I listeneded to the Valkyrie, wraith, and legend x (comparing with my phantom) over the course.of about 3 hours a few days ago in Singapore. I have a Valkyrie on preorder back home, so was listening to see if I was going to keep the preorder or stick with my phantoms. I'm keeping the preorder.
The valkyeries were pretty impressive. Very spacious and holographic, lovely energetic but not fatiguing highs, deep, impactful lows that did not bleed, and mids that were slightly less emphasized than the highs and lows, but still very much present and not recessed. Of my iems, the mids reminded me most of the Solaris, but valkyeries had deeper, more present bass and more sparkly, energetic highs while still not being tizzy or harsh. The mids probably had a touch more warmth than the Solaris and the Solaris probably has a resolution edge, but they are close.
Compared to the legends, the valkyeries mids were more present and the highs had a little zing to them that you don't get from the legends BAs. Although I felt the legends and the valkyeries were similar in the bass extension, the legends, unsurprisingly, had a more impactful bass wollop. Compared the the phantoms, the valkyeries had more subbass and longer decay as you would expect from a dynamic driver vs BAs. In the treble, the valkyeries are more energetic up top, but the phantoms actually have brighter upper mids/lower treble, which is an area I can be sensitive to, so while the phantoms never cross the line to harshness for me, they actually get closer to it than the valkyeries (ymmv depending on where/if you have sensitivity. Although mids still sounded full on the valkyeries to my ears, they are less thick than on the phantoms, which adds some additional spaciousness and some additional clarity. While their thicker sound means you sort of have to step into the phantoms to appreciate their three dimensionality, the valkyeries put you right in the middle of it without having to do anything.
The wraith was definitely more in the vein of the phantoms, with a similar relative emphasis on the mids and the highs, though the mids were less thick than on the phantoms and the highs had that special something, sparkle, and energy at the highest end that some felt the phantoms lacked. Although there is slightly less midbass on the wraith compared to the phantoms, their bass was more alike than different. The wraiths had the resolution edge on the phantoms. ive never heard the Zeus, so can't compare the wraiths there. While the wraiths were impressive, I preferred the Valkyrie for what I am currently looking for.
In short, I reall and will be sellingy beloved phantoms once the valkyeries arrive. I wouldn't say the valkyeries are Superior to the phantoms, but they are the more engaging pair and more in line with what I am itching for at the moment.