You have no idea what kind of tweeter lights me up! Tape. Perplexed? Then I’m ready to show the physical evidence: the headphones
EAMT-4a
From Japanese brand oBravo Audio. These are the world’s first in-ear “ears” that use the famous “air motion transformer tweeter,” or if for “our money”: AMT or Oscar Heil’s ribbon tweeter. Advanced Japanese managed to make this very tweeter in “nano size”. Our Lefty, a lover of savvy fleas, would have done just as skillfully: imagine an 8mm AMT-tweeter paired with a 10mm neodymium speaker. Yes, really! Such a sweet couple that I can’t rest day or night until I hear them sing along…
The product is very interesting, but not cheap at all. But to listen does not mean to get to waste. Maybe we could listen to it together?
Thank you to oBravo for providing a sample for listening.
In-channel headphones oBravo EAMT-4a
Specifications
| Type: | In-Canal Hybrid |
| HF: | 8mm Heil driver Air Motion Transformer |
| LF: | 10mm neodymium dynamic |
| Enclosure: | “a” – Aluminum alloy self-contained “w” – Wood wood |
| Connection: | oBravo-MMCX special shape/Kirikaki third-party cables can’t Be plugged in. |
| Impedance: | 16&Omega |
| Frequency of playback: | 20Hz ~ 45000Hz |
| Weight: | 6,8 g |
Appearance and package
The headphones came in a cardboard box, with a hint at the graphite of the headphones, the logo and slogan: “Listen & Feel”. Just two words, and about the model captures the very essence – “Listen and Feel”. A checkmark in the five-choice memo clarified exactly which modification came to me. It was immediately clear that the earmuffs were augmented with Comply foam attachments.
Inside the box was no ghosts, nothing extraordinary: headphones, detachable cable with a proprietary coaxial connector oBravo – MMCX, three pairs of silicone tips L/M/S, three pairs of proprietary tips Comply T-500 blue also in three versions – L/M/S, and more – whether purse or case for headphones, and a booklet with instructions.
The headphones have a brutal “bullet” design, they look attractive, a kind of “hand-made. Assembly is solid, material is aluminum with bronze glow, rear “cover” is made of wood, with traces of “needles” on the circumference. The cable is very soft, white, jack 3.5 mm. MMCX connectors on the cable have a lock key and connect to the headphone with a characteristic click. From the nozzles I chose “foam” of medium size, not yet have wizened with someone else’s silicone, and the native one did not suit me very well. In addition, the sound with foam nozzles seemed to me filled and thorough.
Noise isolation of the ears is below average. Though the construction is closed, but shallow holes to pump out the desired sound make themselves felt. So, a share of weed noise is inevitably mingled with the purest soundtrack. However, if it’s not the subway or the street, there’s a lot more music in my ears than weeds. And if “there’s nobody at home but the twilight alone”, God forbid to sink and forget, until “the intrusion shivers”… The “bullet” design settled in my ears without any problems.
What else can I say, one hundred percent handmade, all within the bounds of propriety.
And now forwards and upwards to the sound!
Sound
How many times I stumbled on this bug! And these ears didn’t want to get acquainted too: who they are, what they are capable of – guess yourself … So to avoid mute scene I put the headphones to warm up for 30-40 hours. The main listening was on the MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2, Lotoo PAW Gold and QLS QA360.
With all of the above sources, the headphones played at the proper level. But I want to warn you that the result will depend on the amplifier. Of course, you can also plug them into a smartphone by turning the volume up to the limit. But you can’t catch silver bells with similar filling. All in all, two thousand bucks worth of headphones, as expensive models should be, are pretty finicky. For me the combination of Lotoo PAW Gold + EAMT-4a is the most accurate. Although they sounded good with the stationary MyST DAC 1866OCU V.2 and with QLS QA360.
A variety of genres the headphones sounded pretty subtle on all the equipment, which I listened to. Though absolutely brutal and heavy genres sometimes seemed too feminine and soft. The details will be “with a hill”, more than enough, but you will not get angry, pushy and rock cheekiness at low frequencies.
By the way, the same Rage Against The Machine – “No Shelter”, though it is not “hellish passion and mega-tension”, but it sounds quite decent: guitar breakdowns, multitiered shades, fullness of space, everything breathes and pleases. Though it is known there is no match for taste and color: someone will fly to the sky and someone will wrinkle: “what a disgusting thing, this bay fish of yours”…”.
Otherwise, classical, jazz, instrumental, new wave, synth-pop, rock, jazz-rock sound great on EAMT-4a.
Yes, it’s not a monitor or “painted” sound. It’s more of a palpable, air-filled sound that has living substance. It’s not studio, but it’s not “pop”, it’s more of an audiophile, aesthetic nature.
Musical material is presented extremely intelligently and cleanly. It’s white, but not just white, it’s bubbling white, pure, like the first snow. EAMT-4a sounds like a bride in a wedding dress – it’s chastity, beauty and purity. The sound is like clean air, only tangible.
For example:
A-ha – “Hunting High And Low”
The composition is free, unconstrained, solid and at the same time extremely detailed. You sit in a cloud of sound and admire.. Not a single detail escapes your gaze, everything is extremely clean and natural. The melody wraps you like a soft blanket, Morten Harket’s vocals sound expressive and touching the soul-strings. Great resolution of the instruments, intonation of a beautiful voice, readability of the sounds – everything is top notch. The bass is not too powerful, it lacks depth, but it adds its own irreplaceable colors to the whole cloth, the bass is precise and extremely accurate.
“Here I am
And within the reach of my hands
She sounds asleep and she’s sweeter now
Than the wildest dream could have seen her
And I Watch her slipping away
Though I know I’ll be hunting high and low..”
Ugh, it gives me goosebumps..
In short, the sound of oBravo EAMT-4a is quite unique. They really transmit the atmosphere of the song, with soul.
The tweeter is clean, smooth, a little restrained probably because of the foam tips . They are a little softened, but at the same time very precise.
The midrange is EAMT-4a’s forte. The medium frequencies are great. Overall smoothness, refined manners, airiness along with expression and all without a hint of distortion! This is awesome, comrades! The musical material is presented easily, effortlessly and at the same time densely detailed.
The woofers are subdued, quantitatively they are lacking, but qualitatively they are quite good. They’re more of a part of the bigger picture and lukewarm in the rays of the middle. Many will miss the bass, I understand. But trust me, in 15 minutes you will forget about this feature of sound.
EAMT-4a shows quite a wide range for an in-ear headphone. The sounds are not nesting in or around your head, the sounds are free and yet they are part of something whole. The sound, as I promised, is light as a cloud, utterly musical, with very high microdynamics.
The developer himself put it this way: “We want you to hear every beat, touch every rhythm and let the melodies fill your soul.”
In my opinion, they succeeded.
Conclusion
Headphones are very interesting, but definitely not for everyone. Exquisite manners, informative, soft and yet powerful sound pressure, emotionality without a fraction of distortion – this is a striking result for such a small form factor in the nano.
Yes, the headphones can’t be called genre-universal. But if you like them, it will be love forever. These are headphones for aesthetes-audiophiles.
The main drawback of the EAMT-4a is the high price. I have not seen this model in American online stores yet, it is mainly produced for the Japanese market, but I think the novelty will fly to us soon. The price in terms of Japanese yen will freeze somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000. A serious requirement, but in my opinion they’re worth it.
Completely unique sound, kit, assembly. Just a find for the audiophile aesthete.
High price, genre-universal.
What is the sound quality like on the oBravo EAMT-4a in-ear headphones? Can you provide more details on the ribbon tweeter and how it enhances the audio experience? And how does the “sound like the first snow” statement translate into the actual sound characteristics of these headphones?
These oBravo EAMT-4a in-ear headphones sound fascinating with their bullet design and ribbon tweeter. But when you mention they “sound like the first snow,” I’m curious to know what that really means. Could you elaborate on the unique sound quality or characteristics these headphones possess?