at least they provide some scented tea for your other sense 
Precog's IEM Reviews & Impressions
- Thread starter Precogvision
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at least they provide some scented tea for your other sense
hey, it’s called going green for a reason
Look forward to your impressions haha. They are more well known for selling kilobuck cables rather than IEMs. Well to each his own, but I personally won't spend more on a cable than what the IEM costs!
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https://vsg.squig.link/?share=VSG_Target,Effect_Audio_Axiom
I'll re-test with a few other tips and an MMCX cable on both channels soon, the stock tips are... something else. Also, for all the eco-friendly talk, the packaging is still wildly excessive and layered.
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Effect Audio Axiom Impressions
As some might have inferred given the short radio silence when this IEM arrived, this is not going to be a positive set of impressions. Still, I would like to commend Effect Audio for making their IEM accessible for demo via a world tour. My hope is that they can consider making some revisions to their IEM that I think would greatly benefit its competitiveness on the kilobuck market. Starting from the build and accessories (or rather, lack thereof), here are my brief thoughts:
- There is no included case or cable. I really would like to have at least seen a case being included, especially to protect an IEM this expensive. I don't really understand the appeal of not including a cable either. If someone doesn't already have one, they need to buy another which just means more waste piling up.
- The ear tips are generic wide-bore silicones. I would like to have at least seen something like Azla Sedna ear tips being included.
- The build quality of the Axiom itself is very good. The shell ergonomics remind me of an even more sized down CFA Solaris 2020.
- The swappable modules are pretty interesting. I don't think it's necessarily a problem that needs solving, but I can see the appeal for some users.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree in terms of bass performance. The bass on the Axiom sounds excessively bloated until all of 1kHz, yet it has an issue - akin to the original Solaris - wherein there’s very poor texturing. It effectively comes across more BA than it does DD. If you've also ever wondered why some people describe too much mid-bass as "farty," well, this is a prime example of it. You can still screw up bass quite a lot without making it sound outright offensive, and that’s exactly how I feel about the midrange on the Axiom. It’s a weird combination of scooped out upper-midrange followed by a peak in the lower-treble at 5kHz. Female vocals are effectively pushed behind in the mix yet sound sibilant on trailing ends of consonances. And if you thought I was done, no, it gets worse. I understand - to a certain degree - the tuning direction taken with the Axiom up until this point. It's a more relaxed, musical, gooey sort of tuning - I get it. But the treble of the Axiom is surprisingly peaky; in addition to the 5kHz peak, I hear what sounds like a strong plateau at around 12-13kHz. Treble instruments simply sound metallic and harsh. There's seemingly very little air after this point too; really, it’s a wonder that the Axiom even has the staging chops it does. Staging aside, technicalities on the Axiom mostly don't warrant consideration in my eyes - or at least certainly not for $1500. Detailing in the bass and midrange frequencies is rather poor due to the combination of too much presence under 1kHz and the mostly scooped out upper-midrange. Treble detail often comes across as faked due to the general peakiness of the response.
Despite the brazen nature of my reviews, it’s especially difficult for me to approach negative reviews when the product in question is more expensive like this. People almost expect stuff like Chi-Fi to flop; however, it’s another matter entirely when it’s a boutique brand. And I'm sure I'm going to get some fun comments blaming cable/source synergy, burn-in, the works - that's fine. Either way, in my humble opinion only, the Axiom is in need of a major re-tune. This is tuning that I'd expect at a tenth of the price and, even at that price, there are IEMs that punch far above in tuning competency than what the Axiom displays.
Score: 3/10
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hevelaoak
100+ Head-Fier
no cable? that's weird. but not so weird for a cable company to not include a cable 
. now did you drink that tea? how do you rate the tea 0-9?
. now did you drink that tea? how do you rate the tea 0-9?
RikudouGoku
Member of the Trade: RikuBuds
Cant sell their high value cables if its included you know.
DJ Core
500+ Head-Fier
"The OG Monarch had a rather 1-dimensional soundstage presentation (no height, no depth)"Thieaudio Monarch MKII Impressions
Wow, I’m actually not late to the party by a year this time! I’m sure everyone knows about the Thieaudio Monarch already, but if you’re out of the loop it was one of last year’s most hyped tribrid IEMs - that I didn’t actually like very much. But that's the past. Presently, Thieaudio is back for round two with the Monarch MKII. Let's see if the Monarch MKII has what it takes to turn around my jaded paradigm.
First - listening to the OG Monarch again really reinforces how weak the dynamic driver being used in it is. It’s smeared, plasticky, and sounds like it has little texture despite the excellent sub-bass shelf. In this regard, I can confirm that the Monarch MK2 is at least a solid improvement in the texturing department wherein bass notes hit with more “grip” to them. But I can’t say I’m impressed outside of this. The slam on the Monarch MK2’s bass is rather mediocre and I hear more air being pushed in direct A/B with the 64A U12t’s BA bass. No doubt some are tired of this comparison; nonetheless, it is my requisite for me to call a DD‘s bass at least noteworthy. That’s also ignoring the still rather obvious blunting issues to attack wherein there’s poor distinction between successive bass hits. To be perfectly blunt: I expect better for dynamic driver bass, and the Monarch MKII’s bass barely clears the bar for me.
That said, I have to say I mostly like the midrange of the Monarch MK2. It’s more palpable, slightly thicker than its predecessor thanks to some more warmth around 200Hz. The upper-midrange, at least the pinna compensation, is very close to the Harman 2019 IEM target so it’s pushing it for extended listening and comes off quite forward. But there’s a small improvement in clarity and texturing relative to the OG Monarch; maybe a difference of ‘0.5’ by my metrics, but it’s definitely present. Between the Symphonium Helios and the Monarch MKII, I would also say that midrange transients on the Monarch MKII actually sound more natural. The midrange is noticeably “louder” on the Helios even if I think transients sound more energetic on that IEM. This reassures me that the Monarch MKII is at least not being completely propped upon its sheer macro-detail like its predecessor. Good stuff.
Unfortunately, the Monarch MKII’s treble response is likely the biggest turn-off to its tuning. It’s characterized by heavy amounts of 5kHz, so leading hits have a certain sharpness to them that makes you think “wow, that's detail!” on initial listen, but it quickly becomes fatiguing to hear. This is followed by a minor slope off of the lower-treble which exacerbates the amplitude of this peak. It doesn't sound like particularly compressed treble (it helps that it’s not a straight dagger like many Chi-Fi IEMs), but I do think the tuning itself could have been done better. Speaking of which, the Monarch MKII’s extension could also benefit from some more air over 15kHz. It’s probably not a big deal for most listeners, but the Helios still has better detail in the upper-treble for me, as does the 64A U12t. Maybe it’s just my younger ears that are sluts for treble air, but I digress.
For intangibles outside of resolution, the Monarch MKII is a noticeable step-up in imaging capability. The OG Monarch had a rather 1-dimensional soundstage presentation (no height, no depth) and, on second listen, I don’t think its imaging is anything special. The Monarch MKII comes across more defined in its localization, thus mitigating the layering issues the OG Monarch had on busier stuff like Sawano Hiroyuki's music. Between the Symphonium Helios and the Monarch MK2, I’d still give the Helios the win for that “speaker-like,” enveloping quality (which is really something of a meme when we’re talking about IEMs), but it's close. Honestly, this is a great step forward and I think most listeners would be hard-pressed to find themselves outright dissatisfied with the Monarch MKII’s imaging chops. Lest you think me too praise-happy though, some readers will recall one of my biggest criticisms of the OG Monarch lay in its dynamic range. By this, I mean that there was a distinct lack of incisiveness to jumps in volume and vice versa in a track. Alas, this issue is still very much apparent on the Monarch MKII. Dynamic swings come across sort of “sputter-y” and dampened; the music just doesn’t seem to flow to my ears. I'm sorry, but there's simply no contest versus the Helios much less the U12t for this metric.
As an assessment of value, the Monarch MKII enters a highly competitive scene, but I think it definitely has what it takes to compete. Relative to its predecessor, the coherency issues aren’t as glaring, the technicalities are more refined, and the tuning is slightly more palpable. Needless to say this is the best IEM I’ve heard yet from Thieaudio and I can give it my stamp of approval if you’re gauging for this type of high-clarity sound. I wouldn't even bat an eye at someone who gravitates toward this over the Symphonium Helios despite the Helios coming out on top for the metrics I index for. But as for whether the Monarch MKII competes with “top-tier” IEMs, or is worthy of being called one...well, I think you already know my answer to that question. Further comparison outside what I've outlined above isn't warranted in my eyes.
Score: 7/10
I 100% disagree. As an owner of OG, this is mostly dependent on your source and the tips used. Stock spin fit 100 plus and Acoustune AET08 tips give a more 3D sound vs AZLA tips I've tried. For example on the Cayin N3 Pro and Cayin NS6 MKII, depending on the filter used, i get a more 3-dimensional presentation and an even bigger 3d presentation on the N6 MKII vs my Sony zx507 and NW-A55.
I think reviewers need to give more details (tips used, cable, source, high gain, etc when explaining these things.
Hey, you're completely entitled to your own opinion. In fact, if you hear things the exact opposite of how I hear them in this instance, that can only be for the better as far as I'm concerned!
It's fair to point out that soundstage in IEMs is a psychoacoustic illusion. An individual's HRTF can dramatically impact how one perceives staging, which explains the high degree of ambiguity between impressions on soundstage. Personally, I don't think the vast majority of IEMs have "3D" or "holographic" imaging entirely. When I say "no depth", then, that really applies to most all IEMs I've heard minus a few that I can probably count on one hand. Context is also important. There is simply no comparison between staging on IEMs and staging on 2-channel speakers which I use as a reference.
I also do have a section dedicated to my listening chain in pretty much every single published review. It's gotten to the point where it now lists the tips, cable, source(s), my usual listening volume, and the drivability of the IEM. But I can start sharing my chain in impressions too. In this case, it was done using the stock SpinFit medium tips, stock 2.5mm cable, and my iBasso DX300.
hevelaoak
100+ Head-Fier
their cheapest cables look nice though (Vogue Series). also received some awards. I guess they are good? the EVO series is cool looking. what do you think of the Vogue series Goku? I'm looking at Maestro & GrandiosoCant sell their high value cables if its included you know.
RikudouGoku
Member of the Trade: RikuBuds
Give me a measurement of the resistance, otherwise I say just get cables from XINHS...
DUNU Titan S Impressions
I wanted to directly A/B these with the Moondrop Aria, but it doesn't seem I'll be able to do that soon so I'll just discuss what I think about these IEMs. My unit is a pre-production sample; however, I don't believe any major changes are expected. The first couple minutes I listened to the Titan S, I could tell they were at least "good". Further listening here and there over the last few weeks tells me they're not much more than that, but such is the plight of budget IEMs.
Generally, the Titan S has a Harman-oriented tonality with some minor deviations that make it perceptively hit closer to a reference sound. The bass shelf, for example, eschews some quantity relative to the Moondrop Aria for a less warm, more controlled response. The midrange of the Titan S is pretty solid as well. It can get sort of in-your-face at times, but never to the point of which it's offensive. That in mind, I find it's pretty reminiscent of the universal Viento-B's upper-midrange (just, you know, without the sibilance). The treble is where things get a little spicy. It's relatively smooth sailing until the upper-treble. Here, there's definitely a peak à la the Moondrop single-DD IEMs, but graphs can be deceiving. The peak of the Titan S actually sounds noticeably greater in amplitude relative to my KXXS which has something of a haziness to treble decay. On one hand...this does lend to better perceived extension. Conversely, it lends to a slightly metallic timbre. I wish this had been dampened some more; still, it does play into the cleaner tonality that the Titan S is going for against the Moondrop Aria. I don't expect class-leading treble at this price point anyways. Similarly, technicalities are more or less what you'd expect. Head-to-head with the KXXS, I find the two to be about par for detail with the KXXS sporting slightly more expansive imaging. I do recall the KXXS being slightly more technical than the Aria, though, so I think that the Titan S is perfectly competitive in the technical department.
What more is there to say? I'll reiterate: the Titan S is just...good. And I say this in the best sense possible. It makes no glaring mistakes as far as I can tell, and it's a given that the build quality is going to be solid because this is DUNU we're talking about. I can totally see this being a worthy alternative to the Aria for listeners who are after a slightly cleaner, more analytical sound. Shoutout to @DUNU-Topsound for sending these in for evaluation.
Score: 5/10
All critical listening was done with the stock tips, the stock cable, and my iBasso DX300.
For the approximate price of these, it seems good is good enough. Especially as a backup type of IEM.
How's the comfort relative to something like the Aria or Starfield?
How's the comfort relative to something like the Aria or Starfield?
Hmm, it's pretty good despite the more angular design, perhaps a tad more pointy in the nozzle. I can still lay on my side if I want to. Fit is very subjective, though. I remember not being able to wear my KXXS for more than an hour or two when I first got into IEMs and now it's one of the most comfortable IEMs for me haha.
I think you missed this info from @Precogvision.
My listening set-up is almost always as follows:
- iBasso DX300 or iPhone 13 Mini w/ Apple dongle (I used the DX300 for these impressions)
- Lossless files
- Stock cable and stock silicone tips
- No burn-in (unless it's a loaner that's been burned-in previously)
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