They're there, @davidmolliere...I so look forward to your impressions!
Just to know if I have gone crazy... I still can't believe it but I don't have your extensive background so eager to get your take
Yes I read it and agree with what you wrote, it's nice to point out the shortcomings as well, although for me those are not big issues... separation is indeed lesser but it's so full sounding it's not suprising
Also treble is not as refined as some flagship DAPs, sure, but I am wowed by the bass and mids so it takes a back seat for me... I think those who want more of this should look at DX300 Max Thanks for this. I think regardless of how they sound, that sort of fit just won't work for me. As soon as a tip goes too deep and I can feel it right inside my ear canal, rest assured there'll be pressure and discomfort shortly afterwards. I'm going to have to try these - hopefully on a tour unit sometimes next year - but a blind buy is out.
This is great. I may have to try the ERLKöNIG now. May be my first all ba iem purchase. Also love what the sultan brings to the table as wellRight. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re electrets which means we are entering a golden age where we finally seem to have figured out how to control those bad-boys, which is great news. And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
'Love, love, love these impressions and pics, man.Right. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re electrets which means we are entering a golden age where we finally seem to have figured out how to control those bad-boys, which is great news. And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
'Fully agree with a lot of what you had to say, and I thought you explored both your critiques and your personal biases very, very clearly. 'Gorgeous stuff. The PHoNIX's treble is actually handled by 4 of its 13 balanced-armature drivers, so it's a full-BA design; just like the Erlkonig. I think that may make it even more impressive. 
Very nice review on the Phonix. Your observations are pretty much what I've experienced with these earphones over the past few weeks. Just out of curiosity, were your impressions of the Phonix formed with the OEM cable? I see in your pictures the Phonix outfitted with what appears to be a custom cable. If so, can you elaborate on the metallurgy - and how it impacted the sound profile? I've got a Plussound silver+gold alloy cable being made for my Phonix.Right. I’m an infrequent reviewer/leaver of impressions and, as such, not really worth reading. Still – there are some nice pictures so that usually keeps things interesting. After all, a picture IS worth a thousand words. So just mentally add a few thousand words to these impressions and we’ll call it even.
First things first – it’s worth noting that I am in my 40s and therefore, like most poor old fogies, time has done what time does to human hearing. Therefore, if you’re the type of person who gets offended by bats keeping you up at night and would have to run a mile when they play those strange, high-pitched sounds in situations where they need to disperse unruly teenagers while the rest of the population walks unmolested by these shrieks, then I’d suggest you either (a) take this into account or (b) just go and look at the aforementioned pictures. I won’t even know.
I prefer a warm-neutral sound, I hate sibilance, I am harsh on IEMs that don’t have bass (both sub and mid), I like long walks in the park and cocktails at suns…..oh no wait, that’s a different set of notes. Sorry.
Anyway, I have been fortunate enough to receive both the EXT and the PHöNIX via the Audio Concierge tour (thanks @PhilW!)
I’ll spend most of this rambling mess talking about the PHöNIX because, bluntly, the EXT doesn’t appeal to me, so there’s not much I’m going to say that will help the community. It’s a perfectly adequate IEM, but has some faults that I personally don’t feel are worth the trade-off for the things that it does bring to the party.
That said – it’s worth adding that it has oodles of sub and mid-bass, which performs at a very impressive level on both a quantity and quality basis. If you’re looking for the warmest, “slammiest” IEM in the VE range, the EXT should be on your list for sure.
Plus, just look at it!!
Okay – let’s move on to the PHöNIX.
Wow – this is one impressive IEM. Straight away, the level of detail and resolution stands out. This was obvious before I even tested them with my trusted/known tracks which I use to comparatively measure these things in my own subjective manner.
I’d classify the PHöNIX as “neutral” to the average use and “cool-neutral”. Vs the IEF Neutral standard this will be a touch north of neutral, whereas vs the latest Harman curves is will definitely fall below the line in the sub and mid-bass departments. I guess this all depends how one views these things.
I’ve read many times that this has been tuned to roughly match ERLKöNIG setting 2. As it happens, I have my ERLKöNIG on setting 2 around 80% of the time so this is a useful comparison for me. (I will also use the ERLKöNIG as a comparison for much of this review.)
What I can say is that, to my ears, this is somewhere between 2 and 3, especially in the sub-bass department (mid-bass is slightly less obviously recessed).
Now while you might think that I would take a dim view of this, you’d actually be quite correct. But not too dim.
The rest of the IEM is outstanding, and pretty much the only thing I think I’d change is the bass levels. (I also would love a 4-signature setting on this just as the ERLKöNIG has, for reasons of weight I think that might have created another issue.)
So, within that frame and acknowledging my preference for more sub-bass for sure and perhaps a tiny bit more warmth in the mid-bass too, it’s still worth discussing how effective the bass is at augmenting the sound. As I mentioned, this is not going to blow anyone away with slam, but its subtle addition to the sound presentation as a whole is at least very tasteful and means that other parts of the frequency can come to the fore when needed when called upon. My key complaint about the EXT is actually the sheer amount of auditory masking happening across the spectrum, and that is a problem that is just simply not present at all on the PHöNIX. Bass is there, it can be heard, and it adds texture and colour to the reproduction that turns this into a formidable TOTL offering.
Sure, other IEMs reach deeper, have a fuller sound and some even have a greater array of subtleties in the bass than the PHöNIX, but none combine that with the sheer resolution and detail that the VE offering brings to the party.
Mids, too, are tasteful without ever getting shouty and “in your face”. A slightly bumped lower-mid signature is all the rage right now and, while I don’t particularly have a problem with that, it’s not a signature I enjoy. Thankfully VE haven’t followed suit here, the mids are smooth, enjoyable, detailed, engaging and, crucially, unfatiguing.
The star of the show for me, however, is the treble. As already mentioned, ultra-high treble notes are beyond me and, as such, the concept of “air” exists only as a necessity to breathe for me these days. That said, though, I can still appreciate plenty of detail up towards the 15kHz range, and nothing I’ve heard so far has quite the clarity, detail and joyous sparkle at the top of the spectrum as the PHöNIX manages to drag from these new “super-tweeters”. I believe they’re electrets which means we are entering a golden age where we finally seem to have figured out how to control those bad-boys, which is great news. And this is the best iteration I’ve heard, period. They manage to convey every tiny, nuanced detail while ensuring they’re never overcooked, and they refuse to be pushed into sibilance in all but the worst-recorded tracks (this is a fault of the recording, not the transducer, of course).
Listening to my test tracks, I was absolutely amazed at how easy it was, for example, to pick up the tiny studio noises in the background of certain tracks, some I’d never heard even on the ERLKöNIG or the Sultan, two of the best resolving IEMs I’ve heard.
Comfort, too, is a clear step-up from its previously spawned sibling. I love the ERLKöNIG but on a scale there’s no contest – 20 grams for the ERLKöNIG while the PHöNIX shows off its fighting-weight at a svelte and alluring 8g. This is a significant difference and part of the reason VE may have chosen to eschew the multiple-settings of the ERLKöNIG for a more comfortable overall product in the latest generation.
And so, when we put everything together, we have, in my opinion, a really excellent monitor. Yes, it’s not quite reaching as low as I’d like. Yes, I’d personally add more body to the overall presentation. But, like so many things, those compromises were made for a reason and I’m not convinced “adding more bass” would work – it’s very likely some form of masking would alter the overall presentation and we wouldn’t be looking at the masterpiece we’re now looking at (or, it would be a different type of masterpiece at the very least.)
Tuning is always a balancing act and, with what VE are trying to create here, it looks like they’ve measured each ingredient perfectly, and the balance is just right. This is a highly capable monitor with detail retrieval in excess of any IEM I’ve ever personally encountered. An excellent IEM.
Would I trade it for my ERLKöNIG? Hmmmmm….I am considering it. It’s a very tough call. The ERLKöNIG does have a lot of what is missing in the newer brother and I’m not yet convinced I want to give that up. The richer body of sound in the Erl means I can have my cake and eat it too. But the treble performance and sheer levels of detail that the PHöNIX can dig up means the decision is by no means cut and dry.
In effect, this is just a case of picking one’s poison. But what a way to poison oneself, eh?
I used the OEM cable but preferred the one in the picture as it's been shaped to my ears specifically and because comfort is one of my most important requirements, I stayed with that. It's a 7n silver cable in type 6 litz configuration. As I made it myself, I feel it would be improper to discuss any perceived differences (positive or negative) as it would be unfair - I hope it's clear why this would be the case
Thanks. I’ll correct the review and also feed this back to Phil (I got the info from his website as the VE website is vague about this)The PHoNIX's treble is actually handled by 4 of its 13 balanced-armature drivers, so it's a full-BA design; just like the Erlkonig. I think that may make it even more impressive.
How on earth did you manage to get these over the Tip of the EXT? I've just received them and the stem is very stiff and quite small.Well I haven't have a long experience with EXT, but after extensive tip rolling I'll say that the EXT is very sensitive to tip rolling... this is part of the charm of universal for some but to me it's very annoying versus a custom IEM as we probably all discuss very different experiences with the EXT.
Bass is quite affected by tip rolling, but I know that the midrange is greatly affected as well and the more open the tip, the better the midrange to my ears... I have finally landed on the much atypical Flare Earfoams (silicon version) and this greatly improved the midrange presence and the overall stage size. YMMV, I have very big ear canals...
