This year’s “surprise iem of the year” award might already be taken. Just like PMG last year, Hercules Audio appeared seemingly out of nowhere with a very ambitious project. While the name might please some more than others, it is bold and daring.
As it turns out, so is the iem.
Before we dive into sound, a word about build quality. In one word: fantastic. The titanium shell is elegant, the pure silver “Scepter” cable is excellent and the case (yes, I am talking about a case!) feels and smells like premium leather.
But all of that means little if the sound doesn’t follow.
A quick look at the graph suggests a strong bass response. And it definitely is. It’s not bass-head level but it gets close. The bass is punchy and dynamic. Sub-bass reaches deep and has great texture. It’s a lot of bass, but it’s clean and doesn’t bleed or muddy the mids in the slightest. Is there such a thing as too much (good) bass anyway?
The mid-range is tastefully forward and full. Electric guitars have good weight and texture. Vocals (male and female) have the emotion they are supposed to carry. The sonic image is quite large for an iem. “Hey Laura” by Gregory Porter is beautiful, and that’s exactly how it sounds on Moses.
Treble is interesting. It is detailed and has excellent extension. It has enough aggression to nicely complement the mids but it doesn’t go overboard. Moses has the now popular dip between 4-6khz followed by a boost in upper treble. This could be the “love it or hate it” part, depending on your ears and music. The Divinus Velvet tips (stock) tame the treble a bit but they also impact the iem’s dynamics a touch. Tip rolling is highly recommended.
This is going to get repetitive but the technical chops are up there with (almost) anything. Separation is top notch, imaging is sharp and the stage has very good size for a flagship of this caliber. Resolution is a standout, despite the bassy nature of the iem. That’s “boss level” hard to achieve. The team behind this project know what they are doing. And they did it well.
I don’t have an iem ranking for various reasons. This said, if SoundJedi was a reviewer, Moses would be at, or very near, the top of his mountain. Unless the said mountain is in Japan. We might talk about that another day…when I recover.
