[o0genesis0o]

Thanks so much! We appreciate it. Glad you're loving it.

Eh, didn't realise that you are MOT of Elysian now. Imagine working right where the Anni is made. Jealous!

---

I enjoy pairing the Gaea with DX300. The edge seems to be soften a touch. However I use it almost exclusively with HiBy R3II nowadays. Easy to carry around.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Eh, didn't realise that you are MOT of Elysian now. Imagine working right where the Anni is made. Jealous!

---

I enjoy pairing the Gaea with DX300. The edge seems to be soften a touch. However I use it almost exclusively with HiBy R3II nowadays. Easy to carry around.

I'm remote not involved anything elysian until next month!

 

[FocalMan]

Just my short impressions about Gaea, maybe someone will be interested

So it have been already 6th month that I own them, during this time there were several times I hated them and once even have tried to sell them, due to major problem I had with this IEM specifically treble
My major complaints about them:

1. Cable, it's incredibly beautiful on pictures, but it has pretty bad user experience, mine other Tripowin Zonie cable for 20$ is miles ahead in terms of comfort, this cable is just so stiff and have cable memory issues, it's just don't want to lie down in peace, knowing that cheapest Effect Audio cable is 180$ it's a disappointment
2. They have huge nozzle, around 7.1mm, for comparison Blessing 2 and Variations have 6.5mm nozzle that is still to big for many people, because of this fit even with my big ears isn't completely comfortable
3. And them main issue is treble even with -4db high shelf from 11khz to 20khz they are still brighter than stock Variations tuning

Now the good part
By accident after spending 100$+ on eartips, I have found a combination of using high shelf -3.5db after 11khz together with AZLA Xelastec eartips to finally suit my taste, and I started to really love them for what they can do with sound

Before this combination, 90% of my playlist with favorite songs was unlistenable, now it's like 20%, but on the rest songs, they just deliver, it became a state-of-art experience with my sinful music

About sound
Gaea is like adrenaline injection into your bloodstream, they want you to keep your attention only on music and not on anything else, the feeling that details are limitless, the more you critically concentrate on sound the more you get, they provide hyper engaging that just force your body to move in tact with the aggressively engaging beat

I liked one description of their sound, someone called it intoxicating, whatever this word can mean to someone, but I agree with this description. They are extremely specialist IEM, with good sub-bass boost, shy mid-bass and razor thin lower midrange region together with pronounce upper midrange and treble region

The amount of details is extreme and due to excellent implementation of 4-way crossover or maybe due to boosted air frequencies you get sound with extreme feel of sharpness, clarity and detail, there are very cool small echoes here and there that I never heard before on any headphones or IEMs before, soundstage or headstage feels very big with plenty of air and space to position vocals and instruments, everything is separated and layered out and never one sound interrupt or cover another sound, I have heard on Gaea some small details, that I have never heard before in other hi-end over-ear headphones or in Variations. The bass have fast decay and hits very deep and very hard, they are so engaging and fun with the right songs, that it's truly become very unique and special experience, that can be subjectively worth to pay for, knowing their high price Elysian asks for them. After listening to them, Variations that I loved to death before, sounding just so soft, dull, boring and low-res

Overall great job Elysian, for 1300$ MSRP you indeed get something special with specific set of songs, that I haven't got from LCD-X, Clear, Arya or Variations, it's my first IEM from this small boutique brand, but definitely not last, now I just can't wait to try the Diva and the Greatest One - Annihilator 2023 that cost absurd amount of money for an IEM, but even not listening to it, I believe that they both deliver sound, that very few IEMs can do, I encourage to try Gaea, but because I think they are not a well-rounded IEM and very specialist and also subjectively very expensive, very few people will make final decision to buy and own them, but when all conditions are covered, the experience listening to them is just mind blowing.

 

[o0genesis0o]

Just my short impressions about Gaea, maybe someone will be interested

So it have been already 6th month that I own them, during this time there were several times I hated them and once even have tried to sell them, due to major problem I had with this IEM specifically treble
My major complaints about them:

1. Cable, it's incredibly beautiful on pictures, but it has pretty bad user experience, mine other Tripowin Zonie cable for 20$ is miles ahead in terms of comfort, this cable is just so stiff and have cable memory issues, it's just don't want to lie down in peace, knowing that cheapest Effect Audio cable is 180$ it's a disappointment
2. They have huge nozzle, around 7.1mm, for comparison Blessing 2 and Variations have 6.5mm nozzle that is still to big for many people, because of this fit even with my big ears isn't completely comfortable
3. And them main issue is treble even with -4db high shelf from 11khz to 20khz they are still brighter than stock Variations tuning

Now the good part
By accident after spending 100$+ on eartips, I have found a combination of using high shelf -3.5db after 11khz together with AZLA Xelastec eartips to finally suit my taste, and I started to really love them for what they can do with sound

Before this combination, 90% of my playlist with favorite songs was unlistenable, now it's like 20%, but on the rest songs, they just deliver, it became a state-of-art experience with my sinful music

About sound
Gaea is like adrenaline injection into your bloodstream, they want you to keep your attention only on music and not on anything else, the feeling that details are limitless, the more you critically concentrate on sound the more you get, they provide hyper engaging that just force your body to move in tact with the aggressively engaging beat

I liked one description of their sound, someone called it intoxicating, whatever this word can mean to someone, but I agree with this description. They are extremely specialist IEM, with good sub-bass boost, shy mid-bass and razor thin lower midrange region together with pronounce upper midrange and treble region

The amount of details is extreme and due to excellent implementation of 4-way crossover or maybe due to boosted air frequencies you get sound with extreme feel of sharpness, clarity and detail, there are very cool small echoes here and there that I never heard before on any headphones or IEMs before, soundstage or headstage feels very big with plenty of air and space to position vocals and instruments, everything is separated and layered out and never one sound interrupt or cover another sound, I have heard on Gaea some small details, that I have never heard before in other hi-end over-ear headphones or in Variations. The bass have fast decay and hits very deep and very hard, they are so engaging and fun with the right songs, that it's truly become very unique and special experience, that can be subjectively worth to pay for, knowing their high price Elysian asks for them. After listening to them, Variations that I loved to death before, sounding just so soft, dull, boring and low-res

Overall great job Elysian, for 1300$ MSRP you indeed get something special with specific set of songs, that I haven't got from LCD-X, Clear, Arya or Variations, it's my first IEM from this small boutique brand, but definitely not last, now I just can't wait to try the Diva and the Greatest One - Annihilator 2023 that cost absurd amount of money for an IEM, but even not listening to it, I believe that they both deliver sound, that very few IEMs can do, I encourage to try Gaea, but because I think they are not a well-rounded IEM and very specialist and also subjectively very expensive, very few people will make final decision to buy and own them, but when all conditions are covered, the experience listening to them is just mind blowing.

How shallow do you wear these IEM? I swap to large spring tips (moondrop) and wear the IEM flushed against the ear concha, and most of the unwanted treble peak is gone, making the micro details even easier to hear.

If you have problem with treble, you can try to cut the 5kHz rather than above 10kHz, since it’s pretty uneventful from 5kHz up, IMHO. Quite different from 64 audio with milder 5-6kHz, and then spicy 8k and 16kHz.

Agree with you that this IEM is all about Adrenaline, but at the same time, it can be surprisingly delicate. John Denver final recordings sound divine with these. Interestingly, orchestra does not sound incorrect either, despite the brighter tuning. Lee of Elysian is a great tuner.

 

[FocalMan]

How shallow do you wear these IEM? I swap to large spring tips (moondrop) and wear the IEM flushed against the ear concha, and most of the unwanted treble peak is gone, making the micro details even easier to hear.

If you have problem with treble, you can try to cut the 5kHz rather than above 10kHz, since it’s pretty uneventful from 5kHz up, IMHO. Quite different from 64 audio with milder 5-6kHz, and then spicy 8k and 16kHz.

Agree with you that this IEM is all about Adrenaline, but at the same time, it can be surprisingly delicate. John Denver final recordings sound divine with these. Interestingly, orchestra does not sound incorrect either, despite the brighter tuning. Lee of Elysian is a great tuner.

Sorry for late reply, so I think i wear them more deep than shallow, I'm using Azla Xelastec SS eartips that has 10.2mm in width, because stock SpinFit W1 even the S size with 11mm in width make IEMs almost fall out from my ears, and overall give pretty uncomfortable experience, with 10.2mm I believe I can insert them as deep as possible, and can comfortably listen to music, without worrying that IEMs will fall out from my ears

I tried to apply EQ with high shelf right from 5k to 20khz, however I didn't liked the resulted sound, it have lost it magic related exceptional clarity and sharpness and overall sound became not very good, but the brightness have definitely dissapeared, as I remember when Precog reviewed this IEM, he stated that there are some nasty peaks in 13khz and 15khz so having this information I decided to cut with high shelf everything after 11khz and finally liked the result, not the most ideal EQ, because they are still hurt my ears on some tracks in my music library, but on the rest they finally became so good, that I have decided to buy one more expensive Elysian IEM and it's Elysian Diva 2023 and will get them in 4-5 weeks, would buy Anni 2023, but it just to expensive for me now, but maybe one day in future...

 

[o0genesis0o]

I tried to apply EQ with high shelf right from 5k to 20khz, however I didn't liked the resulted sound

nah, don’t do shelf, just a controlled peak at 5kHz. But I personally leave it as is. It’s the character of that IEM.

Here is how I hear and EQ: if I hear very sharp “piercing” attack on chimes, triangles, bells, cymbals and hats, it’s likely due to excess 5-6kHz. If the pain comes from the “body” rather than the attack of those instruments, it’s likely 8-10kHz. If there is a strange “hissing”, like overly extended decay of these instruments, then it’s 15-16kHz. With Gaea, Lee pushed the entire region responsible for clarity as high as he can while keeping it smooth. Some manufacturers cut the 6kHz slightly to avoid overstepping the line. Fun fact: if you push the 8-10kHz enough, the IEM sounds snappier, but the timbre gradually becomes metallic and odd.

Glad that you mentioned Xelastec SS. I have a set coming as well. Finger crossed that it would work for my ears.