WATCH MY REVIEW HERE:
PROS:
- Warm and smooth
- Comfortable and lightweight
- Premium accessories
- Good note weight
- Very fast transient response
- Rich and soothing tonality
CONS:
- Air pressure build up
- Slight metallic timbre
- Lack of treble sparkle
- Can sound too warm
- Lacking dynamics
- Not the most technically capable set
WHO THIS SET IS FOR:
- People who like the linear tone of BA IEMs
- People who like a small, lightweight and comfortable fitting IEM
- People who like premium accessories bundled with the IEM
- People who want a smooth and rich tonality
WHO THIS SET ISN’T FOR
- People who are looking for a dynamic listening experience
- People who want a sparkly and airy treble
- People who want want a more technical sounding set
- People who want a more neutral/balanced tuning
RECOMMENDED GENRES:
- R&B
- HipHop
- Classic Rock/Pop
SHORT REVIEW:
Single BAs have taken a resurgence and the Vampire is one that baffled me from the start. Warm and smooth tonality with enough vocal presence to not sound dark, but also has that distinctively metallic top end to break the flow. It’s neither technical nor dynamic, but a warm linear presentation is one that allows it to stand out from the market’s oversaturated Harman sets. RECOMMENDED WITH CAVEATS!
FULL REVIEW
Do drivers matter? If so, does more mean better? That’s a question that many people have been debating over the years and caused an entire era of in-ears that were all striving to get the most drivers per IEM. This makes perfect sense as, back in the day, the amount of drivers correlates to performance.
Today, we have frequency measurements and more accessible audio stores to demo IEMs to know that more drivers don’t always mean better sound, but can give the manufacturer versatility in tuning their products by having specific drivers handle specific frequencies. This is why you still find flagship in-ears with not only multi-driver but also include different kinds of drivers like piezoelectric, electrostatic and branded balanced armature drivers.
With this in mind, why in the world would anyone opt for a single balanced armature IEM? Single dynamic driver IEMs are acceptable as they’ve had almost an entire century of development and have been used from headphones to in-ear monitors for a very long time. Balanced armatures are often used with dynamic drivers, why use just a single balanced armature driver?
Today, we’re going to be talking about my first single balanced armature driver IEM and my first Singaporean IEM reviewed in my channel. Let’s talk about the Kotori Audio Vampire.
BOUTIQUE AND BOLD!
Kotori Audio was established in 2019 with their team on a journey to create the ultimate auditory experience through everyday listening devices.
Kotori is a brand that I’ve personally been following for a long time. By a long time, I mean since I started this hobby. My favorite IEM ever, the HZSound Heart Mirror, began to have competition in early 2022 when a boutique brand by the name of Kotori came out with the Dauntless. The dauntless in particular was received with good reception for providing a very energetic and bright tuning which was even more impressive when you consider this was their first IEM.
The Vampire is the second IEM in their entire catalogue and their most expensive set to date. We’ll talk more about its specifications later, but this is a monumental set not only for myself but also Kotori as they’re slowly breaching into the mainstream with the release of the Vampire. Let’s find out whether they have what it takes to stand out from the fierce competition!
UNBOXING
Kotori is here to impress from the moment you receive the package with a rather bombastic unboxing experience.
You get arguably one of the most badass-looking packaging in any IEM I’ve seen. The front features an illustration of what seems to be a blood moon on the horizon with a girl standing in the center coated in scarlet red.
The back features and specifications are laid out neatly, with clarity and precision regarding what you need to know about the product.
Sliding the surprisingly difficult-to-remove outer sleeve reveals a box with the Kotori logo up front that, when struggling once again to remove the cover, reveals the IEMs laid out in a nicely presented manner.
Here’s a full list of the accessories:
- Kotori Vampire IEMs
- Carbon 3 cable terminated to 3.5mm
- 3 pairs of ear tip
- Metal case
Kotori is not pulling any punches when it comes to the accessories as the Vampire despite being a smaller company, they’re able to provide a really nice case, nice eartips with a nice case and a really mature unboxing experience that competes with much more expensive sets.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE IEM
Kotori Audio provided a “reviewer” guide for the Vampire that I took the time to go through and explained the existence of the Vampire in the first place. This isn’t common to see in a lot of IEMs nowadays, barred from those that feature new tech that needs to be explained.
One of the most interesting things that I found on that guide is a literal rough drawing of the Vampire’s features that looks straight from a 7th grader’s notebook. This goes to show that the most innovative ideas don’t always come from the perfect, best looking drafts.
You can also find commentary and explanation on the production of the Vampire that explains that the backbone of the Vampire is on Comfort and Companionship. Check out the full transcript here:
Enough about the background of Kotori Audio and the production of Vampire, let’s talk about the Vampire’s themselves.
BUILD & FIT
Starting with the specifications, the Vampire features a single full-ranged Balanced Armature from Knowles that is housed in a very lightweight resin shell that’s only 2.7 grams per side.
The emphasis on comfort for the Vampire starts with the build & fit as the overall shape is one of the most comfortable non-winged shapes I’ve ever worn. It’s very small and very comfortable in the ear and goes surprisingly deep without discomfort. This reminds me a lot of the INM1 by INM Audio with a very similar, small and comfy shape. This makes their goal of engineering it to be unnoticed for musical enjoyment to be almost true.
I say almost as yours truly found one pretty major issue that some people might have with the Vampire. Air pressure build up. Now to give Kotori Audio some slack, this is not their fault. Almost all balanced armature driver only IEMs exhibit this quality one way or another. In defense of Kotori Audio, their design allowed for less air pressure build up compared to other BA IEMs that I’ve tried. But it’s still present and it still bothers me any time I move my head around. This issue is anatomically based, so you might not experience it as bad as I do.
Aesthetically speaking, the Vampire has got to be one of the prettiest red IEMs that I’ve seen. The subtle scarlet red faceplate with either the Vampire logo or the Kotori logo on each side adds a lot of character to the design motif of the Vampire. The black perfectly wraps around the faceplate, free from any branding or naming which I appreciate Vampire decided to opt out on. A small gripe that I have as a photographer is the coat of glossy resin they used that makes it quite difficult to photograph under artificial light. Besides this, the Vampire looks fantastic. Kotori Audio even states that every Vampire’s faceplate is different, so your vampire is unique to you!
Cable wise, the Vampire uses the Carbon 3 silver plated OFC cable that feels a lot like the 2 stand cables that comes with SImgot, EPZ and the likes in this price range. Not to say that it’s bad, on the contrary it’s a really good quality cable. But the resemblance is there. Where the resemblance ends, however, is the absurdly thick y-split and chin cinch that either makes the cable look more premium or completely out of place. Regardless, it feels comfortable and lightweight to complement Vampire really well.
SOUND
Sound Signature
The Kotori Vampire features a very interesting tuning. Warm and lush low end that spikes up in the treble and a very relaxed air presentation. This is something I personally haven’t really hard before with very specific exceptions that were coincidentally also a single BA IEM named the Fengru WT2, but that’s a set for another day.
As you might expect from a single balanced armature driver, you get a very snappy and sharp sound that, despite the warmer low end, still emphasizes very fast and well-defined transients that single DDs often cannot replicate. This is arguably the selling point of a set like the Vampire with its single BA driver, but let’s get deeper into the sound in a moment.
I will say that timbre is something you need to expect to not be the more natural as there’s a very distinct metallic tone to the sound that is coherent throughout the frequency range but ends up making instruments sound a little too fast. The warmth aids in making the low end sound more lush and natural, but it’s fundamentally a very snappy presentation
Drivability
If you expected the Vampire to be very easy to drive and sensitive IEM, you are completely mistaken. With an impedance of 50 ohms and 112dB sensitivity, the Vampire is quite the power hungry set to bring out the best in its sound. You don’t need 1w amplifiers for this, don’t worry. But a clean, neutral source that doesn’t color the transducer is the way to go for the Vampire. I found that the very clean Fosi Audio SK02 perfectly played the Vampire with enough energy and volume while keeping smooth and clean.
Ideal Volume
The Vampire is an oddity when it comes to the ideal listening volume as the warmth initially leads you to cranking the volume to balance out the treble, but the sudden spike in the mid treble forces you to crank it down to avoid harshness. However, the source used plays a big part in whether the region is emphasized or not. On less clean sources, you’ll find the Vampire to be a bit unbearable in the treble but a cleaner source will minimize the sharpness and improve timbre. But I personally found myself comfortably in the mid to high listening volumes with the right source.
Bass
Most people criticize balanced armature bass for being too fast and lacking impact and nuance. With that pre existing notion, I was also expecting the Vampire’s bass to sound limp and lifeless. But I was thankfully surprised as the bass of the Vampire provided a good amount of impact and punch while staying snappy and tight. Obviously, it’s not going to be as thick, tactile and punchy as even cheap single dynamic driver IEMs. But that’s not what balanced armature bass is made for. Speed and tightness is the name of the game and the Vampire has got that covered. Regardless, I won’t deny that this is a kind of bass presentation made for a specific demographic that wants speed over engagement.
I’ve been listening to a lot of Willow recently and the track “run!’ has been my recent earworm. The Vampire is able to present the low-end details with a solid sense of body and extension without sounding limp or thin, but the tactility is clearly lacking on this track due to the nature of the IEM. There’s a good level of impact, especially after the 1:20 mark and goes to show that the Vampire is more than capable of producing super low end notes, but just not in a way that people who seek a fun and engaging sound would really prefer. I know because I’m part of that demographic. However, the bass of the Vampire is very unique and sounds really good for electronic music like the Alchemist Album by Savant. The subbass is presented really well without making the rest of the frequency mushy.
Mids
The midrange of the Vampire is something that will divide quite a lot of people due to its clearly colored and warm nature. This is a kind of midrange that perfectly fits those that seek a full-bodied and rich-sounding midrange in anything they listen to. From vocals to instruments, the Vampire presents instruments in the midrange with such lushness and warmth that I have fallen asleep listening to vocal and instrumental tracks with the Vampire. The issue lies with the overall timbre pushing the warmth a little too much to the point where even the speed of the driver starts struggling making the sound signature clean. This is definitely not for those seeking a clean and open-sounding midrange, but rather those looking for a thick and lush midrange that’s in your face and rich sounding. I will say that the upper midrange energy is balanced surprisingly well to the thicker low end with a good amount of energy that still gives upper midrange vocal and instruments a decent level of nuance and clarity that doesn’t get drowned in the warmth.
The track Alone Again, Naturally by Vulfmon is a perfect example of making the vocals thick and rich complementing the mix surprisingly well. I still don’t prefer this amount of warmth, but the balance of the thicker overall midrange and the energy boost in the upper midrange makes the vocals sound so lush and relaxing, albeit not the most natural sounding. This is also the part where the timbre starts to divert as the thicker low end starts to collide with the sharper upper-frequency instruments which I’ll talk about in the next section.
Treble
One of the biggest complaints I’ve seen from single Balanced Armature IEMs is that the treble can often be a little dicey. Unfortunately, that is the case with the Vampire. But let’s talk about the good first. Details are surprisingly well-defined despite the overall presentation being on the more relaxed side. This is potentially due to the snappy sound allowing for details to be present even in the absence of a boosted treble, but regardless it maintains a good level of detail. The overall treble presentation is also quite relaxed with the upper treble rolling off and making it a really good set for those sensitive to upper treble peaks. However, issues plague it that a treblehead like myself feel a little disappointed with. Particularly, the massive spike in the mid-treble followed by a massive dip in the upper treble makes the Vampire sound a little low-res at times. This isn’t due to the driver being incapable of sounding resolved because it is more than capable of doing so. However, the contrast from the mid treble to the upper treble often causes issues with perceived resolution and the Vampire struggles in that regard.
I really cannot pinpoint a specific song as the issue honestly exists in most songs that I listen to, but I also can’t deny that tracks that I usually found to be sibilant are completely bearable on the Vampire. Listening to the retro beats of CASIOPEA and the track Swallow has become my gold standard test for sibilance and the Vampire passed with flying colors on the track. There’s hints of sibilance creeping in, but I was able to run this at higher volumes than I usually do without experiencing any massive peaks. That makes the Vampire a surprisingly competent set for older tracks with brighter tuning as you probably won’t experience much harshness from the treble as much as many other modern and Harman tuned sets.
Technicalities
The Vampire tells two stories of its technical ability. Superb separation and layering, lackluster stage and imaging. This is due to the nature of the Vampire having a very capable driver to separate instruments really well, but a very small driver and an unorthodox tuning that makes music sound a little claustrophobic and in your head. If you’ve listened to Etymotic IEMs, you’ll find yourself right at home with this kind of technicalities. As you might expect, dynamics are poor on this set and resolution is great despite rolling off in the upper treble. I noticed this when comparing it with cheaper, single DD sets where the cheaper sets sound forced in the treble while the Vampire sounds clean but relaxed.
COMPARISONS
Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of single BA sets to compare with the Vampire, so I’ll compare it to either more expensive multi BA driver sets or similarly priced single DD or hybrid sets.
vs HiBy Yvain
From $99 to $250, the 4BA HiBy Yvain tells a very similar story to the Vampire in more ways than one. First, they both use Knowles BA with the Yvain adding 3 more balanced armatures to make the tuning more versatile. Next, they both have a very linear bass to midrange tuning that spikes in the upper midrange to give nuance and energy in the upper registers. Lastly, both their trebles roll of quite drastically. The major differences lie in how refined, technical, resolving and neutral the Yvain is tuned compared to the Vampire. The midrange is the highlight of the Yvain and it clearly shows when compared to the somewhat unrefined tonal balance of the Vampire. The Yvain is also somehow a more coherent sounding set without a peak that messes up with the timbre despite using more drivers. But this all adds up as the Yvain is priced at $250 from a company with more experience in tuning balanced armature sets. I wouldn’t say it’s a completely unfair comparison, but I’m confident that if Kotori continues to work on their balanced armature sets, they’d be able to create something on this level.
vs Etymotic ER3SE
Another much more expensive set that is thankfully also single BA, the ER3SE is fundamentally a different IEM to the Kotori Vampire. If the Vampire focuses on Comfort and Companionship, the ER3SE focuses on pain and penetration. Jokes aside, the ER3Se exhibits a similar issue in the treble to the Vampire with a rolled off upper treble. However, the ER3SE balances this by having a very lean and linear bass and a deep presentation that minimizes the potentially massive peak in the mid treble. I honestly think that the Vampire could have gone the path of the ER3SE, but Kotori wanted to make a lush and relaxed set which they achieved with not only the tuning but the form factor. Essentially, the ER3SE is for those looking for a dead flat sounding in-ear monitor with no mercy to your precious ears and the Vampire is those who are looking for a comfortable companion with good speed and warm sound.
vs Kefine Delci
While a little odd at first, you’ll understand why I wanted to compare the Delci to the Vampire. Both sets have a relaxed and warm tuning with focus on relaxation and lushness. The Delci, by nature, is the more engaging, punchy, tactile and engaging set while the Vampire is the more lush and somehow more refined sounding set. This lushness is something that people will definitely consider when purchasing a “relaxed” sounding set. Both sets have a peak in the mid treble that dips to a relaxed upper treble which are things to consider if you’re looking for a proper “relaxed” set as both sets are really not for those with sensitivity to the 8k region. Regardless, both sets are the two sides of the same coin. Do you want a warm, lush and snappy set or a warm, dynamic and tactile set?
CONCLUSION
In the end, we found that; yes, drivers do matter and that something like a single BA set can be a viable choice if you’re looking for this specific kind of snappy but warm tuning. But fundamentally, this is such a unique listening experience that I can recommend this for anyone who’s looking for a refresher from the usual, methodical set of recent times.
From the fit to the sound, Kotori Audio has provided such a unique set that is a refreshing set to see in the market today. When you’re a new brand, you need to set yourself apart from the competition and Kotori Audio achieved this pretty well. There are still a lot of patches to smoothen out like the midrange sounding a little too thick and the mid treble peak to upper treble dip making the Vampire sound a little low resolution, but I’m confident these are things that Kotori Audio will be able to improve upon in their future releases, For now, good effort!
Thank you for reading my review on the Kotori Vampire. If you would like to order one, consider using the non-affiliated link below:
