[AmericanSpirit]

Okay. Now that I've had the Monarchs for a few days and had a lot of ear time with them, I know where they fit into my portfolio. The first thing I want to mention is that the first issue that I had with the Monarchs is gone. I attributed some initial incoherence, lack of bass and airiness to burn in. I am not so sure that is what it was because it cleared up so quickly. I must have had an ear tip fit problem. Now that I have adjusted to them, the fit is outstanding and the sound is fantastic even with the foam tips which usually aren't my favorite.

As I mentioned before, after addressing the initial issue, the dominant first impression I had was that the tuning is perfect. That is still true. I prefer the tuning of the Thieaudio Monarch's to all other IEMs I've heard to date. I A/B/C tested for tuning with the Sony IER-Z1R and Empire Ears Odin and on a Chord Hugo 2 running Tidal with no EQ and the FR I preferred most is the Monarchs. They nailed it for me. Then, I applied EQ. When I EQed the Monarchs to Harman, I much preferred the stock tuning of the Monarchs. So, I will be using the Monarchs as my own preference curve for IEMs and will attempt to create tuning profiles for my IEMs to this curve to see how it effects the sound. The only other time this has happened for me is with the Hifiman Ananda. The stock tuning for those headphones is better than Harman. I will be using the Ananda as my preference curve for full sized headphones.

Since frequency response is such a dominant attribute of sound, as I was initially listening across various music genre. I kept thinking to myself, are these my favorite IEMs? Do I like these more than I like the Odins? If it's true, I want to say it. So, I set out to prove that one way or another. It wasn't clear early on. It only became clear when I A/B tested the Monarchs vs. the Z1R and then vs the Odin across many tracks and playlists including Modern Pop, Jazz (bebop, bossa nova), Classical (symphony orchestra, violin concerto, piano concerto), classic rock. The bottom line is that I still prefer both the EQed Odin and Z1R over the Monarchs but only slightly which is amazing given the dramatic difference in price. As I mentioned, the Monarchs have the best tuning. But, they are not technically inferior. Not many IEMs can provide sufficient detail and resolution for Marriage of Figaro Sinfonia. The passages are so complex and dynamic that most headphones and IEMs can't deliver. The Monarchs do a very good job with it as I can hear the individual violins throughout the piece. The Z1R very easily have the best bass response. Texture, timbre and coherence is unbeatable. I always say that the Z1R is best for anything with a rhythm section (drum set, bass guitar, piano, electric guitar). The Odin has the best resolution, instrument separation and detail. The textures of the bass and mids are much more nuanced than with the Monarchs. The imaging is better with Odin. The best way to describe the superiority of the Odins in resolution when listening at low volumes. At 55-60 db, you can still hear all the detail from the sub bass to the airiness of the highs.

If I had to come up with a 2 word description of the Monarchs, I would call them the "Baby Odins." The tonal balance is perfect to my ear and I could listen to them all day long as they are not fatiguing. The clarity and transparency are present with all genres of music and they make great all arounders for me. Thieaudio knocked it out of the park with the product. The hype surrounding it is well deserved.

Ear tip fit certainly was my challenges too, with bad fit, it sounded so thin. It took me a while trying on various settings and configs, ended up having to the genuine SpinFit cp100(the one comes is a mock up M-size), with iFi iEMatch 2.5mm(raises a bit on mid-base range) on line-out of dual AKM4497s. Works great with Monarch for my case!

I happened to experience ear-gasm with goosebumps on Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an exhibition, baba yaga & great gate of kiev, a very extensive and dynamic chamber orchestral masterpiece.

Monarch certainly needs its burn-in time to settle.

 

[surfgeorge]

Okay. Now that I've had the Monarchs for a few days and had a lot of ear time with them, I know where they fit into my portfolio. The first thing I want to mention is that the first issue that I had with the Monarchs is gone. I attributed some initial incoherence, lack of bass and airiness to burn in. I am not so sure that is what it was because it cleared up so quickly. I must have had an ear tip fit problem. Now that I have adjusted to them, the fit is outstanding and the sound is fantastic even with the foam tips which usually aren't my favorite.

As I mentioned before, after addressing the initial issue, the dominant first impression I had was that the tuning is perfect. That is still true. I prefer the tuning of the Thieaudio Monarch's to all other IEMs I've heard to date. I A/B/C tested for tuning with the Sony IER-Z1R and Empire Ears Odin and on a Chord Hugo 2 running Tidal with no EQ and the FR I preferred most is the Monarchs. They nailed it for me. Then, I applied EQ. When I EQed the Monarchs to Harman, I much preferred the stock tuning of the Monarchs. So, I will be using the Monarchs as my own preference curve for IEMs and will attempt to create tuning profiles for my IEMs to this curve to see how it effects the sound. The only other time this has happened for me is with the Hifiman Ananda. The stock tuning for those headphones is better than Harman. I will be using the Ananda as my preference curve for full sized headphones.

Since frequency response is such a dominant attribute of sound, as I was initially listening across various music genre. I kept thinking to myself, are these my favorite IEMs? Do I like these more than I like the Odins? If it's true, I want to say it. So, I set out to prove that one way or another. It wasn't clear early on. It only became clear when I A/B tested the Monarchs vs. the Z1R and then vs the Odin across many tracks and playlists including Modern Pop, Jazz (bebop, bossa nova), Classical (symphony orchestra, violin concerto, piano concerto), classic rock. The bottom line is that I still prefer both the EQed Odin and Z1R over the Monarchs but only slightly which is amazing given the dramatic difference in price. As I mentioned, the Monarchs have the best tuning. But, they are not technically inferior. Not many IEMs can provide sufficient detail and resolution for Marriage of Figaro Sinfonia. The passages are so complex and dynamic that most headphones and IEMs can't deliver. The Monarchs do a very good job with it as I can hear the individual violins throughout the piece. The Z1R very easily have the best bass response. Texture, timbre and coherence is unbeatable. I always say that the Z1R is best for anything with a rhythm section (drum set, bass guitar, piano, electric guitar). The Odin has the best resolution, instrument separation and detail. The textures of the bass and mids are much more nuanced than with the Monarchs. The imaging is better with Odin. The best way to describe the superiority of the Odins in resolution when listening at low volumes. At 55-60 db, you can still hear all the detail from the sub bass to the airiness of the highs.

If I had to come up with a 2 word description of the Monarchs, I would call them the "Baby Odins." The tonal balance is perfect to my ear and I could listen to them all day long as they are not fatiguing. The clarity and transparency are present with all genres of music and they make great all arounders for me. Thieaudio knocked it out of the park with the product. The hype surrounding it is well deserved.

Thanks for sharing! You really make we want a Monarch
The one thing I am concerned about is clarity, separation and BA timbre. I have mixed experiences with BA IEMs, the QDC 4SS had a really unnatural timbre with much too fast decay, making it sound a bit grainy and thin at times. The Blessing 2 has great tuning but also has a bit of a haze or slight grain. The IER-M9 on the other hand is really free of any grain and hazyness, it stays prefectly clean and transparent with excellent separation, even with the busiest music. (I will check if I can find the track you mentioned above)
I really like the M9, but I'd be very interested in an IEM with similar detail, clarity and separation but a tuning like the Monarch. And I'd like more dynamics. The tuning is the M9 character and it works very well, the only real weakness the M9 has in my book is dynamics. I got used to it, but when I had the DUNU Luna in house it became painfully clear that the Luna and M9 are polar opposites when it coms to dynamics.

So the questions is, can the Monarch keep up with the M9 in timbre, detail and separation, and beat it in dynamics?

 

[drummguy26]

So I got my Monarchs a few days ago and just wanted to write up my impressions of these things. Ive basically been listening to these non-stop in between the burn-in period, and I can clearly hear the progression after 5, 10, 20, 30 hours. Before I start.... these things are simply amazing! Every pair of high end headphones Ive purchased over the years, Ive had to EQ to varying degrees in order to get the exact sound I wanted out of them. This is the first time ever where I've felt the stock tuning on these beats out any EQ I can possibly come up with, and I can finally plug them into any source and just enjoy the natural sound as it was meant to be heard. I primarily use AutoEQ while targeting different compensations (i.e. Harman Curve, Oratory, etc.) and although the EQ sounds ok, I feel like scooping out any section of the mids or highs to attain the target curve takes away from the awesomeness that these things naturally provide. There's so much detail going on here and the best part is that its all very controlled. Never have I felt that anything was incoherent or muddy in any way. Granted, I switched out the cable for a 2.5mm balanced Silver Litz cable and have custom fit eartip molds Im using from my CA Atlas (which actually fits the Monarchs quite nicely...), but even with the stock cable it sounded fantastic. Also, foam eartips were a super close 2nd to me if you cant go the custom route. Everyone's comments on this forum saying that the tuning is spot on is 1000% correct. These things are tuned to perfection. No need to EQ anything IMO.

The bass is tastefully done. No bleeding in the mids whatsoever. Mainly a sub bass focus, which is fine by me. Even with Rock music its satisfying. I listen to a lot of EDM and Electronica, so clearly these things are right up my alley. I also tried the Monarchs with a 25ohm impedance adapter (not 20ohm cos I couldnt find one using a balanced connector), and yes it takes a little bit away from the airiness, but not much at all. But the added mid bass more than makes up for it! I didnt find it to be congested or constrained at all. It just added very much welcomed warmth the to FR, which translated into a more fun listening experience - probably closer to what the Clairvoyance's sound like. Not 100% sure on that statement cos ive never heard the Clairs, but just my assumption.

The mids I felt are a little more laid back than other headphones Ive listened to, and normally I'd be upset by this, but the clarity and detail are very much there which is impressive. Overall its just an even, smooth and detailed section that Ive grown to appreciate because of the clarity. The 25ohm impedance adapter I felt really helped bring out the mid bass, and that made it feel even more enjoyable.

The highs, at first, were a little screechy/piercing to me... It would be bearable for like the first 5 mins, but then it would progressively get worst to the point to where my ears would hurt. I think this had a lot to do with the fit of it in my ear (cos these things are huge!) and the combination of eartips I was using. But when I switched to the custom eartips Im currently using now, the piercing sound vanished. Also something else that helped was lowering the preamp volume level to about -4/-6dB. This helped a great deal with the tonality. Once I was able to listen to them for longer than 5 mins at a time, the enjoyment factor shot up exponentially. Highs were crisp, clear and precise as can be.

So to summarize, I think fit and comfort level is key to getting the most out of these. Finding the right eartips and/or using the impedance adapter (which I actually found more enjoyable) for added mid bass and warmth is also extremely important as well. If you can get a custom silicone mold for these, Id highly recommend you do so. This is almost essential for people with smaller ears and just cant fit the darn things in their ears! lol. But if going the regular eartip route, I feel like most everyone on here will say to go with silicone tips, but I feel like foam is actually the way to go with these. It will enhance the bass response even more and will feel more comfortable in your ears. Again, my opinion, but from my experience; custom > foam > silicone.

 

[iFi audio]

Ear tip fit certainly was my challenges too, with bad fit, it sounded so thin. It took me a while trying on various settings and configs, ended up having to the genuine SpinFit cp100(the one comes is a mock up M-size), with iFi iEMatch 2.5mm(raises a bit on mid-base range) on line-out of dual AKM4497s. Works great with Monarch for my case!

Hey, it's great to know that our iEMatch is useful for you. Enjoy!

 

[fast edi]

What foam eartips?

The ones that comes with the Clairvoyances are pretty bad in my opinion, but I have not tried other foam tips.

In my opinion they either do not have close well, giving bad sealing and bad sound, or they close but put too much pressure in my internal ear, making them pretty uncomfortable.

The kind of Spinfit tips that comes with the Clairs are not as soft as the original Spinfit.

I have tried the typical spiral tips, quite comfortable and good sound, in my opinion. And then I have tried the Spinfit CP 100, M, that are the most comfortable, but I have the feeling that they change the bass...

I find them pretty comfortable and I like the IEMS very much, but I have the feeling that I could find better tips for this one.

I can use the Spinfit L size on the Blon Bl03 without any problem. For the Clairs the M size is better, because the nozzle are already quite thick.

 

[drummguy26]

What foam eartips?

The ones that comes with the Clairvoyances are pretty bad in my opinion, but I have not tried other foam tips.

In my opinion they either do not have close well, giving bad sealing and bad sound, or they close but put too much pressure in my internal ear, making them pretty uncomfortable.

The kind of Spinfit tips that comes with the Clairs are not as soft as the original Spinfit.

I have tried the typical spiral tips, quite comfortable and good sound, in my opinion. And then I have tried the Spinfit CP 100, M, that are the most comfortable, but I have the feeling that they change the bass...

I find them pretty comfortable and I like the IEMS very much, but I have the feeling that I could find better tips for this one.

I can use the Spinfit L size on the Blon Bl03 without any problem. For the Clairs the M size is better, because the nozzle are already quite thick.

Agreed. The foam tips that came with my Monarchs were crap. I didn't like them at all. The M was too big and the S was too small. And unfortunately, I don't remember the brand of the foam tips that I'm using now (I have so many that I lose track of what's what when it comes to foamies), but what I can say is that the size is between the S and M foam tips that came with my Monarchs. And it's fairly long and stiff (quick rebound). I haven't tried Comply foam tips on these yet so I can't speak to those... But anyway, hope my description helped a bit.

 

[drummguy26]

Actually I think I figured out which foam tips go best with the Monarchs. Try the M size campfire audio Marshmellow tips. I'm getting really good results with those.

 

[AmericanSpirit]

Thanks for sharing! You really make we want a Monarch
The one thing I am concerned about is clarity, separation and BA timbre. I have mixed experiences with BA IEMs, the QDC 4SS had a really unnatural timbre with much too fast decay, making it sound a bit grainy and thin at times. The Blessing 2 has great tuning but also has a bit of a haze or slight grain. The IER-M9 on the other hand is really free of any grain and hazyness, it stays prefectly clean and transparent with excellent separation, even with the busiest music. (I will check if I can find the track you mentioned above)
I really like the M9, but I'd be very interested in an IEM with similar detail, clarity and separation but a tuning like the Monarch. And I'd like more dynamics. The tuning is the M9 character and it works very well, the only real weakness the M9 has in my book is dynamics. I got used to it, but when I had the DUNU Luna in house it became painfully clear that the Luna and M9 are polar opposites when it coms to dynamics.

So the questions is, can the Monarch keep up with the M9 in timbre, detail and separation, and beat it in dynamics?

I have blessing 2 and Monarch, and if you like the tuning of B2, with better natural timbre and better resolutions, I would suggest you try on Softears RSV(Blessing 2's mid-range BA is a proprietary designed one from Softears), it was released in the fall of 2020, coming after the Monarch hype, goes the same price with Monarch at $730. The detail retrieval is not as crisp as Monarch because it's a 5BA, but coherency and timbre-wise it's much more natural than Monarch.

I see your profession is mixing engineer, for that case, I would choose RSV over Monarch for any genre of mixing.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Thanks for sharing! You really make we want a Monarch
The one thing I am concerned about is clarity, separation and BA timbre. I have mixed experiences with BA IEMs, the QDC 4SS had a really unnatural timbre with much too fast decay, making it sound a bit grainy and thin at times. The Blessing 2 has great tuning but also has a bit of a haze or slight grain. The IER-M9 on the other hand is really free of any grain and hazyness, it stays prefectly clean and transparent with excellent separation, even with the busiest music. (I will check if I can find the track you mentioned above)
I really like the M9, but I'd be very interested in an IEM with similar detail, clarity and separation but a tuning like the Monarch. And I'd like more dynamics. The tuning is the M9 character and it works very well, the only real weakness the M9 has in my book is dynamics. I got used to it, but when I had the DUNU Luna in house it became painfully clear that the Luna and M9 are polar opposites when it coms to dynamics.

So the questions is, can the Monarch keep up with the M9 in timbre, detail and separation, and beat it in dynamics?

I can't comment on the M9 since I have never heard them. But, I have the Z1R and nothing I own beats them for natural timbre. It's that natural timbre and coherence of the mid bass and midrange that makes the Z1R special to me. If the M9 is like the Z1R, then the Monarchs will not be at that level. But, they are very good. The tonal balance and clarity is so good that coupled with the detail and resolution, any BA timbre you get is overshadowed by those other sound attributes.

If I could only have 1 IEM, I wouldn't mind it being the Monarchs. If I only had $750, I would definitely be purchasing the Monarchs. I may change my mind after hearing the Clairvoyance, but until then, the Monarchs are definitely it for me.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

What foam eartips?

The ones that comes with the Clairvoyances are pretty bad in my opinion, but I have not tried other foam tips.

In my opinion they either do not have close well, giving bad sealing and bad sound, or they close but put too much pressure in my internal ear, making them pretty uncomfortable.

The kind of Spinfit tips that comes with the Clairs are not as soft as the original Spinfit.

I have tried the typical spiral tips, quite comfortable and good sound, in my opinion. And then I have tried the Spinfit CP 100, M, that are the most comfortable, but I have the feeling that they change the bass...

I find them pretty comfortable and I like the IEMS very much, but I have the feeling that I could find better tips for this one.

I can use the Spinfit L size on the Blon Bl03 without any problem. For the Clairs the M size is better, because the nozzle are already quite thick.

Not sure. I wasn't at home, so I just used the stock ear tips. I have since switched them to my favorite Azla SednaEarfit tips and the sound is even better to my ear and fit is outstanding.

 

[firesign]

For me the best tips for the Clairvoyance are the Azla Sedna Short.

 

[FlowLikeWater]

i found the RHA dual density eartips to be fantastic for comfort and sound quality on the Clairvoyance

 

[AllenWalker]

Any comparison with old flagship like AAW W900? Thinking of an upgrade or testing new things

 

[drummguy26]

So if anyone's interested, I have a couple PEQ's for the Monarch that are simply fantastic. 1 of them is an EQ to mimick the FR of the Clairvoyance and the other is a modified version of the Oratory target curve. The one with the peakier bass is the Oratory PEQ. The other is the Clairvoyance. Enjoy!

 

[Polky74]

Ordered the Monarchs 3 days ago, I can't wait to compare them with my beloved IT07 ... we'll see ...