Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions

[Precogvision]

Thieaudio Legacy 2 Impressions

Spoiler: FR Graph

This showed up last week courtesy of Linsoul. Presentation and build-quality are a step up from some of Thieaudio's past budget IEMs like the Legacy 3 and Voyager 3; it's always nice to see a manufacturer aiming to improve their game. Of course, sound quality is another matter entirely, and to that end, I think the L2 is just OK.

The first thing that stood out to me was the downwards-compression. The L2’s not a particularly difficult IEM to drive, yet I constantly find myself trying to turn up the volume to milk out more presence from the IEM. Even listening to tracks that I know are lacking in dynamic range, everything sounds ever-so-dampened. And that's just the icing on the cake. Notes on the L2 are soupy and slow; perplexing, really, given that this is the same BA driver being used in the ER4 which is by no means lacking in the resolution department. Am I maybe exaggerating? I don’t think so. To lend context, A/B-ing it with the Tanchjim Tanya, I’d say the IEMs are comparable for technicalities if not the L2 a small step behind. The L2's definitely behind the Moondrop SSR or Aria in the technical department. And all of these IEMs cost less than the L2; heck, considerably less in the Tanya's instance. That's a shame, because the L2's tuning is actually pretty nice - warm, relaxed, and on the darker side. But tuning only gets you so far and, to my ears, the L2 is an IEM that is circumscribed from the outset by its technical performance. It's particularly ironic given that most budget IEMs live and die on their tonality. But hey, at least I don't see the L2 offending anyone, which is a higher bar to clear than one might think.

Score: 3/10

 

[bigbeans]

This abysmal score yet almost kindly worded assessment reminds gives me academic flashbacks.

 

[Precogvision]

Oh yea, I almost forgot! @MRSallee dropped Variations off today too. It's good. Probably "near the top of its price bracket" good. As far as I can tell, it's a B2 Dusk with better bass texture and treble extension, but I'll need to do some additional A/B-ing to confirm.

 

[InvisibleInk]

Thieaudio Legacy 2 Impressions

Spoiler: FR Graph

This showed up last week courtesy of Linsoul. Presentation and build-quality are a step up from some of Thieaudio's past budget IEMs like the Legacy 3 and Voyager 3; it's always nice to see a manufacturer aiming to improve their game. Of course, sound quality is another matter entirely, and to that end, I think the L2 is just OK.

The first thing that stood out to me was the downwards-compression. The L2’s not a particularly difficult IEM to drive, yet I constantly find myself trying to turn up the volume to milk out more presence from the IEM. Even listening to tracks that I know are lacking in dynamic range, everything sounds ever-so-dampened. And that's just the icing on the cake. Notes on the L2 are soupy and slow; perplexing, really, given that this is the same BA driver being used in the ER4 which is by no means lacking in the resolution department. Am I maybe exaggerating? I don’t think so. To lend context, A/B-ing it with the Tanchjim Tanya, I’d say the IEMs are comparable for technicalities if not the L2 a small step behind. The L2's definitely behind the Moondrop SSR or Aria in the technical department. And all of these IEMs cost less than the L2; heck, considerably less in the Tanya's instance. That's a shame, because the L2's tuning is actually pretty nice - warm, relaxed, and on the darker side. But tuning only gets you so far and, to my ears, the L2 is an IEM that is circumscribed from the outset by its technical performance. It's particularly ironic given that most budget IEMs live and die on their tonality. But hey, at least I don't see the L2 offending anyone, which is a higher bar to clear than one might think.

Score: 3/10

Saved from yet another impending impulse purchase!

 

[hi-fi amateur]

Oh yea, I almost forgot! @MRSallee dropped Variations off today too. It's good. Probably "near the top of its price bracket" good. As far as I can tell, it's a B2 Dusk with better bass texture and treble extension, but I'll need to do some additional A/B-ing to confirm.

I thought the exact same thing vis-à-vis the Dusk.

 

[Precogvision]

Saved from yet another impending impulse purchase!

Linsoul seems to have accidentally sent me another one that’s on the way, so you can borrow it if you're interested in hearing for yourself

This abysmal score yet almost kindly worded assessment reminds gives me academic flashbacks.

I’m a lot more filtered with my thoughts when I’m writing impressions, even more so with the actual reviews. My thoughts on Discord tend to not be as…sensitive haha

precogvision is there any update on the S rank shootout?

Sorry, missed this. Soon

Honestly, I might just turn it into a “best IEMs in the world shootout” according to my rankings, or mix and match some, I’m not sure yet

 

[Strifeff7]

Hello,
any plan on reviewing the Mangird Xenns Up ?
@Precogvision

 

[Precogvision]

Hello,
any plan on reviewing the Mangird Xenns Up ?
@Precogvision

not if it sounds anything like the Tea jk, but yeah, it's not really on the radar. Resolve might get it and be able to send it out to me later down the road.

 

[wizzman121]

Really curious to hear your impressions of the Variations as my assessments of the S8 are spot on with yours.

It doesn't look like you have had the chance to try the Oracle yet but I know many folks will want to hear a reviewer's impressions of both as they are probably to the top two new options in this price bracket.

 

[CL14715]

Any chance you’ve measured both the U18s and Traillii? Or can post a graph comparison? I have a hunch about something.

 

[riverground]

Any chance you’ve measured both the U18s and Traillii? Or can post a graph comparison? I have a hunch about something.

Here u go buddy

 

[Precogvision]

Tansio Mirai Spark Impressions

Thanks to @tgx78 for sending this one in for demo. This is a really photogenic IEM, so I couldn't help but snap a few photos while I was at it.

Spoiler: FR Graph

You have three switches on the Spark which affords several settings. But I recommend leaving that middle switch on because the other settings are pretty borked without it. These impressions are off of the 110 setting, which I found most ideal for my preferences. The overall tonality of the Sparks is a counter-clockwise V-shape; I find the presence of the bass switch helps balance it out a tad.

Admittedly, right off the bat, I honestly didn't like the Spark very much, opting to set it to the side after a quick listen. It sounded...incoherent. The Spark has an aggressive skew to the lower-and-mid treble regions that, frankly, can come off as abrasive to my ears. There's a lot of impact and crash to percussive hits; however, it exacerbates a difference of texture in the treble that does not seem to match the midrange and bass regions. I have to wonder if this is a difference of driver types, the sheer amplitude of the treble itself, or (more than likely) a consequence of both. The Sonion ESTs in the Spark also do not appear to be doing much, as I hear little extension over ~10kHz. This would imply that the other drivers in the Spark have not been dampened properly to match the EST drivers' lower sensitivity; it would also explain why the Spark is incredibly easy to drive.

Most things about the Spark are otherwise pretty competent. I've been fooled by the Sonion BA woofers in the past (the Dunu SA6 comes to mind) and, once again, I had to do a double take when I heard the Spark's bass. An A/B with a good DD IEM and the U12t quickly set the record straight, but within the grand scheme of things? The Spark's bass is pretty decent for a BA setup even if I'd prefer less mid-bass. Something else pretty characteristic about the Spark is a slight blunting of transients in the midrange. The midrange has a slightly "wet" characteristic; hence, again, why the drier treble response sounds 'off' contrasted to this. But I think the Spark's micro-dynamics here are above average with a vividness that keeps me glued when I otherwise would've long panned it for the treble response.

Overall, the Sparks is pretty decent. But...its potential is being hampered by yet another subpar implementation of the EST drivers. The high price of entry compounds this issue, making it all the more difficult for me to give the Spark a clear-cut recommendation. Realistically, at least if you're asking me, it just doesn't compete with a lot of the kilobuck benchmarks. What can Tansio Mirai do? Fix the treble. Fix the treble and, while that's easier said than done, I think you'd have something that's at least somewhat competitive. This is such a looker of an IEM too.

Score: 5/10

 

[CL14715]

Here u go buddy

Welp! That explains it lmao. Thanks bro.

 

[Precogvision]

Welp! That explains it lmao. Thanks bro.

Don’t leave us hanging lol. What was your hunch?

 

[Calfredo826]

I’m wondering the same