The Bass shaking from the Abyss
I remember purchasing my Custom Art Harmony 8.2 only after listening to a demo set less than a minute – and the reason for it was the timbre of the bass. The tone of the bass was just too lush and well fitting to my taste that I just had to get one.
It’s been a long time since Harmony 8.2 was released and since Apx is meant to elevate beyond everything that Custom Art has achieved, my expectations towards the bass were particularly high. When I heard Apx, half worried and half anticipated, I was more than satisfied with the bass performance.
The first impression of the bass is that it has the tone and texture of a premium high-end speaker. I’m not referring to a particular speaker model (nor do I have rich experience in high-end speakers in the first place), though the feel, quality, and nuance of Apx’s bass are not of those that are commonly heard from my other flagship earphones.
Don’t get me wrong, Apx doesn’t make the bass sound completely different from your good flagship IEMs, yet this specific bass tuning of Apx brought me a memorable and long-lasting impression. Apx introduces a pleasant lushness to the bass nuance that is smooth to the surface but also crystal clear in texture.
I often find the overall sound bamboozled when the bass is strong and aggressive, yet Apx brings out a very intense level of bass in an orderly manner. The bass is very thick in both color and actual thickness. Apx growls strong yet the tone and texture are refined and mature. The size and scale of the bass are large and deep, giving an immersive listening experience.
Yet despite all these strong bass presence, the overall sound and headroom atmosphere remain very clean and calm. The bass amplitude feels strong but the bass keeps the low ground for the upper-ends to stay unbothered. The bass quantity is strong as a V-shaped IEM yet extremely well controlled. Calmness and agileness are co-existing here.
In sum, Apx brings an intensive level of depth and weight to the bass, making many of my basshead IEMs sound superficial. Apx differs from many basshead IEMs throughout the bass response – from the initial strike, the aftertaste, and the decay.
The Vocals: Mixture of Maximum Maturity & Clarity
Apx redefines what lushness is through the vocal texture. The texture just feels so lush and glossy. By glossy, I mean a well-polished, smooth, surface that makes the vocal shine like a marble. Apx has a very neutral tone, yet this glossy texture makes the mid-range get rich without coloring the timbre. Of course, there are many other IEMs with a glossy finish to the timbre. Yet unlike those, Apx’s glossy timbre feels extremely natural and premium.
Other than the lush texture, the vocal characteristics are rather normal. There aren’t any unusual or crazy elements that exist to make Apx so unique. However, there’s one thing that makes Apx exceptional, the depth of the vocals. I’m not referring to the size or thickness of the vocals, but the holographic depth.
It’s relatively easier to make an IEM sound large but as easy to make an IEM sound three-dimensionally immersive. Apx does a fine job breathing in great the “z-axis” depth to the mid-range, which makes the vocals incredibly realistic and holographic. For this distancing, holographic aspect of the vocals, I wouldn’t be surprised if Apx is currently the very best of all IEMs.
Apx has neutral-thick and forwarded vocals, yet this perception of great depth adds great weight and energy to the vocals. Similarly to the bass, vocals feel agile and gentle at the same time. There’s an adequate amount of transparency and airiness to keep a refreshing upper range.
Vocals are quite passionate about exposing resolution and texture details, though the grains are super refined making the surface still smooth – smooth as a marble, as I’ve mentioned earlier. However, Apx may play the sound too grainy for badly recorded music sources. Apx handles well with most genres and music sources but Apx shines better with higher-quality recordings.
The Silkiest Treble strands I’ve probably heard.
While the lows and mids prioritized smooth and glossy texture, trebles are relatively less glossy and aim for sharper details. However, the highs don’t actually sound sharp to the ears, as Apx is a master of trebles that sound crisp and soft at the same time. Personally, this is really interesting as my IEM experience taught me the common logic that the crispiness increases as the texture feels stiffer and more rigid, and I’m approached by Apx to have my stereotype broken.
Trebles are extremely crisp and high in resolution but smooth and soft like a quality silk cloth. As for resolution, Apx scores to be the top-notch even within the summit-fi IEMs. The difference is made through how much detail the IEM is capable of catching. Apx easily playbacks the micro details within the micro details, the small twang of treble instruments, or the subtle vibration of ultra-high notes.
If compared to the camera, Apx is detailed to the point of catching the downy hair from a portrait while others can only go detailed as to catch the hair. Apx’s ability to dissect treble details into micro-fine strands set a new benchmark on how detailed a summit-fi IEM can be. Overall, the trebles feel extremely airy and refined, slightly drier but still moist, and perfectly clean. Treble timbre is also kept in harmony with the lower frequencies.
Obviously large staging. Or more like Deep?
Apx has one of the largest soundstage that I have experienced from an IEM, and that was no surprise. However, what was surprising is that PMG managed to create such a large headroom while the physical size of the earpiece is so compact and small (compared to other massive ultra-flagship IEMs that I’ll be comparing with soon). Another wow factor of Apx was the depth and the staging of the low frequencies.
Apx has a large and quite open-ended field for the upper headroom as well, though the lower headroom is just undoubtedly massive and vast. If you want that infinitely expanding room for the bass to dive as deep as possible and bring out the vibrations in the utmost gentle manner, you’ll be surprised. At least I was, even though I’m more than used to trying out this and the IEMs that were titled as flagships.
Next Page: Comparison with Subtonic Storm & RSD Supreme V3 / Verdicts