Compared to Eminent Ears Ruby (Review coming soon)
The biggest difference between these two IEMs is their vastness. Glacier’s sound approaches with a bigger scale and body, giving a wider, more expansive sound than Ruby’s. Meanwhile, Ruby provides tighter texture and thicker density, giving a different type of fullness that offers wholesome, condensed meatiness to the vocals.
Mids are thicker on Ruby. While both are full-bodied they’re but in a completely different sense. Let’s say both IEMs have the same quantity of texture grain details. In relative terms, Glacier sacrifices some portion of mid-range density in exchange for spreading the texture grains even and wider scale, ultimately giving a vast, bigger sound. Ruby, on the other hand, goes for in-focus clarity and density by condensing the textures closer to each other. Of course, Ruby is thoroughly full-bodied, even more than Glacier if talking about density.
Vocals are similar in brightness, sporting a neutral-bright tone, yet Glacier involves a lot more airiness. The textures are softer and smoother while Ruby’s are tighter and stiffer. Due to the condensed and condensed mid-range density, Ruby also has a more “clarity-penetrative” tone. The sibilance area is a bit crispier and grainier on Glacier but doesn’t actually cause sibilance due to the smooth, softer nature of Glacier’s texture. Trebles are tighter and more agile on Ruby and are once again more penetrative than Glacier which treats the treble airier and softer.
Last but not least, the headroom. Glacier has an open-ended airiness throughout its sound and expansive soundstage, hence leading to vaster headroom. However, this also means the horizons of the upper-end headroom are more “vague” as the horizons sound like they gradually and smoothly brush off. In contrast, Ruby’s headroom is more straightforward, ensuring stronger control over the soundstage, leading to a cleaner, tighter headroom and this upper-end “horizon”.
Compared to Campfire Audio Astrolith (Review link)
While both IEMs have stellar ultra-low extension, each of these IEMs has a different tuning direction for the bass. Glacier is better for tuning into the ultra-low rumbles and vibrations with further controlled sub-bass quantity, hence allowing the rumbles to be more linear and preventing that lumpiness occur on the low mids. Meanwhile, with just as deep and prominent ultra-low response, Astrolith generously serves sub-bass quantity so that you can feel rich, full, and thick low-mids.
It’s about how these two IEMs reflect on the sub-bass. Glacier defines sub-bass emphasis as “lumpiness” that intervenes the steadily and evenly expansive headroom whereas Astrolith stays loyal to the groovy richness and bass dynamics that only a plentiful sub-bass (yet precisely controlled) could offer. Alongside, while Glacier may nail its jobs for the extension for the ultra-lows, the overall bass performance is slightly superior on Astrolith. The almost gooey-like density of the bass makes the bass kick and drop as meaty as they can get which is the part that Astrolith clearly holds a higher ground than Glacier. Alongside, the ultra-lows of Astrolith are thicker in color.
However, the clarity and crispness of the ultra lows are superior on Glacier, offering higher-resolution low-end vibrations and more agile bass response. Another major difference is that Astolith’s bass feels smoother and buttery while Glacier serves the bass with a stiffer and tighter texture, leading to a more rock-solid thud. For the vocals, Astrolith has a gently warmer timbre, still conveying pleasant airiness but mostly for the upper-mids while Glacier pumps airiness and transparency throughout the mid-range. This would come down more to personal preference as Glacier’s vocals are more texture-revealing, crisp, and transparent.
The vocals of Glacier may possibly be a tad bright (or faster to bring fatigue) for those who are treble-shy but most general users should find it pleasant. Astrolith, meanwhile, keeps the vocals in the “safe zone” for brightness and texture for guaranteed fatigue-free experience while not having the vocals sound stuffy or dark. The differences in trebles also go similar for the most parts as these IEMs did for the vocals – Glacier desires a tighter, more revealing, clearer, and brighter tone, whereas Astrolith chooses smooth, “cherry on top” type of treble that supports the low-mids with gentle yet highly refined resolution and texture. Lastly, when it comes down to the soundstage, Astrolith has a deep, dark background tone (or pitch-black tone) with encased yet grandeur headroom, while Glacier has a white-toned background staging with an expansive, open-ended headroom.
A Hidden Flagship Gem Waiting Upon Your Listening
Metalure states the naming idea for Glacier came from the goal of achieving a flagship IEM that has glacier-like crystalline purity and sound, and it’s more than safe to say they’ve succeeded in doing so. Metalure surely deserves more market awareness than now as Glacier excels at delivering a neutral-bright, highly resolving sound that balances precision with musicality, and most importantly, the overall sonic performance and quality that punch above its price and its competitors. Its ability to create a refreshingly open sound without fatigue, paired with a robust and controlled low-end, makes it a strong contender among the TOTL warzone.
The price tag of $1,629 may be still far off from what many could pull the trigger for. However, Glacier’s exceptional craftsmanship (both externally and sonically) justifies the price for those seeking an endgame within the $1K price range. Alongside, it’s another benchmark for Metalure in terms of what they’re capable of achieving and proves their skills as a rather underrated brand for the time being.
Glacier’s versatility shines across genres, from bass-heavy tracks to intricate vocals, appealing to a wide audience, especially those who value clarity and texture in their music. However, Glacier isn’t without its caveats. Its neutral-bright tuning might feel slightly lean to those who prefer extra warmth or weight in the mids and lows.
If you’ve loved Metalure’s past products, or are looking for a $1K range flagship that perfectly balances between two elements which are vast clarity and weighty dynamics, Glacier is a must to consider as it has a high possibility of surprising you beyond what you were already expecting out of it.
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