Brise Audio Fugaku Review: The Eye-Opener
Remember Shure’s KSE1500, a ‘True Electrostatic’ in-ear monitor powered by a dedicated electrostatic amplifier? It’s been a decade since that was released, and I recall it as the first IEM audio system that could only be played through its dedicated devices. The pricing was also way out of the range in the 2015 standards. Rewinding back to 2025, there’s been a new TOTL IEM system that’s been stirring up a lot of high-end IEM users nowadays (or just anybody, perhaps), which is the Brise Audio Fugaku.
Brise Audio, a Japanese audio brand, has primarily focused on producing custom cables, DACs, and amplifiers. As I don’t remember seeing them make IEMs before, their venture into creating an IEM was particularly intriguing to test, as it’s not just any in-ear monitor but a complete audio system. Oh, Fugaku comes with a hefty price tag – $16,999 or 2,500,000 yen.
What is Fugaku: Portable Audio System (PAS)
Brise Audio Fugaku isn’t your typical in-ear monitor – in fact, calling it an IEM would be understating its concept if not misleading. Despite Rossi&Wing First Light being a TOTL summit-fi IEM, R&W instead prefers to call First Light an ‘IEA’ (In-Ear Auditorium) due to its tuning concept and appealing to consumers. However, in the case of Fugaku, it’s really not an IEM – it’s more accurate to call it a ‘portable audio system’ (or PAS in short).
Born from Brise Audio’s extended history of crafting high-end cables, amps, and DACs, the Fugaku is Brise Audio’s first earphone product, as well as being the world’s first portable audio system to incorporate MEMS hybrid drivers + dedicated full analog amplifier + dedicated custom flagship wires and cables. Rather than simply assembling quality drivers and calling it a day, Brise treats the entire signal path, from drivers to power source, as a unified audio ecosystem. The internal wiring, shielding, vibration control, electromagnetic noise suppression, amplifier performance, and even cable selection are all designed as one to make what Fugaku is. More technical or in-depth info will be shared on the earpieces section below.
But Why Fugaku?
Simply said, the general custom cables aren’t compatible with Fugaku – you must use its dedicated cable, as Fugaku uses a completely different, proprietary 7-pin connection. It’s detachable but only compatible with its ‘Fugaku termination’, so you can’t customize your cable unless Brise Audio offers you one. You can’t directly connect Fugaku with your DAP either – you must connect it with its dedicated portable amplifier, and then connect that to the source player. Fugaku requires external filters and power from the amplifier to be played, so that also must go together.
Since Fugaku is a PAS (portable audio system), it’s a lot bulkier to use or handle, being very difficult to listen to on the go unless you put two bricks (which I mean by DAP+amplifier) in your sidebag. It’s portable, though not really portable-friendly due to its form factors. Fugaku also requires more manual care. Storing the system requires a big and sturdy case, preferably one that has divided storage areas like VanNuys cases, as you need to house the IEM + cable bundle, the amplifier, and the DAP. The connection plugs are quite long and stiff, making things more important to have a proper case in hand. The manual requirement also counts when it comes to power management – you need to charge and manage batteries for both the DAP and amplifier to play Fugaku.
All of these – but for a good reason…
So far, hearing all this already sounds like a big hassle and begs the question – is this really all necessary? That was my exact thought before listening to them. Though after some extensive listening, I can’t say my thoughts remain the same as before. Putting the pricing aside, I started to see why Brise Audio designed all these. Brise Audio stated Fugaku to be the “Ultimate Portable Audio System”, and Fugaku surely lived up to its daring statements. The performance was worth the bulkiness. For this, we’ll cover in the in-depth sound impressions part on the upcoming pages of this review.
Titanium Earpieces, though not in your typical form factors
Before the sound, let’s first cover the technical part of Fugaku a bit more. Fugaku uses 8 drivers per side with a 5-way crossover system with black-coated, pure titanium chassis. It’s a 2DD+5BA+1MEMS tribrid setup – below are the driver distributions.
- Ultra high frequency: xMEMS speaker x1
- High frequency: Knowles BA driver x2
- Midrange: Sonion BA driver x2
- Mid-low range: Sonion BA driver x1
- Low frequency: 2 x 8mm LCP dynamic drivers with OFC rings
While conventional IEMs house all filters within the IEM, Fugaku’s earphone components are extended to the amp. Sure, it houses 8 drivers per side, but the earpiece doesn’t house any crossover. Instead, an active 5-way crossover is built within its portable amplifier, hence why Fugaku can’t be played alone or by other amps.
While most flagship IEMs use an over-ear structure where the cable goes over the ear, Brise Audio Fugaku is quite different. It’s ‘over-ear’ but not the cable, but a dedicated TPE earguide. Due to the cable being thick and too heavy to be worn the natural way, Brise Audio designed a lightweight, built-in earguide with adjustable and bendable material. The cable sprouts down as the classic earbud style – so technically, Fugaku uses both wearing styles.
Next Page: Dedicated Amp & Cable / Moving onto Sound Impressions