[Voyager14]

It's not comparable, it's one of the worst IEMs I've heard. $500 worth of SQ at most.

Campfire is overpriced and sketchy as a company so that doesn't surprise me. Glad I didn't bite the bullet and buy the Atlas at their heavily discounted price.

 

[Pretardo]

Man, the folks at Thieaudio must be busy. They’ve had my V14’s and impressions for reshelling since October 22nd. I’d love to chime in on my impressions between the V14s and other IEMs I’ve purchased since then. I do remember the vocals being a little shrill, but with a CIEM fit it might tame the higher end a little and enhance the bass even more.

 

[alex24rus]

For almost a year of use, Voyager 14 has never been disappointed or let down. Chic headphones for their $ 1k, which most likely play according to their characteristics for a much larger amount. The bass is multi-faceted, this is probably their main feature. Layered, massive, high-speed without dryness and at the same time, the Chinese have set up IEM so that the Bass does not overshadow all other frequencies and does not climb where it is not necessary, while remaining a calm giant, which is better not to anger. The midrange frequencies are cool, the very drop is pushed to the background, but remaining detailed. High frequencies are very detailed, perfectly tuned, extended and going somewhere far away without unpleasant peaks (sibilants). All 3-D, percussion, vocals and other goodies headphones on the shoulder. The characteristics of the stage are impressive-in width and depth. On board, 14 drivers are responsible for the work of all this splendor, and if I'm not mistaken, it's not very easy to coordinate them, but thieaudio managed it. And listen to the headphones here on this cable.
https://aliexpress.ru/item/33044349...1f1-ea54236a4067,tpp_buckets:21387#0#183380#0
You can only feed them high-quality recordings, and I've never listened to basement crap. Especially on them metal is listened to in pleasure and they are universal

 

[Voyager14]

Man, the folks at Thieaudio must be busy. They’ve had my V14’s and impressions for reshelling since October 22nd. I’d love to chime in on my impressions between the V14s and other IEMs I’ve purchased since then. I do remember the vocals being a little shrill, but with a CIEM fit it might tame the higher end a little and enhance the bass even more.

Yesss!! The vocals are kind of shril without EQ or lower volume. But with a littleee EQ it goes away and it becomes like an ocean or a waterfall in terms of the emotion it gives you, it's wide, sweeping and luscious. Like a nice flowing river.

 

[Pretardo]

Yesss!! The vocals are kind of shril without EQ or lower volume. But with a littleee EQ it goes away and it becomes like an ocean or a waterfall in terms of the emotion it gives you, it's wide, sweeping and luscious. Like a nice flowing river.

Awesome. Would you mind sharing your EQ settings for your V14?
Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Voyager14]

Awesome. Would you mind sharing your EQ settings for your V14?
Thanks in advance for your time.

Sure! I apologize for the delay, I wanted to make sure this was the right decision.

I am really liking this W shape more than stock or a V. The V brings more bass but lowers the soundstage/detail and if raised enough canstart clipping, that’s why I avoid the up/up position because it’s muddier/you can get almost the same amount of bass with better everything by going with the 0,1 and the W shape. The W shape for me is the perfect medium between the stock config and a V shape. It adds a lot more body and fullness to the sound, as opposed to the stock sound sounding great, with the W it’s an amazingly full sound and it counter acts the sharp peak because of the elevated bass/subbass “covering” the shrillness by “muddying” it up in a good way.

Also if this config is still too shrill, you can lower the peaks in the middle of the W to make it more U shaped.

 

[Pretardo]

Sure! I apologize for the delay, I wanted to make sure this was the right decision.

I am really liking this W shape more than stock or a V. The V brings more bass but lowers the soundstage/detail and if raised enough canstart clipping, that’s why I avoid the up/up position because it’s muddier/you can get almost the same amount of bass with better everything by going with the 0,1 and the W shape. The W shape for me is the perfect medium between the stock config and a V shape. It adds a lot more body and fullness to the sound, as opposed to the stock sound sounding great, with the W it’s an amazingly full sound and it counter acts the sharp peak because of the elevated bass/subbass “covering” the shrillness by “muddying” it up in a good way.

Also if this config is still too shrill, you can lower the peaks in the middle of the W to make it more U shaped.

Awesome! Thank you very much for your settings. I just got in contact with Linsoul and hopefully they’ll ship my reshelled V14’s either today or tomorrow.

 

[Voyager14]

Awesome! Thank you very much for your settings. I just got in contact with Linsoul and hopefully they’ll ship my reshelled V14’s either today or tomorrow.

I’m so excited for you!! I wanted to get mine reshelled but I don’t want to take the risk shipping from USA. Where did you ship it from to them? I feel like a drunk I think we’ve had this conversation before haha.

 

[Pretardo]

I’m so excited for you!! I wanted to get mine reshelled but I don’t want to take the risk shipping from USA. Where did you ship it from to them? I feel like a drunk I think we’ve had this conversation before haha.

Yes we have had this conversation before. I’m in Hong Kong and probably about 30km from the address that I sent my impressions to. I’ve had good luck with things not getting lost with SF Express, but you have to show your receipt when sending items to the Mainland. I thought it was worth it but it’s taken a very long time. Fortunately for me, I have plenty of other IEMs to listen to till they get here. Basically I’m tired of tip rolling and going forward, I am stro bygone leaning toward CIEMs. I release that I don’t really sell my IEMs, so why not go CIEM and have the perfect fit all day, everyday?

 

[Voyager14]

Yes we have had this conversation before. I’m in Hong Kong and probably about 30km from the address that I sent my impressions to. I’ve had good luck with things not getting lost with SF Express, but you have to show your receipt when sending items to the Mainland. I thought it was worth it but it’s taken a very long time. Fortunately for me, I have plenty of other IEMs to listen to till they get here. Basically I’m tired of tip rolling and going forward, I am stro bygone leaning toward CIEMs. I release that I don’t really sell my IEMs, so why not go CIEM and have the perfect fit all day, everyday?

Yes, you’ve finally ascended to the highest heights of the IEM world. One day I want to get a pair of customs. tips are extremely annoying. People don’t notice how much time/frustration/money they lose when not going custom.

 

[Pretardo]

Yes, you’ve finally ascended to the highest heights of the IEM world. One day I want to get a pair of customs. tips are extremely annoying. People don’t notice how much time/frustration/money they lose when not going custom.

Exactly! I’ve had enough trying to find the right tips and fiddling with IEMs. I like to walk around wearing my IEMs and it can be really annoying to have to readjust them all the time so I can get a nice seal. you also go down the ear tip rabbit hole.

At the end of the day, it’s worth it to go custom. So far I have the S8F as a tester to see if I would like customs and they’re pretty great. they’re very comfortable, provide outstanding isolation and have a perfect seal all-day, every day! It goes without saying that they’re also pretty fun to listen to.

 

[Voyager14]

Exactly! I’ve had enough trying to find the right tips and fiddling with IEMs. I like to walk around wearing my IEMs and it can be really annoying to have to readjust them all the time so I can get a nice seal. you also go down the ear tip rabbit hole.

At the end of the day, it’s worth it to go custom. So far I have the S8F as a tester to see if I would like customs and they’re pretty great. they’re very comfortable, provide outstanding isolation and have a perfect seal all-day, every day! It goes without saying that they’re also pretty fun to listen to.

Wow!! I see you have the MEST as well, the Voyager 14s are so mindblowingly unbelievably comfortable and perfectly fitting for my ear that custom would change the experience for me in terms of laying down on a pillow so they're more flat and don't rub against the pillow.

How would you compare the MEST to the Voyager!! I'm thinking I absolutely need a custom pair of in ear monitors and because of my situation I explained earlier I'm thinking of just buying the mest in custom and using the Voyager as a secondary pair. Is the MEST a direct upgrade or more of a side grade? The Voyager to me seem like they're the hd800 of the IEM world, having a very unique and coveted trait that no other iems have unless we're talking about the z1r (extremely uncomfortable and large) or 3000+ dollar sets.

I'm very curious what your comparisons are, thank you for the Info.

 

[Pretardo]

Wow!! I see you have the MEST as well, the Voyager 14s are so mindblowingly unbelievably comfortable and perfectly fitting for my ear that custom would change the experience for me in terms of laying down on a pillow so they're more flat and don't rub against the pillow.

How would you compare the MEST to the Voyager!! I'm thinking I absolutely need a custom pair of in ear monitors and because of my situation I explained earlier I'm thinking of just buying the mest in custom and using the Voyager as a secondary pair. Is the MEST a direct upgrade or more of a side grade? The Voyager to me seem like they're the hd800 of the IEM world, having a very unique and coveted trait that no other iems have unless we're talking about the z1r (extremely uncomfortable and large) or 3000+ dollar sets.

I'm very curious what your comparisons are, thank you for the Info.

I just got my V14’s back today. ThieAudio’s CIEMs are much shorter than Fearless and sit about where a universal would sit in your ear. This reduces the IEMs ability to isolate, but makes the tuning similar to the universal.
mad for looking for a set that you can sleep with, I don’t think CIEMs are the solution. Customs fit to the normal shape of your ear. If you lay on your side, your ear’s shape is different and it is compressed against a non-compliant material.

I’ve found BLON-03 to be pretty good for being able to sleep with.

as for sound, the MEST is in my opinion, a better IEM. It’s darker, but the replay is at a higher resolution and seems more precise across the whole spectrum. The bass on the MEST is far more controlled and better textured. Both extend well into the sub-base and rumble, but in comparison I feel that bass the V14 has a bit of bloat and can’t shake that BA timbre for deep heavy bass.
The vocals seem more precise and separated from everything else on the MEST. The highs are detailed and effortless. In comparison, the V14 with settings (0,2) the vocals have a lot more energy and are brighter, but seem like they have a lot of raw energy that decreases the clarity that the MEST have.
The highs that the V14’s have is detailed and bright, but again the MEST is effortless and handles separation better.
If you wanted to go custom, I think the MEST is a pretty good choice. However, if your V14’s set the benchmark for comfort and you love the sound then having something else will just take away from what you’re enjoying now.
mid you do go custom, I recommend sending your impressions in a crush proof box. I skimped with my last set of impressions and there a slight pressure point that makes them uncomfortable.

 

[Voyager14]

I just got my V14’s back today. ThieAudio’s CIEMs are much shorter than Fearless and sit about where a universal would sit in your ear. This reduces the IEMs ability to isolate, but makes the tuning similar to the universal.
mad for looking for a set that you can sleep with, I don’t think CIEMs are the solution. Customs fit to the normal shape of your ear. If you lay on your side, your ear’s shape is different and it is compressed against a non-compliant material.

I’ve found BLON-03 to be pretty good for being able to sleep with.

as for sound, the MEST is in my opinion, a better IEM. It’s darker, but the replay is at a higher resolution and seems more precise across the whole spectrum. The bass on the MEST is far more controlled and better textured. Both extend well into the sub-base and rumble, but in comparison I feel that bass the V14 has a bit of bloat and can’t shake that BA timbre for deep heavy bass.
The vocals seem more precise and separated from everything else on the MEST. The highs are detailed and effortless. In comparison, the V14 with settings (0,2) the vocals have a lot more energy and are brighter, but seem like they have a lot of raw energy that decreases the clarity that the MEST have.
The highs that the V14’s have is detailed and bright, but again the MEST is effortless and handles separation better.
If you wanted to go custom, I think the MEST is a pretty good choice. However, if your V14’s set the benchmark for comfort and you love the sound then having something else will just take away from what you’re enjoying now.
mid you do go custom, I recommend sending your impressions in a crush proof box. I skimped with my last set of impressions and there a slight pressure point that makes them uncomfortable.

Thank you so much for that advice, your comparison between MEST and V14 makes perfect sense. I completely agree with everything you said.

I currently use my FA9 as my beater pair to have in my pocket in case I’m going out/ listen to podcasts through the btr5. The V14 is muchhhh better and I always long for the v14 fit and soundstage when I wear my FA9. I think I will go with v14 as my beater pair, and custom MEST as my house pair.

And what I meant by laying down on a pillow is you know like when you’re laying completely flat on a pillow I wonder how a custom pair would feel terms terms of not rubbing against the side of the pillows compared to a regular universal. Are the universals more comfortable to lay down in a pillow with/less wide as a result than a universal?

 

[Pretardo]

Thank you so much for that advice, your comparison between MEST and V14 makes perfect sense. I completely agree with everything you said.

I currently use my FA9 as my beater pair to have in my pocket in case I’m going out/ listen to podcasts through the btr5. The V14 is muchhhh better and I always long for the v14 fit and soundstage when I wear my FA9. I think I will go with v14 as my beater pair, and custom MEST as my house pair.

And what I meant by laying down on a pillow is you know like when you’re laying completely flat on a pillow I wonder how a custom pair would feel terms terms of not rubbing against the side of the pillows compared to a regular universal. Are the universals more comfortable to lay down in a pillow with/less wide as a result than a universal?

Thanks for the clarification, yes, the customs hold their position even if you’re laying flat on your back. This is where customs shine. They don’t shift if you’re moving your head and keep that optimal position. However, if you get the cord caught and it twists the CIEM a little in your year, it can really hurt or make a delicate part of your ear sensitive. At that point just take them out for a while and give your ears a rest. After a while the irritation go down and you can go back to your CIEMs.
i haven’t seen the UM CIEMs, but Fearless vs Thieaudio CIEMs, I have found this: Fearless is 3D printed and is a deeper fit. It gives superior isolation and volume levels stay lower. It also takes the treble more and enhances the bass. ThieAudio CIEMs are mould-based and are much shorter. It’s has good fit, but the sound signature is similar to the universal tuning as the depth of the stem is about the same as universal. ThieAudio shells also have less fill-in and a shallower fit, which affects their ability to isolate from environmental noise.
I’ve had many universals, but once I went custom, it’s really hard to go back to universal on a kilo buck IEM.