After more digging and AB test. I found that I was playing the River Flows on You from the The Best - Reminiscent 10th Anniversary Album, instead of the SOLO album. This version has the "thump" noise. Yes, Gaea is super sensitive and you can hear the differences from different bitrates and recordings.
Effect Audio x Elysian Acoustic Labs Gaea - Discussion & Impression Thread
- Thread starter Rockwell75
- Start date
I gave a listen to River Flows In You, Yiruma, is a SOLO piano teacher at a music school. On Gaea with Shanling H7. With the tips Final audio Type E black. More than 30 years of experience, with higher musical education, concertmaster. She knows and respected Yiruma, his compositions they play at school with children. She said that the composition itself is slightly different from the notes in the style of the game. Well, this is a solo performance and the virtuoso Yiruma decided to add his own colors. But most importantly, she said that Gaea sounds so amazing that it's better than live 
. I am very happy for such a high level of Gaea sound.
This is one of the best excellent composition, including for comparing tips. I will definitely do it as soon as new ones arrive.
. I am very happy for such a high level of Gaea sound.This is one of the best excellent composition, including for comparing tips. I will definitely do it as soon as new ones arrive.
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But it's tracks like Mariah Carey - My All - Butterfly: 25th Anniversary Expanded Edit that really sound amazing. Yes Gaea and female vocals... Listen up.
And after this track, let someone say that there are not enough low frequencies in Gaea
. Or after the Billie Eilish tracks, where a musical subwoofer appears in Gaea. In tracks where there is an emphasis on LFE or there is an emphasis on low frequencies, Gaea fulfills them perfectly. This does not only apply to tracks with female vocals and male sounds wonderful. Listen up Desert Rose (My Songs Version) Sting - My Songs (Deluxe) or Fields Of Gold or Shape Of My Heart (FIP Session Live in Paris at the Pantheon) Sting - The Bridge (Super Deluxe) Everything depends heavily on the content. Where there is and you need to show bass, there it is and is shown.
Only complete tips W1 should be removed. I don't know why they were put on Gaea. They fit perfectly with the Monarch MK2, but they don't fit Gaea in any way. Even cheap TRI Clarion plays better with Gaea.
Listen up.And after this track, let someone say that there are not enough low frequencies in Gaea
. Or after the Billie Eilish tracks, where a musical subwoofer appears in Gaea. In tracks where there is an emphasis on LFE or there is an emphasis on low frequencies, Gaea fulfills them perfectly. This does not only apply to tracks with female vocals and male sounds wonderful. Listen up Desert Rose (My Songs Version) Sting - My Songs (Deluxe) or Fields Of Gold or Shape Of My Heart (FIP Session Live in Paris at the Pantheon) Sting - The Bridge (Super Deluxe) Everything depends heavily on the content. Where there is and you need to show bass, there it is and is shown. Only complete tips W1 should be removed. I don't know why they were put on Gaea. They fit perfectly with the Monarch MK2, but they don't fit Gaea in any way. Even cheap TRI Clarion plays better with Gaea.
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Ok, here goes my lengthy impressions of the GAEA!
TLDR:
Excellent vocal IEM with reduced bass dynamics. Mids and treble shine with vocals with sweetness instead of an edge. GAEA lacks some punch and impact from mid-bass. Instead, fast decay low bass together with crisp mid+treble works well for fast metal/prog and busy j-pop. A better amp gets you better balance.
Setup:
First, the construction is really nice. Short and slightly thick. Slightly larger than Andromeda classic. The nozzle is medium length (not as long as Odin but longer than Oriolus/Andromeda, similar to UM MEST from memory). Gives me good deeper insertion. Very comfortable for me and sits firmly in my ears. The outer dimension, nozzle angle, nozzle length, and weight are very similar to FAudio Mezzo. I wished that it had 2pin connection so I can use my cables.
Onto the sound, I would characterize GAEA as a nice vocal-centric IEM with suppressed bass dynamics. For the most part, the vocals are expressive, emotional, and stand out from the music. I think the main strength of GAEA is how the vocals (and mid-treble) sound so sweet. Other than one specific region near 8kHz, the treble has a rounded sweetness (instead of an “edge” to the sound) to it that makes it very pleasant. It’s a very different treble presentation compared to other vendors that I know (64/EE sounds harder but open. It’s not like a shimmery e-stat treble. Perhaps closest to VE style treble). Though rare, when the vocal reaches really low, it seems to sound a little boxy from lack of mid-bass/upper-bass.
The second notable character is the relatively dry fast decay, across the frequency range. This character is a double-edged sword in that it helps instrument separation but room/hall acoustics and reverberation effects are minimized. I believe the narrow spherical soundstage of GAEA comes from this characteristic. In fact, I thought Jewel had similar decay characteristics and soundstage. GAEA does sound more dynamic and lively to me than Jewel (from memory).
The bass seems to be the contentious point. To me, it has an adequate quantity of low-bass to match the mids and treble. However, mid-bass and upper-bass are suppressed. This seems to make the bass less dynamic/punchy than mids and treble. GAEA bass punches with reserved dynamics and fast decay, giving the music speed and clarity. It seems to work well with many pop/classic rock/metal/modern prog. If you are after head-filling bass, this is not the set for it.
What the mid-bass suppression also seems to do is reduce “air” and “width” of the soundstage. The music sounds like it is played direct in front of you, with the crossfade turned on. For some music that relies on mid-bass as the supporting frequency range, the music out of GAEA can sound thin and light. Low volume seems to accentuate this character. Perhaps this is where the polarizing views are coming from. For my library with many acoustic instruments, this meant the loss of space and woodiness of acoustic guitar/violin/cello/piano/dulcimer/etc. When I need to hear the instrument timbre, unfortunately, GAEA is not my choice.
Last but not least, GAEA seems to favor more power. As I scaled from DX240->SP3K->LP6->desktop, the GAEA seemed to scale well resulting in better bass response.
In summary, I really enjoyed GAEA with music that matches the strength of GAEA – the vocals. It’s a specialist IEM that I have to be selective at what I play. From this experience, I like what Elysian is doing and look forward to an opportunity to hear their other models.
Compared to my other IEMs:
A&K Zero1
GAEA is probably closest to A&K Zero1. Zero1 is slightly lower resolution and it has bass with similar balance relative to mids and treble. The Treble is more shimmery on Zero1. Mids have a characteristic planar bite to it whereas GAEA is sweeter.
Campfire Andromeda (classic)
Bass is mid-bass focused but similar balance relative to mids and treble. Andro has warmer and forward mids that sound a little wonky compared GAEA. The lower treble is recessed and upper treble shimmer is emphasized on Andro (more cymbal shimmer) compared to GAEA.
FAudio Mezzos
Mezzo brings the stage closer to you with a stronger punching W-shaped sound. Bass is a lot more dynamic. Better resolution in mids and treble. Supercharge the crisp sound of GAEA with better bass.
Some music specific notes:
Marcus Miller with Corinne Bailey Rae, “Free”
TLDR:
Excellent vocal IEM with reduced bass dynamics. Mids and treble shine with vocals with sweetness instead of an edge. GAEA lacks some punch and impact from mid-bass. Instead, fast decay low bass together with crisp mid+treble works well for fast metal/prog and busy j-pop. A better amp gets you better balance.
Setup:
- DAPs used: SP3000, LP6 Ti 7th Anv, iBasso DX240
- For tips, my usual go-to is Symbio W peel. This wasn’t a good pairing for me as it had a very light bass and somewhat harsh treble. I settled on Azla SednaEarfit Standard (black with light gray core). The bore size matches the GAEA bore. It sits deeper with better tonal balance for me.
First, the construction is really nice. Short and slightly thick. Slightly larger than Andromeda classic. The nozzle is medium length (not as long as Odin but longer than Oriolus/Andromeda, similar to UM MEST from memory). Gives me good deeper insertion. Very comfortable for me and sits firmly in my ears. The outer dimension, nozzle angle, nozzle length, and weight are very similar to FAudio Mezzo. I wished that it had 2pin connection so I can use my cables.
Onto the sound, I would characterize GAEA as a nice vocal-centric IEM with suppressed bass dynamics. For the most part, the vocals are expressive, emotional, and stand out from the music. I think the main strength of GAEA is how the vocals (and mid-treble) sound so sweet. Other than one specific region near 8kHz, the treble has a rounded sweetness (instead of an “edge” to the sound) to it that makes it very pleasant. It’s a very different treble presentation compared to other vendors that I know (64/EE sounds harder but open. It’s not like a shimmery e-stat treble. Perhaps closest to VE style treble). Though rare, when the vocal reaches really low, it seems to sound a little boxy from lack of mid-bass/upper-bass.
The second notable character is the relatively dry fast decay, across the frequency range. This character is a double-edged sword in that it helps instrument separation but room/hall acoustics and reverberation effects are minimized. I believe the narrow spherical soundstage of GAEA comes from this characteristic. In fact, I thought Jewel had similar decay characteristics and soundstage. GAEA does sound more dynamic and lively to me than Jewel (from memory).
The bass seems to be the contentious point. To me, it has an adequate quantity of low-bass to match the mids and treble. However, mid-bass and upper-bass are suppressed. This seems to make the bass less dynamic/punchy than mids and treble. GAEA bass punches with reserved dynamics and fast decay, giving the music speed and clarity. It seems to work well with many pop/classic rock/metal/modern prog. If you are after head-filling bass, this is not the set for it.
What the mid-bass suppression also seems to do is reduce “air” and “width” of the soundstage. The music sounds like it is played direct in front of you, with the crossfade turned on. For some music that relies on mid-bass as the supporting frequency range, the music out of GAEA can sound thin and light. Low volume seems to accentuate this character. Perhaps this is where the polarizing views are coming from. For my library with many acoustic instruments, this meant the loss of space and woodiness of acoustic guitar/violin/cello/piano/dulcimer/etc. When I need to hear the instrument timbre, unfortunately, GAEA is not my choice.
Last but not least, GAEA seems to favor more power. As I scaled from DX240->SP3K->LP6->desktop, the GAEA seemed to scale well resulting in better bass response.
In summary, I really enjoyed GAEA with music that matches the strength of GAEA – the vocals. It’s a specialist IEM that I have to be selective at what I play. From this experience, I like what Elysian is doing and look forward to an opportunity to hear their other models.
Compared to my other IEMs:
A&K Zero1
GAEA is probably closest to A&K Zero1. Zero1 is slightly lower resolution and it has bass with similar balance relative to mids and treble. The Treble is more shimmery on Zero1. Mids have a characteristic planar bite to it whereas GAEA is sweeter.
Campfire Andromeda (classic)
Bass is mid-bass focused but similar balance relative to mids and treble. Andro has warmer and forward mids that sound a little wonky compared GAEA. The lower treble is recessed and upper treble shimmer is emphasized on Andro (more cymbal shimmer) compared to GAEA.
FAudio Mezzos
Mezzo brings the stage closer to you with a stronger punching W-shaped sound. Bass is a lot more dynamic. Better resolution in mids and treble. Supercharge the crisp sound of GAEA with better bass.
Some music specific notes:
Marcus Miller with Corinne Bailey Rae, “Free”
- Superb vocal, very emotional. Not forward, just in the rest of the band.
- The bass is tight, short decay, and clean (perhaps a little dry).
- When the hi-hat opens, it turns into a slightly annoying sizzle.
- Very light touch piano.
- The acoustic guitar has a nice metallic ring from the strings but lacks woodiness from the body.
- Same for violin and cello.
- Vocal stands out nicely, is expressive, and is emotional.
- Kick drum has short decay thump
- Short decay for snare (and springs) hits.
- Percussion in upper mids and treble is excellent
- The vocals and guitar riffs come through quite clean on GAEA. It easily gets muddy with other bass heavy IEMs.
- Bass and drum have slightly suppressed dynamics while being present.
- It’s a clean listen but lacks excitement from the mid-bass punch – gets me head-nodding not head-banging
- Lighter touch piano and cymbals immediately stands out
- Drums pushed to the back and suppressed
- Imaging is narrow, everything coming at you from the front
- For piano focused listening, GAEA has great clarity, making it easy to pick out the notes. The piano timbre is not the best if I want to enjoy the live jazz atmosphere.
musofi
New Head-Fier
Very interestingI gave a listen to River Flows In You, Yiruma, is a SOLO piano teacher at a music school. On Gaea with Shanling H7. With the tips Final audio Type E black. More than 30 years of experience, with higher musical education, concertmaster. She knows and respected Yiruma, his compositions they play at school with children. She said that the composition itself is slightly different from the notes in the style of the game. Well, this is a solo performance and the virtuoso Yiruma decided to add his own colors. But most importantly, she said that Gaea sounds so amazing that it's better than live
This is one of the best excellent composition, including for comparing tips. I will definitely do it as soon as new ones arrive.
I don't know which difference it makes, but I listen to the downloaded album, not streaming. From my experience it makes a difference, but don't know how much in Yiruma case.
Happy listening
Some reviews here on Gaea are used in recording examples that raise doubts about their quality of studio recording and processing. These recordings are not available on streaming services, they can hardly be found on the Internet and I personally have doubts about their quality. Yes, it sounds great, but the question is to the studio recording of instruments, on the basis of which a conclusion is made about the sound of Gaea
Having found with great difficulty the record SUARA POWDER SNOW (Pure Version) I listened to her. The performer's voice sounds good and the melody itself is beautiful. But here are the instruments, I have big doubts about their recording quality. OK, the guitar, it really sounds very weak there. it feels like it's not being played on an acoustic guitar, but on an electric guitar with acoustic strings. That is, everything is as you wrote, the sound is not a live guitar. There is no "woody sound".
Therefore, I urge you not to use downloaded recordings from the Internet, but to listen to recordings from the Qobuz streaming service, where such questions do not arise to the recordings. Naturally, there, too, as everywhere there are recordings that are not as well recorded as we would like. But in general, the quality of service is at the highest level. Let me remind you that DSD format is a rip format from vinyl. Therefore, a lot of questions may also arise about the DSD. Use Hires from the streaming service for evaluation.
Sory, i can't agree about the sound of acoustic guitar and piano. We still need to look for high-quality recordings and listen to the violin.
I suppose it's the source or the records themselves. Gaea is very sensitive to the source and to the quality of the recordings. Yiruma piano is recorded very qualitatively and sounds fully as a real live instrument. There is absolutely nothing to find fault with, even for a professional person
Regarding the sound of acoustic guitar, listen to the new album Thibault Cauvin - Bach in Hi res 24\96 solo guitar performance in Qobuz without extra instruments. The guitar sounds amazing. The sound of acoustic guitar playing, including the "woody sound", is completely identical to 100%. Listen up. And I also recommend listening to Final Audio Type E ear pads right away, they add great physicality to the sound and instruments.
Can someone else besides me listen to Thibault Cauvin - Bach acoustic guitar? Tell me how the guitar sounds to you.
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Some reviews here on Gaea are used in recording examples that raise doubts about their quality of studio recording and processing. These recordings are not available on streaming services, they can hardly be found on the Internet and I personally have doubts about their quality. Yes, it sounds great, but the question is to the studio recording of instruments, on the basis of which a conclusion is made about the sound of Gaea
Having found with great difficulty the record SUARA POWDER SNOW (Pure Version) I listened to her. The performer's voice sounds good and the melody itself is beautiful. But here are the instruments, I have big doubts about their recording quality. OK, the guitar, it really sounds very weak there. it feels like it's not being played on an acoustic guitar, but on an electric guitar with acoustic strings. That is, everything is as you wrote, the sound is not a live guitar. There is no "woody sound".
Therefore, I urge you not to use downloaded recordings from the Internet, but to listen to recordings from the Qobuz streaming service, where such questions do not arise to the recordings. Naturally, there, too, as everywhere there are recordings that are not as well recorded as we would like. But in general, the quality of service is at the highest level. Let me remind you that DSD format is a rip format from vinyl. Therefore, a lot of questions may also arise about the DSD. Use Hires from the streaming service for evaluation.
Sory, i can't agree about the sound of acoustic guitar and piano. We still need to look for high-quality recordings and listen to the violin.
I suppose it's the source or the records themselves. Gaea is very sensitive to the source and to the quality of the recordings. Yiruma piano is recorded very qualitatively and sounds fully as a real live instrument. There is absolutely nothing to find fault with, even for a professional person
Regarding the sound of acoustic guitar, listen to the new album Thibault Cauvin - Bach in Hi res 24\96 solo guitar performance in Qobuz without extra instruments. The guitar sounds amazing. The sound of acoustic guitar playing, including the "woody sound", is completely identical to 100%. Listen up. And I also recommend listening to Final Audio Type E ear pads right away, they add great physicality to the sound and instruments.
Can someone else besides me listen to Thibault Cauvin - Bach acoustic guitar? Tell me how the guitar sounds to you.
Hi there! Thanks for the feedback!
I can understand your doubts about the source quality. FYI, the Powder Snow recording is not a random internet download. I have a purchased version that I used. The Apple music reference in my review is for your access for this type of discussion
Available here:
https://mora.jp/package/43000011/4538182773963_HD/
Recorded in the renowned studio DALI in Tokyo Japan (and Victor studio) with top notch studio players.
The guitar in Powder Snow is actually a steel-string acoustic guitar. With my other IEMs, I actually get a good sense of wood resonance for guitar and cello on this recording. It's just that with GAEA, it seemed to emphasize the zingy part more than I prefer. This wasn't the only guitar recording with this impression. As a matter of fact, my library is full of guitarists since I am a guitar hobbyist for 35 years myself. Adding a few dB in 60-80Hz range made it better for me.
Unfortunately, I just shipped out my tour GAEA so I cannot verify anymore, but Thibault Cauvin's guitar does indeed sound very good. He has a modern recorded tone that tends to be closer to the mic and a somewhat V-shaped tone from a very vibrant hardwood guitar character. I'm pretty confident this will sound good with GAEA. If you tried some of the older names like the Romero's in the traditional Spanish/Classical areas, they tend to have a more mid-bass oriented cedar wood tone which sounded suppressed with GAEA, to my ears.
I think it's a similar story for Yiruma's Solo album. I think his recording is beautiful and done in a modern way with melodic clarity emphasis and low bass support. This works very well for GAEA.
I may have sounded critical in my review but I am a fan of this tuning. Lot less to complain about than the stuff I tried in the last few years that cost double/triple this set.
Thank you very much for such details. So everything became clear. It's great that the recording was made qualitatively. I couldn't just get it without buying it. About the different sound of guitars and other instruments. Yes, most likely it is, it's about recording the instrument and tuning the sound. Where there is a V tuning of instruments, on Gaea it sounds great based on its tuning. I will definitely listen to what you have written. Thanks again for the details.
Sounds good! Listen around and let us know what works and what doesn't.
Do you have other IEMs you use to listen? Just curious because more data point will be helpful to calibrate our preferences. I'm sure others will benefit too.
Titaniumxylophone
New Head-Fier
I am using Gaea for roughly a month and I simply love this set for the most part. Amazing clarity, but it can reveal imperfections in the recordings.
Any thoughts on this vs the Monarch MKII, U12t, IER-Z1R, and the Diva?
I have the Gaea and Z1R and I used to have the Monarch MKII.
The Z1R has the bass as the star of the show but I find it to not do vocals particularly well. The monarch MKII is excellently well rounded but is very uncomfortable (the Z1R might have a contentious fit but it works for me much better than the Monarch does). The Gaea has the best treble response and is amazing for female vocals. The bass is something most people will find to be anemic, though. Adding a few dbs on the lower end does wonders, though. I find the Gaea to be the most comfortable by a good margin.
I have the Z1R and just sold my Monarch MKII the other day. I found it excellent but a little boring.
Apart from the fit, what would you say the main differences are between the Gaea and the MMKII? The main music I listen to is rock - 60s, 70s, and early 2000s garage rock. Which IEM would be best for that?
There are other interesting news here. From the moment of ordering and buying Gaea, I was sure that I would not touch the stock cable ). Well, of course, he is also amazing in the style of Gaea. But then I came across the new Code23 from Effect-audio. I studied more information about it and damn it!!!! I came to the conclusion that it should definitely be tried, no matter what... I ordered it... I'm waiting delivery. And then messages began to appear, first on the effect-audio website in reviews about Code23, and then on CanJam Singapore 2023. That he's damn good, especially in synergy with Gaea. He should add meat to the bass and middle. Greatly improve the sound stage and transform the vocals... Yes, I understand that I am losing the amazing visual of the stock cable, but in anticipation of improving the sound more... Damn it, they are at the CanJam Singapore 2023 exhibition giving Gaia to listen with Code23 and offering to purchase it in addition to headphones. Yes, it's heavy, it's big and not very agile, but it's all nonsense compared to what it can give by sound. Waiting for an upgrade... In the photo, Gaea with a Code23 cable
). Well, of course, he is also amazing in the style of Gaea. But then I came across the new Code23 from Effect-audio. I studied more information about it and damn it!!!! I came to the conclusion that it should definitely be tried, no matter what... I ordered it... I'm waiting delivery. And then messages began to appear, first on the effect-audio website in reviews about Code23, and then on CanJam Singapore 2023. That he's damn good, especially in synergy with Gaea. He should add meat to the bass and middle. Greatly improve the sound stage and transform the vocals... Yes, I understand that I am losing the amazing visual of the stock cable, but in anticipation of improving the sound more... Damn it, they are at the CanJam Singapore 2023 exhibition giving Gaia to listen with Code23 and offering to purchase it in addition to headphones. Yes, it's heavy, it's big and not very agile, but it's all nonsense compared to what it can give by sound. Waiting for an upgrade... In the photo, Gaea with a Code23 cable Attachments
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GiullianSN
Headphoneus Supremus
That’s right mate,There are other interesting news here. From the moment of ordering and buying Gaea, I was sure that I would not touch the stock cable
If one can, Code 23 makes wonders to Gaea (and many other IEMs from what I can hear and see). You’re definitely going on the right directions. Make sure to order it with the full ConX kit so you can try it with all your IEMs.
Cheers and enjoy!
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