Eminent Ears Burgundy Review: The Crowned Gemstone
There are a handful of old and new earphone brands that I particularly appreciate, and Eminent Ears is one of them. Founded in 2024, Eminent Ears is a Hong Kong-based high-end in-ear monitor company that made its debut with the Ruby. Although relatively new to the IEM industry, Eminent Ears has been steadily expanding its lineup with products that carry different sound signatures and price points.
“It all started when one day, one of us just asked: if we enjoy listening to music with IEMs all around the world, why not try to make one ourselves? Thus, our journey began in 2019, just as a group of friends, researching how the drivers work, buying them off the Internet, putting them into printed IEM shells, and seeing how it goes.
Fast-forward to five years later, in early 2024, we got to a point where we believed we had something really good in our hands, an IEM prototype that we believe is good enough for the global stage. We wanted to show that to the world, just to see how people feel about it. We replicated that prototype into a shiny red shell, designed our official Eminent Ears logo, and just like that, our first real IEM project was born: The Ruby.“
Since then, Eminent Ears (EE for short) has introduced several IEMs with their own distinct characters. Sapphire is the lushest-sounding, basshead-oriented model of the bunch, while Emerald takes a more affordable and musical approach. Amethyst, on the other hand, is a budget-friendly option with a more reference-like tuning. Each of these IEMs offers something different, rather than simply being a lesser or greater version of the others.
However, Ruby has remained the flagship of the family until now. Eminent Ears presents the Burgundy, the successor to Ruby and the new TOTL IEM of the lineup. Priced at $2,950, Burgundy features 11 drivers per side with a 1DD+6BA+4EST tribrid setup. I’ve been looking forward to Burgundy ever since trying the prototype at an audio exhibition, where I was already quite pleased with how it sounded. Let’s discover the whats and hows of Burgundy, get in-depth with its sound signature, and compare it with other flagship IEMs, including its own predecessor.
What’s Inside the Box?
Burgundy comes in Eminent Ears’ familiar packaging format, though the presentation has been noticeably refined from the earlier models. The packaging gets a fresh look with a silvery outer cover decorated with geometrical patterns, giving it a cleaner and more premium appearance. The overall layout remains similar to the previous EE IEMs, though the accessories and their presentation have gone through some welcome improvements.
Other than the earpieces, Burgundy comes with a genuine leather carrying case, a custom-grade 4.4mm stock cable, six pairs of silicone eartips in two different types, a pair of mesh bags for the earpieces, a cleaning tool, and paperwork. The accessory selection is quite complete, and I’m particularly pleased with the improvements made to the carrying case.
The leather cases included with the previous EE IEMs have always been daringly small, often requiring you to carefully squeeze the earpieces inside to make them fit. This has been one of my minor complaints about the brand’s previous offerings, and I’m glad to see that Burgundy finally addresses it.
The new leather case is not only larger but also higher in quality, with enough room to house the earpieces and cable without putting unnecessary stress on them. The inside is finished with soft, fur-like material and comes with dedicated storage spaces for the earpieces and cable, preventing them from rattling around when stored. It’s a practical improvement that I find especially welcome for an IEM of this price.
Gorgeous. Elegantly-designed Earpieces.
Burgundy uses an 11-driver tribrid setup consisting of 1DD+6BA+4EST per side. While this may not be the most extravagant driver configuration by today’s flagship standards, Eminent Ears has put considerable attention into the materials and driver arrangements. The low frequencies are handled by a single 10mm dynamic driver using a German Polymer Fiber Composite diaphragm. This next-generation polymer material was developed by a German materials company, aiming to achieve a good balance of flexibility, rigidity, wrinkle resistance, and thermal stability.
According to Eminent Ears, the diaphragm’s low density and high rigidity allow for more stable movement, while the custom suspension system is designed to improve the driver’s responsiveness and low-frequency control. The intention here is to achieve rich, elastic bass while maintaining accurate control over the diaphragm. Of course, the actual sound performance depends on the overall tuning and implementation, which we’ll get into later in the sound impressions.
Six balanced armature drivers handle the mid-high frequencies. Four of them are Knowles BA drivers assigned to the main mid-high range, while the custom composite BA units take care of the transition toward the higher frequencies. The intention is to maintain consistent tonal characteristics and clarity throughout the mid-high range, making a natural connection between the BAs and EST tweeters.
Lastly, Burgundy uses four Sonion EST (electrostatic) drivers for the ultra-high frequencies. These supertweeters are implemented to extend the upper-frequency range and bring out finer harmonic details. The 11 drivers are organized through a 4-way crossover network, with the dynamic driver, BAs, and ESTs each handling their assigned frequency ranges.
Earpieces: Form Factors / Design / Fit
Burgundy carries the familiar gemstone-inspired design of Eminent Ears, though the overall appearance has been refined quite a bit compared to Ruby. As the name suggests, Burgundy uses a deep wine-red color with darker red and black patterns running through the shells. The faceplates have a three-dimensional, geometrical pattern that reflects the light differently depending on the viewing angle. The reflective patterns create a pleasing sense of depth to the faceplates, rather than having a simple flat or glittery finish.
Gold-colored metal trims surround the faceplates, adding a nice contrast against the dark red shells. One side features the Eminent Ears logo, while the other carries the Burgundy lettering. I quite like how the brand has carried over its gemstone-inspired design while giving Burgundy a more elaborate and mature appearance. The entire design is more detailed than the previous models, though the deep red color and darker shell patterns keep the earpieces from looking excessively flashy.
Burgundy has the largest shells among all Eminent Ears IEMs, though surprisingly, they’re also the most comfortable I’ve experienced from the brand so far. Ruby had rather long nozzles, while the other models in the family used shorter yet thicker nozzles. Depending on your ear shape and size, these designs could limit comfort and eartip compatibility, especially for those with smaller ears.
Eminent Ears has optimized both the nozzle length and thickness for Burgundy, which makes quite a noticeable difference in actual usage. The earpieces settle into the ears more naturally and securely, without requiring the deeper insertion of Ruby or the thicker nozzles of the other models. It’s quite ironic that the largest EE IEM also happens to offer the most comfortable fit.
Despite the bulky shells, Burgundy is also surprisingly light, thanks to the fully resin construction and well-distributed weight. The earpieces don’t feel as cumbersome as their size would suggest, and I found them very comfortable for extended listening sessions. If you’ve previously stayed away from Eminent Ears IEMs because of their nozzle shape or fit, I’d highly suggest giving Burgundy a try. There’s a good chance that the revised nozzle design will work much better for your ears.
Stock Cable: Made by Rolling Force (Our Past Reviews)
Burgundy comes with a custom-grade stock cable developed by Rolling Force Cables, a popular flagship cable maker from Hong Kong. We’ve also covered RF products many times on About Audio so check out the reviews if you’re yet to read. It’s a 23AWG, four-braid cable made of 5N Long-Crystal Oxygen-Free Copper (LC-OFC), utilizing an individually insulated Litz structure. The cable has a fixed 4.4mm balanced plug and standard 0.78mm 2pin connectors, with a total length of approximately 120cm.
The cable uses a dark-colored wire jacket with matching anodized aluminum hardware. The plug and Y-split are finished in a matte metallic tone, while the black and dark-silver patterns of the braided wires match nicely with Burgundy’s deep-red shells. The design is fairly straightforward compared to some of Rolling Force’s more elaborate upgrade cables, though the material and construction are appropriate for a flagship IEM.
The cable uses a conventional four-braid structure with formed ear guides, and the wires are adequately substantial without going into the extreme thickness of some summit-fi stock cables. Rolling Force has also used a gold-plated copper 4.4mm plug, while the standard 2pin connectors make it easy to swap to other custom cables if desired.
It’s nice to see Eminent Ears collaborating with another established cable brand for its flagship stock cable. The earlier Ruby came with a custom Vortex cable, and Burgundy continues that practice through Rolling Force. I’ll leave the sonic characteristics of the stock cable for the listening sections, though the overall construction and hardware make it a fitting inclusion for Burgundy’s flagship positioning.
Next Page: Going in-depth in Sound / How does Burgundy Sound and Perform?