[Love Music]

Toranku have you tried the new acoustune 1655?

 

[491326]

I know the question wasn't directed at me but I thought I'd chip in. They have different treble focuses. Viento has a fair bit of lower and mid treble while 12t (I find) is recessed in the lower-mid treble but has a spike in the upper treble.

sounds right to me, at least for the A12t. Still haven't tried Hidition gear but was interested in the Violet until I heard it's price

 

[toranku]

Toranku have you tried the new acoustune 1655?

I have. Wasn't my cup of tea. Much preferred the 1695 since the 55 had too much bass relative to everything else. I thought the 95 struck the best balance in tone in acoustune's entire lineup. Perhaps I'll listen to it more and drop more thoughts.

sounds right to me, at least for the A12t. Still haven't tried Hidition gear but was interested in the Violet until I heard it's price

While some of the hidition stuff are great performers per pound (viento & nt6), hidition as a brand is difficult to deal with due to possible language barriers and in general just them being located further away for NA/SA people

 

[Love Music]

I have. Wasn't my cup of tea. Much preferred the 1695 since the 55 had too much bass relative to everything else. I thought the 95 struck the best balance in tone in acoustune's entire lineup. Perhaps I'll listen to it more and drop more thoughts.


I see. How does the 1655 compare to the 1650 and 1670?

 

[Love Music]

I see. How does the 1655 compare to the 1650 and 1670?

 

[toranku]

I see. How does the 1655 compare to the 1650 and 1670?

I'll try to address this soon with a public post

 

[toranku]

Announcement: Changes in content style

Hey, thanks for still sticking by thus far. I've decided to make changes to the organisational structure of my content. Instead of every new post documenting a earphone with early impressions or thoughts, I will now group content under the brand itself. It will look something like this (example):

Campfire

Andromeda:
24th Jan 2020 Thoughts: content
27th Jan 2020 More Thoughts: content

Vega:
22nd Feb 2020 Thoughts: content

In addition, I will remove impressions that I deem as not making the cut. Some of my earlier content was vague as my writing style has been changing constantly. I want my content to be as precise and clear-cut as possible and this overhaul will take a while to complete. The reason is that I want to create the internet's largest thread documenting earphone brands and their sound. Readers will also be able to access my content easier and be able to see how I feel about a brand in general.

 

[papa_mia]

I want my content to be as precise and clear-cut as possible and this overhaul will take a while to complete. The reason is that I want to create the internet's largest thread documenting earphone brands and their sound.

 

[surfgeorge]

Announcement: Changes in content style

Hey, thanks for still sticking by thus far. I've decided to make changes to the organisational structure of my content. Instead of every new post documenting a earphone with early impressions or thoughts, I will now group content under the brand itself. It will look something like this (example):

Campfire

Andromeda:
24th Jan 2020 Thoughts: content
27th Jan 2020 More Thoughts: content

Vega:
22nd Feb 2020 Thoughts: content

In addition, I will remove impressions that I deem as not making the cut. Some of my earlier content was vague as my writing style has been changing constantly. I want my content to be as precise and clear-cut as possible and this overhaul will take a while to complete. The reason is that I want to create the internet's largest thread documenting earphone brands and their sound. Readers will also be able to access my content easier and be able to see how I feel about a brand in general.

Love the idea to have all the information about one IEM in one pace!
But I'd also consider the impressions "which don't make the cut" as very useful additional information in a subsection of that IEM's content collection.
Honestly I have not seen any statements from you which didn't contribute in some way to the understanding of an IEM's character.
Hope you find a way to preserve them.
Great work!

 

[OverlordRush]

Announcement: Changes in content style

Hey, thanks for still sticking by thus far. I've decided to make changes to the organisational structure of my content. Instead of every new post documenting a earphone with early impressions or thoughts, I will now group content under the brand itself. It will look something like this (example):

Campfire

Andromeda:
24th Jan 2020 Thoughts: content
27th Jan 2020 More Thoughts: content

Vega:
22nd Feb 2020 Thoughts: content

In addition, I will remove impressions that I deem as not making the cut. Some of my earlier content was vague as my writing style has been changing constantly. I want my content to be as precise and clear-cut as possible and this overhaul will take a while to complete. The reason is that I want to create the internet's largest thread documenting earphone brands and their sound. Readers will also be able to access my content easier and be able to see how I feel about a brand in general.

This is just an attempt to cover up your deep dark pass when you used to own a 334. People might know you here as trok, but you will 4ever be corn to me...

 

[toranku]

Brand Overview: PEARS

PEARS is a swiss IEM manufacturer. I've a soft spot for this brand as they make one of my favourite IEMs: the SH3. PEARS as a brand doesn't seem to follow market trends at all and release IEMs in their own slow pace. To give you an idea of their speed, the SH3 was launched in 2015 and had a small update in 2019. As of now, SH3 remains as their TOTL but they are seemingly looking to come up with new IEMs this year.

PEARS SH2
16 Feb 2020
SH2 is a slightly midbass boosted and uppermid dipped earphone. Has a laid-back, intimate presentation. The sound really does feel very close. It sounds "lazy" where its dynamics aren't up to par. Transients are a bit smeared as well. Bass can be a bit boxy sounding due to the wide band midbass/lowmid boost. Due to the aforementioned slight lack of uppermids (1-4khz) the sound can be a bit hazy. However what I think does work here is the overall coherence and pleasantness of the tuning. Despite it having too much lower mids over its uppermids, it somehow still manages good vocals that are thick and slightly warm. Vocals are really the star of the show here and I do enjoy the vocal tuning, surprisingly.

With the lack of pinna gain, the treble suffers. The lower treble lacks impact and crash which renders cymbals laid back and doesn't capture the energy well. Cymbals do not shine and are not billiant. In some sense they do feel like they lack focus and precision. Upper treble however manages good extension but since the low treble is dipped, it sounds uneven anyway.

Overall just passable. For something similar I prefer 4ss. 4ss has a more energetic and dynamic presentation. 4ss is however also warmer and sharper with the treble response.

PEARS SH3
6 Oct 2019
See full review here. In short, SH3 is a pretty technical IEM that places lead instruments and vocals forward with good treble extension and coherence. Plenty midrange detail but lacks in bass resolve, particularly subbass extension. Excellent vocals with a beautiful midrange tonality.

More Thoughts...
PEARS seems to take vocal rendering quite seriously. I think it sorely needs an update to their lineup and I can't wait.

 

[toranku]

Brand Overview: Elysian Acoustic Labs

Elysian is mostly one-man show dealing with CIEMs. They are from Malaysia. Their house sound is simple and consistent throughout the board: bassy/warm v-shape with plenty treble extension. Some of their IEMs have an upper treble response that is quite similar to UE's truetone or 64's tia drivers where there's this upper treble spike that may or may not introduce sibilance/harshness. Elysian's main tuning weakness (imo) is that the lower mids region (500-1000hz) are typically recessed across their lineup, leading to a potentially shrill tone.

Artemis v2
18 December 2019
If no one told me that this was a 3BA, I wouldn't have guessed. It's the least v-shaped of the Elysians but still has a moderately v-shaped response. Nice imaging chops and a tone highly suited for energetic genres like Rock. and Metal. They are colored monitors but still have a tone that I can live with. Cymbals here are great due to the excellent extension - plenty of air and shine. Midrange takes on an uppermidrange tilt but not in the same way as typical Elysians. The uppermidrange is reminiscent of something like Focal Elex's uppermids.

Terminator v2
18 December 2019
I find that this represents their typical house sound best. Elysian has other models like the Hades v2 (bass knob multi-ba) and Poseidon (Hybrid) where all the 3 models share quite a fair bit of similarities in terms of tuning. The 3 models all have v-shaped tunings and have the tia-like treble spike. May or may not show up in your recordings. They are warm v-shaped monitors. Has good imaging and a smooth timbre from the bass to uppermids.

Poseidon v2
18 December 2019
Eh, not a fan of this one. The DD bass is too slow next to its BAs. Makes it sound a bit muddied compared to Terminator and Hades.

Annihilator/DIO
18 December 2019
Elysian's flagship. Has a DD bass, multi-BA mids and 2EST for highs. As of recent the market has been flooded with these sonion ESTs. They are hard to implement due to the low SPL nature of the tweeters. It requires proper dampening of the more sensitive DD and BA counterparts to balance well in the spectrum. Too little dampening on the bass and mid drivers means the tweeters have barely any SPL (i.e Roland). The sonion ESTs are capable of great extension in the highs but most manufacturers can't seem to tune it well yet. There are only two ESTs IEM that exhibit good treble extension and they are V.E's Elysium and Elysian's Annihilator. Until Sonion can create a more efficient EST unit, the dead giveaway to how well implemented the EST drivers are lies with the power requirements of the IEM. If the IEMs are sensitive, the tweeters will barely have any SPL.

The Annihilator has a serious love/hate type of tuning that may or may not sit well with you. It is VERY recessed at the lower mids but has an impressively extended treble response and a smooth textured, deep reaching DD bass. Soundstage is on the smaller side of things but the imaging and transient response are great. The treble is elevated but in a mostly smooth, non-peaky manner. My main qualm lies with the tuning of the midrange. There are barely any lower mids and due to this heavy v-shape skew, nothing sounds remotely natural. It has this "digital" edge to every instrument and vocal and as such, I prefer Elysium's tuning much more although the Ely's technical ability is not as good.

More Thoughts...
Elysian definitely can tune, but I am just not so much of a fan of their house sound. Looking forward to try their lineup again and refreshing my thoughts on them.

 

[toranku]

Brand Overview: Thieaudio

Voyager 14
1 March 2020
The Voyager 14 has two switches that allow for some play in its signature. First switch does a bass boost and second switch...just leave that second switch on. On 00 setting (both switches down) the vocal range sounds like a telephone and has a grainy timbre to it. Sucked out lower midrange. 01 is my preferred setting as it reduces the telephonic effect, alleviates nasality and evens out the uppermidrange response better. While 01's bass can be seen as a tad bloated due to upperbass presence, I find that the quality of the bass is good here. Has a feeling of tactility albeit lacking a bit of control. Much better BA bass than many BA sets out there IMO.

Mids are where it gets a bit funky. It is to note that the Voyager 14 has a very much forward 1-3khz region. This is the same region where it pulls vocals (especially female) forward and imparts a bright, uppermidrangey tone (think: KL-Sirius and Prophile-8). Either you like it or you don't. I don't. Treble was a bit uneven in the lower treble response where cymbals can sometimes sound muted but at the same time in some tracks present. Treble wasn't a gripe for me compared to the uppermids. Setting 11. Lets dial up the bass. Even greater feeling of tactility but the bass turns out of control here IMO. Tunes the sound bassier and warmer but I feel like the bloat turns a bit more apparent.

Technical chops are a bit better than average. I don't feel this earphone is particularly resolving. Perhaps the uppermidrange bump imparts a sense of resolution for some - but it doesn't work for me like that. Overall good but not great.

Monarch
31 July 2020
The Monarch is what I'd call a bass boosted signature without much boost to the warmth region. It has a truckload of subbass and its midbass finds itself slightly boosted. Upperbass is kept clean (since the shelf starts at 200hz). This is the first time in my audio journey ever that I found subbass to be way too much in an IEM. The rumble is excessive and incessant. It actually dominates the track and shows up too forward in my recordings. The bass is a little slow and blunted which I equate to actually too much subbass - something I never thought I'd say - that is the only true "flaw" in the IEM.

The midrange is tuned very beautifully and well. It sounds very very natural and normal. Normal is high praise here since 99.9% of iems have either a midrange that is slightly off or totally off the mark. Highs are very even but they do lack some HF extension past 10khz. In Little Simz's "Selfish", there should be a 16khz ringing whenever Cleo sings but it doesnt show up with the Monarch, which I equate to too little HF extension.

Overall, a very well tuned IEM outside of its very much excessive subbass response. If they reduce the subbass shelf by 4-5dB, this has incredible potential to be at the very top. I already think they are a great earphone though. Technical chops they are good but I keep hearing that darn forward subbass rumble which detracts away from the experience.

This tuning is SO FAR from your typical 1k bass shelf chifi. And it's definitely a positive step in the right direction. Many steps.

 

[OverlordRush]

Brand Overview: Thieaudio

If I am not mistaken this brand is Linsoul's own label. I've admittedly not seen much about this brand and didn't hear much about their 3, 8 and 14BA. So far I've heard only the 14.

Voyager 14
1 March 2020
The Voyager 14 has two switches that allow for some play in its signature. First switch does a bass boost and second switch...just leave that second switch on. On 00 setting (both switches down) the vocal range sounds like a telephone and has a grainy timbre to it. Sucked out lower midrange. 01 is my preferred setting as it reduces the telephonic effect, alleviates nasality and evens out the uppermidrange response better. While 01's bass can be seen as a tad bloated due to upperbass presence, I find that the quality of the bass is good here. Has a feeling of tactility albeit lacking a bit of control. Much better BA bass than many BA sets out there IMO.

Mids are where it gets a bit funky. It is to note that the Voyager 14 has a very much forward 1-3khz region. This is the same region where it pulls vocals (especially female) forward and imparts a bright, uppermidrangey tone (think: KL-Sirius and Prophile-8). Either you like it or you don't. I don't. Treble was a bit uneven in the lower treble response where cymbals can sometimes sound muted but at the same time in some tracks present. Treble wasn't a gripe for me compared to the uppermids. Setting 11. Lets dial up the bass. Even greater feeling of tactility but the bass turns out of control here IMO. Tunes the sound bassier and warmer but I feel like the bloat turns a bit more apparent.

Technical chops are a bit better than average. I don't feel this earphone is particularly resolving. Perhaps the uppermidrange bump imparts a sense of resolution for some - but it doesn't work for me like that. Overall good but not great.

vX kIlLeR

 

[Rockwell75]

Would love to see a Vision Ears overview.