[Smirk 24]

Wanted to share my review on these:

https://smirkreviews.com/2023/05/18/elysian-diva-2023-review-dazzling-songstress/

 

[o0genesis0o]

Wanted to share my review on these:

https://smirkreviews.com/2023/05/18/elysian-diva-2023-review-dazzling-songstress/

I have just read the review. Great job, mate! Very clear and easy to understand. The website has pleasant presentation as well.

My key takeaway: I want to try the S8

 

[Smirk 24]

I have just read the review. Great job, mate! Very clear and easy to understand. The website has pleasant presentation as well.

My key takeaway: I want to try the S8

Appreciate it! The S8 is a nice pair. Sweet and pleasant sound sig with plenty of detail. I think they're on a mid-year sale right now from a few distributors.

 

[FOUNDERZERO]

Hope you like them! They’re one of my favorite pairs.

So far I'm blown away. The tuning and technicalities are incredible... and this set is only running 6 BAs! Lee Quan Min is officially a wizard.

 

[zootx]

Wanted to share my review on these:

https://smirkreviews.com/2023/05/18/elysian-diva-2023-review-dazzling-songstress/

I much appreciate your clear and to the point reviews. As a variations owner looking for an upgrade/ something different, this is a very helpful review. Might go for the diva...

 

[Smirk 24]

I much appreciate your clear and to the point reviews. As a variations owner looking for an upgrade/ something different, this is a very helpful review. Might go for the diva...

I appreciate you taking the time to read it. The Diva may suit you since it’s similar to the Variations in tuning but also different in many ways.

 

[AoiMomo]

Wanted to share my review on these:

https://smirkreviews.com/2023/05/18/elysian-diva-2023-review-dazzling-songstress/

Nice review, I got the 2023 version recently and yeah somewhat similar impression as your review. Which sound profile did you like out of the three? Personally I prefer the middle one, even with the dip in the lower mids it just seems to overall sound better. The min bass one sounds a little boring to me and the max bass one is just too much bass.

Overall clarity is great on vocals, but I think imaging could use a bit more work, wasn't particularly blown away by that part like when I first got the campfire andromeda (pre 2020 version), but this could also be due to me no longer having noob ears... overall I'd say the quality's pretty good and I'm pretty satisfied with it aside from occasionally feeling the bass could be a bit tighter/ cleaner on some recordings.

I also had the same issue with the spout as you, one of the rings came undone after taking off the spintips they provided (which was tight as a mfer) and put on some JVC dots instead. It is a little annoying to take off the eartip now since sometimes the ring will come off with it but other than that it doesn't seem to do anything else. So I guess it's not really a one off issue but rather a design oversight... not the end of the world though, but for something $1599 i found it kind of hard to believe they weren't able to just machine the spout in one piece.

 

[Altes]

Nice review, I got the 2023 version recently and yeah somewhat similar impression as your review. Which sound profile did you like out of the three? Personally I prefer the middle one, even with the dip in the lower mids it just seems to overall sound better. The min bass one sounds a little boring to me and the max bass one is just too much bass.

Overall clarity is great on vocals, but I think imaging could use a bit more work, wasn't particularly blown away by that part like when I first got the campfire andromeda (pre 2020 version), but this could also be due to me no longer having noob ears... overall I'd say the quality's pretty good and I'm pretty satisfied with it aside from occasionally feeling the bass could be a bit tighter/ cleaner on some recordings.

I also had the same issue with the spout as you, one of the rings came undone after taking off the spintips they provided (which was tight as a mfer) and put on some JVC dots instead. It is a little annoying to take off the eartip now since sometimes the ring will come off with it but other than that it doesn't seem to do anything else. So I guess it's not really a one off issue but rather a design oversight... not the end of the world though, but for something $1599 i found it kind of hard to believe they weren't able to just machine the spout in one piece.

Do you think despite the areas where it underperforms for its price point, it's still the only IEM capable of doing what it does for $1.6k, or there are other IEMs that are similar? What would you price the Diva at if you were guessing from a blind listen?

 

[Smirk 24]

Nice review, I got the 2023 version recently and yeah somewhat similar impression as your review. Which sound profile did you like out of the three? Personally I prefer the middle one, even with the dip in the lower mids it just seems to overall sound better. The min bass one sounds a little boring to me and the max bass one is just too much bass.

Overall clarity is great on vocals, but I think imaging could use a bit more work, wasn't particularly blown away by that part like when I first got the campfire andromeda (pre 2020 version), but this could also be due to me no longer having noob ears... overall I'd say the quality's pretty good and I'm pretty satisfied with it aside from occasionally feeling the bass could be a bit tighter/ cleaner on some recordings.

I also had the same issue with the spout as you, one of the rings came undone after taking off the spintips they provided (which was tight as a mfer) and put on some JVC dots instead. It is a little annoying to take off the eartip now since sometimes the ring will come off with it but other than that it doesn't seem to do anything else. So I guess it's not really a one off issue but rather a design oversight... not the end of the world though, but for something $1599 i found it kind of hard to believe they weren't able to just machine the spout in one piece.

Thanks! I personally leave it on the middle setting most of the time and use the low on occasion.

I agree that the imaging could use some work. I was left a little disappointed by the spout issue as well.

I ended up brushing a *tiny* bit of super glue around the inner rim to keep it attached but I wouldn’t recommend this.

Overall though, from a sound perspective I think the Diva is quite nice.

 

[Smirk 24]

Do you think despite the areas where it underperforms for its price point, it's still the only IEM capable of doing what it does for $1.6k, or there are other IEMs that are similar? What would you price the Diva at if you were guessing from a blind listen?

Definitely not the *only* one - I think the U4s comes quite close at $500 less.

As a blind listen I’d say around $1.3-1.8k. Build issue aside I actually think it’s quite a good value because of the 3-way bass switch.

 

[AoiMomo]

Do you think despite the areas where it underperforms for its price point, it's still the only IEM capable of doing what it does for $1.6k, or there are other IEMs that are similar? What would you price the Diva at if you were guessing from a blind listen?

I'd say in a blind listen for the sound quality I'd rank this around in the $1~2k tier IEM area. Build quality-wise I think there's much better out there at this price. It feels like your typical $2~300 iem build quality. (The cable that it came with is fire though, really solid.)

I'm assuming if you're considering the DIVA you're probably intrigued by its vocal performance, and I'd say that for an IEM it's definitely very clean and well executed. The slight lack in details and imaging on the DIVA overall really kept it from becoming like THE BEST vocals I've heard ever. So while I was slightly disappointed that I didn't hear magic vocals shooting into my ears like I've been sort of led to believe by different reviews, it was probably a close 90~95% ish of what I was expecting from it, and the lessened sibilance compared to other IEMS with a more forward mid range is very appreciated. Also, this difference would be a bit more apparent in well recorded vocal focused songs, where you will come to appreciate DIVA's vocals a bit more than otherwise.

In comparison with what I currently own and listen to all the time, it is much better than Campfire Andromeda (pre 2020 green og version) in terms of vocals, in that its cleaner and not as echoey overall, but the Andromeda has a tighter, more controlled bass response, a sparklier treble, and just a tiny bit more imaging capability, possibly due to the treble difference. BUT if you want to listen to your IEMs for a long time then I'd say DIVA is better because the overall sound signature on the DIVA is much smoother, and less sibilant/ harsh.

I also compared the DIVA to my Focal Utopia (pre 2022, if you ever going to get one don't get the new version that one's ghastly), and to my surprise it actually had a cleaner vocal than my Utopia as well, however it was not able to win in terms of imaging/ breath/ detail, I can't really put my finger on it, but when I AB through the two I just feel the Utopia's reproduction of vocals sound more realistic and convincing, and it's just a bit more "right" than the Diva reproduction. But obviously it's unfair to compare a $4000 open back headphone to a $1600 IEM, but it's just a reference for you to kind of get an idea of where the vocals would stand, and I'd say the Diva's pretty impressive to make me do a double take on it vs the Utopia which I hold as the standard for the type of sound I like.

And then there's the odd comparison between the DIVA and the 7hz Salnotes Zero ($20.99 on amazon), which I usually use as my bedside IEM to fall asleep in, and I find that the tuning between the DIVA and 7HZ to be actually somewhat similar, obviously with Diva having the much cleaner/detailed sound overall compared to the 7hz. But the two have pretty similar sound signatures, and I'd say if you're really on the fence about the DIVA you can try getting a Salnotes Zero first just to see if you like the sound signature. If you do you'll like the DIVA even more, a lot more, is it 80 times more? That I don't know.

So for the price it's pretty good, didn't exceed my expectations completely but I do enjoy listening out of it very much. If it was $3~500 cheaper I'd say definite win as I find this IEM to be superior to the Andromeda which is $1099. And I appreciate how not fussy the Diva is about the source vs the Andromeda which throws a hissy fit at most of the things you try to run it through.

 

[Altes]

I'd say in a blind listen for the sound quality I'd rank this around in the $1~2k tier IEM area. Build quality-wise I think there's much better out there at this price. It feels like your typical $2~300 iem build quality. (The cable that it came with is fire though, really solid.)

I'm assuming if you're considering the DIVA you're probably intrigued by its vocal performance, and I'd say that for an IEM it's definitely very clean and well executed. The slight lack in details and imaging on the DIVA overall really kept it from becoming like THE BEST vocals I've heard ever. So while I was slightly disappointed that I didn't hear magic vocals shooting into my ears like I've been sort of led to believe by different reviews, it was probably a close 90~95% ish of what I was expecting from it, and the lessened sibilance compared to other IEMS with a more forward mid range is very appreciated. Also, this difference would be a bit more apparent in well recorded vocal focused songs, where you will come to appreciate DIVA's vocals a bit more than otherwise.

In comparison with what I currently own and listen to all the time, it is much better than Campfire Andromeda (pre 2020 green og version) in terms of vocals, in that its cleaner and not as echoey overall, but the Andromeda has a tighter, more controlled bass response, a sparklier treble, and just a tiny bit more imaging capability, possibly due to the treble difference. BUT if you want to listen to your IEMs for a long time then I'd say DIVA is better because the overall sound signature on the DIVA is much smoother, and less sibilant/ harsh.

I also compared the DIVA to my Focal Utopia (pre 2022, if you ever going to get one don't get the new version that one's ghastly), and to my surprise it actually had a cleaner vocal than my Utopia as well, however it was not able to win in terms of imaging/ breath/ detail, I can't really put my finger on it, but when I AB through the two I just feel the Utopia's reproduction of vocals sound more realistic and convincing, and it's just a bit more "right" than the Diva reproduction. But obviously it's unfair to compare a $4000 open back headphone to a $1600 IEM, but it's just a reference for you to kind of get an idea of where the vocals would stand, and I'd say the Diva's pretty impressive to make me do a double take on it vs the Utopia which I hold as the standard for the type of sound I like.

And then there's the odd comparison between the DIVA and the 7hz Salnotes Zero ($20.99 on amazon), which I usually use as my bedside IEM to fall asleep in, and I find that the tuning between the DIVA and 7HZ to be actually somewhat similar, obviously with Diva having the much cleaner/detailed sound overall compared to the 7hz. But the two have pretty similar sound signatures, and I'd say if you're really on the fence about the DIVA you can try getting a Salnotes Zero first just to see if you like the sound signature. If you do you'll like the DIVA even more, a lot more, is it 80 times more? That I don't know.

So for the price it's pretty good, didn't exceed my expectations completely but I do enjoy listening out of it very much. If it was $3~500 cheaper I'd say definite win as I find this IEM to be superior to the Andromeda which is $1099. And I appreciate how not fussy the Diva is about the source vs the Andromeda which throws a hissy fit at most of the things you try to run it through.

Thanks. That was very informative. You're indeed correct. I am considering the DIVA due to the vocal hype it was receiving. You mentioned it was just short of the best vocals you've heard. Which IEM was the one that topped it?

 

[Smirk 24]

Thanks. That was very informative. You're indeed correct. I am considering the DIVA due to the vocal hype it was receiving. You mentioned it was just short of the best vocals you've heard. Which IEM was the one that topped it?

I’m curious as well lol

 

[AoiMomo]

Thanks. That was very informative. You're indeed correct. I am considering the DIVA due to the vocal hype it was receiving. You mentioned it was just short of the best vocals you've heard. Which IEM was the one that topped it?

Oh I just meant that in the sense of what it was missing due to it's slight lack in imaging/detail and that "breath" thing I mentioned that I hear from Focal Utopia for vocals that I did not feel as much from the Diva, wasn't a comparison to another IEM in particular. I guess what I was thinking at the time of writing was that I wanted Diva vocals with Focal Utopia detail retrieval xD... Probably going to be very difficult.

However I think this could be due to the tuning being smoother overall, and for prolonged listening I'd say that's not actually a bad thing. I haven't heard an IEM that beats the Diva in terms of vocals, and for serious listening sessions I probably can't keep the Utopia on for more than half an hour to an hour or so before getting a bit of ear fatigue, which wasn't an issue for the Diva, so there's also that aspect to think about. I've brought the Diva to work and haven't needed to take them out due to ear fatigue.

Oh and one more thing it does run a little big in size so if you have small ears it might be a tight fit.

 

[AoiMomo]

Thanks. That was very informative. You're indeed correct. I am considering the DIVA due to the vocal hype it was receiving. You mentioned it was just short of the best vocals you've heard. Which IEM was the one that topped it?

So been almost 2 weeks since I've had the Diva, thought I'd give some updates overall to my experience after a more extended use. I've been using it basically everyday and have for the most part gotten used to the sound overall. I have kept the dialer at the middle setting, and I've been listening to music/ lives/ watching youtube videos/ listening to binaural audios, and I have noted the following.

The vocals is indeed still very good even after 2 weeks of continuous use, so I'd say it's not just in my head on the initial impression. It's nice and forward and extremely clean, which I have come to appreciate quite a bit. Now, while it's forward there's still a good amount of space between you and the voice, so soundstage-wise it's not super close to your ears. I find that to be fine, and in live recordings that's probably bit more convincing than otherwise.

One thing I noticed is that sounds like rustling bags/ plastic/ paper sounds, or like the sound of a chainsaw from live recordings and binaural recordings are a bit veiled, which might be one of the reasons why I initially thought the vocals lacked a bit of breath. It just somewhat makes it sound less natural and you will feel like there's a veil over that part of the sound. Other than that I did not find any other new significant problems with sound overall.

So I'd say the Diva's really nice for music, but for live recordings of just regular background noise etc it will be a bit lacking in terms of sounding natural. Some parts would sound a bit artificial or veiled, but I mean the chances of you listening to just random environment sounds on these is probably very low anyway. If it got over the veil in the aforementioned parts of the sound I think it'll be pretty close to perfect. But even as it is now it's quite good.