Picture Sunday – Empire Ears Triumvirate

Disclaimer: This post is part of our Picture Sunday series, you can find all of the previous ones here.

A lot has been said about Empire Ears since they launched their first products under that name. Previously to that, EarWerkz has left quite some impressions here on Headfonia. Empire Ears is one of those brands that have a huge fan base, especially their Zeus enjoys massive positive response and popularity. It to this date is regarded as one of the top tiers when it comes to in ear monitors. What makes it so special is a revealing, mid-forward and emotional signature.

In February this year, Empire Ears has launched seven new models. We have even done an interview with Jack Vang about that back then. Due to their big numbers of followers, this new line-up has seen a lot of interest too. Especially their two co-flagships Legend X and Phantom have drained a few holes into some wallets.

Empire Ears

Not that long ago I published my review for the successor to the original Legend. If you read the article, you know that I like it very much. It‘s great for a lot of things. The keen eye might have spotted the reference to the first Roman Triumvirate in the title of my review. Now Pompeius has been joined by the other two members.

If you know Roman history, you already know that it was Gaius Iulius Ceasar who made Rome into an empire, therefore it can only be Zeus who beholds that name. The name of Marcus Licinus Crassus is given to Phantom. The title of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus can only be Legend X‘s.

The first Roman Triumvirate was led by these three men. Each one took care of his own department. Caesar was the political leader, Crassus the financial and Pompeius led the military. Just like each flagship model of the three Empire lines, each of the three men had their individual strenghts and weaknesses.

Empire Ears

Zeus is the king of resolution and emotion. Legend X has the most powerful bass and most dynamic signature. Phantom is best when it comes to portraying a realistic picture. For me personally it is very difficult to pick my favourite out of them, as I enjoy all of them with different types of music. Lately I have been listening to Phantom the most, it has a very convincing sense of realism, deeper male vocals (think Frank Zappa or Barry White) especially sound superb, however to me there is also something that puts me off at times, as some vocals (male) can sound nasal. However, the overall-tonality is beautiful, and I have not come across another monitor that manages to catch the music with the lifelike sound the Phantom does.

A detailed review of Zeus and Phantom will follow over the next couple of months, so keep an eye out for some Roman history reviews on Headfonia!