PMG Audio Apx ME Review: Surreal in Every Right Way
I had the pleasure of demoing practically all of the showcased PMG Audio ME prototypes since the CanJam Singapore 2025. I believe this was the first time Apx ME made it to the scene, and the next was the CanJam Socal in September. Last month, PMG finally premiered the official edition. A few weeks ago, About Audio posted our first impressions of the PMG Audio Apx ME, and now I’d like to introduce you to our in-depth full review. Let’s see what has changed, how it sounds, and how it compares to various summit-fi earphones – including the previous Apx SE. Globally limited to 200pcs worldwide, Apx ME is priced at $6,999 and is currently available for purchase and audition through global retailers/distributors.
About PMG Audio
While PMG Audio would be known to most of the avid portable audio fans and audiophiles, let me share a brief introduction about PMG in case you’re unfamiliar with them just yet. You might wonder what kind of company would have the audacity to crash into the audiophile industry as a freshly-born brand and throw in a pair of earphones that charges more than $6k. I also might’ve laughed off and walked away if PMG Audio really was a “new” brand that had no background… yet they do. A reputable history that’s been continuing for over a decade so far.
If you’ve been in this hobby for a while, you probably heard about Custom Art.
To be exact, PMG Audio is not exactly “a new company”. PMG Audio is a new branch of a brand that sprouted above Custom Art, the well-established Polish custom in-ear company that’s been in business since 2012. The name PMG came from the letter initials of the Custom Art owner himself, Piotr Marek Granicki, and has set PMG Audio to be a brand that stretches beyond Custom Art’s usual products, specializing in ultra-premium in-ears since 2023.
To start off PMG Audio’s risky yet brave journey, their first earphone product was born, called the Apx. Being PMG Audio’s first yet ultra-flagship earphone, the Apx (read as Apex) is priced at €6,000, which is equivalent to a little less than $6500 at today’s currency rate and was limited to 25pcs worldwide. It quickly sold off while making a significant noise across the high-end earphone world. The second product presented by PMG Audio, the Apx SE (Stone Edition), was priced at €5,500 (~$6200) and limited to 100pcs worldwide. Now, as a start off for the year 2026, PMG Audio returned with its third product – the PMG Apx ME (Metal Edition).
Premium, Practical Packaging & Accessories
When it comes to packaging and its accessories, PMG Audio has always been impressive with its well-thought-out accessories. The Apx SE’s packaging improvement was already pleasnt and now the Apx ME’s is even better. It’s now becoming a tradition of PMG Audio where, instead of including a large, impractical packaging box, they put the investment into making a large multi-divider carrying case. The carrying case got smaller than the one from Apx SE, but now with sturdier leather and better finish overall, and more scratch-resistant. The protective case is now also taller, making it better for storing bulky IEMs, cables, and DAP/DAC than the legacy PMG cases.
Multiple short and long dividers are included, and the edges are finished with velcro, so that you can arrange the divider alignment and distancing to your liking. PMG Audio also included a smaller carrying case for storing the Apx ME IEM, which also has a very premium finish and feel. Alongside, PMG even offers two metal eartip storage cases, making it a very nice addition to Apx ME. One is a small square case (storing 2 pairs), and a larger rectangular case (storing 15 pairs). The metal eartip cases have glass windows for convenience.
Titanium Earpieces – New Looks, New Techs
The Apx ME continues PMG’s pursuit of summit-fi perfection, now with fully re-engineered drivers, housing, and technologies. Apx ME sports 12 drivers per side, comprised of a 10mm PEEK dynamic driver, 1 “rectangular planar” driver, 1 “round planar” driver, and 8BA drivers. These drivers are combined with a True 8-way passive crossover and the well-known FIBAE (Flat Impedance Technology) that’s been developed since the Custom Art days. Along with all the drivers made and tuned in-house, PMG also highlighted the usage of more proprietary tuning techs such as GSO, POD+, UPS, VCD, and 3D.
What has changed since Apx SE?
In case you prefer to scroll down past the wordy and techy parts, here’s a briefing of the main differences between the Apx SE and Apx ME: Unlike the previous Apx series that have used resin shells, Apx ME uses a full-CNC’d titanium shell. In terms of driver specifications, Apx SE used 11 drivers in total, using 1 Square PD+1DD+8BA+1 Round PD.
Along with having the internal structures, drivers, and technologies fully revamped, Apx ME adds another driver – called the VCD. While it falls into the category of BCD (Bone Conduction Driver), PMG Audio specifically named it as VCD (Vibration Conduction Driver) instead, as the stock BCD drivers did not provide meaningful enough results for their needs. These VCD drivers are designed to provide very rich and immersive resonances that reach as low as 250Hz.
The detailed technologies of APX ME are explained below. More details can be found on the official PMG website:
- FIBAE: Flat Impedance Balanced Armature Earphone (FIBAE™) patented technology is the world’s first, revolutionary, In-Ear Monitor design providing flat impedance and phase. By changing the Balanced Armature driver’s character from inductive to resistive we solved one of the oldest problems in the industry – dependence on output impedance of sound source for correct earphone output. With FIBAE™ technology your earphones will always perform best from any DAP.
- Geometrical Sound Outlet (GSO): The parallel wall structure in the nozzles
- *New! Pressure Optimizing Design (POD+): PMG’s pressure-relieving technology for the drivers and acoustic filters; the previous Apx IEMs used 1st gen POD, while the Apx ME uses the 2nd gen POD+
- Ultra Planar Speakers (UPS): Definitely not the UPS you’re thinking. This refers to the proprietary planar subwoofers and tweeters of Apx ME, which allow absolute maximum frequency range. The subwoofer planar speaker supports the dynamic driver, while the planar tweeters support the BA drivers.
- 3D: Precision printed housing and calculated waveguides. This ensures Apx from producing unnecessary vibrations hence leading to higher sonic accuracy.
- *New! Vibration Conducting Driver (VCD): Debuting for the first time through Apx ME, the VCD is a specially selected and customized transducer that translates audio signal into pure vibration. After conducting internal research on typical bone conducting speakers, we realized they are not producing meaningful results. Instead we opted for a driver that has very low frequency peak resonance of around 250Hz that could add physicality and extra weight to bass notes. It’s a bone conductor driver in essence, yet far superior in every aspect compared to off-the-shelf drivers.
Earpieces: The Fit & Wear
Unlike the earlier Apx series using a resin body, PMG tuned up the earpieces with fully CNC-machined titanium shells. Titanium was chosen not only for its durability but also for its acoustic neutrality, providing a rigid yet lightweight chamber that eliminates micro-resonances while allowing the VCD drivers to be fully utilized. As the earlier Apxs did, the Apx ME is surprisingly compact and ergonomic when compared to other summit-fi IEMs, which are a lot bulkier, larger, and thicker. The Apx ME did get a bit larger and thicker than the Apx AE/SE, though only marginally, and still maintains the compact form factor.
The nozzle stem is slightly shortened with larger nozzle diameters, which most users will find the fit less “invasive” as it doesn’t reach in deeply as the earlier Apxs did. The earpieces have a matte grey finish with black rims that go around between the faceplate and the body, which looks classy while keeping the design more low-profile. The iconic PMG logos are geometrically patterned across the faceplate, which looks even nicer in real eyes.
Flagship-Grade Stock Cable – “6N” Pure Silver
PMG Audio has once again elevated the stock cable offering for the Apx ME. This time, the bundled cable is a newly developed flagship-grade design made with custom “6N” OCC Pure Silver wires with matching silver outer shieldings. The stock cable uses a thick black PVC coaxial design but has a 2-braid twist design to make it ergonomic, light, and easy to handle. The cable parts are also finished with titanium parts with matching PMG patterns layered across the surface as design elements.
This time, PMG Audio has removed the modular plug design. Some may find it unfortunate that the plugs are no longer modular, though it’s a more than reasonable decision, as predominant users and customers of summit-fi users only use the 4.4mm plug, and having fewer soldering parts is favorable for better sound quality. Now that we’ve covered all the necessities, let’s get to the main point – the sound – on the next page…
Next Page: In-depth Sound Impressions of Apx ME