A new flagship future for Craft Ears. Jedrek Nowicki took the battle against distortion in Ominium and replaced bandwidth-limited balanced armatures where ever he could. That leads us to his first tube-less, planar-magnetic, seven-driver tri-brid.
Ear Fidelity give Omnium a standing ovation. Everyday Listening "commend Craft Ears on their creation which deserves my highest recommendation for those valuing all-around transparency".
Craft Ears' "implementation of the planar driver in the Omnium is as good as it gets" says Headfonia. "Omnium clearly belongs at the high-end IEM table ... a performance rich in detail, neutral in tone, and delightfully immersive in its presentation", said Headfonics.
At the heart of the Ominium experience lies a planar-magnetic driver, representing the culmination of Craft Ears' relentless efforts. RDU dual-supertweeters from Knowles also feature.
This tri-brid masterpiece comprises a 10mm planar driver for the mids, flanked by a dynamic driver and five balanced armatures. Complying with modern definitions of neutral, Ominium not only impresses with its technical prowess but also its remarkable naturalness of timbre thanks to its low distortion levels. [See Product Desc. For More]
The standout feature is undoubtedly its midrange, where the planar driver shines by delivering exceptional resolution and emotional engagement. Exceptionally spacious, the black canvas Omnium puts forth is matched by a deep sub-bass authority and highs that never grow fatiguing.
Craft Ears has truly harnessed the power of their drivers to render each frequency range with exceptional realism and precision, to make Ominium's 10mm planar-magnetic mid-range driver the star of the show.
Despite its large surface area, Craft Ears' planar unit remains under the precise control of its magnetic array, resulting in instantaneous and effortless transient responses.
This is made possible by the planar driver's resistance to modal break-up, and its thin vibrating surface requires minimal excursion to move copious amounts of air. Omnium's planar promises a unique combination of presence and articulation that balanced armature counterparts struggle to achieve.
As planar-magnetic drivers gain prominence in multi-driver setups, Craft Ears has made a significant contribution, defining a new era for its flagships. Ominium's strengths are not just attributed to its planar driver but the result of a harmonious ensemble.
A robust 9.2mm dynamic driver takes care of the lows, capitalising on the technology's excellent excursion capabilities particularly with its liquid-silicone rubber surround. Capable of great pistonic motion, this driver is ideal for producing long bass waves that descend in frequency and reverberate giving Ominium's lower registers great presence.
In the upper frequency range, five balanced armatures take over as the planar mid driver becomes directional and tapers off. These specialised tweeters exhibit minimal distortion, enabling Craft Ears to maintain their signature clean, airy, and refined treble performance in their latest creation.
Aurum, equipped with five balanced armatures, incorporates the Space Expansion System (SES™) 3.0, featuring a precisely calculated and computer-modeled horn structure at the output. That only makes its four modern Knowles supertweeters – in dual RDU BA format – yet more potent.
SES™ 3.0 acts as an acoustic amplifier, naturally boosting the balanced armatures' sound pressure level without subjecting them to distortion.
Nowicki's acoustic innovations evolved another step to incorporate a tube-less design and 3D-printed chassis introduce minimal artifacts, ensuring playback that's true to the recording. Additionally, Craft Ears integrated specialised waveguides to optimise sound delivery, further enhancing the Ominium experience.
This work in the time domain for the perfect arrival of frequencies at your ear would mean nothing without Craft Ears' most advanced crossover yet.
Nowicki's six-way crossover is able to incorporate shallow, low-order transitions in the bass and mids – no doubt aided by the wide bandwidth attributed to Omnium's dynamic and planar drivers – for far more accurate phase-response.
Seven drivers are brought together by a crossover that works as a resistive load, maintaining a flatter impedance throughout the frequency range for a consistent response with more sources, whether mobile phone or high output impedance music player.
Naturally, Omnium will sound best via a dedicated source. So look no further than Questyle Audio's M12i and M15i plus Cayin Audio's RU7 dongles and iBasso Audio's DC Elite, before taking that up to discrete amplifier music players like HiBy Music's R6 III and R6 Pro II.
For those wanting to move beyond mere proficiency and instead be held spellbound by their music, the other flagships from Craft Ears await here. Otherwise, browse the rest of our IEMs here.
