Cross-post from the watercooler with some context amendments
I spent some time comparing the Annihilator 23 and Raven. Some folks on the watercooler thread mentioned that they find Anni 23 and Raven to have some tuning similarities, and I agree that they are both rather comparable and occupy a similar tuning signature albeit with a few key differences.
My conclusion is that I prefer Raven for bass and technicalities across the board (soundstage, imaging, detail retrieval, dynamics and transient speed), but I prefer Anni’s treble. That said, I think Raven’s treble is very good and competes with Anni 23, but its balanced tuning takes the treble away from the spotlight and it blends a little better within the overall sound presentation. Anni's treble sticks out more and is a more captivating, exciting treble that I can easily get lost in hearing all that air and sparkle.
The mids is where I’m undecided. I’m leaning more towards Anni’s because they have a touch more fullness to their notes. At times I’m finding Ravens mids to sound a little thin for my preferences, but only slightly. Both have a fairly V-shaped sort of tuning so I don’t expect either of them to sound super bodied and rich, but I think Anni’s midrange tonal balance is a little more realistic having a slightly warmer edge.
Ravens bass quality is absolutely sublime and up there with the best I’ve ever heard. It reminds me of Odin’s bass in terms of quality, but with just the right amount of extra oomph to make it a much more fun and engaging listen (for my prefs). Bass is a no-contest win for Raven over Anni IMHO.
Raven has really grown on me over the last few days and it will now sit in my top 10 favourite IEM’s, most likely above Anni 23 for its superior technical performance and bass. Anni 23 is still one of my all-time favourites as well and still the
for treble to my ears. I’d happily own both if money was no object. But if I had to pick between the two, my choice at this point in time would be Raven.
I spent some time comparing the Annihilator 23 and Raven. Some folks on the watercooler thread mentioned that they find Anni 23 and Raven to have some tuning similarities, and I agree that they are both rather comparable and occupy a similar tuning signature albeit with a few key differences.
My conclusion is that I prefer Raven for bass and technicalities across the board (soundstage, imaging, detail retrieval, dynamics and transient speed), but I prefer Anni’s treble. That said, I think Raven’s treble is very good and competes with Anni 23, but its balanced tuning takes the treble away from the spotlight and it blends a little better within the overall sound presentation. Anni's treble sticks out more and is a more captivating, exciting treble that I can easily get lost in hearing all that air and sparkle.
The mids is where I’m undecided. I’m leaning more towards Anni’s because they have a touch more fullness to their notes. At times I’m finding Ravens mids to sound a little thin for my preferences, but only slightly. Both have a fairly V-shaped sort of tuning so I don’t expect either of them to sound super bodied and rich, but I think Anni’s midrange tonal balance is a little more realistic having a slightly warmer edge.
Ravens bass quality is absolutely sublime and up there with the best I’ve ever heard. It reminds me of Odin’s bass in terms of quality, but with just the right amount of extra oomph to make it a much more fun and engaging listen (for my prefs). Bass is a no-contest win for Raven over Anni IMHO.
Raven has really grown on me over the last few days and it will now sit in my top 10 favourite IEM’s, most likely above Anni 23 for its superior technical performance and bass. Anni 23 is still one of my all-time favourites as well and still the
for treble to my ears. I’d happily own both if money was no object. But if I had to pick between the two, my choice at this point in time would be Raven.
