[jlemaster1957]

@Resolve of HEADPHONES.COM fame livestream review of Monarch Mk2 on YT at link below.
Main review starts with fit and accessories at 4:00 min. in, FR about 9:30, technical performance and select comparisons at 24:00, w/ Q&A responses to chat predominant after 31:00. In general he finds the fit very acceptable, tonality good especially bass SQ (not finding bass quantity to be lacking), mids forward and clear (just on the edge but not shouty in the ear gain region from 2-5k), overall very good. He provides a number of comparisons to other IEMs but especially focuses on Symphonium Helios.

 

[mungster]

Anybody think the thieaudio monarch mk2 will bring down all these insanely priced iems $4k-$6k back to earth levels?

 

[DrewVz]

No.

 

[jlemaster1957]

Anybody think the thieaudio monarch mk2 will bring down all these insanely priced iems $4k-$6k back to earth levels?

That would site be nice. It may indeed compete market-wide with insanely high-priced IEMS like the Odin, and that will help; however, there may be always be those who are willing to pay top dollar to squeeze out that last extra bit of bass or treble extension, soundstage or detail retrieval. But this is certainly welcome!

 

[feverfive]

Anybody think the thieaudio monarch mk2 will bring down all these insanely priced iems $4k-$6k back to earth levels?

No.

People who buy at those levels will continue to do so. ***For the most part*** they couldn't care less about Monarch MKII-level gear.

 

[mungster]

No.

No! Why not? If these compete with iems 3-4 times their price range in terms of SQ it just might make other manufacturers rethink their strategy of pricing there products in the stratosphere.

 

[mungster]

Ok lets put it this way. What if a manufacturer actually make a $1k iem
Thats sound better than these $4k-$6k insanely priced iems. Will that make other manufacturers rethink their strategy of pricing their products in the stratosphere and make consumers who pay top dollar to squeeze the last ounce of performance moot and paying top dollar for less performance?

 

[feverfive]

Ok lets put it this way. What if a manufacturer actually make a $1k iem
Thats sound better than these $4k-$6k insanely priced iems. Will that make other manufacturers rethink their strategy of pricing their products in the stratosphere and make consumers who pay top dollar to squeeze the last ounce of performance moot?

I think you're projecting what *you* value onto what others value. And it's understandable. However, what drives consumer choice goes far beyond performance. And what does "sound better" mean, exactly? To you? To someone else?

 

[mungster]

I think you're projecting what *you* value onto what others value. And it's understandable. However, what drives consumer choice goes far beyond performance. And what does "sound better" mean, exactly? To you? To someone else?

Sound better mean equal or better resolution, details, tuning as define by all tbese audiophile standards? In others words equal or surpasses these other totl iems

 

[feverfive]

Sound better mean equal or better resolution, details, tuning as define by all tbese audiophile standards?

Based on your join date, you've been around this game long enough to know better than to think objective standards mean much in this hobby beyond a undetermined minimum threshold of performance (which even that differs from person to person).

 

[hlee227]

Anybody think the thieaudio monarch mk2 will bring down all these insanely priced iems $4k-$6k back to earth levels?

If anything I would see ThieAudio will move up their price as their iems reaches closer and closer to the top

 

[mungster]

Based on your join date, you've been around this game long enough to know better than to think objective standards mean much in this hobby beyond a undetermined minimum threshold of performance (which even that differs from person to person).

Yeah i tried everything and everything and frankly nothing impresses me anymore. I actually enjoy some $1k iems more than my traiilli. Lol. Just want to see how far pepples limits are when it comes to pricing. In the end it all comes down to preference and i admit i am part of the problem in supporting these strapheric prices by buying them

 

[jlemaster1957]

If anything I would see ThieAudio will move up their price as their iems reaches closer and closer to the top

It would not be surprising even to see the price of Mk2 go up (perhaps after a face-lift as did the Kinera Nanna Imperial before the tuning change; however that was only $50). After the Crinacle rating, and at this price, I predict Thieaudio’s market share to go up (though maybe in a limited way as not everyone can afford a kilobuck IEM) which could lead demand to out-strip supply - therefore ‘get one now before the price goes up’

 

[DrewVz]

No! Why not? If these compete with iems 3-4 times their price range in terms of SQ it just might make other manufacturers rethink their strategy of pricing there products in the stratosphere.

There's more to IEMs than perceived SQ differences. How much R&D went into the Traillii, for example? What about raw material or production costs? How expensive is the cable? How many are sold? What is the manufacturer's expected time to recover their investment? How long is the product's life cycle?

Sound quality is only one aspect of it. And even that is subjective. Right now I would take my current favorite $200 IEMs over several $1k+ IEMs out there. But that's just me. Others will have have their own preference.

And even after all that is said, even if sales were to taper off for those $3k+ IEMs if the Monarch were to steal some of the market, my guess is that those IEMs would either go UP in price to make up for the lost revenue, or they would be made cheaper (cheaper materials, cheaper cable, etc.) to increase profits, or they would be outright discontinued and replaced with something new.

But lower prices? Doubtful.

Fact is, Thieaudio may actually be doing more harm to their own market by producing a relatively affordable TOTL IEM, as people who were considering a Clairvoyance or even an Oracle/Excalibur might consider stretching their budget and jump up to the Monarch right away. In that regard, I would expect them to increase the price of the new Monarch in the near future, maybe to $1200 or more.

 

[jsmiller58]

If anything I would see ThieAudio will move up their price as their iems reaches closer and closer to the top

Considering the price of the original Monarch, the Mk2 already represents an increase in price.

I don’t think the Monarch will have a significant effect on the pricier IEMs. As someone else said, purchasing decisions are complex. A simple example…. If you need to buy a meal and can afford, and expected, to pay $20 you might be pleasantly surprised if the menu has a $3 special. You may even have heard patrons talk about how good the $3 special was, but in the end you might hesitate, wondering what you might be missing out with the more expensive meal. I can speak from my own experience that when I shop I do not always go for the lowest cost option if I have been subtly persuaded by either marketing, word of mouth, or packaging to go for a more expensive offering, sometimes convincing myself that “you get what you pay for“. Obviously for many they do not have the option to pay more than they have to, but then a +$1K IEM is probably not targeted at them.