flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
Love a side shot, what is going inside there since it looks clear.
You can’t just leave us hanging like that…
Hmmm
Thanks actually good shots. Expecting V shaped, hope you enjoy it.Ill post some impressions later, here’s the best I could do with my phone
"Annih-ilator" in Japanese sounds like "stick it in the hole". Sounds about right 
Looking forward to impressions relative to the bird!
Looking forward to impressions relative to the bird!
Are both traces the Traillii? If so, quite a disparity between channels.
pretty sure the purple line is the ie900Are both traces the Traillii? If so, quite a disparity between channels.
Wow well, it’s been a fun day of listening.
So.. the annihilator! In typical fashion this will just be “short” impressions and some comparisons, nothing super detailed. There are some good reviews out there for that.
Non sound related stuff.. the shell is on the larger side but the inside is quite smooth and you can get a deep insertion, I’ve been using CP155 tips and the comfort is great. I have small ears but these seem to work well for me. One of the main reasons I requested a demo was to make sure they fit me.
The best way I can describe the annihilator would be a “bright V shape with emphasis on the upper mid range”.. but, I don’t like using that type of description to describe it as I myself personally tend to associate bright with poorly done upper mids/treble that come off as harsh/peaky/crunchy… which is not the case here.
The annihilator has very extended treble from lower to upper but it is relatively linear throughout, so there are no crazy peaks or anything that I found to come off as harsh or crunchy, it is done incredibly well and injects a nice amount of air into the signature that doesn’t just coat the sound in a layer of air (cough 64 audio cough). It is smooth and highly detailed and for me personally didn’t cause any fatigue (I had these in my ears non stop for about 4 hours at volumes that are probably not safe for that long) and I am not noticing any fatigue or ear ringing. Now the treble here is interesting, there is more here than any other IEM I have heard in terms of tonality so it’s not quite natural sounding to me but at the same time it doesn’t sound unnatural either, it just sounds… very very good. My ears adjusted to the sound very quickly. This and the Traillii are by far the two best treble presentations I have heard from any IEMs.. while they are going for different tunings, whatever these IEMs have going on here inside is the absolute gold standard of treble for me from now on.
Here is a graph of the annihilator relative to the IE900, while you can see the annihilator overall has more treble, there is something that the graph cannot show you and that is the quality of it… the IE900 hits weird peaks for me that sometimes come off bright/harsh/i have to turn down the volume, but on the annihilator not once did I have to adjust anything due to treble quantity. I am assuming that is down to that peak right under 8k or the fact that the upper mid range is even with it but I am no graph nerd so take that with a grain of salt.
The upper mid range has a solid emphasis but it stays quite linear to the treble so while it is emphasized I don’t hear it to be shouty or overly forward, there are no females screaming at me here and once again it is rendered very smoothly and for me is easy on the ears.
The lower mid range is a little recessed I’d say, and can lean slightly towards the thinner side but as far as impacting male vocals go I think they still have enough body to be more than acceptable. Jamming out to some old school Linkin Park albums sounded fantastic.
The bass impact on the annihilator is a mid bass slam rather than a deep sub bass rumble, typically I prefer a sub bass rumble as it just sounds more pleasing to me, but if it is going to be mid bass oriented I don’t mind as long as it is done well and is free from bleeding into the lower mid range. The mid bass is very well controlled, hits with authority and doesn’t overstep its boundaries here.
The technicalities of the IEM are well above average. Wide soundstage, great stereo separation, solid imaging, and excellent resolution.. but we all know where this is going here… The Traillii is still an absolutely different class to literally every IEM I have heard when it comes to technical aspects. So this is not a knock on the Annihilator whatsoever. The overall sound of the annihilator is imaged behind your head and to the sides, very similar to how the Traillii images also, the Traillii just does it on a larger scale and has even higher resolution/layering/separation. From an A/B and the burned in memory of the Traillii it is noticeable but evaluating the Annihilator by itself it will exceed any technical desires.
So where does this leave me? Well… Elysian has a new flagship coming out called “X” I believe within the next few weeks and I may or may not have placed a deposit down for a pre order. Based off what I have been told through chat with Lee, the X is meant to be more sub bass focused while still retaining the mid bass body and supposedly has a smoother upper mid range. The estats are increased from 2 to 4 also. Based off of what I am hearing on the Annihilator, I feel pretty confident here about going in “blind” to the X but time will tell, I should have it sometime in July.
No, the Traillii is not flapping it’s wings anywhere and is still firmly the
to me but the Annihilator really hit a sweet spot for my tastes in what I like from my IEMs as well as how it played with my music preferences. It adds enough to be different to the Traillii without straying TOO far away into an opposite type signature so I am really looking forward to adding the X to my non-existent collection. While the Annihilator does have a V shaped sound, I still firmly believe it is good enough to be considered an all-rounder. Now, I don’t listen to classical so I’m not so sure how Beethovens finest work may sound on these but everything I threw at it was played out just fine.
Since half of Head Fi has a Traillii now
, here is how they look on graphs.
When I first listened I will say I wasn’t totally blown away, but after about…. 7 hours…. of listening and evaluating them, these are firmly in my top 3 of IEMs I have heard accompanied by the Erlkonig and Traillii.
So.. the annihilator! In typical fashion this will just be “short” impressions and some comparisons, nothing super detailed. There are some good reviews out there for that.
Non sound related stuff.. the shell is on the larger side but the inside is quite smooth and you can get a deep insertion, I’ve been using CP155 tips and the comfort is great. I have small ears but these seem to work well for me. One of the main reasons I requested a demo was to make sure they fit me.
The best way I can describe the annihilator would be a “bright V shape with emphasis on the upper mid range”.. but, I don’t like using that type of description to describe it as I myself personally tend to associate bright with poorly done upper mids/treble that come off as harsh/peaky/crunchy… which is not the case here.
The annihilator has very extended treble from lower to upper but it is relatively linear throughout, so there are no crazy peaks or anything that I found to come off as harsh or crunchy, it is done incredibly well and injects a nice amount of air into the signature that doesn’t just coat the sound in a layer of air (cough 64 audio cough). It is smooth and highly detailed and for me personally didn’t cause any fatigue (I had these in my ears non stop for about 4 hours at volumes that are probably not safe for that long) and I am not noticing any fatigue or ear ringing. Now the treble here is interesting, there is more here than any other IEM I have heard in terms of tonality so it’s not quite natural sounding to me but at the same time it doesn’t sound unnatural either, it just sounds… very very good. My ears adjusted to the sound very quickly. This and the Traillii are by far the two best treble presentations I have heard from any IEMs.. while they are going for different tunings, whatever these IEMs have going on here inside is the absolute gold standard of treble for me from now on.
Here is a graph of the annihilator relative to the IE900, while you can see the annihilator overall has more treble, there is something that the graph cannot show you and that is the quality of it… the IE900 hits weird peaks for me that sometimes come off bright/harsh/i have to turn down the volume, but on the annihilator not once did I have to adjust anything due to treble quantity. I am assuming that is down to that peak right under 8k or the fact that the upper mid range is even with it but I am no graph nerd so take that with a grain of salt.
The upper mid range has a solid emphasis but it stays quite linear to the treble so while it is emphasized I don’t hear it to be shouty or overly forward, there are no females screaming at me here and once again it is rendered very smoothly and for me is easy on the ears.
The lower mid range is a little recessed I’d say, and can lean slightly towards the thinner side but as far as impacting male vocals go I think they still have enough body to be more than acceptable. Jamming out to some old school Linkin Park albums sounded fantastic.
The bass impact on the annihilator is a mid bass slam rather than a deep sub bass rumble, typically I prefer a sub bass rumble as it just sounds more pleasing to me, but if it is going to be mid bass oriented I don’t mind as long as it is done well and is free from bleeding into the lower mid range. The mid bass is very well controlled, hits with authority and doesn’t overstep its boundaries here.
The technicalities of the IEM are well above average. Wide soundstage, great stereo separation, solid imaging, and excellent resolution.. but we all know where this is going here… The Traillii is still an absolutely different class to literally every IEM I have heard when it comes to technical aspects. So this is not a knock on the Annihilator whatsoever. The overall sound of the annihilator is imaged behind your head and to the sides, very similar to how the Traillii images also, the Traillii just does it on a larger scale and has even higher resolution/layering/separation. From an A/B and the burned in memory of the Traillii it is noticeable but evaluating the Annihilator by itself it will exceed any technical desires.
So where does this leave me? Well… Elysian has a new flagship coming out called “X” I believe within the next few weeks and I may or may not have placed a deposit down for a pre order. Based off what I have been told through chat with Lee, the X is meant to be more sub bass focused while still retaining the mid bass body and supposedly has a smoother upper mid range. The estats are increased from 2 to 4 also. Based off of what I am hearing on the Annihilator, I feel pretty confident here about going in “blind” to the X but time will tell, I should have it sometime in July.
No, the Traillii is not flapping it’s wings anywhere and is still firmly the
to me but the Annihilator really hit a sweet spot for my tastes in what I like from my IEMs as well as how it played with my music preferences. It adds enough to be different to the Traillii without straying TOO far away into an opposite type signature so I am really looking forward to adding the X to my non-existent collection. While the Annihilator does have a V shaped sound, I still firmly believe it is good enough to be considered an all-rounder. Now, I don’t listen to classical so I’m not so sure how Beethovens finest work may sound on these but everything I threw at it was played out just fine.Since half of Head Fi has a Traillii now
, here is how they look on graphs.
When I first listened I will say I wasn’t totally blown away, but after about…. 7 hours…. of listening and evaluating them, these are firmly in my top 3 of IEMs I have heard accompanied by the Erlkonig and Traillii.
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From the PR email, A&K Solaris X in collaboration with Astell & Kern, featuring a new custom BA driver for high frequencies. Also, comes with a pure silver cable, 2.5mm terminated, and 2.5mm to 3.5mm pigtail adapter.
From the PR email, A&K Solaris X in collaboration with Astell & Kern, featuring a new custom BA driver for high frequencies. Also, comes with a pure silver cable, 2.5mm terminated, and 2.5mm to 3.5mm pigtail adapter.
Pretty faceplate. I like the contrast with the gloss black. I’m guessing +2K.
Wrong, $1,499.
Last edited:
normie610
Headphoneus Supremus
Wow those faceplates look stunning!From the PR email, A&K Solaris X in collaboration with Astell & Kern, featuring a new custom BA driver for high frequencies. Also, comes with a pure silver cable, 2.5mm terminated, and 2.5mm to 3.5mm pigtail adapter.
riverground
Headphoneus Supremus
A&K really do love their reds don’t they? LolFrom the PR email, A&K Solaris X in collaboration with Astell & Kern, featuring a new custom BA driver for high frequencies. Also, comes with a pure silver cable, 2.5mm terminated, and 2.5mm to 3.5mm pigtail adapter.
Their red abalones.A&K really do love their reds don’t they? Lol
I don’t know why coloured abalones aren’t used more often as faceplate materials; scarcity, maybe? The red, green and blue abalone Signature Designs are still some of my favourites from JH’s designer.
I'm curious, what does AK bring to the table in a collaboration like this?From the PR email, A&K Solaris X in collaboration with Astell & Kern, featuring a new custom BA driver for high frequencies. Also, comes with a pure silver cable, 2.5mm terminated, and 2.5mm to 3.5mm pigtail adapter.
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