical performance, this might be one of the best under 1000$