Closer Examination

I believe Craft Ears sources its cables from another manufacturer, and please note also that the earliest Omnium samples and retail units shipped with a different white cable—this is also why some photos depict the Omnium with another cable, in case you were curious. All current orders ship with the cable you see above, which is one of my favorite cables to use in terms of being highly ergonomic, non-microphonic, easily pliable and effortless to reshape as needed, and it looks nice too. The only issue is, as with the other accessories and unboxing, there's a higher expectation with flagship-class IEMs to use more bespoke cables, be it in terms of custom hardware or the conductor composition. In that regard, here too I see some scope for improvement for Craft Ears—assuming the margins can handle it. Usually with smaller brands, it turns out that the accessories are less of a profit maker and more something used to help contain the final price of the IEMs. So it could also be that the Omnium's bill of materials is already higher than competing sets, in which case it's harder to upgrade the non-IEM aspects. Regardless, we see this is a modular cable using a friction fit + screw connection to the provided terminations, and the cable uses four strands of high-purity OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) copper inside clear PVC sheathing. There's no branding on any of the metal hardware used, which is predominantly black with some gunmetal gray as on the cable cinch that remains in place where you leave it—amazing how so many cables still get this wrong. The two split sections then lead to pre-formed ear hooks on the IEM side, and we see the use of standard 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors on housings that seem designed for slightly recessed or flush-mount connections on the IEM side. These also have blue/red rings to help identify the left and right channels, respectively, and the metal plugs on either end are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


Given that the Omnium can be purchased in a custom finish even for the universal fit, there are of course hundreds of combinations of shells, faceplates, and logos on a per side basis. If you go for the default version, it's actually still special in that the components used are not all available in Craft Ear's configurator. The shells are 3D printed resin in a deep glossy black, polished extremely well to where it feels like butter in the hands. There is a copper frame which goes from the top around the edges, and it comes 18K gold-plated for some bling. The faceplate itself is a woven carbon fiber insert with a clear coat for protection, and a gold logo applied on top. I am sure I have made my love for a black and gold color scheme well known before, so this is right up my alley. There are no sharp edges anywhere, and the gaps are small enough to meet my approval. Then I realized something very clever here—the Omnium has hidden venting distributed across the contact surface between the metal frame and the resin shell. This allows for no pressure build-up, appropriate airflow to the drivers, and a cleaner look too. This aesthetic is still not going to be for everyone though, with some people including my partner feeling it looks cheap. I will say photos don't do it justice, as you need to feel it in the hands to realize it's not a cheap and light trinket by any means. Obviously you can also customize the Omnium if you prefer something different.


Here's a closer look at the faceplates and the gold-plated frame—the logo is smooth and you can't feel it with your fingers, in case you were wondering. The carbon fiber weave is also quite subtle straight on in ambient lighting, so you might also notice photos online where the Omnium looks plain black from the front. The shells do pick up dust and fingerprints more than I'd like though, and a cleaning cloth in the box would have been appreciated. From the side we see flush-mounted 2-pin connectors, so the provided cable works well here. Don't worry about the gold looking scuffed up, it's just me having edited out my reflections in there. The contact surface has the serial number and product name again, albeit L/R markers are missing in case you find it hard to identify which side is which. But then we get to that nozzle and.. oh boy.. this nozzle is where I suspect a lot of people might have comfort and/or seal issues with the Omnium. It's aggressively angled into the ear canal relative to the shell, that is otherwise on the slim side to where the insertion angle might not work for everyone's ears. The nozzles are otherwise about average in length, and are part of the resin shells as opposed to, say, having a metal spout as some do. It measured in at 6.35 mm wide at the very end, going down to 5.7 mm in the main body. We see three sound bores here for the drivers to feed into the ear canals, and there is no mesh filter to where you may want to again find a cleaning tool to keep the nozzle clean of ear wax.


The nozzle flaring outward makes it easy to retain ear tips in place when installed, and do try the various ear tips provided and see what works best for you from a comfort and seal perspective. Tip rolling is also recommended here in case none of the stock options work for you, maybe try something with a pivot built-in the bore such as the SpinFit tips to help add some leeway with the insertion angle. The next step is to re-attach the provided cable, with the termination of your choice then headed to your source. The end result is a black and gold set of IEMs with a copper and gold cable, making me wonder whether keeping the native copper frame with a clean coat and having a copper logo might work better to not only fit the cable aesthetics better, but also dissuade people from thinking the Omnium looks like some inexpensive KZ IEMs in photos/videos.