Audeze new planar IEMs

so how much will Audeze pay me for wearing this in public?

 

Wait! What if Audeze went the other way and made their iem into a helmet?

What then?

 

They're 20 gr. without cable. The site doesn't seem to be working on a desktop but it is working on mobile device and you can see all the specs there.

 

Not quite a helmet, but...



Close enough?

 

Oh god, that's horrifying!

It's perfect.

 

@Kunlun: That's a clip of an Audeze engineer hard at work on a prototype of the company's latest design. Code name, "Ungoliant." They haven't announced it publicly yet. You don't even want to know where the cables go.

 

Just confirmed that these are open-backed IEMs.

 

I would only take a pair of these if they are offered to me free of charge. That's my final offer...

 

@Ice-man

Not good enough. I'm with @sashafuckinggrey

They'd have to pay me to wear those in public.. a lot.

 

I might say the same, except that there's almost no plausible use case for these. I mean, I thought the HEX was impractical. But this is another level of absurdity altogether.

As of today, I think we can safely assume that Audeze has been harvesting SBAF's trash for discarded HD650 spider cages. Lock up your shit! Otherwise this is what happens.

 

AHAHAHAHAAAA. Well played!

 

I'd rather just paint some spiderwebs on a pair of KSC75s and save hundreds of dollars.

 

Maybe this is a smart move for them... smaller drivers means smaller failure rate right?

 

The product page is missing the sensitivity spec and appears to suggest that the cables use the usual 2-pin connector. They'll start shipping the beta run in October, but when will the drivers stop imploding so someone can buy a finished product?

Audeze is sticking to being a planar dynamic company, which I suppose is fine as a brand pitch, but I struggle to see what unique set of benefits they offer to IEMs. Perhaps it's just that I don't have the knowledge and vision, but I don't see how they manage to solve the major problems that afflict current IEMs (leak sensitivity and treble response).

The THD spec (FWIW) isn't compelling since moving coil IEMs already can have extremely low THD, better than -60dB anyway. IEMs don't exactly want for bass extension either if you can deal with the leak. Attacking diffraction issues usually isn't a top priority, the problem of various modes that screw up the treble response in the driver, the shell, and the ear canal/tubing are. In Audeze's defense, most other in-ears are much smaller, even small enough to be worn in the ear.



Edit: Eh, whatever, I'm just really skeptical that Audeze can make a decent sounding product, even past the the narrow niche it forced itself into from being ridiculously oversized with no isolation.

 

In-ears worn... in your ears?! What a concept!

 

I am willing to give these things a chance, but am skeptical that Audeze can deliver the potential of the concept.

One of the main reasons I do not enjoy IEM's long-term is due to the closed cave sound they nearly all share. Some can be very precise and focused, and some have excellent timbre, but nearly always sound kind of "dead" or "closed" to me, and I've always blamed the closed backs.

Keep in mind I'm not too keen on most box speakers I've heard either.

The size/styling and open-back nature suggest home desktop use to me, and the portable versions seem bound to fail on fashion alone. Yet I have no problem with the idea; in fact, I'd love for an IEM to eventually teach the full-size flagships some new tricks. I think it's possible with the right design, but I'm not sure if Audeze is the right company. I owned LCD-2 rev. B, and find the HD650 more comfortable and more enjoyable to listen to.

It seems likely that planar drivers will always have issues related to diffraction around the magnets. But a large format, open backed IEM with high quality dynamic driver could be quite interesting for home use. Sort of like an AKG1000 but much smaller and closer to the ear canals (i.e. A design optimized for acoustic openness and low diffraction).