[NOMOS]

If we look at the two measurements , don't wonder the differences be felt at sound .
I think measurement 2 is a more balanced Sound represents with deep insert of Eartips .

Audiophile Greetings , NOMOS

 

[SlydZ]

I tried Gaea almost 2 hours before buying. After purchase, I tried with 400+ songs. Not fatigue , not sibilance.
J-Pop , K-Pop , Asian-Pop , Pop-Rock , Rock , Prog Rock , Acoustic , Country , Asian-Country.
Gaea is not suitable for brass instruments. Trombone , Trumpet etc. The sound will be quite rough.
I could stay with Gaea for 5 hours straight without feeling abnormal, but with Clear I couldn't.

- Clear Suitable for many music genres than Gaea. No problem with brass instruments. I don't like soundstage like balloon around my head. Vocals and instruments are too smooth, not grain , not texture , I don't like it. I don't think there are good detail in treble. Bright and agressive than Gaea.
- Arya SE , bass quantity , impact , punch and slam less than Clear. Soundstage is transparent , relieved, comfortable. Give every detail better Clear. The vocals are rough and grain , feel the texture. Treble more relax than Clear. I don't think Arya SE is bright , including Sundara 2020. Gaea is definitely brighter than Arya SE but not much.
It's hard to compare IEMs to headphones.
- Mest MKII Recessed in upper mid and then soar up in treble area . Yes, I can feel treble but it was a hardened ,harsh voice , too close to other sounds (instruments and chorus) and annoying. It's like you press the lighter many times. Don't get me wrong, Bass, Mids are good. Good IEM without "WOW" factor (follow the textbook), it's not surprising to me that prices drop so often.
But overall Gaea has better mids and a more beautiful and realistic vocal (colorless).

Gaea has a good vocal position. Not too close to the face, not shirked. Lively&Fun IEM , not laid back IEM.
However, I can't say whether you like Gaea or not.

Thank you so much for detailed comparisons. I think the Gaea isn't for me, especially as a blind buy. The Arya SE is too bright for me and it seems that the Gaea is even brighter. Probably not like an TH900 I think the reason that I like the clear is the focus at the upper mids and a really good bass and overall balanced for my taste. I liked the Arya SE, but it was too fatiguing and a little bit too bright overall. Another headphone I really like is the Hifiman XS, but technically wise the Arya SE was really impressive.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Thank you so much for detailed comparisons. I think the Gaea isn't for me, especially as a blind buy. The Arya SE is too bright for me and it seems that the Gaea is even brighter. Probably not like an TH900 I think the reason that I like the clear is the focus at the upper mids and a really good bass and overall balanced for my taste. I liked the Arya SE, but it was too fatiguing and a little bit too bright overall. Another headphone I really like is the Hifiman XS, but technically wise the Arya SE was really impressive.

Personally it still hard for me to enjoy Arya SE. Too bright and thin sounding (especially midrange area). I don't have any of these problems with Gaea though. Yeah, Gaea is a bit on brighter side from (my) neutral, but it is smooth on that area, and Vocal remain full body.

 

[lycos]

This impression is part of Gaea tour in Australia. Special thanks to @JordonEA and @Damz87 for organising this.

Build Quality
Gaea is definitely one of the most beautiful iems I have seen. The faceplate reminds me of lapis lazuli. It is paired with matching pattern splitter and jack. EA stock cable is soft and non-microphonic with colours that complements the overall aesthetic. I am impressed with the quality of workmanship reflected in this iem.

Setup
For this impression, I used different sources: AK SP3000, Cayin N8ii and Chord TT2. For tips: Spinfit W1 and JVC Spiraldot++. I listen mainly to pop and classic rock

Overview
Gaea overall tuning is J shape with emphasis on treble. I characterise it as a clean and light sounding iem.

Bass
Gaea has decent quantity of bass but missing the quality. The bass lacks of weight, body and rumble. Bass has slightly fast decay but still sound natural.

Mid
Mid is recessed and lack of warmth, with more emphasis on upper register. It gives mid a clean sound presentation but also lack of weight.
Female vocal esp in eastern ballads sounds rich and phenomenal. However, for male singer and most other genres, the vocal sounds hollow and fragile.

Treble
Treble in Gaea is elevated and well extended. It is also vivid, lively but yet still has full body. For me, this is the uniqueness of Elysian tuning where treble is thick. This treble quantity and energy however can be fatiguing.

Comparison with Thieaudio Monarch mk2

Monarch has neutral, reference like tuning, while Gaea is more treble focus.
Monarch has tighter and better bass control as well as texture. Vocal is fuller and warmer.
Gaea unsurprisingly has thicker and more forward treble. Instrument separation wise they’re on par.
Monarch is a more all rounder iem - while Gaea is a more specialist iem.

Conclusion
To sum up, Gaea is a well-built iem with unique tuning. Unfortunately, this is not an iem for me. I like Gaea treble quality but its lack of bass quality, thin vocal and too much elevation in lower treble are the deal breakers for me.

 

[PotatoMEZE]

With respect all opinions . As I have had Monarch MKII for a long time, MKII focuses on vocals. But I don't think that's quite right.
And the bass quantity is not enough. Overall, it's a genre that gets boring quickly.
Gaea's vocals are more accurate. If you replace the MKII's stock cable, the charming reverb disappears.
Fair fight using the stock cable , I let Gaea win and be more attractive.

 

[Sifo]

Stealing @lycos breakdown format for simplicity and brevity. I had the opportunity to demo Gaea via @Rockwell75 tour, thanks again. Had it for about a week but honestly spent 99% of that time with the Diva as I much preferred it over Gaea in every way.

Build Quality
Beautiful IEM, well constructed, cable especially. That splitter design with the flush chin piece is fun to play with. More blue IEMs please!

Setup
RME ADI-2 DAC FS via the IEM port, paired with Final Type-E Short tips. Definitely needs a bit of extra power. As Gaea was marketed as being tuned towards J-pop and adjacent weeb music, it quickly caught my attention as a large portion of my daily listening is anisong adjacent music.

Overview
North of neutral in terms of brightness, a little thin in lower mids. I am super happy with Gaea for its intended music (Japanese modern popular music), however with literally anything else, I actively dislike it (and there aren't many IEMs out there that I'll straight up say I dislike). For example, I have never heard that iconic 80s synth sound so thin in my life. Also quite a narrow soundstage, imaging is pretty average and I'm disappointed in its overall technicality.

Bass
Bass is kinda just there, definitely a little additional warmth thanks to the DD, tuned pretty inoffensively. Gives me a satisfying amount of impact, but bass is usually my lowest priority so take that for what you will.

Mid
Gaea is definitely more upper mids compared to lower mids as evident in the graphs. A lot of male vocalists in Japanese modern pop sing with a higher pitch, or at least a lot of my library is like that (think TK, Eve, Fujihara Satoshi from Higedan) and they sounded fine in my tests, while female vocalists sounded pretty good. But even then, lacked the thickness to really portray any spine-chilling performances. As soon as I switched to some western 80s recordings, male vocals immediately became hollow and thin and female vocals were just okay. Those older recordings of instruments just fell flat entirely, both real and digital.

Treble
Treble is the star of the show, extends very well, great air yet very full. Immediate satisfaction, however can be fatiguing over time. It's hard to explain, it's definitely hot, however it's not piercingly sibilant, rather quite smooth. Perhaps the overall balance of the tuning contributes to the fatigue.

vs Diva
In my opinion, Diva on max bass is Gaea but better in every way, absolutely worth the extra $200. However at that point, Gaea wins out on accessibility since acquiring a Diva seems like quite the mission and risk.

Diva is a better IEM for multiple genres, while still excelling (and even surpassing Gaea) at the modern Japanese pop genre. Sound signature is a bit closer to neutral than the Gaea, definitely colder in comparison at least. Gives the illusion that Diva is a brighter IEM, but the treble and upper mid is far smoother and more refined in comparison to Gaea. Blows it out of the water when it comes to technicality as well, extends further in every direction, more precision and better separation. Just in general a surprisingly technical IEM for the price. While Diva lacks the DD timbre, the bass quantity and quality is far more satisfying and versatile with the ability to adjust it via the knob. Diva's vocals wins out as well for both male and female, much more full and detailed, while both real and digital instruments sound a lot more natural. And as mentioned for the treble department, Diva might sound deceptively bright, but after listening to it daily for a week, I can say I had absolutely no fatigue. For example, cymbals were intoxicatingly sweet and smooth, ton of air with perhaps some exaggerated decay, but never harsh or too hot. Absolutely addicting level of detail too.

Verdict
Rather buy Diva, but that's nearly impossible right now, so Gaea's a good compromise if you primarily listen to modern J-pop and adjacent genres. Would not recommend for literally anything else. But I typically judge an IEM based on how well it accomplishes what it sets out to do, in which case Gaea gets a pretty good pass.

 

[Exill]

I own Gaea and had use it for several weeks prior this impression.
I like it for what it does, however I do think that Gaea is not for everyone.

Build quality wise, Gaea is a good looking IEM. Combined with the good looking cable, the IEM looks fantastic for me.

My setup is Sony WM1AM2, occasionally RME ADI 2 DAC Fs.
Majority of my playlist is J-Pop and anime songs.

Bass:
For me, Gaea need some power for the bass to be there.
The bass itself is quite deep, quite impactful and has a rather fast decay.

Mid:
I found the mid in Gaea is slightly thin, and more forward.
If you want mid with more thickness and warm, I don't think Gaea will be a good choice.
Gaea mid I think suits quite well for Anime/J-Pop song with female vocal. The uppermid is also quite elevated, giving the needed energy for J-Pop and anisong song.

Treble:
Gaea has an elevated treble. It extends well.
Has a great energy.
It is smooth, definitely not piercing.
However due to the treble and the upper mid elevated and forward, lack of warm, Gaea sounds aggressive that might fatigue some people.

Vs Monet17
Gaea is a more technically proficient IEM. More detailed, more resolving, more dynamic.
Monet17 has a warm sound similar to other fitear offering. Monet also has recessed mid, especially compared to in your face presentation of Gaea's mid.
Monet has a bigger bass quantity but lack the impact of Gaea's DD bass. Both has an elevated treble, but I think Gaea has a better treble quality.
Both have sound that suited for anisong/J-Pop with a lot of energy, more aggressive sound. Only Monet a lot more warm than Gaea.

Vs FW10000
Another IEM that I think is suited for J-Pop/Anisong genre.
For me FW10000 and Gaea share a rather similar DNA. Gaea has a bigger quantity of bass but both has a similar quality. Perhaps slightly better textured in FW10000.
Both IEM has a forward mid, with FW10000's mid being more thick than Gaea. For being a single DD, FW10000 has a quite good extended treble although I found Gaea to have a better treble resolution.
In term of technicalities, I think both similarly resolving, detailed. FW10000 slightly more wider in soundstage.

Vs Z1R:
Z1R has a better of both end. Better bass quantity and quality. Better treble quality, better extension. Z1R has a quite recessed mid, making it less intense compared to Gaea.
However Gaea has a better detail retrieval overall, more dynamic too.
Z1R also have a better soundstage width and height and better imaging.

 

[McCol]

My Gaea are up for sale

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/effect-audio-x-elysian-gaea-earphones.39274/

 

[Exekuhtor]

My Gaea arrived and i've been listening to them constantly. I love them. I was thinking about getting an Annihilator but that's very hard in EU. Also i am not quite on that level of cash spending (yet?) when it comes to IEM's. I like treble and air, of course it has to be done right and not being piercing is important. The Gaea is extremely detailed and energetic without being fatiguing. Bass is plentiful for me, i dislike a big midbass (bloat).
I actually ordered an iFi Zen DAC V2 to lean a bit more into IEM's. The Ferrum produces a slight hiss on some of them (class A/B powerhouse is not that good for IEM's, who would have thought) and the Shanling UA5 is a bit of a nuisance when using it in a desktop setup.
Thankfully Elysian got that partnership with Effect Audio so their IEM's can actually be distributed around the world.
Only negatives: They are CHONKY, still comfortable for me, but the relatively short (but thick) muzzles make tip rolling harder (Moondrop spring tips won't do it for me, so i just use the standard ones they came with, they are fine).


Edit:
Had to change the tips, but i've got so many that i found very comfortable ones.
Also, yes, music with trombones can get very aggressive and in your eyeball. My shuffle hit "Take Five" and that's the first track where i'm disliking the Gaea. After like 100 songs. Also, that's an old recording, and "the epic sax guy" does sound fine. So it's not automatically with every wind instrument the case.

Edit2:
Goddamn Yosi Horikawa's Interlude is insane...

Edit3
New favourite toy.
Don't need Sus and 1266.
This is so enjoyable, i'm so happy.
Gotta sleep now...
I won't think of the Annihilator and what it would do to my wallet HNGGGG...

 

[Rockwell75]

My Gaea arrived and i've been listening to them constantly. I love them. I was thinking about getting an Annihilator but that's very hard in EU. Also i am not quite on that level of cash spending (yet?) when it comes to IEM's. I like treble and air, of course it has to be done right and not being piercing is important. The Gaea is extremely detailed and energetic without being fatiguing. Bass is plentiful for me, i dislike a big midbass (bloat).
I actually ordered an iFi Zen DAC V2 to lean a bit more into IEM's. The Ferrum produces a slight hiss on some of them (class A/B powerhouse is not that good for IEM's, who would have thought) and the Shanling UA5 is a bit of a nuisance when using it in a desktop setup.
Thankfully Elysian got that partnership with Effect Audio so their IEM's can actually be distributed around the world.
Only negatives: They are CHONKY, still comfortable for me, but the relatively short (but thick) muzzles make tip rolling harder (Moondrop spring tips won't do it for me, so i just use the standard ones they came with, they are fine).


Edit:
Had to change the tips, but i've got so many that i found very comfortable ones.
Also, yes, music with trombones can get very aggressive and in your eyeball. My shuffle hit "Take Five" and that's the first track where i'm disliking the Gaea. After like 100 songs. Also, that's an old recording, and "the epic sax guy" does sound fine. So it's not automatically with every wind instrument the case.

Edit2:
Goddamn Yosi Horikawa's Interlude is insane...

Edit3
New favourite toy.
Don't need Sus and 1266.
This is so enjoyable, i'm so happy.
Gotta sleep now...
I won't think of the Annihilator and what it would do to my wallet HNGGGG...

If you're not averse to EQ you can get Gaea a little closesr to Annihilator by adding some mid-bass and dropping 2K by like 1.5db or so. It turns into a brilliant all rounder for me that way.

 

[Zmey69]

If you're not averse to EQ you can get Gaea a little closesr to Annihilator by adding some mid-bass and dropping 2K by like 1.5db or so. It turns into a brilliant all rounder for me that way.

friend, can I ask you to post your detailed equalizer on the screenshot, thank you.

 

[iFi audio]

New favourite toy.
Don't need Sus and 1266.

Prior to reading your post I thought that everyone needs at least one of these two cans at some point

I actually ordered an iFi Zen DAC V2 to lean a bit more into IEM's.

Please tell us what you think once you have it!

 

[Neweymatt]

I’ve had the pleasure to spend the last week or so with the Gaea as it stopped in to mine along the Aussie tour, many thanks to @Damz87 and @JordonEA for organising the tour! Most of my listening has been with my HiBy RS6 DAP, or my desktop Bifrost2 paired with with either the Jotunheim2 or Vali2+ tube amp.

Have to say, I’m pretty conflicted with my thoughts on this IEM. When it works, it works pretty well. Gaea’s sub-bass extension from it’s dynamic driver is very pleasing most of the time, and I’m much more fond of it’s forward upper mids and treble than I had anticipated, well on some tracks anyway. I think the problem with Gaea for me is the near total absence of lower mids and mid bass relative to the upper frequencies. You know how some folks complain that an IEM’s mid-bass and lower mids are bloated, smearing, or bleeding into the upper frequencies? Gaea is the polar opposite to that for me. This creates a strange boxy or hollow sounding tonality that makes the stage feel compressed at the edges with gaps where I expect the sound from certain instruments to emanate from.


Here’s a rundown of various genres and styles that I tried out, with a few examples to highlight Gaea’s strengths & weaknesses, at least how I hear tham.

I don’t listen to a lot of pop, but this is a genre that seems to be a real sweet spot for Gaea, especially with female vocals. “Kerosene” from Biig Piig is a good example of where Gaea gets it right:


Gaea also does fairly well with hip-hop, rap and some EDM, as those genres tend to use a lot of percussion offset by deep rumbly sub-bass lines. Male rappers can sound a little hollow, but it’s forgivable when the sparse instrumentation sounds as good as it does with Gaea here. Ela Minus “el cielo no es de nadie” was one highlight I found:



Ambient and modern classical work very well listening to Gaea, especially tracks and albums that are a bit more sparse in nature where the boxy-ness is more of a feature than a bug. Gaea’s treble-emphasis renders details in this kind of music very nicely, I think this is what I enjoyed most with it. I found myself getting lost in music by artists like Brian Eno, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and GAS when listening with Gaea.
https://kompakt-gas.bandcamp.com/album/der-lange-marsch

Classic rock is a bit more of a mixed bag for Gaea. On the one hand, an album like The Velvet Underground & Nico, with its heavy use of electric guitars & violins, is the kind of thing Gaea does best. I also thought some early David Bowie worked well, with lots of nice detail in the acoustic & electric guitars. However, a track like AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” shows where Gaea starts to fall apart. Angus’ arpeggiated guitar intro starts out great with Gaea, and builds anticipation nicely for what comes next. But the problems arise when the kick drum and bass come in. Gaea’s lack of lower-mids and mid-bass leaves the drums sounding hollow, and the bass having next to little impact to really drive this song along. I just can’t get past that hollow, boxy kind of sound and just enjoy the music.



Unfortunately Gaea saves its worst offences for a lot of the indie/alternative rock that I listen to, which is probably 70% of my library. Again, male vocals often sound carved out and hollow, and all of the lovely warm baselines that I love are missing in action. Take Radiohead’s “The National Anthem” for example



That iconic baseline is absolutely integral to this track, and Gaea just butchers it. OK, Gaea renders the percussion in this track well enough, but it is just so over the top by comparison to the bass that it becomes unlistenable for me. I found much the same with my favourite tracks from Spiritualized, Primal Scream, The Flaming Lips, Angel Olsen and many others. All I can say is any IEM that makes me want to click ‘skip’ on my all time faves is not an IEM for me.


To wrap up, if you can accept Gaea’s limitations, listen to genre's that Gaea does well, or are otherwise allergic to warm lower mids/mid-bass, then Gaea will most likely work well for you. But, for what it does do well I reckon there are better options at or around the price point. For several hundred dollars more you can get an IER-Z1R that destroys Gaea’s sub-bass, has better treble up top, and a much better sense of sound stage & detail retrieval. For a couple hundred less you can get an Andromeda 2020 that I believe does forward upper mids and treble better than Gaea, and has lovely warm mid-bass to support it properly. And if you want something at the same price that is significantly better as an all-rounder, the 64 Audio U6t is very hard to beat. Sure, each of those 3 IEMs have their own compromises here or there, but they are all very minor by comparison for me and my listening.

 

[wayofthedawn]

Hello everyone!

Could someone who owns the Gaea kindly let me know how you would rate the sound leakage?
I'm actually looking to buy the Gaea now (For office use) However i wouldn't want to disturb my colleagues!
Thank you very much in advance!

 

[firesign]

Hello everyone!

Could someone who owns the Gaea kindly let me know how you would rate the sound leakage?
I'm actually looking to buy the Gaea now (For office use) However i wouldn't want to disturb my colleagues!
Thank you very much in advance!

I have used open IEMs without disturbing my colleagues, so I think it can not be a problem with the Gaea...