The universe needs icons. Those extraordinary few that stand clear of the rest. For these individuals who inspire greatness, only the purest formulation of Empire Ears will do; an icon like no other. An IEM that stands alone - so superlative as to be named after the god of wisdom, poetry, death, divination and magic. Odin has arrived. Its beauty leaves no room for doubt. Its power cannot be reasoned with.
Unquestionably, Odin sits at the pinnacle of the Empire Ears bloodline as our most legendary flagship in-ear monitor ever.
Designer's Notes“ODIN is designed to make the most of every moment each listener spends in its company, promising instants of sheer listening euphoria. While conventional IEMs focus on simply reproducing sound, ODIN authoritatively delivers the exacting emotion of every nuance recorded through its extraordinary 5Hz-100kHz frequency response range. These inspirational, dreamlike moments are made possible by the utilization of the three best IEM driver technologies currently available, the most advanced crossover system in the industry, the most potent components we could possibly get our hands on and the masterful tuning by our founder, my father and CTO, Dean Vang.
ODIN is the personification of Empire’s DNA at its most extreme – in design, performance and breadth of capabilities. ODIN rediscovers the true meaning of engagement between listener and IEM.”
Jack Vang
VP of Empire Ears
What The Reviewers Are Saying
“The Odin can do almost everything. It has a vast potential for dynamic range reproduction like no other IEM can. The clarity and resolution are unmatched and makes for one of the best IEMs Empire Ears have released yet.”
Alex Schiffer, Majorhifi.com
MajorHifi
Gold Award
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“ODIN is a technical marvel, with its tribrid design, and it never skips a beat in its coherency.
There is an immense amount of transparency, layering, and detail throughout the entire spectrum. The sub-bass is rumbly and yet still has a snap in the mid-bass. The treble has a natural decay hearing cymbals crashing with the highest level of realism I have encountered.”
Troy Pfiefer
AudioRabitHole.com
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“The Odin is definitely one of the very best monitors money can buy right now. And it clearly was the best universal IEM that made its way to me this year. There‘s no doubt it deserves to be crowned Best Universal IEM of 2020.”
Linus - Headfonia.com
Headfonia Best Universal IEM 2020 Award
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“The Odin is a monster of a monitor with world-class technical capability as well as an explosive and engaging tuning. Best universal I have reviewed in 2020 overall.”
Marcus Downey
Headfonics.com
Stormbreaker Cable
At Empire Ears we believe that an extraordinary IEM requires an extraordinary cable. For the first time ever we’ve collaborated with bespoke cable manufacturer PWAudio and PENTACONN of Japan to forge a cable worthy of Odin. Introducing Stormbreaker, an ultra premium handcrafted cable comprised of a proprietary USA-sourced OCC Copper Litz configured in a quad conductor, dual gauge design wrapped in an elegant black carbon jacket.
Stormbreaker is standard equipped with a CNC silver Valknut y-split featuring a .78 2-pin connector with a 2.5mm balanced termination.
Bifröst - A Visual Masterpiece
Bifrost - Empire Ears Odin Exclusive Faceplate - A Visual Masterpiece
The Bifröst is an ultra-exclusive, one-of-a-kind faceplate designed to optically simulate the mythogical rainbow bridge between Midgard and Asgard, the realm of the gods. The Bifrost features nine individual polymer layers in three proprietary lamination steps and each lamination is unique in its ability to filter and reflect specific wavelengths of light. This results in a faceplate that will produce breath-taking colour transitions as the viewing angle changes -- literally shifting before your very eye.
The Bifröst is masterfully handcrafted in the USA by an award winning chemist that currently holds two patents in polymer science for high solids coating chemistry.
A Trinity In Unity
ODIN is the most powerful and exclusive IEM in Empire’s history. Boasting three of the industry’s most advanced driver technologies, ODIN is truly a standout tribrid flagship IEM with an uncompromising performance ethos focused on delivering the purest connection between listener and IEM.
Dual W9+ Subwoofers
Sub-Bass, Bass
Weapon IX+
Our signature W9+ dynamic driver brought serious performance to the IEM world by combining the breakthrough of an enclosed woofer in a tuned bass-reflex system. Elevating the W9 design formula to its highest level, the W9+ boasts a larger internal coil diameter, more linear excursion envelope along with a more capable suspension to handle peak-to-peak excursion while mitigating distortion. W9+ extinguishes any limits the previous design had and delivers unparalleled bass on all fronts.
Every W9+ subwoofer is hand assembled to our exacting quality standards in our Norcross, Georgia laboratory.
BA Drivers
ODIN comes equipped with 5 proprietary balanced armature drivers to deliver the signature midrange that the world has come to know and love from Empire Ears. Each of these drivers has been purpose built to our precise requirements and exacting standards. We work closely with our vendors to ensure that only the highest performing components are used.
Five Precision Balanced Armature Drivers
Low-Mid, Low-Mid, Mid, Mid, Mid-High
Four Electrostatic Drivers
High, High, Ultra-High, Ultra-High
EST Drivers: ODIN masterfully manipulates quadruple electrostatic drivers in unison with our proprietary EIVEC technology to effortlessly reproduce a remarkable 5Hz-100kHz frequency range. The ultralight moving membrane within Odin’s electrostatic drivers give the most accurate transient response, resulting in unparalleled clarity, separation and detail.
synX Crossover Technology
Legendary Crossover Network
Genetically dissimilar from the rest of the IEM world, our synX crossover network truly stands out with countless bespoke methods and technologies protecting it as a unique masterpiece. A marriage of 3 different driver technologies become symphonized by a unique, proprietary 8-way synX crossover network designed to maximize performance from each and every driver.
synX Advantages
synX powered in-ear monitors have remarkably high stereo separation and smooth phase response, leading to more dynamic realistic imaging and staging for both live and studio use. synX features a myriad of other advantages including:
Ultra-Wide Frequency Bandwidth: The Legend X produces a super-wide frequency range, offering listeners unparalleled sound quality and details that bests even the most high-end headphones on the market.
Best Signal-to-Noise: In order to ensure that all of the industry-leading sound quality is heard in your ears we’ve worked to create a unique combination of handpicked resistors, electrolytic capacitors, and filters in order to ensure the cleanest signal path possible while offering an exceptionally low noise floor.
Low Distortion: Extremely low distortion means that every nuance in your mix will be reproduced faithfully without audible artefacts.
Maximum Signal Transfer: Every driver and crossover is individually wired and insulated with 7-strand, UPOCC Litz wires to eliminate acoustic feedback and further soldered with highly conductive, ultra pure silver and gold Mundorf Supreme for maximum signal transfer.
E I V E C
Empire Intelligent Variable Electrostatic Control
The lightning-quick electrostatic drivers accommodates ODIN’s wide frequency range while remaining balanced and compact. A single bespoke transformer unites the quadruple electrostats via our proprietary EIVEC technology to all of the other components while eliminating any signs of phase incoherence and distortion.
A.R.C. Technology
ARC (Anti-Resonance Compound) is a proprietary conformal coating that virtually eliminates unwanted vibrations and resonance from within IEMs. ARC effectively increases the mass of the components it’s applied to: every driver, crossover, and sound tube. This gives the internals more solidity while serving as a dampener to absorb the unwanted resonance instead of reflecting them out of phase. With A.R.C. clarity is increased substantially, bass is deeper, and the IEM becomes more efficient.
The Founder's Edition
From the very beginning of our history, IEMs have represented dreams, hopes and aspirations. For Empire, a brand that aims to provide customers enlightened moments of pure listening euphoria, the development of Odin and Hero was an indispensable step. As a further highlight of over 30 years of excellence and our 5th anniversary year, we’re ecstatic to present the Founder’s Editions as a sincere, heart-felt Thank You to all those whom helped us come this far in The Pursuit of Extraordinary.
Each Founder's Edition Odin will receive the following touches:
Production Photograph Autographed by Dean Vang (Founder & CTO), Jack Vang (VP), and Catherine Young (CEO)
Serialized Founder's Edition Plaque
Serialized IEMs
Dean Vang's signature on each shell
Signatures of the entire production team
Odin Founder's Edition will have a limited run of 200 units
What's In The Box
Included at no additional charge with each order.
In Ear Monitor
Empire Pandora Case
Empire Cleaning Cloth
Empire Cleaning Tool
Final Audio Type E Tips - SS, S, M, L, LL
Proudly Handcrafted In The USA
Empire Ears has long prided itself for home-grown craftsmanship, with artisans donning lab coats and honing years of OEM factory experience before being entrusted to handle the Empire lineage. While several of our competitors have taken their manufacturing overseas or have turned to automation we’ve remained true to our handcrafted, made-in-USA roots to not only provide jobs to our local community but to ensure that quality is never compromised.
Technical Specifications
11 Proprietary Drivers, Tribrid Design
2 Next Generation W9+ Subwoofers - Sub-Bass, Bass
5 Proprietary Balanced Armature Drivers - 2 Low-Mid, 2 Mid, 1 Mid-High
4 Premium Electrostatic Drivers - 2 High, 2 Super-High
7-Way synX Crossover Network
EIVEC - Empire Intelligent Variable Electrostatic Control Technology
A.R.C. Resonance Mitigation Technology
Impedance: 3 Ohms @ 1kHz
Frequency Response: 5 Hz - 100kHz
Sensitivity: 108dB @ 1kHz, 1mW
Bespoke Stormbreaker UPOCC Copper Litz Cable, Quad Conductor Dual Guage Design
Every Empire Ears in-ear monitor is proudly designed, engineered, and manufactured in Norcross, Georgia USA.