[tawmizzzz]

What genre of music do you think it excels vs not?

I don't listen to EDM at all. I thought the X would be great for Classical and Jazz given its superior treble.

Can you share a good track for classical and a good track for jazz? I'll try and A/B versus the Traillii.

My guess is that you're gonna get more treble vividness and extension in the instruments; however, it does not necessarily equate to more realistic or "euphoric" timbre [euphoric being subjective, of course].

 

[toaster]

What genre of music do you think it excels vs not?

I don't listen to EDM at all. I thought the X would be great for Classical and Jazz given its superior treble.

I did not find X particularly good for classical because it has a very artificial overall tonality and is light on midrange.

To be clear, I do not consider these characteristics weaknesses, because it overall still sounds very good and cohesive. It’s just the tuning.

But vs something like the bird, where timbre is the best I’ve heard, and the overall signature is extremely accurate and realistic sounding, it doesn’t quite compete with a genre like classical.

On electronic music, none of what is mentioned above really matters at all because everything is synthesized. I’d argue X’s vocals could benefit slightly from a bit more mids presence, but it still sounds quite good.

 

[Damz87]

What genre of music do you think it excels vs not?

I don't listen to EDM at all. I thought the X would be great for Classical and Jazz given its superior treble.

Do you still have your IER-Z1R? If you’re a fan of its sound sig, I suspect you may enjoy X as well. There are some differences though which the graph represents fairly well IMO:

The sub bass and upper mid elevations do seem to make the lower mids on X sound slightly leaner than Z1R. Not a night and day difference because Z1R’s lower mids are also fairly thin, but they are even thinner on X. The treble on X sounds more linear from low to upper treble compared to Z1R which has more of a low & mid treble focus. Cymbals aren’t as hard and weighted as Z1R but X has much more upper treble air and overall sounds more airy, sparkly and detailed compared to Z1R’s treble.

Tuning differences aside, X IMO is a wholesale upgrade on Z1R in technical performance. It is much more detailed, has a taller soundstage and sounds significantly more dynamic.

For me as a massive electronic music listener, X is near perfectly tuned, especially paired with DMP-Z1 which has a warm organic tone that blends beautifully with X’s clean and clear presentation.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Do you still have your IER-Z1R? If you’re a fan of its sound sig, I suspect you may enjoy X as well. There are some differences though which the graph represents fairly well IMO:


The sub bass and upper mid elevations do seem to make the lower mids on X sound slightly leaner than Z1R. Not a night and day difference because Z1R’s lower mids are also fairly thin, but they are even thinner on X. The treble on X sounds more linear from low to upper treble compared to Z1R which has more of a low & mid treble focus. Cymbals aren’t as hard and weighted as Z1R but X has much more upper treble air and overall sounds more airy, sparkly and detailed compared to Z1R’s treble.

Tuning differences aside, X IMO is a wholesale upgrade on Z1R in technical performance. It is much more detailed, has a taller soundstage and sounds significantly more dynamic.

For me as a massive electronic music listener, X is near perfectly tuned, especially paired with DMP-Z1 which has a warm organic tone that blends beautifully with X’s clean and clear presentation.

Yes, I still have Z1R and I still love it. For me, it's greatest feature is its midbass punch. I see from the graph that the X has more subbass which is also welcome. The problem I have with the Z1R is the recessed mids. I think I will prefer the mids of the X. The treble is supposed to be what the star of the show for Elysian IEMs. So, I expect that to be spectacular. I need to hear it. Wish it were easier to do here is the USA

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Can you share a good track for classical and a good track for jazz? I'll try and A/B versus the Traillii.

My guess is that you're gonna get more treble vividness and extension in the instruments; however, it does not necessarily equate to more realistic or "euphoric" timbre [euphoric being subjective, of course].

Here is a good track for A/B testing because it has so much going on that almost no IEM can do it perfectly.

My order of preference for this track only is:

1. Empire Ears Legend EVO. Perfect punch and slam, great timbral accuracy, a bit hot in the cymbals. Most accurate presentation.
2. Oriolus Traillii. Great tonality, coherence and balance. Lacks vividness. Too laid back of a presentation
3. Empire Ears Odin. Great punch and timbre, but way too hot in the cymbals and too bright of a presentation

The Shadow of Your Smile (Bill Watrous)

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I did not find X particularly good for classical because it has a very artificial overall tonality and is light on midrange.

To be clear, I do not consider these characteristics weaknesses, because it overall still sounds very good and cohesive. It’s just the tuning.

But vs something like the bird, where timbre is the best I’ve heard, and the overall signature is extremely accurate and realistic sounding, it doesn’t quite compete with a genre like classical.

On electronic music, none of what is mentioned above really matters at all because everything is synthesized. I’d argue X’s vocals could benefit slightly from a bit more mids presence, but it still sounds quite good.

I think we both define timbre in the same way, but I think we have different preferences in what we are seeking in an IEM. For me, Classical music is a collection of sub genre that need different things. For Piano music (Mozart Piano Concertos), you need upper harmonics which to my ear are far superior in the Odin than to the Traillii. For orchestral music (The Marriage of Figaro Sinfonia), you need great macro dynamics, instrument separation and resolution. Traillii rules here. For sound tracks, you need better bass response so I tend to prefer EVO (John Williams playlist). For violins, you need superior instrument timbre to make the Violin cry (Midori or Itzhak Perlman). That's where I prefer the Isabellae. This is why I have so dang many IEMs.

 

[toaster]

Hmm, I feel like erlky and traillii do all this stuff best to my ears.

The main diff is that erlky is a more lush and up-front presentation with lots of body and weight. And bird is a more laid back, relaxed, and airy presentation.

I’ve owned or heard almost all the others mentioned but none of them stuck around.

You just need to hear erlky…

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Hmm, I feel like erlky and traillii do all this stuff best to my ears.

The main diff is that erlky is a more lush and up-front presentation with lots of body and weight. And bird is a more laid back, relaxed, and airy presentation.

I’ve owned or heard almost all the others mentioned but none of them stuck around.

You just need to hear erlky…

Is the Phonix supposed to be anything like the Erlkonig? It's not that easy to get the Erlkonig because VE doesn't make them anymore.

 

[toaster]

it's literally based on erlky-setting 2.

ve said they made slight changes to treble but nothing major, to preserve the original tuning. certainly no need to change much...the original erlky is an absolute tuning masterpiece. sure phonix will sound great as well...

let's get back to elysian talk though.

this also sounds great...

 

[ziixtreme]

Announcement:
Due to the DOA of cables on the first batch of Venom, X has faced a lot of bumps along the way, currently the issue has been found and resolved, however X will be out of stock until January for the new batch of cables to arrive. We sincerely apologize for the delay faced by our customers due to the cable defect. Current pending shipment will be shipped within next week (15-19Nov) and further orders of X will need to wait until January when the cables are tested and ready to go. Thank you for supporting Elysian Acoustic Labs and we will improve to serve you better.

Best Regards
QM Lee (Founder)
Elysian Acoustic Labs

 

[Frainen]

Thanks for the transparency and update!
For the people waiting: I have been there, it is tough in our recent time to wait weeks/months for something, but it really worth the wait.
Glad to hear that Liquid Links are taking actions to get things resolved. I have been lucky with the 2 Venoms I ordered.

 

[Frainen]

3 months later and multiple unhappy emails to Cayin to get back my C9 back:
I confirm what @aaf evo previously told, the X love Tubes and power. Such a nicely balanced V shape.

 

[snapandslide]

Wohoo, My X is here! I penned a few words in Rockwell's thread, but basically these things are amazing!

My X arrived earlier today and been enjoying listening to it ever since!!

I guess it's easier for me to start with the negatives -

- timbre is not that accurate. It pulls everything a bit too ethereal and lacks body in the lower mids. It lacks the rightness that Traillii has, especially on Classical tracks. It's not they bad however, and it works remarkably well within ita tuning. I don't worry about it and it doesn't crazily bother me either.

- If you like lower mids this iem isn't for you ahem @Rockwell75 - it is lacking in favour of upper mids. But funnily enough, male vocals are really good, the distance is perfect and not recessed or too thin. Again points to such good tuning.

Errr and that's all the negatives! Otherwise these are totl/best in pretty much all other categories (apart from coherency where Traillii is a shade better). Crazy technicalities, incredible upper mids and treble and highly satisfying soundstage (best I've ever heard. Though it doesn't quite have Traillii's ability to separate each instrument so well).

I'm very happy despite the too long a wait. As a two iem setup, this and Traillii are as good as it gets for me, wiping the floor with odin and Z1R. But it does come at quite a significant cost increase.

Oh and shout out to dx300MAX SS for bring such a great DAP!

 

[Rin1990]

I'll be having a good time...

 

[snapandslide]

Wohoo, welcome to the club @Rin1990 - these get better and better with brain burn in (and DD burn in!).

I wanted to ask if folk have been tip rolling - quite happy with the spinfit 100+ that Lee has provided from a comfort standpoint, but obviously curious what others are using.