Review: Empire Ears Valkyrie

Package:

Empire Ears has also been working on a renewed packaging. You get a two layered, flip open box that holds the Valkyrie and the Effect Audio Eros II cable on top, together with a nice “Thank You” message from EE. Underneath that you have a drawer in which you’ll find your accessories.

Supplied with Valkyrie comes a round metal case, a selection of five different Final Type E silicone ear-tips, which are stored on a metal card-holder. A short manual, a cleaning cloth, a cleaning tool, and an Empire Ears sticker.

EE bundles the Valkyrie with Effect Audio’s all silver/copper hybrid Eros II cable. The termination of it can be chosen at check-out. Customers can pick between 3.5 mm stereo, 2.5 mm and 4.4 mm balanced.

All in all it’s a very nice package. The fact that Empire supplies their monitor standard with an Eros II cable is a big plus. I’ve been talking to them during the decision process, and I was told that Valkyrie just performs better with the Eros II instead of the Ares II their other IEMs come with.

Empire Ears Valkyrie

Sound:

Valkyrie was created to become some sort of mini Legend X. A monitor that performs at very high levels, but is still more affordable than most flagships. When I first listened to the Valkyrie, I felt that the bass is too separated. Knowing that the W9 driver needs a lot of time to settle, I gave Valkyrie a good week of uninterrupted play time. After that, the bass was more in line with the rest. However, I still feel it’s a bit disconnected.

Two things are extremely important for the best performance of Valkyrie. First, you need to get the ear-tips to really seal. If you don’t have a proper seal it can sound thin, weak and hard. Second, it asks for good amplification, I don’t mean just raw power, but a well implemented amplifier circuit. You want the right power, not just a lot of it.

Empire’s dynamic drivers are touted as sub-woofers, and I feel that describes their sonic performance pretty well. If you have heard subs from brands like JL Audio or REL you know what quality sub-woofers can achieve. The Weapon IX drivers push immense amounts of air, and can give you a very physical and thunderous bass. It is fast, authoritative and presents high levels of excitement, where you want to throw your set in the air, like you just don’t care.

Valkyrie has a big and rounded bass, that’s full of energy and body. It’s not the tightest or snappiest, but for me it’s one of the most exciting bass reproductions out there. While undeniably put more forward, it isn’t overshadowing midrange clarity too much. It does ask for your attention, but at the same time I can easily concentrate on other frequencies. One thing the bass of Valkyrie is missing is richness. While it’s big and bold, it needs some flesh to become meaty.

Empire Ears Valkyrie

Bass has good texture, resolution and dynamics. It reaches low into the sub-bass areas with nice rumble. When needed, Valkyrie knows how to throw a decent punch. This comes in very handy when you listen to bass prominent music. Valkyrie has an elevated mid and upper bass segment, that slightly pushes the lower midrange and gives it more weight and body.

Mids are pushed back behind bass and treble, but don’t feel distant to me. Lower key instruments have great body and texture. Mids overall are close to neutral in tone, with a very light shift towards the lower midrange. The entire midrange has good note size, it isn’t particularly heavy or thin, but comes with good balance. Vocals are rich and well formed. They transport good emotions, but I have heard better in that department. Upper midrange has decent levels of richness, where bells for example have a nice glow.

Instruments are separated very nicely with good amounts of air around them. The background is dark, but not pitch black, so musicians feel a bit more connected. Valkyrie has a very nice sound stage. It stretches wide and deep around your head. It’s not overly holographic as it keeps things more in focus closer in front of you, but it does go deep with wonderful layering.

When it comes to imaging Valkyrie is a great performer. It manages to put each note and beep in place and portrays them with good precision. It resolves very well and renders a fine picture, where nothing gets smudged or smeared.

Highs are bright and on the lighter/thinner side. This makes some of the upper register notes come across as a bit hard at times. Especially if you’re pairing Valkyrie with a brighter source, you might run into issues with cymbal crashes and hi-hat hits. Treble is fast, agile and crisp. People who have a lower tolerance for this segment should definitely audition the Valkyrie before making any purchase decisions.

Overall the Valkyrie has a definite V-shaped signature, with active and involving bass and an energetic and forward treble presence.

Empire Ears Valkyrie

Sources:

I find hybrids to be a bit picky when it comes to finding the right source. Some DAPs, even uber-expensive ones, aren’t always the best choice to pair them with. With the wrong pairing, you can run into some coherence issues in my opinion. Mostly it’s the dynamic driver that becomes more boomy. With the new series of tri-brid products I find this to be an even bigger problem. You need the right kind of power to handle three different driver technologies.

Valkyrie’s low sensitivity asks for high power, and I’ve been cranking that volume up more than with most other In Ear Monitors. For example, the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch is set to high gain and volume level 35-40, while other IEMs run on low gain and around the same dial on the volume. Valkyrie does not pick up any hissing from my sources, even noisy ones, which is very welcome.

Lotoo – PAW Gold Touch

The Lotoo is one of my two go-to sources on my commute. The other is the Astell&Kern SP1000M. With the Lotoo you get a nicely expanded sound, with heaps of resolution and excellent transparency. The Touch is one of the few sources that I feel handle hybrids really well.

Bass is well controlled, tighter and fast. You get wonderful texture and layering. Bass goes deep into lows with good rumble. Mids are neutral in signature and body. The PAW Gold Touch puts in high levels of transparency here. Vocals are airy and emotional, however, they are not thick or dense. Treble is fast and bright. Sometimes it has been on the edge of brightness for my taste with the PGT.

You get a wide and open sound stage, great imaging capabilities and superb control. The PGT is a phenomenal source also if you want to play around with the signature of the Valkyrie. You can easily adjust the five band PEQ and boost or tame specific frequencies. I used the Parametric EQ to cut down the 12kHz frequency.

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