Impressions (Ramblings ?) of the Vision Ears EXT and Phonix Australian Tour IEM’s by @jaydoc1.
Both units were supplied as part of an Australian Tour set organized by Vision Ears, Australian Audiophile Store, Minidisc and
@Damz87 – thanks so much to you all for making this happen !
Introduction:
The Vision Ears EXT can be considered as the re-imagining of the well-respected Elysium iem, and the Phonix, a similar relationship to VE’s previous TOTL iem, the Erlkonig. Both of these previous top-end Vision Ears iem’s have a dedicated following given their sublime tuning reputation; the Elysium for its novel Dynamic mid driver and sublime mid-based clarity, and the Erlkonig for its summit-fi resolution and musicality. That’s some serious reputation to produce an improved follow up iem. And, with some slight negatives (aren’t there always ?) they have achieved a brilliant follow up in both products, demonstrating the continuous improvement capabilities of Vision Ears.
My Reference Sounds & Preferences:
I think, when describing how I hear audio equipment, it’s worth understanding where my preferences lay, as impartial as we try to be, our own day-to-day iem’s and the music we enjoy will likely influence what we think of them. My music preferences vary from alternative / indie artists; from the ‘heavier’ side to the ‘acoustic’, eg, Queens of the Stone Age, Iggy & The Stooges, Supergrass, Radiohead, Cat Power, The Breeders, Mazzy Star, The Pretenders; with the occasional classical (ie, 2001 A Space Odyssey soundtrack) plus a sprinkling of heavy / more complex multi-layered sounds via Bowies early stuff (Width of a Circle, See Emily Play, etc), Dandy Warhols, Joy Division and then some Kraftwork for good measure. My time with both of the Vision Ears iem’s were spent playing from a Cayin N6ii with the R2R motherboard and an AK 2000T on hybrid tube / op amp mode and a Sony WM1Z. All music was hi-bit rate flac files.
IEM comparisons were inevitable with my own iems, such as the EA Axiom, UM Mason Fusang, MMR Thummim, JHA/AK Layla Aion, JHA Lola, EVE-20’s by Vision Ears and the AK T8Ei Mk2 (the partner product with Beyerdynamic) – some of which I’ll use for a direct sound comparison to both the EXT’s and Phonix’ intended tuning focus.
As the tour kit for both doesn’t include the full retail set / box, these impressions will cover the iems & cable only.
The Vision Ears EXT
Design, Build & Quality
The EXT goes an extra ‘Dynamic Driver’ goodness step up from the Elysium, by covering the lows with a new 9.2mm DD bass driver vs Balanced armature for the Elysium, while ramping up the mids further with a new 6mm DD mid driver setup and doubling the Elysiums electrostatics from 2 to 4, using new second-gen Sonion’s for the treble range.
The body design has a unique acrylic body with an off-set nozzle (to make room for the e-stats or for fit purposes ?), that for me, provided one of the best fitting universal iem’s I have come across. While more a personal thing, playing around with various tips in my collection, I found the best seal / fit / sound was via wide bore ‘Clarion’ tips. The faceplate is also unique, being machined aluminium with a highly stylised vented grill layout (probably necessary given the 2 x DD drivers) in purple, reminding me, for some reason of an Evangelian EVA2 Robomech (ie, it gives off a futuristic design look).
The cable is a fairly low-key looking black design, being an 8-wire silver plated OCC copper wire braid with black patterned leather (?) wrap on the splitter and termination, oddly these days in 2.5mm balanced with an accessory 4.4mm connector as an add-on, which, while appreciated, does result in a fairly lengthy extension when used together, which has the potential to increase stress on the connectors over time. Again not a deal killer but something to take extra care with if running 4.4mm via the standard cable.
The result of all these design cues is a cohesive design, an extremely well built iem (finish, lack of seams, etc), that while a bit on the ‘garish’ side color-wise, exudes a totl vibe. Interestingly I also noticed one section of the black accylic body has a ‘smoky- clear’ window, giving you a small peek into its inner workings – nice detail !
Sound Impressions:
Treble – sounds well controlled, well extended, great clarity and separation, not overly bright or sharp, and so doesn’t create a contrast from the tuning style of the mids it having a DD driver ( see comment below section) – most of the good aspects we now expect from e-stats but in comparison to some totl all Balanced Armature iem’s (eg,see Phonix impression section below) I didn’t hear that expected e-stat ‘ sparkle’. Perhaps this is a conscious tuning move by Vision Ears to ensure good coherency between the slower responses and slower decays of an all DD driver in the low and mid-range, with that of the e-stat for the highs. Certainly not a deal breaker, just noticeable when A/B’ing between the EXT and the Phonix and my UM Fusang’s.
Mids – these are really the tuning focus of the EXT (and the Elysium before it), and given the EXT’s lineage to the Elysium, it has a bit to live up to. Happily, to my ears (and from memory of an Elysium auditioned 6 months ago) Vision Ears has succeeded in delivering a more ‘lush’ enveloping mid-range, that shows to good effect on tracks with deep & warm vocals and heavier guitar tracks (ie Queens of the Stone Age) that then contribute to producing a good enveloping sound-stage effect.
The only slight negative offset to this lush mid sound is that with a DD for the mid’s (and a DD driver for the lows), the speed of decay in the low to mid area seems a bit slow where sharper guitar / vocals are at work compared to BA driven mids – this effect tending to show itself a bit on some Radiohead tracks (the better re-mastered OK/NotOK Computor edition is a good example of slightly losing that Radiohead ‘edgy-ness’ on some tracks)
Bass –this is where the biggest driver change from the Elysiums occur – a 9.2mm bass driver in place of BA drivers, that definitely ramp up the energy, impact – quality and quantity is here, but more of a mid-bass dominance in the sound was noticeable – less of a ‘sub-woofer’ like sound than I was expecting. The bass decay seemed normal for a DD driver, but that added to the DD driver speed in the mids tended to not work so well to my ears with lower quality files and recordings; so that Iggy & The Stooges (Raw Power) came over a bit muddier than usual – the rawness in the recording itself didn’t suit these iems so well.
Sound, Timbre, Cohesiveness - this is where I’ll try to look at the sound, the emotional and musicality connection I had (or not).
Vision Ears market the tuning of the EXT as “Based on the Elysium…electrifyingly detailed but also warm and embracing sound…”. For their intended design & tuning purpose they mostly hit the mark here but with the slight clarification that I didn’t quite hear the electrifying detail expected, and, while not lacking in detail, there is not much more that I can hear from that of a well-tuned all BA driver iem, falling a bit short on what I’ve heard from e-stats before. However, cohesiveness was good, the sound has a fullness and energy in the mids that makes well recorded rock music a very enjoyable listen on the EXT.
Stage seems wide and open, but not really at a 3D / holographic level, more in the 2D plane which to me makes an iem sound more natural to what I’m used to hearing from live music, and when a good quality recording, eg Jimi Hendrix’ Winterland, the EXT gives a great rendition of the live experience, bringing a realism and naturalness (is that a word ?). This is a music area where I really enjoyed my time with Vision Ears EXT.
So, despite some tuning oddness affecting lower quality music files and a slight slowness in the low to mid area in comparison to an all-BA driver iem, it is an iem I could own and enjoy…except…then I picked up and tried the Phonix – see next impressions.
Vision Ears Phonix
The Phonix is promoted as having; “… stately power and elegant resolution. Tight and bottomless lows are giving a solid ground to gently natural mids, which are seamlessly transitioning to phenomenal rich highs...” And to be honest I couldn’t have said it better myself – here is a totl iem (costing another 50% over the VE EXT mind) that to my ears delivers a tangible improvement and a top to bottom of the frequency range sound quality with no if’s, buts or maybe’s – a condition that I can’t often find in most iem’s I try out (or own) no matter what their cost (well, maybe Trailli excepted…), and it’s all done with a full complement of balanced armature drivers – no hybrid mix of drivers at work here.
Design, Build & Quality
Compared to the EXT, Vision Ears went with a more traditional all-BA design; 13 balanced armature drivers (4 x lows, 4 x mids, 4 x highs and 1 x super-tweeter) and a body this time in machined carbon fibre with a stylishly reserved (almost regal looking ?) machined aluminium faceplate topped with sapphire glass, all in keeping with its totl price point. Especially on close inspection, the finish is exquisite, the depth effect of the red logo under glass and the high-cost materials used are really shown off to good effect. And while more conservative in body shape (ie, no offset nozzle dynamics like the EXT), the comfort / fit was still very good and with Azla eartips I had on hand, a good seal was found to ensure I was getting the best sound experience I could get out of them. Finish was to a very high degree, as should be expected in this price range, with the gold rimmed faceplate giving off a very luxurious vibe.
The cable supplied itself looked to me to be the same as the EXT’s – the 8-wire doing the job ok, but as I found when swapping out to a couple of cables I had on hand, there is more to be gained with the right pairing – see the comparisons section below for detail on this. On checking Vision Ears web-site I noted that they state the Phonix comes with a special 4-wire silver / gold alloy plated OCC copper wire ending in 4.4mm connector, so maybe the tour kit has the more basic VE cable set from the EXT model ?
Sound Impressions
Treble – One of the first reactions I had when moving to the Phonix from the EXT was how much brighter it appeared to sound, but as my ears (brain ?) acclimatized to its full range sound quality, it was clear that what I was picking up on initially was actually the effect of greater clarity, separation and ‘sparkle’ in the high end of the Phonix vs the EXT – what I would normally expect to hear from an e-stat driven iem – the 4 x BA highs plus an extra BA super-tweeter driver really do deliver at this level ! While not normally a fan of bright iems, this was different and, together with the cohesive and similar clarity of sound condition also the mids & bass frequencies (plus an added dose of extra energy) this was altogether at a different and higher level than the EXT and, for that matter, most iem’s I’ve had the pleasure to trial and own before.
A good example of this sound quality can be heard on David Bowie’s ‘Aladdin Sane’ track, in which the piano playing can often come off as harsh in lesser controlled iem’s, but with the Phonix, I found it had the sparkle, tone and naturalness that let me lose myself in the music (ps, more on this track in the mids & lowers sections below, as it’s a song that to my ears tests an iem’s ability to control the extremes of sounds & layering across all the frequency ranges).
Mids – here the Phonix excelled, as you would expect from a more mid-centic specialist tuned iem like the EXT. With a dedicated 4 BA’s for the mids, vocals are warm and enveloping but not lacking in sharpness when needed (eg from Chrissie Hynde’s warmth to PJ Harvey’s rawness all captured so competently).
Detail, space, and clarity, with a dose of tangible energy are hallmarks of the Phonix mids and shown to great effect in tracks from the band Supergrass, whose music mixing style has that slight wall of sound effect going on under their layered vocal melody changes (especially in their more energetic tracks) that can come across as ‘messy’ in less competently tuned iems. But the Phonix can layer & separate out to a more natural degree, so that it was probably the most enjoyable listening Supergrass sessions that I can remember. Again, in Bowie’s Aladdin Sane, the almost jazz like energy of Mike Garson’s piano playing is well controlled and never harsh or over-bearing on the Phonix.
Bass – VE have dedicated 4 x BA drivers for the low frequency range, and, as I stated previously in comparison to the Trailli, this to me is as close as I’ve heard a BA driven iem get the low frequencies close to that ‘timbre’ of a Dynamic Driver sound. Low end attack is clear, while decay is as natural as a dynamic driver, especially evident again in Bowie’s Aladdin Sane piano playing which, around the 2-minute mark, charges forward and then transitions into a deep rumble – beautifully captured by the Phonix and most ‘un-BA’ like!
Sub-lows, while not at bass-head levels, still have enough rumble in them to add that addictive energy to heavier rock / metal tracks. The Breeders album ‘All Nerve’, especially on tracks like ‘MegaGoth’, presents a guttural low-end punch and lingering decay to the sub-bass level guitar, yet when playing more digitised tracks such as on Graham Coxons album “Running for Your Life” on the track “City Hall”, the rolling electronic bass that underpins the song is covered off with a sharper electronic style of bass attack and decay. Definitely some very competent & detailed tuning going on here with the Phonix !
Sound, Timbre, Cohesiveness - Layering control as shown in Bowies ‘See Emily Play’, especially on the complex overlayering of Bowies vocals, the vocal backup group, piano and heavy bass that under-pins the song – as good as I’ve heard before.
I think what impressed me so much with the Phonix is, that when the music calls for it it can sparkle in the highs (sorry for the overuse of that word again…), push out the mid vocals or rumble in the bass like a specialist, but, one that never seems un-naturally dominating or exaggerating to the tone of the other frequencies when needed on complex multi-layered tracks. But it can also present a nice and sparse ‘air’ tone on more laid-back music, so the Phonix can have finesse when needed too.
The EXT, Phonix and Comparisons to other iem’s
EXT : The EXT is pitched just under totl pricing, but as a hybrid design the closest of my iems for comparison would be with the MMR Thummim (DD for lows, BA for mids, e-stats for highs, but allowing for the fairly big $ gap when new). In this case the EXT excels in the lows as the Thummim DD driver (Fostex I think) tends to be a bit too slow and not as natural sounding to my ears. In the mids, which have been Vision Ears dominant focus in this iem series, I think it is let down by the DD driver a touch; while warm & lush, however I think the Thummim BA drivers portray better energy and clarity in this range.
For the high frequency range, these 2 are quite different even though both are e-stats – the EXT as explained above almost feel a bit restrained (perhaps on purpose as posed in the Treble section to maintain cohesiveness ?), whereas the Thummim comes off as a bit too un-restrained (ie not as well controlled and sometimes harsh – eg the piano on Bowie’s Aladdin Sane track). But it’s when considering each for soundstage that there is a bit of a wide gulf, with the Thummim being well known for its huge soundstage and driving energy whereas the EXT comes across as a fair bit more intimate in its staging. But I think that fundamentally the EXT would fair better for longer listening sessions with its extreme comfort design (in my ears) and it’s smoother more coherant sound, which while lacking a bit (relatively speaking) in clarity, separation, and energy vs the Thummim, which while being a more exciting listen, is one that can become fatiguing over longer listening sessions.
Phonix: As a totl iem in the Vision Ears range, the Phonix has a lot of highly competent iems as competitors, but it’s brilliant tuning makes it more than a match for most iems’s I have heard. Of my own iem’s the Unique Melody Fusang would be closest both in tuning style and design – both being full BA driver design, but with the Fusang’s having an additional full-range bone conductor driver that theoretically should give it an edge in staging, visceral rumble, etc. But such as the competence of Vision Ears tuning skill, that expected outcome was not really the case.
The Fusangs have a certain Unique Melody ‘house sound’, a combination of natural and lush sounds at all frequencies and an enveloping but wide and deep soundstage that has become a favourite go-to iem of mine (and a definite keeper) for its ability to work for all the music styles that I enjoy. Yet the Phonix was able to match the Fusang in all areas while adding an extra dose of clarity, separation, and energy in the mids that is addictive to me, and an ability to control the extremes of music to a higher degree. In addition the Fusangs are fairly hard to drive, often needing higher volume settings compared to the Phonix (the result of extra power to drive the bone conductor ?), so the Phonix may work better with lower powered music players.
It was all these abilities of its amazing sound that spoiled the EXT’s listening experience for me, for once I switched over to listening to the Phonix, going back to the EXT, while still a great iem in isolation, was shown to be wanting.
DAP Compatibility
EXT: If it wasn’t already obvious from my “Sound” section comments on the EXT, the slight slowness and tuning evenness makes it a clear match for me when considering the DAP’s that I have. And that is the Sony WM1Z which I found a good match to counter the EXT’s tuning condition, adding some needed sharpness in the mids and while the Sony isn’t the most powerful DAP out there it drove the EXT’s to a good level providing some good energy in the bass and sharpness in the highs given the adjustability of Sony’s wide range of tuning filters (ie record player tones, etc).
In comparison the Cayin N6ii with R2R module added a bit too much lushness to the mids & lows and a bit too much reduction in the technicalities (separation, clarity, etc) that the EXT was already in need of.
Similarly, the AK 2000T with the tube amp setting gave a similar added slight ‘mushiness’ while the Op-amp settings caused a bit too much of a drop in the warmness to my tastes. So then, the Sony was that ‘Goldilocks” DAP that was a good match to the EXT !
Phonix: With the already well-matched tuning to my tastes the Phonix’ versatility again showed itself in providing a nice match to any of the 3 DAP’s I had on hand for these impressions. It had the ability to nicely work with the naturalness and warmness of the Cayin’s R2R DAC module and the AK 2000T in tube amp mode, adding some extra sharpness to the mix, that had the effect of sounding like extra energy in the mids, and added clarity in the highs, that these 2 DAC’s can often lack on certain tracks (again, the Bowie Aladdin Sane track shows this clearly).
The Sony’s one main drawback (other than lack of wifi if you are a streaming fan) is its moderate power to drive some iem’s to their capacity (eg my UM Fusang), however as the Phonix is fairly easy to drive, it was a nice pair-up with the added bonus of being sensitive to the Sony’s tuning filters which tended to have a more noticeable effect than with my other iems. Again, in addition to that ‘summit-fi’ sound, The Phonix displays a keen versatility to work well with a range of DAP’s.
Wrap-up
As the owner of Vision Ears EVE20, I am aware of VE’s ability to tune an iem’s sound to deliver more than sum of their driver set, and to be so well controlled as to often have very little in the way of negatives to discuss when giving my opinion of their products. The EXT is a worthy successor to the revered Elysium with a unique and beautifully put together body quality and improved sound via an additional dynamic driver flavour to bass sounds, lusher mids, but I was expecting a bit more ‘sparkle’ from the e-stat driven highs – maybe necessary with an all dynamic driven low and mid iem to ensure cohesiveness crossing into the highs (perhaps?).
The Phonix surprised me and was a bit of a spoiler to the EXT show, immediately grabbing my attention by its incredible detail, clarity, energy, and an ability to present the best in any music that I listen to. The Phonix, to my ears and for my musical tastes is one of the best iem’s I have listened to in the last couple of years which includes many of the best iem’s in the business, irrespective of cost, thanks to the local efforts of
@Damz87 and our local main Audiophile stores such as Minidisc and Addicted to Audio in making both tour and demo iems available to us Aussies to try out.
Many thanks for these opportunities !
C
heers, JD
