[ClarenceKyle]

Today, the last day of Hong Kong AV & Head-fi Show. I went to the Show and try EXT and Phonix again. As expected the SQ of EXT and Phonix improve quite a bit. The quantity of bass of EXT & Phonix is OK now, sufficient and not exaggerating. The quality of bass is good too, detailed, controlled and deliver the sense of energy. The bass of EXT gave my greater sense of energy. However, Phonix only use BAs and I can feel the energy in the bass. This is quite remarkable. In this second listening session, EXT was more airy, vivid and vocal was better too. I can feel the singers "open their mouth wider"... in other words, the mid and high are more detailed and bright. Haha, I still love Phonix more than EXT. Actually, EXT is very "handsome", it looks like Evangelion Unit-01.

Based on your second hearing, how would you now compare this to the Odin? I got quite excited until VE told me no CIEM. I only get CIEM as I hate the struggle to get good fits across tips and to keep it while listening and moving around. I have the ThieAudio Monarch CIEM and it's become, when I'm home, my go to CIEM, especially for classical music. So while I originally pooh-poohed EST treble as likely hype, the Monarch convinced me otherwise. That said, Monarch has it's weaknesses, hence my checking out alternative to become my TOTL

 

[Tristy]

Based on your second hearing, how would you now compare this to the Odin? I got quite excited until VE told me no CIEM. I only get CIEM as I hate the struggle to get good fits across tips and to keep it while listening and moving around. I have the ThieAudio Monarch CIEM and it's become, when I'm home, my go to CIEM, especially for classical music. So while I originally pooh-poohed EST treble as likely hype, the Monarch convinced me otherwise. That said, Monarch has it's weaknesses, hence my checking out alternative to become my TOTL

From what I’ve read on VE’s site they are planning to make the EXT warmer in the lows and mids (albeit keeping a high level of detail retrieval) and vivid and extended in the treble… kind of the polar opposite to the Odin. I hope they compliment each other well.

 

[ClarenceKyle]

From what I’ve read on VE’s site they are planning to make the EXT warmer in the lows and mids (albeit keeping a high level of detail retrieval) and vivid and extended in the treble… kind of the polar opposite to the Odin. I hope they compliment each other well.

Thanks. While I'm not a basshead (and hated the EE Valkyrie as losing the midrange and I thought therefore weaker on vocals), I do find insufficient sub-bass makes orchestral music much less realistic. What I really like about the Monarchs is the treble as it provides much better instrument separation than my other CIEMs (PEARS and Westone). My better comparison is to my two home systems (one with 3 way Revel based on ARC tubes and the other desktop based on Focal Be6), as the Monarch sounds closer to them in terms of instrument clarity across the frequency spectrum and with orchestral. So from what you write it sounds like I'd like the VE's more ... but as I said, out of consideration if not custom

 

[ClarenceKyle]

What do you folks think about VE7 for classical music primarily? I plan to get another unvented CIEM for when I travel again (eventually), and the VE7 sounds interesting. I was originally planning on the Craft Ears Six at half the price, but I've heard so much good about VE, maybe I should just spend the bucks

 

[aaf evo]

Is there a weight comparison between the Erlkonig and the Phonix?

 

[jwbrent]

I’m certainly interested in hearing the Phonix, hopefully at the upcoming canjam, but to be honest, I’m not all that crazy with the faceplate design. Perhaps it looks better in person. I had the same feeling with the Traillii and it’s liver colored faceplate, but fans have continually said it looks better in person. Hope to hear it at canjam as well.

I’m very aesthetically oriented and initially the design of an iem is what captures my attention. As an example, my favorite iem in my collection design wise is the Shichiku.Kangen with its black lacquer and embedded gold design, just stunning. It also sounds pretty amazing to my ears, a win win.

 

[pngbb]

Hows the fitting on the Phonix? Is it same as Elkornig?

Sorry for my poor English... you mean the shape and size or accessory? Anyway, I think some of you are interested to know these two aspects. I tried Erlkonig before but I do not own one. I think the size of Phonix is a little bit smaller (thinner) than Erlkonig and fits my ears well, very comfortable. Regarding the weight, I am sure Phonix is much lighter than Erlkonig. Since the casing of Erlkonig is silver, I think it is better to warm the Erlkonig briefly before putting them onto the ears in winter. On the other hand, the casing of Phonix is carbon fibre, no such issue and has better resistance to weather I think. According to the VE distributer / advertisement in Hong Kong, the stock cable of Phonix is 4-wire 23 AWG silver & gold alloy and OCC copper cable with 2.5mm connector. For EXT, the stock cable is 8-wire 28AWG silver plated copper cable with 2.5mm connector. For both EXT and Phonix, a new VE 2.5 to 4.4mm adapter will be included, which uses gold plated copper connector and audiophile grade POW insulation materials (I think this is used in the casing of the adapter). For carrying case, Phonix will come with a genuine leather case and EXT will come with an aluminum case (the advertisement is a bit confusing, it seems there is one more leather pocket as well for EXT... ) Acutally, there was a display showing the accessories of Phonix in the Show, but I didn't take a photo of the display...

 

[Tristy]

Sorry for my poor English... you mean the shape and size or accessory? Anyway, I think some of you are interested to know these two aspects. I tried Erlkonig before but I do not own one. I think the size of Phonix is a little bit smaller (thinner) than Erlkonig and fits my ears well, very comfortable. Regarding the weight, I am sure Phonix is much lighter than Erlkonig. Since the casing of Erlkonig is silver, I think it is better to warm the Erlkonig briefly before putting them onto the ears in winter. On the other hand, the casing of Phonix is carbon fibre, no such issue and have better resistance to weather I think. According to the VE distributer / advertisement in Hong Kong, the stock cable of Phonix is 4-wire 23 AWG silver & gold alloy and OCC copper cable with 2.5mm connector. For EXT, the stock cable is 8-wire 28AWG gold plated copper cable with 2.5mm connector. For both EXT and Phonix, a new VE 2.5 to 4.4mm adapter will be included, which uses gold plated copper connector and audiophile grade POW insulation materials (I think this is used in the casing of the adapter). For carrying case, Phonix will come with a genuine leather case and EXT will come with an aluminum case (the advertisement is a bit confusing, it seems there is one more leather pocket as well for EXT... ) Acutally, there was a display showing the accessories of Phonix in the Show, but I didn't take a photo of the display...

The EXT cable is SPC I believe.

 

[pngbb]

The EXT cable is SPC I believe.

OH, yes, thank you, my mistake, EXT stock cable is silver plated copper. Let me correct my post~

 

[pngbb]

Based on your second hearing, how would you now compare this to the Odin? I got quite excited until VE told me no CIEM. I only get CIEM as I hate the struggle to get good fits across tips and to keep it while listening and moving around. I have the ThieAudio Monarch CIEM and it's become, when I'm home, my go to CIEM, especially for classical music. So while I originally pooh-poohed EST treble as likely hype, the Monarch convinced me otherwise. That said, Monarch has it's weaknesses, hence my checking out alternative to become my TOTL

At this moment, I prefer Odin. However, please understand my Odin is fully run-in and EXT just used as demo unit for 3 days. So, eventually, I think these two IEMs will be closed to each other in overall SQ. Which one to buy is based on personal preference, I think. Odin is neutral in tone; sounds more exciting; the bass has more details and texture; the mid is brighter; the high may be a little bit sharp; staging is a little bit better with more depth. EXT is a little bit warmer, sounds more natural, smooth with controlled high; it is smaller in size; fit better on my ears, feel more comfortable and can listen for a long period of time without feeling fatigue. Up to now, only Odin can be CIEM. If you love to listen to classical music at home, why not consider to buy an open headphone, say Sennheiser HD800C/820, Focal Utopia or my favorite headphone brand, Ultrasone like Edition 15?

 

[Tristy]

At this moment, I prefer Odin. However, please understand my Odin is fully run-in and EXT just used as demo unit for 3 days. So, eventually, I think these two IEMs will be closed to each other in overall SQ. Which one to buy is based on personal preference, I think. Odin is neutral in tone; sounds more exciting; the bass has more details and texture; the mid is brighter; the high may be a little bit sharp; staging is a little bit better with more depth. EXT is a little bit warmer, sounds more natural, smooth with controlled high; it is smaller in size; fit better on my ears, feel more comfortable and can listen for a long period of time without feeling fatigue. Up to now, only Odin can be CIEM. If you love to listen to classical music at home, why not consider to buy an open headphone, say Sennheiser HD800C/820, Focal Utopia or my favorite headphone brand, Ultrasone like Edition 15?

Would you say that Odin's and EXT's sound signatures compliment each other @pngbb ? Did they sound drastically different to you? The impressions that I'm getting so far is that the EXT is warmer than Odin, and is aiming for more of a mid bass bias over a sub-bass with a fuller, natural midrange and extended highs?

 

[ClarenceKyle]

At this moment, I prefer Odin. However, please understand my Odin is fully run-in and EXT just used as demo unit for 3 days. So, eventually, I think these two IEMs will be closed to each other in overall SQ. Which one to buy is based on personal preference, I think. Odin is neutral in tone; sounds more exciting; the bass has more details and texture; the mid is brighter; the high may be a little bit sharp; staging is a little bit better with more depth. EXT is a little bit warmer, sounds more natural, smooth with controlled high; it is smaller in size; fit better on my ears, feel more comfortable and can listen for a long period of time without feeling fatigue. Up to now, only Odin can be CIEM. If you love to listen to classical music at home, why not consider to buy an open headphone, say Sennheiser HD800C/820, Focal Utopia or my favorite headphone brand, Ultrasone like Edition 15?

Thanks for suggestions. In fact my original plan was upgrading to TOTL headphones. But reason now preferring IEM over headphones is that I've found CIEMs are more comfortable for me overall. I have a DCA headphone which is relatively light, but still I find I'm frequently adjusting them on my head as I move around, particularly as I often listen on my couch or bed using a DAP. When I'm at my desk I listen to my Focal speakers instead, though sometimes my headphones. And even though they are light, still less comfortable for me than CIEM. For my very long sessions (> 3 hours) I'm usually at my desk, but concentrating less on the music. When I use headphones or CIEMs, I focus more on the music, so as long as the comfort is OK at the 2 hour mark I'm fine

 

[ClarenceKyle]

And @pngbb glad to hear what you said about the Odin. I'm now strongly leaning towards them at some point. As I prefer CIEMs, it's always riskier for me as can't sell off if I don't use them enough compared to universals.

 

[uckexk]

For both EXT and Phonix, a new VE 2.5 to 4.4mm adapter will be included

No adapter in the box for EXT according to Andrew from MusicTeck.

---

Both models come with the adapter according to VE.

 

[pngbb]

Would you say that Odin's and EXT's sound signatures compliment each other @pngbb ? Did they sound drastically different to you? The impressions that I'm getting so far is that the EXT is warmer than Odin, and is aiming for more of a mid bass bias over a sub-bass with a fuller, natural midrange and extended highs?

I would rather say they have their own sound signature, just giving you different listening impression. Up to my second time listening to EXT, the sound difference is significant but not "drastically". "aiming for more of a mid bass bias over a sub-bass", hm, I found the sub-bass is good too. From the second listening to EXT, the bass of EXT can go deep with impact but not exaggerating.