Today, we’re reviewing the Virtus Audio Apex, an in-ear monitor from Turkish manufacturer Virtus Audio, priced at $1,299 USD.
Disclaimer: Virtus Audio provided the unit to us free of charge for this review. As always, I am sharing my honest impressions regardless of how the product reached me.
Virtus Audio
Virtus Audio is a new name in the high-end IEM market, creating handcrafted IEMs in Istanbul, Turkey. While the brand may not yet have international recognition, the Apex immediately caught my attention for its tuning during the early prototype stages.
The company believes that “musicality and resolution can co-exist.” To that end, it has developed its own solutions to the mechanical and acoustic challenges of in-ear monitors. The company’s approach aims to reduce these compromises found in conventional IEM designs.
A major part of Virtus Audio’s engineering approach is its coaxial driver architecture. Rather than positioning separate drivers at different points in the acoustic path, the Apex places its high-frequency driver at the acoustic centre of the low-frequency driver. This is intended to create a more coherent, point-source-like wavefront, allowing the different frequency ranges to reach the ear as a more unified presentation. And it shows, as I’ll mention in the sound section shortly.
We shaped our reference around something measurements alone can’t describe: the way real instruments behave in a real space.
This philosophy continues into the Apex’s acoustic design. Virtus Audio uses a tubeless Venturi canal to reduce acoustic friction and let the bass driver operate with less restriction, while an Acoustic Tangent Waveguide is designed to control the path of the acoustic wave toward the ear canal. A Helmholtz resonator also manages unwanted internal resonances without relying solely on conventional acoustic damping.
These are ambitious engineering choices, but the real question is how successfully they translate into the listening experience. That’s where the Apex becomes particularly interesting.
Apex
Virtus Audio’s Apex is its flagship IEM, built around a two-way coaxial driver configuration: a 12mm Crystal-Graphene bass driver and a 7mm Beryllium tweeter positioned at the acoustic centre of the low-frequency driver. Virtus Audio describes this arrangement as a “true point-source radiation design.”
According to Virtus Audio, the Crystal-Graphene diaphragm and Beryllium dome were selected for their combination of rigidity and low mass. The coaxial arrangement is designed to provide a unified wavefront and more coherent interaction between the two drivers.
Other key features include a tubeless Venturi canal, Acoustic Tangent Waveguide, and integrated Helmholtz resonator. The design is completed with a two-way crossover, impedance optimisation, UP-OCC Copper Litz internal wiring, and Mundorf M-Solder Silver/Gold.
The overall approach is clearly focused on combining technical capability with musicality, rather than pursuing resolution and detail at the expense of tonal richness and long-term listening comfort. This becomes particularly relevant once you start listening to the Apex, as its tuning philosophy is very apparent from the first few tracks.
Packaging
The Apex comes in simple yet effective packaging. You get a professional-style hard case, which gives the Apex a monitoring-equipment vibe. Inside, you get an additional, smaller soft case, the IEMs, a cleaning tool, and the stock cable. You also get Divinus Velvet eartips, which is great to see, as these are among the best tips for the purpose. You also get a Virtus Audio sticker.
The hard case isn’t on the Pelican 1010 level in quality, but it’s pretty good and spacious enough to store extra small items you may need, like spare tips and cables. Other than that, it’s a modest package overall.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature
On paper, the Apex is certainly an ambitious design. But specs and acoustic concepts tell only part of the story. What matters more is how it translates into actual listening — and this is where the Apex surprised me most.
The Virtus Audio Apex takes a warm, rich, and highly musical approach to its tuning. This is certainly not a neutral IEM. Instead, the Apex delivers a full-bodied presentation with strong bass, rich note weight, natural timbre, and a smooth overall character.
What immediately stands out is how well these elements work together. The Apex has a clearly elevated bass response, yet the low-end doesn’t overwhelm the midrange. The mids retain their tonal richness and presence, while the treble remains smooth without sacrificing detail or extension.
The result is an IEM that feels exceptionally cohesive. The overall presentation is slightly warm and soft, and you could even describe it as having a subtle veil compared to more transparent, analytical IEMs. However, this never becomes a significant weakness to my ears. Instead, it contributes to the Apex’s organic and almost analogue-like character.
In fact, at times the Apex reminded me of old Walkman cassette players. Obviously, this isn’t a technically accurate comparison, but it has a similar sense of warmth, smoothness, and musicality that makes the Apex unusually easy to enjoy. And this is probably the most important thing about the Apex: it is an exceptionally enjoyable IEM.
Its resolution and transparency are not at the absolute top of the class, but they are more than adequate for its price range. More importantly, Virtus Audio has found a very sweet spot between technical performance and musical engagement. The Apex doesn’t try to impress you with technical fireworks at every opportunity. It draws you into the music through its tonal richness, bass performance and overall coherence.
Bass
Bass is one of the Apex’s strongest characteristics, and there is no doubt that this is a bass-forward IEM. The sub-bass performance is particularly impressive. There is excellent extension, strong physical presence and plenty of rumble, with virtually nothing missing at the bottom end. The quantity is clearly above neutral, but what makes the Apex’s bass special is how well it controls all that energy.
The low end is powerful, dense, and impactful, yet it remains surprisingly disciplined. Bass notes have good definition and decay, and the presentation never turns loose or bloated.
What impressed me most, however, is how effectively the Apex keeps its bass from interfering with the midrange. Considering the amount of low-frequency energy on offer, I expected the mids to be affected more than they actually are. Instead, the transition from bass to mids remains remarkably clean and coherent.
There is a certain resemblance here to the character of the PMG Audio Apx ME, particularly in the quality and authority of the sub-bass. The comparison should be taken in context, though. The Apx ME is an extremely high-level IEM in many other aspects and operates in an entirely different performance class. The similarity is mainly that both IEMs can produce exceptionally convincing and authoritative sub-bass.
The Apex is therefore not a neutral or reference-style bass presentation. It is clearly a bassy IEM. But it delivers that quantity without becoming excessive, which is precisely what makes the tuning successful.
Mids
The midrange is where I think the Apex makes its strongest case. Its tonal balance and timbre are simply excellent. In fact, I have rarely heard an IEM around this price range reproduce instruments and vocals with this combination of richness, note weight and naturalness.
The notes are thick and substantial, giving vocals and instruments a very satisfying physical presence. This is not a lean or clinical midrange. The Apex delivers a rich and organic presentation where instruments have weight and vocals have body.
The tonality is particularly impressive. Vocals sound natural and convincing, while acoustic instruments benefit from the Apex’s slightly warm and organic character. The delivery is smooth, making the mids easy to listen to for extended periods.
At the same time, I wouldn’t describe the Apex as an exceptionally transparent IEM. More transparent and technically advanced options exist, though many cost considerably more. The Apex instead prioritises tonal quality and musicality over absolute transparency.
This is where the Apex’s tuning philosophy really comes together. The elevated bass, rich note thickness and smooth treble could easily have resulted in an overly warm or congested presentation. Instead, the midrange remains very clear and well defined, which is very difficult to achieve.
Treble
The treble follows the Apex’s overall philosophy and takes a smooth rather than aggressive approach. It is certainly not a dark treble. It offers plenty of information and detail, and the extension is surprisingly good. Cymbals and high-frequency instruments retain their definition, but the presentation avoids excessive sharpness or brightness.
What I particularly appreciate is the combination of smoothness and detail. The Apex doesn’t rely on a prominent treble peak to create the impression of resolution. Instead, it extracts a lot of information while maintaining a relaxed character.
It’s softer than more analytical IEMs, but I never found the treble dull. On the contrary, the extension is quite impressive and helps maintain a sense of openness despite the Apex’s warm overall tuning.
This also contributes to the Apex’s excellent long-term listenability. You can listen for hours without the treble becoming intrusive, while still getting enough detail to keep the presentation engaging.
The review continues on the second page. Click here or use the jumps below.
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