Reviews by domq422
Now, I want to preface this entire thing by saying this;
#1. I hate being negative, but at the same time, I have to keep it real here.
#2. While I don’t enjoy these IEMs, I can certainly see which crowd would like them.
With all that being said, I’d like to thank HiFiGo for sending the Celest Pandamon 2.0 out for review and a little photo sesh, it’s much appreciated! If you’d like to give the Pandamon 2.0 a try, please follow these unaffiliated links and get the wallets out! I guess I have to change my disclaimer now lol
HiFiGo：
HiFiGo
Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZ98TQ1Z/celest+pandamon+2.0/
Amazon JP:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CZ91BFX5/celest+pandamon+2.0/
Aliexpress：
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006811792383.html
You can also find all of the technical specs on the set using the links above as I usually don’t like to bog down my impressions with those numbers. It just makes the articles way longer than they need to be in my humble opinion.
Disclaimer
Test tracks
Well, I guess I’m a reviewer! But just because that’s changed, doesn’t mean I’ve lost my integrity. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own and always will be. This is strictly fun for me and I’ll never compromise for any company or retailer. Rest assured, these thoughts are as legitimate as they come.
TLDR; I’d like to say that I’ve only ever tried one other IEM from Kinera and that was the Imperial Loki which I did not enjoy, HOWEVER, I understood the assignment on that IEM. I got it. The crowd was there for that earphone, I just wasn’t part of the group and that’s totally fine. The Pandamon 2.0 is similar with a boosted upper mid-range providing impressive detail retrieval that could probably rival lots of sets triple its price. However, the problem with the set lies in the same area, unfortunately. IEMs are all about compromise, right, and the way Celest has achieved that impressive technical punch is by boosting the upper mid-range to the point where vocals, guitars, and cymbals all sound unnaturally thing, splashy and scratchy in terms of their timbre and tonality. I have no doubt in my mind that someone, somewhere, would happily give up timbre for that extra bit of detail in their music, but I’m just not that guy. The Pandamon 2.0 is a beautifully built and presented IEM, which by itself, earns the $60 price tag in my opinion, but it makes too many sacrifices to achieve the sound it’s going for. If you’re looking for a budget IEM under $100 that uses an SPD driver, or if you just want to try out an SPD driver to see what they’re all about, the Pandamon 2.0 Is probably you’re best bet. But, if you’re looking for an under $100 IEM with fantastic technical ability that doesn’t have to sacrifice in the timbre and tonality department at all, I’d suggest the stuff from Simgot, most notably the 500LM.
We’ll start off with the packaging/presentation of the Pandamon 2.0 which is fantastic for a budget iEM. The Pandamon 2.0 will come in two options for your cable terminations, 3.5 and 4.4 which is pretty damn sweet for a sub $100 IEM to offer that in the first place, plus, the stock cable is actually quite nice and I would have no issues using it my self on this set and others so bravo, Celest.
You also get a small, circular case which isn’t anything special but again, if we’re comparing it to other sub $100 IEMs, even some right at $100, lots of those other popular releases don’t offer even a small pouch. The stock tips aren’t anything special or notable, I’m sure they’ll get the job done for most folks, but I landed on the SS20 tips from Whizzer to offer the best comfort and sonic properties. Those tips are so fantastic… Anyways, in conclusion, the Pandamon 2.0 knocks it out of the park when it comes to the packaging and presentation.
Speaking of presentation, just look at those faceplates…
wowzers. Very pretty. These are built very well, not just for a budget set, but just in general and I have to commend Celest yet again because they always hit when it comes to the design of their IEMs. Their sound sigs may not mesh with me well, but their IEM designs sure do. My wife also quite likes them as well and she has a background in resin design so she knows what she’s talking about. The orange tray in the marque image at the top is her creation actually!
Bass
Unfortunately, the bass on the Pandamon 2.0 just doesn’t do it for me. The weird thing is, I don’t mind planar bass at all, I actually quite enjoy the snappy nature of it. Funny enough, the IEM that really got me back into the hobby after a few year-long hiatus was the Timeless and my brain really adjusted to that sound over the 6 months I wore them every single day as my EDC, not to mention, that was the only IEM I had at the time. I have no issues with planar timbre or bass most of the time…. But the Pandamon 2.0 falls flat here in my opinion. There just isn’t enough of it here to balance out the rest of the frequency range. The focus is obviously more so in the mids here, so the bass really does take a back seat here on songs like FRUITING BODY, WAVY MAZE, THEY ARE GROWING, and the first few daft punk songs of my playlists. To be fair, the mid-bass thump on THEY ARE GROWING and Give Life Back to Music isn’t terrible, let me make sure that’s completely clear. I don’t think this IEM has bad bass, I just think there simply isn’t enough of it to satisfy even this non-bass head. I actually think that if the upper-mid and treble were tuned relative to the bass in this case, you’d have some actually nice melodies shooting into your noggin here. The Mid-bass kick is fast and snappy, and pulls and releases on bass guitar are still very groovy and do a decent job at driving the music forward. The sub-bass, however, just can’t be redeemed. I can barely hear it on my tracks here and to be quite honest, I’d need at least another 6-8 dB at LEAST.
Mids
The most contentious part of this IEM lives here, in the mids. Specifically in the upper mids, going passed 3k into 5, and 6k territory. I am not sensitive to the typical peaks like 5k and 8k, but more so around 3.2k to be exact. If this is too boosted, forget it, my brain latches on to it and just simply can’t let go. So, here we are, the area where I can’t get past. I won’t go on and start referencing songs from my playlist because quite frankly, none of them sound good here if we’re strictly focusing on the mids. The timbre is off, it’s hollow, thin, and just plain off tonally. The notes lack weight to my ears, especially the vocals of the song, but they’re also forward and jarring at times. In the effort of not sounding completely negative, I will say that the details and resolution are impressive here, punching above it’s weight in vocal clarity and texture, however, the staging is very closed in to my ears which gives this very claustrophobic effect that I am just not fond of and it does cause some muddying of busier tracks like, Decode, which isn’t even that busy.
Treble
I have to be honest, I don’t have much to say about the treble. I feel as though It’s on the darker side and not very well extended at all causing the dynamics of songs to be off-putting sometimes. Cymbals have this huge initial crash and SPLASH to them but then disappear in an instant. Vocals do stay at the front and center of the performance, but the backing instruments just get lost in the shuffle and become something like an afterthought. All in all, this IEM just doesn’t sound balanced tonally due to the shift in the treble coming from the mids.
My last review was of the Symphonium Crimson so the next IEM that was due for an impression had some HUGE shoes to fill when It came to the treble department, but still, I tempered my expectations due to the pricing category and this still disappointed me. I think the Pandamon 2.0 is lacking air, causing a closed-in effect in the music as well, forcing you to focus on the mids and upper mids. Whether you think that is a good thing or a bad thing, is completely up to you of course.
Technicalities
I will say, this is where the Pandamon 2.0 regains some respect from me. As I’ve already said the detail retrieval and overall resolution are both pretty killer for the price category. However, the timbre, tonality, stage, and layering are all very lackluster. I’ll continue to say this until I’m blue in the face, the SPD timbre is not for me, it is a crunchy, thin, and somewhat off-putting. The stage is very closed in on my HRTF so that makes the presentation pretty intimate, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also causes issues with the layering of the music being played. Various instruments, guitars, bass, piano, vocals, etc. are all on top of each other with the vocals being right up in your face. If you are looking for a very very vocal and detail forward IEM, this would probably suit you but if you’re anything like myself, the sacrifices this IEM makes to present those vocals and details so forwardly are very apparent and quite frankly, unnecessary.
Source differences
The Pandamon 2.0 did react to different sources in my experience but not to the point where these magically became fantastic IEMs. On my desktop setup, the set came off as the most balanced, and that is where a majority of my impressions came from. For whatever reason, listening to them on the BTR7 was a disaster and quite frankly, unlistenable for me personally. Vocals became shrill, and even thinner somehow. The Dunu DTU 500 faired better than the BTR7 since it’s a warmer source, and it did help thicken up the lower mids a little bit and make the upper-mid range tolerable, however, the layering became even worse and there was a nasty peak somewhere I couldn’t quite put my finger on in the lower treble. I’d stick with a more neutral source with these if possible.
In summary, what do I think of the Pandamon 2.0? Well, unfortunately, my thoughts are mostly negative and it really comes down to the timbre and tonal balance of the set. The treble being on the darker side means this IEM isn’t for treble heads, and the mid-range being unnatural in its timbre means it isn’t for mid-heads, so who is it for? I simply don’t know, quite frankly - Maybe folks that want to experience a higher degree of detail but don’t have the money to spend over $200 for the big planar and hybrid boys? Yes. I would say that’s the crowd this IEM is aiming for. But, with the likes of the Simgots, Kiwi Ears, & Truthears being of this world, the Celest Pandamon 2.0 is a very pretty face with a dream of competing with the big boys, but ultimately, comes up short.
Thanks so much for reading! Cheers!
PS. I had a lot more images to upload, but I can't figure out how to insert them. Sorry!
#1. I hate being negative, but at the same time, I have to keep it real here.
#2. While I don’t enjoy these IEMs, I can certainly see which crowd would like them.
With all that being said, I’d like to thank HiFiGo for sending the Celest Pandamon 2.0 out for review and a little photo sesh, it’s much appreciated! If you’d like to give the Pandamon 2.0 a try, please follow these unaffiliated links and get the wallets out! I guess I have to change my disclaimer now lol
HiFiGo：
Kinera Celest Pandamon 2.0 10mm Square Planar Driver In-Ear Monitors
Buy Kinera Celest Pandamon 2.0 10mm Square Planar Driver In-Ear Monitors on HiFiGo, and you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.Amazon US:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZ98TQ1Z/celest+pandamon+2.0/
Amazon JP:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0CZ91BFX5/celest+pandamon+2.0/
Aliexpress：
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006811792383.html
You can also find all of the technical specs on the set using the links above as I usually don’t like to bog down my impressions with those numbers. It just makes the articles way longer than they need to be in my humble opinion.
Disclaimer
Test tracks
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Everyroad -Parcels - Imaging/Sub bass @ 7 minute mark
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- They Are Growing - Renata Zeiguer - Mid bass impact
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s + Topping L30
- Moondrop Dawn 4.4
- Dunu DTC 500
- FiiO BTR7 BT
Well, I guess I’m a reviewer! But just because that’s changed, doesn’t mean I’ve lost my integrity. All of these thoughts and opinions are my own and always will be. This is strictly fun for me and I’ll never compromise for any company or retailer. Rest assured, these thoughts are as legitimate as they come.
TLDR; I’d like to say that I’ve only ever tried one other IEM from Kinera and that was the Imperial Loki which I did not enjoy, HOWEVER, I understood the assignment on that IEM. I got it. The crowd was there for that earphone, I just wasn’t part of the group and that’s totally fine. The Pandamon 2.0 is similar with a boosted upper mid-range providing impressive detail retrieval that could probably rival lots of sets triple its price. However, the problem with the set lies in the same area, unfortunately. IEMs are all about compromise, right, and the way Celest has achieved that impressive technical punch is by boosting the upper mid-range to the point where vocals, guitars, and cymbals all sound unnaturally thing, splashy and scratchy in terms of their timbre and tonality. I have no doubt in my mind that someone, somewhere, would happily give up timbre for that extra bit of detail in their music, but I’m just not that guy. The Pandamon 2.0 is a beautifully built and presented IEM, which by itself, earns the $60 price tag in my opinion, but it makes too many sacrifices to achieve the sound it’s going for. If you’re looking for a budget IEM under $100 that uses an SPD driver, or if you just want to try out an SPD driver to see what they’re all about, the Pandamon 2.0 Is probably you’re best bet. But, if you’re looking for an under $100 IEM with fantastic technical ability that doesn’t have to sacrifice in the timbre and tonality department at all, I’d suggest the stuff from Simgot, most notably the 500LM.
We’ll start off with the packaging/presentation of the Pandamon 2.0 which is fantastic for a budget iEM. The Pandamon 2.0 will come in two options for your cable terminations, 3.5 and 4.4 which is pretty damn sweet for a sub $100 IEM to offer that in the first place, plus, the stock cable is actually quite nice and I would have no issues using it my self on this set and others so bravo, Celest.
You also get a small, circular case which isn’t anything special but again, if we’re comparing it to other sub $100 IEMs, even some right at $100, lots of those other popular releases don’t offer even a small pouch. The stock tips aren’t anything special or notable, I’m sure they’ll get the job done for most folks, but I landed on the SS20 tips from Whizzer to offer the best comfort and sonic properties. Those tips are so fantastic… Anyways, in conclusion, the Pandamon 2.0 knocks it out of the park when it comes to the packaging and presentation.
Speaking of presentation, just look at those faceplates…
wowzers. Very pretty. These are built very well, not just for a budget set, but just in general and I have to commend Celest yet again because they always hit when it comes to the design of their IEMs. Their sound sigs may not mesh with me well, but their IEM designs sure do. My wife also quite likes them as well and she has a background in resin design so she knows what she’s talking about. The orange tray in the marque image at the top is her creation actually!
Bass
Unfortunately, the bass on the Pandamon 2.0 just doesn’t do it for me. The weird thing is, I don’t mind planar bass at all, I actually quite enjoy the snappy nature of it. Funny enough, the IEM that really got me back into the hobby after a few year-long hiatus was the Timeless and my brain really adjusted to that sound over the 6 months I wore them every single day as my EDC, not to mention, that was the only IEM I had at the time. I have no issues with planar timbre or bass most of the time…. But the Pandamon 2.0 falls flat here in my opinion. There just isn’t enough of it here to balance out the rest of the frequency range. The focus is obviously more so in the mids here, so the bass really does take a back seat here on songs like FRUITING BODY, WAVY MAZE, THEY ARE GROWING, and the first few daft punk songs of my playlists. To be fair, the mid-bass thump on THEY ARE GROWING and Give Life Back to Music isn’t terrible, let me make sure that’s completely clear. I don’t think this IEM has bad bass, I just think there simply isn’t enough of it to satisfy even this non-bass head. I actually think that if the upper-mid and treble were tuned relative to the bass in this case, you’d have some actually nice melodies shooting into your noggin here. The Mid-bass kick is fast and snappy, and pulls and releases on bass guitar are still very groovy and do a decent job at driving the music forward. The sub-bass, however, just can’t be redeemed. I can barely hear it on my tracks here and to be quite honest, I’d need at least another 6-8 dB at LEAST.
Mids
The most contentious part of this IEM lives here, in the mids. Specifically in the upper mids, going passed 3k into 5, and 6k territory. I am not sensitive to the typical peaks like 5k and 8k, but more so around 3.2k to be exact. If this is too boosted, forget it, my brain latches on to it and just simply can’t let go. So, here we are, the area where I can’t get past. I won’t go on and start referencing songs from my playlist because quite frankly, none of them sound good here if we’re strictly focusing on the mids. The timbre is off, it’s hollow, thin, and just plain off tonally. The notes lack weight to my ears, especially the vocals of the song, but they’re also forward and jarring at times. In the effort of not sounding completely negative, I will say that the details and resolution are impressive here, punching above it’s weight in vocal clarity and texture, however, the staging is very closed in to my ears which gives this very claustrophobic effect that I am just not fond of and it does cause some muddying of busier tracks like, Decode, which isn’t even that busy.
Treble
I have to be honest, I don’t have much to say about the treble. I feel as though It’s on the darker side and not very well extended at all causing the dynamics of songs to be off-putting sometimes. Cymbals have this huge initial crash and SPLASH to them but then disappear in an instant. Vocals do stay at the front and center of the performance, but the backing instruments just get lost in the shuffle and become something like an afterthought. All in all, this IEM just doesn’t sound balanced tonally due to the shift in the treble coming from the mids.
My last review was of the Symphonium Crimson so the next IEM that was due for an impression had some HUGE shoes to fill when It came to the treble department, but still, I tempered my expectations due to the pricing category and this still disappointed me. I think the Pandamon 2.0 is lacking air, causing a closed-in effect in the music as well, forcing you to focus on the mids and upper mids. Whether you think that is a good thing or a bad thing, is completely up to you of course.
Technicalities
I will say, this is where the Pandamon 2.0 regains some respect from me. As I’ve already said the detail retrieval and overall resolution are both pretty killer for the price category. However, the timbre, tonality, stage, and layering are all very lackluster. I’ll continue to say this until I’m blue in the face, the SPD timbre is not for me, it is a crunchy, thin, and somewhat off-putting. The stage is very closed in on my HRTF so that makes the presentation pretty intimate, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also causes issues with the layering of the music being played. Various instruments, guitars, bass, piano, vocals, etc. are all on top of each other with the vocals being right up in your face. If you are looking for a very very vocal and detail forward IEM, this would probably suit you but if you’re anything like myself, the sacrifices this IEM makes to present those vocals and details so forwardly are very apparent and quite frankly, unnecessary.
Source differences
The Pandamon 2.0 did react to different sources in my experience but not to the point where these magically became fantastic IEMs. On my desktop setup, the set came off as the most balanced, and that is where a majority of my impressions came from. For whatever reason, listening to them on the BTR7 was a disaster and quite frankly, unlistenable for me personally. Vocals became shrill, and even thinner somehow. The Dunu DTU 500 faired better than the BTR7 since it’s a warmer source, and it did help thicken up the lower mids a little bit and make the upper-mid range tolerable, however, the layering became even worse and there was a nasty peak somewhere I couldn’t quite put my finger on in the lower treble. I’d stick with a more neutral source with these if possible.
In summary, what do I think of the Pandamon 2.0? Well, unfortunately, my thoughts are mostly negative and it really comes down to the timbre and tonal balance of the set. The treble being on the darker side means this IEM isn’t for treble heads, and the mid-range being unnatural in its timbre means it isn’t for mid-heads, so who is it for? I simply don’t know, quite frankly - Maybe folks that want to experience a higher degree of detail but don’t have the money to spend over $200 for the big planar and hybrid boys? Yes. I would say that’s the crowd this IEM is aiming for. But, with the likes of the Simgots, Kiwi Ears, & Truthears being of this world, the Celest Pandamon 2.0 is a very pretty face with a dream of competing with the big boys, but ultimately, comes up short.
Thanks so much for reading! Cheers!
PS. I had a lot more images to upload, but I can't figure out how to insert them. Sorry!
Symphonium Crimson
This article has taken me ages to write. Admittedly, I’ve been putting it off and just enjoying the Crimson’s lovely sound so that I don’t have to send them back! Before I go on rambling, I wanted to give a huge thank you and shoutout to the boys over at Symphonium Audio for being absolute studs. This pair of Crimsons, like the Meteors from a few weeks ago, are provided on loan so that I can take some pics and share some impressions with you fine people. I know most of us would normally see “In exchange for pics and review” but genuinely, they’ve asked me to say nothing specific, positive or negative, and given me as much time as I needed to write this review. It goes without saying but, all of these thoughts and opinions are my own.
Test tracks
Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
I am not a reviewer, don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is just what I hear, y’all. This hobby should be fun! It’s purely my opinion. I personally value timbre over everything. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turn-off.
TLDR;
The Crimson, as the title of this article states, is similar to a scalpel. Precise and Clean.
They provide one of the cleanest playbacks of any IEM I have heard to date in such an effortless way while still maintaining musicality. If tuning is no longer kept away from budget sets, the Crimsons prove the technicalities still are. Having this level of driver cohesion, resolution, stage width/depth, imaging and layering is simply incredible and obviously takes rigorous R&D, especially with the hardware being used here if we’re just talking about driver count. Regarding those techs I just listed, I wouldn’t be surprised if Crimson traded blows with even more expensive sets during a direct A/B test. The tuning is extremely mature and reminiscent of the legendary Subtonic STORM, with an emphasis on the Sub-bass, cleaner lower-mids presentation, a gentle upper-mids area, and an incredibly smooth and airy treble. However, it may not be for everyone. Tonality is on the thinner side and there is a lack of mid-bass and lower-mid presence. The treble could also come across as a little spicy for some as a few folks have noted. Some serious tip and source rolling is to be done whilst enjoying the Crimson. They require proper amplification and the right fit for your ears to sound their best. I would not recommend an Apple dongle or even a higher-powered dongle. A desktop stack or a “portable” Desktop setup is highly recommended for these.
Fitment note; The shells are noticeably larger than the Meteors, but also smaller than your typical semi-custom IEM like the stuff from Thieaudio. I had no pressure build-up wearing the Crimsons, and I had no pain wearing them whatsoever. Disclaimer; the Monarch MK2 is the best fitting IEM I own… do with that info as you see fit lol.
Bass
As I mentioned above, the Crimsons pack a surpassingly punchy and satisfying sub-bass presentation in such a humble driver config, which is just 4 BAs. The rest of the custom tech made by Symphonium is really working overtime here and it shows. The level of tactility in the sub-bass is impressive, and the Mid-bass, while somewhat lacking on some songs, is very thumpy and punchy with plenty of texture on songs like GIVE LIFE BACK TO MUSIC, VOYAGER, WAVY MAZE, & THEY ARE GROWING. The Sub-bass rumbles nicely on my Sub-bass reference tracks, FRUITING BODY and DAYTIME. I don’t have much if anything bad to say about the bass quality, because it’s there. It has great elasticity in the notes that provide some awesome body and depth to each thump. I just wish there was more of it… that’s about it. It’s BA bass, yes, it’s of a softer impact with less of an emphasis on the initial transient, (somewhat similar to the Meteor but I think better transient attack is present here) but I think it’s very high-quality bass, period. BA or DD, doesn’t matter.
Mids
I think my favorite part of the tuning here on the Crimsons live within the mids, more specifically, the upper mids. I believe they are basically perfectly tuned relative to the rest of the tuning. Symphonium smartly decided to not follow up the tucked mid-bass with a crazy 9-10 dB pinna region like some other manufac. might. Instead, opting for a smoother shelf about 5-6 dBs above the rest of the mids and I love it. This IEM reminded me what vocals are all about… Emotional, weighty, and ultra textured. WAVES, TOGETHER, ONE AND ONLY, DECODE, THEY ARE GROWING… All of the songs that feature beautiful, forward vocals shine. It’s a treat, really. Lots of texture and lots of airiness that allow for that breathy delivery that’s so important when listening to playlists and libraries like mine. These are some of the best vocals I’ve heard - Full stop.
Treble
In typical Symphonium fashion, the treble is done masterfully. Yet again, the boys from Singapore show that they know what they’re doing here. It’s airy, light, beautifully splashy, and lively, with so much detail that your brain almost gets fatigued by the bombardment of all of the micro and macro nuances. DAYS, my typical treble test, sounds fantastic and energetic in the best way possible. Cymbals sound perfectly placed in the mix, with a nice emphasis on snare hits. I did, however, feel a touch of spice with some recordings, in particular, I’d say with not-so-nicely recorded tracks. While not in my headphone test playlist, I did find that some older, classic rock by Zeppelin for example can sometimes come off as too thin with an emphasis on the crash cymbals causing some discomfort. The lack of lower mids body can cause some balance issues. I don’t think it’s so off-putting to be a deal breaker, however. It would mostly present itself at higher volumes, so if you’re a higher-volume listener who also happens to be on the younger side, you may want to steer away, but don't take my word for it here. These are worth a demo if possible. I’d also like to note that there is some harshness in the consonants, especially with female vocals, but again, nothing offensive. Some tracks by THE MARIAS stand out here. However, this is not because the treble is un-even or poorly tuned here, it’s boosted yes, but It’s overall very smooth and mostly extremely well done. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives here.
Technicalities
I mean, what can I say? The stage is absolutely wide open here, probably one of the most spacious playbacks out of an IEM I’ve experienced. Height, width, and depth are all top of their class. Detail retrieval and overall resolution are also befitting of a TOTL IEM. I’d even say that the Crimsons compete with higher-priced IEMs, like the U12t, Elysian Annihilator, and some of the stuff from Noble. Those just immediately jump into my head comparing these to the rest of the market. I know $1,500 is a lot for an IEM, but these truly justify their price in my humble opinion. The timbre is also on point here. The tonality is on the lighter side, but I had no issues with it whatsoever. Imaging is also spot on, and a standout.
Source Differences
This is an important one with the Crimsons because these do react to sources quite a bit, especially if you’re feeding them the power they need to really shine. On my portable setup, the BTR7, I found the bass to be lacking and the stage to close in noticeably. However, the desktop stack shocked me. My initial listen was done on the BTR7 and I was… disappointed. I even let my brothers know within my tour group. But I stuck with it, constantly tip-rolling and finding the right combo and I’m happy to say that once that magical combo is found, there’s some special sauce with these IEMs. My favorite source pairing was found on the desktop, but also, on the Dunu DTC 500 surprisingly. The Dunu is a warmer source and it filled in the entire sound sig. for the Crimson's well. It added the much-needed warmth to the lower mids and weight to the vocals I crave. The Desktop stack made the stage expansive and the sub-bass rumble, while also giving the overall experience a very nice separated presentation. I also landed on the Radius Deep Mount clears for my tip of choice. They were the best mix of fit and sound quality for my ears.
In Summary, the Crimsons are an IEM I have grown to love. At first, I wasn’t blown away, I would go as far as to say even a little disappointed. But now, after having them at home for nearly a month, I could see how these would be someone’s end game IEM, allowing them to step away from the hobby and be completely satisfied. While these aren’t my preferred tuning, I’d like some more sub-bass and mid-bass body, less upper mids (just a little), and a slightly less boosted mid-treble, I cannot deny the powerhouse that Symphonium has created here. If you are looking for an ultra-clean, sub-bass-boosted set with vocals to die for, these are for you.
Thank you all so much for reading and thank you to the crew over at Symphonium Audio for giving me another opportunity to experience their creations at home with no strings attached or time limit. I am truly grateful.
Now I have to send them back and I am sad
But hey, Titan is incoming and I cannot wait 
Take care!
This article has taken me ages to write. Admittedly, I’ve been putting it off and just enjoying the Crimson’s lovely sound so that I don’t have to send them back! Before I go on rambling, I wanted to give a huge thank you and shoutout to the boys over at Symphonium Audio for being absolute studs. This pair of Crimsons, like the Meteors from a few weeks ago, are provided on loan so that I can take some pics and share some impressions with you fine people. I know most of us would normally see “In exchange for pics and review” but genuinely, they’ve asked me to say nothing specific, positive or negative, and given me as much time as I needed to write this review. It goes without saying but, all of these thoughts and opinions are my own.
Test tracks
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Everyroad -Parcels - Imaging/Sub bass @ 7 minute mark
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- They Are Growing - Renata Zeiguer - Mid bass impact
Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s + Topping L30
- Moondrop Dawn 4.4
- Dunu DTC 500
- FiiO BTR7 BT
I am not a reviewer, don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is just what I hear, y’all. This hobby should be fun! It’s purely my opinion. I personally value timbre over everything. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turn-off.
TLDR;
The Crimson, as the title of this article states, is similar to a scalpel. Precise and Clean.
They provide one of the cleanest playbacks of any IEM I have heard to date in such an effortless way while still maintaining musicality. If tuning is no longer kept away from budget sets, the Crimsons prove the technicalities still are. Having this level of driver cohesion, resolution, stage width/depth, imaging and layering is simply incredible and obviously takes rigorous R&D, especially with the hardware being used here if we’re just talking about driver count. Regarding those techs I just listed, I wouldn’t be surprised if Crimson traded blows with even more expensive sets during a direct A/B test. The tuning is extremely mature and reminiscent of the legendary Subtonic STORM, with an emphasis on the Sub-bass, cleaner lower-mids presentation, a gentle upper-mids area, and an incredibly smooth and airy treble. However, it may not be for everyone. Tonality is on the thinner side and there is a lack of mid-bass and lower-mid presence. The treble could also come across as a little spicy for some as a few folks have noted. Some serious tip and source rolling is to be done whilst enjoying the Crimson. They require proper amplification and the right fit for your ears to sound their best. I would not recommend an Apple dongle or even a higher-powered dongle. A desktop stack or a “portable” Desktop setup is highly recommended for these.
Fitment note; The shells are noticeably larger than the Meteors, but also smaller than your typical semi-custom IEM like the stuff from Thieaudio. I had no pressure build-up wearing the Crimsons, and I had no pain wearing them whatsoever. Disclaimer; the Monarch MK2 is the best fitting IEM I own… do with that info as you see fit lol.
Bass
As I mentioned above, the Crimsons pack a surpassingly punchy and satisfying sub-bass presentation in such a humble driver config, which is just 4 BAs. The rest of the custom tech made by Symphonium is really working overtime here and it shows. The level of tactility in the sub-bass is impressive, and the Mid-bass, while somewhat lacking on some songs, is very thumpy and punchy with plenty of texture on songs like GIVE LIFE BACK TO MUSIC, VOYAGER, WAVY MAZE, & THEY ARE GROWING. The Sub-bass rumbles nicely on my Sub-bass reference tracks, FRUITING BODY and DAYTIME. I don’t have much if anything bad to say about the bass quality, because it’s there. It has great elasticity in the notes that provide some awesome body and depth to each thump. I just wish there was more of it… that’s about it. It’s BA bass, yes, it’s of a softer impact with less of an emphasis on the initial transient, (somewhat similar to the Meteor but I think better transient attack is present here) but I think it’s very high-quality bass, period. BA or DD, doesn’t matter.
Mids
I think my favorite part of the tuning here on the Crimsons live within the mids, more specifically, the upper mids. I believe they are basically perfectly tuned relative to the rest of the tuning. Symphonium smartly decided to not follow up the tucked mid-bass with a crazy 9-10 dB pinna region like some other manufac. might. Instead, opting for a smoother shelf about 5-6 dBs above the rest of the mids and I love it. This IEM reminded me what vocals are all about… Emotional, weighty, and ultra textured. WAVES, TOGETHER, ONE AND ONLY, DECODE, THEY ARE GROWING… All of the songs that feature beautiful, forward vocals shine. It’s a treat, really. Lots of texture and lots of airiness that allow for that breathy delivery that’s so important when listening to playlists and libraries like mine. These are some of the best vocals I’ve heard - Full stop.
Treble
In typical Symphonium fashion, the treble is done masterfully. Yet again, the boys from Singapore show that they know what they’re doing here. It’s airy, light, beautifully splashy, and lively, with so much detail that your brain almost gets fatigued by the bombardment of all of the micro and macro nuances. DAYS, my typical treble test, sounds fantastic and energetic in the best way possible. Cymbals sound perfectly placed in the mix, with a nice emphasis on snare hits. I did, however, feel a touch of spice with some recordings, in particular, I’d say with not-so-nicely recorded tracks. While not in my headphone test playlist, I did find that some older, classic rock by Zeppelin for example can sometimes come off as too thin with an emphasis on the crash cymbals causing some discomfort. The lack of lower mids body can cause some balance issues. I don’t think it’s so off-putting to be a deal breaker, however. It would mostly present itself at higher volumes, so if you’re a higher-volume listener who also happens to be on the younger side, you may want to steer away, but don't take my word for it here. These are worth a demo if possible. I’d also like to note that there is some harshness in the consonants, especially with female vocals, but again, nothing offensive. Some tracks by THE MARIAS stand out here. However, this is not because the treble is un-even or poorly tuned here, it’s boosted yes, but It’s overall very smooth and mostly extremely well done. The positives definitely outweigh the negatives here.
Technicalities
I mean, what can I say? The stage is absolutely wide open here, probably one of the most spacious playbacks out of an IEM I’ve experienced. Height, width, and depth are all top of their class. Detail retrieval and overall resolution are also befitting of a TOTL IEM. I’d even say that the Crimsons compete with higher-priced IEMs, like the U12t, Elysian Annihilator, and some of the stuff from Noble. Those just immediately jump into my head comparing these to the rest of the market. I know $1,500 is a lot for an IEM, but these truly justify their price in my humble opinion. The timbre is also on point here. The tonality is on the lighter side, but I had no issues with it whatsoever. Imaging is also spot on, and a standout.
Source Differences
This is an important one with the Crimsons because these do react to sources quite a bit, especially if you’re feeding them the power they need to really shine. On my portable setup, the BTR7, I found the bass to be lacking and the stage to close in noticeably. However, the desktop stack shocked me. My initial listen was done on the BTR7 and I was… disappointed. I even let my brothers know within my tour group. But I stuck with it, constantly tip-rolling and finding the right combo and I’m happy to say that once that magical combo is found, there’s some special sauce with these IEMs. My favorite source pairing was found on the desktop, but also, on the Dunu DTC 500 surprisingly. The Dunu is a warmer source and it filled in the entire sound sig. for the Crimson's well. It added the much-needed warmth to the lower mids and weight to the vocals I crave. The Desktop stack made the stage expansive and the sub-bass rumble, while also giving the overall experience a very nice separated presentation. I also landed on the Radius Deep Mount clears for my tip of choice. They were the best mix of fit and sound quality for my ears.
In Summary, the Crimsons are an IEM I have grown to love. At first, I wasn’t blown away, I would go as far as to say even a little disappointed. But now, after having them at home for nearly a month, I could see how these would be someone’s end game IEM, allowing them to step away from the hobby and be completely satisfied. While these aren’t my preferred tuning, I’d like some more sub-bass and mid-bass body, less upper mids (just a little), and a slightly less boosted mid-treble, I cannot deny the powerhouse that Symphonium has created here. If you are looking for an ultra-clean, sub-bass-boosted set with vocals to die for, these are for you.
Thank you all so much for reading and thank you to the crew over at Symphonium Audio for giving me another opportunity to experience their creations at home with no strings attached or time limit. I am truly grateful.
Now I have to send them back and I am sad
But hey, Titan is incoming and I cannot wait Take care!
DingDongMonster
Have you tried the Helios? It's an oldie. My goodness, it is airy and the treble is to die for. I prefer it over the Annihilator.
domq422
@DingDongMonster I haven't man, but I would love to! It's one of those mystical Pokémon IEMs of yesteryear. I've heard amazing amazing things.... Thanks for reading btw
Okay, here we are. The first post in this new project of mine. Going through my entire collection, diving deep, taking photos, and doing proper comparisons. Again, this really isn’t for anyone else but myself, comparing my other sets with such similar sound sigs surely should convince my brain to stop scrolling mindlessly on AliX, adding things to my cart unnecessarily.
First up, I’ll be doing the Ziigaat Cinno - this set comes from the brand that seemingly has come out of nowhere, but somehow, has been here all along. Lurking in the shadows, supposedly manufacturing IEMs for other brands as the OEM. They’ve finally decided to come out of the shadows. In their own words “The name ZiiGaat originates from our core values: Zero in on Ideas, Innovate, Grow, and Achieve All Together.”
The Cinno being one of their first IEMs, it’s an interesting take on the traditional 1+4 config under the $100 price point. The two hybrids that I have in my collection to compare to the Cinno are the 7hz Sonus and the Truthear Hexa. I’ve had the Hexa for quite some time now, since they first released last year, while the Sonus I’ve had for about 2 months or so. I’ve become pretty familiar with both sets, with the Hexa being my EDC for the better part of 2 months earlier this year.
Test tracks
I am not a reviewer. Positively, 100%, confidently, I will never be one or possess the ability to be one. Don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is all my opinion, y’all, this hobby should be fun! I’m just having a bit of a laugh with all of this. This is purely my opinion after all
I personally value timbre and tonality over everything else. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turn-off. It stands out to me right away, and my brain locks on it for the rest of the session.
To me, the Cinno sounds somewhat similar to the graph here. If I had never heard them, I’d expect them to be more laid back than they are. To my ears, they come across as warm neutral, with a slight emphasis on vocals in most songs, and a slightly dark treble. I remember first listening to this set during a tour with my buddies and not falling in love, in fact, I found the tonality a bit strange. I couldn’t put my finger on it. But after a while, with some different tips, they started to settle in a bit. Fast forward to now and I own them. I found them as a 1 off solution to a warm neutral IEM for EDC, allowing me to consider selling off some other sets like the Hexa, Sonus, and the EA500.
Comparing the 3 IEMs in question here, I can say the Hexas are the most comfortable, with the Cinno coming in at 2nd and the Sonus being 3rd. The Hexas fit me like a glove, and provide probably the best isolation out of most of my collection. The Cinno took some serious tip rolling to just fit, then it came down to finding the best-sounding tip, the Sonus just has strange grooves on the shells and not to mention, they’re surprisingly somewhat large IEMs between the overall shell and nozzle opening. I’m still tip-rolling with them, but I’ve landed on the Clarion tips for both the Hexa and the Sonus, with the Cinno rocking the KBear 07 tips in the smallest size. The Cinno isn’t large at all it’s the opposite problem. They’re tiny. Almost too small. The shells are incredibly compact, with the nozzle a shorter length. I have to jam them in quite deep to get a secure fit. Otherwise, they find their way out of my ears after a while. After finding the right tip, I haven’t had any issues luckily.
On to sound, and this one is weird because the Cinna, Hexa, and Sonus are like brothers in this regard. The tuning choices here are all different flavors of neutral.
Also, I know graphs don’t mean a damn thing half the time, but I like to use it as a reference. Sue me.
Allow me to summarize; These all sound pretty close to how they graph to my ears honestly. The Cinno has a more laid-back approach to the entire sound sig. They also come across as the warmest of the bunch. The laid-back pinna area most likely has a lot to do with this. The Hexa comes across as also very warm, but with more forward vocals, masking is present here, with that 3k peak coming across as somewhat harsh to me. Female vocals are smooth as silk on the Cinno, they have plenty of energy to come across as alive, whereas the Hexas can sound a little unrefined and the Sonus presents some serious masking in that area for me. The Sonus is the cleanest of the bunch, they have a sterile and maybe a little cold sound to them. Everything is almost surgical. The best thing about the Sonus to me is the way the Sub-bass comes across, due to the lack of lower mids and that sharper pinna gain, vocals seem separated from the bass frequencies. This is nice honestly, but after a while, they become fatiging. Not to mention, they can lack that mid-bass energy I can sometimes crave. Mid-bass hits aren’t as authoritative as I’d like. The bass line in Voyager is heard, but not felt all that much. Whereas in the Cinno, I can hear the bassline but also feel that beautiful French, nasty-ass bass line. I dig it. The Hexa does a good job with this too, they’re thicker in the presentation but that artificial snare hit on the 2 can be a little jarring at times. It all depends on the day.
Upper mids and treble go to the Cinno for me, hands down. Due to the tuning choice here, that relaxed Pinna is god damned buttery smooth, with little to NO masking. This is probably one of the first experiences I’ve had with a lack of masking for my HRTF. This means the Cinnos are more detailed than the other 2, regardless of what the graph might indicate. I can hear smaller, minute micro-details listening to the Cinno, and I love that. It’s what helped me decide that these are for me. The Sonus sounds more airy and thin, and the Hexas have a warmth + forwardness going on. The Cinnos are the most balanced without sounding boring to my ears.
Breaking down each aspect of the Cinno has me feeling this way;
Bass - Punchy, with plenty of energy. Slightly rounder with natural decay.
Mids - Clean, clear, and highly resolving. Not forward, not buried in the mix.
Treble - Easygoing, not fatiguing or offensive.
I don’t think the Cinno is for everyone though. I’d say a lot of folks would like some more energy in the upper mids perhaps, and the treble extension isn’t anything to write home about either. It isn’t incredibly airy or vibrant like the EA500. The Sub-bass for me is lacking somewhat as well. I think for that part of the FR, the Sonus is the winner there. It doesn’t have the best tactility or forceful playback. If these had about 3-4 dB more in the sub-bass area, it’d be damn near perfect. One thing I’d also like to point out is that the Cinno does suffer from the slightest bit of BA timbre. After the rose-colored glasses were lifted about a week after owning them, I was listening to Fruiting Body by Goon, and I definitely noticed it. Most people won’t notice it I feel, so I don’t expect it to be a huge issue.
I think I put down everything I wanted to about the Cinno.
Conclusion; these have replaced 3 of my other sets. I think these are fantastic, they work for me. They don’t come across as too thick, or too laid back like some other lower pinna sets I’ve listened to in the past, but rather, perfectly balanced.
Thank you for reading, gents!
First up, I’ll be doing the Ziigaat Cinno - this set comes from the brand that seemingly has come out of nowhere, but somehow, has been here all along. Lurking in the shadows, supposedly manufacturing IEMs for other brands as the OEM. They’ve finally decided to come out of the shadows. In their own words “The name ZiiGaat originates from our core values: Zero in on Ideas, Innovate, Grow, and Achieve All Together.”
The Cinno being one of their first IEMs, it’s an interesting take on the traditional 1+4 config under the $100 price point. The two hybrids that I have in my collection to compare to the Cinno are the 7hz Sonus and the Truthear Hexa. I’ve had the Hexa for quite some time now, since they first released last year, while the Sonus I’ve had for about 2 months or so. I’ve become pretty familiar with both sets, with the Hexa being my EDC for the better part of 2 months earlier this year.
Test tracks
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Cthulhu Sleeps - Sub bass texture
- Overnight - Parcels - mid-bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Everyroad -Parcels - Imaging/Sub bass @ 7-minute mark
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Midbass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid-bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s + Topping L30
- Moondrop Dawn 4.4
- Dunu DTC 500
- FiiO BTR7 BT
I am not a reviewer. Positively, 100%, confidently, I will never be one or possess the ability to be one. Don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is all my opinion, y’all, this hobby should be fun! I’m just having a bit of a laugh with all of this. This is purely my opinion after all
To me, the Cinno sounds somewhat similar to the graph here. If I had never heard them, I’d expect them to be more laid back than they are. To my ears, they come across as warm neutral, with a slight emphasis on vocals in most songs, and a slightly dark treble. I remember first listening to this set during a tour with my buddies and not falling in love, in fact, I found the tonality a bit strange. I couldn’t put my finger on it. But after a while, with some different tips, they started to settle in a bit. Fast forward to now and I own them. I found them as a 1 off solution to a warm neutral IEM for EDC, allowing me to consider selling off some other sets like the Hexa, Sonus, and the EA500.
Comparing the 3 IEMs in question here, I can say the Hexas are the most comfortable, with the Cinno coming in at 2nd and the Sonus being 3rd. The Hexas fit me like a glove, and provide probably the best isolation out of most of my collection. The Cinno took some serious tip rolling to just fit, then it came down to finding the best-sounding tip, the Sonus just has strange grooves on the shells and not to mention, they’re surprisingly somewhat large IEMs between the overall shell and nozzle opening. I’m still tip-rolling with them, but I’ve landed on the Clarion tips for both the Hexa and the Sonus, with the Cinno rocking the KBear 07 tips in the smallest size. The Cinno isn’t large at all it’s the opposite problem. They’re tiny. Almost too small. The shells are incredibly compact, with the nozzle a shorter length. I have to jam them in quite deep to get a secure fit. Otherwise, they find their way out of my ears after a while. After finding the right tip, I haven’t had any issues luckily.
On to sound, and this one is weird because the Cinna, Hexa, and Sonus are like brothers in this regard. The tuning choices here are all different flavors of neutral.
Also, I know graphs don’t mean a damn thing half the time, but I like to use it as a reference. Sue me.
Allow me to summarize; These all sound pretty close to how they graph to my ears honestly. The Cinno has a more laid-back approach to the entire sound sig. They also come across as the warmest of the bunch. The laid-back pinna area most likely has a lot to do with this. The Hexa comes across as also very warm, but with more forward vocals, masking is present here, with that 3k peak coming across as somewhat harsh to me. Female vocals are smooth as silk on the Cinno, they have plenty of energy to come across as alive, whereas the Hexas can sound a little unrefined and the Sonus presents some serious masking in that area for me. The Sonus is the cleanest of the bunch, they have a sterile and maybe a little cold sound to them. Everything is almost surgical. The best thing about the Sonus to me is the way the Sub-bass comes across, due to the lack of lower mids and that sharper pinna gain, vocals seem separated from the bass frequencies. This is nice honestly, but after a while, they become fatiging. Not to mention, they can lack that mid-bass energy I can sometimes crave. Mid-bass hits aren’t as authoritative as I’d like. The bass line in Voyager is heard, but not felt all that much. Whereas in the Cinno, I can hear the bassline but also feel that beautiful French, nasty-ass bass line. I dig it. The Hexa does a good job with this too, they’re thicker in the presentation but that artificial snare hit on the 2 can be a little jarring at times. It all depends on the day.
Upper mids and treble go to the Cinno for me, hands down. Due to the tuning choice here, that relaxed Pinna is god damned buttery smooth, with little to NO masking. This is probably one of the first experiences I’ve had with a lack of masking for my HRTF. This means the Cinnos are more detailed than the other 2, regardless of what the graph might indicate. I can hear smaller, minute micro-details listening to the Cinno, and I love that. It’s what helped me decide that these are for me. The Sonus sounds more airy and thin, and the Hexas have a warmth + forwardness going on. The Cinnos are the most balanced without sounding boring to my ears.
Breaking down each aspect of the Cinno has me feeling this way;
Bass - Punchy, with plenty of energy. Slightly rounder with natural decay.
Mids - Clean, clear, and highly resolving. Not forward, not buried in the mix.
Treble - Easygoing, not fatiguing or offensive.
I don’t think the Cinno is for everyone though. I’d say a lot of folks would like some more energy in the upper mids perhaps, and the treble extension isn’t anything to write home about either. It isn’t incredibly airy or vibrant like the EA500. The Sub-bass for me is lacking somewhat as well. I think for that part of the FR, the Sonus is the winner there. It doesn’t have the best tactility or forceful playback. If these had about 3-4 dB more in the sub-bass area, it’d be damn near perfect. One thing I’d also like to point out is that the Cinno does suffer from the slightest bit of BA timbre. After the rose-colored glasses were lifted about a week after owning them, I was listening to Fruiting Body by Goon, and I definitely noticed it. Most people won’t notice it I feel, so I don’t expect it to be a huge issue.
I think I put down everything I wanted to about the Cinno.
Conclusion; these have replaced 3 of my other sets. I think these are fantastic, they work for me. They don’t come across as too thick, or too laid back like some other lower pinna sets I’ve listened to in the past, but rather, perfectly balanced.
Thank you for reading, gents!
o0genesis0o
Claiming that “I am not a reviewer”, dropping a kickass review 
good job mate.
good job mate.
domq422
@o0genesis0o You always post some of my favorite comments, you're the man. Thanks for the support always!
Welcome to the next part of this series of never-ending IEM articles. The exercise has worked so far. I have not had the irresistible urge to embark on the journey into the deep and dark depths of the classifieds, Linsoul, Hi-Fi Go, etc. etc.
The Plunder of the Soul which the audio hobby presents is an awe-inspiring thing, isn’t it?
Playlist + source breakdown with my disclaimer, as always.
Test tracks
I am not a reviewer. Positively, 100%, confidently, I will never be one or possess the ability to be one. Don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is all my opinion, y’all, this hobby should be fun! I’m just having a bit of a laugh with all of this. This is purely my opinion after all. I personally value timbre over everything. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turn-off.
Anyway, enough of the bs, the next IEM on the table is going to be the Truthear Hexa.
The 1+3 hybrid from the brand Truthear. Truthear was looking to take 2023 by storm, that is, until Kiwi Ears and Simgot entered the picture…
The Hexa was a set of IEMs that I set my eyes on from the very beginning, all the way back in 2022 when they were first released, which in this hobby, might as well be forever. I thought the tuning seemed uniquely Harman but with a few twists.
Thank you to @MMag05 for measuring a good majority of my IEMs so I can see exactly what’s going on here. As the graph indicates, my pair has fairly good channel-matching noice.
I really enjoy the Hexa, they’re a mighty fine set to my ears and I’m happy I’ve had them as my EDC for the last week or so, it’s reminded me as to why I fell in love with them in the first place. The fit is just impeccable for my ears. I mean, truly, like a glove. Even though the nozzle is quite large, there’s no lip so there’s never any discomfort for me, for reference, I have slightly smaller ear canals according to a random urgent care nurse, and quite large outer ears. Fit is truly hit or miss for me - the EA500 is a set of IEMs that I wish so very badly were a different shape, because they sound incredible, but wearing them is so annoying, that I barely reach for them anymore. The Hexa on the other hand has a medium to large-ish shell, with a lovely industrial/modernist design of sharp corners on the faceplate, with a softer, smooth resin finish on the contact point with your ear. The nozzle is sufficiently long to achieve a nice deep insertion which means isolation is off the charts. Sorry for droning on about fit, but these are super nice to have in your ears for an extended period, at least for me.
In the sound department, I can honestly summarize the Hexa as being a warm neutral, surprise surprise, just like 99% of my collection LOL but but but, I must say, the Hexa does things a little bit differently and truthfully, outside of the Cinno which I just dove deep on, the Hexa checks off lots of boxes for my preferences except maybe one, but we’ll get to that.
The bass and lower mid-range have a very smooth slope, and this has its strengths and weaknesses of course. I find the overall bass impact, like rumble in the sub-bass region and kick drum slam to be quite softer, not much overall attack in this region, but it is smooth. There is plenty of warmth here that allows the Hexa to avoid becoming thin for most of my library, most of the songs that are in my library tend to be mastered with a warmer tilt anyway. I feel as though some classical could maybe come off as thin in some cases, and maybe some classic rock as well, especially songs recorded in the 60s and early 70s like from Zeppelin 1. There’s a sub-bass emphasis, yes, but with the lack of mid-bass, where these songs emphasized, John Bonham’s drum kit can sound distant and not as authoritative as I’d like.
Referencing my test tracks, the first few daft punk songs sound fantastic, clear, and crisp. Give Life Back to Music and Infinity Repeating have awesome grove-ability, with the ending of GLBTM having plenty of spatial cues with the crowd noises representing some space in the mix, adding to the enjoyment. Voyager, my favorite daft punk track, has probably graced my ears thousands of times by now and I know how this song is supposed to sound. It’s an interesting track because The Robots really flex their musical prowess here - the beginning of the song is fairly straight forward and the star of the show is that bassline. It needs to be heard clearly but also felt as well. The Hexa does a decent job. The bassline is heard very clearly, with enough texture, but it doesn’t have as much force as I’d like. Instead, my brain focuses heavily on the artificial snare hit and clap on the 2 beat. That 3k peak from the Hexa comes into play here, it can be too harsh at higher volume for me, so I have to keep it a mid to even low volume at times. As the song goes on, Thomas and Guy add more elements to the song, stopping the drum kit and the rest of the synths to introduce us to these new elements, forcing our brains to almost focus on them before adding the rest of the songs back in the mix all at once. It gets very busy towards the end of the song and some IEMs that have messy technicalities stumble here, all the instruments sound mushed together with little to no separation. The Hexa doesn’t fail here, in fact, I’d say it accomplishes separating and layering all these different components very well. There’s plenty of air to help it feel open, and even though that 3k peak can come across as harsh at times, it seems to add some weight to the synths. It’s all very clear, crisp, and just warm enough to be a good experience.
Cthulhu Sleeps by the Mau5 is next and this is the song I use to test EDM sub-bass. The bass line in this song is not just one blob of bass, it’s a pulsating line with plenty of texture behind all those nutso synths and distortion. The Hexa does an okay job here, I give it a C, maybe a C+. EDM is not this IEMs strong suit. This song is fatiguing within about 20 seconds and the sub-bass rumble is heard, but you gotta focus on it. 3k is just pushed up too much for this song to sound balanced, however, the mid-bass hits are quite nice. It does have a rounder body on the individual hits but it’s just enough to pass.
The Parcels are next on the playlist, and they really know how to master and produce their tracks. All of their songs are fantastic on the Hexas, very enjoyable, and very groovy. But again, when things get a touch busy in the track, the upper mids knocks on the proverbial door right in the middle of disco night and reminds you there’s something not quite right. It’s too boosted and there isn’t quite enough mid-bass to get the party passed the living room. You’re not spilling into the streets, waiting for the cops to arrive. The volume stays at a respectable, inner-city level.
Using the next few tracks, Daytime by Lunar Vacation, and Days by No Vacation, I can say that female vocals are very clear with proper timbre. There’s also plenty of texture as well, they aren’t the most forward and I believe that is due to the little divot between 2-3k. Masking is the name of the game here, ssss and tssss are emphasized so my brain starts to focus on them a bit more, not to mention the god damned snare hits… Layering and separation are very good and imaging is a strong suit of the Hexas. Starting at around 3:10 in the song Daytime, there’s this revolving synth that circles your head going counterclockwise. I can pretty easily track the sound with the Hexas, whereas other sets can sometimes sound 2 dimensional, only going from the left channel and immediately to the right channel.
Fruiting Body by Goon is one of my favorite songs from the past year, it’s an amazingly haunting song with airy female vocals, busy instrumentation, and a nasty ass sub-bass line that hits during the chorus. I have been obsessed with this song for months, along with the rest of their discography, and while the Hexas does an okay job with this song, the sub-bass just ain’t hitting the way I expect it to. Wavy Maze is the next song by them on the playlist and I expect a pretty hard-hitting kick drum on this one and again, while it’s there, it ain’t rocking my world as I’d expect. There’s also a hint of BA timbre present in the vocalist’s vocals. There’s something to the way it’s been produced for sure, but I can clearly hear a BA sheen when the note is stretched a little.
There isn’t much notable that’s any different going through the rest of my playlist here, so I think I’ll wrap this up here in an effort not to drone on here too much longer.
I can summarize the Hexa this way;
They are an extremely comfortable, well built and well-designed Hybrid IEM in the under $100 price-point for anyone who’d like something Harmen-ish tuned, but with a better body to the lower mids, no tuck in the mid-bass, and an emphasis on being accurate. They stumble a bit in some areas like the upper-mid refinement and a lack of mid-bass punch. The DD in this unit is of decent quality, but it isn’t anything special. The same goes for the BAs - I can tell Truthear put some thought into this tuning and I still enjoy them being in my collection, but I think the Cinno replaces these quite handily, with more natural upper-mids, a stronger mid-bass slam and less BA timbre, although, it’s present on both IEMs. I know this isn’t a totally fair comparison, with one being a whole year newer and $20 more expensive, but it’s helpful for me to finally conclude that the Hexa can be put on the chopping block. What I have now in the under $100 range makes them obsolete for me and I’d almost say, for a majority of the market.
It’s bittersweet, I love the Hexa, it has a soft spot for me because I acquired them somewhat early on in my friendship with one of my closest Audio buddies.
I can only appreciate looking back on the listening time but accept it’s time for them to go.
Thanks so much for reading again, have an incredible day, Gentleman.
The Plunder of the Soul which the audio hobby presents is an awe-inspiring thing, isn’t it?
Playlist + source breakdown with my disclaimer, as always.
Test tracks
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Cthulhu Sleeps - Sub bass texture
- Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Everyroad -Parcels - Imaging/Sub bass @ 7 minute mark
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid-bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s + Topping L30
- Moondrop Dawn 4.4
- Dunu DTC 500
- FiiO BTR7 BT
I am not a reviewer. Positively, 100%, confidently, I will never be one or possess the ability to be one. Don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is all my opinion, y’all, this hobby should be fun! I’m just having a bit of a laugh with all of this. This is purely my opinion after all. I personally value timbre over everything. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turn-off.
Anyway, enough of the bs, the next IEM on the table is going to be the Truthear Hexa.
The 1+3 hybrid from the brand Truthear. Truthear was looking to take 2023 by storm, that is, until Kiwi Ears and Simgot entered the picture…
The Hexa was a set of IEMs that I set my eyes on from the very beginning, all the way back in 2022 when they were first released, which in this hobby, might as well be forever. I thought the tuning seemed uniquely Harman but with a few twists.
Thank you to @MMag05 for measuring a good majority of my IEMs so I can see exactly what’s going on here. As the graph indicates, my pair has fairly good channel-matching noice.
I really enjoy the Hexa, they’re a mighty fine set to my ears and I’m happy I’ve had them as my EDC for the last week or so, it’s reminded me as to why I fell in love with them in the first place. The fit is just impeccable for my ears. I mean, truly, like a glove. Even though the nozzle is quite large, there’s no lip so there’s never any discomfort for me, for reference, I have slightly smaller ear canals according to a random urgent care nurse, and quite large outer ears. Fit is truly hit or miss for me - the EA500 is a set of IEMs that I wish so very badly were a different shape, because they sound incredible, but wearing them is so annoying, that I barely reach for them anymore. The Hexa on the other hand has a medium to large-ish shell, with a lovely industrial/modernist design of sharp corners on the faceplate, with a softer, smooth resin finish on the contact point with your ear. The nozzle is sufficiently long to achieve a nice deep insertion which means isolation is off the charts. Sorry for droning on about fit, but these are super nice to have in your ears for an extended period, at least for me.
In the sound department, I can honestly summarize the Hexa as being a warm neutral, surprise surprise, just like 99% of my collection LOL but but but, I must say, the Hexa does things a little bit differently and truthfully, outside of the Cinno which I just dove deep on, the Hexa checks off lots of boxes for my preferences except maybe one, but we’ll get to that.
The bass and lower mid-range have a very smooth slope, and this has its strengths and weaknesses of course. I find the overall bass impact, like rumble in the sub-bass region and kick drum slam to be quite softer, not much overall attack in this region, but it is smooth. There is plenty of warmth here that allows the Hexa to avoid becoming thin for most of my library, most of the songs that are in my library tend to be mastered with a warmer tilt anyway. I feel as though some classical could maybe come off as thin in some cases, and maybe some classic rock as well, especially songs recorded in the 60s and early 70s like from Zeppelin 1. There’s a sub-bass emphasis, yes, but with the lack of mid-bass, where these songs emphasized, John Bonham’s drum kit can sound distant and not as authoritative as I’d like.
Referencing my test tracks, the first few daft punk songs sound fantastic, clear, and crisp. Give Life Back to Music and Infinity Repeating have awesome grove-ability, with the ending of GLBTM having plenty of spatial cues with the crowd noises representing some space in the mix, adding to the enjoyment. Voyager, my favorite daft punk track, has probably graced my ears thousands of times by now and I know how this song is supposed to sound. It’s an interesting track because The Robots really flex their musical prowess here - the beginning of the song is fairly straight forward and the star of the show is that bassline. It needs to be heard clearly but also felt as well. The Hexa does a decent job. The bassline is heard very clearly, with enough texture, but it doesn’t have as much force as I’d like. Instead, my brain focuses heavily on the artificial snare hit and clap on the 2 beat. That 3k peak from the Hexa comes into play here, it can be too harsh at higher volume for me, so I have to keep it a mid to even low volume at times. As the song goes on, Thomas and Guy add more elements to the song, stopping the drum kit and the rest of the synths to introduce us to these new elements, forcing our brains to almost focus on them before adding the rest of the songs back in the mix all at once. It gets very busy towards the end of the song and some IEMs that have messy technicalities stumble here, all the instruments sound mushed together with little to no separation. The Hexa doesn’t fail here, in fact, I’d say it accomplishes separating and layering all these different components very well. There’s plenty of air to help it feel open, and even though that 3k peak can come across as harsh at times, it seems to add some weight to the synths. It’s all very clear, crisp, and just warm enough to be a good experience.
Cthulhu Sleeps by the Mau5 is next and this is the song I use to test EDM sub-bass. The bass line in this song is not just one blob of bass, it’s a pulsating line with plenty of texture behind all those nutso synths and distortion. The Hexa does an okay job here, I give it a C, maybe a C+. EDM is not this IEMs strong suit. This song is fatiguing within about 20 seconds and the sub-bass rumble is heard, but you gotta focus on it. 3k is just pushed up too much for this song to sound balanced, however, the mid-bass hits are quite nice. It does have a rounder body on the individual hits but it’s just enough to pass.
The Parcels are next on the playlist, and they really know how to master and produce their tracks. All of their songs are fantastic on the Hexas, very enjoyable, and very groovy. But again, when things get a touch busy in the track, the upper mids knocks on the proverbial door right in the middle of disco night and reminds you there’s something not quite right. It’s too boosted and there isn’t quite enough mid-bass to get the party passed the living room. You’re not spilling into the streets, waiting for the cops to arrive. The volume stays at a respectable, inner-city level.
Using the next few tracks, Daytime by Lunar Vacation, and Days by No Vacation, I can say that female vocals are very clear with proper timbre. There’s also plenty of texture as well, they aren’t the most forward and I believe that is due to the little divot between 2-3k. Masking is the name of the game here, ssss and tssss are emphasized so my brain starts to focus on them a bit more, not to mention the god damned snare hits… Layering and separation are very good and imaging is a strong suit of the Hexas. Starting at around 3:10 in the song Daytime, there’s this revolving synth that circles your head going counterclockwise. I can pretty easily track the sound with the Hexas, whereas other sets can sometimes sound 2 dimensional, only going from the left channel and immediately to the right channel.
Fruiting Body by Goon is one of my favorite songs from the past year, it’s an amazingly haunting song with airy female vocals, busy instrumentation, and a nasty ass sub-bass line that hits during the chorus. I have been obsessed with this song for months, along with the rest of their discography, and while the Hexas does an okay job with this song, the sub-bass just ain’t hitting the way I expect it to. Wavy Maze is the next song by them on the playlist and I expect a pretty hard-hitting kick drum on this one and again, while it’s there, it ain’t rocking my world as I’d expect. There’s also a hint of BA timbre present in the vocalist’s vocals. There’s something to the way it’s been produced for sure, but I can clearly hear a BA sheen when the note is stretched a little.
There isn’t much notable that’s any different going through the rest of my playlist here, so I think I’ll wrap this up here in an effort not to drone on here too much longer.
I can summarize the Hexa this way;
They are an extremely comfortable, well built and well-designed Hybrid IEM in the under $100 price-point for anyone who’d like something Harmen-ish tuned, but with a better body to the lower mids, no tuck in the mid-bass, and an emphasis on being accurate. They stumble a bit in some areas like the upper-mid refinement and a lack of mid-bass punch. The DD in this unit is of decent quality, but it isn’t anything special. The same goes for the BAs - I can tell Truthear put some thought into this tuning and I still enjoy them being in my collection, but I think the Cinno replaces these quite handily, with more natural upper-mids, a stronger mid-bass slam and less BA timbre, although, it’s present on both IEMs. I know this isn’t a totally fair comparison, with one being a whole year newer and $20 more expensive, but it’s helpful for me to finally conclude that the Hexa can be put on the chopping block. What I have now in the under $100 range makes them obsolete for me and I’d almost say, for a majority of the market.
It’s bittersweet, I love the Hexa, it has a soft spot for me because I acquired them somewhat early on in my friendship with one of my closest Audio buddies.
I can only appreciate looking back on the listening time but accept it’s time for them to go.
Thanks so much for reading again, have an incredible day, Gentleman.
The Symphonium Meteor
This set is the very first pair of IEMs that have been sent to me by a brand as a loaner with seemingly no strings attached. Symphonium has not asked me to say anything in particular with this, they’ve been completely relaxed about everything. All these thoughts and opinions are my own.
With that out of the way, here we are. The Meteors - this is my 2nd go at this set. I feel like I need to preface this entire thing with this story because it’s important. About a year ago now, I and @gooberbm had the opportunity during one of our group’s tours to listen to the Meteor along with a few other sets like the UP, IE600, etc. I was incredibly excited to hear the Meteors, I 100% believed these would be killer for my library and preferences. I built up all this god damned excitement just to be torn with disappointment. I felt as though they were too laid back, there wasn’t enough bite in the guitar sections of the songs that were playing. Man, I was so upset - I didn’t understand how that could be. But, I just chalked it up to something not quite clicking with my ears, oh well I thought, it is what it is.
Fast forward to now, I have my hands on a brand new pair directly from Symphonium themselves. I approached them with a request for anything in their collection of IEMs and when they offered the Meteors I didn’t hesitate. I wanted a second go and I’m so happy I did.
TLDR version; The Meteors are a wonderful-sounding IEM. They have a full and rich sound signature that is both smooth and engaging. The mid-bass and lower mids are just at that sweet spot where it has enough energy to fill the sound profile out but never come across as bloated or muddy. The upper mids are an interesting sort, being both slightly forward and also laid back for guitars and female vocals harmonics, but in a good way. There is no harshness in the pinna region to be found. The treble is the most interesting part of the Meteors to me. It is lively and a touch more forward than neutral to my ears. Ride cymbal strikes and hi-hats drive the music forward in a very engaging way and I dig it. It isn’t all perfect though. As typical BA driver IEMs go, the bass is lacking to my ears, with a rounder presentation. It’s less about that initial kick impact, but more so about the thump behind it.
Fitment note; The shells are small with an upward angle on the nozzle. I can confirm I do experience pressure build-up and pressure when first seating them in my ears. It isn’t the worst I’ve experienced, but it’s there.
Test tracks
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Everyroad -Parcels - Imaging/Sub bass @ 7 minute mark
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- They Are Growing - Renata Zeiguer - Mid bass impact
Sources
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s + Topping L30
- Moondrop Dawn 4.4
- Dunu DTC 500
- FiiO BTR7 BT
Disclaimer
I am not a reviewer, don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is what I hear, y’all. This hobby should be fun! It’s purely my opinion. I personally value timbre over everything. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turnoff.
I’m going to try and break down the Meteor using the individual parts of the FR, bass, mids, and treble using specific musical references to make things a little more cohesive. Still working out the kinks on this whole article thing.
Bass
Quick summary? It’s big and bold, with a rounder presentation that can sometimes come off as the literal perfect amount for my preferences. Songs like Give Life Back To Music, Wavy Maze & They Are Growing start with thunderous mid-bass thump that is so addictive, I’ll sometimes start the songs over just to hear those kicks again. Subbass can also be addicting as well - Songs like Fruiting Body and Lifelong Song have a reverberating quality to the lower end and it can be felt with authority on both songs. Bass lines like on Voyager are well done, you can both feel and hear the bass line clearly which is like, the first thing I look for in that song. If an IEM can’t play Voyager well, it’s on the chopping block right away. But the Meteors pass this test with flying colors. Bass is fast as well, the song Waves has a pretty damn quick bassist here driving the track, and rather than the bass line sounding like a cheap droning EDM blob of bass, I can hear each pluck of the strings fairly clearly. On the song Slide Tackle, there's a triplet-type kick drum towards the last half of the song and each kick is easily heard and felt. I've listened to some less expensive and more expensive IEMs that don't present that specific part as well as the Meteor. It isn’t quite planar fast but I think it’s a happy medium. The one downside to this type of bass is a lack of definition to my ears, I’m not getting as much texture as I’d expect. Surprisingly, probably because of the way the entire lower mids are tuned, I feel like the bass does have nice decay, reminiscent of a DD. Not quite apples to apples, but it’s more than passable.
Mid-range
If you go through my track list, female vocals are probably 80% of it, so obviously you’d expect them to be damn important. Well, you’d be right! Much to my wife’s annoyance, female vocals are all I listen to most of the time. After timbre, how female vocals are rendered is a close second in importance. I’m happy to say that the Meteors have an engaging mids presentation with plenty of details and lively energy without coming off as intense. Songs like Together, One and Only, Waves and Slide Tackle have some moments of serious intensity, with all of those artists hitting some strong notes that could come off as piercing in a lot of IEMs, but not on the Meteors. It’s like riding that line of being almost poisonous, but not quite there. It must be the cut right at 2.5k that keeps those harmonics at bay. I’d say that female vocals come off a touch thicker than neutral, but there are still plenty of details and clarity here. In a perfect world, there would be more texture, and guitars would have more bite to them during certain passages. I still think there’s a sensation of certain harmonics and guitar parts being muffled and yes, that can take me out of the music from time to time. These don’t have my favorite mids presentation, that still goes to my pair of Monarch MK2s, but I don’t think these will offend anyone, it’s almost leaning the other way. I can see this mid-presentation being underwhelming to some on initial listen like it was for me. I think the mids being on the relaxed side does have one benefit though, it highlights the treble…
Treble
The star of the show is the treble on the Meteors. They’ve gone ahead and taken a not-so-neutral approach here with the later treble and Jesus Christ does it pay off for me. This is probably one of my favorite presentations of treble I’ve ever heard. Full stop. It’s so lively and airy - hi-hats, claps, ride cymbals, and atmospheric-type noises are forward enough to create this sense of space and energy I haven’t experienced since the EA500. In songs like Voyager, Alone In My Principals, Days and Daytime I just get lost in the music every time those come on. The snare on the 2 beat and the ride cymbal that comes in right before the chorus on Alone in My Principles, Chef’s kiss - the airy synth on Voyager that plays throughout the entire song, uhhh to die for, and just the entire song Days by No Vacation is incredible. I’d go ahead and say that because of the treble here, this is my favorite rendition of the song Days I have heard to date. I cannot believe the amount of goosebumps I got during the last part of the song with those big crash cymbal hits… it’s an experience, that’s for sure. If we’re talking downsides here, it isn’t neutral, and it’s very airy bordering on unnatural so if you’re sensitive to that you should be aware. I have always loved later treble energy, the EA500 showed me how amazing it can be for certain songs, so I have no issues with the treble on the Meteor. It's my favorite part.
Technicalities
The timbre is spot on, I have 0 issues with the timbre of this set. The stage isn’t particularly wide, I’d say that it even comes across as a touch intimate for some songs. Layering is top-notch, everything is easily distinguishable in a song, and there’s no bunching up with busy passages but truthfully, none of my music is too busy anyways. Not sure how these would fair for metal.
Source Differences
My favorite playback came from my desktop stack using the D10s and the L30. I found it to be the most neutral with the best timbre. The Moondrop Dawn highlighted too much of the treble, throwing the balance completely off and closing the stage down to claustrophobic levels. The BTR7 was somewhere in the middle, playing back a bit warmer in comparison to the stack but weirdly, opening up the depth on the stage a bit more. The bass on the BTR7 came off a bit more impactful but a bit more blunted and even less detailed. These are pretty source picky it seems, probably due to the very low impedance. Not sure, but something to keep in mind.
In summary, The Symphonium Meteors have completely redeemed themselves for me. I am so happy I got another go at these because I would have kept writing them off as a big disappointment, probably my biggest of 2023. Now, I can classify them as my biggest surprise of 2024 (so far).
Thanks so much for reading, take care!
This set is the very first pair of IEMs that have been sent to me by a brand as a loaner with seemingly no strings attached. Symphonium has not asked me to say anything in particular with this, they’ve been completely relaxed about everything. All these thoughts and opinions are my own.
With that out of the way, here we are. The Meteors - this is my 2nd go at this set. I feel like I need to preface this entire thing with this story because it’s important. About a year ago now, I and @gooberbm had the opportunity during one of our group’s tours to listen to the Meteor along with a few other sets like the UP, IE600, etc. I was incredibly excited to hear the Meteors, I 100% believed these would be killer for my library and preferences. I built up all this god damned excitement just to be torn with disappointment. I felt as though they were too laid back, there wasn’t enough bite in the guitar sections of the songs that were playing. Man, I was so upset - I didn’t understand how that could be. But, I just chalked it up to something not quite clicking with my ears, oh well I thought, it is what it is.
Fast forward to now, I have my hands on a brand new pair directly from Symphonium themselves. I approached them with a request for anything in their collection of IEMs and when they offered the Meteors I didn’t hesitate. I wanted a second go and I’m so happy I did.
TLDR version; The Meteors are a wonderful-sounding IEM. They have a full and rich sound signature that is both smooth and engaging. The mid-bass and lower mids are just at that sweet spot where it has enough energy to fill the sound profile out but never come across as bloated or muddy. The upper mids are an interesting sort, being both slightly forward and also laid back for guitars and female vocals harmonics, but in a good way. There is no harshness in the pinna region to be found. The treble is the most interesting part of the Meteors to me. It is lively and a touch more forward than neutral to my ears. Ride cymbal strikes and hi-hats drive the music forward in a very engaging way and I dig it. It isn’t all perfect though. As typical BA driver IEMs go, the bass is lacking to my ears, with a rounder presentation. It’s less about that initial kick impact, but more so about the thump behind it.
Fitment note; The shells are small with an upward angle on the nozzle. I can confirm I do experience pressure build-up and pressure when first seating them in my ears. It isn’t the worst I’ve experienced, but it’s there.
Test tracks
- Give Life Back to Music - daft punk - Overall clarity
- Infinity Repeating - daft punk - Lower mids control
- Voyager - daft punk - Bass line clarity/busy track layering
- Overnight - Parcels - mid bass punch
- Tieduprightnow - Parcels - bass line/sibilance test
- Everyroad -Parcels - Imaging/Sub bass @ 7 minute mark
- Daytime - Lunar Vacation - Staging/female vocals w/ heavy bass
- Days - No Vacation - Vibe test/treble energy
- Fruiting Body - Goon - Sub bass
- Wavy Maze - Goon - Mid bass
- Together - Maggie Rodgers - Female Vocals
- Slide Tackle - Japanese Breakfast - Sibilance test/consonants harshness
- Decode - Paramore - Vibe test/stage depth
- Vinta - Crumb - Stage depth/layering
- Kim’s Caravan - Courtney Barnett - Female Vocals/resolution test
- Small Poppies - Courtney Barnett - Distorted Guitar
- Lifelong Song - Men I Trust - Sub/mid bass texture
- One and Only - Adele - Female Vocals/consonants harshness test
- Waves - Wild Painting - Overall Enjoyment and stage depth/width/Bass guitar speed
- Not the One - Highnoon - Female Vocals
- Cowboy Killer - Varsity - Layering
- Alone in My Principles - Varsity - Distorted female vocals
- Summer Madness - Kool & The Gang - Treble Harshness
- They Are Growing - Renata Zeiguer - Mid bass impact
Sources
- Apple Music Streaming Hi-Res Lossless when available
- Topping D10s + Topping L30
- Moondrop Dawn 4.4
- Dunu DTC 500
- FiiO BTR7 BT
Disclaimer
I am not a reviewer, don’t take anything I say as an objective stance, of course, this is what I hear, y’all. This hobby should be fun! It’s purely my opinion. I personally value timbre over everything. If a set has a strange tonality or timbre, it’s an immediate turnoff.
I’m going to try and break down the Meteor using the individual parts of the FR, bass, mids, and treble using specific musical references to make things a little more cohesive. Still working out the kinks on this whole article thing.
Bass
Quick summary? It’s big and bold, with a rounder presentation that can sometimes come off as the literal perfect amount for my preferences. Songs like Give Life Back To Music, Wavy Maze & They Are Growing start with thunderous mid-bass thump that is so addictive, I’ll sometimes start the songs over just to hear those kicks again. Subbass can also be addicting as well - Songs like Fruiting Body and Lifelong Song have a reverberating quality to the lower end and it can be felt with authority on both songs. Bass lines like on Voyager are well done, you can both feel and hear the bass line clearly which is like, the first thing I look for in that song. If an IEM can’t play Voyager well, it’s on the chopping block right away. But the Meteors pass this test with flying colors. Bass is fast as well, the song Waves has a pretty damn quick bassist here driving the track, and rather than the bass line sounding like a cheap droning EDM blob of bass, I can hear each pluck of the strings fairly clearly. On the song Slide Tackle, there's a triplet-type kick drum towards the last half of the song and each kick is easily heard and felt. I've listened to some less expensive and more expensive IEMs that don't present that specific part as well as the Meteor. It isn’t quite planar fast but I think it’s a happy medium. The one downside to this type of bass is a lack of definition to my ears, I’m not getting as much texture as I’d expect. Surprisingly, probably because of the way the entire lower mids are tuned, I feel like the bass does have nice decay, reminiscent of a DD. Not quite apples to apples, but it’s more than passable.
Mid-range
If you go through my track list, female vocals are probably 80% of it, so obviously you’d expect them to be damn important. Well, you’d be right! Much to my wife’s annoyance, female vocals are all I listen to most of the time. After timbre, how female vocals are rendered is a close second in importance. I’m happy to say that the Meteors have an engaging mids presentation with plenty of details and lively energy without coming off as intense. Songs like Together, One and Only, Waves and Slide Tackle have some moments of serious intensity, with all of those artists hitting some strong notes that could come off as piercing in a lot of IEMs, but not on the Meteors. It’s like riding that line of being almost poisonous, but not quite there. It must be the cut right at 2.5k that keeps those harmonics at bay. I’d say that female vocals come off a touch thicker than neutral, but there are still plenty of details and clarity here. In a perfect world, there would be more texture, and guitars would have more bite to them during certain passages. I still think there’s a sensation of certain harmonics and guitar parts being muffled and yes, that can take me out of the music from time to time. These don’t have my favorite mids presentation, that still goes to my pair of Monarch MK2s, but I don’t think these will offend anyone, it’s almost leaning the other way. I can see this mid-presentation being underwhelming to some on initial listen like it was for me. I think the mids being on the relaxed side does have one benefit though, it highlights the treble…
Treble
The star of the show is the treble on the Meteors. They’ve gone ahead and taken a not-so-neutral approach here with the later treble and Jesus Christ does it pay off for me. This is probably one of my favorite presentations of treble I’ve ever heard. Full stop. It’s so lively and airy - hi-hats, claps, ride cymbals, and atmospheric-type noises are forward enough to create this sense of space and energy I haven’t experienced since the EA500. In songs like Voyager, Alone In My Principals, Days and Daytime I just get lost in the music every time those come on. The snare on the 2 beat and the ride cymbal that comes in right before the chorus on Alone in My Principles, Chef’s kiss - the airy synth on Voyager that plays throughout the entire song, uhhh to die for, and just the entire song Days by No Vacation is incredible. I’d go ahead and say that because of the treble here, this is my favorite rendition of the song Days I have heard to date. I cannot believe the amount of goosebumps I got during the last part of the song with those big crash cymbal hits… it’s an experience, that’s for sure. If we’re talking downsides here, it isn’t neutral, and it’s very airy bordering on unnatural so if you’re sensitive to that you should be aware. I have always loved later treble energy, the EA500 showed me how amazing it can be for certain songs, so I have no issues with the treble on the Meteor. It's my favorite part.
Technicalities
The timbre is spot on, I have 0 issues with the timbre of this set. The stage isn’t particularly wide, I’d say that it even comes across as a touch intimate for some songs. Layering is top-notch, everything is easily distinguishable in a song, and there’s no bunching up with busy passages but truthfully, none of my music is too busy anyways. Not sure how these would fair for metal.
Source Differences
My favorite playback came from my desktop stack using the D10s and the L30. I found it to be the most neutral with the best timbre. The Moondrop Dawn highlighted too much of the treble, throwing the balance completely off and closing the stage down to claustrophobic levels. The BTR7 was somewhere in the middle, playing back a bit warmer in comparison to the stack but weirdly, opening up the depth on the stage a bit more. The bass on the BTR7 came off a bit more impactful but a bit more blunted and even less detailed. These are pretty source picky it seems, probably due to the very low impedance. Not sure, but something to keep in mind.
In summary, The Symphonium Meteors have completely redeemed themselves for me. I am so happy I got another go at these because I would have kept writing them off as a big disappointment, probably my biggest of 2023. Now, I can classify them as my biggest surprise of 2024 (so far).
Thanks so much for reading, take care!
Zerousen
Beautiful review bro!
aznablerey
Awesome review, they’re on my shortlist originally because I knew they had small shells. This kind of solidifies it for sound though.
