Summary:
Its a IEM with a extremely well done coloured tone, giving listeners a fun and exiciting listen without any distracting tuning. Its a true flex on Mysticraft side both from the complexity (10 way, 13 drive, 6 different types) and the sound tuning part of things.
Pros: Explosive sound. Dynamic and exciting. Very well tunned to give both clarity and and great tonality. Good soundstaging. Great treble and air extension. Great bass. Relatively easy to drive.
Cons: Vocals are clear but can be a little distant or lack of power in certain tracks. Very expensive IEM. Large IEM may not fit in all ears.
This IEM was purchased by myself for personal usage.
Introduction: Mysticraft Acoustic Research is a relatively new brand created by Mr Lee who also founded Elysian Acoustic Labs which was subsequently sold. He tunned the Annihilator which personally wasn’t my cup of tea due to high sibilance. I entered testing the Hex at Canjam Singapore with both excitement and spectism, hoping it could be my IEM of choice for more general usage since my current favourite (FUGAKU) is more of a transportable. Personally I was pleasently surprised.
Packaging: The IEM came in a wooden box with relatively simple accessories. For whats inside do take a look at my first look video.
IEM: The Hex is a relatively large IEM. Fitting maybe a challange for those with smaller ears. Its also quite thick so it will jut out of the ear, not comfortable for napping in them. The build is really nice with a clear shell and a titanium plate. Hex went all out for the plate, with different design on one side with one event studded with small diamonds. The connector used is a Pentaconn Ear, which to me is a good connector but does have some occassional connection issues if used with adapters/cables that are not tightly fitted.
Sound Quality
Tested with:
- Lotoo Paw Gold Touch
- Snowsky Disc
- Luxury and Precision EA4
Sound Tracks
- ADO: Ibara
- ADO: Gira Gira
- ADO: Elf
- Michael Jackson: Triller
- Michael Jackson: Billie Jean
- Linkin Park: Numb
- Linkin Park: Somewhere I Belong
- Vaundy: Backlight
- Yoasobi: The Blessing
- Yoasobi: Heart Beat
- Ari Anjou: Comet (Cover: YOASOBI)
The tracks I used are of personal preference. They cover mainly mainstream and JPOP.
Bass: Bass is one of the key features of the Hex. Its slams hard, rumbles great and has a very tactile feeling to it with alot of details. The overall combination makes it more of the most satisfying bass you can get in the market today. Hearing the first impact of the drums from Numb to the fast thumps in The blessing, it is probably one of the enjoyable bass for modern pop. That said it can be overwhelming at times especially for tracks that are less compressed, high bass content and more dynamic in nature, as the bass will overshadow the rest of the spectrum. This is can be issue in tracks from Michael Jackson as his vocals will sound smaller than expected but pushing up the volume anymore will result in a overtly strong bassline.
Mids and Vocals: Mid and vocals have great clarity with very good seperation from the bass and treble. In the song Backlight by Vaundy, it opens with electric guitar which I will put as well rendered though just a touch short of being electrifying. In mids and vocal heavy tracks like Comet from Ari Anjou, a piano-vocal solo, the crispy sound of the notes and her soft vocals are brought out perfectly without hint of colouration, with perfect note and vocal seperation. Songs such as those from ADO showcased great vocal rendation, as ADO voice changes texture often, one can hear clearly the different qualities of voice. The only time where the Hex rendition of voice was a dissappointing is in Michael Jackson Billie Jean, it just felt a little flat in that song compared to other songs or IEMs.
Treble: Airy, Sparkly and extended with good amount of texture. When high hats tap and cymbals crash, female vocals signing solos or when bells ting, you can hear the treble really comes through in a good refined manner that bring our nuances. Many of the JPOP songs use extensive cymbals and personally I felt they are one of the best rendered in terms of crispness, nuances and overall natural sound of tapping metal. Another major note is I have never once encountered sibillance for this IEM in any of the track.
Sound Stage: Generally one of the larger sound stage with a out of head experience. This is affected by tips but for the most part its comparable to most flagships except for a few specialised IEMs. The soundstage is more of a focused centre with a spread out instrument stage. The feeling is more of sitting close center in a decently large auditorium
Details and Clarity: As detailed and clear as it gets. The bassm, mids and high are one of the clearest with the most nuances you can hear. Especially in the treble region, even the tinest of bells and cymbals are rendered beautifully
Source Sensitivity: Using a better device do render things alittle tighter, cleaner and with slightly louder stage. Going from the Snowsky Disc to Shanling M9+ produces this effect quite clearly if doing a quick swap between devices. There is always this slight dulling going from the M9+ to Disc. That said, most devices including the IFI Go Pod that you see in my cover runs the Hex well, keeping most of signature sound and quality, making this a IEM suitable for utilising over most sources.
Measurements
Comparison
64 Audio U12T: This IEM was the benchmark of 2k and remain one of the best for its overall rendition. The Hex in comparison has a larger soundstage and a rendition that seems to make it sound clearer. The U12T in comparison has a soundstage like sitting in centre mid row in a mid size room, vocals more diffused, a touch less focus. The Hex also renders things a touch more Airy and light. The U12T sound a touch fuller, a touch more powerful especially for the vocals and mid bass that gives a little more impact. The only thing about U12T is it has sibilance in sound track such as in Yoasobi heartbeat. Depending on track , preference can swing from one IEM to another though for most I will prefer the Hex. ADO’s Elf is an example of preference on the U12T for the fuller and more emotional sounding vocals with a tighter and closer rendition.
Brise Fugaku: The Fugaku has similar characteristics though with a slightly more forward, powerful vocals and thicker body. Sound stage on the Fugaku just is as wide as the hex though the focus in mid is not as tight as. Bass is one characteristic I think the Fugaku has better control, it slams harder and tighter, though when it comes to sub bass, its relatively similar. Though clarity is similar on both IEM, they achieve it quite differently. The Hex it does it via being a slightly leaner and lighter sound with clear delineanation of frequencies while Fugaku sounds alittle more blended but with absolute control on the edges of the instruments and vocals, giving it distinct seperation of instruments.
Final Thoughts: Its a IEM with a extremely well done coloured tone, giving listeners a fun and exiciting listen without any distracting tunning. Its a true flex on Mysticraft side both from the complexity (10 way, 13 drive, 6 different types) and the sound tuning part of things. Other than the eye watering price, its truly one of the best IEM of its time.
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