[malira]

I received the Elysian Annihilator 2023 today - the IEMs and cable are exquisite - excellent craftsmanship - I tried Spinfit and Final E tips which weren’t good - the Campfire Marshmallow Tips brought out its full potential - listened on Hugo 2 and Shanling M30 - excellent bass and treble - bass is powerful - treble somewhat bright - mids also good - outstanding clarity and separation - soundstage also good - these are - this is an excellent IEM

 

[malira]

Andrew at Musicteck can help you with all Elysian IEM products - knowledgeable and excellent service

 

[OvnFrsh]

Just got my set in today as well. will post impressions once i get more familiar with them

 

[OvnFrsh]

Sorry it took me a long while to write this up! Wanted to get as much time with them to be comfortable writing something that gives these the justice they deserve. If there is a more appropriate place to post this please let me know!

Pros:
Tonality
Technicalities
Beautifully engaging
Probably the best treble response i've heard
Clearest and thickest midrange
Extremely fun/full body bass
Perfect staging
Separation

Cons:
Lacks sub bass imact occasionally
Name (lol)

Let me just say I've heard about 30 or so IEM's in my time on this earth. These beat out all of them to a shocking degree. Absolutely deserve all the hype they've gotten and then some. There's only one thing i legitimately don't like and it's the name. It's doesn't factor in anything what so ever but just wanted to mention i think it's corny lol.

The Annihilator is the definition of U-shaped (personally my favorite tuning). They're near perfect in tonality and on the technical side all while being incredibly engaging. In my experience if something is more tonally correct they lose a good amount of engagement than something that is more colorful. Truly a super rare thing, at least in my experience.

Treble

I would consider myself a treble-head. I love is to be forward and prominant. I love orchestral arrangements and flutes amongst other instruments in the range are things i seek out every time. The highs have everything i could ever want to be honest. Extremely well extended with all the splashiness and clarity all while never being harsh. Cymbals have a touch of warmth with hi-hats being crunchy with great sizzle. Ride cymbals have great resonance with fast and decisive pin point hits. Crash/splash/china cymbals have incredible extension with otherworldly speed in arrival and departing the soundscape. Perfect tonality in this range. No issues for me whatsoever. The definition of perfect to my ears.

Midrange

The reason I love U-shaped signatures so much is it gives me the feel that vocals are in the center of the presentation. These do that so well and staging creates and spherical feel which feels like it's coming from within your own head! Both female and male vocals are extremely crisp and real with great note weight and a glow effect I really enjoy a lot. Vocals from both male and female are extremely powerful always with absolute perfect tonality. Guitars are the best I've ever heard by far. I've tried throwing every genre of guitar i could think of at them and every time they pass with flying colors. Snares have a very natural pop that's very satisfying. The most detail i've ever heard in this range and some of the most moving.

Bass

The best supporting role award goes to this part of the frequency response. Definitely has a feel of it lifting the rest of the sound up due to it's positioning. It's a defined shelf underneath everything else that goes up the back wall of the soundstage. Great texture and presence throughout it's space. Very punchy in the low end but with a more mid bass focus in the tuning that bass guitars a sense of life. The only thing I don't like about the bass is it kind of sounds dry. It's a fantastic bass response with proper mid bass but just feels like it's missing a little bit of impact in the sub frequencies at times. Most of the time it hits the mark i seek but it’s track dependent on how it’s mixed or what have you. In no way does this ruin the overall experience by any means.

Technicalities

The greatest achievement of the Annihilator, in my opinion, is their combination of staging, layering and separation. The soundstage isn't the tallest I've heard but it's extremely wide reaching out past my shoulders most times. Soundstage has just enough depth and it's an extremely obvious wall on the back that the sounds start and end from. Staging is extremely organic being neatly organized on the stage itself. It's like you're a few rows back from the stage but it wraps around you a noticeable amount. With the layering you really get a sense of each sound on top of one another in such a full and rich presentation. Positioning is extremely precise with literal pin-point accuracy. The overall speed and performance of the drivers in use is unbelievable. The EST's make cymbals and synth sounds appear extremely quickly with just enough resonance before they rest for it's next use. The four drivers used in the midrange are extremely efficient for how they swipe through each sound with lightning quick transitions between each sound. The dynamic driver is very fast with tons of detail and texture but not as fast as the mids or highs. The bass is still extremely impressive either way. The separation overall is in a league of it's own. The immense speed of the highs and mids are so fast that you don't miss anything all while having it's own spot in the stage with unreal control. These things just ooze confidence in the technicalities and I think they know it.

Final Thoughts

Overall these things are just incredible. The strength in each sound and the staging in which it's presented is truly intoxicating. I'm sure this goes without saying but if you ever get a chance to hear them, please take that opportunity. I feel so blessed and fortunate to own these personally. I apologize for the long read and structure of everything as I'm trying to throw it all together without taking many notes haha.

If anyone would like to hear comparisons with the ones I own/owned I don't mind doing so at all just didn't want to make this longer than it already is lol. Thank you and happy listening to everyone out there!

 

[haweckO]

thanks for the brief review .
let me ask you, how would you compare Annihilator 2023 vs Mest Mk2 in Sub-bass/Bass region? which iems are more "bassy" ?

btw, does anybody have photos of "Stainless Steel" or "Spin Brushed Titanium" colour version?

 

[OvnFrsh]

thanks for the brief review .
let me ask you, how would you compare Annihilator 2023 vs Mest Mk2 in Sub-bass/Bass region? which iems are more "bassy" ?

btw, does anybody have photos of "Stainless Steel" or "Spin Brushed Titanium" colour version?

I'd say the Anni has more amount of bass but MEST Mk2 has a tighter/cleaner punch in the low end and with bass guitars. You'll hear better detail on the Annihilator just because of how insanely clear and detailed the mids and highs are but if you like tighter or a more lean bass response I'd go with MEST Mk2.

I chose the gold plate because i wanted the shells to match the cable provided so i can't give you picks of the two other shell options. I'd like to see them for myself lol.

 

[dleblanc343]

Incredible iem’s!

My current favorite and pick it over Storm or Mentor Multiverse for its engagement factor

 

[briantrinh86]

Incredible iem’s!

My current favorite and pick it over Storm or Mentor Multiverse for its engagement factor

Wow really, how about bass and mid to mentor? I consider mentor is the best ba bass ive ever heard.

 

[boromcom]

Wow really, how about bass and mid to mentor? I consider mentor is the best ba bass ive ever heard.

Last demo. Annihilator has better bass. More rumble and impact.

 

[briantrinh86]

@boromcom is the 2023 version much better than the og one?

 

[jdan1457]

Incredible iem’s!

My current favorite and pick it over Storm or Mentor Multiverse for its engagement factor

Hey Dan, can you compare the differences between these and the Penon Impact?

 

[Mangodango369]

@boromcom is the 2023 version much better than the og one?

I did a b comparison at canjam sg, I thought that the 2023 version has slightly more control. lee says the internal wiring material and nozzle is improved

 

[briantrinh86]

I did a b comparison at canjam sg, I thought that the 2023 version has slightly more control. lee says the internal wiring material and nozzle is improved

Thanks for your info bro

 

[OvnFrsh]

Incredible iem’s!

My current favorite and pick it over Storm or Mentor Multiverse for its engagement factor

How does the midrange and resolution fair on MM compared to Annihulator? Also I’m assuming cohesion is better on MM? Thanks ahead of time.

 

[OvnFrsh]

I made some adjustments to my review as clearly my brain had not caught up to what i was hearing at the time or they’ve burned in a considerable amount.

I’ve never been a believer in ‘burn-in’ so it could just be my brain saying ‘hey this is what they actually sound like!’ Whatever the case may be, they sound even grander than they did at the time of writing my review.

Thank you MusicTeck and Andrew specifically for giving me the heads up when the preorders were going down! Such a great customer service experience every time i go back there. What a treat!

Also would love to thank Lee himself for creating this monster. Such a crowning achievement especially from a single individual.

Peace and Love