[mndless]

New Fiio FD7. Beryillium dynamic for $599. Dang. Fiio has been busy.

Hopefully it's performance justifies that price.

 

[Ace Bee]

New Fiio FD7. Beryillium dynamic for $599. Dang. Fiio has been busy.

At that price it needs to perform similar to or better than Dunu Zen and Zen pro, Oriolus Isabellae... that's gonna be a tough competition...

 

[Barusu Lamperouge]

At that price it needs to perform similar to or better than Dunu Zen and Zen pro, Oriolus Isabellae... that's gonna be a tough competition...

+1 and honestly, Fiio's house sound is pretty generic at that price point. I like Fiio but it seems that they're not worth the top dollar when it matters the most.

 

[kmmbd]

+1 and honestly, Fiio's house sound is pretty generic at that price point. I like Fiio but it seems that they're not worth the top dollar when it matters the most.

Ditto that. The Fiio FD5 for example didn't excel in... anything at all. The bass wasn't the best in the price bracket, nor the mids/treble, neither the technicalities e.g. resolved detail/imaging/staging (staging was wide but lacked depth).

I really hope that they come up with a better tuning this time and at least excel in one category. The driver is a pure Be foil after all, loads of potential.

 

[nymz]

Guys, it comes with Spinfits, comon! A bargain.

 

[SHOOTINGTECHIE]

At that price it needs to perform similar to or better than Dunu Zen and Zen pro, Oriolus Isabellae... that's gonna be a tough competition...

You forgetting the Holocene too , something to keep a lookout since it killed Zen recently at least for me and imho better than monarch

 

[Ace Bee]

You forgetting the Holocene too , something to keep a lookout since it killed Zen recently at least for me and imho better than monarch

Holocene is 3 BA, I was mentioning only single DD.

That said, Holocene may outperform Zen in the other spectrums, but what about Bass? I doubt it can take over Zen their?

 

[AmericanSpirit]

You forgetting the Holocene too , something to keep a lookout since it killed Zen recently at least for me and imho better than monarch

Entry model of CFA with 3BA better than Thieaudio Monarch with properly implemented 1DD, 6BA, 2EST is questionable. At least for technicalities side, for tuning, it’s pure YMMV, some may prefer tuning A over B, so it’s understandable.

 

[SHOOTINGTECHIE]

Entry model of CFA with 3BA better than Thieaudio Monarch with properly implemented 1DD, 6BA, 2EST is questionable. At least for technicalities side, for tuning, it’s pure YMMV, some may prefer tuning A over B, so it’s understandable.

Yeah I agree my choices might be different than yours but yea I liked Holocene more , monarch for me -rock guitars seemed lackluster for me with no holographic staging either , otherwise it's pretty good

 

[SHOOTINGTECHIE]

Holocene is 3 BA, I was mentioning only single DD.

That said, Holocene may outperform Zen in the other spectrums, but what about Bass? I doubt it can take over Zen their?

For me it did
Edit : mammoth on the other hand ohh my the bass

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Yeah I agree my choices might be different than yours but yea I liked Holocene more , monarch for me -rock guitars seemed lackluster for me with no holographic staging either , otherwise it's pretty good

Yea, it’s the tuning/tonality after all, I also do not find March suitable to use Monarch on rock tracks, Monarch basically ignores bass guitars..I can see Monarch excels at pops with female vocals focus, EDM, or orchestral, but not male vocals , instrumental focused genres.

 

[SHOOTINGTECHIE]

Yea, it’s the tuning/tonality after all, I also do not find March suitable to use Monarch on rock tracks, Monarch basically ignores bass guitars..I can see Monarch excels at pops with female vocals focus, EDM, or orchestral, but not male vocals , instrumental focused genres.

Edm I'd love with monarch

 

[Ace Bee]

For me it did
Edit : mammoth on the other hand ohh my the bass

WHOAAAA! If the bass of Holocene indeed surpasses Zen, I'm gonna consider it!

 

[kmmbd]

That said, Holocene may outperform Zen in the other spectrums, but what about Bass? I doubt it can take over Zen their?

I presently have both in front of me (just took the photo before writing this haha), and I can say with absolute certainty that the Holocene is a step down from the Dunu Zen in every aspect barring soundstage width and upper-treble extension.

The bass on the Holocene lacks the physicality, slam, and rumble of the Dunu Zen. Vocals are more laid back and doesn't have the same engagement factor of the Zen. As a result, the Zen sound more up-front whereas the Holocene goes for an atmospheric tuning.

Dynamics are also superior on the Zen by a margin. For my tastes, I will pick Zen most of the times over Holocene, but I do think the Holocene can be good/great for those who aren't fond of up-front mids and want a laid back presentation with wide staging.

 

[Ace Bee]

I presently have both in front of me (just took the photo before writing this haha), and I can say with absolute certainty that the Holocene is a step down from the Dunu Zen in every aspect barring soundstage width and upper-treble extension.

The bass on the Holocene lacks the physicality, slam, and rumble of the Dunu Zen. Vocals are more laid back and doesn't have the same engagement factor of the Zen. As a result, the Zen sound more up-front whereas the Holocene goes for an atmospheric tuning.

Dynamics are also superior on the Zen by a margin. For my tastes, I will pick Zen most of the times over Holocene, but I do think the Holocene can be good/great for those who aren't fond of up-front mids and want a laid back presentation with wide staging.

The bold words gives me hope, as, as mich as I love Zen's mids, for longer listening I would prefer slightly laid back mids, and my disagreement with Zen's upper treble extension is already documented.

However, the lack of bass slam and rumble do concerns me, as that's one aspect of Zen that I do not want to compromise even a bit. May be Holocene is still not for me...