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Empire Ears

Empire Ears Hero In-Ear Headphones | Founder's Edition

Empire Ears Hero In-Ear Headphones | Founder's Edition

Final Sale More information
Final sale items are not returnable but they come with a full warranty.
Regular price $1,379
Sale price $1,379 Regular price $1,379.00

Cup style More information
Open-back headphone designs are often higher-performance but have poor noise isolation and leak sound. Closed-back designs provide better noise isolation and leak less sound.

Closed-Back

Wearing style More information
Over-ear headphones sit over your ear and surround your ear with a ring of padding. On-ear headphones are padded but rest on top of your ear. In-ear monitors are worn inside your ear canal.

In-ear

Driver type More information
Speakers and headphones use a device called a 'driver' to create sound. Different types of drivers have different strengths and weaknesses, but can all produce great sound. Common varieties include dynamic, planar magnetic, and electrostatic.

Dynamic, Balanced Armature

Connectivity More information
Connectivity refers to the method in which the headphones connect to the audio source. Headphones can be either wired or wireless.

Wired

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Empire Ears

Empire Ears Hero In-Ear Headphones | Founder's Edition

Regular price $1,379
Sale price $1,379 Regular price $1,379.00

Hero is relentless, fierce and unapologetic – a renunciation of rules, preconceptions and everything that’s expected from it. It represents a tour de force of Empire’s expertise and craftsmanship, elevating musicality presentation to a level non-existent in its tier. With DNA sourced directly from Legend X and Zeus XIV, Hero reveres our past to emulate flagship levels of performance without the flagship admission.

The heart of Hero is a proprietary quad hybrid configuration comprised of proprietary triple balanced armatures and a next generation W9+ subwoofer. This staunch combination generates legendary bass response while delivering lush, intimate vocals and supreme detail retrieval via a 4-ways synX crossover network backed by ARC resonance mitigation technology.

Every element of Hero is a combination of reminiscence to our history and it embodies our relentless quest to push the limits of possibility. Its sophisticated design, proprietary technology and extraordinary audio reproduction capabilities make it a class-dominating masterpiece.

Designer's Notes

“Hero is relentless, fierce and unapologetic – a renunciation of rules, preconceptions and everything that’s expected from it. It represents a tour de force of Empire’s expertise and craftsmanship, elevating musicality presentation to a level non-existent in its tier. With DNA sourced directly from Legend X and Zeus XIV, Hero reveres our past to emulate flagship levels of performance without the flagship admission.
The heart of Hero is a proprietary quad hybrid configuration comprised of proprietary triple balanced armatures and a next generation W9+ subwoofer. This staunch combination generates legendary bass response while delivering lush, intimate vocals and supreme detail retrieval via a 4-ways synX crossover network backed by ARC resonance mitigation technology. Hero’s sophisticated design, proprietary technology and extraordinary audio reproduction capabilities make it a class-dominating masterpiece.”

Jack Vang
VP of Empire Ears

Empire Ears Hero


Technical Specifications

4 Proprietary Drivers, Hybrid Design

1 Next Generation W9+ Subwoofer - Sub-Bass/Bass

3 Proprietary Balanced Armature Drivers - 1 Mid, 1 Mid-High, 1 High

4-Way synX Crossover Network

A.R.C. Resonance Mitigation Technology

Impedance: 17.6 Ohms @ 1kHz

Frequency Response: 5 Hz - 40kHz

Sensitivity: 105dB @ 1kHz, 1mW

Handcrafted Alpha-IV 26AWG UPOCC Copper Litz Cable


Hero In-Ear Monitor Explosion



 

Proprietary Technologies

Empire Ears Proprietary Technologies

Alpha-IV

Alpha-IV cable

At Empire Ears we believe that an extraordinary IEM requires an extraordinary cable. We’re proud to introduce Alpha-IV (A4); a premium handcrafted 4 core cable comprised of a proprietary 26AWG UPOCC Litz Copper with multi-size stranding. The advantage of multi-sized stranded design within the same encapsulations enables A4 to achieve distinct highs and details due to the signal transmission speed in thinner cable strands, while the thicker size cable strands deliver smoother bass and mids.

A4 features a durable, overmolded .78 2-pin connector offered with either a 3.5mm right angle or 2.5mm balanced termination and improves upon the previous cable design. 2.5mm to 4.4mm adapters are available HERE.

Alpha-IV Y-Split
Empire Ears Adapters

A Heroic Hybrid

Boasting two of the industry’s most advanced driver technologies, HERO is truly a standout hybrid IEM with an uncompromising performance ethos focused on delivering the purest connection between listener and IEM.



Dual W9+ Subwoofers
Sub-Bass/Bass
Empire Ears Weapon 9 Technology

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

Hero comes equipped with 3 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.

 

Three Precision Balanced Armature Drivers
Mid, Mid-High, High
Balanced Armature Drivers

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.

Click HERE to learn more about synX.

Source To Sound



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 artifacts.

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.

A.R.C. Technology

 

Empire Ears ARC Effect

 

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 Hero was an indispensible 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.

  • Serialized IEMs
  • Serialized Founder's Edition Plaque
  • Production Photograph Autographed by Dean Vang (Founder & CTO), Jack Vang (VP), and Catherine Young (CEO)
  • Signatures of the entire production team on packaging
  • Dean Vang's signature on each shell
  • Hero Founder's Editions will be limited to 100 units
  • Empire Ears What's In The Box

     

    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.

    Every Empire Ears in-ear monitor is proudly designed, engineered, and manufactured in Norcross, Georgia USA.

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