Sound Impressions: Perfect Balance of Agility & Dynamics
What first stands out from Glacier is its sturdy, bold ultra-low grooves. The bass response is clean and bold, emphasizing the tight and agile vibration of the ultra-lows, desiring a clean atmosphere for the mid-bass. The sub-bass is full-bodied but not boomy in quantity. The combination of the ultra-lows and sub-bass results in a clean, deep-diving bass that draws a very even flow throughout the low range. It’s a nice balance for those who dislike sub-bass bloat but also want sturdy, deep bass and even bass flow.
It’s interesting, as Glacier’s bass response reminds me of bone conductor woofers. Along with its very even and flat, yet thick in color and clean response that extends to the ultra-lows, Glacier grasps both crisp texture and smoothness. You’d likely find the texture nuance and vibration decay quite different from what dynamic drivers typically offer.
The dynamic driver used for Glacier speaks quality, as the bass is thick in density, offering clean, lively rumbles. As long as you’re not a basshead, there’s no need to worry about lacking the sub-bass, as Glacier’s sub-bass is still prominent, meaty, and full-bodied. Glacier handles bass-heavy genres like hip-hop without lacking any low-end weight or sub-bass quantity.
The Mid-Range: Glacier-like freshness without the coldness
The vocals are tidy. Glacier has textbook neutrality for the texture and tone but with a twist – it doesn’t sound boring or “unseasoned” like some strict reference IEMs. Mids are placed slightly near the ears but nowhere far from a neutral positioning. As if reflecting its product name, Glacier’s specialty is its open-ended, refreshing vocals, executed without causing fatigue, sibilance, or shrill tone.
Mids have a neutral-thick body that is more than enough to give fullness to the vocals yet not thick. Glacier desires vastness more than thick, lumpy vocals. Those who want extra-thick and density-focused vocals may find Glacier’s vocals to be rather light in weight and density. Yet, most users should be pleased with Glacier – as while it focuses on vastness rather than thickness, vocals don’t fly off sound watered-down. The textures are crisp yet not metallic or stiff, resulting in silky layering that picks up the micro details fatigue-free.
Considering its neutral-bright nature, it actually provides impressive depth and vocal density. Glacier is particularly tip-dependent, so I’d advise trying various eartip to find your match. However, I find the stock eartips to provide the most pleasable sound among other eartips likely.
My personal favorite choice is ePro EP00 Horn-Shaped Graphene eartips, yet if you’re going to use these tips I advise sliding in a thin silicone ring over the eartip stem (otherwise there’ll be a gap between the nozzle and the eartip bore, causing leakage in bass response and overall sonic density). This is due to how the eartips are shaped, though I find this pairing to sound and match the best.
For the Highs / Soundstage: Full EST Experience without Fatigue
While many other IEMs are topped with more EST drivers, Glacier makes the most out of its two EST drivers. The treble quantity is plentiful enough to present clear and micro details yet doesn’t get hot or fatiguing. There are IEMs where that use treble as a “garnish” for the lows and mids (ex. SoftEars Cerberus or Rossi&Wing First Light) or those that also let trebles take a role in the main stage (ex. Rhapsodio Supreme V3 or Eminent Ears Ruby).
Glacier sits right in between these two types. Simply put, Glacier nailed the sweetspot that targets both clarity and comfort, being capable of satisfying both detail-diggers and those who want fatigue-free listening. The silky strands of treble grains and waves gracefully spread across the upper headroom, evidently expressing the EST driver’s characteristics.
The vulnerability of having thin density and body (which is common while tuning EST trebles) doesn’t pose much threat for Glacier, as the trebles sound bold and tight. Highs have a neutral-bright presentation but are very close to neutral, hence not easily tiring the ears. The soundstage is expansive three-dimensionally, creating an evenly and spherical headroom thanks to the deep-diving bass and open-ended airiness of the mid-highs.
Next Page: Compared to Eminent Ears Ruby / Campfire Audio Astrolith