Just when I thought things could not get any better, from the combined power of three audiophiles, this here is the absolute best the IEM world has to offer at this point in time.
Hex is an absolute monster in terms of stage and details. Every little detail is highlighted, tagged, categorized and easily retrievable. Normally, an IEM so detailed would be pushing those details into your face, but thanks to the particular way the stage is built, this is not the case with Hex. All the elements come together like a puzzle with very, but I mean very low tolerances. Imagine the inner workings of a Swiss watch, the way all gears work together, that is the image Hex projects into my mind. A marvel of micro-imaging and micro-details.
Tet is playing cool, with details less extroverted, but it does something very impressive, the attack of the pick on the guitar strings is so precise, each triplet, each gallop, so clear, so precise. Music to my ears!
One of the most impressive things is the bass. Broadly mid bass centered, Hex’s bass evolves into layer after layer of details, leaving me wonder how much information was packed into the music I thought I knew inside out. There is ample sub bass, of course, filling the stage, but it’s relatively nimble, not feeling heavy or slow. On top of this comes the heavy poundering of the mid bass. It’s like an unescapable impact hammer. Although taking a beating from it, I still have time to register a lot of details. I strongly recommend trying Megadeth’s Hangar 18 with it.
Tet, on the other hand is more sub bass centered. Big and boomy, with zero consideration for your feelings. You will end up burried under the rubbles of your house…I am exagerating, of course, but there were moments when I thought there’s an earthquake happening.
Both Tet and Hex are similar in mids, warm-ish, textured, natural sounding, despite the slight colouration. While Hex is more susceptible to harshness, with some recordings, Tet seems largely immune. This, of course, means also more sparkle for Hex. It’s a matter of which flavour you prefer, Champagne or a nice Bordeaux.
Turning to treble, the difference between them becomes clear, and along with it, the genius of Lee tuning. While Hex is bright and energetic, with thick sounding cymbals, making it easily possible to “hear” the weight and density of each cymbal strike, it pushes these forward, closer to you, as opposed to Tet, pushing them backwards a bit. You’d be excused to think Hex is more detailed in treble, but upon closer inspection, I find the level of details almost the same, only the presentation differs.
Nothing from my existing collection gets close to these two. Storm is a huge stage, detail, monster, but dead on neutral. X is like a sneak peek into the future. The imaging was a promise of the things to come, the treble has the weight of Hex but not quite the details.
Much to my surprise, I am more attracted to the cool, nonchalantly calm of Tet. It took me by Storm!
Btw, the title reads like the name of an Epic Audio IEM, doesn’t it?