[davidmolliere]

Those combos with their great driving power are both great with Elysium

Shanling M8
Brings punch down low and a sublime tactile body to the mids and brings the best resolution out of the Elysium, for a very dynamic and engaging listen.

DX300
Brings amazing almost headphone like soundstage to the Elysium, and a smooth delivery all across the range for a more relaxed and also mesmerizing listen.

Fun times !

 

[normie610]

Those combos with their great driving power are both great with Elysium

Shanling M8
Brings punch down low and a sublime tactile body to the mids and brings the best resolution out of the Elysium, for a very dynamic and engaging listen.



DX300
Brings amazing almost headphone like soundstage to the Elysium, and a smooth delivery all across the range for a more relaxed and also mesmerizing listen.



Fun times !

Beautiful setup David! And enjoy the magical mids of Ely

 

[Deezel177]

Those combos with their great driving power are both great with Elysium

Shanling M8
Brings punch down low and a sublime tactile body to the mids and brings the best resolution out of the Elysium, for a very dynamic and engaging listen.



DX300
Brings amazing almost headphone like soundstage to the Elysium, and a smooth delivery all across the range for a more relaxed and also mesmerizing listen.



Fun times !

What about battery life and UI, @davidmolliere? Is there a clear winner between the two?

 

[davidmolliere]

What about battery life and UI, @davidmolliere? Is there a clear winner between the two

Yeah by way of it's 6.5 inches screen, DX300 has - beyond pure UI - more usability and the UI of Mango player is cleaner than the Shanling app but I use mostly Tidal so for me UI is the "same" only scaled up big time with DX300. One unexpected aspect is also DX300 has better battery life and... it's the coolest DAP I have ever owned in the sense that it doesn't even get mildly warm. But the iBasso CS43198 even in quad DAC consumes 4 x 26mW compared to the whopping 2 x 667mW of the AK4499 granted its a desktop DAC so there is that. I bet the heating is related to that difference in power consumption.

On high gain volume at 40/45 which is my use with the Ely, I have a DAP that doesn't heat up, I can put in a pocket if need be without being worried of overheating or getting annoyed at the heating in the pocket and last longer. So far battery last around 12 hours high gain volume 40/45 with the Ely attached where M8 is more around 8 hours with the same regimen.

Now they do have their difference in terms of signature and the M8 is something to behold in its own right, for 1Z lover its the way to go DX300 is evolving nicely during burn in and reaching unsuspected levels, with its own unique signature. Sounstage, imaging and layering are really something. It's highly immersive.

Beautiful setup David! And enjoy the magical mids of Ely

Oh but I do thanks !

 

[subguy812]

Battery life is hands down better on the DX300

 

[chickenmcnug]

All the love for Ely and Elky, where’s my VE8 gang at?

 

[Rockwell75]

All the love for Ely and Elky, where’s my VE8 gang at?

Honestly if you have any of VE's 3 flagships you've got a fair claim to the summit of whatever portable audio hill you happen to be climbing.

 

[cocolinho]

@Rockwell75

...
The Elysium is the first IEM I've heard that is a comprehensive upgrade to the Campfire Andromeda in terms of emotional engagement.

NOOOOO, don't tell me that... after trying douzens & douzens IEMs, I'm still back to Andro 2020/MW10 for like you say "emotional engagement"... but I'm a bit concerned about lack of bass to be honest.
I hope something at the same level as Andro on very low impedance output (<1ohm) , not more, not less. What's your view on this?

 

[Rockwell75]

@Rockwell75

...
The Elysium is the first IEM I've heard that is a comprehensive upgrade to the Campfire Andromeda in terms of emotional engagement.

NOOOOO, don't tell me that... after trying douzens & douzens IEMs, I'm still back to Andro 2020/MW10 for like you say "emotional engagement"... but I'm a bit concerned about lack of bass to be honest.
I hope something at the same level as Andro on very low impedance output (<1ohm) , not more, not less. What's your view on this?

In that same review I wrote regarding the bass on Ely:
"Think Andromeda in quantity but with better timbre, texture, nuance and a vastly superior surrounding cast. Anyone who is fine with the bass on the Andromeda plus, I would wager, at least half of those who aren't, should be fine with the bass on the Elysium."

I stand by that statement. The bass isn't the star of the show by any means but the mids and highs are sooo good you don't even notice after a while. To my ears Elysium is the only true upgrade I've tried to the two Campfire IEMs I love (Solaris and Andro).

Will the bass on Ely there are a couple caveats:

1) It's very fit and seal dependent
2) You need a sufficiently powerful source

Barring these two factors the bass is amazing and after your brain burns in to Ely's sound you don't find yourself (or I don't find myself) noticing any lack in the bass in any but perhaps the most demanding tracks. This was my attitude using it through the Cayin n6ii. The Shanling M8 has brought it to a whole new level-- it adds an almost DD-like density and decay to the low end without sacrificing any of the top end flourish, stage or detail. It's a beautiful synergistic pair. Still I recommend demoing if you can, but don't demo unless you're prepared to buy as it might make you sad if you can't.

 

[chickenmcnug]

Speaking of the Ely, I think this will sound great with it:

 

[cocolinho]

@Rockwell75 thank you for the reply.
I still want to try KSE1200 at some point to get something different than all these DD/hybrid/BA IEMs, but these Ely are now under my radar

 

[Rockwell75]

 

[SBranson]

Well after taking only a day a half to go from Germany to the east coast of the US, and the same to get to the west coast, it was 5 days to make it the last 3hrs (by ferry and road)... but my Elysium are here.
It really is an epic unboxing and I really tried to enjoy it as this is my first and likely my last new iem of this calibre.
And, I have a strange thing for numbers so I was pleased to get a serial number that is a prime.. 227. Nice

Now for some listening.

 

[Rockwell75]

It truly is an epic unboxing experience.

 

[fabio19]

Can anyone give me some feedback on VE 3.2?