Elysian Annihilator 2023

[OvnFrsh]

I have just pre-ordered the Annihilator 2023

Happy for you dude! Can’t wait for you to get them!

oh yeah the treble is astonishing. it’s making other iems sound muffled in comparison

The treble is tuned so well that it gives the whole rest of the fr air. So light and fluffy but still having insane note weight is crazy lol.

 

[Exekuhtor]

Yeah, it's truly the best existing TOTL IEM for trebleheads, it's also very good in the bass and the mids, the treble is just the outstanding part.

 

[OvnFrsh]

Yeah, it's truly the best existing TOTL IEM for trebleheads, it's also very good in the bass and the mids, the treble is just the outstanding part.

I’m definitely a member of the trebleheads haha. It’s also for tonal and timbre accuracy lovers with all the engagement you could want! I’ve been searching close to 15 years for this in an iem. The journey’s been fun but it feels great to finally rest lol.

 

[Exekuhtor]

The very best thing (or worst, honestly) is that it's not possible to reproduce this kind of sound in a headphone. You have this ultra high speed boosted treble that is not peaky but linear and perfectly extended, in combination with a still very well tuned midrange and a very solid dynamic driver for the bass that slams pretty good. Stax can do the treble, but the midrange can sound thinn and hollow and the bass is just weak.
There are two items that blew me away in my hifi journey, one is the bass of the 1266 (i thought it's unreal, it's subwoofer like), the other being the treble of the Annihilator (with its whole package).

 

[OvnFrsh]

The very best thing (or worst, honestly) is that it's not possible to reproduce this kind of sound in a headphone. You have this ultra high speed boosted treble that is not peaky but linear and perfectly extended, in combination with a still very well tuned midrange and a very solid dynamic driver for the bass that slams pretty good. Stax can do the treble, but the midrange can sound thinn and hollow and the bass is just weak.
There are two items that blew me away in my hifi journey, one is the bass of the 1266 (i thought it's unreal, it's subwoofer like), the other being the treble of the Annihilator (with its whole package).

I’ve always preferred iem’s over full size headphones just for the extra intimacy factor. Once they started doing hybrids and tribrids in iem’s i thought there’s no way i can go back lol. Being able to jam a few different types of tech into one shell is such a huge advantage to get the most out of each band of the fr.

 

[Arora]

Happy for you dude! Can’t wait for you to get them!

The treble is tuned so well that it gives the whole rest of the fr air. So light and fluffy but still having insane note weight is crazy lol.

indeed, i did not consider myself a treblehead at all before owning the Anni. i do prefer the bass of the Z1R and U12t and the male vocals on the Anni are just a bit more recessed than i would like but the treble makes it hard to give up. the U12t (which is my favourite IEM) is one of the IEMs that sounds a little muffled in comparison to the Anni.

 

[smirks_audio]

indeed, i did not consider myself a treblehead at all before owning the Anni. i do prefer the bass of the Z1R and U12t and the male vocals on the Anni are just a bit more recessed than i would like but the treble makes it hard to give up. the U12t (which is my favourite IEM) is one of the IEMs that sounds a little muffled in comparison to the Anni.

Yeah Anni resolution is pretty stellar, even compared to U12t.

 

[moltening]

Do you guys have any DAP recommendations that work well with the Annihilator '23?

I'm currently looking at WM1ZM2 and SP3000, but open to others too.
(Will be plugging it straight into the DAP without an amp)

 

[Arora]

Do you guys have any DAP recommendations that work well with the Annihilator '23?

I'm currently looking at WM1ZM2 and SP3000, but open to others too.
(Will be plugging it straight into the DAP without an amp)

I tried it with the iBasso DX320 MAX Ti and the R6 Pro II. Preferred the latter because of improved bass quantity. I used to own the Sony WM1AM2 and although I didn't try it with the Anni 23, I felt it was outperformed by DAPs half the price. Ultimately I don't think the Anni requires a £3k DAP to sound really good

 

[Shape77]

Do you guys have any DAP recommendations that work well with the Annihilator '23?

I'm currently looking at WM1ZM2 and SP3000, but open to others too.
(Will be plugging it straight into the DAP without an amp)

I use my phone with the iFi Gryphon. It's not a DAP but maybe you can think about it

 

[Deferenz]

Do you guys have any DAP recommendations that work well with the Annihilator '23?

I'm currently looking at WM1ZM2 and SP3000, but open to others too.
(Will be plugging it straight into the DAP without an amp)

When I first tried the Anni at Canjam I was using the SP3000. I found it to be a really good combo.

 

[moltening]

Thank you for the recommendations!

I ended up getting the R6 Pro II. It pairs really well with Annihilator 2023. Very musical and even more low-end weight to complement the Anni's top-end.

Audio nirvana achieved!

P.S. I think Anni's resolution can scale further with more $$$ source, but this combo is already more than enough to bring a smile every listen.

 

[Arora]

Thank you for the recommendations!

I ended up getting the R6 Pro II. It pairs really well with Annihilator 2023. Very musical and even more low-end weight to complement the Anni's top-end.

Audio nirvana achieved!

P.S. I think Anni's resolution can scale further with more $$$ source, but this combo is already more than enough to bring a smile every listen.

exact same set up as me (except you seem to have the titanium which I really wanted!)

agree on the R6 Pro II being a good match because of the low end. the bass is the weakest part of the Anni (it’s relative) but the R6 Pro II definitely helps in that respect.

what gain are you using? i’m on middle gain at volume 32-35 for most songs

 

[moltening]

exact same set up as me (except you seem to have the titanium which I really wanted!)

agree on the R6 Pro II being a good match because of the low end. the bass is the weakest part of the Anni (it’s relative) but the R6 Pro II definitely helps in that respect.

what gain are you using? i’m on middle gain at volume 32-35 for most songs

I bet you're quite happy with the setup!

I am listening on low gain with the volume around 70.

 

[Neweymatt]

I wasn’t expecting to join the party quite at this time, but when the opportunity came up the other day to acquire one locally with no international shipping or customs hassles, I jumped on it!

And boy am I glad I did, this is exactly the complement to my Xe6 and A12t that I was after. It’s truly astonishing how well that treble extends upwards seemingly forever, creating a sense of space that I’ve not experienced before.

Oh, and did someone say midbass? That’s probably the only criticism I’ve seen regarding the Annihilator, but for me (cough Xe6 cough) the warmth it provides is the perfect platform to sustain the forward upper frequencies. I could maybe live with less? but why compromise when this exists.

I’ve still got a bit of experimenting to do with tips and sources, but I can tell already I’m going to be very happy with this for quite some time.