[wolfstar76]

TBH, bass and highs are great and it could very easily be end game for me. to my ears, however, male vocals are a little more pushed back than i like, so i would like something a little more mid-focused.

and the thing about endgame is:

there is no endgame

Thanks. I think one of the good mid-focused example will be 6xx, which is also very cheap, could be a good compliment.

 

[Old_Snake]

Anyone can compare Excalibur to either 7hz Timeless or Symphonium Helios

 

[theflyingtoad]

I meant to post this a while but better late than never!

My impressions of the Monarch MKII

Excellent mids/vocals with a visceral/live sounding presentation, fantastic volume and source scaling like the Shuoer EJ07. The Monarch MKII likes a bit of power and will scale very well with sources that have more juice but it'll be fine with lower powered sources as well, it just won't reach its full potential. I used a Qudelix 5K and the XD05+ with the Burson V5i as my main sources for the Monarch MKII.

Great bass texture and sub bass which pushes a lot of air though a bit too much for me on some acoustic/instrumental tracks. The mid bass can be a hit or miss depending on the track as sometimes it'll be a bit light in comparison to the sub bass which throws off the balance a little bit. When the mid bass does kick in, I find that at a very appropriate amount as I'm a bit more sensitive to excessive mid bass.

The stock cable is a bit heavy/bulky and changing to a lighter cable yielded a more comfortable fit for me as the shell is fairly large and dug into my ear a little bit. The ThieAudio V16 is also fairly large but fits my ears much more comfortably though I imagine this is similar to what a CIEM feels like.

Despite some of the shortcomings I mentioned, I think it's a fantastic all rounder with a well balanced tonality for those looking for a neutral-ish IEM with a mild bass boost with a great mids/vocals and details. It is a great set if especially if you want to crank up the volume for a bit to rock out since it remains crystal clear as you The stock cable with the beautiful plates make it a very gorgeous and unique piece to add to your collection

 

[drummguy26]

I meant to post this a while but better late than never!

My impressions of the Monarch MKII

Excellent mids/vocals with a visceral/live sounding presentation, fantastic volume and source scaling like the Shuoer EJ07. The Monarch MKII likes a bit of power and will scale very well with sources that have more juice but it'll be fine with lower powered sources as well, it just won't reach its full potential. I used a Qudelix 5K and the XD05+ with the Burson V5i as my main sources for the Monarch MKII.

Great bass texture and sub bass which pushes a lot of air though a bit too much for me on some acoustic/instrumental tracks. The mid bass can be a hit or miss depending on the track as sometimes it'll be a bit light in comparison to the sub bass which throws off the balance a little bit. When the mid bass does kick in, I find that at a very appropriate amount as I'm a bit more sensitive to excessive mid bass.

The stock cable is a bit heavy/bulky and changing to a lighter cable yielded a more comfortable fit for me as the shell is fairly large and dug into my ear a little bit. The ThieAudio V16 is also fairly large but fits my ears much more comfortably though I imagine this is similar to what a CIEM feels like.

Despite some of the shortcomings I mentioned, I think it's a fantastic all rounder with a well balanced tonality for those looking for a neutral-ish IEM with a mild bass boost with a great mids/vocals and details. It is a great set if especially if you want to crank up the volume for a bit to rock out since it remains crystal clear as you The stock cable with the beautiful plates make it a very gorgeous and unique piece to add to your collection

Nice! Thanks for your impressions! Just curious tho, it seems like you also have the V16. How would you compare the MKII with the V16's? A lot of people on the Thieaudio discord praises the V16 quite a lot and am curious to know what your impressions are?

 

[theflyingtoad]

Nice! Thanks for your impressions! Just curious tho, it seems like you also have the V16. How would you compare the MKII with the V16's? A lot of people on the Thieaudio discord praises the V16 quite a lot and am curious to know what your impressions are?

I don't have it with me at the moment as it is currently on loan but it is a detail monster and incredible bass/texture. It has some hints of the reverb that you find in the U12T. I find that its really great for instrumentals and whatnot but it falls a little short in the vocals for me and I think Monarch MKII handles the mids/vocals much better.

 

[drummguy26]

I don't have it with me at the moment as it is currently on loan but it is a detail monster and incredible bass/texture. It has some hints of the reverb that you find in the U12T. I find that its really great for instrumentals and whatnot but it falls a little short in the vocals for me and I think Monarch MKII handles the mids/vocals much better.

Awesome! Yea that pretty much falls in line with what everyone says about it. But that's great. I hope to one day try out the V16 and hear it for myself.

 

[SGarfinkle]

I lost a pair of Thieaudio Voyager 14s in a similar sort of way - one of the IEMs fell off and then rolled under an oncoming vehicle before I realized what was happening. Fortunately, I'd purchased an Upsie warranty and they covered it. Anyway, just the other day I started having the same kind of problem with my Mest MK IIs - one of the earbuds just wasn't hanging on to the 2 pin cable reliably (tried with both a Dunu Blanche and the stock Mest cable). Sending that in for repair; but, I'm really thinking that I may want to reverse my previous decision to use 2-pin connectors instead of mmcx. I realize that mmcx has its own problems, especially for "cable rolling" (I broke an mmcx connector on a pair of Shure SE846s that wat). Still, I've never had a problem with my earbuds just *falling off* with mmcx! The whole thing with relying on just friction to prevent losing $1000 or $2000 or whatever earbuds just seems stupid.

 

[jlemaster1957]

I lost a pair of Thieaudio Voyager 14s in a similar sort of way - one of the IEMs fell off and then rolled under an oncoming vehicle before I realized what was happening. Fortunately, I'd purchased an Upsie warranty and they covered it. Anyway, just the other day I started having the same kind of problem with my Mest MK IIs - one of the earbuds just wasn't hanging on to the 2 pin cable reliably (tried with both a Dunu Blanche and the stock Mest cable). Sending that in for repair; but, I'm really thinking that I may want to reverse my previous decision to use 2-pin connectors instead of mmcx. I realize that mmcx has its own problems, especially for "cable rolling" (I broke an mmcx connector on a pair of Shure SE846s that wat). Still, I've never had a problem with my earbuds just *falling off* with mmcx! The whole thing with relying on just friction to prevent losing $1000 or $2000 or whatever earbuds just seems stupid.

Agree- for the Monarch MkII, I liked the stock cable and haven’t removed it nor plan to. I think for a lot of IEMs the 2 pin connection gets loose if you start rolling the cable too much. I am glad IEM makers are starting to wise up and include better stock cables with exchangeable modules (3.5 mm or 2.5 mm or 4.4 mm) like MkII. Of course, if one thinks higher-end cables substantially change the sound, for the better, one might think it’s worth the risk. Not me.

 

[ChrisHeld1989]

Did somebody know which tips Thieaudio use for the Monarch MK2. For me the white silicone tips sounds perfectly with a graphene cable. I want to know which brand these tips are. Its also okay when you know some similar tips. Similar firmness, stem length and hole diameter.

 

[soundblast75]

Monarch MK2 for sale
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/thieaudio-monarch-mk2-new.18573/

 

[bobeau]

Had the MKIIs and found the FR awesome... just felt they lacked in technicalities, esp compared to my Harman'eqd KSE1200. Can't put my finger on what exactly, just that they seemed to lacked precision/speed/details. Of course it's a bit of unfair comparison considering they're more portable without needing an amp nor EQ, guess I was just hoping for the gap to be a bit more bridged, esp. w/ Crinicle's S rating there.

Returned to headphone.com and took that 10% hit, but it was a smooth experience.

 

[drummguy26]

Did somebody know which tips Thieaudio use for the Monarch MK2. For me the white silicone tips sounds perfectly with a graphene cable. I want to know which brand these tips are. Its also okay when you know some similar tips. Similar firmness, stem length and hole diameter.

I'm wondering this very same question as well. I actually asked Deng about the stock tips for the MKII and he informed me that they do not sell them separately. However, he said he would get back to me to see if they can sell me some. I hope I can cos they're pretty awesome!

 

[Gowry]

Had the MKIIs and found the FR awesome... just felt they lacked in technicalities, esp compared to my Harman'eqd KSE1200. Can't put my finger on what exactly, just that they seemed to lacked precision/speed/details. Of course it's a bit of unfair comparison considering they're more portable without needing an amp nor EQ, guess I was just hoping for the gap to be a bit more bridged, esp. w/ Crinicle's S rating there.

Returned to headphone.com and took that 10% hit, but it was a smooth experience.

I had a similar experience. I got both the MKII's and the U12T to get something more convenient than the KSE1200. They are more convenient, but the KSE1200 is a special beast. I think it's underrated. I run mine with EQ and HQPlayer.

That said, I'm keeping the MKII and U12T as the convenience wins out sometimes. Although a voice in my head has me thinking about replacing the MKII with the V16 to see how it stacks against the KSE1200. It is supposed to be more detailed. I really do like the voices and clarity the Monarch MKII's possess, though.

 

[conceptcar3]

I had a similar experience. I got both the MKII's and the U12T to get something more convenient than the KSE1200. They are more convenient, but the KSE1200 is a special beast. I think it's underrated. I run mine with EQ and HQPlayer.

That said, I'm keeping the MKII and U12T as the convenience wins out sometimes. Although a voice in my head has me thinking about replacing the MKII with the V16 to see how it stacks against the KSE1200. It is supposed to be more detailed. I really do like the voices and clarity the Monarch MKII's possess, though.

Have you happened to hear the mangird xenns up? I’m curious how it compares to monarch mk2. I have the monarch mk2 and U12t just like you, I love them both but mk2 is just a little large for my tastes. Is the xenns up a little smaller?

 

[Gowry]

Have you happened to hear the mangird xenns up? I’m curious how it compares to monarch mk2. I have the monarch mk2 and U12t just like you, I love them both but mk2 is just a little large for my tastes. Is the xenns up a little smaller?

Sorry, I've never heard those. I haven't heard that many iems period. Getting the U12T's was in part to have a reference for judging what others were saying about sound and seeing what reviewers have the same preferences in sound signature -- this is where it's horrible to be a headphone fanatic. There's no good way to try many things out.