The Empire Ears Valkyrie is the company’s co-debut triple-driver hybrid electrostatic monitor featuring their proprietary EIVEC technology. It is priced from $1599.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. Many thanks to Empire Ears for this opportunity.
Click here to read about previous Empire Ears products reviewed on Headfonics here.
This article follows our current scoring guidelines, which you can read in more detail here.
The hybrid electrostatic monitor fun continues in 2019 with the launch of Empire Ear’s Valkyrie, which just arrived a few days ago.
Now, this is their debut, or should I say, co-debut, since their flagship Wraith dropped at the same time, and it also has a few electrostatic drivers stuffed in there as well.
There is a substantial price difference between the two: the Wraith is available only in universal format, whereas the Valkyrie is available in both universal and custom versions. The one we have here is the custom version, “da best version”.
The custom Valkyrie will set you back $1599 and upwards, depending on the custom options you choose, and sits just behind the flagship Legend X in their X Series product range.
The Wraith, as an FYI, is priced at a cool $3499 and is the flagship of Empire Ear’s universal EP Series line-up.
Features
Empire Ears loves a good acronym, and it has some funky titles for much of the tech it uses in its monitors.
The Valkyrie is no different in that regard and comes stuffed with Weapon IX, synX crossover, and their new proprietary EIVEC technology. Sounds advanced, so let’s break it down a bit.
Configuration
At a very simplistic level, the Valkyrie has 3 drivers inside, which is quite minimalist sounding compared to more complex options such as the 8-driver e-stat Wavaya Octa and the 7-driver Jomo Audio Trinity. That being said, driver count is a long-debunked measure of sound quality.
The driver lineup is ‘one of each’: an Empire Ear’s Weapon IX subwoofer, a single full-range BA for the mids, and one Sonion electrostatic driver using EE’s EIVEC technology for the highs. All of this is controlled with EE’s existing 4-way synX crossover network.
Weapon IX
The Weapon IX inside the Valkyrie is a 9mm proprietary rare-earth magnet-infused dynamic driver.
This driver has been used before in multiple configurations in their Nemesis, Vantage, and flagship Legend X. Technically, EE refers to it as a Weapon IX (W9) driver, with the 9 referring to its size, as in 9mm.
The defining characteristic in the design of the Weapon IX driver is how the woofer is enclosed in a tuned bass-reflex system. It has a front-firing port and rear-firing vent to reduce distortion and enhance frequency extension.
This is different from traditional DD designs, which rely more on internal shell enclosures for volume and can often be fairly inefficient.
EIVEC
EIVEC stands for Empire Intelligent Variable Electrostatic Control, and it is designed to work in tandem with their synX crossover network.
You can consider it a measure of additional control over the EST driver through electronic components and its operation in tandem with the other drivers.
Now there is only a single electrostatic driver inside the Valkyrie, so I suspect the real genius of this system lies with how it works inside the Wraith and its quad-electrostatic driver configuration.
However, it is present in the Valkyrie. Its main job is to ensure that the EST driver works optimally across a potentially vast 4kHz-100kHz range without upsetting the harmonic balance with the BA and Weapon IX drivers.
Unboxing
Since I last reviewed an Empire Ears monitor, the Phantom, it seems the packaging and physical presentation have had a bit of an upgrade.
Yes, it is an all-black ensemble, such is the way of things in audio these days, but it’s tight as in slick, pro, compact, and all those other useful words to describe a modern branded retail box.
Certainly, it is a much more “together” looking than the original Phantom, which was going in the Valkyrie direction but more of a bundle than a purposeful layout.
The box is much smaller (hooray from the EE logistics manager and bean counters) than before, with a flip lid and a contoured, cut-out protective foam layer on the inside for most of the accessories and the hard case.
On the inside of the top lid, you get an assortment of guides, stickers, and serial numbers, and nestling on top of the cutaway for the cleaning tool, a small thank-you card.
Accessories
The accessories list is minus the Aegis dust bags from the Phantom and also the larger Pelican 1010 case.
Instead, you have a smaller, durable, round aluminum case printed with the EE-branded wings and a text engraving of your choice. You also get a small cleaning tool and a satin cleaning cloth.
The threaded aluminum case has slightly less space to work with than the weather-sealed Aegis cases of before, but they are bloody solid, and I mean practically bombproof.
Apparently, it is also weatherproof, and it does look fairly tight when the lid is screwed shut. It is a shade on the heavy side, though, so I am not 100% sure I would be using it on tight Kg limits for travel.
Design
Of course, being a custom monitor, you can create your own design, but after much discussion, we decided to go with Empire Ear’s Signature Galaxy plates and a complementary translucent orchid shell.
I have seen this combination before, so it is not unique; others have it, but damn, it looks so good in real life. It is also a doozy to photograph, with so much pop on that front plate.
The design is finished with Empire Ear’s “E” logos, though you can choose wings or your own artwork depending on how crazy you want it to be.
Being a triple driver allows for a slightly smaller form factor than the Phanto, which is a bit bigger than the Valkyrie in real life.
The Valkyrie also does away with the horn nozzle design, so its tri-bore structure goes right to the tips of the main shell. I would advise holding onto the cleaning brush for this one to prevent the bores from becoming clogged.
The dynamic driver venting is also very subtle, with 3 tiny holes at the top of the main shell in a triangular formation.
Cable
The Valkyrie comes with the excellent Effect Audio Premium Series Eros II cable, valued at $279.90 on its own.
This is a 26AWG UPOCC Litz copper/UPOCC silver hybrid cable wrapped in EA’s UltraFlexi translucent jacket, so you can see the nice blend of silver and copper wire in its tight-braided twist.
The barrels and splitters are a mix of old and new for me, with a lightweight, black-aluminum, branded splitter and adjustable chin cinch, as well as the older carbon-fiber-printed and chrome-alloy jacks.
Those jacks are also customizable, so you can choose between 3.5 mm TRS and 2.5 mm TRRS, depending on your preferences.
The connectors are not customizable, as the Valkyrie design is a recessed 0.78mm 2-pin socket. That means the chrome barrel EA-branded connectors are 2-pin only.
The microphonics on this cable are non-existent, as you would expect from any good aftermarket cable. It is also pretty darn soft or pliant, fairly lightweight, and has next to no memory retention, so you will not have any kinks or tangles.
Comfort & Isolation
A couple of things to note. You will notice some dynamic driver flex when you put them in your ears. Just the one flex, sounds like a small pop, and after that, nothing.
Empire Ears are pretty upfront about the flex due to pressure changes in the ear, but in case you are disturbed by it, this will happen only once when you insert it into your ear. There is no fault in your monitor.
The Valkyrie, being slightly smaller than the Phantom, will feel the snugger of the two in the ear. It also sits a little flatter to the outer ear, whereas the Phantom, at least for me, sat out a bit more.
The bass port venting isn’t too bad, actually. I have had more porous dynamic driver enclosures. However, the Phantom’s all-BA design and lack of vents do offer superior isolation.
Sound Impressions
Impressions were done with the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Cayin N6ii/A01 motherboard combo and stock Eros II cable.
Summary
Out of the box, the custom Valkyrie has a solid harmonic balance with a slight fade in the upper treble elevation to take the heat out of that electrostatic driver. Having said that, the treble is just beautiful on the Valkyrie. I have no problems with the amount of headroom it is producing.
Often, I find these new hybrids to sound either like a classical electrostatic headphone with a very clean, forward treble or a little wetter and smoother, but still very articulated. The custom Valkyrie falls on the latter rather than the former.
That means you get some excellent detail, extension, and plenty of headroom, but not quite the forwardness to upset the generally smooth timbre of the Valkyrie.
The tuning is more on the W-shaped side than V-shaped, and there is plenty of sub-bass as you would expect from the Weapon X sub-bass woofer tuning. What I am finding, though, is a fair degree of emphasis on the 1-4k range, which balances out that sub-bass delivery quite nicely.
The Valkyrie is a fair old contrast to the Phantom, which had a rising mid-bass, with warmth and presence in the lower mids. The Valkyrie cuts into the lower mids much more, with a fairly linear drop from 100Hz to 800Hz.
Vocals are also a bit more pushed and forward for me than the Phantom, especially if they are pitching above 1k, where the Valkyrie has a bit of elevation.
Combined with seriously potent sub-bass, the staging delivers excellent depth and a wide soundstage, with vocals to the fore and instruments tucked in behind and out wide.
Our Verdict
The Empire Ears Valkyrie has a very likable tuning right out of the box and should appeal to those who like a bit of power in their low-end as well as a vocal delivery that doesn’t sound veiled or pushed back.
It has a very nice harmonic balance, with a more nuanced electrostatic driver tuning that adds enough headroom and clarity without any hardness creeping into percussion or the higher-pitched vocal timbre. No sibilance for me, and that is important.
Empire Ears Valkyrie Specifications
- 3 Proprietary Drivers, Tribrid Design
- 1 W9 Subwoofer, 1 Mid, 1 EST High
- EIVEC – Empire Intelligent Variable Electrostatic Control
- 4-Way synX Crossover System
- A.R.C. Resonance Mitigation Technology
- Impedance: 3 ohms @ 1kHz
- Frequency Response: 4 Hz – 100kHz
- Sensitivity: 96dB @ 1kHz, 1mW
- 26AWG UPOCC Litz Copper/UPOCC Silver Hybrid Cable, Handcrafted by Effect Audio
