[II Humble II]

I have just got some iFi GOpods, and they pair well with my Helios and Meteor! The GOpods have been driving Helios well, especially considering how power-hungry Helios is.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

I have just got some iFi GOpods, and they pair well with my Helios and Meteor! The GOpods have been driving Helios well, especially considering how power-hungry Helios is.

Thanks, Humble! Honored to share in this 1:1 combo with you, though I have the red edition!

 

[o0genesis0o]

I have just got some iFi GOpods, and they pair well with my Helios and Meteor! The GOpods have been driving Helios well, especially considering how power-hungry Helios is.

That’s impressive. I don’t even think about putting Helios on my UTWS5, given how hard the IEM pushes my DX300. Congrats on your shinies

Oh, and Helios and Meteor are

 

[reallynotareview]

Hi all, please find video of my experience with the Symphonium Audio Helios. Hope you'll enjoy the video. Thank you!

 

[Yifang]

Here's my Symphonium Helios review. Thanks for the tour opportunity!

 

[HPLovecraft]

No much interest here about the Crimson? Strange because the Helios are much appreciated (excluding the fit) and the Crimson are the new flagship of this brand.

 

[Smirk 24]

No much interest here about the Crimson? Strange because the Helios are much appreciated (excluding the fit) and the Crimson are the new flagship of this brand.

Crimson has its admirers. Crimson is the new flagship, that’s true, but its tuning is very different from Helios and its treble has issues to some people which may explain the relative lack of Crimson hype.

 

[pasul]

Crimson has its admirers. Crimson is the new flagship, that’s true, but its tuning is very different from Helios and its treble has issues to some people which may explain the relative lack of Crimson hype.

Hi Smirk. Interesting info. Its truth, that i cannot found some reviews. And i like to listen Crimson. Before christmas i recive Helios SE and last 5 days i play with this IEM. I will werite some more info later. May you tell us some more info? Thank you

 

[Smirk 24]

Hi Smirk. Interesting info. Its truth, that i cannot found some reviews. And i like to listen Crimson. Before christmas i recive Helios SE and last 5 days i play with this IEM. I will werite some more info later. May you tell us some more info? Thank you

Sure thing. First, here are some reviews so you can get a wide range of opinions:

Headphones.com: https://headphones.com/blogs/reviews/symphonium-crimson-heir-apparent

Audio Discourse: https://www.audiodiscourse.com/2023/09/crimsoncorgi.html?m=1

Head-Fi: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/symphonium-audio-crimson.26705/reviews

Crimson is more U-shaped and is warmer in the lows and lower mids compared to Helios. Crimson’s bass is well-textured and can be authoritative depending on the track. Helios can be a little mid-bass light but has great sub-bass.

Crimson is slightly more resolving than Helios, has a slightly wider soundstage, and slightly more precise imaging.

Crimson has a perceptible treble peak that I found bothersome. Helios’ treble is more linear and superbly tuned in my opinion.

 

[antdroid]

I also liked the Crimson - My impressions are here: https://www.audiodiscourse.com/2023/09/symphonium-crimson-impressions.html (Smirk posted CorgiFall's review on AD, but I also had a quick chance to listen and review it)

I can see it being a bit polarizing of an IEM due to its staging aspects which make it interestingly unique.

 

[SweetCans928]

No much interest here about the Crimson? Strange because the Helios are much appreciated (excluding the fit) and the Crimson are the new flagship of this brand.

I'm just speculating, but I can't help but think it might have something to do with the negativity surrounding Crimson, especially in this thread(I'm not trying to rehash the drama, sorry in advance if it comes across like that). The makers didn't want to disclose the driver config, which is fine, but honestly they could have handled that whole situation better. They didn't want people judging Crimson based on the driver setup, which I get, because a lot of people have a "No DD, no dice" preference(which is absolutely fine of course - I get that as well). Crimson also doesn't have ESTs or BCDs...
Of course, I can't quantify or approximate the damage this might have(or might not have) done. It might've made no difference at all in the big picture.

And if you look at some of the recent results from the Watercooler thread, it seems like most people here, especially in the high-end segment just prefer warm and smooth IEMs(53% of people chose 2 as their preference). Which again, is fine. I actually like warm and smooth IEMs more than I ever used to thanks to Headfi.
(edit - removed what might come across as a bit of mansplaining here lol)

I still think Crimson is absolutely fabulous, but I am also not treble sensitive. In the Watercooler 1-5 warm/dark vs bright/cool preference survey I put myself at a 4(leaning towards bright/cool). But I can enjoy mostly anything good in the 2-4 range, and sometimes stuff at the more extreme end of that range as well(like Aur Audio Alita, which would be a 1). The only IEMs I like more than Crimson are the Fir RN6(which slaps the rest of my IEM collection tbh), and Noble Spartacus(although I'd place Crimson in the same tier).

But again, I'm essentially looking through a peephole and trying to come to conclusions about what's going on, on the other side of the door. Feel free to disregard.

 

[drspeter]

I remember that Helios, even with the tuning and its fit issue, had a rave reviews and users praise. Even with Crimsons new warmer tuning with greater technicalitiea, it seems that it is not as much popular as what helios had. Could it be because the price gap is bigger than the improvements in the sound quality? Just speculating. This case is quite opposite to the case of thieaudio monarch1 and 2, where the latter came with revised tuning and improved technicalities that satisfied more users, and smaller form factor that solved a fit issue of 1. Albeit the higher price tag, 2 had a huge fan base that 1 didnt have.

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Hello everyone!

The team at Symphonium is now pleased to be sponsoring Head-Fi.

We look forward to engaging with you all on a more consistent basis throughout this year.

Hope you're enjoying your Symphonium IEMs!

-Seb

 

[Tanalasta]

Just thought I‘d chime in and jotted down my impressions of Crimson
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/symphonium-audio-crimson.26705/reviews

 

[Erkil]

Crimson has its admirers. Crimson is the new flagship, that’s true, but its tuning is very different from Helios and its treble has issues to some people which may explain the relative lack of Crimson hype.

I'm just speculating, but I can't help but think it might have something to do with the negativity surrounding Crimson, especially in this thread(I'm not trying to rehash the drama, sorry in advance if it comes across like that). The makers didn't want to disclose the driver config, which is fine, but honestly they could have handled that whole situation better. They didn't want people judging Crimson based on the driver setup, which I get, because a lot of people have a "No DD, no dice" preference(which is absolutely fine of course - I get that as well). Crimson also doesn't have ESTs or BCDs...
Of course, I can't quantify or approximate the damage this might have(or might not have) done. It might've made no difference at all in the big picture.

And if you look at some of the recent results from the Watercooler thread, it seems like most people here, especially in the high-end segment just prefer warm and smooth IEMs(53% of people chose 2 as their preference). Which again, is fine. I actually like warm and smooth IEMs more than I ever used to thanks to Headfi.
(edit - removed what might come across as a bit of mansplaining here lol)

I still think Crimson is absolutely fabulous, but I am also not treble sensitive. In the Watercooler 1-5 warm/dark vs bright/cool preference survey I put myself at a 4(leaning towards bright/cool). But I can enjoy mostly anything good in the 2-4 range, and sometimes stuff at the more extreme end of that range as well(like Aur Audio Alita, which would be a 1). The only IEMs I like more than Crimson are the Fir RN6(which slaps the rest of my IEM collection tbh), and Noble Spartacus(although I'd place Crimson in the same tier).

But again, I'm essentially looking through a peephole and trying to come to conclusions about what's going on, on the other side of the door. Feel free to disregard.

Soon to be 52 years old, and can’t say treble peak on Crimson is audible to me. Just nice treble extension for me. I find it really nice, after not clicking with Meteor. Super wide head stage, nice sub bass rumble. Love the Alita to by the way!