Audiophilepure

The PWAudio cables comes delivered connected to the IEMS and UM/PWAudio have added a kind of removable mesh protection around the 4.4mm connector and Y-splitter so they can’t get damaged during transport. A nice detail. The cable looks simple but fancy, with a nice, elegant finish. I do have to note that the heat shrink ear hooks on the M1 are rather fierce and that’s quite annoying when you have the units just dangling over your ear. Once inserted it’s fully comfortable, however.

Comfort-wise the MEST is perfect just like my other UM customs. Of course, that all depends on your scans, but in my case there’s nothing to complain about and long listening sessions are no issue. The only thing I need to mention (and I have mentioned it before) is that there is “Driver Flex” with these IEMS inserting/removing them from your ears. Next to that they stick out a bit further out of your ear because of the shell size, but that doesn’t make them any less comfortable.

However, if I had to pick, I’d go with Classical Rock, Jazz, Classical and RnB genres with the Kublai Khan. Thanks to its excellent staging and imaging performance, Classical and Jazz give me the best experience.

The only negative in terms of technical performance I can bring up is that, with many types of drivers in one package, sometimes you feel like the music is disjointed, too wide and too deep. Especially with the bone-conducting subwoofer, the lowest notes of bass are too separated at times, and the piezoelectric driver gives a similar feeling to treble-heavy songs. If you enjoy a more rounded presentation with more darkness and a bit of ”dirtiness” and lushness, the Kublai Khan may sound too separated and too spacious.

Bass has good impact, texture and speed. The most special thing about the bass, is the feeling you get, when the kinetic driver really comes to show. When it does, you get this extra sensation of vibrations coming from the outside of the canals, where you can really feel the bass. I have tried many different songs to push this experience to its boundaries. One song that really shows the qualities here, is DJ Shadow’s Three Ralphs. However, this feeling is best noticeable when you’re sitting in a quiet environment, or at least not in commute. When I am out and about, I don’t notice the vibrations as much as when I am in the office for example.

The Xe6 reaches very deep into the sub-bass segment, and does so with a lot of authority and force. If you are after a detailed and thunderous low-end, you might find pleasure in the Xe6 as it does exactly that to my ears. To me, the bass is undeniably in a front seat compared to mids and treble. Of course you can tone it down by swapping the gray module for the black one. Then the Xe6 becomes more balanced overall.

My Xe6 has translucent smoke shells combined with their Titanic faceplate. It features the FiR Audio company logo on the left, and the Xe6 product logo on the right side – both in silver. It’s a simple design, but I like it.

All in all I am very content with the build quality of my customs. They sit nicely tight in my ears and don’t cause any pressure. I have been wearing these for hours on end, and have not felt any discomfort.

UE 5 Pro Review: Affordable Custom Fit IEMs

The lower treble starts out on the same plane with the upper midrange with snare rattle having clean edges and enough definition to sound realistic and cymbals having enough energy to sound good without getting tizzy or metallic. 

Above the initial lift, the treble dials back a bit and is quite polite through the mid treble where fatigue and stridency can quickly creep in; roll-off is somewhere above 14 kHz.

The soundstage is good but like most closed IEMs that isolate to this degree, it isn’t huge in any dimension. Instead, what you get is an intimate performance with good proportion to the stage if not a lot of size to it.