That’d be more than Empire Ears charges for theirs … so I’ll take that as a vote of confidence.
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I will prepare a review of Odin here. Just didn’t have time yet. I will also compare to Hero and other IEMs.
I can tell you this much already: I have not heard anything that good before.
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Just pulled the trigger on the ODINs. Anyone have any suggestions on a good DAP to go along with it? Was looking at the Shanling m8 or Ibasso dx300. From what I read the M8 would warm up the odins mids a bit and give it a bit more body but the dx300 looks nice too. Im coming from using the ATLAS with a macbook pro, can anyone give me a hint what Im in for? haha. Buying the Odins was a blind buy but I couldn’t help myself, yolo I guess.
I inquired on this thread a few weeks ago and I got many helpful responses quite quickly which was a pleasant surprise. Just a little more backround info, when I was in highschool I bought the Sennhieser ie80s and thought music couldn’t get any better with those, then I bought the atlas’s after I graduated and have had them for about a year and was amazed with the bass and soundstage a little earbud could provide, but Iately, and what possessed me to buy the odins, was I felt like I was missing out on something with the atlas’s, almost like a blanket was covering a big part of the music I was listening to and it progressively bugged me to the point that I decided to dish out 3k plus on another pair of IEM’s. Foreplay/longtime sounds like Boston is playing out of a closet, Anything by Steely Dan disappoints me when I listen for the little easter eggs of sound they leave in their tracks, and Mick Hucknall from Simply Red sounds like i’m listening to him sing in the stall next to me in a public bathroom. (maybe I’m exaggerating just a bit) I am hoping the ODINs will be a great complement to my Atlas’s when I’m not jamming to pop/hiphop, and was wondering if those who have had experience with the Odins can give me a little insight to the transition I am making between these two IEM’s, and how they pair with certain DAPs, especially the ones I have mentioned If they have tried them. I plan on using them predominantly for Rock, classic rock, alternative, (feel like they would excel with Dave Mathews etc.) listening to music and immersing myself in a song before I fall asleep is important to me, and Im hoping these impress. I have my smooth and relaxing bose speakers, party V shaped atlas’s, how would you think these are going to fit in with the rest of the family? I know Ive asked a lot of questions, but like always any feedback is hugely appreciated.
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Hopefully, I can give you some advice.
I’ve been starting the Odin with my A&K SP1000M and I was not sure about the sound. At that time, I actually liked the Legend X better.
Later I received 3 DAPs from Cayin to test: N3pro, N6 Mk.II/E02 and N8.
Cayin players are a great match, in my opinion, with the Odin (and all other EE IEMs). Of course, the N8 will net you the most “bombast” of all 3, but the N6 II with E02 (balanced only) amp gets really close. I was told the E01 (single ended) is even better. Anyways, you are looking at roughly 1300-1400$ vs. 3400-3900$ for the N8.
Another wonderful combination is with DAC/Amps from Burson, but of course, they are not portable.
Hope that helps!
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Soon I will receive the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch Titanium that I hope will be a beast combo with Odin.
I´ll keep you informed
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I concur with you Tom. The N6ii with the Odin os a great pairing. Infact I love the N6ii with anything. I use the E01 with the Odin. Lovely sound. The ESS9038 PRO dac is a great chip.
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Do you have the E02? It’s great with IEMs that have e-stats and/or love power.
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As promised, my EE Odin review.
Intro
Meet the Odin, Empire Ears (EE) latest top-of-the-line (totl) in-ear monitor. At a retail price of $3399, it is currently their most expensive offering. The Odin features a crazy 11 drivers per unit including not one but two next-gen Weapon 9+ subwoofers.
The Odin marks the top end of EE’s X-Series which is mainly targeted at consumers rather than professionals. Those are covered by EE’s EP-series, or Empire Professional Series.
Specifications
11 Proprietary Drivers, Tribrid Design:
- Universal in-ear monitor
- 2 Next Generation W9+ Subwoofers - Sub-Bass, Bass
- 5 Proprietary Balanced Armature Drivers - 2 Low-Mid, 2 Mid, 1 Mid-High
- 4 Premium Electrostatic Drivers - 2 High, 2 Super-High
- 7-Way synX Crossover Network
- EIVEC - Empire Intelligent Variable Electrostatic Control Technology
- A.R.C. Resonance Mitigation Technology
- Impedance: 3 Ohms @ 1kHz
- Frequency Response: 5 Hz - 100kHz
- Sensitivity: 108dB @ 1kHz, 1mW
- Bespoke Stormbreaker UPOCC Copper Litz Cable
Disclaimer
My review consists solely of my own thoughts, opinions and impressions of the product. All pictures were taken by myself unless stated otherwise.
Review gear
- Burson Audio Conductor 3X Reference (main testing source)
- Windows 10 PC with Roon
- Astell & Kern SP1000M DAP
- Cayin N8 DAP
- Cayin N6 II DAP with E02 module
Music selection/Testing playlist
Voices, midrange, acoustic guitars etc.
Marily Manson - The Pale Emperor - Day3
Chris Jones - Moonstruck
Sara K. - Hell or High Water - I Can’t Stand The Rain, Stars
Ana Tijoux - 1977 - Partir de Cero
Channel separation
NIN - The Downward Spiral - Hurt
Johnny Cash - The Essential - Ring of Fire
Stephen Coleman - Westworld Season 2 Soundtrack - C.R.E.A.M.
Soundstage, treble, electric guitars etc.
Alice in Chains - MTV Unplugged - Rooster
Korn - MTV Unplugged - Freak on a Leash
Anneke van Giersbergen - Symphonized - Feel Alive
Howard Shore - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Blunt the Knives
Dynamics, bass, subbass
The Diary - The Gentle Storm - Endless Sea |Gentle Version|
Wardruna - Runaljod: Ragnarok - Tyr
Hans Zimmer - Man of Steel OST - Look to the Stars
Hans Zimmer - Pearl Harbor OST - Tennessee
Ice Cube - Raw Footage - Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It
Andreas Vollenweider - Vox - Enchanted Rocks
Packaging & Accessories
The packaging for all Empire Ears (EE) products is more or less the same which to me makes sense, because it shows consistency throughout their whole range.
You get a very nicely designed white cardboard box with a golden Empire Ears Logo and the name Odin written in gold letters on it. It’s not too big or small and radiates class and style. It consists of an outer “slider” cover and a sturdier inside box.
Once you open the magnetic flap of the box inside you find a compartment with a quick manual and a “thank you” card from EE congratulating you to your excellent purchase 
Underneath looms the IEM and cable ready for you to rip out and enjoy the music. A classy drawer underneath reveals an aluminum sheet containing various Final Audio silicon tips to choose from. The great thing here is that Empire Ears not only gives you the standard S, M and L sizes but XS, S, M, L and XL instead, which simply gives you a wider range of tips to match to your ears.
As my ear-canals are slightly different in size, it makes it easier for me to get a good fit. However, I would have wished for a selection of foam tips as I generally prefer foam over silicon. The included tips work well though.
Josh from EE told me that the tips were meticulously chosen for the best sound- and comfort experience through rigorous testing and since I had a lot of discussions with him, I can see that EE are very dedicated to delivering the best possible product to their customers. I could honestly feel the dedication which, at least for me, makes for a good brand experience.
Last but not least you get EE’s classy Pandora case, a black aluminum capsule to safely transport your precious in-ears. It’s built like the proverbial tank and is engraved with Empire’s logo and the name of your product.
Build quality & Fit
IEMs
The build quality of the Odin is, as one can expect, simply excellent. They look flawless with no visible seams between faceplate and in-ear.
The Odin have a very particular look about them: To me, they simply look like jewelry. Even my wife instantly loved the design and declared them the most beautiful earphones she had ever seen. I can only concur: They are gorgeous. They sparkle in the light like gemstones and when you turn them slightly, the faceplate has a cool 3d-effect. That look might not please everyone but photos do not really do them justice. You have to see them live to appreciate their aesthetics.
Fit and comfort, at least for my ears, is very good with a rather long nozzle enabling a good seal for me. Hence the IEMs do not sit flush in my ears but stand out a couple of millimeters, which is no problem for me.
Cable
EE have apparently been collaborating with famous cablemakers PW Audio to forge the “Stormbreaker” cable accompanying the Odin. The only termination available is 2.5mm balanced, but you can purchase adapters for 3.5mm or 4.4mm from Empire Ears should you need them.
The build quality is excellent with a little exception. The all-black, fabric sleeved cable looks and feels very good, accented by their special CNC silver Valknut y-split, going very nicely with Odin’s Bifrost faceplates. This is something truly special in terms of visuals and I really think of the whole combination as “wearing jewelry” rather than just an earphone (I usually never wear jewelry).
Flexibility/usability with the Stormbreaker is quite good, remarkably better than with their Alpha-IV cable and cable noise is on a rather low level. However, there are aftermarket cables that do better still. The only thing that is a bit disturbing visually is the transparent shrink tube used for the over ear-hooks. It looks cheap and does not go well with the rest of this awesome cable. I can’t, by the love of me, understand, why they didn’t just use a black shrink tube which would have been almost invisible! Anyways, it’s really not an issue, but a chance to improve those small details in their upcoming products.
All in all, I love this cable and, although I have plenty of replacement options at hand, I would not dare replace it with anything else.
Sound
After dwelling in Odin’s stunning visuals, let’s see if those visuals are matched by an equally stunning sound reproduction!
Overall tonality
I consider the overall tonality of the Odin as balanced, effortless, natural and, at least to me, ultimately satisfying. The Odin were the first in-ear monitors to actually match (or even outclass) my high end home stereo system. 1 year ago I would have laughed at such a statement.
Treble
Live recordings of acoustic- and electric guitars sound so live, plain and simple -
I can almost “taste” the strings. The treble in general seems not particularly forward to emphasise things artificially, but it is just so detailed and clean, that single instruments and details in the recordings stand out like they would in a live environment.
In spite of the tremendous detail retrieval, there is no sibilance to be heard at all and my ears are quite sensitive.
Midrange
Like with the treble, same goes for the midrange: Voices, male and female alike are rendered in a very believable way. They stand out but don’t cover the rest of the music. Whereas the Legend X or Hero seem to have a slight emphasis on voices, there seems to be no frequency spike here. I attribute this to the sheer technical qualities and superiority of the Odin.
Bass/Sub-bass
The power of not one but two Weapon 9+ subwoofers means you get enough foundation to support the other frequencies and some substantial punch and rumble to boot. This bass representation is different though from the likes of the Legend X, the (in)famous bass queen in EE’s lineup.
You may be forgiven to think there is less bass here. In truth though, the bass is very well textured and controlled. It just takes some time listening to fully realize and appreciate it. It’s there when needed, it supports and provides a lot of fun without suffocating or bleeding into everything else. It’s probably the best bass quality/quantity balance I have heard in any ear-/headphone yet.
Soundstage
The soundstage on the Odin is not huge but rather quite realistic, I would say.
This is a closed-back IEM and not an open-back headphone. No tricks were used bumping frequencies to “fake” the impression of a large stage, which is completely fine with me. I admire the naturalness the Odin provides here and in general.
Channel separation
Channel separation is very good. It’s not as uncanny as on the Legend X, once again fostering a feeling of naturalness and effortlessness. What more is there to say, what more praise to give?
Neutrality
I am having a hard time evaluating and describing neutrality on the Odin. This is not due to the fact that it’s not neutral but probably because “neutral” to me seems like the wrong term to describe it. I would describe it as the most balanced IEM/headphone that I have ever heard.
Amplification/Matchability/Scalability
The Odin may not need a particularly powerful source in terms of amplification, but definitely one that provides good synergy.
When I listened to the Odin for the first time (after listening to Legend X), I was a bit disappointed. I missed the intensity and boldness the LX had thrown at me, though it had been quite overwhelming at first. So I continued using the LX and the Odin went back into its box. I never suspected the source to be the culprit. After some chatting with Empire Ears and searching various forums, I decided to give it another shot with an alternative source. Fortunately, some DAPs from Cayin were already on my way for testing.
The resulting sound blew my mind. Suddenly the Odin blossomed out and revealed it’s true potential. The synergy with Cayin devices from N3pro to N6II to N8 is just wonderful. Of course, given the Odin is sitting at the top end, the better the DAC/Amp connected the better the result. While the combination with N8 probably represents the maximum possible right now (at a price!), the combination with the N6II was almost as great at a much lower price tag.
Another great match are the Burson desktop DACs/Amps. In fact, this very review was done with the Burson Conductor 3X Reference as I consider it a quite neutral but musical source.
In a nutshell, the Odin profits from a “warmer” more musical source with enough amp power and will scale a good deal with the right source.
Comparisons
Since I lack alternative in-ears that match Odin’s price tag and sound reproduction, comparisons with my other, cheaper gear is rather pointless, I guess. The only thing to come somewhat closer might be the Legend X.
Empire Ears Legend X (2199,-US$)
The Legend X is a wonderful, engaging and fun in-ear monitor. It’s bass is legendary and the detail retrieval excellent. The LX has an almost uncanny separation and rather big soundstage for an IEM. I like it a lot!
So where’s the differences that might make you spend a 1200$ surplus on the Odin you ask? It’s all written in one single word really: CONTROL.
The Odin does everything the LX does, but everything, every detail is in balance with one another. There is no bass bleed, not the slightest sibilance, nothing is exaggerated. Everything is pretty much perfect. From what I heard, EE has put a lot of effort in tuning the Odin to perfection rather than making it a show-off. It paid off.
Verdict
The Odin to me is the pinnacle of what can be achieved through hightech and tuning in an IEM.
At the time of this review, I cannot imagine any other in-ear that might sound even better. Of course, there are similarly or even higher priced products out there and I have not had the chance to test them yet. But even if I never will, I am content with the Odin. This is equilibrium for me, period.
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Fantastic review, convinced me to get the M8 since I hear it is quite similar to the N8. (and quite cheaper) Seems like it will be a great addition to my collection.
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Unfortunately no, but I am looking into getting one. Thanks for the heads up.
Excellent review Tom. I wholeheartedly agree with all you have said. As you briefly mentioned in your review the Cable doesn’t come with adapters to facilitate use with different sizes of input. At this price it should do. This is my only real niggle. Again great job.
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Thank you very much, @prfallon69.
You are right, of course. However, I just use the 4.4 to 2.5mm adapter included with all Cayin DAPs and I bought the adapters from DDhifi, which I think , are incredible. They are super small, transparent 
, come in small wooden boxes and are reasonably priced, but yeah, maybe at this price point, they could give you the adapters for free. 
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Thanks to headphones.com for giving me the opportunity to join this tour.
First impressions
The Odin looks amazing. Comfort wise my ears don’t seem to like IEMs and this was no exception. Hopefully with more time my ears can get adjusted.
Things that stick out to me so far:
The bass on the Odin is amazing. Very textured and controlled.
Midrange isn’t as forward as I’ve been used to coming from the Focal Clears, my current dailies. Much more neutral to my ears.
The treble is very, very smooth but yet detailed. At times I feel like I’m missing that last bit of sparkle, but perhaps it’s because I’m coming from the Focal Clears.
Tonally it hits my preference right on the dot.
Overall it’s been a very smooth listen. I’m so glad the weekend is here so I can start spending some more time with them.
I have been jotting down my thoughts as they come up while going through my library and will be posting up a more thorough impression/review later. I can say that I am really enjoying these so far.
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I would love to see more comparisons with the more affordable dunu zen, thieaudio monarch and clairvoyance.
I was putting the Zen up against other well liked TOTL IEMs on crin’s graph tool and I found the odin has a very similar frequency response. I absolutely love my Zen and haven’t found much that might be an upgrade.
Odin could be it from an FR perspective. One thing people have commented on is the bass response, some say it’s underwhelming. I am not 100% sure as I have only heard two IEMs, but I think the Zen DD is providing something unique in terms of coherency and impact.
Will the odin maintain that?
Would love to hear more from people who have heard the zen and the odin.
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I don’t know the Dunu Zen but I know the Odin.
To me Odin is the most coherent IEM I have ever used.
There is no lack in bass at all. It’s bold and impactful and at the same time very well controlled. You have to test to appreciate it really.
If you’re looking for a coherent IEM with massive bass while retaining very good detail and stage, I kindly point you to my review of the new Empire Ears Valkyrie MKII.
https://forum.headphones.com/t/empire-ears-valkyrie-official-thread/5002/6
They are halve the price of the Odin and I really enjoy them.
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Have you heard any of the single DD iems?
I would have called the blessing 2 dusk coherent until I heard the Zen.
It’s not necessarily all about crazy bass, but I do want to feel it there, not just hear it.
And I ask cause there are some comments in reviews above about the bass not meeting that expectation.
That was one of the things that sold IEMs to me over the planars. $3400 to lose any of that would be silly.
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The Odin is the most coherent IEM I know.
The bass in in no way underwhelming. It’s impactful with good texture and excellent control. The best bass quality I have heard so far. (I am a basshead in fact). In my review above you can see all the details.
I only have the Shozy Black Hole as single DD IEM. I like them very much indeed. They almost compare to overhears in terms of tonality.
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That’s what Resolve says about the Zen. Close to over ears. The thing is, I have only heard good planars. And I would take the dusk or the zen over any of them (and I did).
So, odin doesn’t compare to over ears in that way? Is that the single driver “thing” that hybrids just don’t quite do?
I should probably get my hands on some good dynamics like focals at some point. Hear it for myself.
Sound quality wise, the Odin beats everything I have heard so far including over-ears.
But of course it’s an in-ear and in-ear specifics apply to it.The laws of physics can’t be beat. If you are ready to spend that amount of money, I suggest to give it a listen first. It took me a while to appreciate it but to me it is in fact the pinnacle of IMEs so far.
The Shozy Black Hole is a semi-open back IEM thus having some of the characteristics of an over-ear open back headphone like the Focal Clear. Btw. that is the only over-ear I have bought recently and I’m loving it. (It was destroyed recently by an amp malfunction though). I LOVE the Clear and I LOVE the Odin!
The Odin in combination with Cayin DAPs is incredible. But, it’s always good to try before you buy.
If you’re interested, I wrote a review on the Shozy Black Hole too and I am trying to set up a review tour with the help of @TylersEclectic and the Headphones guys.
Chinese Brands - IEMs Discussion - General IEM Discussion - The HEADPHONE Community (headphones.com)
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I would happily get on any IEM tour if I qualify for it!
There will not be a way to preview the black hole, the odin or anything else for me without such a tour.
I am also not likely to have a source that makes the odin sing. One of the wonderful things about the Zen is they are remarkably good on any source. So I am free to focus on the practical side and usage (which is extremely important to me) of all products I select.
A cayin dap is likely a non-starter for me. I will consider the idsd micro signature (again). But the practicality of that device is a tough sell.
Since my use is 95% mobile, it can be tough to balance that with increasing sound quality.
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