Vision Ears ELYSIUM

Overview:

Up for review today is the spiritual upgrade to the Vision Ears VE8 (completely different layout), the VE Elysium. Yes, there’s another, more expensive, version of this that comes in purple. That one supposedly has more bass, though I’ve never heard it and it only comes in purple, which just really isn’t a color I’d spend $3,000 on. The Elysium retail for $2,280 and I see no real reason to get the Barney ones over the really nice-looking blue and green ones. That said, some people LOVE the EXT, so I’ll have to reserve final judgment until I actually hear the EXT (feel free to send me a pair.) I received these in a trade.

The Elysium has a High Precision Acoustic Leveling Chamber (HALC) which finely tunes the DD for the highest accuracy – their words, not mine. Other than that, it comes with a single BA driver for the lows, a DD for the mids, and two electrostatics for the highs (I think, VE’s own site doesn’t really tell you.) Odd to see BA for the lows and DD for the mids, but VE has tuned it to sound amazing either way. More about that later, on with the review!



Accessories/Earpads/Eartips (10/10):

Wow. The box that opens like something out of a sci-fi novel is really cool. I half expected some sort of gas or dry ice to come out to fill the room with smoke upon opening it. Yes, the center DOES rise up when you open it. Easily my top 2 unboxing experiences ever. The flap on the right contains all the ear tips, etc., while you can lift out the top to reveal the bottom goodies. On the bottom, there is a really nice BLUE case and a baggie I’d never use. Still, this easily deserves top points for accessories even though shipping that heavy box to the person that buys these from me is going to suck. As always, I'm using my Spinfit W1 tips since they're the best I've found (You can buy them here if you want a set: https://amzn.to/3WDrNIk.)



The stock included ear tips are really nice and match the aesthetic of the IEMs. No complaints here. I’m using the Spinfit W1s because stock ear tips on used IEMs gross me out (Here if you want a pair: https://amzn.to/3T1IX0s.) I have to admit. The W1s barely fit on the Elysium – these are the largest nozzles I think I’ve ever encountered. Ever. They make the Aroma Thunder’s nozzles seem small. So, small-ear people stay away – more on that in comfort. That said, I can get the W1s fit on here and they still give great isolation and seal FWIW.

Cable (8/10):

I don’t have much of a cable rant on this one because the cable that comes with the Elysium is pretty nice. It’s flexible, doesn’t have much memory retention, is a nice silver-plated copper, and comes with a balanced connection. The only problem is that the balanced connection is 2.5mm. Who sends their cable with a 2.5mm? Seriously? 4.4mm is far more common, and I’d even rather have a 3.5mm. Nothing else I have uses 2.5mm and only the A&K SP3k DAP (which runs $3,600) has a 2.5mm that I’ve used. Way to buck the trend of usable connectors VE. At least make it modular if not 4.4mm. So, I can’t use it with the very nice stock cable – instead, I’m using the Kinera Leyding (the best aftermarket cable I own – feel free to send me a better one: you can buy the Leyding here if you want one: https://amzn.to/3L3l0Eh.)



Build Quality/Comfort (9/10):

Classic VE German build quality. Everything just exudes good built quality. The clear shells show off the inside circuitry and it is a very cool look. I also love the metallic green and blue foil built into the shells. Top-notch workmanship.

I find these comfortable, but I have larger ears. The shell itself fits inside your ears, without sticking out at all. If you want something that protrudes more for more comfort, grab the JH Audio 16v2 or ROX. If you have small ears, these will not fit in them since they fit pretty snuggly in mine. I can wear these for long periods of time without any issues, but seriously, don’t grab a pair if you have small ears.

Sound:

There’s some weirdness going on the with Elysium Frequency Response Graph. According to my test system, the Elysium have the most bass of any IEM I’ve ever tested. More than the UM MEST Mk2. More than the Meteor and Zero. That’s weird, especially since the point of the EXT is to add MORE bass to the Elysium. I’ve remeasured the Elysium close to 10 times with different sides, different tips, different tip insertion depths, etc. and there’s been no change. Sooo…yeah, not sure what’s up with the Elysium measurements. Other people have completely different graphs for theirs. Mine looks nothing like theirs and I wonder if mine is some sort of pre-release version of the EXT – no clue, but as always with measurements, take it with a grain of salt.



Here's how it should look:



I somehow ended up with an Elysium that combines the low-end of the EXT with the highs of the Elysium - wicked.

I am powering these off both the Shanling M6 Ultra (M6U) and the A&K SP3000 (SP3K.) On the M6U, I’m using the 4.4mm balanced connection with low gain and volume at around 45/100. On the SP3K, I’m using the 4.4mm balanced connection on low gain with the volume at around 80/150. Both are running off Tidal Hi-Fi with MQA enabled.

Lows (17/20):

I’m starting off with the Mid-bass/Sub-bass test I’m using David Guetta’s “I’m Good (Blue).” The impact is solid, though with a touch of unwanted reverb (like the Thunder has) and the sub-bass has a really good rumble. You can even hear the sub-bass wind up in the background before it starts – pretty rare to hear that with most IEMs. The mids come in really clearly here and aren’t overwhelmed by the bass or shoved to the back. It’s an excellent bass presentation and I can see why the FRG shows it with lots of bass – these are not what I was expecting. 8/10.

Up next is Demon Hunter’s “I Am A Stone,” which I use to test whether the bass is too strong and overwhelms the mids as that is just as important as how strong/good the bass is. The bass instruments in the back are very well represented and while they overwhelm the mids a little, the mids still come through really strongly – enough that I’m only taking off a point on these. 9/10.

Mids (19/20):

Weaving The Fate’s “The Fall” is my test song for clean/dirty guitars and vocals with background instruments to see how clearly the vocals can be heard. Both the clean and dirty guitars are good. There’s no fuzziness to either – it’s a really good representation. The vocals are perfect and not pushed to the back at all. I have no complaints here, even the bass guitar can be heard clearly. 6/6.

Staind’s “Something to Remind You” has clean electric guitars and wonderful vocals – this song tests vocal quality and background noise. Wow, once again, no complaints here. The vocals are great, the guitars are great, and the bass guitar doesn’t drown out anything else. You can hear the fingers moving across the strings here, so some people might find that annoying, but I appreciate the level of detail and it’s not loud enough to distract me. 7/7.

To test classical instruments in the mids, I’m using The Piano Guys' “Code Name Vivaldi.” The bass-string instruments come in strongly in the into until the mid-strings sort of push them to the back a bit. Everything is very clear and detailed. The piano sounds excellent along with everything else. I’m only taking a point off here because it doesn’t sound quite as magical as it has on some headphones previously – a bit more clinical than musical. 6/7.

Highs (13/20):

To test sibilance on headphones I use Panic! At The Disco’s “High Hopes. Ouch. Painful sibilance. I switched between both DAPs on this song to see if it was just the SP3K since it can add some sharpness with its more neutral tone. Nope, there’s sibilance on both, but it is more tolerable on the M6U – barely. Not a fan here, which likely bodes well for the next song. 1/6.

Dream Theater’s “The Alien,” is the highs test song I use to see if the cymbals/high-hats/snare drum can be clearly heard and distinguished from the rest of the music (also good for instrument separation.) The cymbals in the background here can clearly be heard, but each individual strike is not portrayed like on some others. It’s definitely above average, but the cymbals do blur together a little bit and the separation I want to see isn’t there. 5/7.

Michelle McLaughlin’s “Across The Burren” is another of my favorite highs/sharpness test songs as it can easily sound painful on some headphones. There’s really no sharpness on this song. The piano is beautifully represented with no unwanted notes or harshness popping up. This is just about perfect somehow. I didn’t expect that after the previous two songs – an absolute enigma. 7/7.

Soundstage/Instrument Separation/Imaging (7/10):

I use MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” to test soundstage, instrument separation, and imaging. The soundstage is large, but not quite Epic like the MM. The instrument separation is good, but not TOTL level, there is a little bleed-together – the MM wins here again. Imaging is good, though again not at the MM level. Overall, a good, but not amazing presentation. 7/10.

Comparisons:

The BCD gives the MM an unfair advantage. While it shows low bass levels on the FRGs, the MM has a ton of bass, in fact, that extra bass is the reason I took off a couple of points from it because it overwhelms the mids on some songs. It’s a bit cleaner than my weird Elysium, and just a touch stronger as well. Both IEMs have really excellent mids, though the MM definitely beats the Elysium on Soundstage/Instrument Separation/Imaging. Both have excellent detail and clarity. The MM has better highs than the Elysium and less sharpness. Keep in mind that the Elysium costs half as much as the Mentor and it matters far less. The Elysium has a nicer unboxing experience than the MM (somehow) and the stock cable is less microphonic. Overall, these are both great and you can’t go wrong with either, but the MM is still slightly better across the board – and it’s that extra 5-10% that makes all the difference in this hobby.



Conclusion:

OK, so I have a weird Elysium. I know, so take this entire review with a grain of salt - though I'd like to think the mids are just as good regardless. The Elysium shouldn’t have that much bass. Maybe it’s a test rig issue (that only happens on the Elysium) and maybe I just have a unique Elysium or a prototype EXT. No clue. That’s the fun thing about trades, you never know what you’ll get. What I do know is that this Elysium is potentially the bassiest Elysium out there and it sounds really good. Not brand-new flagship good, but it’s not the Phonix, and it doesn’t cost anywhere near as much either. This should be in everyone’s top 5 – though I have no idea how the normal Elysium bass is.

Mona Elysa: The Vision Ears Elysium Review
Through the lens of Damz87 & SLC1966

Featuring an interview with Oliver Marino and Marcel
Schoenen from Vision Ears.

Mona Lisa:
“The delicately painted veil, the finely wrought tresses, and the careful rendering of folded fabric demonstrate Leonardo’s studied observations and inexhaustible patience. Moreover, the sensuous curves of the sitter’s hair and clothing are echoed in the shapes of the valleys and rivers behind her. The sense of overall harmony achieved in the painting—especially apparent in the sitter’s faint smile—reflects Leonardo’s idea of the cosmic link connecting humanity and nature, making this painting an enduring record of Leonardo’s vision. In its exquisite synthesis of sitter and landscape”. Britannica



Welcome into the mind of Damz & SLC. I as the fictitious but audio sexy interviewer (AKA Bob) would like to give the reader a deeper look at the Vision Ears Elysium through the lens of not just one, but two Elysium lovers. They may not have ever spent time together in the same room but they both have spent many hours with Mona Elys!!

I will first interview Damz and SLC. I also had the opportunity to interview the Leonardo’s of Vision Ears: Marcel Schoenen and Oliver Marino, the brains and artists of Vision Ears, were gracious enough to respond to my questions.


Bob’s Interview with Damz and SLC:

Bob: Rumor has it Damz that you bring the audio thunder from down under! Why do you want to share your thoughts on the Elysium with others? Don’t you own every IEM currently out there? And if so, how do they all fit in your pants with a DAP taking up most of the space?

Damz: Well, to be completely honest Bob, I didn’t expect to enjoy your Elysium as much as I do when I first saw your extra-large package arrive at my doorstep. My intention was to simply try them out and move on with my 69 other IEM’s. But there truly is something unique and immensely pleasurable about Ely that I have discovered, and I feel that they’re a worthy addition to my permanent IEM collection. And don’t worry, there’s plenty of room in my pants for a few more.


Bob: SLC, you may have your truckload of IEMs and have experienced a Damz level of IEMs, but fine sir, why are you interested in sharing your thoughts of Elysium with others?

SLC: I went through many single driver DD IEMs looking for the emotive sound that DD driver HPs can provide. In the morning I was never satisfied. Something was missing. A single DD IEM would have maybe the mids correct or the bass, but it was never coherent throughout all frequencies. I was never fully satisfied. Then I demoed Elysium as part of a VE tour and low and behold I had an Elysium of my own in my hands a few days later. All single DD driver boxes were checked. Yes, I know the treble is made up of two Estats and the bass is one single BA. But most of the musical action happens in the mid-section and that is where VE ingeniously put the DD. Hence the emotive box was finally checked. Estats are perfect for the treble and the BA is a perfect bass compliment to the overall signature. A single BA for bass and a DD for mids goes against the grain of thought at the moment but wow they nailed it. Emotions are there and engagement and musicality are there with IHMO nothing missing. That is why you probably chose the cheesy Mona Elysa title Bob.


Bob: I as the fictitious but sexy interviewer wanted to interject some facts about Damz’s Elysium. SLC had Elysium #17. Then sold it out into the wild. Bought it back. Then sold it to a good audio friend who then sold it to Damz. SLC tried to buy it back from Damz but Damz would not budge due to the Elysium joy he was getting. SLC ended up buying #237 Elysium and it has stayed. You may think I am cheesy SLC but who is the one selling IEMs and thinking they will magically come back to him when they are missed?

And on another side note: I do not dare ask Damz and SLC why one prefers to call Elysium “Ely” and the other “Elys”. I am afraid of the answer.


Bob: This IEM has the DD as the mids. SLC did already reference Elys as the single DD IEM he spent his life looking for even though Elysium is not a single DD IEM. What is your take on the Elysium DD?

Damz: Like the great musical trios of the past such as The Bee Gees and Destiny’s Child, there is magic when 3 talented performers come together as one. However, often there is one star that naturally shines brighter than the others. The midrange DD is the Barry and Beyonce of the Elysium. That said, one could argue that these stars needed their supporting cast to become the legends they are today.
As a self-confessed basshead, Ely’s driver configuration was met with plenty of skepticism from me. I simply couldn’t fathom a single BA driver being capable to drive a level of bass I need to enjoy my music. And at the time of Ely’s release, previously reviewed tribrid’s with e-stats had failed to impress the IEM community as superior (or even equal to) BA high frequency drivers. However, now that I have heard it for myself, I believe VE delivered a driver configuration masterstroke and a pioneer for tribrid design in the Elysium.
Driver coherency has been the Achilles heel of many hybrid/tribrid IEMs, but Ely bucks that trend and to my ears is one of the most coherent hybrid driver IEM’s I’ve ever heard. I agree with SLC that one could be fooled into believing that it’s a single driver inside those shells.

SLC: Yes, I did prematurely reference the DD which is a problem of mine but that is personal. I will take this opportunity to inform you Bob that the mid-section is where most vocals and most instruments are located. It is where the action takes place. That is why I think VE chose a DD for the mids. Nothing touches a high-quality DD for its ability to present instruments in a natural and emotional way. I love vocals that are real and emotional. I obsess on the sound a trumpet emits by a talented jazz musician. The Elys to me presents the trumpet for example with the best timbre I have heard.


Bob: Of course, the most important question is about that Elysium packaging. How is the packaging when you open her up for the first time? I hear others on side streets and dark alleys mentioning the word “levitating”!

Damz: Ely isn’t my first Vision Ears IEM, so going into this unboxing I was acutely aware that VE know how to do packaging. My expectations were high to say the least. And boy did it not disappoint. I can comfortably say that Ely’s unboxing experience is right up there with the best in the IEM market. I won’t say anything more than “if an unboxing experience is important to you when considering an IEM, then look no further than Elysium.”

SLC: The first time is magical. As the flaps are pulled to the side the Elys ascends to the sky. The only other two IEMs that provided a wow experience were the Dunu Luna and VE Erlkönig. But neither levitated.


Bob: What are 5 music artists/groups that come to mind when you insert Elysium?

Damz: I’m an electronic music junkie so a few sub-genres that I think Ely reproduces particularly well are Deep house, indy house, progressive techno, and minimal. Outside of Electronic music, some artists I listen to with Ely would be Chet Faker, Angus & Julia Stone, Matt Corby, London Grammar, and Lana Del Ray.

SLC: I am into Jazz and Alt Rock among other genres. At the moment, 5 of the artists/groups I gravitate to with Elys are Christian Scott, Radiohead, Miles Davis, Jason Molina, and Charles Lloyd.


Bob: What is your take on the fit of the Universal Elysium?

Damz: I have zero issues with the fit of Elysium in universal form. I get a deep fit with a tight seal and no vacuum effect.

SLC: The fit is very tight. The isolation is to the extreme. It did take a little tip rolling to find the best fit in which the Elys would stay fixed in place. There is an addicting Hoover effect. Strong seal feeling. Right now, it fits like my baseball glove did as a kid after it was properly oiled, formed, and broken in after a season of use. An excellent feeling.


Bob: What do you put on the tip of your Elysium? Do you tip roll as audio people call it?

Damz: I usually do tip roll however I got lucky with Ely and got a perfect fit with my first roll. I use SpinFit CP155’s.

SLC: With most IEMs I do need to tip roll. Some never find a tip that works, and they must move on. With Elys I was worried because I was not having luck my first tip rolling go-around. I ended up with eureka when I tried the Spinfit CP145s that I had in the bowels of my tip drawer. I do not use stock tips, but it turns out the Elys comes with the CP145 tips and the color of the bore of the tips match the color of the outside of the DD inside the Elys.


Bob: Speaking of rolling are the two of you late night cable rollers with Elysium?

Damz: Cable rolling is an important medicine for treating my audio obsessive compulsive disorder. I have given Ely the full cable roll treatment. TLR - I settled on the Effect Audio Code 51.
Here are the notes from my late-night cable escapades:
Effect Audio Code 51: Compared to stock, Code 51 adds some warmth to the midrange tone, and also creates a slight emphasis down low. Treble clarity doesn’t sound hindered by the added warmth. To me, I hear a slightly heavier note weight, especially in the bass.
Effect Audio Horus Octa: A leaner, more revealing tonality compared to stock. Highs get a bit more prominence and energy. I hear a clean and clarity-focused sound.
Effect Audio Leonidas II Octa: This cable sits somewhere between Horus Octa and Code 51 for tonality, and slightly warmer than stock. I hear a little more midrange focus and clean highs.
PW Audio 1950s: I hear a better sense of clarity and speed compared to stock. Lows are a little bit reigned in and neutered which doesn’t play well with Ely’s tonal balance.
Eletech Iliad: Similar to Horus Octa but not quite as lean and clear. Somewhat similar to stock with bass.

SLC: I do try different cables with IEMs and then usually stick with the same cable once I feel the synergy is good. The stock cable on the Elys is a 4 wire SPC cable that has an excellent synergy with Elys. I also like how the Elys and Erlkönig stock cables are flat 2 pin cables. They fit flush with the IEM. That all being said I tend not to use stock cables. No logic in that but I have enjoyed the PW Audio Loki 4 wire cable with the Elys. Once I got the Monile 2-wire cable I enjoyed it even better and then once I tried the PW Audio 1960 4-wire, I started using that and have had no desire to insert anything else. With Elys I like a cable that is not warm but not sterile. For Elys I like a cable that provides clarity and instrumental space to the IEM and a little bit of bite. All cables I mentioned above including the stock cable work well for me with the Elys. The PW Audio 1960-2 wire is too warm for Elys. The PW Audio 1950 was too neutral for Elys even though it provided excellent instrumental space and clarity. Also, Bob let me interject that the Elys responds extremely well to a more powerful source. The Elys loves getting filled with power!


Bob: VE used a BA driver for the bass. What do you say to those that speak of a light bottom on Elysium?

Damz: As I mentioned earlier, what held me back from taking the plunge into the world of Ely were my concerns around bass quantity coming from a single BA driver. However, those concerns were completely quashed once I got Ely in my ears. My theory is that one needs a deep and pseudo-custom fit to get the bass to sound how it was intended. I am lucky that I get a deep fit, so perhaps I am hearing Ely’s full bass potential. I personally would not want Ely to have any more low-end emphasis than what I’m already hearing. Would it sound better with DD bass? Maybe. But I trust that VE knew what they were doing when selecting a BA driver for bass. The bass tuning has a mid-bass bias to my ears, but I do hear extension all the way down to 20hz and I get a satisfying feeling of sub-bass rumble.

Is it going to satisfy those who want to be completely blown away with bass? Probably not. If you want that from an IEM, look for something like the Empire Ears Legend X or Sony IER-Z1R. But keep in mind that you will be making sacrifices to either upper treble or lower mids with those IEMs respectively. Ely’s bass plays a beautiful complement to the midrange without drawing too much attention to itself, but without going completely missing either.

SLC: Well, I would not go out for a post-Covid adult beverage with those that think the Elys bass is light. All kidding aside, I love the Elys bass. It is exactly what it should be. The instrument the Upright Bass for example sounds exactly like what an Upright Bass sounds like when heard live. Extremely natural. Both mid and sub bass natural. It is about tuning and coherence. To me that is why the EE LX is L shaped and most other massive bass IEMs are V shaped. Too much bass must have a counter effect in another frequency range. That is also why the EE LXSE seems to have less bass when they just did an upper-mids bump which gave the feeling of less bass and the feeling of more treble. That is also why IMHO the amazing sub-bass of the Odin needed to be offset with an upper mid bump.


Bob: Any thoughts on those two beautiful ESTATS up top?

Damz: I am a big fan of Ely’s treble. To me, it simply sounds correct. No weird FR peaks and valleys, no sibilance, plenty of air without being exaggerated, and generally enjoyable to listen to. Much like the bass, the treble tuning lends itself to being the supporting act to the mid-range.

SLC: I have not met a treble I did not like, from the hotness of Noble Khan to the very mildness of the EE LX and AAW Canary IEMs. That said the Elys treble is the most enjoyable treble I have heard. Probably because it is extremely natural sounding. The cymbals sound like I think they should sound. They do not distract from the music by being too much or too little. As Goldilocks said, “they are just right".


Bob: Is it true that Elysium has the same feel and width of a Spree Candy?

Damz: Sorry Bob, I’m Australian. I don’t have this spree candy you speak of where I live. I’ll send you some Eucalyptus drops!

SLC: That is an odd question Bob but since you brought it up: yes, so true. I remember saving up 25 cents and walking for a half-hour to the convenience store in my desolate North Dakota environment just to get a roll of Spree candy and a pack of candy cigarettes. The thickness and smooth texture are the same as a Spree candy. Great observation Bob.


Comparisons:

Bob: Readers love comparisons. Not the type you two are thinking but between other IEMs. Please compare Elysium to other IEMs you currently own. No need for psychotic detail but please give the reader an understanding of the basic differences. It is ok if you both compare it to the same IEM since the reader will be interested in each of your lenses. Two myopics equal one hyperopic!



Damz:

VE Erlkönig LE: On setting 1 and 2, Erlkönig is much warmer, bassier and musical compared to Ely. Setting 3 and 4 are tonally closer to Ely. Erlkönig has a more in your face presentation with a ton of detail and musicality. Whereas Ely goes for a slightly more laidback and diffuse presentation (especially in the midrange) with a clarity focused tonality. Treble extension is better on Ely, but bass on Erlkönig has a lot more authority and detail. Mids is where I’m the most torn on which I prefer. At times I prefer Erlk for its incredible detail and wetness. But Ely in a lot of ways seems more reference and true to life. They are both excellent and sport the best midranges I have heard in an IEM. On technicalities, Erlk is the more resolving and detailed of the two. Staging on Ely is slightly wider however Erlkönig creates a better sense of height.

Oriolus Traillii: From a technical standpoint, Trailli exceeds Ely on all fronts. Significantly larger staging on all axes, better detail retrieval, better instrument separation and layering, and sharper transient speed. Tonally, Traillii is tuned with more sub bass, and a more pronounces treble starting from the mid-treble region. Traillii mids are more laidback and sit further back in the presentation, whereas Ely’s are more forward and in your face. Some may prefer Ely mids to Traillii’s depending on preference. In isolation, I also prefer Ely’s mids, however I feel that Traillii exceeds Elysium in all other aspects.
64 Audio U12t: U12t goes for a bassier presentation (especially in the sub-bass region) with mids and lower treble sitting further back compared to Ely. This gives U12t a more spacious and open sound compared to Ely which is more in your head. U12t is the more technically proficient IEM once again. However, the U12t has a more clinical and reference tonality, especially in the midrange, which can come off as boring compared to Ely’s musical and engaging midrange.
Unique Melody MEST Mk II: MEST is tuned with a more V-shaped signature with a much larger sub-bass emphasis, relatively recessed mid/upper bass to lower-midrange, more forward upper mids and treble. MEST also has a much larger soundstage. However, MEST can sound quite incoherent when compared to Ely. One would not be fooled into thinking MEST is a single driver IEM.

Empire Ears Odin: You know how Ely is the master of mids? Well, Odin is the master of bass in my humble opinion. Odin has a sub-bass bias tuning compared to Ely’s mid-bass bias. But the twin W9+ woofers cannot be touched by Ely’s single BA driven bass when it comes to bass authority, detail and realism. Odin’s upper-mids are significantly more forward compared to Ely, and when it comes to midrange timbre and note weight, Ely is the clear winner to my ears. Odin has a colder, drier, and relatively emotionless midrange when I compare the two. Treble is pretty similar but I would say that Ely has slightly more upper-treble extension and airiness. Both are extremely coherent tribrids that offer TOTL performance, however Odin is the more technically proficient of the two (bigger stage, better layering, detail retrieval etc.)



SLC:

Noble Sultan:
If you want to have fun for a few hours, then the Sultan is where it is at. To me it is very W-shaped with a very analogue thick bass that stands out, but with mild forward mids and mild forward treble that keep the W going. The Sultan is not natural sounding when compared directly to Elys. There is a halo around each note of the Sultan that adds to the “fun” of the sound. Sultan is an antithesis of the Elys.

VE Erlkönig LE:
The Erk is about musicality. It is a pleasure to listen to. It does not have the same intense W nor “halo effect” of the Sultan but the “fun” level is high. The Erlk presents the vocals and mid-section instruments such as trumpet a little more forward. The Erlk bass does have more mid bass thump. Erlk is a very mild W vs the massive coherence the Elys presents with. Erlk is emotive but nothing presents the notes as emotional and natural as the Elys. I can tell that Erlk and Erl come from the same VE family. The presentation of the notes is different but still the siblingness is there.

EE Odin:
The Odin and Elys are similar in that they are both coherent but in very different ways. The Odin has an extremely well textured sub-bass. The actual quality of the Odin bass is so unique. The amount of detail and resolution of the Odin is so special. But again, the Elys is so much more natural sounding. Nothing touches the naturalness of the Elys across all frequencies. The Elysium presents the music in a non-threatening way. The Odin does not present the music it forces the music upon you. Both are very special IEMs. With the Elys I can suck on a Spree candy while listening to it. With the Odin I need a candy cigarette after some Odin time.

Unique Melody Mason V3+:
Elys and Mason V3+ massively share the ability to sound natural across all frequencies. They are both extremely coherent. They both are not W nor U nor L shaped. They have the body morphology that fits all frequencies together extremely well. The V3+ does have a little more mid-bass thump. The notes on the Elys are not thin at all. They are to me just right. The V3+ has thicker notes and more of a darker sound than the Elys. The Elys is not bright at all though. The V3+ reminds me of the AAW Canary in that the thick notes remind me of melting high quality delectable milk chocolate.
Noble Zephyr:
I included the Noble Zephyr because I like it so much and the price of the Universal shell is a very good bang for the buck just like the Elys is an extremely good bang for the buck in today's IEM price market. The Zephyr is also not W nor U nor L shaped. It does have a very special DD bass that is mid-bass focused like the Elys. The timbre of the Zephyr is not at the level of the Elys but for sure up there with the best of them. The notes on the Zephyr are a little brighter than the Elys. The Elys notes are a little thicker. They both are as coherent as any IEM gets.

Oriolus Traillii:
Thought I would throw this bird in there since it is the talk of the town lately. Nothing I have experienced touches the left to right soundstage of the Traillii. The bass of the Traillii is a little more textured than the Elys. The treble of the two are very similar. The timbre of the two are as good as it gets. The best timbre I have experienced have been the Elys, the Traillii and the Rhapsodio Eden. The biggest difference between the Elys and Traillii (along with soundstage) is the mid-section. Due to the wide soundstage of the Traillii the mids are not as focused upon as the mids of the Elys. They are a little bit back on the Traillii. The Elys has more intimacy in the mid-section due to the overall smaller stager of the Elys. The Traillii is not about intimacy. It is about experiencing the music on a grand stage. Another way I put it is that the Traillii envelopes you from the outside inward and the Elys envelopes you from the inside outward.




Bob’s interview with Marcel and Oliver from Vision Ears:

Bob: My understanding is it took 2 1/2 years to create the final version of Elysium. How was the initial thought/concept different to the final product?

Oliver: It took almost 2 years from the initial idea to the final product. I was playing with some Dynamic drivers and then after some measurements and initial test I decided to use a DD as midrange. The midrange is the most important part in the audio range, it is where the ear has the higher sensitivity and where most of the audio content is. It is where you have the presence, the clarity and attack of instruments. So, a DD as midrange works very well because of its very natural way of reproducing the sound, especially the harmonics.

Marcel: The very first Prototype was quite similar to the final version, but then we ordered the dynamic drivers for stock, and we found out, that the tolerance was horrible. Each driver was sounding different! We had a lot of discussion with the manufacturer and in the end, we had to find a new one… And this new manufacturer was able to tune the driver exactly to our demands and with a very low tolerance. Sound wise the first version was smoother in the highs and less in resolution - especially in the mids.


Bob: In laypersons terms what is “High Precision Acoustic Levelling Chamber” (HALC) for the DD mean and what does it do?

Oliver: Tuning a DD as midrange is quite different from tuning a BA, so HALC is a special acoustic tuned path that was developed to better shape the frequency response of the DD. Creating this special jig was a huge challenge, we had to choose a 3D printing method which requires doing micro precision. And then we needed to refine the tuning with doing small changes and ordering a lot of different prototypes of this part. A very time consuming and costly process.


Bob: Was it originally going to only be a custom design and not universal?

Marcel: With the Elysium we were one of the first manufacturers who used the electrostatic drivers for a custom IEM. Actually, we were not sure if we would release the Elysium as universal, but we got so much positive feedback to the fitting of the universal shell we created - so we decided to offer it as universal as well.


Bob: Rumor has it that there are differences between the sound of the Universal and Custom versions. Is that rumor true and if so in what way is the sound different?

Oliver: Usually a custom version will sound slightly different from the universal version because of the ear tip added. An ear tip will always add some small/large modifications to the sound because they add an acoustic path to the "motor" (drivers, sound tubes etc) . So, it will depend on the ear tip what acoustic path will add. Regarding our assembly, the custom and the universal have the same motors inside, so if you measure at the end of the shell nozzle you will have the same frequency response. You could argue that we could tweak the universal with the ear tip on, but then things will change when customers change ear tips, so again we will be at the same point.


Bob: A divisive area of Elysium is the bass. Some find it perfect for the signature and others think it is too mild. Why did you use a BA driver instead of DD? And how did you decide to use the BA driver that you did?

Oliver: We decided to use a BA because we discovered this BA that was really warm and a perfect match for the DD. The BA itself is capable of way more level, but we decided to tune it that way because we wanted a very smooth and quite "etheric" sound, a very smooth transition between the three different types of drivers.


Bob: The Elysium has a DD that covers the mid-range. Usually there is some type of port on the shell of any IEM when there is a dynamic driver involved. What was the reasoning for not having a port and what is the advantage of not having a port?

Marcel: You are absolutely right, usually you have a vent hole in the shell when using a dynamic driver. But since the dynamic driver of the Elysium is just 5.8mm in diameter and is tuned to only make a good performance in the mids, we don’t need a hole. The hole is just needed when the driver needs more volume of air to move properly - so if it’s rather big in diameter and is supposed to do a good rumble in the lows, you definitely need a hole in the shell. But for mid performance, the air which is inside the shell is enough for our small driver.




Bob’s Closing Remarks:

I would like to thank Damz & SLC for your time and efforts. Also, I appreciate very much Marcel and Oliver from Vision Ears taking the time to help everyone gain further insights into the creation of the Elysium.
I do file my nails, but I am not an audiophile. That said I do like cheese and from hearing everything you have said about the Elysium it really does seem like the Mona Elysa of IEMs! The Elysium has the natural beauty of Mona Lisa and will be an enduring record of the vision of Vision Ears.

The Elysium belongs to the Premium Line of the German IEM manufacturer Visions Ears from Cologne. The packaging is the first eye-catcher right after unpacking. As soon as you open the box, the middle part rises. I have not seen so yet. Reminds me a bit of the tubes in the HE1 - well, not quite as spectacular. But it is a good idea.



The package includes CP145 SpinFits and HornTips as well as an 8 wire silver coated balanced cable with 2.5mm plug. Plus a leather storage box, description and a set of some self-adhesive guards to protect the Nozzle from wax.



For the sound test, I ran the Elysium out of the 2.5mm output of the Shanling M8 DAP. This DAP is known for its incredibly musical and warm reproduction and fits like a glove due to the tonality of the Elysium. The Empire Ears Legend X as well as a Focal Utopia and Stax SR-009 served as comparison.



Now let's get to the most important thing - the sound. The Elysium plays neutrally bright over the entire frequency response with slightly recessed mids. Voices don't play directly in your face like with a Utopia, but slightly distant. What I find pleasant, however. At the same time, they don't seem nasal or discolored, but come across naturally. By the way, VE uses a dynamic driver for the midrange, while a BA driver is responsible for the bass range. An unusual constellation. But the engineers certainly thought of something and what comes out sonically is very good.

The bass range is incredibly good in terms of quality. A Legend X punches a lot harder and has more low end, but it doesn't offer the control of an Elysium. In terms of quality, there's really nothing to complain about. Quantitatively, it's between the SR009 and the Utopia. The Utopia offers more dynamic punch that the Elysium BA driver so lacks. While the SR009 has a little less in terms of quantity, the Stax Bass hits harder. With thinner recordings, I sometimes wish the Elysium had a little more punch. On well-recorded tracks, however, it again fits the bill. I also played around with the M8's EQ a bit and the Elysium can easily handle a +3dB boost here without anything distorting or getting out of control.

The Elysium's highs are nearly perfect. The two EST drivers at work here do a terrific job. Almost on SR009 level! Resolution without end and never annoying or sibilant. That's how it has to be.

The stage imaging is generously wide with good depth and razor-sharp instrument separation. A Legend X and Utopia play more directly. Here it is more reminiscent of the SR-009.

Of course, I didn't just feed the Elysium with classical and jazz in my listening session, but drew on some references from my favorite genre, metal, to explore the transient response. In the bass, it doesn't have the amount to push like a Legend X. The Elysium never gets out of control on the most complex drums, which is more than I can say for the Legend X, especially with the wrong tips, everything seems much more voluminous and not as fast. So the VE feels faster than a Legend X, but doesn't quite reach the speed of a Utopia or SR-009.

During my listening sessions, I tried several tips. Working well and I can recommend the included SpinFits CP145 as well as Comply T400. The Final Audio E tips and JVC SpiralDots don't go deep enough into the ear canal and thus produce too much bass loss. The Elysium thus sounds much too thin. The CP145s sound punchy and lively, very airy. The T400s dampen the high frequency range somewhat and sound warmer overall. I don't have a clear favorite here. In the future, I'd like to try the Sedna Xelastec, a hybrid silicone/foam construction.

In summary, I can say that the Elysium is an insanely good IEM and is suitable for anyone looking for a similar tuning to that of a Utopia and all that on the go. With a little EQ you can tickle out the last bit of punch and make it very similar to a Utopia. If VE had also relied on a dynamic in the bass here it would probably THE IEM at all! The mids, treble, soundstage are already perfect! Well done, VE!

Drop in preamble from VE8 impressions

Design:
The Elysium has excellent faceplates, but perhaps that's more on VE's part on designing such pretty things, but I digress as usual. So the shell itself is pretty interesting, flatter than the VE8 and much wider too, though still pretty small for a 6 driver tribrid setup. Chonky nozzles (yay !), but angled nozzles (oh no). I actually found the Elysium being uncomfortable for my earlets, definitely pushing out a bit on all sides to make it uncomfortable after a long listening session. Plus I could actually hear my the sound of silicone tips and my canals rubbing against one another as my left eat slowly forced the nozzle out. Despite the relatively deep stem, the angle really didn't cooperate and I got a similar fit as with the u12t on my left ear, of course it's much lighter and just stayed in that spot. Man I was told that the Elysian fields was paradise, but it feels like a mixed bag out of the gate. Perhaps Valhalla might be a better fit....Nah, I'll give more time. I found that the Elysium took a bit of power to drive, used it with the HFS Silver off the 4.4 on my 1A with high gain on 55.

Bass:
Bass is a bit pulled back similar to the VE8 in the overall signature, but midbass slam and impact is much more present than on the VE8. This doesn't mask the sub bass at all. Which has good extension. Still neutral overall with a slight mid bass bias which I would have liked in the VE8 regardless of the cable.There's not bleed of course makes me a very happy boy, somehow kilobucks still manage to bleed these days.Good for some laid back listening in the evenings or a quiet stroll, definitely not for the commute though. Some excitement in Greek paradise would be nice though....

But Kuro, you haven't talked about the mids, that's suppose to be the highlight of the Elysium!

Mids:
A disclaimer that this the only double DD mid design iem I've listened to (Lola is on my try list) so I could be listening to the standard for double DDs and completely missing that.(pls don't shoot me if my mids disagree).

To be honest, I was super hyped about the mids after listening to the DMagic and...I end up a tad bit disappointed (which is an understatement) with what I heard. Elysium is able to make vocals the centerpiece of the signature without having to put them overly forward.Slight forward of neutral is where I put it. It does this in a way where it stands out compared to the other frequencies but maintains an overall neutral signature. In a way feels like a more technical version of the EE Athena, albeit at double the price brand new. I was expecting some more musicality and some more excitement in the mids.

Treble:
Not much to say for the treble. The standard smooth and no sibiliance, a tad too safe and neutral. But it seems that most estats treble aim for that. I'm not sure if this is good or bad overall. But I much rather have that than peaky treble that hurts my ears.Extensions is pretty good. Maybe my favourite part of the signature when I look back even though there was less shimmer and air that I'd like which is a bit...worrying.

Conclusion:
I stayed the course, walking through the entirety of the Elysian fields even with a mixed impression in the beginning.It really isn't the one for me. Overall the Elysium (like the VE8) leans more on it's technical chops, and I screamed loud enough about the timbre for the VE8, but Ely does it too (Post edit as I was reminded by @Frankie D ). And if my preference and ranking was based on pure technicality, they'd be taking Top 5 ranks and my recommendation without question. I wouldn't question VE's technical chops after hearing 2 flagships, but given the price the signatures end up being underwhelming, but enough to warrant somewhere in the 6-10 spots of my ranking. Speaking of Valhalla, I'm gonna give the Tribrid crown to the All Father since I prefer a bit more muscicality, The Elysian fields however are fine if you're looking for a capable neutral sound that ensures vocals shine through.

Small addition: based on my experience with the Viento B, the Elysium is very source dependent so testing with a neutral source may not have been the best idea. Personally I'm not a fan of this kind of iems, but man the technical chops are insane.

Disclaimer: I reached out to Andrew from MusicTeck to see if he would allow me to try Elysium and he gracefully said yes and shipped one to me very quickly. Nothing was promised other than I would return the unit in good condition if I do not decide to purchase it. Yes, unfortunately I have purchased my review unit.

https://shop.musicteck.com/collecti...ts/vision-ears-elysium?variant=32293070110782


VE has been one of the most saluted IEMs brands for years. Almost all VE’s IEMs I have heard have a very unique yet mature “signature sound.” My journey with VE starts from VE6, and it was my second CIEM. I can still remember how fun and invigorating it was. In recent years, VE released Premium Line UIEMs-- Erlkonig, EVE20, and the star of tonight-- Elysium. Unlike Ely’s big brother Erlkonig which was an “immediate buy,” I was quite hesitant pulling the trigger on Ely, mainly because of the tribrid configuration I am not a fan of. Up to now, I have spent quite a while with Ely, and it impressed me every single day. I’m now ready to share my impressions and recommend this masterpiece to audiophiles. VE products are now available at Musicteck.com.

Design and Fit

The design of Elysium is ingenious! Ely’s faceplate is relatively simple than aggressive. The blue squamaceous on the transparent acrylic shells look premium. You can easily see through the shells and find the BA (bass), DD( mids), and EST(Treble) drivers sitting there. If I am not wrong, the shell is fully filled and only left the caves for each driver, which maximum the protection for drivers from expected outside vibration and damage.


Ely’s shape is very slim, and I assume it will fit very well with most ears. The nozzle is slightly on the thicker side, but with the stock SpinFIt tips, it was not a big issue in terms of fitting. But sometimes, I do feel a bit of pressure after a long listening session. Overall, Ely is a very comfortable UIEM, apparently much more comfortable than Erlknoig, much more comfortable.


Cable and Tips

The stock cable is made in 8 cores high purity SPC, 28 AWG. It is not the most outstanding stock in nowadays arm race, but it is certainly not bad either in any sense. The cable shielding is ultra-soft and light, with no issues across the frigid winter here in Ohio. It never becomes sturdy, which is a big plus in practice.

There are two sets of stock tips-- SpinFit C145 silicone tips (SML) and EPros horn-shaped tips (SML). Well, I completely don’t get the point of including EPros tips in the package because I never successfully installed them on Ely…

For tip rolling, I have tried AZLA Sedna Xelesitics, SednaEarfit; Final E; Sony Hybrid; Symbio W tips. I found the stock C145 gives me the best fit and the most balanced sound. WIth Xelestics, the stage seems to become a touch wider, but both treble and bass with a bit rolled off. SednaEarfit and Final E have marginally killed the bass, but the treble becomes even faster than SpinFit. Sony Hybrid made the mids sound a bit awkward, and there is some noticeable distortion when play strings. Symbio was my all-time favorite for IEMs like Dita XLS and EE Zeus. But with Elysium, I found the lower mid is a bit too fat for my liking. So, after a quick-rolling, I found myself preferring stock C145 over others. It was a clean call.

Sound


Overall Impression

The sound signature of Ely reminds me of Focal Utopia but minus some bass impact. Both of them have great details, both of them have very vivid/fast trebles, and there is a lovely shiny layer on both headphones. Back to Ely itself, I would describe it as neutral, balanced with a slight mid to treble enhancement and a touch of warmth underneath. The dynamic mids driver creates a very realistic timbre and an excellent texture for most instruments and vocals, separated Ely from most TOTL IEMs. Simply put, it is a fun, engaging, and revealing sound that I was chasing.

Stage and Image

Like I mentioned above, Ely is like an IEM version of Utopia. It applies to both PROs and CONs. Both Ely and Utopia have relatively intimate soundstages. Although neither of them sounds crowded, I still find them a little bit hurry-scurry when playing large bands/ symphony orchestra music. The overall image is very centered on Ely. Thankfully, the image size isn’t too big, so the sound is not clustered as a big mess. The overall texture is still superior as it should be (for the price).
However, an intimate soundstage is not always a bad thing. When it comes to vocal performance, Ely can drag all my attention towards the singer. It is pure enjoyment like you are doing a singer audition and he or she is singing for you and you only.

Bass

The bass from Elysium is very accurate and controlled. It is very tight and articulate. By the nature of BA drivers, the sub-bass of Elysium is not the most impactful one especially compare to bass beasts like MMR Thummim. It rebounds quickly without any sloppy edges. In the mid-bass, Elysium remains linear and clean. There is a small hump at this frequency range, but it is done nicely without being stiffy or overly warm.
I am sure a particular group of people is craving this type of bass-- linear, clean, fast, and full of details. If you are one of them, Elysium can be very satisfying. When I was playing some instrumental progressive rocks, I found this type of bass is spot on. I can easily follow those comprehensive bass lines without any muddy notes, nor the unwilling rumbles interrupt my enjoyment.

Mid

In my opinion, mid is what we are paying for the Elysium. The mid of Ely really shines out, and the mid of Elysium is still lingering around my head. The HALC dynamic driver VE put in Elysium does play some magic here. The great texture and super-natural timbre from the HALC driver is something I never heard before. It is realistic and almost physical to my ears.
The lower-mid of Ely filled the body of the BA bass, which makes the lower frequency has a nice weight and transit smoothly from upper-bass to the lower-mid. When listening to Marcus Miller’s bass solo with Ely, you can feel all the nice notes were delivered to you with incredible thickness, fluidity, and some very accurate pitches.

The upper mid is very consistent with the lower-mid. It sounds very natural but with a touch more added-on youthfulness and vivid coloration. The snare resonances are presented very livelily and being crystal clear. Also, you can get some nice jazzy dry cymbal attacks. All of these instrumental performances are super attractive.

How about vocals? It is simply amazing! The vocals are not very upfront; however, due to the mid-centered stage(both horizontal and vertical), the singer will still grab your attention but not in an aggressive/ forceful way. You will naturally pay more attention to the singers not the instruments. When you calm down and listen to the vocals, you will find tons of details, and these details drag you closer emotionally to the music. All these combined as a beautiful world, and you are lying there.

Treble

When it comes to the electrostatics treble drivers, it is like the chocolate box in Tom Hanks’s hands. You never know what you are going to get. Some e-stats treble drivers will give you some detailed but fatiguing treble, which can turn treble into big trouble. However, when the electrostatic drivers were appropriately tuned, it can create some astonishing energetic and airy sounds.
I was not a fan of e-stats treble, mainly because t other IEMs have e-stats treble are a bit too sharp for me. At a certain level, I can’t bear the edgy sounds from the e-stat drivers in those IEMs. However, VE has done a fantastic job in tuning these drivers. The treble from Ely is smooth, elegant, and relaxing. It is still sparkling when the music needs it to be. Most importantly, the treble from Elysium is very coherent with the mid and bass. It does not stand out and stand alone. The treble served with mid and bass as an entity, but the clarity and transparency that e-stats drivers provided is something traditional BA solutions can never catch up with.

Comparisons


Elysium VS FiR M5

FiR is my reference Tribrid IEMs. It has great details, resolution, soundstage, and a relatively neutral tonality. M5 has the “regular” tribrid configuration where a dynamic driver takes over bass, BA for Mid and e-stats for treble.

In comparison, M5 has more bass impact and more rumbles. Although as of dynamic bass driver M5’s bass is slightly on the gentle side in terms of impact and attack, it is still more impactful than Ely. You can also find more dynamic bass decay from M5, which Elysium is lacking. Also due to this fact, M5 has more vertical space and creates more headroom.

However, when it comes to the mid, Elysium completely take this part. Ely has significantly more mid presence, it is more bodied and more forward. M5 is slightly recessed in comparison. When playing vocals, I feel Elysium always make me more involved. Elysium also has more warmth from lower-mid and upper bass. Again, the HALC dynamic driver is amazing!

As of treble, I found M5 has a slightly sharpened edge, it is not fatiguing but certainly not as controlled as Ely. However, I also found at 10K and above M5 does has an airier sound. I got a better sense of the music breathe in and out with M5. Ely’s treble is more coherent with mid and bass. It is almost as energetic and dynamic as M5, and it has more body than the M5. So overall, for long listening sessions Elysium is more comfortable.



Elysium VS MMR Thummim

Thummim is the flagship from MMR, it also has the “regular” tribrid configuration like M5.

Elysium and Thummim are completely different, nothing alike! Thummim has a thunder roaring sub-bass. It has crazy amount of decay and rumbles. It is probably the most rumbly bass I have ever heard in IEMs. Elysium on the other hand, has a much quicker and tighter bass. Although Ely’s bass quantity is not even close to the Thummim, I still prefer Ely’s bass in terms of quality. The bass from Ely is more detailed and more flexible for different music genres.

The mid from Thummim is slightly recessed but not in a beautiful way. There are some nice sweet, warm tones from the Thummim’s mid. I was really addicted to the mid from Thummim, the warmth is just right on. The mid from Ely is also wonderful, it is more natural and more fluid than Thummim. Plus, the Ely has some nice and unique timbres that are provided by the HALC.

Treble is a very close contest. Both Ely and Thummim has a great treble but in a very different way. Thummim is naturally expanded, it can reach really high and still being stable and smooth. It has more sparkles than the Elysium. Elysium’s treble has more blood and flesh, though it is also more controlled. Treble from the Ely doesn’t fly as high as Thummim, but always has a clearer image from Ely than Thummim. So, in this competition it really depends on your preference.

Conclusion

Elysium, as its name indicates, is a true wonderland of music. I am enjoying listening to it all the time. It delivers such a vivid sound while none of the frequencies performed like outlaws. From bottom to the top, every note has a unique timbre but still serves the music like one entity. The magical sounds from HALC driver are fantastic and so memorable. Both technical performance and musical performance are top of the line, no doubt. In the end, I am surprised yet not surprised that VE has offered us another unbelievable creature. I cannot image what product will come next, but Vision Ears, you had my wallet!

Opening remarks
I'll begin by saying, if the 5 stars wasn't the give away, that I am enthralled by these iems.
The unusual part though is that I am enthralled for reasons that are new and introduced because of these iems so I will focus on what is different for me about them rather than the usual format of describing freq. and such. I will probably talk in circles and metaphors as I try to explain what I'm hearing in this, to me, revolutionary iem.
I'll also dispense with talk about the packaging and looks as these were tour iems and to be honest, if they fit well and look decent, then I'm only concerned with the musical replay. I don't buy iems for the box they come in..
** I just received my set from Musicteck and the unboxing experience really is special with the center rising as you open the box. The box itself is beautiful. This really was an addition to the purchasing experience.**

It should be noted that these are the most expensive iems I've ever heard as nothing has been north of $2k with probably the Empire Ears LX being the most expensive iem I've owned or heard and my previous favourite being the Campfire Audio Solaris 2020. Also, this is the first iem I've heard with EStat drivers.

Background
I received these just short of a week ago as part of the tour and at the near insistence of @Rockwell75. We have met a few times in the past year or so to compare gear and in our discussions we have learned we mostly approach audio with similar goals, to be moved by the music, though we sometimes differ on what presentation that takes.
I had been on the tour list and had removed myself as I had thought that I was re-entering a headphone phase and was through with iems for a while but @Rockwell75 figured, and very rightly so, that I would like these and so @Barra graciously allowed me to received the kit with the VE8 and Elysium. Boy am I glad...

A bit about my history...
I have been into audio since the mid to late 90's when in the process of replacing some $30 headphones with a dead driver (which at the time I thought was spending a lot), the salesman directed me to the shop next door where in the matter of 3 months, through trade-ups, I went from a Grado SR60 through the line to the RS1 with the RA1 amp. I was in awe... My dad had some cool Bose speakers he bought in the early 70's while we were posted in Germany with the Canadian Military but this was unreal. But then at another shop I heard Stax... I'll never forget that experience as I was utterly confused that a headphone could disappear and the illusion of vast space within my head was like entering another dimension.. This was about 1997 and I had no internet or computer or even a television at the time... The world of high end audio was all new to me and I was captivated.
I ended up not following the headphone route though and pursued my passion in the world of 2 channel audio.
But in 2006 my daughter was born and priorities changed. Audio took a back seat and after a while I came back to headphones as it allowed me to pursue my passion with a whole set up that cost less than the speaker cables in my 2 channel rig I had had.

I would say that the experience with the Stax and the live experience of 2 channel have always informed my focus in headphones and iems. And this will be half of reason the Elysium is such a ground breaking iem for me.

To say I've tried a lot of gear over the last several years would be an understatement. For a while I kept up with it on my profile page as a kind of diary but for example I've owned 6 Noble iems, 5 from Empire Ears, 6 from Campfire Audio (and auditioned 2 others), several others each from FiiO, Moondrop, Fearless and others.
In headphones... even more..

But... in all these, I have not heard anything that has really stuck me quite so profoundly as the Elysium.. why?

Ultimately it comes down to this.
I have played a lot of instruments in my life. I grew up with piano and cello lessons, switched to guitar in my later teens and in my 20's I tried many others; flutes (western, shakuhchi, basuri), saxophone, viola, violin.. The point of mentioning this is that playing an instrument, having it up close and creating the sounds, both good and bad, reveals a lot of information about tone and timbre and that each instrument is different and has it's own character. I also mention this as I tend to listen to music that is acoustic instruments, like baroque chamber music, viola da gamba and lute music, piano music or in the case of some modern music, stuff that is rooted in actual instruments.
Never before, even with the Stax, have I been so aware of these almost intangible subtleties in a headphone or iem. This translates into a level of realism that is unlike anything I have heard, or really even knew was possible.

At the peak of my 2 channel experiences, I pieced together a system that created a great sense of a performance. I sat in my chair and I was the audience at the show. Live recordings were especially fun in this respect.
Some headphones and iems did more intimate versions of this (Noble having the more "distant" soundstage and as such most like 2 channel) but never really convincing except perhaps Stax..
The Stax 007/717 set up was a revelation of a sort but not in the same way as the Elysium.

The Elysium is a revelation because it is entirely faithful to the recording. If the mic is by the instrument, I hear the instrument as if I'm playing it. Subtle tone differences of individual notes are so faithfully reproduced that you can not only hear when a key or note is stuck differently, but I am made aware of the sheer proficiency of the performer's abilities. I'm constantly in awe of the musicians as I am so clearly hearing what they are playing that I am made aware, fully, that they are playing it.
It's a level of intimacy of a whole different kind and for me brings new meaning to of the term in reference to audio.
And this is what I meant by these being ground breaking. I had always been looking for the experience of the "audience" like in two channel and even big scale soundstaging like in the HD800. My previous favourite iem, Campfire Audio Solaris 2020 had a "holographic" sense but seemed to be caught in between these two worlds. I had a good sense of being an audience but like I was sitting in the midst of the performance.
What is different in the Elysium is that I'm not really the audience any more. I am "nothing". I am just perceiving the recording of the artist. There is not real sense of "me" in some virtual space. I am so clearly hearing their performance that I no longer think or care about where I am sitting..
This is one of those "intangibles" that is impossible to describe because it isn't really anything. It's more of a subtraction. It's a benefit by omission of something that was creating the separation between me and the performance. I think it's what @Rockwell75 mentioned in his comments about the 4th wall.

I made a slight detour into the VE8 today just to get another reference and though that is a very nice sounding iem in it's own right it just sounds more like something of itself, where the Elysium has the quality to pierce through it's own existence and go straight into the musical performance. For me t's a piece of gear that ceases to be anything of itself and as such is a philosophy that I think is commendable. I'm reminded of the opposite of this in something like the EE Legend X. I truly did enjoy that bass and it put a smile on my face but it certainly was a "thing".. This approach reminds me of practicing Buddhist meditation... or a Zen koan.. it is by not being..

(except that I can feel them in my ears... the one drawback.)

I chalk all this up to a masterful implementation of the right drivers for the right applications.

BASS
Perhaps a DD bass would bring in an impact that isn't quite there but then that might ruin the delicate balance.
As I've gotten used to these though I only seldom notice the bass being a bit light. Bare in mind though that I've owned the Legend X and currently have HiFiman Arya.

MIDS
Beautifully textured and lifelike. Vocals are very emotive and sound natural. Wouldn't ask for anything more.

TREBLE
To be honest, I think this is the most impressive part of these as I think the EStat treble defines the character of the rest of the frequencies. I get the sense that there is tremendous speed in these drivers and as such create perfect decay and the overtones of all notes get represented. There is no hangover so each note, particularly treble and mids sound clean and clear and crisp in a perfectly natural way. When I listened to the VE8 again with the BA treble, it was if there was a slight micro-echo or residual ringing that thickened the treble response. It was still very good and after a time I'm sure it would not sound "off" but they did coming from what I consider the best treble I've ever heard in an iem, and by extension through harmonics and overtone recreation, the best tone and timbre across the board.

As far as comparisons... I'm not sure anything is worth mentioned because my experiences aren't about better and worse in terms of frequency reproduction or balance. For me it's just a different experience and one that really allows me to enjoy the music rather than think about wanting an iem for a specific genre or mood.
I could still see owning something like a Legend X for the sheer fun that that bass cannon provides but if I could only have one iem, this is more certainly it..

Gear used:
AK240 as source through an Ifi Zen Can amp and Triton Audio Cardas Clear Light (PW1960) cable and stock cable.

Following is my personal review of the Vision Ears Elysium, a flagship monitor made by the (Cologne) Germany based company Vision Ears. The Elysium was originally released as a custom monitor in mid-late 2019 and roughly a year later in 2020 a universal version was released. Thanks to some what-appear-now-to-be-prophetic early reviews and impressions by the likes of @mvvRAZ , @circafreedom , @Deezel177 , and @marcusd from Headfonics, I have long nursed a curiosity about this IEM. I was fortunate to be able to demo the universal Elysium via @Barra 's Vision Ears tour. I was sufficiently captivated that, 3 days after receiving the loaner unit, I took advantage of a sale put on by peerless North American retailer @MusicTeck and purchased a set of the universals for myself. This review is not motivated by anything other than my desire to convey my impressions of and enthusiasm for this unique and profoundly engaging piece of audio gear.



A few opening points and caveats:

1) This is my personal review and as such it will be expressed in such a way as is meaningful and authentic to me. Some will find my approach too subjective/wishy-washy/starry-eyed to be useful—to them I say that there are plenty of other sources of information out there that will better suit your needs. This is fundamentally a hobby for me and one of the ways I derive joy out of it is to share my personal experiences in writing. If this is at all useful/helpful/informative/entertaining to anyone, then great! If not, oh well.

2) My impressions and viewpoints are unfailingly and intimately connected to my own values, preferences, motives and inclinations. It’s taken a while for me to fully come to grips with what this entails—in fact it is the Elysium, more than any other single IEM, that has helped solidify it for me. In the ultimate sense what I am seeking through the listening experience is a degree of intimacy with my music— listener, that being listened to, and the act of listening all serenely dissolving into a unity, or at least as much as is possible. Everything else that can be said—tonality, technicality, bass, mids, treble, and on and on, is wholly subservient to the aforementioned goal. If an IEM can deliver this sort of connection I am seeking while also having great tone, technicalities, bass, mids, etc…then that is great, but ultimately a generous redundancy.

3) Above all the most important lesson in this hobby is—trust your own ears above all. As a corollary to this I would add: always be ready to try something new and give it a chance to express itself on its own terms, with little to no pre-conceptions or biases imposed upon you by other groups or individuals. Sometimes we don’t know what we really want until we hear it. Sometimes we are so used to a certain conception of what is preferred or thought possible that we have a hard time imagining anything beyond that. To wit: the driver configuration of the Elysium is so unorthodox that in my head I didn't see how it could possibly work and though I've been curious about it for a while, I never came close to buying. Turns out it was an act of genius.

4) Synergy is a commonly underappreciated aspect of this hobby—sometimes an ounce of synergy can add a kilo-buck or two to the perceived value of your gear. On that note it is important to try everything you have at your disposal—different tips, sources, etc.—to see if you can find something that works for you. The reward for doing this can be very very great.

5) My musical tastes run a pretty wide spectrum, from classic rock, blues and jazz to various shades of Romanian minimal and dub techno, funk, rap, EDM, classical, vocal, and so on. The sources used for this review, and and pretty much all of my listening is the Cayin n6ii + E02 and Lotoo PAW S1.



All of that said, on with the review…

The Elysium is Vision Ears’ flagship hybrid and contains arguably the most unique driver configuration I am aware of— Sonion electrostats for the highs, a DD for the midrange and, perhaps most interestingly, a single BA for the lows.

'Twas the night before Christmas in the dying days of 2020 and I was just finishing a 3-week loaner stint with the MEST, an IEM I liked about as much as I could like an IEM without it making me want to sell off my gear to purchase one. The VE tour kit arrived that same day but honestly I wasn't feeling that excited about it at the time-- I'd already bought and sold a VE8 earlier in the year and while I was curious about Elysium I'd pretty much resigned myself to the thought that it likely wouldn't wow me. What I really wanted was to just sink in and spend some QT with my newly acquired Andromeda MW10 and I vainly imagined that after going through the motions the VE kit would languish in a corner as I focused on the Andromeda. Suffice to say that's not how it went down.



Preliminary Comments
Up until somewhat recently I was too entrenched in the basshead tendencies of my audiophile youth to seriously consider an IEM with a single BA for the bass. The Elysium was released in the spring of 2019 and at the time I remember being struck by its unorthodox driver configuration but unwilling to even consider taking a chance on what I thought would be an inadequate bass response.

After I unpacked the kit I popped in the VE8 before the Elysium to see if it was at all like I remembered from when I owned one early in 2020. In brief: it was basically exactly as I remembered—something of a thicker, darker, more intimate Andromeda. It sits in the upper echelons of my personal favourites alongside the Campfire Andromeda 2020, which I consider to be something of a spiritual sibling to the VE8 in that both IEMs specialize in the aforementioned important quality—emotional connection and engagement, ie., the ability of an IEM to draw me in, to stir my heart, to make me feel something when I listen to my music. It is this quality which to me elevates IEMs like the Andromeda and the VE8 above some of their flashier or more technical peers.

In a nutshell while I loved the VE8 the Elysium is decidedly another level to my ears....

Sound and FR Breakdown

General
The Elysium presents a balanced and holographic sound with a clear emphasis on an open, but not really forward mid-range. I would place it on the slightly bright with a musical leaning part of the spectrum. Vocals are emphasized slightly above instruments, but both are clearly discernible with their own air and space in the mix. Though there is a mid-range emphasis I don't feel that any one area of the FR is over or under-represented (though some people may make this claim about the bass-- it's a YMMV thing)-- my attention naturally inclines toward perceiving the signature as a unity. I find the bass sits below the mids and highs in a way that allows you to clearly discern all the nuance of the bass response without being distracted by it.

Highs
The highs on the Elysium come from dual Sonion electrostat tweeters. In an info card that comes in the the box VE explains that these drivers love power and will perform in different ways with different daps and cables. I find the highs on the Elysium to be crisp and lively, but never sharp; they are pronounced, detailed, nuanced and they blend harmoniously and seamlessly with the rest of the signature. The level of detail they convey is unlike anything I have heard. The closest would probably be the MEST and Z1R but the Elysium handily tops both of those, if for no other reason than minutia of detail, refinement and (imho) more mature tuning. I found the synergy with my n6ii + E02 wonderful as that board delivers a nice wollop of power. The sabre chip in the E02 does provide nice dynamics but to my ears it adds a slight glare to the sound, which tends to exaggerate sibilance in some recordings. To mitigate this I dropped 8 and 16k each by 1.5 DB on my EQ and it eliminated the problem entirely. The Elysium seems to respond nicely to EQ though admittedly this is the only EQ I have tried.

Bass
Here we have easily the most controversial aspect of the Elysium’s presentation—the bass. This is also the element most likely to trip up someone’s subjective preferences and needs. Bass is like spiciness in foods—we all have different preferences and tolerances. What is overwhelming for some will be barely register as worthwhile to someone else. As such everything I say about the bass response on the Elysium could be the exact opposite to the experience of the next person who hears it, that’s just how it goes. In addition to spiciness in food bass response also a bit like sugar in food-- sometimes we can get too used to too much of it, to the detriment of everything around it.

So how is the bass on the Elysium? To my ears it is ultimately very satisfying. It is impactful, well extended, sufficiently dense and nuanced—coming from a bass titan like the MEST I definitely notice a decrease in quantity of bass, but all the info is there and the quality is wonderful. It stands alongside the best BA bass I’ve heard. Think Andromeda in quantity but with better timbre, texture, nuance and a vastly superior surrounding cast. Anyone who is fine with the bass on the Andromeda plus, I would wager, at least half of those who aren't, should be fine with the bass on the Elysium.

The burning question on regarding the bass on the Elysium is surely this: will it satisfy someone who historically requires a DD and lots of slam? It might, and it might not—the key, I think, is how one responds to the topic of the next section.

The Midrange
The defining quality and ultimate the highlight of the Elysium’s sound is its midrange. When I first read about the driver configuration—namely a DD for the mids and the bass getting a paltry single BA I heard the news coldly and sadly…but now having had days and hours so far to fully sink my head and heart into the magic of the Elysium I’m prepared to classify its choice of driver configure a bold act of brilliance. It’s the execution of the mid-range on the Elysium that makes everything come together and justifies every concession and tuning decision to this point. Why is this so? To understand the liberating shock I felt upon coming to grips with the sound of the Elysium it’s important to understand my prior preconceptions around bass response.

Elysium aside all the hybrids I have heard to this date have opted to use the dynamic driver for the low end. This is because it has (presumably) been generally assumed that the best application of a DD in a hybrid is in providing a thick, resonant, natural timbre in the lows—which it certainly does. Mids, typically, are provided by generally-more-artificial-sounding BA drivers. The problem with this approach is that—in even the most skillfully put together hybrids—it always results in something of a timbral disconnect between the mids and lows. This problem stands out more in some hybrids than others, but it is always there to a certain extent. It wasn’t until I experienced Elysium that I understood that this approach is flawed and, in a sense, puts the cart before the horse.

A realization I have gradually been awakening to through my experience with IEMs is that the mid-range represents the emotional centre of the music. Voices, strings, instruments of all kinds…any form of expression most intimately connected with a human heart flows through the mid-range of the music. Since a dynamic driver, by nature, excels at providing a rich, deep, natural and organic timbre they are thus more suited to convey the nuance and texture of deep and subtle soul-felt emotions-- all of which, in music, have their fountainhead in the mid-range. Dynamic bass is indeed satisfying but just as it is rumoured that we only use like 10% of our brains it now seems to me, in light of the Elysium, is that we only derive a limited amount of what a DD is capable of bringing to the table by confining it to the lower registers alone. Bass can be exciting and hypnotic, but it doesn’t grip us by the core of our being the way a properly executed midrange can. What’s more is that with a dynamic midrange we get an astoundingly rich, naturally textured and alluring soundscape. Instruments and voices feel at times so natural, so alluring that they almost break the 4th wall and convince you they are right there with you—and it is on account of this mid-range voodoo that after a short time I don’t even notice the lack of bass anymore and find myself totally captivated with what I’m hearing. Ultimately the issue is that organic bass timbre cannot extend up and enliven the mids to make them feel more organic and natural, however the opposite is true-- namely organic, lush, natural mids can grip us so much that the perception of "naturalness" extends up to the treble and down to the bass, leaving nothing feeling disjointed in texture. It is for this reason that the Elysium avoids the timbral disconnect pitfalls of all other hybrids I have come across.

In most IEMs I’ve tried the mid-range takes second stage to the highs and lows. With the Elysium every tuning decision seems directed towards the aim of bringing focus, body and realism to the midrange. After a couple hours of listening, by the time my brain actually wrapped itself around what it was hearing that very first time I heard the Ely, the effect it had on me was little short of cathartic and the net result was that my idea of what is possible with IEMs-- the degree of intimacy and connection they could achieve-- was so broadened and came as such a liberating shock that it feels like something of a re-birth of enthusiasm for this hobby. It seems so obvious in retrospect. The midrange is the emotional centre of music. Why not give the DD--the driver known its natural, realistic and organic timbre-- to the midrange instead of to the bass which just thumps and never really has the capacity to convey anything truly emotively deep. The mid-range presentation of the Vision Ears Elysium has been a game changer for me and quite frankly I will have a hard time going back to anything less.



Staging and Technicalities
TLDR: Top tier in all respects. Stage could be a little wider. That’s about it.

In a nutshell picture an Andromeda with a more open mid-range, slightly narrower stage but improved everything else. The most remarkable and enduring thing about the Elysium is the openness and seductiveness of the midrange. Listening to song Get Lucky by Daft Punk and I was pulled into the song like never before. All the different layers lay effortlessly open, enticing and enveloping-- and with texture for days. Fever by Peggy Lee made me swoon. This may sound cheesy and contrite but through the Elysium it feels like I’m experiencing much of my music again, for the first time, and accordingly falling in love anew. Here is an IEM that doesn’t take any “ground breaking” chances with its staging, or novel midrange diffusion a la something like the Solaris or MEST— in the Elysium everything is precisely where it should be.

Comparisons



The only IEMs I’ve heard sufficiently recently to provide meaningful comparisons to are the Campfire Audio Solaris SE, Campfire Andromeda MW10/2020, Unique Melody MEST, so I’ll do my best to elucidate where I feel these respective IEMs sit with respect to each other and to the Elysium.

VE8
I don't have a lot to say here really as apart from a cursory demo to verify it was the same IEM I remember from January I haven't had any urge at all to touch the VE8 since connecting with the Elysium. That said much of what I am going to say about the Andromeda more-or-less applies to the VE8 as well. In brief: to my ears the Elysium is a wholesale upgrade to both.

Andromeda
I’m not going to start waxing poetic about Andro here—chances are if you’re reading this then you know all about the Campfire Andromeda. The Andro kind of came out of nowhere to become the de-facto reference IEM for much of the audio community—a status it maintains to this day in the eyes of many. Of the Andromeda people often say "nobody, not even CFA realize why the Andro is so beloved". Now that I’ve spent some time with the Elysium I think I understand the appeal a bit more. What both Campfire IEMs do to some extent is push the bass into the background to facilitate a more balanced presentation. Further, they both put a lot of stock in a natural and organic timbre. The Elysium, with its dynamic midrange focus, is really the next and most natural evolute of this line of thinking and it is for this reason that I maintain that the Elysium is the first IEM I have heard that constitutes a wholesale upgrade to the Andromeda..at least in terms of what I most love about it the Andromeda, namely its balanced sound, staging and capacity to sweep me off my feet and facilitate an emotional connection with my music.

Solaris
Like the Elysium, the Solaris is an evolution of the Andromeda-type sound only taken in a different direction—with the DD being used to emphasize the bass. I still love the Solaris and will probably throw it on every now and again when I feel like some more visceral bass…but the approach of the Elysium has clearly won the day for me. Again, it is the first IEM I've heard that is a comprehensive upgrade to the Campfire flagships in terms of balance, staging and emotional engagement. One of the things I've always loved about Solaris is how it pushes the bass to the background a bit so as to not clog out the rest of the sig...Elysium, again, takes this line of thought and pushes it to its logical conclusion.

MEST
The Unique Melody MEST is a technical powerhouse of an IEM, and a very enthralling listen. It goes for a similar level of engagement but via a different means. Where the Elysium grips you with it’s alluring and captivating mid-range and detailed sparkly highs—the MEST opts instead to grab your attention with the awesome display of deep textured lows, technical pyrotechnics and a chamber-of-secrets like head stage. The MEST’s midrange was to me its weak link—serviceable most of the time, but not the most forward, natural or, really, engaging. In this respect it is more traditional. If big bass and sparkly highs, and addictive staging tick your boxes more than an emotive mid-range then the MEST might be for you. I love the MEST and enjoyed my time with it but the Elysium is more to my preferences.



Wrap-up
The Vision Ears Elysium has, in a very short time, totally and completely won me over. The mid-centric presentation with its subdued bass was a bit weird at first, especially after days of rapid fire jumps from the MEST to the Andromeda to the Solaris, But once I upped the gain on my n6ii and just sat back and let the Elysium do its thing on its own term it wasn’t long before I was swept up in its beautiful textures and gentle nuances-- and the effect is still holding all these days later. Again, I was initially quite thrown off by what appears to be an almost homeopathic amount of bass—and I know of at a few people who did not get on that well with the Elysium on account of this. However the response of my own ears is that the comparative lack of bass frees my mind from being side-tracked by spectacle and pyrotechnics and allows my attention to fully engage with the midrange of the music, which is really its heart and soul. The greatest strength of the Elysium is that it lays bare the essence of what your are listening to...but not artificially as through raw detail and resolution, which can come off as sterile. Instead the Elysium forces you to forsake a little of the visceral spectacle and theatrics of a more robust bass response and instead, through a deft focus on a wonderfully alluring and textured mid-range, facilitates an intimacy with whatever it is you are listening to. Here we have an IEM that sees its role, not to draw attention to itself but to get out of the way, and let you connect directly with your music and to my ears. This connection, as mentioned earlier, is what I am ultimately seeking from the listening experience. At first Elysium’s driver configuration struck me as crazy. Now I regard it as a brilliant act of vision and daring that was brilliantly executed.

The Elysium has totally changed the game for me and is the first IEM I’ve heard that sounds a tier above everything else I’ve heard. It is, in my humble opinion, the IEM to top right now. Other than those whom I feel wouldn’t jive with its bass response I could recommend it to just about anyone. No IEM is "for everyone" but anyone who glosses over the Elysium and doesn't get to know it on its own terms before judging it is imho potentially denying themselves one of the, if not the, preeminent IEM experiences currently possible. I know that sounds like a strong statement-- but as my days with Elysium wear on my heart just cries out “this is the way”.

Vision Ears Elysium is a tri-brid IEM coming in a universal and custom version depending on your choice. It is priced at a whopping 2500 € (including 19% German VAT) and it has a lot to prove.


Sound quality for the price
Rating: 9.5 out of 10.

Build quality
Rating: 7 out of 10.

Value
Rating: 9 out of 10.


Packaging

The unboxing experience is truly striking.

If you think you’ve seen it all in terms of the unboxing experience of in-ear monitors, then think again. Elysium’s box is simply humongous, it has a magnetic closed lid on top, and it’s beautifully designed.

After opening the lid, you’re greeted with a platform which raises thanks to a lever mechanism. On the platform, you can find a beautiful round case made of real leather painted blue. It is a wonderful tool to carry your new hyper-expensive IEMs in.

Except for the case, inside you’ll find a cleaning spray and tool, a microfiber cloth, a 6.3mm jack adapter and a lot of paperology.

Overall, from the first second, you know that you handle a very luxurious and exceptional product, as the whole unboxing experience is by far the best I’ve ever had in an IEM ever, and I had a lot of them. Astonishing.

The cable that is included is made of 8 wire SPC 28AWG, and the default connector is a 2.5mm Oyaide jack. It would be good to change it to a now-standard 4.4mm or just a good old 3.5mm, as 2.5mm balanced is becoming rarer nowadays, and for a good reason.
Nonetheless, the cable is of very high quality, it’s comfortable to wear, and you won’t be needing to change it right away after the purchase.

Note: The price is 2500 € including 19% German VAT (16% temporarily due to Covid-19), so it is 2437 € right now in the EU, or 2100 € for international buyers (ex VAT).

Click to expand...

Over-the-top packaging, fantastic leather case and striking presentation – there’s nothing not to be amazed of.

Build quality

The build quality of the Elysium is good, but nothing extraordinary.

I had a tough time trying to write this paragraph.

The build quality of Vision Ears Elysium is pretty much flawless. It’s made well, there are no air bubbles, no imperfections.
Nonetheless, for 2500 Euro, I believe the materials used are underwhelming. The Campfire Audio Ara, which is two times less expensive is by far a better made product, with full titanium shell crafted to perfection. The nozzles are also made of acrylic, making them more prone to any kind of damage or even breaking. The whole body is 3D printed, which is great to see, as it makes things easier and less human-error dependant.

We’re not talking about a budget product though, and I really feel like the build quality of Elysium isn’t on part with their price. For custom, they’d score 10 easily, but as for a universal IEM costing 2500 euro, I really can’t rate them any higher than 7. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a very well made pair of IEMs, but competition is just better, even with much cheaper products.

Elysium surely look stunning, but in terms of pure craftsmanship, it falls short to many less-expensive offerings.

Comfort

The shells are big and flat, which may be problematic for people with small ears.

Acrylic IEMs tend to offer extraordinary comfort, but it has to be followed by a spot-on shape.
Unfortunately, it’s not really the case with the Elysium, in my opinion. The shells are big, but also flat, which makes them uncomfortable for people with smaller ears. The size should have been built more into the shell’s thickness. Yes, it would have resulted in the IEMs that would stick out of your ears a little bit, but they’d be much more comfortable to wear.

Keep in mind that it is highly subjective, though, but it just had to be pointed out. For me, comfort is slightly below average, as it is just too big. Nonetheless, I recommend getting them in custom version anyway, and that would instantly raise the comfort to an easy 10.


Tech

A very interesting driver configuration.

The Vision Ears Elysium is using three different driver types – a balanced armature for lows, a dynamic driver for mids and a dual electrostatic driver for high frequencies.
Yes, there are a lot of similar configurations in the market right now, but most of them use the dynamic driver for low frequencies and a balanced armature for mids, as it is believed to be the best scenarios for each driver type.

Vision Ears decided to switch things out tho, and it was a rather great decision, but it’s not perfect.

Sound

There are some things in Elysium that are simply put – the best in the market.

In terms of sound, these are quite polarizing for me. There are some things that I absolutely love, and I honestly think that these are right on top of the IEM market. It’s not all double rainbow though, as there is one element to the sound that is just not on the TOTL level...

And that’s the bass response. It is bloody fast, texturised, detailed and well defined. In terms of rhythm and information, it is absolutely world-class level, but it’s just a balanced armature driver.
Having that in mind, it lacks dynamics, punch and body. Maybe a dual or quad BA for lows could help it a bit. Right now the upper-bass is spectacular, but its the sub-bass region that is lacking a bit.
With great recorded jazz and acoustic music like John Coltrane or the acoustic album of Archive called “Unplugged” it sounds absolutely gorgeous, providing a very rich bass response full of information and textures. It’s not all about jazz and acoustics though – music genres like metal, pop and rap show that the bass response of the Elysium is a bit lacking in body and dynamics.
It’s a really polarizing part of sound because there are some absolutely stunning things to it, but it’s not perfect. These are definitely not the in-ear monitors for people who adore a roaring, full-bodied bass response. Everyone else should be quite happy with it though. And yes, we’re only getting started.

We’re getting started because the midrange is…just…oh my god. Neutral, natural, rich, controlled, vivid, mesmerizing, shimmering…well, you get the point.
These are one of the best, if not the best vocal performing IEMs I’ve ever heard period.
What’s very interesting is that I’d call it’s sound signature to be overall flat which could make them uninvolving. But no, that’s not true, not even close.
The midrange just takes you by your guts and put right into a music spectacle you simply don’t want to get out of.
I’m yet to hear more engaging, magical and hypnotizing vocals than this one. Antimatter’s Mick Moss sounds as true to life as I’ve heard, and I’ve heard this fella a couple of times live. Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks sounds just wonderfully alive and captivating. Everything screams real and purely beautiful, it’s a midrange to literally die for.

They do need a good pairing though, providing a great synnergy with the Cayin N6ii with E01 motherboard.

Treble is handled by this great dual-electrostatic driver, and it’s one of the best implementation of this technology in IEM ever. It’s smooth and crispy at the same time, vivid and delicate, providing enormous amounts of details and air.
They do tend to get a little harsh with some sources and in some music genres, but it is just because of a very transparent and neutral approach to the sound of the IEM.
Drum cymbals sound a little hot, but they are as vivid and energetic as it gets. It’s not the most natural presentation of the treble that I’ve heard, not even close, but it’s like a muscle-car, providing the sound which is forward and accurate. Thanks to that, every single detail and small musical plankton is reproduced very clear.

Now, let’s get into the star of the show – the soundstage.
It is by far the best staging I’ve heard in an IEM to this date. It is so holographic and immersive that it sounds almost like a top-tier open back headphone. The soundstage is huge, in both, depth and width, but the thing that will steal your heart is its imaging. The stereo separation, shapes of the instruments, not a hint of emptiness – it all creates a magnificent festival of sounds going around your head in a sophisticated and natural way.
I want to put it as simple as I can – if you value the soundstage above everything else in the sound – I think that it might be the best IEM you’re ever gonna listen to. Remarkable.


Summary
Absolutely astonishing sound that’s very easy to love.


Overall, Vision Ears Elysium is a true hi-end experience, providing a superbly engaging, musical and hypnotizing sound signature with an outstanding soundstage. If these were using a second dynamic driver for the bass, then I believe it would have been the best IEM that has been ever released. It’s not perfect with its slightly underwhelming build quality and comfort which might not be for everybody, but when they’ll sing, you’re just gonna forget about these minor things. Elysium is one of the best out there in many regards, and it surely earns to be called Summit-Fi.
Highly recommended.


Highly recommended.




Gear used during this review for the sake of comparison and as an accompanying equipment:

• Headphones – Campfire Audio ARA, Dorado 2020, Vega 2020, Andromeda, Lime Ears Aether R, Vision Ears EVE20, Bqeyz Spring 2,
• Sources– Cayin N3Pro, Cayin N5ii, Fiio M15, Cayin N6ii, JDSLabs Atom stack,

Vision Ears Elysium - Review

A BIG thank you to head-fi and Vision ears for inviting me to join the gear tour. This is an opportunity to review gear that I wouldn’t have been able to obtain financially or hear at local shops. So it is an honor to hear another high profile IEM. Here is my attempt at a review:

This will be a short and to the point review. To be brutally honest and blunt; I am disappointed with the VE Elysium.

I was disappointed that the tour kit only came with a leather case, the Elysium and a cable. I was hoping to get to experience the awesome packaging. I was also a little annoyed that no tips were included. I am a firm believer that manufacturers pick tips specifically that they believe make the product sound the way they intended when they designed it; sadly without the manufacture tips there is no way of knowing the intended sound signature. Getting back to the leather carry case, it is very well made, smells like leather and feels great in the hand; sadly it doesn’t offer much protection of the Elysium as it is very soft and mushy. But it does say quality when looking and holding it.

The Elysium design and look were also a disappointment. To me they look cheap for a $3,000 IEM. I get the same quality feel of materials from my ADV M5-1D which retails for $400. The Meze Rai Solo $250 absolutely destroys the Elysium on material quality and feels way more premium. To me the Elysium feels like a moderately priced chifi IEM, a major disappointment. Also, the design is terrible and not universal at all. The flat, stone like design makes the Elysium slip out of ears very easily. The short, fat nozzle and bore make it hard for tips to stay in place; I lost many a tip inside my ear canal during my review time. In my opinion, the design and materials of the Elysium just don’t cut it for an IEM of this price point.

Okay so the design, material and fit are lackluster, how is the sound. Surely the sound should impress considering the price point. First lets take a look at the technology and specs of the Vision Ears Elysium, see link below for more information from VE.

https://vision-ears.de/premiumline/elysium

• Tech: Four driver three-way hybrid system with a BA, dynamic, and 2 electrostatic driver
• Drivers: 1BA for bass – 1 dynamic for mids – 2 electrostatic for highs
• Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL at 1 mW
• Impedance: 16.4 Ohms at 1 kHz

Um yeah, the sound also disappointed me. To me it just screams overpriced.
Here are my quick thoughts on the sound.

Bass: The Elysium is bass light, has decent extension with adequate presence and detail retrieval. I was always searching for a bit more impact and more body, the Elysium just lacked bass authority. Bass can get a little confused on busier tracks but that is not as prominent as thought on first impressions.

Mids: Mids have nice vocal presence and are the highlight of the mix. The tones that they portray are engaging and pleasant for the most part. The upper mids are at times too far forward and can sound somewhat hot. But for the most part the tonality and timbre of the mids are pleasing. Very much so the best part of the sound.

Treble: Elysium has a weird treble for me. The lower treble can be hot and too far forward. Details are presented in a somewhat aggressive way at times. The higher treble lacks air and can sound muffled. There is some harshness that appears randomly but not as prominent as I thought on first impressions.

Soundstage and Imaging: Soundstage is average width but excels in depth and layering. The Elysium does a good job in separating and isolating out instruments and vocals. It is easy to dissect a soundstage with the Elysium.

Overall the Elysium isn’t a bad sounding IEM but I am not impressed because of the price. I don’t see any benefit in getting the Elysium when I can get a ADV M5-1D for $400 or Meze Rai Solo for $250. I just don’t get a sense of value with the Vision Ears Elysium, to me they sound like a mid-level IEM at a high-level pricetag. If the Elysium was priced at $750 I would be more accepting of them.

Gear:

iFi Audio Pro iDSD
Monoprice Monolith THX AAA 788
Pioneer XDP-30r
Sony Walkman NW-A105
Shanling M2x
Shanling Q1

Sources:

Tidal
Deezer
Foobar (local dsd and flac)

Songs:

https://tidal.com/browse/track/128215119 Sinne Eeg “We’ve Just Begun” - multiple layer soundstage

https://tidal.com/browse/track/77568002 Molly Johnson “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” - female vocal tone

https://tidal.com/browse/track/120190149 Leslie Odom Jr. “Under Pressure” - male vocal tone

https://tidal.com/browse/track/230625 Eric Clapton “Change the World” - soundstage layering and placement

https://tidal.com/browse/track/18016422 Yo Yo Ma “Ecstasy of Gold” - acoustic instrument timbre

https://tidal.com/browse/track/103401770 Adam Baldych “Spem in Alium” - acoustic instrument timbre

https://tidal.com/browse/track/31759874 Tingvall Trio “Beat” - piano tonality


https://tidal.com/browse/track/52532480 Pain of Salvation “Stress” - percussion balance

https://tidal.com/browse/track/98069001 Michael Buble “When I Fall in Love” - orchestral dynamics

https://tidal.com/browse/track/41094997 Patricia Barber “Code Cool” - sibilance check
Christian Scott “New New Orleans” - shouty upper mids

https://tidal.com/browse/track/116415078 Tool “Chocolate Chip Trip” - imaging

https://tidal.com/browse/track/1855831 Hans Zimmer “Why So Serious” - sub bass extension

https://tidal.com/browse/track/89386285 Marcus Miller “No Limit” - bass control

https://tidal.com/browse/track/77646106 Dave Holland Quartet “Conference Of The Birds”- bass check

https://tidal.com/browse/track/132139860 Ilhan Eshkeri “47 Ronin”- orchestra and bass dynamics

https://tidal.com/browse/track/79530261 Hans Zimmer “2049” - sub bass extension

https://tidal.com/browse/track/36764745 Queen “Somebody to Love” - dynamics, sharpness and transients

https://tidal.com/browse/track/114330493 Tool “Ticks & Leeches” - dynamics, sharpness and transients

https://tidal.com/browse/track/63345703 Galactic “Doomed” - sub bass extension

https://tidal.com/browse/track/3468730 Bela Fleck & The Flecktones “Flight Of The Cosmic Hippo” - sub bass extension

https://tidal.com/browse/track/118552925 Motley Crue “Dr. Feelgood” harshness and shouty

https://tidal.com/browse/track/55391456 Pink Floyd “Young Lust” - mid bass and soundstage

https://tidal.com/browse/track/72947822 Shawn Mendes “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” - forwardness

https://tidal.com/browse/track/85963727 Alexander Desplat “Ïsle Of Dogs: Toshiro” - dynamics

https://tidal.com/browse/track/107749134 Marina “No More Suckers”- sibilance

https://tidal.com/browse/track/75202408 Tauren Wells “Known” - male vocals and micro dynamics

https://tidal.com/browse/track/86330323 Kacey Musgraves “Wonder Woman” - female vocals

https://tidal.com/browse/track/84340438 Dennis Lloyd “Nevermind (Wankelmut Remix)” - soundstage

Playlists:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/3e4a5ae5-cde5-40fa-bbaa-4e432fe79e3e

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/0ba4d6a8-9d95-4f16-b79e-ef084a091d73

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/c5bc66bd-a907-4a0e-a976-9f02e75c126f

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/0e3aa4a1-ba36-44fe-aabb-d8976dc8a908

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/9e6568e7-8bdd-4ddd-964c-f5453d8761e8

https://www.deezer.com/playlist/744...utm_term=3243482124_1585500966&utm_medium=web

https://www.deezer.com/playlist/744...utm_term=3243482124_1585501023&utm_medium=web

https://www.deezer.com/playlist/744...utm_term=3243482124_1585502653&utm_medium=web

Introduction
Another week, another pair of high-profile, flagship IEMs for me to tear apart – my bad, review. Vision Ears is an IEM company based out of Germany, and as I understand it, they have something of a cult-following in the EU. I received two of their IEMs, the Elysium and VE8, as part of a Head-Fi tour doing rounds in the US where they tend to fly under the radar. I’ve heard good things about their stuff from the circles I hang out in, so you can imagine how excited I was to try these out!



This is where I plug my disclaimer that compared to some of the other reviews I’ve seen, this one is probably going to end up being more bare-bones. At the end of the day what matters most to me is, well, the sound. There’s a plethora IEMs that are all bark – price, presentation, and hype – and no bite. Read: They sound like garbage. And as I’ll discuss in this review, luckily the Elysium has the bark and the bite. Frankly, it’s refreshing to see a company that clearly knows what they’re doing, although I do question whether it’s worth it.

I received the Elysium as a part of a demo tour organized by Barra of Head-Fi. I am grateful for the opportunity, and as always what follows are my honest thoughts.

The Tangibles
The Elysium arrived in nothing more than its case, so I don’t have any of the accompanying accessories. Perhaps this is for the best anyways, as presentation can color one’s assessment. Some quick comments:

• I believe there are two cases available when you purchase from Vision Ears. I wouldn’t go for the leather one, it feels cheap and malleable. Grab the solid metal case, the thing’s indestructible – it’d probably stand up to being rolled over by a car. When you have this much money sunk in your IEM, they deserve nothing less than the best protection.
• The stock cable had no L/R markings on it. I couldn’t tell which was which, plus it looked like someone might’ve accidentally bent one of the jacks slightly.
• Great build quality on the Elysium itself. The faceplates are mostly clear, and you can see all the little drivers inside! It’s just really cool to see.

joint
Sound Analysis
Elysium takes a good amount of power to drive because of its EST drivers. All critical listening was done off of an iBasso DX160. Please see here for my testing methodology, test tracks, and more information.

The Elysium’s sound signature is what I’d consider a mild V-shape. In general, I find coherency to be rather good for a tri-hybrid sans the treble, and the Elysium is one of the more “musical” IEMs I’ve heard that manages to retain its technical chops. But wait, there’s a catch! Vision Ears has swapped a BA for the lows and a DD for the mids; two EST for the highs. Totally groundbreaking stuff, I know. So how does it actually stack up?

Starting from the low end, I should note that I have a preference for dynamic driver bass. So the decision to have a BA handle the Elysium’s low-end is a questionable one to me, and frankly, I’m not really seeing the payoff. It’s fairly snappy, certainly extends well with some weight and texture; however, it’s lacking in true authority. Is it passable, even decent for BA? Sure. Is it what I’d call good? Now that’s where the 64audio U12t enters the picture.

The midrange has been hyped quite a bit, and yeah, I can certainly see why. I find myself glued to it; it’s pushed back a little further and it just draws you in. I hear a warm coloration to the midrange’s timbre which I think gives it that natural, “musical” quality many enjoy. However, it’s not quite as fast with a DD running the show and the coloration lends to a lack of clarity. Coming off the likes of VE8, everything feels a little fuzzy. Mind you, I’m nitpicking, but again there’s clearly trade-offs to be had.

Moving on to treble…treble is interesting, it definitely has a different flavor to it than BA/DD. Strangely enough, I don’t think I noticed this on the Empire Ears Valkyrie which also uses an EST. I wouldn’t say it bothers me on the Elysium, but it feels a little too distinct which is probably only exacerbated by the lift in the frequency response here. There’s good extension and sparkle, perhaps a bit too much splash. Although this is where I take issue with Elysium’s coherency, it’s not setting off any alarm bells, so well done here.

Apparently, there’s source variance with the Elysium’s treble; higher-power sources purportedly tame it somewhat. Ironically enough, this has the exact opposite effect on the Empire Ears Wraith. Anyways, I’m totally open to trying other sources – it can’t hurt, and I’d love to hear the difference. The thing is, I don’t have access to said equipment being a broke college student, and it really begs the question: Is it worth it?

There’s a quotation from Spiderman: Homecoming, where Tony Stark says to Peter Parker, “If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t have it”. Stark asserts that the high-tech suit is but a medium to enhance what Peter already has; Peter needs to be strong even without the suit. In a similar vein, I don’t believe that an IEM’s ideal performance should be predicated on an expensive, non-portable amp or DAC. For one, it’s just not a very common use scenario, and for another, it eliminates a large demographic of potential buyers. As such, I try to judge IEMs on their merits devoid of said factors, especially when scoring.

Anyways, that’s enough ranting – let’s wrap-up by talking about technicalities. No issues with the overall timbre. Staging is fairly average, but I find that it has fairly decent depth, enough to make the image diffuse somewhat. Layering capability and detail retrieval are certainly above average as well. Speed…I don’t think it’s either fast or slow, it seems to be somewhere in the middle. In general, it’s a good enough performer – I’d put it around the $1000 mark – but it’s also not playing with the big boys.

The Verdict
The Elysium feels like an expensive flex from Vision Ears. They’re showing that not only can they switch it up (literally too), but they can also implement the latest and greatest tech properly. And to this effect, I’d posit that the Elysium appreciates more as a piece of R&D. It’s an instance of which a company is putting everything they have into a product with no expense spared. And really, there’s nothing wrong with that – these types of things are cool to see.

Unfortunately, this comes with concessions in the name of value. I tried spending more time with the Elysium just because I wasn’t quite sure how I wanted to frame my thoughts. This thing clocks in at $3200. Let me let that sink in – three, two, zero, zero. Hi-fi was never a value proposition, but this really is pushing it.

A quotation that comes to mind is “Pioneers get slaughtered, and the settlers prosper”. To this end, I get the feeling that while the Elysium is groundbreaking now – at least in its EST implementation – it’ll probably be eclipsed as other companies figure out the technology too. Your money is your money; however, make no mistake that $3200 is a lot to put on the line. I would only consider the Elysium worthy of purchase if the tonality sounds like your endgame, if supporting so-called pioneer companies is something important to you, and if you actually have the money. For all the fancy stuff going on with the Elysium, there are more technical, more “musical” IEMs for less. There’s better ways to go broke in this hobby.

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The product was provided to me free of charge for the review purpose in exchange for my honest opinion. The review was originally posted on my review blog, and now I would like to share it with my readers on Head-fi.

Manufacturer website: Vision Ears. Available for sale directly or from authorized retailers.

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Intro.

Introduced over a year ago as part of their Premium Line, Vision Ears Elysium (Ely) is not exactly the new kid on the block. But due to its popularity and overwhelming feedback from audiophiles who tried the universal demo of their original custom model, recently, Ely got re-introduced as universal version. I never had a chance to test any other VE model, though heard great things about their popular VE8 and ultimate Erlkonig. And, I can’t really say that VE flew under my radar, but I was still hesitant about custom versions due to my not-so-ciem-friendly earcanal shape of left ear.

After a number of questions from my readers about Ely and being curious about their design choice of BA/DD for bass/mids, I finally contacted Amin, one of the co-founders of Vision Ears (you have to read their Handcrafted in Cologne story how VE started). It took a while before I got my ear impressions done which worked out to my advantage since then I was made aware about upcoming universal version and finally had a choice. It was a bit of a torture waiting for the final product packaging to be ready before Ely could be shipped, but the wait was definitely worth it! Now, after spending a few months with Ely, I’m ready to share about my experience!



Unboxing and Accessories.

I didn’t understand at first why Amin asked me if I want to receive Ely by itself or wait for the final packaging. But after reading other impressions describing unboxing of VE products as an experience you don’t want to miss, I decided to be patient.

When the box arrived, it was surprisingly big. We are talking about 14” x 8.5” brown cardboard box, probably 2-3 times bigger than what you would expect for universal pair of IEMs. The cardboard packaging kind of reminded me of boxes you get with laptops. It had their own branded packaging sealing tape around it, a printed label with product info and my name, and a side pocket with a handwritten warranty card and confirmation of 2-year warranty from the date of purchase. One interesting detail, the inner flaps of the box were cutout just enough to have a clearance around magnetic latch of the product box.




Inside, you get the actual product box with a truly jaw dropping giftbox presentation: from silver ELYSIUM print on each side to a glossy top cover with a weaving pattern (kind of reminding me a bit of Ely’s faceplate artwork) and magnetic latch with VE VISION EARS label holding both sides of the top cover together. But the real Wow-factor is when you open the halves of top cover which brings up the suspended inner tray with “Purity of Sound” printed on the side and the rest of the goodies inside of it. The effect of raising the suspended tray was very clever, making me forget for a second about the actual IEMs.

From the top you can see Ely on display of a sturdy board cutout with a cable wrapped around it. Next to it was another compartment with additional accessories, such as 3 pairs (S/M/L) of SpinFit CP145 eartips, 3 pairs (S/M/L) of EPros horn-shaped tips, microfiber cloth, 6 wax-stop replacement meshes, Thank You card with a detailed info about EST drivers used inside Ely, and a VERY detailed manual booklet.

With a top tray removed, at the bottom you will find VE branded round blue leather carry case with ELYSIUM model name stamped inside, a matching blue leather snap-button cable tie with a stamped VE logo, and a cotton VE branded draw-string cotton bag. The top cover of the leather carry case also had a weaving pattern reminiscent of Ely’s faceplate artwork design.



As many of my readers aware, I do enjoy talking about unboxing experience of products I review because from my discussions with manufacturers I know how much effort they put into packaging. Plus, it is always helpful to know what accessories are included stock with a product. VE unboxing experience was unlike anything else I have seen to date. Period.



Cable.

Ely comes with a nice-looking premium silver-plated copper custom cable. The cable has 8 SPC 28awg thick conductors with a clear soft shielding. The main part of the cable has a tight square braid, yet the cable is still soft and flexible. Above the split, you have each side with a looser 4 wire braid going to a 2pin connector with a pre-shaped clear heat-shrink earhook.

The cable comes standard with gold-plated 2.5mm OYAIDE balanced connector plug with a nice diamond cut grip. The y-split is small and round, with a matching silver finish like in a plug, and with VE logo and “Made in Germany” printed on the back. Chin-slider is a tight clear rubbery piece. The housing of 2pin connectors is like two small silver bullets with an indent id ring on the left side and the actual 2pin connector designed specifically for non-recessed socket of Ely.



The cable connected to Ely shells was very tight out of the box and it took me a little bit of force to separate it, until a few reconnects later it loosened up when I started my cable rolling which I’m going to cover later after the sound analysis section.

It's a nice lightweight non-microphonic cable, and my only wish here would have been for a matching 3.5mm and 4.4mm adapters, perhaps something similar to DDHiFi adapters.



Design.

Since I’m reviewing universal version of Ely, I didn’t have to go through VE on-line Configurator tool for CIEM models where you can customize the shell color, logo, etc. With universal Ely you get instant gratification of their signature design with a clear transparent shell and a special unique faceplate with a weaving blue line pattern. Ely’s acrylic shell with its lacquer layer finish doesn’t look like a typical generic universal design, and instead looks more like custom model.



The shape of the shell is flat and fits comfortably in the concha area of the ear. Depending on eartips selection which going to control the insertion depth among other things, you can get the shell to sit nearly flush in your concha area. While I never tested Ely demo before, a number of people mentioned that universal Ely shell is nearly identical to their demo of custom model. And that makes sense because the ergonomics of the demo design was intended to give you the sound and the experience of the custom version. And just like with a demo, universal design has a thicker nozzle to use with eartips. Plus, at the tip of the nozzle you will find a replaceable ear-wax mesh screen with extra spares included with accessories.

The clear shell gives you inside look of the driver arrangement where you will find a 3-way tri-hybrid system with 4 drivers on each side: BA (lows), DD (mids), and dual EST (highs). The dual EST driver with a common separate voltage transformer is most likely by Sonion, but in my opinion the most interesting part of the design was the switch between BA and DD. Hybrid models typically have Dynamic driver bass and Balanced Armature mids/highs. Here, VE decided to use BA drivers for lows and DD for mids.

The selection and the tuning of BA bass driver felt almost like listening to a dynamic driver with a speed of BA driver. The natural tonality of dynamic driver mids was shaped with a help of VE’s exclusively designed HALC (high-precision acoustic leveling chamber) which you can see surrounding the DD inside the clear shell. And for course, the vivid presentation of highs was courtesy of dual EST drivers.

I will dive into more intimate sound description details in the next section of the review.



The fit.



Sound Analysis.

I analyzed Ely sound performance paired up with LPGT while playing a variety of test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Galantis “Hunter”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Dua Lipa “Love again”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”. I had about 150hrs of burn in before I started with a critical sound analysis.

I find Ely to have a natural revealing tonality with a balanced w-shaped signature and impressive timbre accuracy when it comes to both natural and synthesized instruments as well as male/female vocals. I have used "natural revealing" in sound description before, but my experience with Elysium gave it a whole new meaning. Typically, I would consider tonality to be natural when it is more organic, smoother, not too thin or too thick. But it also means that smoother tonality will have to compromise retrieval of details and the level of clarity. Revealing, on the other hand, often refers to bright, micro-detailed colder sound which shifts its focus toward a more analytical performance.

Natural revealing is a combination of both where manufacturer tries to find a perfect balance between two extremes. In my opinion and based on how I'm hearing it, VE hit the jackpot with Ely tuning. Using three distinct building blocks of BA bass, DD mids, and dual EST treble, they managed to establish a perfect Yin and Yang balance of both, natural and revealing tunings.

Due to a nature of universal design, bass quantity will seriously dependent on the selection of eartips size and type which also happens to be quite subjective due to individual ear anatomy. My large earcanals got lucky with the included stock SpinFit CP145 large tips that enable me to hear a deep textured sub-bass rumble, and we are talking about not just sub-bass quality by also quantity. Mid-bass is fast and its decay is shorter and well controlled, typical of BA driver performance, but the level of sub-bass rumble was a pleasant surprise, definitely not what I would expect from BA driver since its sub-bass performance reminded me of DD. The bass is not too elevated, though I do hear it to be boosted, nicely extended, and well controlled.

And speaking of DD, that's where mids come into play. It was a very bold decision to switch BA and DD in the driver config of Ely, and it paid off. Mids here is what gives Ely's tuning its natural tonality. And it is not just the quality of mids tuning, but also its presentation, without being pushed too forward or too back. Lower mids are a little above neutral, giving just enough body for instruments and vocals to sound full and natural. Upper mids are clear, detailed, layered, but without too much "air" between the layers. It has just enough for a perfect layering and separation of the sounds.

Treble is vivid, vibrant, detailed, with a well-controlled level of clarity and definition which despite its more revealing nature still keeps it natural and airy. That was another interesting phenomenon where you almost expect treble to be bright and harsh, but instead it is very detailed and vivid and still well controlled. Again, have to pay close attention to eartips selection where I found eartips with wider bore opening or softer cap to make treble sound harsher and even sibilant to my ears.

Despite tri-hybrid design with BA/DD/dual-EST drivers, overall tuning is surprisingly coherent, with all drivers working in a nearly perfect unison.

Soundstage is wide and deep, approaching holographic level. But I also found an interesting phenomenon with imagining and positioning of instruments and vocals. Imaging has a good placement of instruments and vocals with a very accurate and convincing positioning allowing to pin-point every element in the song. The imaging is nearly 3D, putting you as a listener right in the middle, surrounded by the sounds. But, in a number of tracks I found vocals to be closer to me, giving them a little more intimacy. It wasn't like that in every track, but some had vocals placed closer to me while the rest of instruments where spreading further out. Part of it was also related to eartips selection.

Of course, isolation will be eartips depended as well, but in general Ely felt like a custom CIEM in my ears with a very secure fit and excellent sound isolation.



Eartips selection.

As I already mentioned, eartips selection plays a very important role in Ely's sound-shaping.

SpinFit - fast elevated bass, transparent natural mids, vivid controlled treble.

EPros Horn-shaped - while these included eartips might work with some other IEMs, here it was clearly a wrong choice since the diameter of inner core was too small and required some effort to stretch these over the nozzle, and even with Large size pair, the soft rubber cap killed the seal and attenuated the bass. Personally, I would not recommend these with Ely.

AZLA Sedna - fast elevated bass, transparent natural mids, vivid controlled treble.

JVC Spiral Dots - fast neutral bass, more transparent mids, extra vivid bright treble.

Final Type-E - neutral lean bass, more transparent brighter mids, very vivid treble.

Symbio F - more elevated balanced bass, transparent natural mids, clear natural treble.

I was going back and forth between AZLA Sedna, SpinFit CP145, and Symbio F. I love isolation and grip of Sedna, but after a while my ears got a little sore since I preferred to use larger eartips and the nozzle of Ely is also quite thick. CP145 spent more time in my ears since its olive-shaped tip wedged more comfortably into ear canal, but treble was a little brighter. With Symbio F (foam) tips I had to step down to Medium due to larger size of Ely's nozzle, but it also gave me the most natural and less aggressive treble response, while still keeping natural organic mids and deep sub-bass rumble. Symbio F losses a little bit of air in sound, but having more natural less harsh treble was a big plus. But I still continue to switch between these three.



Comparison.

The comparison was done using Ely with a stock 2.5mm SPC cable with DDHiFi 4.4mm adapter and LPGT source, volume matched in every comparison.

Ely vs 64 Audio U18t - Ely soundstage is wider, creating a more holographic spacing, while both have the same soundstage depth. When it comes to bass, Ely has more sub-bass rumble, while U18t mid-bass is just a little bit faster and with noticeably less sub-bass. Mids is where I hear the biggest difference, with Ely being more organic and natural, while U18t mids/vocals being leaner, brighter, and a little colder/dryer. Despite a comparison of EST vs Tia/BA driver, treble is actually quite similar, vivid, crisp, and airy. But because of a bigger contrast between uppers mids and treble, Ely's treble sounds a little brighter and a bit more aggressive in comparison to U18t where brighter upper mids are more in line relative to its crisp lower treble. (U18t used w/EA Leo II cable).

Ely vs 64 Audio Fourte - very similar soundstage expansion between these two IEMs. With bass, both have a similar sub-bass rumble, even a similar level of sub-bass quantity, but mid-bass has more impact and more punch in Fourte. Mids are different between these two, with Ely being more organic, more natural, and with closer presentation, while Fourte mids/vocals being a little more distant and not as natural, more colored in tonality. (Fourte used w/PlusSound PPH8 cable).

Ely vs FirAudio M5 - Soundstage expansion between these two IEMs is very similar. The biggest difference here is in bass. M5 bass has a noticeably bigger slam with more elevated sub-bass and more mid-bass impact. Mids have a similar tonality, with Ely being just a little more organic, more natural. But the presentation of mids is a little different with M5 pushing them further out of our head, while Ely bringing them closer. Despite each one using similar Sonion EST drivers (M5 single, Ely dual), treble tuning is a little different with Ely being more vivid and a little more elevated, while M5 being crisp but less elevated and with a little less sparkle. Maybe dual driver config has something to do with it. (M5 used w/Scorpion 8-core SPC cable).

Ely vs Empire Ears Wraith - Ely soundstage width is more expanded between these two. In comparison of bass, they trade with each other, Ely has a deeper sub-bass while Wraith has a punchier mid-bass. Mids are a little different here as well, with Ely being more organic, more natural, and with closer presentation, while Wraith mids/vocals being more distant with a brighter and not as natural tonality. Also, Ely's treble has a more vivid definition while Wraith treble is a little smoother in comparison. Wraith sound improves with a powerful amp source, but my comparison here was done using LPGT (Wraith used w/EA Cleopatra cable).

Ely vs Noble K10UA - Ely soundstage width is a little more expanded. When it comes to bass, K10UA has a little more impact with both sub-bass and mid-bass being relative lifted in comparison to Ely. Mids of K10UA are more revealing, dryer, and more distant in comparison to smoother and more natural mids/vocals of Ely. With treble, both have a vivid crisp treble, but K10UA treble is brighter and splashier in comparison to Ely. (K10UA used w/stock SPC cable).



Pair up.

Ely has 16.4 ohm impedance and a bit lower 105dB sensitivity, but I still found it to be very efficient and easy to drive from any portable source I tried it with, though I did have to push volume about 10 clicks louder.

Lotoo LPGT - natural revealing tonality with deeper sub-bass rumble, faster mid-bass, natural organic layered mids, crisp natural treble (baseline).

Cayin N6ii w/E02 - still a natural revealing tonality, but upper mids and treble were a little bit brighter, especially treble and vocals were a little bit thinner.

A&K SP2000 SS - similar to LPGT, with a natural revealing tonality, punchy bass, natural organic layered mids and vocals, and while treble sounds natural it has a little more sparkle and air.

Sony WM1Z - very similar tonality and sound presentation as LPGT, but here the bass goes deeper with a little more rumble and mid-bass is a touch more elevated.

HiFiMan R2R2000 Red - this pair up threw me off-guard because Ely sounded very different here. The sound was very smooth and warm and not as revealing as in any other pair up. It was not a bad pair up, but it was just too dark for my taste.

iBasso DX220 MAX - very similar tonality and sound presentation as LPGT, but with a wider soundstage and a slightly more textured analog tonality of mids.

L&P P6 - in this pair up the signature became a little more mid-forward, with less sub-bass rumble and more forward presentation of mids/vocals. Also, treble was a little crisper.

In general, with an exception of two R2R DAPs (P6 and R2R2k), the pair up with all DAPs was relatively consistent with just a small variation where I actually like LPGT, WM1Z, and MAX the best. Surprisingly, R2R2k Red tonality was completely off, and P6 (R-2R DAC) signature changed a bit as well.



Cable rolling.

I’m aware that some people don’t believe in cables and have very strong opinions about it. It's not my intention to trigger the argument, and instead I would like to share what I hear during my testing. What makes sense to me, a metal wire is a material with physical properties of resistivity, conductivity, purity, and unique geometry, all of which put together act as a filter between your source and headphones. Variations of these physical properties can affect the conductivity of analog signal, resulting in a sound change, from a subtle to a more noticeable level. If the talk about cables upsets you, please skip this section.

Effect Audio Leo II octa - adds a little more bass punch and a little more body in mids, and a touch smoother treble.

Dita OLSO - mids and treble are a lot of smoother, great organic transformation, but some resolution is lost.

Satin Audio Athena - nearly identical to Leo II octa, with a little more bass, and a touch smoother treble.

PlusSound PPH8 - tighter sound with faster bass, more transparent mids, and natural sparkly treble.

Effect Audio Code 51 - adds more sub-bass rumble and makes bass faster, more transparent and more forward mids, natural sparkly treble. Reminds me of PPH8 transformation, but mids are more forward and more focused.



Conclusion.

For those who might think that a title of this review “Get lost in music” sounds too cliché, it actually does describe my experience of listening to Elysium from the time I got it out of the box. From the dictionary, Elysium means a happy and blessed afterlife, literally saying that it can give you a feeling of “dying and going to heaven”. I really did get lost in music every time I sat down to analyze Ely’s sound, realizing an hour later that I didn’t take any notes and instead was skipping through my favorite songs or switching between different DAPs to hear the pair up or just eartips/cable rolling. After all, why worry about afterlife Elysian Fields, when you can enjoy the sound now and be able to share it with friends since this is a universal pair of IEMs.

I have been testing and reviewing a lot of high-end IEMs, and sometimes feel jaded listening to another flagship earphone. With Ely it was a different and quite refreshing experience. I don’t know if Vision Ears reinvented the wheel by switching BA driver for the bass and Dynamic driver for the mids, and dual EST treble drivers are no longer a rarity. But Ely’s tuning was done so well! A natural tonality that hits the sweet spot with realistic timbre of instruments and vocals (thanks to DD mids) and vivid details without adding too much harshness (thanks to dual-EST) and a bassline foundation with textured analog rumble (surprisingly good for BA lows). I guess the quality of German Engineering doesn’t just apply to cars, but also to a fine-tuned sound!

Vision Ears Elysium ($3140usd): What comes after a triple? A homerun!

VE Elysium website: https://vision-ears.de/erlkoenig_en



Initiale:

The title of course refers to the number of different drivers within. The conclusion? Well when one hits it out of the park. I switched spots with @Ike since he had obligations and requested to move up. I was in no hurry. But once he started posting such gushy wordology regarding the liquidity of the Elysium, waxing lyrical replete with platitudes and such, I became angry. That was MY spot he took, and I simmered, stewed & smoldered…OK actually, I did not and enjoyed reading his diatribe as it inched closer to my time. He lamented that the critter(s) were leaving his fair state of Kentucky and making the brief safe trip to Missouri at the end of his time, but to be honest…his loss is my gain!

I am thoroughly happy that Ike enjoyed his time with an astounding pair of IEM’s known the world for being amongst the very best, and will do my best to pay homage to others who came fore with reviews awash with voluminous verbiage paying tribute to the maker known as VE.

I thank @Barra for another wonderful tour without which I would not have had the opportunity to hear the pair. For that I am grateful as ever and will thoroughly enjoy my week (I’m on day 3).


Specs:

ELYSIUM: PRICE: 2900,- €, ($3499usd)
https://vision-ears.de/erlkoenig_en

• Tech: Four driver three-way hybrid system with a BA, dynamic, and 2 electrostatic driver
• Drivers: 1BA for bass – 1 dynamic for mids – 2 electrostatic for highs
• Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL at 1 mW
• Impedance: 16.4 Ohms at 1 kHz

Gear Used/Compared:

Empire Ears Legend X ($2299)
Vision Ears VE8 ($2544)
Clear Tunes Monitor Da Vinci X ($2499)

Cayin N6 mk2
MBP/iFi iDSD Pro

Songlist:

Joey Alexander-Warna album and others
Mark Knopfler-Laughs And Jokes And Drinks And Smokes
Santana w/ Mana- Corazon Espinado
twenty one pilots album, Trench
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Big Head Todd & The Monsters-Beautiful World
Mark Knopfler-Down The Road Wherever

Unboxing:

Since both IEM’s came only wrapped in their respective carrying case, I felt a tinge of that smoldering anger again, since I had read about the really cool unboxing affair, which is had by owners. I will admit while reading that in reviews, I envisioned the coolest cupholder I have ever seen, but unfortunately was not reliable. The early 2000’s Mercedes has the “blooming flower” cupholder, which would rise and “open its petals” upon the push of a button. I had a 2003 C-class loaner (often unfortunately) while my 2003 Saab 9-5 Aero wagon was being worked on, and the look on mine and my brother-in-law’s face was pure mechanical ecstasy. He was a mechanic at heart, and a damn good one (RIP), and we proceeded to take turns pushing the button over and over, haha. Anyway, from what I hear the unboxing comes with a “rising platform,” which would give the owner a similar whimsical fancy I would imagine.



So, alas, my “joyous unboxing” was limited to opening the small USPS Priority box and pulling both cases out. It was still neat to see that both made it just fine. Much has been written about the excellently cool case of the Elysium, likening it to a blue of oceanic variety, lined with the finest “Corinthian leather” or whatever. I do like the case, but if I’m going to spend 3-grand on an IEM, I would expect a better case. One, which I would not have to worry about being crushed were I foolish enough to venture on commuter lines with, much like the VE8 or Legend X. TOTL means case, as well. Again, I like the case, but it is flimsy and to me not what one should expect at this price.



Fit-n-finish:


As one would expect, the finish is exquisite. Most definitely TOTL stuff, and darn near flawless. I can feel the edges where the face plate attaches to the shell, but I do believe it is meant to aid in grasping the whole critter. It used to be that I did not like seeing the innards of an IEM, for the construction was usually drab, with wires and miscellany showing a jumble. Nowadays though, showing one’s guts can be pure art just like the VE8 or Elysium. I for one really like the look of the insides here what with the variety of color, shapes and logo-laden accoutrements. Add the aquarium-colored streaks on the backside, which all can see, and you have a pretty much stunning critter in which to look. Like a stunning Swiss mountain sunlit day, the innards are worth the look.



The Elysium comes with a premium white 8-wire spc 28AWG cable with a 2.5mm OYAIDE balanced connector standard. The 2-pin connectors have no typical red/not red markings, but the left side does have a circle on the connector, so one can easily (hopefully) remember. The Elysium only comes with a 2.5mm balanced termination but the kit also came with two excellent DD Audio adapters as well. So, using the Elysium in balanced mode in the N6ii was easy with the included 4.4bal jack. Note: this is only in the tour kit, this is not part of the Elysium purchase.



Using the included silicon tips, isolation was much better than I expected, providing a very good seal, without it being “vacuum-like” in the seal. Pairing the two, isolation was wonderful and the sound darn near extraordinary. Everything so far thus exuded TOTL, and quality. This is among the very best overall presentations including fit and finish of any unit that has graced my ears. Wonderful indeed.



Sound:

Typically, a review of this sort goes into the separates of sound, isolating all tenets so that the user can discern whether each sub-unit fits their bill. Whether the parts match one’s taste and then meld together for the finale. Here with the Elysium I do believe it is important to take a backward approach. Look at the overall, then discern the separates (or not at all because after the description one may not need it).

Taken as a whole, the Eylsium is stunning. Amongst the very best I have heard, period. From memory, the tia Forte might have emitted a bit better detail, but also a bit more antiseptic in sound. Mind you at the time, I thought the Forte was the very best “sound” I had ever heard, and still ranks among the very best. I did like the U18 Tzar more for that sound fit my tastes better. And here I would rank the Elysium as a melding of the two 64Audio signatures. That luscious, sumptuous virtuosity of emotion, wrapped in the detail retrieval one would expect from a something having that precision Germanic influence. Think the bullet-proof solidity of a Mercedes wrapped around the street cred of an M-class BMW and you would not be far from the truth. Mind you both marques exude their own character, but a melding of the pairs determines an excellent character of each, defining what makes both great. A most definite whole is greater than the parts anacronym.




Some pick the Elysium apart for having mids that are simply melodious and clear, laden with the clarity of a Swiss-mountain summer day, but short on treble sparkle and bass reach. They would not be completely remised, but to me here is the greatest strength of the Elysium: the marrying of the parts to bring those “shortcomings” into strength of fit. On Warna from Joey Alexander, the opening drum take folds effortlessly into his initial piano solo, followed by the staccato of precision key stroke impeccably. I am new to Joey Alexander, but thoroughly devour all he has for they are precise, unimpeachable and emotive. I do find his fast-paced sound a bit tedious and immature in the Jazz vein, but that is the beauty of a world-class 16-year-old Jazz pianist. With sheer precision that cannot be taught, but bred, he drives Jazz into the modern South American swivel-hipped style effortlessly. Here the Elysium lays bare any fallacy that might be had within. And there is none. I can hear his fingers grind on each key. I can hear his bassist move fingers across string and actually hit the bass itself. This is extraordinary.

The young man is phenomenal even if he needs to “mature” into the slower paced Jazz piano setting. But to me that is where he melds his own style into the reverence of past. And the Elysium allows that style to exude perfectly in tandem with the music. Many “TOTL” IEM’s would barge their way in with their own style tacking target over the music, overriding the author. Not the Elysium. The perfection of sound, which emits from his playing matches the character of the Elysium quite well. Not overly warm such and the Legend X, but not analytically neutral like the Forte leans either. A modern mix of an excellent sound character, which gives the music the chance to show what the artist intends. I do thoroughly enjoy that character and applaud Vision Ears for making a stunning statement in the TOTL lane of the highway.



Not the widest of sound stage, but just about what one would expect with the character emitted. Thoroughly inviting and encompassing, the stage fits the personality of the Elysium perfectly. I will admit that on artist such as Tedeschi Trucks the sound stage does feel a bit pinched in the middle. Midnight In Harlem is such a wonderful song just to listen to, but using it to judge layering and instrumentation can show a devices true limitations. And here the Elysium does feel a bit tight. But, if that is the only shortcoming, then I for one can listen and “live with that.” The sound is superb. On par with the best I have had and heard. It is an extraordinary critter of top-class quality as one would expect (and hope) from the price.

If I had to break the individuals down, I would do so in a short paragraph as such below. The overall to me is much more valuable than the parts, but if you must…Bass is a bit shy to me. I prefer a weightier bass with better feel and punch. That said, the quality of this bass is as good as one can have. Tight, “punchy” with excellent quickness, and a nice tautness to it that I much appreciate. I do miss the decay of my Legend X though. Mids simply put are amongst the very best I have heard. Weighted perfectly (to me), with enough emotion to emit that sensuous nature when needed without being syrupy. Succinct, with excellent control and vocal representation show through like few I have heard. And I appreciate hearing the separation of the vocal into a distinctness, which allows vocals to come forth with impunity. Good stuff indeed. The treble comes across clear and crisp, but without being crispy, crystalline or thin. There is no feigning of hand here. Where some such as my CTM Da Vinci X present excellent treble, but with a degree of brittleness, none is had in the Elysium. It’s those darn parts working together again for the whole…



Comparison:


Vision Ears Elysium ($3140) vs Empire Ears Legend X ($2299):

After another excellent Barra tour of TOTL IEM’s, I took the plunge and purchased the Legend X. Not wanting to fuss with a CIEM, I “settled” for the universal and do not regret it in the least. That sumptuous, sensuous double W9 bass took me in cuddled in those boosom’s and caressed my soul. I do not regret it in the least. Matching my want, or need for a warm, rich bassy sound; the LX fits my listen perfectly. Even after hearing the Wraith and Phantom, I still held the LX in its highest regard. That bass is the best I have heard, even if some call it bloomy and bleeding into the mids. I do not care what others think, I love this sound. Listening the Tedeschi Trucks in this comparison as well as Joey Alexander reaffirms my choice. As good and pure, and wonderful as the Elysium is, I come home to those boosom’s. They hold me tight and tell me everything will be all right. And they would be correct.

But if I must, the Elysium has more clarity of sound. The mids come across as more controlled and distinct. There is no denying that the Elysium mids are exemplary. One in which all TOTL makers should shoot for, should their signature preference lean that way. In this regard, I am a bit jealous that the LX does not emit that distinctness. But in the overall sound, I still prefer the LX. The Elysium is astonishing, and emits almost perfection, but the LX has my soul.


Vision Ears Elysium ($3140) vs Vision Ears VE8 ($2544):

I will admit that upon first listen, I liked the VE8 more than the Elysium. And I would not be battered and feathered for that opinion, as many consider it one of the best TOTL IEM’s out there and responsible for raising other companies’ game. I would agree that it should be considered there and worth the challenge.

The first difference would be that the VE8 is easier to drive. It also has a brighter sound (to me), but not analytical. Just brighter across the spectrum. Using Tedeschi Trucks again, the volume difference on my N6ii is about 5-7 to attain the same volume. And no, I did not test it with my sound meter, just seat of the pants. I also feel that as good as the VE8 is, the mids take a more frontal approach to the mids than I like. I do really like the sound, but those mids would prevent me from raising the volume too much. Bass is extraordinary, but a bit untamed when compared. Deeper reach by a smidge, but with a bit of bloom; this keeps the “quality” of bass behind the Elysium. So, based upon that, who would like the VE8? Those who appreciate a forward-based sound, with crisp vocals and treble, which exudes more sparkle than the Elysium. This is definitely a more in-your-face sound. I really do like the VE8 and would consider it for my personal TOTL had I not have the Legend X in the stable. But when compared to the Elysium, the overall package just fits better with the Elysium.

I will add that on Midnight In Harlem, the sound is of a sublime quality that I truly appreciate. The stick of drum hitting is perfection, and precise. Susan’s voice is heavenly and appreciated. Wonderful stuff. Just not enough when compared to the Elysium.


Vision Ears Elysium ($3140) vs Clear Tunes Monitor Da Vinci X ($2499):

The Da Vinci X was pretty much a buy after a tour. I still do not regret it as I consider it my baseline “neutral” with a bit of bassy-note to it. Shoving all those drivers in it (all 10), the shell is quite small and fits very well. It is all metal and can be cold until warmed up, but the sound it quite good. The biggest difference between the two would be how the mids are presented. With the Elysium the mids are sumptuous and distinct. The piece that holds the signature together. On the Da Vinci, the mids are more brittle and forward. A bit piercing, they are not as delicious as the Elysium. But they are crisper and more detailed. Where the Elysium melds, the Da Vinci separates into distinctness. The Elysium marries all together, giving sound in the mids its own space, but works effortlessly together. The Da Vinci separates and isolates, allowing the distinct mid tone to show off individually. Not bad mind you and an excellent judge in which to judge individual sound character of music, and thus in comparison. But not as harmonious as the Elysium. I thoroughly enjoy the Da Vinci and use it much less than I would like, but it provides me with an excellent complement to the Legend X, and I do believe it really is an unsung hero of the TOTL talk. Just wonderful tonality on the individual level where the Elysium harmoniously pulls all together.



Sources:

I could write this in one sentence: The Elysium sounds wonderful with any source I used. Period. Using the adapter for the N6ii, the pairing is magical. One in which the term “end game” would be pictured in the dictionary. But of course, end game is thrown around like money to a professional soccer player during the transfer window…too often. Using the warmer A01 module, the Cayin warms a touch that distinctness of the Elysium sound. But I do not mind as it really shines with the music. Harmonious would be an excellent descriptor.

Moving to the iFi Pro iDSD/MBP/XDuoo x10t ii iterations, that warm, rich sound moves a bit further what with the tube sound emanating. The XDuoo is an extraordinarily clean honest sound in its own right. And when paired with the iFi, make for a magical sound. One in which I listen often. Combine that with the Elysium and you have a fantastic trio. One in which you could happily spend your hours while working and forget about the world. Productivity in that vein would increase markedly as the sound extraordinaire would emanate from your ears. You would thus win company productivity awards and promotions abound. Soon you would become company CEO as a result of the trio, and corporate would then purchase the trio for all employees, while you lead the company to the very top of the Forbes list, become famous, buy a Ferrari, and a house in Monaco and happily work from your ocean view. That would be an extraordinary tale were it true, but the sound to back that story up is legit, honest and true, so there’s that.


Finale:

My time is up, and I am glad. Why? Because the next lucky person will get to listen, while I remember. I will remember pecking out these words as music streams through my cranial and be glad. Glad that I had the opportunity to listen to an excellent pair such as the VE8 and Elysium. I had heard one iteration of a Vision Ears and it was good. These are truly excellent and deserving of top spot TOTL status. They cost a decent percentage of a good college education’s year. But that is the nature of this TOTL hunted beast. One in which we strive for the best. One in which some will get there, while others such as myself will only give a brief listen. And this makes me glad that I was given that brief window with which to compare to my other wares. There truly is not a winner here, but only differing purveyors of company visions. And that makes me glad.

I thank Barra and VE for the loan of the wonderful pair. They are wonderful examples of a company’s forward thinking, while still relying on the past. They are good, truly good and should you have the opportunity; do not pass it up for that listen. You will be glad as well.

The ELYSIUM is my kind of signature – Full-sized sound, great at everything important, and excels at mids with a natural, intimate performance. As a tribrid design – BA, dynamic, EST mix – it is among the new generation that is quickly taking over the performance audiophile market reaching new levels of performance. However, the new engine that has kicked up performance in detail retrieval and layering – the EST driver – has also been the Achilles heel among the new EST offerings, acting as the attention dominator. Not so with the ELYSIUM. Vision Ears has created something radically different with the ELYSIUM tuning in their ability to integrate the EST seamlessly into the frequency spectrum rather than letting the EST dominate the show.

Learning about Vision Ears
To learn more about the history of Vision Ears, you can visit their website at https://vision-ears.de/. As you can tell from their website address, they are a German company. The reason this is important is that while they have a wide fanbase in Europe, they do not have very good representation here in the US where I am writing this review. For years, I have heard about the VE8 from those in Europe that have been enjoying their custom model or those that have been demoing them at their local dealer. We are not so lucky in the US and have no way to hear what the Europeans are sooooooo excited about. We have just had to take everyone’s word for it. However, technologies have progressed, favorites that top the CIEM SQ lists have been replaced, but that darn VE8 stays near the vary top as long is it is part of the mix. I have attended a large number of CANJAM events always looking to hear this elusive VE8, but over the years I have had no luck. But the continual phrase continues to pique my interest always being described in a way that defines my perfect signature. Of key interest is audiophile detail retrieval, fun and musical, and extraordinary bass response.

So, I knew I had to own one or at least demo the VE8, so like I have done so many times before – I contacted the company to offer to host a US tour. The trigger for me was learning that they had a new model being unveiled – the ELYSIUM. I figured, nice – two birds with one stone. The tour can showcase the new tech/model while also allowing us in the US to finally hear the VE8……finally! With a little luck, I found they were interested, initiated the tour, received the demo kit, and POW…I am now a Vision Ears believer. The VE8 was better than I could imagine, but as a surprise, the ELYSIUM was even better.

The Vision Ears House Sound
Obviously, I am a novice here only hearing two models with the Vision Ears product line containing many other models with different signatures - so I am only basing this on the VE8 and ELYSIUM. However, their flagship, the ERLKoNIG is described as a VE8 on steroids so my description probably holds true for it as well which would make my description true for all Vision Ears top tier models. Here is how I describe the VE house sound:

• VE House Sound:
  • Full-sized: This is a front row or on-stage sound with an intimate tactile feel. Not congested or small, just full-sized instruments and voices – and this holds true at low volumes as well. Full-sized regardless of volume.
  • Volume Optimized: I tend to be sensitive to louder volumes quickly finding them offensive, sibilant, or painful. The full-sized sound described above allows me to hear the proper sizing even at lower volumes so I can keep to my lower volumes without missing out. The VE8 is more sensitive than the ELYSIUM to the volume dial with fewer clicks to play with, but still, singing next to me sound even at lower volumes. Turning up the volume dial, I get more detail and slam, not noise. This is my quality tuning test and they pass with flying colors.
  • Perfected Bass: The VE8 has perfect bass…it is just that the ELYSIUM has “perfecter” bass. This is the weakness of many CIEMs requiring a lot of volume to get a bass to sound like….. bass. Yet, many of the other top tier company’s bass tunings I have heard – even those with slam – miss the sizing, flavor, timbre of the instruments where the full-sized VE bass sound brings textures and emotion to the bass that I am not getting elsewhere. BTW, VE uses BA drivers for bass in both the VE8 and ELYSIUM. But it sounds like a very clean dynamic driver with both nice decay and attack. There is just something better about the VE bass than I am hearing elsewhere – it is just more effortless and larger while being detailed and integrated into the overall sound. My home speaker system is based around (pun intended) my Maggie’s and my dual subwoofers. This offers mids to die for and deep, deep, clean audiophile bass, with no mid-bass bloat. This is what I am getting from the VE house sound.
  • Musical: There is nothing boring about the VE house sound. It is very musical and foot tapping. The VE8 is a little more on the energetic exciting side than the ELYSIUM which is more mid-focused and emotional, but both are very musical in their own way.

From what I have heard in these two CIEMs, I have confidence that VE understands the sound that I am looking for and I will be watching them very closely going forward. Expect more US tours - if they allow me - as new products are released, and perhaps an ERLKoNIG tour as I wish to help share this brand in the US as it is really that good and I don’t what my Head-Fier friends to miss out.

Order Process
The order process was smooth, and the designer offered a lot of options. This was one of the easier CIEM orders that I have placed so far.

Impressions: Knowing that I was going to order an ELYSIUM, I had preemptively scheduled an audiologist visit and had some impressions created (VE likes closed mouth impressions past the second bend per their provided audiologist instructions) and shipped them out to VE. Per their request, I took some pictures first to confirm that they were good impressions before shipping which is a nice service that can save some time and aggravation rather than shipping bad ones internationally.

Designer: I cheated and opted for the house designed ELYSIUM, so I didn’t have to design my own. But that didn’t stop me from trying (and failing) to out design them on the VE designer (Designer: https://vision-ears.de/configurator#model=elysium). Give it a go and see if you can do better than my designs I came up with below.



As you can see from the screenshot above, the designer is state-of-the-art as you would come to expect from a top CIEM house like VE with lots of shell and faceplate options including support for your own custom artwork. However, for me there was just no beating this unique VE ELYSIUM specific design.



While I cannot speak to the standard wait time as my process was accelerated, my customs were produced within a week, and the delivery was overnighted – I can say that even selecting the accelerated production options at other companies, this was by far the fastest build and delivery that I have ever experienced and the build was flawless.

Unboxing
As you can see from the unboxing video below, the VE ELYSIUM packaging is exceptional. This was the best unboxing experience I have had and as you can see from my YouTube channel, I have done a lot of high-end CIEM unboxings before.



Contents
The contents were the normal affair, but the presentation was spectacular making it a box worth saving. The case was something new for me – round leather – which I appreciate a lot. This case is large enough to fit the CIEMs easily, even with custom cables such as my PW Audio 1950 cables or other larger options. The top is friction fit rather than screw top eliminating the pinch problems that can occur making them much easier on your cable investments. I would like to have this case for all my CIEMs. Another new accessory for me was a cleaning fluid to keep your ELYSIUM shiny and clean.



Fit
BEST CUSTOM FIT EVER - Did I mention that the custom fit was the best I have ever experienced? I have gotten good seals before in my custom at the expense of being tight and a sore ear after an hour listen. I have gotten comfort before at the expense of lost seal during activity, speaking, drinking/eating. However, VE has produced the perfect fit for me that is easy in, easy out, but with suction on removal, it fits so well. It is not too tight or loose in any way, just comfortable. VE has created the best fit I could imagine.

Build
This is a flawless build as you can see in the photos below – no visible bubbles, no rough edges, cleanly built internals. There are three bores, two large bores for the dynamic and BA drivers and one smaller one for the EST. The boreholes are recessed so that they are less vulnerable to wax collection. The size of the CIEM is on the larger side which I like providing more surface area to touch the inner ear adding to the seal. For me, the smaller builds tend to lose seal when I am active or chewing regardless of the depth. In terms of depth, like the rest of my CIEMs, they go to the second bend.





I should also point out this is a filled acrylic model, so it has a little heft to it as well as a more solid feel like they will last through drops or harder wear than normal. The filled models are supposed to eliminate the crosstalk between the passive crossover setup which may explain some this wonderous sound.

Sound Impressions
I could tell from the first second that I put the ELYSIUM in my ear and started listening that it was a special CIEM. It didn’t take any time to get used to the signature or time to listen through a number of songs to gather that this was performing at a higher level. Immediately, I could hear that this was a full-sized headphone type of sound with larger sounding actors in the well-defined sound stage. It felt like someone pulled me out of the nosebleed seats and brought me on stage. This is an exotic level CIEM when driven correctly that competes with the likes of the Abyss and the 009 in terms of sound quality. Like the title implies, this is the Abyss and 009 love child.

Bass
So, am I the only person with a custom ELYSIUM that feels that the bass is top tier exotic? Or is everyone else VE fans with other custom models that beat the ELYSIUM bass? I cannot figure out why nobody else is talking about that wonderful ELYSIUM bass? While the midrange is the start of the show, this bass does steal some of the midranges thunder. What is special about this bass is that it has such power in the sub-bass lowering the boom whenever it is called for and has huge rumble that you can feel. It never steps in the way of the midrange, but the highly detailed bass does add realistic textures to complete the wonderous midrange sound. Believe it or not, this is all accomplished by a single BA driver for bass – wow.

Midrange
This is the start of the show! WOW, best mid-range I have ever heard. When you read about the house sound above, it is all that – intimate, full-sized, but it is also euphonic and a little wet, emotional, and sounds great with all genres I have tried it with. This monster loves to scale as well. The better the source, the better it gets. This is juts a CIEM that you have to hear for yourself to be able to appreciate.

Treble
The other new tribrids that I have tried with EST have taken some getting used to before I could judge them. This means I need to listen for a day or two to get used to the new brighter sound quality before I can get past the new treble feel and appreciate the added clarity and definition. Before that, all I can hear is the treble as the elephant in the room. NOT SO WITH THE ELYSIUM. The ELYSIUM treble is very well integrated rather than being a detailed gloss over the top. It take no getting used to while immediately impressing with the added clarity and definition. The ELYSIUM tuning makes the mids the star of the show and offers a 4K 3D sound quality by integrating the superpowered EST and elaborate bass to offer a highly textured, natural-sounding, super resonant focus on the music, not its parts.

Sound Stage
While this is a full-sized headphone sound stage, it is not the focus of the CIEM. Placement is extraordinary and space between plus background blackness plays a role, but it is the natural being there feeling that you focus on – not the technicalities of the width, height, and depth. The most notable item in the sound stage is how full-sized it is providing great imagery for full-sized instruments and signers regardless of volume.

Timbre
As mentioned prior, the natural feel to the whole experience is exceptional which is enhanced by natural timbre. As mentioned in my treble impressions, there is no gloss or glare as it is integrated into the sound sounding very natural. I can hear deeper into the sounds offering that hit and sustain as well as the breath and taps on the instruments. Pianos sound like pianos and drums more impressively sound like drums. I am not used to drums sounding like drums.

Custom vs. Universal
There was a considerable positive change in the ELYSIUM signature going from the universal demo to the custom. However, I am a special case with a severe bend in my inner ear that make universals hard to fit/seal. My initial universal ELYSIUM thoughts was that it was a perfect mids-based/focused monitor that had perfect treble, but bass light. The custom version I felt that the mids were still a focus and perfect, but the bass became more like the universal VE8 - big and bold and full-sized - with a supersized slam and much deeper sub-bass. Makes me wonder how a VE8 custom would sound. So the custom ELYSIUM now has two stars in the show for me, the mids first, but not far behind - the bass which is my ideal bass with lots of textures and strong rumble down low, low, low. Now that leaves the fantastic EST treble as a bystander rather than the star you would expect given that it has an EST. Where VE is unique in their tuning of the EST is how it integrates into the rest of the frequency range for maximum texture and detail without making a spectacle of itself. This is true of both the custom and the universal.

Scaling Source
Another point of interest is how much the ELYSIUM scales. It is wonderful with my iPhone 6, but paired with my desktop Burson Playmate at 2 watts of power boosts the ELYSIUM into an exotic status competing with the 009 and Abyss sounding like their full-grown love child. It is really that good IMO.

• iPhone 6: Amazon HD Music is a new ap on my iPhone that has improved my sound quality considerably. From the standard Apple Music app, the ELYSIUM sounds great, but better on my better DAPs. The new Amazon app takes this up several notches and gets the iPhone closer to my dedicated DAPs mentioned below. In fact, the music discovery on the iPhone has made it my preferred method to listen the ELYSIUM on the go. Either way, the music sound full-sized from the iPhone, just more filled out with the Amazon app. But the dedicated DAPs are clearly better overall. Just wish that I had access to the Amazon music app with these DAPs.
• Calyx M: The Calyx M is famous for its sound quality implying that the 9018 is responsible. While the stats don’t speak to this, the amp is likely to be the bigger influencer burning up a giant battery in less than four hours to meet that quality output. The clarity of the ELYSIUM is expressed in this setup offer more detail than the Sony below. However Calyx did it, the sound is wonderful, but the Sony seems to pair better. The biggest reason that I chose the Calyx over the Sony for a session is that I really enjoy that volume slider that allow me to perfect the volume for each song instantly and to play the ELYSIUM louder than normal for short bursts.
• Sony WM1a: The Sony was almost sold earlier this year as it didn’t pair well with my CIEMs until I got the Legend X. Now the ELYSIUM pairs even better. Sony brings an overall warmer signature to the ELYSIUM that boosts the bass to match the mids – wonderful pairing! The Sony also brings a girth to the note and more resonance and textures. Ninety percent of my listening time with the ELYSIUM comes through the Sony DAP.
• Hugo 2: The H2 take the experience up a notch with a better DAC and AMP. The pairing is more in line with the Calyx M, but on steroids. The bass comes out more, the detail is at another level, and the sound gets fuller. However, as with the M the H2 brings out the clarity of the ELYSIUM for more of an audiophile sound rather than the more fun Sony. The problem with the H2 is that it is a stack that is not always convenient, so this is not as normal of a pairing as the Burson Playmate takes it up another notch if I have to deal with inconvenience.
• Burson Playmate: Going desktop, the Burson Playmate is my favorite pairing supersizing the overall SQ significantly and in a fun musical way that crushes the Sony. It should also be mentioned that I am employing the Amazon HD Music application as a source and running it through my Sonarworks True-Fi application tuned to my HD800 headphones that works well with the ELYSIUM signature. Playing through iTunes with True-Fi turned off brings down the sound quality noticeably, so some may consider this a cheat. Regardless, the Playmate drives almost 2 watts into the ELYSIUM 16ohms, the volume stays between 1 to 30 out of 100 steps. This is a lot of volume range for a CIEM with the VE8 toped out a 1 to 2 out of 100 steps. This shows how easily the ELYSIUM consumes power. I could probably turn the volume up to 40 to 50 if I was a teenager, but I like lower volumes so 30 is far enough. The Burson also employs a Sabre DAC, the 9038, but there is no bright signature here, just clarity and a very meaty textured sound. Pairing the ELYSIUM with the Playmate puts it into exotic territory allowing it to outperform all my full-sized headphones as you will see below. Having enjoyed the Abyss an 009 before on $10K plus setups outside the cost of these headphones, getting toward this sound quality with a $400 playmate speaks volumes to this ELYSIUM.
• H2/Eddie Current ZDs: The best pairing for the ELYSIUM that I have available at home is my H2 DAC feeding my Eddie Current ZDs tube amp. Yes, also coming through the same chain from Amazon HD Music. The ZDs tubes remove the clinical quality of the H2 pairing and add several huge helpings of fun. Again, addictive exotic sound quality that hits way above its price range. While I have not gone there yet, the tube rolling capabilities allow me to dial in the sound, even more, when I have some time.

Comparisons
As mentioned, the ELYSIUM is at a level that it competes with my full-sized headphones, so I included them in my comparison alongside my two other best CIEM – the 18 and the X.

• 64 Audio A18: The 18 is my detail monster and the one I judge all others. That being said, it has a variable signature with an M15 APEX module that is more analytical and an M20 module that makes it more bassy. It is also very tunable with cable rolling with my PW Audio 1950 cable making it drier and more accurate while the 1960 cable makes it very emotional and euphonic. In terms of audiophile performance though, the 18 has been considered top tier since its release and with good reason. Like with the X, the 18 is a very different tuning than the ELYSIUM making it hard to compare and again making a great complement to each other in my collection. Typically configured with the M15 audiophile module and a warmer copper cable for euphonics, the 18 in this configuration offers a warmish audiophile sound quality. Compared to the ELYSIUM, it sounds thinner and dryer yet wider detail retrieval. The 18 dices and slices the sound to hear everything, while the ELYSIUM stitches it all together with perfect integration to sound more natural to be heard as music, not the sum of its parts. So if I want to hear the minute details, the 18 is the go-to while the ELYSIUM is the one to go to for a long night of losing myself into the music. This is not to say that the 18 doesn’t have emotion, it does in gobs. It's just to say that the 18 can be a magnifying glass to draw you into the parts where the ELYSIUM draws you into the performance – there is emotion in both places.
• Legend X: My X has been my most listed to CIEM until the ELYSIUM arrived. Going back and forth, there are two very wonderful signatures that are very complimentary and different allowing both to sit prominently in my collection. The X takes the warmer side of the road making all music fun and rich. It makes mediocre music sound good. However, the dual subwoofers in the X are the star of the show. While they only show up when called for, my tendency is to listen to music that calls for bass when listening to the X because it is so much fun. The treble and mids and soundstage are wonderful as well reminding me of the EE Zeus when the bass is not called for so there is nothing bad to report for the X. However, the mids in the ELYSIUM are addictive and my focus right now so I have not gone back other than to compare. Back and forth both are mind-blowing, but the ELYSIUM seems to be getting the ear time right now. Another note is that the bass – yes one BA – on the ELYSIUM is a powerhouse driving X level bass quantity and quality to the down lows which alleviates most of my bass itch. It is very much a star on its own and a new way to experience bass so this is driving my listening toward the ELYSIUM as well. On the flip side, where the X makes everything sound great, the ELYSIUM is more accurate in its portrayal so bad music sounds bad. So if you like genres that contain poorly recorded music, the X would be a better driver.
• LCD2.2: The LCD was my first sizable headphone investment as I love that rich meaty sound. It is rich and fun, but very hard to drive. So there is no content on my DAPs, while the desktop options drive it well. So from a desktop perspective, the LCD has its merits, but the fantastic mids of the ELYSIUM are missed when going back and forth making me want to listen to my ELYSIUMs. Win for the ELYSIUM.
• HEX: My HEX is my favorite headphone to play through my DAPs around the house. It was top dog until the ELYSIUM arrived in this format. It offers a very nice tuning that is musical, offers great bass without enhancement, and have a very flat tuning to wring out every last ounce of detail. But its soundstage is narrow in comparison with the ELYSIUM. It has that same full-sized presentation, but the ELYSIUM is more engaging and has more emotion. The ELYSIUM is the winner here.
• HD800: The HD800 is my favorite headphone in my collection. It is optimized through Sonarworks and has bass boosted to hit on all cylinders. It has been compared to the Abyss given all its optimizations to get it there, especially when enhanced through my EC ZDs. However, ELYSIUM sounds better. In comparison, nobody, even the Abyss beats the HD800 soundstage. But the ELYSIUM sounds so much better that it is not part of the equation. The HD800 sounds thin in comparison and weak in the midrange. The ELYSIUM just makes the HD800 sound lifeless in comparison.

Conclusion
There is no doubt that Vision Ears has hit this new model out of the park. It is my top dog right now getting all my ear time and is beating out my full-sized headphones that should have a huge advantage. I would have no trouble recommending the ELYSIUM to anyone that was considering its purchase and have more confidence in this model as an all-rounder than I do with any other CIEM. Vision Ears has open my eyes to the possibilities and I look forward to hearing anything else that they add to their lineup going forward. They are really that good.

Introduction

The Elysium is a universal demonstration unit graciously lent by Vision Ears, whom I thank for their confidence. I'm not affiliated with Vision Ears in any kind.

Vision Ears is a German company based in Cologne that has been in the business since 2013 and whose reputation has been built on their old High-End flagships, the VE6 and VE8. Essentially focused on customs, Elysium are no exception to the rule and are only available in this format (except for demos). They belong to the premium range and are the announced flagship of customs. They are available at 2900€ and are the brand's first hybrid model. They are composed of 4 drivers in a rather innovative configuration: 1 balanced armature for the bass, 1 dynamic driver for the midrange and 2 electrostatic drivers for the treble.
The stock cable in 2.5mm jack (symmetrical) is an 8-wire 28AWG cable (unknown material). It is very flexible and allows you to really enjoy the quality of these in-ear monitors.
https://vision-ears.de/erlkoenig_en

Sound

Elysium signature is rather neutral with a small bass boost and 2 peaks well audible at the sweep at 4500 and 8000Hz.
Here are Crinacle measurements (uncompensated) to compare with the InEar PP8BB (with bass boost).



The bass is lively, well defined and with a nice impact. They are very close in quantity to what PP8BB offers but seems faster, and with a slightly shorter sustain. The decay is also quite short and as a result it gives a nice tension. Subs (20 to 60Hz) are present but all in lightness and less quantity than on Fusion or Trinity SS, and faster too. The Bass (60 to 250Hz) are comfortable and bring a pleasant rumble.

Low Mids (250 to 500Hz) is quite close to what PP8BB or S8Pro offers, that is neither too thick nor too thin. It is therefore quite analytical while remaining musical and lively. The Trinity SS are thinner and more analytical here. The Mids (500 to 2000Hz) are discreetly set back from the PP8BB reference positionning. Then they rise from 1000Hz in a linear way to the end of the Upper Mids (2000 to 4000Hz). As a result, it gives a more open, lighter and shinny reproduction than PP8BB or Fusion, but at the same time less piercing and tiring than S8Pro. In comparison, Trinity SS are even more open and bring more harmonics to the midrange. They can also be a little more aggressive on the Upper Mids although this is not a problem in itself because of their relative linearity of 2 to 4KHz.



The trebles provided by the Elysium are for me dynamic, fluid, very extensive, with a lot of detail, and they bring a lot of air to the music. But my brightness tolerance limit is reached because of the 8kHz peak. I personally can't take any more. The highs of the Trinity SS seem more natural to me, they are less extended and highlighted, and more airy. The PP8BB are more linear, shorter and duller.

The stage width is good without being outstanding. PP8BB and Fusion do better at this level. The depth and height are excellent and comparable to what the Trinity SS offers. This finally gives a very good spatialization with a sound scene projected slightly out of the head.

The magic square separation, transparency, definition and resolution is very homogeneous and completely in line with what is expected from a flagship at this price. A special mention can be made of the resolution, which is identical to that of the Trinity SS, and the definition, which I think is even a little better.



Pairing

Despite trying all my tips, I could only obtain a decent fit with double or triple flanges (ideal in my case) with a rather very deep insertion and large internal diameter. It is perhaps finally the closest thing to the custom fit.
Like the ItsFit Fusion and compared to the standard cable, the PW1950 brings a little more on all levels while keeping the initial homogeneity (this is really the characteristic of this cable). The PW1960 2 strands as for him changes too much the fragile balance of the Elysiums especially in the mids.

Final Thoughts

What we retain with Elysium is the airy sound and vibrant dynamic. We have a clear restitution, and whose chiseled balance combines both great technicality and musicality. This is a high-level proposal that is more than interesting for those with a definite inclination for rather analytical signatures.


"Resolution is the ability to individualize a voice or instrument"
"Separation is the ability to feel space between the various sound sources"
"Definition is the ability to perceive as much information as possible"
"Transparency is the ability to transcribe the nuances and subtleties of music"


My topic on Tellement Nomade here : http://www.tellementnomade.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=671123#p671123

Introduction
We’re now in a golden age of in-ear-monitor (IEM) design as new driver design technologies continue to enter the market. This, in turn, is resulting in a plethora of new products (and companies) entering this growing segment of the headphone audio industry. Among the recent innovations has been the release of off-the-shelf electrostatic in-ear drivers which has enabled IEM manufacturers to develop hybrid IEM products that use a combination of electrostatic, dynamic, and balanced armature drivers in their IEM’s, most commonly, electrostatic drivers for highs, and dynamic and balanced armature drivers for mids and lows.

Earlier this year at CanJam Singapore 2019, I got the chance to hear several of these new hybrid IEM offerings including the AAW Canary, FIR M5, Jomo Trinity, Noble Khan, and Vision Ear’s new Elysium. And although they all have some differences in tuning and design philosophy, it seems clear that another technological step forward for the hobby has been taken.

Vision Ears, an artisan company based in Cologne, Germany, has already made a big splash in the headphone audio industry over the past few years with the VE Series and more recently in 2018 with the ERLKönig, one of last years flagship IEM releases. The ERLKönig pushed boundaries with its silver shell, 13 drivers, and a four-way adjustable tuning switch on each earpiece. For 2019, Vision Ears launched their new €2900 flagship earphone, Elysium, at CanJam Singapore. Right before the show ended, I was able to finally get an audition, with Marcel, from Vision Ears, then taking my ear impressions. Fast forward a few months, and the custom Elysium arrived.




Packaging, Build Quality, and Ergonomics
It’s great to see companies paying attention to the fine details, and the packaging and overall unboxing experience with the Vision Ears Elysium is highly impressive. A large and beautifully designed outer box with a magnetic latch opens up to reveal an interior shelf which then elevates to reveal the Elysium in its carrying case one one side as well as accessories and paperwork on the other. The personalized nameplate is a nice touch and a reminder that this is a bespoke, luxury product. Very well done.





The package includes a ¼” inch adapter, cleaning brush, and Vision Ears branded cleaning fluid to help keep the surface areas of the Elysium looking their best. A beautiful two-tone leather puck case is included, with the top portion having a blue ripple effect. The case is flexible, with just the right amount of resistance in opening and closing, and is one of the best IEM cases I’ve ever used.



Aesthetically, the Elysium is a lovely piece, with the faceplate having swooping blue and green stripes over a transparent shell with the underside fully revealing the green-colored HALC (High Precision Acoustics Leveling Chamber) chamber, which is a proprietary design to Vision Ears, designed to tune the dynamic driver.

The Elysium is a four driver hybrid design, using a dual electrostatic tweeter for the highs, a single dynamic driver with HALC for mids, and a single balanced armature driver for the lows. This design eschews the more traditional hybrid setup of using dynamic drivers for lows and balanced armature drivers for mids. The supplied cable is a well built 8 wire SPC (silver plated copper) design. The cable is ergonomic, does not tangle, and comes with a nice VE embossed splitter.

Finally, the fit and finish of the Elysium is sublime. I had heard that Marcel was extremely gifted in the art of taking ear impressions and can only concur. The Elysium is the most comfortable and best fitting CIEM in my collection.



Sound Impressions
The Elysium is being used with the Astell&Kern SP1000 copper, Chord Hugo 2, and the Benchmark HPA4 desktop headphone amplifier, which allows it to scale to even greater heights. Some of the hybrid IEMs that I’ve previously heard have had their challenges with the integration of the electrostatic drivers, as these typically require a higher level of power. Not so with the Elysium.

The Elysium has a mid-centric sound signature with fantastic headroom and an open and airy soundstage. It’s a smooth, musical presentation but does not sound dark or overly warm. I would describe the sound signature as natural, with enough treble sparkle without being fatiguing, and a rich bass texture that provides an excellent level of harmonic balance. The highs are open, airy, and detailed in a non-fatiguing way. The timbre of vocals and instruments is just outstanding, among the finest I’ve heard in any IEM.

All of this results in an earphone that can be listened to for hours without fatigue and where musical enjoyment takes center stage. The Elysium has the ability to remove some of the sharp edges of less than perfect recordings but at the same time can truly shine with the best ones.




Sounds Impression Comparisons with other IEM/CIEM’s
Here is a brief comparison of the sonic differences between the Elysium and a few other IEM’s on hand.

AAW Canary (Universals)
The AAW Canary is another great hybrid IEM that was introduced at CanJam Singapore 2019. The Canary has a different driver configuration than the Elysium and uses two (2) dynamic drivers for lows, four (4) balanced armature drivers for mids and highs, and two (2) electrostatic super tweeters. The Canary has a slight V shaped sound signature with an even more extended and airier top end than the Elysium. Where the Elysium shines over the Canary is in the mids, and especially vocals. The Elysium sounds a little more natural and balanced to my ears although the Canary is no slouch and is another fantastic hybrid IEM with a different tuning and design philosophy that could be preferable to some listeners.

qdc Anole VX (Universals)
The Anole VX from Chinese manufacturer, qdc, has been one of the most talked about flagship IEM’s recently and is one of my personal references. It’s a 12 driver balanced armature design with a neutral sound signature that is just slightly warm, enabling a highly natural and engaging performance while retaining great musicality. The VX has a slightly shallower soundstage than the Elysium yet still is extremely layered and three-dimensional. The Elysium is the more relaxed and musical listen of the two, with the VS sounding more incisive with a flatter and more neutral frequency response.

64 Audio Tio Fourte (Universals)
The 64 Audio Tia Fourte has been one of the top flagship IEM’s over the past few years and was one of the first IEM’s that pushed boundaries in the market with their Tia driver technology. The Tia Fourte has a very wide soundstage, wider than the Elysium but less soundstage depth. Both IEMs have great dynamic range with the Elysium sounding fuller and more balanced than the Tia Fourte. The mids and vocals shine on the Elysium and sound more recessed on the Tia Fourte.

Conclusion
The Vision Ears Elysium is a fantastic hybrid driver technology earphone and one of the best headphone audio products released in 2019. The guys at Vision Ears have really found the sweet spot in their tuning of Elysium and the overall package of sound quality, ergonomics, and pride of ownership is outstanding.

It has an ideal blend of musicality and transparency, with a natural tonality and smoothness to the sound signature that just hits the sweet spot. It is also incredibly comfortable, enabling long and fatigue free listening sessions.

The Elysium is a must add to your shortlist if you are looking for a flagship custom IEM. Highly and enthusiastically recommended!

Disclaimer: this review is for the item I have by far the most positive bias towards because it fits my preferences so well that remaining objective is challenging.

Anyhow, Vision Ears is a company based in Cologne in Germany, and I've been looking at them for a while, but their current line-up didn't suit me all that well, with the notable exception of the Erlkonig on bass setting 1.

The purchase process was rock solid, I pestered the poor people at VE with photos of half their shell colours because I am a huge design freak and not once did they show how fed up they were with me. I also asked for a quicker-than-normal production/delivery of about 10 days less than normal (because of a trip I had upcoming) and they were able to do it, which really put the cherry on top of the ice-cream. I sent them two sets of ear impressions so they can pick whichever they liked better, they were approved, and that was that!

A few long weeks later the Elysium arrived, and I was a bit anxious because I've had a pretty terrible CIEM experience in the past and I was worried about the fit, any potential design mistakes etc etc. I am very happy to report, all my worries were put to bed, because the little jewels fit like a glove, and boy are they gorgeous.



To note here, the unboxing experience is amazing, you open the box and a platform kind of ascends towards you and you're there like wooooooah - huge nerdgasm moment. The accessories included are a round leather case, a cleaning brush, a micro-fiber cloth and some alcohol solution for cleaning the customs. I must say it is first time I've received a liquid like that and boy am I loving using it. I will certainly be ordering more of them to clean the rest of my IEMs, big big fan.

Design-wise, I picked the standard Elysium faceplate, with Olive on one side, and Crystal Blue on the other. I like blue and green combinations, and the transformer inside the Elysium is green as is, so it all came together pretty well - I am absolutely loving the end result!






Now, onto the sound - this is very much a mid/high-centric IEM, and there is no other way to really put it. The bass is there, the bass is good, but if you're a basshead looking for thunderous slams this ain't for you.

The lows: what they've managed to do with a single BA is pretty impressive imo. The bass goes quite deep, it is quite punchy when the song calls for it and decently textured. It's a definite quality over quantity tuning. Note, if you've listened to the demo universal, the custom does have more bass due to the improved seal and it's a noticeable improvement. To be perfectly straight with you though, I am far from a basshead, and pretty bass sensitive so any bass that isn't much in quantity will be bass that I approve of.

The mids: This is where the Elysium really shines. These is by far the most dynamic, detailed and engaging midrange I have ever listened to. Instruments come alive, vocals sound like they are dead in front of you performing for you live. It is just so obscenely good that I keep finding myself missing it every time I listened to any other IEM. The detail retrieval is on a completely different level as well, I'm hearing nuances and details that I haven't done on any other IEM before, including a detail monster like the A18t.

VE have definitely gone for a more energetic representation however - the background isn't pitch black, instead the instruments and vocals have a certain glow around them that really puts the whole thing together and gives the performance a lot of soul.

The highs: I'd like to say here that VE have made a great decision to use the electrostatic drivers for the highs instead of BA highs + estat ultrahighs. I really like the sparkle and treble detail and presence of electrostats, and in this case I think the implementation is on point. Extremely coherent, not overly forward, but plenty of extension when it is required and a very nice finishing touch to the DD mids. I'd say clean and clear above all else. At no point is it painful or overly intense, but it is also very very far from a dark IEM.

Technical performance: The first thing to be mentioned here is the sound quality of the mids. The texture and timbre of the sound reproduction is unlike anything I have heard, on headphones and IEMs alike. I was listening to a Utopia yesterday and it simply could not do what the Elysium does in that specific aspect. The soundstage is decently large, and very well layered - you hear stuff happening all around you. It isn't the widest I've heard though, you're placed centre-stage. Instrumental separation is on point, you can hear each and every instrument as its own thing - once again though, the approach is on the more energetic side and not like that of say, the Erlkonig, which is definitely cleaner.

Pairings: So far I've listened to it with the AK SR15, the SP1000M and the RME ADI 2 DAC. It is an IEM that definitely scales well with source, and is quite responsive to non-EQ tone controls. On the AK SR15 you can definitely feel something missing, the SP1000M doubles down on the energetic and engaging performance, while the RME provides a somewhat darker soundstage and increases the soundstage width and instrumental separation. I like both versions and they're quite suitable for home/outside use. Definitely use it with 8wire cables though, either from an upgrade or the stock cable, as I tried it with some 4-wires and it felt a bit closed/congested. I haven't yet received my upgrade for the Elysium (the Satin Athena 8 wire), but I'll make sure to comment on that once I have.

Comparisons:

Noble Katana: I am putting this here because it is another IEM that I regard very high for its midrange performance. The Elysium is essentially a Katana on steroids - better sound quality, a more engaging representation of the music, bigger soundstage, more separation. Everything is just more and better and the price reflects that. If Noble had decided to go for a Katana 2.0, the Elysium would be a great starting (and ending) point.

FiR M5: This is the other tribrid that I would give 10/10 for coherency. The M5 has both more intense lows and more intense highs, making for a somewhat more fatiguing listen. If you're after something with more bass, I'd recommend the M5. Otherwise, I feel like the Elysium has the upper hand when it comes to mids and highs. It is also more laid back and I am fine listening to it for hours and hours, while the M5 gets tiring somewhat quickly.

U/A18t: Both the VE and the 18t have insane detail retrieval. The 18t is a bit more of a V-shape, while the Elysium is more mid-centric. Similar level of technical performance to my ears though.

Conclusions: Given my personal sound preferences, the Elysium outperforms any and every IEM I have ever heard. It is one of these products that makes you feel like it was designed specifically for you, and it's just an instant match.

If I try to be somewhat more objective though, I think the VE8 has a warmer and more universally-loved sound signature and will probably remain VE's most sought after model, while the Elysium will fill a more specific niche, and I think will remain the very best at it for a long long while. I'd say Vision Ears have been pretty brave when designing the Elysium and went for something that they believed would be a great addition to their line-up (and it really, really is), as opposed to just another monitor that goes after the highest number of customers possible.