At $4k, Phonix is priced beyond it‘s capabilities.
The correct price-point is around $2k, and it would be a strong choice for that money… but even then, would still bend the knee to the 64 U12T, which wears the crown in that market segment, and is a superior IEM.
Basically, it’s an upgraded VE8. Which is a great IEM (one of my personal favorites), but overpriced in it’s own right ($1.5k would have been about right). I’d need a long listening session to determine if the whole of the Phonix delivers the same magic as the VE8… the latter is certainly not a perfect IEM, but it has some of the best mids in the business, and it’s signature is uniquely balanced to perfectly deliver that particular range.
I’m a fan of the brand, so I’ve bit my tongue, but at this point, I think I’m doing them a disservice by not voicing my opinion (and it is just that, my opinion, so nobody get too bent out of shape).
Frankly, Vision Ears needs to either rethink their prices or step up their game.
Someone compared the Phonix’s lack of bass extension and sub bass to the Odin’s upper mid-bump… both are faults, sure, but the Odin’s flaw is due to the difficulty of attaining perfect cohesion within a sound signature that easily hits the entire spectrum of audible sound. The Phonix literally can’t replicate frequencies that many $500 IEMs can. With respect, that’s like comparing two multi-million dollar race cars, one of which has a jerky 3rd gear because the car’s gearing must balance low-end torque for super acceleration with tall upper gears for those 250mph straight-aways … while the other car tops out at 85mph. The first car might require some patience at specific points in the race, but the other car… well, the other car isn’t really racing, is it?
With a $2k specialty mids machine like the VE8, an inability to hit bass frequencies that are taken for granted with other similarly priced IEMs can almost be forgiven as a quirk of the unique VE8 experience. I know I forgive them every time I listen to them, love them as I do.
But the Phonix… at $4k, we’re talking a price tag indicative of range-topping ultra-exotic flagships. We’re talking race cars… and it’s unacceptable. Bring the pain at every frequency, or you’re not in the conversation in that tier of IEM. Period, full stop.