DISCLAIMER: Vision Ears provided me with the EVE20 in return for my honest opinion. I am not personally affiliated with the company in any way, nor do I receive any monetary rewards for a positive evaluation. I’d like to thank Vision Ears for their kindness and support. The review is as follows.
Vision Ears produce some of the most coveted in-ear monitors in the industry, desired equally for their superlative build, their evocative aesthetics, their lavish packaging and their precise, yet musical tunings. Recently, they’ve taken the world by storm with the release of their flagship ELYSIUM and Erlkonig. And, they’ve shown no signs of stopping since. In 2020, Vision Ears started the EVE initiative: A series of limited-edition monitors that’ll be refreshed with a new entry every year. We previewed its debutant back in April. And, now, here’s the full review of Vision Ears’ EVE20: A firecracker with finesse.
Vision Ears EVE20
- Driver count: Six balanced-armature drivers
- Impedance: 25Ω @ 1kHz
- Sensitivity: 120.5dB @ 1mW @ 1kHz
- Key feature(s) (if any): N/A
- Available form factor(s): Universal acrylic IEMs
- Price: €1300
- Website: www.vision-ears.de
About EVE
The idea behind Exclusive Vision Ears is annual concept pieces that Vision Ears will release in limited quantities. These are completely separate from their mainstay monitors, and will essentially be their avenue for experimentation; irrespective of any pre-determined price hierarchies, driver configs or house sounds. Following this 6-driver EVE20 could be a 2-driver EVE21, for example. And, despite the EVE20’s pretty modest look, Vision Ears also plan to “explore the boundaries of visual design” with the program as well, which – if you’re familiar with their repertoire – is very, very exciting news to hear. All in all, it looks to be a project filled with potential, that’ll hopefully bring some welcome unpredictability to the market today.
Packaging and Accessories
As per usual, Vision Ears have decked out the EVE20’s packaging with a ton of different nuances and textures. You’ve got the matte-grey outermost sleeve topped with a web of gloss-black lines cutting through it; a great show of contrast. And, topping it off is an EVE emblem in metallic-purple. The box inside is wrapped in a weaved, carbon-fibre-inspired material, which is then finished with more accents of purple on top and along its sides. This box folds opens with a magnetic latch, which only further boosts that clean, classy aesthetic. Presentation is A+ from VE yet again. Now, let us take a look inside.
Lifting the lid open, you’ll find the EVE20 in its puck case, embedded in foam. And, next to it is an envelope, which houses the IEM’s signed warranty card, a pretty substantial instruction manual and a letter congratulating you for your purchase. Also in this envelope is a microfibre cloth and three sets of replacement mesh filters. The latter’s packaging also acts as a guide – illustrations and all – for replacing the mesh filters, which I think is a keen touch. Returning to the box, below this envelope, you’ll get a cleaning tool, a 1/4” adapter and VE’s cleaning spray; all embedded in foam too. As far as accessory sets go, I have zero complaints. Again, presentation is VE’s game to play, and I’m glad to see they haven’t slipped an inch.
Again, you’ll find the EVE20’s tucked away in its round, metal case. And, you’ll find a pack of SpinFit tips in small, medium and large sizes there as well. As with their other monitors, VE have attached a velcro cable tie to this EVE20’s stock cable; an inclusion that I feel needs to be more common in the industry. Next, you get a small dry pack for moisture too. Lastly, this case is a similar metal puck to the ones brands like Empire, Jomo or JH Audio pack with their in-ears. It isn’t the most exclusive or lavish case in the world, but it’s still quality nonetheless. I’m not ruling out something fancier with the EVE21.
Build and Wearing Comfort
Vision Ears have gone with a pretty modest, yet brave look for the EVE20. Its design is made-up solely of two translucent colours; no fancy swirls, foils, glitters or woods. But, the two colours they’ve chosen are rather unconventional: A vibrant wine-red and a light olive-green. It’s a combination that screams the word “apple” to me, and I personally love the blend, especially with its metal emblems inlaid on top. Obviously, however, looks are very subjective, so your mileage may vary.
What isn’t subjective, though, is how cleanly VE’s team have executed this design. Both colours are perfectly transparent, allowing you a pristine view at this in-ear’s tidily-arranged internals. Symmetry between the left and right sides are about as close as they could possibly be. The whole piece – from faceplate to nozzle – is contoured gorgeously; marble-smooth all around with neither a jagged edge nor an odd bump. And, its faceplates are fused perfectly to the shells as well; not a single glue mark in sight. Finally, kudos to VE for machining a groove on the nozzle to keep tips in place. It’s a feature I’ve always found odd to omit, and I’m glad to see this extra measure. I won’t have to dig tips out of my ears after each listen.
Fit-wise, the EVE20’s have a fairly unique shape. Rather than the shorter, wider silhouette that multi-armature universals tend to have, these in-ears are quite thin and tall. As a result, they can sit pretty low-profile in the ear; almost like a CIEM would. But, I feel you’ll only be able to take full advantage of this shape if you have naturally-tall canals. I personally have a taller canal in my left ear, so it fits brilliantly there. Whereas, on my right ear, I feel light pressure pushing on the top of my canal, so I have to push them out a tad, such that the top of the monitor hangs out. It does not affect isolation or the security of the fit at all. So, even if you do have shorter canals, you’d probably be able to finagle them into a comfortable position. Still, though, those with smaller or shorter canals should keep that in mind if they’re concerned about comfort.
The advantage to this taller design is that the IEM locks into your ear very securely. So, that extra concha bump I usually ask for from universals isn’t needed here. And, this is an easier design to store away as well, due to the smaller footprint.
