Forte Ears Macbeth Review – Perfection in Imperfection

Pros –

Jaw-dropping unboxing and design, Excellent included cable, Gorgeous balanced tonality, Overtly spacious soundstage, Outstanding note texture throughout

Cons –

No modular cable, Requires a strong source for the best experience

Verdict –

The Macbeth’s sound reproduction feels as magical as it does authentic, delivering balance yet with a little extra pizzazz at all times.

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About Forte Ears –

Forte Ears is a Singaporean company founded by Riccardo Yeh. Riccardo has extensive ties within the audio industry. Chiefly, he is an avid Guqin player and served as the International Sales Director at HIFIMAN. It was here that Riccardo was inspired by Dr Fang to pursue a role in producing his own products. Under this tenure, Riccardo helped to provide feedback and suggestions on the HE-1000 and Susvara, both going on to achieve legendary status for the company. The brand Forte Ears speaks to Riccardo’s love for Western opera, embodying technical brilliance and artistic inspiration. Forte Ears’ designs seek to deliver a balanced and cohesive sound, using each driver technology with purpose and taking it to its limit without over-complication.

Introduction –

Almost a year ago, custom cable giant Eletech announced the Romeo and Juliet prototype IEMs that were subsequently trialed amongst the various audio shows that took place in 2024. Of these, the Romeo gained renown for its natural and spacious sound. On the cusp of the new year, Riccardo has taken Romeo and refined it based on popular feedback. It has now been reborn under a new label and under a new brand; welcome the Macbeth by Forte Ears.

The company makes a bold statement with their first IEM being an ambitious TOTL design. By launching under his own brand, Riccardo boldly proclaims his focus on delivering an excellent in-ear that transcends brand partnerships and stands toe to toe with industry veterans. Indeed, the brand is young but brings long-term experience from market leaders forming a focused yet innovative product. Even at a glance, the Macbeth has a lot to offer and as we’ll see, refinement is an ongoing experience with this IEM.

The Macbeth is available for $3,999 at the time of writing. You can read more about it and secure one for yourself at Forte Ears!

Disclaimer –

I would like to thank Riccardo and Eric very much for reaching out to organise a review of the Macbeth. All words are my own and there is no monetary incentive for a positive review. Despite receiving the earphones free of cost, I will attempt to be as objective as possible in my evaluation.

Contents –

• Page 1: Intro, Unboxing, Design
• Page 2: Sound and Source Pairings
• Page 3: Comparisons & Verdict

Specifications  –  

• Drivers: 5 BA inlc. Diabo Exclusive Sonion Bass Driver, 2 Bone Conduction, 4 Electrostatic
• Crossover: 5-way Forte Relay Circuitry System
• Acoustic Resonance Chamber
• Frequency Range: 10Hz – 45kHz
• Impedance: 7.3 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 104 dB

Behind the Design –

Driver Setup

A goal of the Macbeth was to implement multiple driver types without unnecessary driver count. The method here being improved driveability and greater cohesion. The Macbeth nonetheless implements an advanced 11-driver setup. At its core are 5 balanced armature drivers from Sonion. The headline piece in the absence of a DD woofer is the custom-made dual-BA woofer system dubbed “Diablo” which works alongside a single midrange BA and dual  BA tweeters. 2 bone conduction drivers complement the mids and highs while 4 new generation electrostatic super tweeters add superb extension to the top end.

Acoustics & Crossover

Equally important as the driver setup is the surrounding acoustics that bring them all together. Riccardo hasn’t neglected this either, introducing Acoustic Resonance Chamber (ARC) comprising a 3D-printed acoustic chamber and waveguide for enhanced harmonics. The entire shell has been designed to optimize the sound properties of each driver and how they meld together. On the crossover side, the Macbeth uses Forte Relay Circuitry System (FCR) which is a 5-way crossover enabling precise control over each driver. FCR features a vintage copper inductor core that are no longer in production and were handpicked for the Macbeth.

Artisan Shells

The Macbeth looks the part of a flagship featuring 3D printed resin shells sporting exotic cast copper faceplates with exotic rhodium plating. The faceplates sport motifs torn from the pages of Shakespeare’s tragic play forming a coherent aesthetic narrative. They are sonically functional too, functioning as a wall in the acoustic chamber as aforementioned. The Macbeth is designed to use resonances to its advantage rather than minimizing them as this was found to produce the most spacious sound during the prototyping stage.

Customised Cable

Riccardo continues his partnership with Eletech by including a 4W pure OCC Litz Copper cable with the Macbeth. While it isn’t stated whether the cable is made by Eletech in its totality, it does feature customized hardware provided by the custom cable maker and is no less handsome than any aftermarket alternative.

Unboxing –

Regal is the word that comes to mind when first laying eyes on the Macbeth. They come in a large box with an iridescent outer sleeve sporting crown and sword motifs. Sliding this off reveals a hard card box that opens like a chest to reveal the IEMs and accessories within. The quality of the prints and the design of the packaging create intrigue and excitement even before laying eyes on the stunning IEMs themselves.

Opening the upper compartment reveals the IEMs and cable nestled within a laser-cut foam inlet. A crimson cleaning cloth with gothic print prevents scratches during transit. Below are papers and an authentic leather zippered carrying case. It has a supple hand feel and convincing aroma that reminds of high-end fashion goods. The suede interior is non-scratch and within is a card holding 4 pairs of Eletech’s Baroque ear tips.

Design –

While some TOTL IEMs employ nothing but exotic materials, many still use resin as it permits the greatest control over the acoustic design. The Macbeth is no different, with sound quality taking precedence over absolute luxury. And yet, Riccardo has still created a stunning IEM that sets itself aside from the majority. Whether that will be to your liking or not is another story; beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder. The Macbeth is certainly on the louder side of design yet executed with technical excellence. The base chassis bears a resin design that is shapely, sturdy, and perfectly finished in piano black albeit quite typical in terms of look and feel. The differentiator is certainly those faceplates. The intricacy of its complications is astounding, and better yet the high polish finish that pops upon a textured crimson backdrop.

Dyed insets aid dimension and intrigue forming an ornamental experience that feels like a union between IEM and time piece. A thick lacquer coating adds luster albeit does in my eyes subtract from some of the dimensionality of the faceplates. Perhaps a thinner layer or completely filled faceplate would have done them more justice. Either way, the design is jaw-dropping and the workmanship is easy to admire. The earphones are topped with a metal collared vent up top and a larger port at the rear alongside metal mesh nozzle filters. The tolerances are perfect in all regards. When it comes to the in-hand feel, the Macbeth surprised me with its density. It appears that the shells are resin-filled also, adding solidity to the chassis. This gives them a far more premium feel than most other resin IEMs.

Using ubiquitous 0.78mm 2-pin connectors, aftermarket cable options are abundant. However, the stock cable is of excellent quality and was tailor-made to suit the Macbeth by Eletech. It sports 26AWG OCC Litz copper conductors and eye-catching Eletech hardware. Eltech’s FlexiMax insulation performs well as on the company’s other premium options. The wire is supple with minimal memory and microphonic noise. I have never found Eletech’s cables to harden over time and the clear jacket showcases the conductor array for added visual pleasure; the deep bronze wonderfully complementing the red faceplates. The Macbeth comes terminated with a 4.4mm balanced connector, no modular options are available. I wouldn’t imagine many would feel the need to swap out the included cable beyond termination and subjective sound preference.

Fit & Isolation –

Despite the intricacy of its acoustic design, the Macbeth achieves a strong ergonomic experience. I was immediately impressed by their stable, locked-in fit and excellent seal. They have a pseudo-custom design that snuggly conforms to the folds of the outer ear. They relieve pressure where required and fill the concha to maximize the efficacy of the BCD’s and improve fit stability. The broad contact patches meant hotspots were a non-issue for me and I was able to wear the Macbeth for hours without discomfort despite the housings being on the larger side. I would suspect should you have smaller ears and struggle with IEMs in general, these will be no different. They are also notably quite tall relative to competitors if that is an issue for you.

Besides this, I cannot fault the ergonomics. The nozzle I am particularly impressed with, they are perfectly angled, and I get a perfect seal every time with minimal adjusting. They have a medium to deep fit depth but wearing pressure is minimal due to the vented housings. Despite this, passive noise isolation is very strong, not quite as good as a fully sealed monitor but well above what you’d expect from a vented monitor. They are suitable for noisy environments and the isolation helps to ensure you get a balanced listening experience when used outside of the home.

Next Page: Sound Breakdown