After all that of these years I still think this is one of the most beautiful customs....
flinkenick's 17 Flagship IEM Shootout Thread (and general high-end portable audio discussion)
90-10dBA is pretty darn insane.90dB seems to be a good output level for me. I have been known to go beyond this point, but since my adoption of only using iems, I find the tendency for perceived stridency increases, so I’ve learned to moderate my behavior.
Back in the day when I had a reference loudspeaker system, 110dB was a normal occurrence. I’m very lucky at my age that I can still hear out to 14kHz with the abuse my ears got from decades of listening.
Those are volumes that'll leave your ears numb and ringing afterwards. You can count yourself lucky indeed. I'm fairly sure I float around the 70's when listening, and I dip my toes in the 80's when I'm doing stuff like testing mixes and masters at higher volumes.
Don't know if we're okay with cross-posting here (in which case I'll remove it) but this is always a good thread to discuss these things so here's a copy from the VE thread.
Take it away, me....
Right. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re simple BA tweeters (thanks for the correction @Deezel177) which is quite an astounding feat! And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
Take it away, me....
Right. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re simple BA tweeters (thanks for the correction @Deezel177) which is quite an astounding feat! And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
Last edited:
Don't know if we're okay with cross-posting here (in which case I'll remove it) but this is always a good thread to discuss these things so here's a copy from the VE thread.
Take it away, me....
Right. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re electrets which means we are entering a golden age where we finally seem to have figured out how to control those bad-boys, which is great news. And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
Phonix is all BA… and I’m hearing no masking with the EXT, which source are you using? Impressions seem to vary a lot based on the source used.
90-10dBA is pretty darn insane.
I believe potential ear damage is also predicated on the length of time exposed to high dB levels. When I do listen at ~90dB, it is typically for the length of an album I’m really enjoying, then I give my ears a break. Again, my tolerance must be higher since ringing in the ear is not a commonly sensed phenomenon.
jwilliamhurst
Headphoneus Supremus
I remember my experience with A&K daps I always had to turn them up quite higher than my other daps. I listened high on all my A&K daps but with say my Cayin N6ii I hover between ~45-55dbI believe potential ear damage is also predicated on the length of time exposed to high dB levels. When I do listen at ~90dB, it is typically for the length of an album I’m really enjoying, then I give my ears a break. Again, my tolerance must be higher since ringing in the ear is not a commonly sensed phenomenon.
I gotta get me one of those purple cables for the EXT. Well, I need to hear the EXT, then decide I want to buy it. Then, get that cable. First things first.Don't know if we're okay with cross-posting here (in which case I'll remove it) but this is always a good thread to discuss these things so here's a copy from the VE thread.
Take it away, me....
Right. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re electrets which means we are entering a golden age where we finally seem to have figured out how to control those bad-boys, which is great news. And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
I'll bet @metaljem77 gets one of those cables.
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Haha right on point, you know me well! I was just thinking whether to pm doctorjuggles about it. But I’m currently loving the synergy with First Times and EXT; now if FT came in purple, I believe it’s going to stay “fixed” on EXT for a long long time
Based on the price of the First Times, I don't think I will be getting that cable until it it at least Second or Third Times.Haha right on point, you know me well! I was just thinking whether to pm doctorjuggles about it. But I’m currently loving the synergy with First Times and EXT; now if FT came in purple, I believe it’s going to stay “fixed” on EXT for a long long time
AK uses .5dB steps on its daps, so that likely is the reason for your experience. When I speak of 90dB as the listening level, this is measured with an SPL meter, I’m not referring to the volume control numbering, just to be clear.
jwilliamhurst
Headphoneus Supremus
My badAK uses .5dB steps on its daps, so that likely is the reason for your experience. When I speak of 90dB as the listening level, this is measured with an SPL meter, I’m not referring to the volume control numbering, just to be clear.
My bad
no worries at all, I should have made that clear in my original post. By the way, do you still have your traillii, and if so, which do you prefer, it or the Mason?
AK uses .5dB steps on its daps, so that likely is the reason for your experience. When I speak of 90dB as the listening level, this is measured with an SPL meter, I’m not referring to the volume control numbering, just to be clear.
I was just thinking...my SR25ii (first ever AK DAP) is the first DAP I've owned where the volume goes up to 150 instead of 100.
That's very true. I see, then that's not so bad.I believe potential ear damage is also predicated on the length of time exposed to high dB levels. When I do listen at ~90dB, it is typically for the length of an album I’m really enjoying, then I give my ears a break. Again, my tolerance must be higher since ringing in the ear is not a commonly sensed phenomenon.
I was assuming you were doing a full several-hour listening session at those levels. In that case, yeah, it's not that insane.Yeah, as @jwbrent said, the volume level of a DAP and the measured loudness of an IEM are two different things. The number on the DAP refers to how much of its power capacity you're using, and how many dBs that gets out of the IEM will depend on how easy or difficult the IEM is to drive. Say, if you plug the PHoNIX into the N6ii*, a volume level of 20-30 could get you around 70-ish dB, while that same volume level on the Jolene will only get you 60-ish, perhaps.
*EDIT: Specifically, I meant the N6ii with the R01 board.
I actually used to have a link to a Google Sheets doc, which had a formula that could calculate your theoretical listening volume. So, you'd input the DAP's power output, the level you set out of 100, the IEM's sensitivity and impedance, etc., then it'll give you theoretical volume that's coming out of the IEM. I don't know how accurate it was, but it was fun to do. The link and formula are broken now, unfortunately. But, I wouldn't be surprised if there was another one out there on the web.
Yeah, all modern A&K DAPs have those intervals. It can be very nice with more sensitive IEMs, because you can adjust the volume with much finer steps. At the same time, it was the subject of criticism too, back when their DAPs weren't too powerful, because those small changes weren't too useful for power-hungry devices that demanded 80-90+ steps anyway. Nowadays, that's much less of an issue.
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