Elysian Acoustics DIVA 2023

[Neweymatt]

I've posted my review/impressions of Diva here:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/elysian-acoustic-labs-diva.26038/reviews#review-32162

Enjoy!

 

[galthepal]

You know, I love the sound and appearance of my Elysian Diva but the build is by far the worst I've bought. While dropping it and cracking it is certainly my fault, the metal nozzle ripping off when tip rolling is pretty annoying.

 

[AoiMomo]

You know, I love the sound and appearance of my Elysian Diva but the build is by far the worst I've bought. While dropping it and cracking it is certainly my fault, the metal nozzle ripping off when tip rolling is pretty annoying.

yeah definitely the build quality is the worst part about the iem outside of the price XD... sound is an interesting one but the nozzle sure is a hair puller. You're probably the third person who've mentioned this issue already (I had the same issue on the right ear one)。

 

[kaeswiss]

You know, I love the sound and appearance of my Elysian Diva but the build is by far the worst I've bought. While dropping it and cracking it is certainly my fault, the metal nozzle ripping off when tip rolling is pretty annoying.

yeah definitely the build quality is the worst part about the iem outside of the price XD... sound is an interesting one but the nozzle sure is a hair puller. You're probably the third person who've mentioned this issue already (I had the same issue on the right ear one)。

Yeah, I had the metal filters coming off both nozzles on my original set of Diva 23. I had an unrelated issue though and sent them in for repair. I actually sent them in without the metal filters lol.

They replaced them with a new set and the new set has the filters glued on tight this time.

 

[emdeevee]

I recently spent some quality time with both Diva and Annihilator 2023 thanks to the US Watercooler tour, and so, here are my thoughts on Diva 2023:

At the outset, thank you to Elysian Audio and Effect Audio for providing this tour kit, and of course always to our tour guru, @Rockwell75! Second, the disclaimer, I am just a guy who loves portable audio, but not a pro and not a reviewer, just a consumer. As a tour unit, this came with cable only, no packaging or accessories, so I cannot make any comments there.

After not loving my first Elysian demo with the Gaea, I was dubious about Diva 2023 and its expensive ($1600 retail) all-BA (6xBAs) configuration, because at very first listen, I was not impressed at all, hearing a distinct thinness to the sound. Two days of playing around with tips and the bass switch, and I figured out that this iem (along with the Annihilator I was testing concurrently) just needs the right tips and some substantial power to actually perform! Tips were important – AZLA crystal and xelastic sounded best to me. On L&P’s P6Pro, which is not terribly powerful, with Diva (and Annihilator), I needed to go to high gain and often found myself listening at 60%+ volume levels to hear what these can do; story was pretty much the same with Cayin N6ii R01. Bigger flagship DAPs or dedicated AMP/DAC will be best for Elysian products, methinks, though the r2r playback of my DAPs seemed tailor made for Diva. As for fit, the shells are big, no getting around it, protruding from the ear. I had no fit issues at all, however, and being light weight, I found them very comfortable for long sessions. And you either like their blingy look or not - I did, especially when playing with the lighting as colors in the faceplates would just radiate; very nice, but yeah, a bit blingy.

In order for me to find Diva engaging, I had to adjust its tuning switch (which requires a small tool) to the blue position which put some "meat on the bones" and provided a full, rich sound; in white and red positions, the bass was too subdued for my tastes. The blue setting is supposed to increase mid/sub bass and it definitely does. It’s trying to mimic a DD-like bass and like other good BA bass sets, it succeeds to a great degree as it almost feels like movement in my ear. Excellent separation, positioning and stage which seems rectangular, wrapping slightly around the head. Vocals are outside the head and there is plenty of air, even at this bass heavy setting. Bass quantity and quality are really good for BAs. Upfront, let’s say that we’re hearing BA bass and there’s no way around that no matter how well implemented – but it does have slam and you HEAR it, but without the air movement of DDs, you do not feel it as prominently; not a criticism, I am impressed by all-BA sets that can deliver a bass like this! It might not move air, but it slams, is fast and sounds great, so props to Elysian. There is a mids/highs focus with excellent tuning, which to me means the entire FR sounds as it should while adding some excitement in the listen, here it’s warm and “musical” sounding making long listening sessions a joy.

Technically to my ears, Diva has a big, wide stage (better than Aur Neon Pro which I occasionally a/b'd with Diva) and incredibly good separation of instruments and vocals with lots of air across the stage (which sounds like a big rectangle that wraps around your head). Cable is great for a "stock" cable these days, as it should be at this price! This is an Effect Audio Ares II 4w, all copper (which itself is a $150 cable), and it sounds outstanding! I have an 8w version, and while it packs a bit more punch, this one is ergonomically much nicer for obvious reasons without giving up much in the sound department; the Ares 8w did give more volume and "oomph" but was otherwise similar. Elysian use "Pentaconn" connectors so if you're going to cable roll, know that going in. Just nice to get a good stock cable once in awhile!

Diva is certainly one of the best all-BA sets I’ve heard, with a stage, resolution and SQ that all gel into a very fun listening experience with the Elysian secret sauce, a tuning to die for that separates Diva from competition. Most important thing I could say about these is they are really hungry for power in order to truly shine. My other all-BAs are not like this. If you’re working off a phone/dongle combo, I would be wary and get a good try first as these probably aren't fun with low power. While they sound great on both my DAPs, they are pushing them to the limit [edit: I did quickly try them with my new Shanling M9+ and this was exactly what was needed from a power standpoint in a DAP] they pound even harder when connected to greater power. Through my desktop Hifiman EF400, they truly came out of their shells! The mimicking of the air movement of the bass here is quite satisfying as if they snuck a DD inside without telling.

I pre-judged Diva thinking it was too expensive for what it is, that I wouldn’t like its bass, etc. But I do like it, and quite a lot. And that “like” grew a lot over my week with it, maybe not into “love”, but certainly into respect and admiration. It’s hard to love this set at full retail $1600 when the terrific Aur Neon Pro is less than half that and a worthy competitor to Diva, though not its equal. The differences between them are small, and come down mostly to tuning (and the perhaps subsequent need for more power on Diva), where Diva has an edge, but at a big premium. I’ve not heard the similarly equipped Penon Turbo which is even less than NP and supposedly delivers a BA bass to be savored. On the other hand, you could spend more on the 64Audio U12t and get double the BA drivers, but in my short time with U12t, my preference would actually go to Diva which was a more exciting listen than I recall U12t. So my feeling is Diva may not provide the best price/performance ratio that some of the competition does, but it's worth it in that Diva does have a very unique package to offer!

These are just my own $0.02 and that's to say that listening to iems is so inherently subjective, please take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

[galthepal]

So pumped that I finally got a new cable for the Diva. Ended up ordering this from Hakugei on Aliexpress and love it. I wish I had gotten the Soul cable but I didn’t want to drop 180 until I knew that their cables were quality and would fit the connectors

 

[grumpy213]

Thanks to @Damz87, Elysian and @EffectAudio for arranging the Australian tour of the Diva 2023!

Review up here

 

[Capunk]

Last weekend, I attended Portafest Akihabara in order to try out for Diva & Annihilator 2023. Although I did not have my IEM with me to compare, Diva and Annihilator kept me enthralled throughout the day— Particularly Diva. Is my U12T being sidegraded by this?

 

[jmo04]

So pumped that I finally got a new cable for the Diva. Ended up ordering this from Hakugei on Aliexpress and love it. I wish I had gotten the Soul cable but I didn’t want to drop 180 until I knew that their cables were quality and would fit the connectors

Sorry a little late to this thread. Could you link me to this cable? I’m struggling to find ones with this connection for a decent price

 

[jmo04]

So pumped that I finally got a new cable for the Diva. Ended up ordering this from Hakugei on Aliexpress and love it. I wish I had gotten the Soul cable but I didn’t want to drop 180 until I knew that their cables were quality and would fit the connectors

 

[galthepal]

Sorry a little late to this thread. Could you link me to this cable? I’m struggling to find ones with this connection for a decent price

Here's the store page
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1102454394?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.7ef88Wrh8WrhpI

Here's the specific one I ordered though I recommend you check others they have. I picked a cheaper one to make sure "Pentaconn ear" which is what you need actually worked with the Diva (which it did).


If you find another cable from them they can do Pentaconn ear on any cable I believe. I just ordered two new cables from them for the Annihilator for example

 

[jmo04]

I'm wondering if anyone here with shorter smaller ear canals have eartip suggestions for these? the only tips that work for me that don't stick super far out of my ears are the Dunu candys and those cheap 64 audio ones both in a size medium. However, the 64 audio ones kinda suck and the dunu candys arent the most comfortable due to being a bit stiff. I love the feeling of spinfits, especially cp145's however the size is either too small or just sticks out of my ears too much. any suggestions?

oh also I really don't like azla xelastics... wayyyy too sticky

 

[kaeswiss]

I'm wondering if anyone here with shorter smaller ear canals have eartip suggestions for these? the only tips that work for me that don't stick super far out of my ears are the Dunu candys and those cheap 64 audio ones both in a size medium. However, the 64 audio ones kinda suck and the dunu candys arent the most comfortable due to being a bit stiff. I love the feeling of spinfits, especially cp145's however the size is either too small or just sticks out of my ears too much. any suggestions?

oh also I really don't like azla xelastics... wayyyy too sticky

If you like Spinfits, you should check out their newer model the Omni. They're shorter than the stock Spinfit W1 that comes with the Diva so they shouldn't stick out as much in comparison.

The other option is to go with a smaller ear tip to get a deeper fit and I recommend the Divinus Velvet. They aren't sticky at all. They're actually "velvety" smooth and the material is pretty thin so you can size down and easily stick them in further for a deeper fit. They're what I use for IEMS with longer nozzles.

 

[jmo04]

If you like Spinfits, you should check out their newer model the Omni. They're shorter than the stock Spinfit W1 that comes with the Diva so they shouldn't stick out as much in comparison.

The other option is to go with a smaller ear tip to get a deeper fit and I recommend the Divinus Velvet. They aren't sticky at all. They're actually "velvety" smooth and the material is pretty thin so you can size down and easily stick them in further for a deeper fit. They're what I use for IEMS with longer nozzles.

Thanks for the reply! I would like to try the omni's but i worry that when taking them off ill rip off the nozzle. the w1's were nearly stuck on it. also unfortunately the sizing of the velvets just didnt work for me. The small was too small and the medium too big

 

[kaeswiss]

Thanks for the reply! I would like to try the omni's but i worry that when taking them off ill rip off the nozzle. the w1's were nearly stuck on it. also unfortunately the sizing of the velvets just didnt work for me. The small was too small and the medium too big

The Velvets have the "MS" size too. Perhaps that'll be perfect lol.

You're right about the fat nozzles on the Diva though. The W1 is pretty tight on the Diva and the Omni is even tighter. The other one I didn't mention is the NF Audio MS42. It's another short ear tip but it's wider so it's easier to put on and off the Diva nozzles.

Here's a recent post that has pics of these 3 ear tips for comparison.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-discovery-thread.586909/page-6408#post-17989095

Personally, I'm using the Diva with the JVC Spiral Dot ++.