Subtonic Storm Compared to PMG Audio Apx – Amber Edition (Review link)
Let’s compare with PMG Audio Apx. PMG Audio is a sub-brand of Custom Art that aims to focus on ultra-high-end IEMs and has recently introduced their first product, the Apx. The Apx is limited to 25 sets worldwide and is priced at $6649.
Apx has the upper hand in having a thicker density and color. The sound Apx also achieves an even deeper bass that better reveals the color and texture of the ultra-lows. Apx also has a complete pitch-black background, which is superior to Storm. What I mean by “black background” is the abyss-like quietness and absence of matter, like the void of space. Storm also has a very dark background, but not as completely dark as Apx. I’d say it’s 90% of what Apx has. Trebles are also thicker in color and tighter. Trebles on Apx are also slightly clearer in the sense that it’s more in focus.
Meanwhile, Storm claims dominance in vastness. Though what’s impressive is that Apx’s headroom is nearly as large as Storm considering how small Apx’s earpieces are. Nevertheless, Storm achieves a slightly larger soundstage, especially in the upper headroom. The mids and highs also retain more air and transparency, aiding in giving an open-ended feel to the soundstage. The texture feels a bit drier on Storm but only to the point of better revealing the texture grains than Apx. Vocals and trebles also feel a bit more leveled and roomy. In terms of nuance, Storm is slightly closer to being more reference and neutral, while Apx is more analogue and musical.
Subtonic Storm Compared to Oriolus Traillii Ti (Review link)
These two are very similar in overall nuance. They both have large nozzles to boast their vast headroom and sound impact, hence both Storm and Traillii Ti have a massively large scaling soundstage and grand atmosphere. The first major difference I sense is the background tone; both IEMs have incredibly silent and clean backgrounds, Storm has a neutral-bright, white-color-based background, whereas Traillii Ti is more on the neutral-dark side with a more solemn vocal tone.
This difference results in Storm delivering a stronger sense of transparency and airiness for the mid-highs, yet a little drier and linear on the vocals compared to the Traillii Ti. On the other hand, the Traillii Ti gives a more in-depth tone color for the vocals with a bolder, density-thick body for the mid-highs. Alongside, the vocals are more gently dampened (in moisture), making the mid-highs sound smoother and more refined. Another major difference is the roll-off.
The Storm overall reacts more agilely and holds higher control across the spectrum, keeping that ‘whitepaper cleanliness’ without any marks left behind. Again, I’m only speaking relative to Traillii Ti – this doesn’t mean Storm rolls off too fast, makes the sound decay unnatural, or is cut off too early. This begs the question: “Then how is Traillii Ti’s roll-off?” While Traillii Ti has cleaner and tighter roll-off, the titanium edition still holds a great portion of Traillii’s original sonic elements, which is the solemn nuance mainly created by the graceful roll-off, and some of this characteristic remains on Traillii Ti. Compared to Subtonic Storm, Traillii Ti rolls off a bit more soothingly, letting the aftertaste and air settle thicker into the sound.
Endgame Flagship that is and will remain timeless.
Subtonic Storm well earns its name for calling a true end game. Isn’t Storm must be an endgame if they are charging this much for a pair of IEMs? That’s probably also right. Nonetheless, Subtonic challenged the industry on how the sound would be if they were to try to hit the absolute maximum in stats, in every direction. I must say, while these summit-fi price tags still never get used to me, such a well-made, addictive IEM like Subtonic Storm does the magic of convincing the price through its sound. The Storm sounds astonishingly beautiful and amazing.
Storm is the game-ender that Subtonic aimed for the impossible task of encasing a full-sized headphone’s feeling and performance in the form of an earphone, and they’ve nailed it. If you have the budget and are looking for a timeless end-game IEM that won’t get outdated regardless of new flagship IEMs pouring out every month, do check out the Storm – facing the inescapable storm will blow you away.
Thank you sincerely for reading this review.
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