Introduction

We once again have a two-for-one review as with the MOONDROP KATO and Kinera Leyding and HIFIMAN Arya and Apos Flow combos. It is totally coincidental, but thus far, each consecutive entry has seen an increase in the cost of the cable and headphones. As such, you already know we are talking about expensive gear today. Lime Ears is a brand based out of Poland and fairly popular for its IEMs among many musicians from the region and beyond. Indeed, this is how I was first made aware of the brand, having noticed cool-looking IEMs being used on stage during live music performances. One thing led to another and here we are taking a look Lime Ears' current flagships—the Pneuma. Lime Ears started as a 2-person company in 2012, and dedicated the next few years to making custom IEMs, which the brand continues to be famous for today. It's only recently that universal-fit versions have come about, and we have one such set here. Thanks to Lime Ears for providing TechPowerUp a review sample.


The other part of the puzzle comes from the US of A, and it is another small outfit. Indeed, from what I can tell, it is a single person who painstakingly spends hours developing concepts and testing them before settling on what can be a retail product. It's more of a labor of love than most other products I have covered to date, and Hapa Audio was born out of it. As of this writing, the company's products cover both analog and digital cables, with a pending and nearly granted patent to add to the inventor's chops, too. We aren't delving down the digital side of things much today as my eyes are immediately drawn towards what Hapa Audio calls the KnØt cable. I have here both a KnØt full-size headphone cable, which will be covered separately on a later date, as well as an IEM cable we will literally examine in microscopic detail during the course of this review. Thanks to Hapa Audio for arranging a review sample for TechPowerUp.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

Lime Ears operates a web shop, and this sample shipped directly from the company, so we begin with the shipping packaging since this is how paying customers would receive the Pneuma—at least the universal fit version. It shipped in an appropriately sized cardboard box with no marking revealing what is inside, which is just the way I prefer things that are expensive to be shipped. Inside, the product box is protected well, including air bags and bubble wrap galore. Included with the Pneuma, as with other Lime Ears products, I believe, was a branded tote bag, branded manual going over all the custom fit options Lime Ears has, some stickers, and a drawstring pouch containing some excellent krówki, which is Polish fudge.


The product box is thick cardboard and feels quite premium, with a metal plate on the front that gets a brushed finish. It has the product name and a geometric pattern etched into the front, with "Lime Ears" only showing up on the side. The side also confirms the box opens up like a gift box from the front, with the clasp held in place with magnets.


Open the box and you are greeted to some specks of green, or should I say lime as the company does not shy away from the color inside. There is a thank you note on a cardboard sheet that lifts to reveal lime-colored packing material to protect the actual case containing everything of interest. Lime Ears is using a Pelican 1010 micro-case with all its protective glory, and its air and water-proof construction makes it absolute overkill for this purpose. It's also on the larger side of average and meant to be carried on the side, which is where the accompanying carabiner comes in handy.


Inside the pelican case, those branded drawstring cloth pouches make a return, and there are two along with a business card to reach out to Lime Ears if needed. It does appear that Emil, the founder of Lime Ears, realized the company is now large enough for his personal card not to be the best move forward. There is plenty of room in the case for the IEMs for even a portable DAC/amp, so the size of the pelican case is at least justified with functionality galore.


The first pouch contains a set of two plastic ziplock bags with ear tips inside. These sets are different from the SpinFit silicone and Comply foam tips shown on the product page. Instead, the sets are silicone, at least on the outer flange touching your ear canal, with the foam set a hybrid with a silicone cover over high-density orange foam. This hybrid, called Symbio by MandarinEs, potentially makes for a more customizable fit without any of the skin allergy issues foam can cause, but I am not convinced such high-density foam is the way to go. The clear silicone set is far more pliable and comes in four sets of two as opposed to three for the hybrid foam tips. Regardless, except for extremely small ear canals necessitating size XS tips, these will cater to pretty much everyone. Lime Ears also throws in a cleaning brush, which is best used to wipe off contaminants from the IEM nozzles rather than cleaning the shells.


The second pouch contains the IEMs, which come with the cable pre-installed. Lime Ears is using the CIEM (0.78 mm 2-pin) option, which makes it easier to remove the cable from the IEMs for further examination. I also appreciate the 2-pin connectors since the average MMCX connector isn't as durable over the long run, and it also makes these IEMs a good match for the Hapa KnØt upgrade cable. Just hold the shell of an IEM in one hand, place the thumb and index fingers of your other hand on the connector housing and carefully pull apart without wiggling in a single move to separate the cable. Repeat for the other side.