Effect Audio’s King Arthur succeeds Arthur as the brand’s Flagship In-Ear Monitors (IEMs). Continuing its collaboration with Empire Ears, the new Flagship aims to not only represent the pinnacle of technologies available from both Effect Audio and Empire Ears but also seeks to be delivered with a touch of luxury and style, something that has never previously been accorded to IEMs.
When the King made its arrival at the Porta-Fi Experience Lab, his entourage was the most impressive ever for a pair of IEMs gracing the lab, 6kg to be exact, a package fitting for a King.
Design and Build
Quite possibly the most impressive package to ever arrive at Porta-Fi. The aluminium enclosure presents itself with a leather-finished aluminium cover, embossed with Effect Audio’s logo, the genuine lambskin leather is bordered with white stitchings adding a feel of luxury. Beneath the cover, one would find three layers of content with the first housing the monitor units, the second housing the faceplates and product documentation and the third housing the Caliburn cable, the selection of ear tips and the black genuine lambskin leather carrying case.
3D printed in Acrylic in a glossy black finish with a Penta-bore design, King Arthur is equipped with a 9-way crossover circuit with 16 Balanced Armature drivers arranged in a 2 low, 7 mid, 7 high configuration. Due to the high driver count and the elaborate crossover, the IEM is sizable, however, not overly big nor heavy and is comfortable to wear.
The Flagship IEM is also the first IEM to feature the company’s Patented Convertible Clutch Mechanism which allows users to swap various faceplate designs to match your activity of the day. The classic “Vivid Acrylic” is preinstalled with the IEM with 4 pairs of faceplates featuring premium materials included in the package, namely: “Elegant Rosewood”, “Classic Carbon Fibre”, “Textured Leather” and “Metallics”.
Caliburn Cable
It is perhaps difficult to talk about a product from the boutique cable manufacturer without mentioning cables. Equipped with the Flagship IEM is the Caliburn cable, a 24AWG Rare UPOCC hybrid comprising of a combination of Gold-Plated Silver, Gold Silver Alloy and Pure Silver.
Named after the Sword in the Stone that chooses the King in the legend of King Arthur, the companion cable also features a unique King Arthur Designer Y-Split inspired by the Knights of the Round Table. Employing Effect Audio’s Multi-Bundled Litz Geometry, Caliburn is a 7-Core configuration made up of individually Enamelled Strands, this ensures that the companion cable is thicker than the company’s regular offerings after being finished in its transparent UltraFlexi Insulation jacket.
Available exclusively as a companion cable for King Arthur, bespoke options on the 1.2m cable is limited to a choice of the plug with a choice of 2.5mm Balanced, 3.5mm Single-end, and 4.4mm Balanced.
Included in the aluminium case with the Effect Audio King Arthur is the Caliburn cable, a 24AWG Rare UPOCC hybrid comprising of a combination of Gold-Plated Silver, Gold Silver Alloy and Pure Silver, 5 pairs of faceplates, and 4 pairs of Final Audio Type E Silicone ear tips (XS, S, M and L) as well as a black genuine lambskin leather carrying case.
Part 1: Introduction, Design and Build
Part 2: Sound Quality
Part 3: Product Specifications
Part 4: Review Ratings, Summary
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Hi there, what amp did you actually use to achieve the right amount of power for the King Arthurs?
I would honestly like try these IEMs out even though they’re getting pretty bad impressions on head-fi.
It’s honestly confusing since I’m sure the reviewers like yourself and others from headfonics and headfonia wouldn’t take their impressions of these lightly.
It’s crazy for a company like Effect Audio and Empire Ears to charge that much too if they think it wouldn’t match the sound they wanted to convey.
I myself love the Wraith, and not a lot of people do. So I do wonder what went wrong.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Hi Matz Rios, thanks for your comment. The Effect Audio King Arthur is a very interesting pair of In-Ear Monitors. For a portable setup I have used it with the Full Balanced Portable Headphone Amp model 428 from MASS-Kobo. I also find it an interesting match with the Yulong DA10 which is a desktop DAC Amp. Hope this helps.