[Spie1904]

Your preferences seem to match mine pretty well so monitoring here for future reference.
I don’t have a lot of chances to demo much gear so always good to find someone with similar taste.
Out of curiosity, what have been your favourite IEM’s that have a tiny footprint or shell that may fit tiny ears and smaller ear canals?

 

[buonassi]

This thing clocks in at $3200. Let me let that sink in - three, two, zero, zero. It's certainly not bad, but the value proposition is severely lacking

But to be clear, your reviews remove price as a consideration, right? IE, this scores a 6.5/10 regardless of it's price. I believe I remember reading that on your website under 'testing methodology' section.

 

[Precogvision]

Out of curiosity, what have been your favourite IEM’s that have a tiny footprint or shell that may fit tiny ears and smaller ear canals?

Right now, it’s the Etymotic ER2XR. I have smaller ear canals too, and it sticks out a bit unfortunately. The thing punches well-beyond it’s price point; I’ll probably shill review it this weekend.

The DUNU lineup also arrived yesterday. They're probably ideal if you have really small ears, although SQ-wise they seem to be hit-or-miss.

But to be clear, your reviews remove price as a consideration, right? IE, this scores a 6.5/10 regardless of it's price. I believe I remember reading that on your website under 'testing methodology' section.

Yessir. I don't consider price, that's a pure sound-quality score. It's still a very solid IEM for what it is. I think that very few, if any, companies could have pulled it off like Vision Ears did. My main problem, sans the price, is that it represents a series of trade-offs. In each part of the FR, there's a compromise being made that gives off the impression of something less than refined.

 

[RikudouGoku]

Right now, it’s the Etymotic ER2XR. I have smaller ear canals too, and it sticks out a bit unfortunately. The thing punches well-beyond it’s price point; I’ll probably shill review it this weekend.

The DUNU lineup also arrived yesterday. They're probably ideal if you have really small ears, although SQ-wise they seem to be hit-or-miss.



Yessir. I don't consider price, that's a pure sound-quality score. It's still a very solid IEM for what it is. I think that very few, if any, companies could have pulled it off like Vision Ears did. My main problem, sans the price, is that it represents a series of trade-offs. In each part of the FR, there's a compromise being made that gives off the impression of something less than refined.

Which dunu´s did you get?

 

[kdphan]

Vision Ears Elysium

A lot of companies seem to be putting out tri-hybrids nowadays, and this is Vision Ear's take. But wait, there's a catch! Vision Ears has swapped a BA for the lows and a DD for the mids; two EST for the highs. Totally groundbreaking stuff, I know. So how does it actually stack up?

Starting from the low-end, frankly, I'm not seeing the payoff of swapping to a BA. It's fairly snappy with more texture and weight than most BAs, but it's also not what I would call good. Decent for BA? Sure. Along the same line, the midrange is pretty OK. Fairly level, and it has that warm coloration which gives it a "musical" quality that a lot of people seem to enjoy. Yet, the transients are slower than I'd like which results in a slight fuzziness A/Bing between some other TOTL stuff. Moving along...treble is interesting. It definitely has a different flavor to it than BA/DD. I wouldn't say it bothers me, but it feels strangely distinct which is probably only exacerbated by the lift in the FR here. I hear good extension and sparkle, perhaps bordering on splashiness at times. Although this is where I take issue with Elysium's coherency, it’s not setting off any alarm bells, so well done here.

Let's briefly discuss technicalities. No issues with the overall timbre. Staging is mostly average, but I find that it has fairly decent depth, enough to make the image diffuse somewhat. Layering capability and detail retrieval are certainly above average as well. Speed...I don't think it's either fast or slow, it seems to be somewhere in the middle. In general, it's a good performer - I'd put it at around the $1000 mark - but it's not playing with the big boys.

I tried spending more time with the Elysium just because I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to frame my thoughts. This thing clocks in at $3200. Let me let that sink in - three, two, zero, zero. It's certainly not bad, but the value proposition is severely lacking.

A quotation that comes to mind is "Pioneers get slaughtered, and the settlers prosper". To this end, I get the feeling that while the Elysium is groundbreaking now - at least in its EST implementation - it'll probably be eclipsed as other companies figure out the technology too. Your money is your money; however, make no mistake that $3200 is a lot to put on the line. I would only consider the Elysium worthy of purchase if the tonality sounds like your endgame, if supporting so-called pioneer companies is something important to you, and if you actually have the money. For all the fancy things going on with it, there are more technical, more "musical" IEMs for less. For example, Vision Ear's own VE8, which I'd already consider borderline overpriced, has a clear leg-up in technical performance. There's better ways to go broke in this hobby.

Score: 6.5/10

$3200 is a lot of dough for a "above decent" IEM
Seems like all these new IEMs coming out are just different flavors, with not so much groundbreaking technology.
VE seems to have that "hype" too.

 

[Precogvision]

Which dunu´s did you get?

I got the 2001, 3001 Pro, and the Luna.

 

[RikudouGoku]

I got the 2001, 3001 Pro, and the Luna.

What a catch! Looks forward to the dk2001, that is something I am interested in.

 

[feverfive]

I am in the process of consuming any and all content, Re: DK-3001 Pros. Looking forward to yours as well. I want more "data" points. I really like DUNU as a company, but not sure the 3001 Pro should be my next mid-price'ish IEM purchase.

 

[DavidS11]

@Precogvision

Surprised u find Elysium’s mid fuzzy. To me, it’s even clearer than the VE8. Can even be too bright sometimes. VE8 mid is warmer and more forward, that I agree.

Why do u call Elysium is V shape? To me, V shape is boosted on both ends with recessed mid. I didn’t hear it like that at all. Noted the Elysium is power hungry, so not sure it has anything to do with it.

Also, I find VE8 treble extension is even more than U12t. I guess we all hear differently

 

[Precogvision]

@Precogvision

Surprised u find Elysium’s mid fuzzy. To me, it’s even clearer than the VE8. Can even be too bright sometimes. VE8 mid is warmer and more forward, that I agree.

Why do u call Elysium is V shape? To me, V shape is boosted on both ends with recessed mid. I didn’t hear it like that at all. Noted the Elysium is power hungry, so not sure it has anything to do with it.

Also, I find VE8 treble extension is even more than U12t. I guess we all hear differently

Hey! I hear it as a mild V-shape. There's a slight bass boost, fairly level-midrange (not actually recessed) and then a pretty large jump in the treble to my ears. So yeah, not strictly an actual V-shape.

I'm surprised you hear more treble extension on the VE8. U12t has some crazy extension out to 20K; it's not realistic, but it sure sounds nice. Do you have the CIEM for VE8 maybe? CIEMs tend to extend more I think. Not trying to knock what you hear of course!

 

[DavidS11]

Hey! I hear it as a mild V-shape. There's a slight bass boost, fairly level-midrange (not actually recessed) and then a pretty large jump in the treble to my ears. So yeah, not strictly an actual V-shape.

I'm surprised you hear more treble extension on the VE8. U12t has some crazy extension out to 20K; it's not realistic, but it sure sounds nice. Do you have the CIEM for VE8 maybe? CIEMs tend to extend more I think. Not trying to knock what you hear of course!

No, universal demo VE8.

 

[buonassi]

Elysium graph certainly looks mild v shaped.

 

[Precogvision]

No, universal demo VE8.

Hey, so I was thinking about what you said, and Tork chimed in. There’s a dip between 5-10kHz in the mid treble of the U12t. It rolls off earlier here and is less pronounced than the VE8, but then it rises again, for air, all the way up to 20kHz. Conversely, the VE8 just rolls off from 10K onwards.

I think this could easily be mistaken for a lack of extension on the U12t or, depending on one’s hearing/age, not be heard at all because it’s so high up. Like you said, everyone’s hearing is different.

Bear in mind I’m also no expert on graphs. Just some food for thought and I hope this helps!

 

[DavidS11]

Hey, so I was thinking about what you said, and Tork chimed in. There’s a dip between 5-10kHz in the mid treble of the U12t. It rolls off earlier here and is less pronounced than the VE8, but then it rises again, for air, all the way up to 20kHz. Conversely, the VE8 just rolls off from 10K onwards.

I think this could easily be mistaken for a lack of extension on the U12t or, depending on one’s hearing/age, not be heard at all because it’s so high up. Like you said, everyone’s hearing is different.

Bear in mind I’m also no expert on graphs. Just some food for thought and I hope this helps!

I just listened to them, I didn’t look up any graphs. Anyway, I like both.. may be U12t a little more for being the better all-rounder imo

 

[Precogvision]

Bringing to you a special post sponsored by the one-and-only @antdroid. Thanks for the loaners and be sure to check out his site Audio Discourse for more reviews.

Thieaudio Legacy 3

Round 2 with this IEM - if you've seen my original review then you know I don't think too highly of it. As a quick recap, this is a U-shaped, more laidback tuning. My two main issues were that 1) the thing suffered from serious BA timbre, and 2) the treble rolled off significantly. And I don't really know what to say - while I can't A/B, this unit most definitely sounds different from what I remember. Both issues have been somewhat attenuated, to the extent of which I think they're now fairly minor.

The L3's still a pretty poor contender for technicalities; layering capability and resolution are severely lacking. Just turning up the volume a little bit really exacerbates that "low-res" hue. But I can actually appreciate the tuning on this one, go figure. I'm not going to change the score, just because I felt I was fairly lenient on the original unit, but this is decent enough for the price. As for whether I recommend it...what's more worrisome to me at this point is the quality-control.

Thieaudio Voyager 3

This one leans more towards your typical Chi-Fi, V-shaped tuning. And holy cow is it a mess. Starting from the bottom, you have your boosted bass. Don't get me wrong, I love my bass. But this, this is horrible. The mid-bass emphasis makes clear how messy the attack is; there's zero semblance of control, not to mention dynamic slam. The midrange is also conveniently pushed forward more than the L3. The upper-midrange is the biggest culprit of this. You get an exclusive, front-row seat to the fat, fuzzy blob that it is. And the treble...well, let's just say I wasn't listening too hard at that point. It's all over the place.

The Voyager 3 shoves everything in your face unabashedly. I was going to make an inappropriate innuendo here, but let’s not. If you've never heard something good before, sure, maybe it could sound "fun"? But it also takes "low-res" to another level, and frankly, the L3 sounds like a gem comparatively. I can see why Antdroid prefers the L3 - it's not much of a contest.

Edit: I tried the "01" setting after someone mentioned this to me. I just assumed the switches did nothing like on the L3 - bad move. Yeah, just leave that switch on because none of the other settings are any good. It makes a profound difference to the upper-midrange, opening it up quite a bit. It's actually listenable now. Updated score as such.

Score: 3.5/10 for the Legacy 3, 2/10 3/10 for the Voyager 3

Stay tuned for the Etymotic ER2XR review this weekend - it gives these two the whammy.