Oh fuck it…
Full shill activated: if you need an amp, and especially if you can run full balanced into the 4.4mm input, just find an Earmen ST-Amp and buy it.
For $200, this should be the default amp to suggest to anybody under $500. Period.
I don’t know why this isn’t popular and talked about, but Imma fucking change that!
It’s 200 at bloom audio right now. Hadn’t seen that one before. Seems like a winner?
Is a winner
I’m really tempted to get that at some point. Thanks goob. Was running topping l70. Downgraded to Magni+. Now that I see this bad boy,might have to look more into for sure!
I saw on their product page that it has an ES9280 Integrated DAC too, and 1.85W fully balanced architecture. That seems like a great deal.
Doesn’t ship to Scandinavia ;/
There are a number of retailers that stock them, so you could see if someone will. I know that Elise Audio carries the Earmen Angel, so perhaps he could get one in if no one else can (although I don’t know if you’ll take a VAT hit you may take if he can).
Sorry to hear. Like @Sonofholhorse said, hopefully there’s a workaround to make that happen.
I’ll be honest, the dac is a nice bonus feature but I don’t foresee using it because it doesn’t work with my use case. But the amp is worth the price all by itself anyway!
Thanks, Else Audio doesn’t sell the Stamp as of now.
I found out Earmen sells the Stamp through their EU store for €199, only issue is it’s sold out 
Maybe I could inquire about a restock…
Lofty comparison, right? Well stick with me because we are about to go quite the journey to pin down exactly what the Plunge Unity is, what it isn’t, why this could be the most unique set you’d ever lay in your ears, and why it might be a set that you’d want nothing to do with. Cause I’m going to be honest: The Unity is an amazingly unique set, but I cannot see a scenario where this set would be universally loved. We’ve got a lot to discuss, so I’m going to get right into it.
Songs to Listen to and Follow Along:
As usual, I’m going to write my thoughts in generalities, but I’ll give you a sample of songs that I listen to, that will relate to the concepts I write about. Feel free to ask for specifics, if you don’t keep up with my thought processes. NOTE: Got some new songs in the playlist to follow along with. Enjoy!
Swashers/Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa (For imaging/detail retrieval (:00-1:00 Swashers), general technicalities check (both), soundstage depth/dynamics/layering/separation (:00-:30 Bubbles))
The Speedwalker (Live at Madison Square Garden) - The Fearless Flyers (For bass elements, particularly sub-bass/mid-bass interplay, drum kits, soundstage/layering)
DISINTER MY HEART - TRAILS (For treble response and resolution, male vocals, midrange response)
Savior - Rise Against (For rock bass elements, male vocals, layering and imaging, treble clarity :38-1:30)
When I Fall (Outta Love) - Kevin Olusola (For Imaging/detail retrieval :00-:07, tonality, timbre, male/female vocal interplay)
Fundamental Elements of Madness - Dax Johnson (For soundstage width 1:10-1:26, piano tonality)
Purple Hat - Sofi Tukker (For vocal separation :40-:47, tonality, male vs. female vocal tonality throughout, sub-bass versus midbass response within mix 1:11-1:32, resolution check 1:11-1:42)
1 Thing - Sophie Powers (For sibilance, harshness/shoutiness, high volume listening check 1:28-2:01
Wire & Guns - KID DAD (For general tonality (warmth vs. brightness) and note weight :10-:35, for high volume listening 1:34-2:08)
Dusty Blue - Charles Bradley (For soundstage width, imaging and layering :11-:45)
Hide & Seek (Rema remix) - Stormzy (For sub-bass check throughout)
Resynthesis 3D (Binaural Version - Headphones only) - Max Cooper (For bass elements, imaging/layering elements throughout)
Just For the Record, I’m Through Trying to Work it All Out/Cause You Told Me Things I Knew weren’t true, but I believed them babe cause I’s in Love With You/Said if You Want it You Can Have it But You Took it From Me and You Gave it to Who Knows Who
Who Knows Who - Orgone
(IEM Tuning Style: Midcentric)
To get into what Plunge Unity is, we really have to start with what it is not. As a hobby, when we consider and evaluate IEMs, we forget about what the last word in “In-Ear Monitor is”. As people in a hobby where we are consuming music for our enjoyment, we often forget that IEMs are monitors. While it is entirely possible to enjoy the sound of a monitor, we don’t really consider what they do as a musical tool all that much. You can monitor music in many ways: You can monitor with the bass emphasized, you can monitor with enhanced treble, v-shape, etc. There is no one way to do the job, and I’m not making that argument. But some IEMs do the stated job better than others.
I say all of that because if I were going to put one IEM in the dictionary to define what in-ear monitors are, I’d put Plunge Unity. Most people who are reading this have some familiarity with the story of Plunge: the builder/tuner is a musician and audiologist, and that fact is readily apparent as soon as you start listening to Unity; absolute care has been taken at every level of this set’s construction. The fit is very good, especially once you figure out how to seat them (they require a twist in the ear, once they are placed, like an earbud). Also, they have exceptional isolation: I only hear legitimately loud sounds once they’re in my ears and even the lowest volume music is playing. You could speak to me in my face and I won’t have a clue you said a thing. And they have this isolation without any appreciable pressure build-up for me. On build and construction, they are chef’s kiss.
When it comes to sound, I can’t find a way to describe the Unity, and act like I’m judging it the way I have any other IEM I’ve heard. Almost no IEMs I’ve heard have even tried going for this kind of flat/midcentric tuning (NS Audio NS2 is the only one following this specific midrange/treble profile, while other sets fit under the midcentric umbrella), and Unity dusts the NS2. For a set that graphs like it has a flat, neutral bass level, I’d say that’s true but also not true at the same time. It is a fact that Unity does not bring the kind of bass extension that will do genres like EDM justice. The midbass is present enough that it’s not entirely lacking, but if you need your set to dig as deep as possible, it’s not the one to go to.
The reason I don’t say the bass is actually deficient is the way the mids and treble are tuned. I would say 90% of the emphasis on Unity is in the midrange. Both the lower and upper midrange are the focus, to the extent that many may find the bass and treble lacking or deficient. While everything about the mids are pushed forward, front and center, over everything else, they’ve still got correct weight and tonality. I find vocals to be correct without emphasis or recession and instruments, string or brass alike, sound correct…if you’re noticing a pattern, good for you. I just hear things in the fundamentals presented correctly. I kind of don’t know how else to explain it. The treble does the right thing in not being emphasized. You get what is there, but you have enough room to be able to push the volume as much as you see fit. I personally would be okay with a slight bump-up of the frequency in 8-10k, but for the purposes they’re made for, I wouldn’t advocate actually pushing it. As far as technicalities and soundstage go, the soundstage is really solid: If your song is mixed with width, it’ll sound wide, and if it’s mixed with depth it’ll sound deep. Unity doesn’t impose a sound style on the music, it presents what it’s given. The same detail applies to the technicalities. When the song is presenting imaging cues, you receive them with pinpoint accuracy. Your music is layered incredibly, and separation of elements is sublime. Often, with Bubbles, I will listen for the first 30 seconds, get the imaging cues I need and move on, but I often find myself listening to another minute or two (or the whole song), because just listening to Unity reproduce the music is worth it.
What it means is that Plunge Unity is one of the hardest IEMs to put into a box…while also being easy to categorize. Unity is the most in-ear monitory In-Ear Monitor, you’re ever gonna find. But what that means to each individual is incredibly subjective, even in a hobby that lives in that subjective space. What makes it all even more complicated is that this set responds to everything you throw at it, in a way that I struggle to think of running into with any other sets. If the music you’re listening to is harsh, it will sound harsh; you won’t be able to smooth it out with Unity. If your dac/amp sucks out mids and delivers a V-shape presentation, your music will sound sucked out. If your amp doesn’t deliver enough juice, then you’re not going to get a clean, full sound. If your eartips aren’t locked in, your sound is going to struggle (I stuck with the provided Tangzu Sancai tips, after multiple rounds trying to find the best tip for me, but even then making sure I was using the right size to get the right fit was still a ride).
Every single decision you make in the sound delivery-chain will affect the final result that comes out of the Unity. This is why I called Unity the Mr. Rogers of IEMs: It’s the IEM that will teach you everything about how your music gets from zeros and ones to the pressure in your ears that your brain processes as sound. It will give you a completely honest assessment of your music, your dac, amp, tips, even the cable if you believe in that. When everything is right, Unity can blow you away with how it can reproduce sounds. If you have something off in your chain, Unity will uncover it. For example, I only realized I had a faulty 1/4” adapter when Unity played back “Dusty Blue” incorrectly, compared to the balanced outputs on my amps. Would I have picked up something that minute on my own? Eventually, probably. But it took seconds to be something I couldn’t unhear on Unity, and then any other set I had on a single-ended cable.
As a tool in a vacuum, there’s obvious use and need for a set like Unity. That doesn’t mean every person should run out to get it. If you don’t have ideal conditions (in terms of your source chain) this set will disappoint, but when all the conditions are met, this IEM is certainly one that brings something to the table I don’t find anywhere else. And that’s going to be it for this review. Enjoy your days, and take care till next time!
Rank for Plunge Unity: A
Rank With Personal Bias: S
Recommendation Level: Personal Favorite IEM (that you might not like)
Rank As a Food: Tea With No Sweetner
Kinda sounds like an OCD Senn HD600 IEM 
I’ll defer to others who know headphones better. I wouldn’t have a clue lol
Me neither, had the hd660’s and that wasn’t my jam, but I can see why folks dig that FQ but even with tubes it couldn’t 
my 
but hey that’s why we love our own sets, sources and music 
Another banger review, nicely done, goobs!
I love that he gives a food metaphor rating lmao
I don’t care how good the mids are, if the bass sucks, it’s an under-ripe gmo tomato to me 
You nailed it. Exactly 
Now if ypu think this set messed you up the other sets Simon in coming out with will really take you on a ride.
The prototype 1+4 i am playing with is definitely more V, stages like the unity but has a colorization like only Plungies can do. I have yet to understand the bass and graphs dont mean shit.
I also cant do a review because its os going to get a driver switch. I asked Simon to change the driver to a Beryllium or Bio-Cellulos and thoose are in the works.
The other huge reason for not bieng able to do a review has more to do with this set bieng much more musical than the Unity and so evertime I try to “listen” to it the music sucks me in and I loose focus trying to write something down.
Simon is a evil genius.
Plunge sounds like they got cool stuff, I lean more V shape though so I’ll be keeping an eye on em when something seems like up my alley
Will be interesting to see what plunge does next after making such a niche hit. Gotta root for my Canadian boys lol
Had this passed along to me. Y’all know how I feel…