Some brief "thoughts" over the VE X so far now that I've gotten quite
a lot of listening hours with them since I received the demo... testing done from HiBy R8 II. Full disclosure, this is how I hear/enjoy the IEM and is not meant to be a review of some sorts.
Love love.. absolutely love.
I have a bias towards VE IEMs that I expect them to almost always be warm-tilted and musical without sacrificing too much in details and resolution. It's how I was introduced to the brand and how I fell in love with "their sound", very similar to how I expect EE IEMs bass to always rattle my brain (where's LX MK2?) and I personally think the VE X absolutely nails this sound.
Given these do lean warmer VE have tuned them to have a great balance across the FR. The bass response is mid bassy and full with strong impact but it never comes off as bloated or boomy, the decay is very well controlled and stops it from spilling over into the mid range. The sub bass also has good depth and detail but isn't quite elevated or separated enough to give you that large airy bottom end, it's more about staying tight and giving a well articulated rumble. The mid range is lush and very organic in its timbre. Instruments have a lovely weight and density to them that just feels so natural to my ears. Listening to drums, bass guitars.. ugh,
. Electric guitars to sound a tad less bite-y than I prefer but overall still very well within the bounds of what I'd consider normal and fitting for the IEM tonality. For some added context I tend to find "flat" lower mids on the lean side, so the slight low mid lift here just fits more with my personal tastes of how I want my mids to typically sound. I understand you're trading some transparency here but it's what I tend to enjoy. Both male and female also carry this
ever so slightly deeper tone to them. The treble for me is the icing on the cake. The way I hear it relative to the rest of the tuning is borderline perfection. It's not too relaxed or too emphasized anywhere. I find it very well balanced from low to upper treble while giving all the details and extension you could want but presenting it in a totally inoffensive yet dynamic and lively way.
Before I heard these I was under the impression from friends that I may not find these technical enough for their price point and I'm happy to say I don't find this to be an issue at all. The main "weakness" of their techs would be that the soundstage isn't overly large, but if you've heard VE IEMs before you know they tend to keep their stages more focused and in head which I am completely fine with so long as it doesn't sound congested or
too narrow. The soundstage here is definitely on the more "in head" side but it compensates it by having wonderful imaging, and it is still large enough to not ruin the playback of electronic music which I feel benefits from bigger soundstages. Both macro and micro dynamics are well above average also, but this IEM sounds more dynamic though sheer body and note fullness as opposed to having super clean/clear transients. Each note has such a sense of power behind it that really breathes life into the playback.
The build of the IEM feels very premium with its anodized aluminum. It's also VERY light and comfortable in the ears. The cable also feels very nice and fairly supple, I love the hardware and how it matches the IEMs design aesthetics.
My main gripe from the VE X is that just like other VE sets I have tried (with the exception of Elysium and EXT) they are quite sensitive which means they're susceptible to hiss if your source amplification isn't clean enough. However, I do appreciate how easy they are to drive. These don't need any special juicy sources to sound their best so long as the tonality/synergy of what you're using is to your liking.
I do plan to buy these as a universal when inventory is available, I believe sometime in February for MusicTeck. Whether or not I'll get them as a CIEM will be something I'll decide when that choice is available. The fit is great so I'm not feeling pressured to, but if VE has any special designs for the VE X I probably will as I've always wanted a VE CIEM. As far as I know CIEM is still in the works from a development standpoint.
For me these are such an incredible set and I recognize these might not be the "best" at anything in particular, but I find the VE X to be a set that really tugs on my emotional strings and gets my neurons firing, and that is worth more to me than anything that I can score out of 10. The feet tapping, lip syncing, and head bobbing is something that even the most technically impressive sets have failed to do for me.
TL;DR - My favorite VE IEM to date and what I feel is the most complete offering they have so far relative to my tastes.
There is SO much more I could have said about these but.. I feel this is enough. If anyone has any questions I would be happy to answer as best as I can while I still have them on me.
Squiggly wigglies for the measurebaters:
.. pretty alright.. loves strawberries and whatnot
It’s character and patina!
