FLIPEARS AEGIS: A Particular Performer One With A Brazen Coloured Sound

"Aegis is a mythical and almost omnipotent artifact in the Greek mythology crafted by the the god of fire, volcanoes and blacksmithing, Hephaetus. It was usually depicted as a shield that was used by Zeus as it is known for its godly and divine protection, and also it strucks fear and terror over mortal men."

This audio product review is one of the special moments as this set is proudly made in my country. What I have here is the latest midrange model from FLIPEARS and it is a two-driver set up IEM.

FLIPEARS is the probably the most prominent In-Ear manufacturer here in the Philippines and it is actually the local pioneer of the said audio product industry. This audio company was founded by Mr. Ariel Sales, a songwriter/singer with an extensive experience of audio engineering as his main goal is to provide an excellent product with varying tonal profiles for music artists, audio professionals and also for casual audio enthusiasts. As we all know, most Filipinos are also passionate and appreciative of music culture, and it is proven with our love of karaokes/videokes on every drinking session.

What I have here is FLIPEARS AEGIS and it is part of their ARSENAL Series Line-up that includes a more pricier LEGION.  The AEGIS as I mentioned a while ago has a dual driver configuration of different transducer technologies, a proprietary bone conduction driver and a dynamic driver.

The proprietary bone conduction driver that was used on this set is a contact-type one that FLIPEARS called it EarQuake bone conduction driver as it has hybrid conduction system as the sound waves travels via air and transmits vibration through the cartilage and skull that stimulates the sensorineural hearing organs that gives that aural perception of an atmospheric-like experience, and it enhances and adds ambience that supports the dynamic driver.  The dynamic driver is the foundation of the entirety of sound quality as it delivers that deep and powerful bass, clear and forward vocals and instruments in the midrange and smooth and even treble response.

The drivers were then encased in a large solid casted brass shell casing with an ornate faceplate panel. With its modified-UIEM design profile, the cavity base part was anodised then enamel-coated to have the dark glossy finish, there we can find the dual vent holes on its side that allows it to escape some excess air pressure generated from the drivers inside. The faceplate part has a stylised shield design etched on its panel and it is also made of a cast brass with rose-gold plating that were enamel-painted individually to give each of the shells a unique look and also to protect it from corrosion and oxidation. This set uses a 0.78mm bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism as its proven and stable design to latch/unfastened easily with its detachable stock cable.

The stock cable of this one has a thick profile as it is constructed from 4-core oxygen-free copper wire conductor sheathed with PVC insulators that were braided and twisted for a smooth transmission of lossless audio signals without distortion and microphonic effects at all. While it doesn't have a modular termination feature on its plug part, it has a 4.4mm balanced termination that was gold-plated for corrosion-resistance and better conductivity.

As for wearability, while the shells are on the a bit hefty and on the chunky side of IEM earphone size, it still offers a comfortable fitting into my medium-size lugholes without any issues at all. Its nozzle secures well into the outer ear canal so that it offers an excellent passive noise isolation that is able to block unwanted noises from the outside surroundings.

Like all midrange-level IEMs models, on its product packaging, it is pretty well presented and its contents inside of its packaging box were organised with its own compartment. It has a medium-size rectangular product box with a cardboard sleeve that has a design illustration at front and some product information at the back part.

These are the following contents that were included on the FLIPEARS AEGIS' packaging box:

• Pair of FLIPEARS AEGIS IEM transducer earpieces.
• a pair of earpiece cloth.
• Stock cable
• Large PU-leather storage case
• Three (3) pairs of Eletech Baroque ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Three (3) pairs of FLIPEARS custom ear tips in different standard sizes.
• An envelope contains some contents like stickers, user's manual and other paperwork.

When it comes to driveability, with an impedance of 8.5 ohms and a sensitivity rating of 112dB of sound pressure, this IEM is quite sensitive that it can be driven by a source with quality DAC/amps in a low gain mode output that makes this set even more power efficient. Since it only has 4.4mm balanced plug on its stock cable, I paired it with desktop DAC/Amplifier, DAPs and portable headphone amplifiers also known as USB Hi-Fi Dongles that I don't need to switch into a higher gain output and with a 40% of volume level would be suffice as it will deliver an optimal sound quality with a very dynamic response and also, a full range sounding one.

The FLIPEARS AEGIS has a very coloured tuning as it has a U-shaped type of sound signature due to its more prominent low and high frequencies and a trough midrange, and it has that analogue-ish warm tonality that will sound rich and full-bodied.

LOWS/BASS:

It has a strong emphasis on this particular part of the frequency response as the tuning of this one is absolutely a dominant bass monster as on how it sounds that ardent bass-headed audio enthusiasts will find it very pleasurable to their aural senses, it has fairly balanced bass distribution as it has clear sub bass presence and well-bodied mid bass texture that it will deliver an impactful, vigorous and a deep bass response.

With that proprietary contact-type bone conduction driver, it is capable to reproduce a reverberant and rumbling feedback that were generated by sub bass-focused instruments like low-tuned strings like bass guitars and double-basses, drum machines and synthesisers that were part of the tracks from classic rock, classical, synth-pop and old school hip-hop genres. The mid bass is notably well-textured that it will give a sonically strong and groove on the bass-clef instruments, and also the richness and fullness of deep, low octave male vocals.

The bass guitars have weighty and resonant sound from its strings, while the double-basses have that darker, sombre and heavy sound, and then, bass kick drums have those monotonous, full and thunderous sounds on every hit on its drumhead. As for those deep male vocals like the bass and bass-baritones, they have those deep resonating vocals with that heft and dark timbre as they sound gravelly, dense and dusky.

MIDRANGE:

While it seems that the midrange presentation is a slightly recessed in the overall tuning on its frequency response but due to mild mid bass bleed, it somehow affects the overall note texture on this particular frequency region as it has a warm, rich and full-bodied sound with an enough energy for vocals especially on the high pitched female ones and instruments like strings and woodwinds for a crisper and delineating tone.

On the male vocals, there's smooth, lush and velvety sound on baritones, as it adds more richer and fullness on noble baritones and dramatic baritones, a ringy and steely sound on verdi and kavalierbariton and a mellower sound on light and lyric baritones, while the tenors, they sound brassy and juicy that both dramatic and heldentenors have those strong, powerful and emotive vocals with a hint of  darker tone, and then the countertenors have mild, tender and rounded-edgeness from their falsettos. As for female vocals, contralto ones are probably has that realistic tone as it has a husky, strong and deep richness from their chesty vocals, while the mezzo-sopranos have those velvety, musky and smooth vocalisation and as for sopranos, they have those warmer and darker tones with a hint of satiny and creamy sound as they are more ideal on soubrette, lyric and dramatic types as they sound fuller, richer and emotive.

Regarding instruments on how they sound, most of them sound quite natural and almost life-like on how this set will render each one of them. On the string instruments, guitars have those buttery and rich overtones on every plucking and strumming on its note strings, while the violins sound sensuous, full and sonorous, and then the cellos have a mellow, warm and weighty sound from them.  When it comes to woodwinds, while some of them are sound a bit veiled to provide an airy and brighter tone that they should sound like as the concert flutes have a rich and mellow tones, piccolos sound rather dull and hollow, clarinets have a warmer and rounded sound and saxophones sound warm, sombre and forceful. The brass instruments with their strong resonating and commanding tones, the trumpets have a rounded and sonorous sound, while the trombones have full and powerful sound, and the horns have a full, mellow and sonorous sound from them. Meanwhile on percussion instruments, snare drums sound hard with a low-pitch tone, tom-toms sound warm and resonant, field drums have sonorous sound and kettledrums have rounded and a bit booming sound on every hit. As for the pianos, they sound rich, warm and resonant on every pressing of its note keys; it reminds me of some antique European pianos.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

Apparently, in this particular part of the audio frequency range, it has smoothness and lustrous treble response with a fair amount of airy extension as it doesn't sound too bright nor too dark sounding but rather on a balanced side of the treble tuning. With just an elevation from the upper mids to the presence section of the treble region is sufficient to highlight the clarity and definition on the articulation of the vocals and enough sharp attacks on instruments either on rhythmic or percussive ones. And also, with this tuning, we will expect the quality of the treble that it will not produce a non-harsh and sibilance-free sound quality that treble-sensitive folk will be able to enjoy on a long listening session but it might be too relaxed or veiled for some ardent treble heads.

The brilliance section on this one has a good amount of air given that the treble is entirely given that it was handled by a dynamic driver as it has sufficient sparkle for some instruments that are on the treble notation. The cymbals have a lustrous and soughing sound, while the hi-hats have a warm, undulating and a bit dull tone from their distinctive chick-y sound. Then the percussive chordophone like celestas and glockenspiels, they sound mellow and  lustrous respectively.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

The perceived sound/speaker stage size of the AEGIS is quite spacious as if you are listening to an open-backed can with a good head room, that it has a wide lateral span, excellent height ceiling and an immersive depth on its overall sound field dimensions. The stereo imaging presentation of this one produces a holographic-like acoustic atmosphere in which it has fairly-layered soundscape with good separation of musical elements like vocals and instruments in which I can locate their placements with its aural space that playing a complex multi-instrumental tracks like orchestra ensemble recordings and jazz would be an easy-peasy on this set.

The cohesion of the different types of driver technologies is quite impressive on how the bone conduction driver and dynamic driver complements each other to produce a harmonious and consistent sound quality, as the bone conduction will provide that reverberant, rich and adds more ambience on the fast transient speed on the bass response and the level of clarity and detail on the midrange and treble to produce a natural and a life-like well-integrated sound. As for its resolution capabilities, It has a pretty solid macro-dynamics as it was able to highlight the varying degree of volume dynamics from quietest up to the loudness on chorale lines and instrumental passage, while on its micro-dynamics has a reasonable sharp definition on extracting micro-details, nuances and grains from an audio track like attack notations, vocal ends and reverb tails.

PEER COMPARISONS:

PULA AUDIO ANVIL 114

• This was PULA AUDIO first tri-brid driver configuration IEM and this one is the cheapest one among the three sets that were featured here as it was priced at US$199 at time of its release.
• This one has 1 dynamic driver, 1 contact-type bone conduction driver and 4 balanced armature drivers and they are encapsulated in a medical grade resin shell in a UIEM-type profile.
• This one is fully-packed with accessories inside of its packaging box as it also includes a PU-leather carrying case albeit a smaller compared to AEGIS large storage case and also, it features a stock cable with modular termination plug.
• The tonal profile of this one is a U-shaped with a balanced-warmish tonality as its bass response is punchy but it won't simply match the a more authoritative and more impactful bass response of the AEGIS, while midrange is almost similar with AEGIS but it has less warmer but a bit energetic and also, its treble response is almost similar with the AEGIS but it has a bit brighter quality and also has a more airy presentation.
• On its overall technical performance, it has a roomy head stage with an atmospheric stereo imaging, and it has sharper micro-detail definition but it has less dense macro-dynamics if it will be compared side by side with the AEGIS.

BQEYZ WINTER ULTRA

• This one is more of a variant of the previous WINTER model on which it is exclusively distributed by ANGELEARS and it still has similar driver configuration with the original model but a bit more pricey as it was priced around US$279.
• It has a very similar driver configuration with the AEGIS as it also features a bone conduction driver and dynamic driver but it uses a different type of bone conduction driver which is a piezo-electric type and it works as compensator on the midrange and a tweeter response for high frequency at the same time, and also it has a larger dynamic driver with a diameter size of 13mm that will handle the bass response, and then the drivers were housed in a lightweight CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell chassis.
• Like all BQEYZ sets, it is also packed with a quantifying number of accessories inside of its packaging box like eartips and storage case which are way smaller than AEGIS’ storage case but at least it has a stock cable with modular termination plug.
• The tuning of this one is quite a contrast with AEGIS’ tonal profile as this one has more a balanced-neutra with a hint of bright sound signature as the latter has a more coloured and fun tuning as it had an enough punch on it bass response, a more neutral, transparent and a bit energetic midrange for more clarity and tonal presence on female vocals and on instruments like strings and woodwinds sections, and a bit brighter and an airier treble response.
• It has a similar technical performance with the AEGIS but you won't feel that  reverberant ambience that AEGIS will deliver from its proprietary bone conduction driver but at least it produces a sharper micro-detail definition for its micro-dynamics aspect.

MORITZ PARADISE

• A high midrange model from MORITZ AUDIO as it was priced at around $700 at the time of its release, and it has a tri-brid driver configuration.
• On its multi-driver set-up, it consists  of a dual 8mm CNT dynamic drivers with a composite diaphragm inside, two SONION bone conduction drivers, four balanced armature drivers that were sourced from KNOWLES and SONION, and all of these drivers were encapsulated in a high quality, medical grade resin shell.
• As expected for a high midrange set, this one is well-packed with accessories and among the contents is a premium cable with a modular termination feature.
• Since it has a tuning toggle switch, it will offer a variety of tuning profiles from a warm V-shaped up to the bright U-shaped, but I will use the “natural mode” which is quite closer with the AEGIS’ tonal profile. In the natural mode, it has a punchy and reverberating bass response but is has less slam compared to the AEGIS, a less recessed but less warmer midrange as it has a more balanced textured with ample warmth and a bit of energy to highlight the clarity of female vocals, a crisper sound from strings and an airy sound from woodwinds as it retains their natural timbre, and tad brighter and a more airier treble air on its brilliance section.
• On its overall technical performance, while it also has a perceived roomy head stage, it is still less spacious compared to the AEGIS, but it has a better layering on its soundscape and a sharper definition on extracting micro-details and nuances.

I actually want to compare this one with other flagship-level sets from UNIQUE MELODY, FIR AUDIO and EMPIRE EARS, but I decided not to do it as those models are way too much on how they are priced in the audio market and it is quite unreasonable to compare it with the AEGIS as their models were usually priced at over US$1000 while AEGIS' costs is just US$479.00.

In summary of this product review, The FLIPEARS AEGIS  indeed gain a strong spot on my recommended list that I can suggest to an audio enthusiast with a sufficient budget looking for a midrange set with coloured and fun tuning IEM with excellent build quality and a quality accessories that you can proudly showcase it as a conversation starter piece for their guests. The design of the faceplate panel itself shows the creative side of the FLIPEARS as an audio company with an intricate and the finesse workmanship of the Filipino artisans to craft them painstakingly and its overall shell chassis feels a very premium as it is pretty solid and well-constructed that can be used for a long time.

For sure that FLIPEARS AEGIS’ tuning isn't for neutral heads that looking for a bit flatter response, a well-balanced sound with a little to no colouration sound with more analytical and technical performance for their critical listening, but instead it caters towards on casual listeners or audio enthusiasts that adheres towards more fun, engaging and coloured sound that seeking for that sweet, sweet bass impact and rich and analogue-ish tonality  with a solid technical performance that they would simply enjoy as they immerse themselves in a very long listening session. I'm a neutral head but I used the AEGIS for a few hours and I really truly relished its warm analogue-ish sound that reminds me of old vintage stereo speakers.

The FLIPEARS AEGIS is now available to purchase both online and also in a physical audio store here in the Philippines where you can audition a demo set at EGGHEAD AUDIO HUB in Shangri-la Plaza Mall located in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila.

OFFICIAL ONLINE STORE:

https://flipears.com/shop/

EGGHEAD AUDIO PHILIPPINES (FB Page):

https://www.facebook.com/share/1B3gisCTy1/

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: FLIPEARS AEGIS

IMPEDANCE: 8.5Ω

SENSITIVITY: 112dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 5Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 4.4mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER, (1) BONE CONDUCTION DRIVER

MICROPHONE SUPPORT: NO

PROS:

● Very solid and sturdy brass shell chassis.

● It has an embossed metalwork design on its faceplate panel.

● The proprietary bone conduction that is really adds that deep reverberating ambience that simulates an acoustic-treated room with full sized hi-fi speakers.

● Despite its large and chunky profile, the shells offer a comfortable fitting that gives a good passive noise isolation.

● Pretty power efficient as it is easy to drive.

● Inclusion of high quality stock cable

●  Among its contents, aside from large PU-leather case and custom FLIPEARS ear tips, it includes a premium Eletech Baroque ear tips

● A pleasantly  warm, engaging and fun tuning

● A reverberating, robust, impactful and  bass response as bass heads will surely adore its bass quality.

● Realistic sound coming from bass-clef instruments and deep male vocals.

● That charming and compelling bass grooves that this set is capable of producing.

● Deep reverberating and dark toned bass and bass-baritone vocals.

● Warm, rich and full sounding midrange 

● Accurate and tonally correct sounding baritones, tenors and contraltos with their smooth, brassy and husky voices respectively.

● Most of the instruments sound quite natural and life-like.

● Nicely smooth and inoffensive treble response with no harshness, shrill-y or piercing sound that treble-sensitive folk will simply enjoy its tuning.

● A cavernous and holographic soundstage that we will be able to perceive its acoustic field.

● Solid macro-dynamics.

CONS:

● Absolutely not for neutral heads due to its  coloured tonal profile.

● A stock cable that features a modular termination plug could be better on this set.

● Slight mid bass bleed (if I want to nitpick)

● A bit recesses midrange

● Treble heads might find its treble tuning a bit veiled on their liking due to its less shimmering and a bit too smooth treble response as they want more brightness and more airy on its brilliance section.

TRACKS TESTED: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **

Mountain - Mississippi Queen *

Queen - Killer Queen **

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

New Order - Blue Monday *

The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Madness- Buggy Trousers *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

Destiny's Child - Say My Name *

Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*

Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

Exciter - Violence and Force *

Diana Krall - Stop This World **

Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*

The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**

Suzanne Vega – Luka **

Lauren Christy – Steep *

Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *

Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to FLIPEARS nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to MR. ARIES  SALES of FLIPEARS for providing this loan review tour unit. I truly appreciate heris generosity and trust towards me and other participating audio reviewers.