[Deezel177]

That is probably the most difficult decision to make because I want BOTH feelings!! hah!

LOL so true - that didn't help one bit!

It depends on whether you'd prioritise the micro or the macro. The EXT is stronger at delivering each instruments' individual textures, but the PHoNIX paints the whole picture much more accurately and elegantly. If it helps, the PHoNIX has the more linear, more natural tonality as well. So, if you're picky about how certain instruments and you want to preserve their purity, per se, the PHoNIX is stronger there too.

 

[snapandslide]

It depends on whether you'd prioritise the micro or the macro. The EXT is stronger at delivering each instruments' individual textures, but the PHoNIX paints the whole picture much more accurately and elegantly. If it helps, the PHoNIX has the more linear, more natural tonality as well. So, if you're picky about how certain instruments and you want to preserve their purity, per se, the PHoNIX is stronger there too.

EXT doesn't place instruments too far back? That would be a concern, but from reading from others, I think Phonix very much seems the sort of IEM I'd like.

 

[jwilliamhurst]

It depends on whether you'd prioritise the micro or the macro. The EXT is stronger at delivering each instruments' individual textures, but the PHoNIX paints the whole picture much more accurately and elegantly. If it helps, the PHoNIX has the more linear, more natural tonality as well. So, if you're picky about how certain instruments and you want to preserve their purity, per se, the PHoNIX is stronger there too.

Ah Yes, that helps! I am pretty positive Phonix will be my pick over EXT, however I am curious to how the Indigo holds up against them as well.

 

[Deezel177]

EXT doesn't place instruments too far back? That would be a concern, but from reading from others, I think Phonix very much seems the sort of IEM I'd like.

Uhh.. depends on the instrument and the recording. I personally haven't been too bothered by it. But, like I said, the PHoNIX is much stronger at painting the picture, which would include imaging and instrument positioning.

 

[Skullar]

Has anyone out there finally compared the EXT and Indigo?
Many thanks

 

[Tom75]

Wow. Exciting. I'm highly interested in a comparison regarding the sound signature.

 

[Gavin C4]

Hope everyone is enjoying their PHoNIX, it is very suitable for an extensive long listening section, it is all the right box checked.

 

[Skullar]

Wow. Exciting. I'm highly interested in a comparison regarding the sound signature.

Well i only EXT since yesterday. Which is part of UK VE tour organised by @PhilW from Audio Conciercge. So big thanks to him for allowing me to participate! And big Kudos for organizing such rare, but much needed events in UK.
All i can say they are both excellent in they own way.
Just to note i took Indigo off sales as i realized almost too late how good they are.

In General EXT is a very tastefully done V shape. Where as Indigo is a slight U shape.

EXTs have midbass focused without rolling off subbass. Its slighly bassier too.
Indigo is subbass focused without loosing too much warmth in midbass.

Mids are taking a small step back on EXT. But i tried some tips that calm down bass slightly allowing mids some space.
Indigos have full bodied lower mids and more presence in upper mids. So is a bit more linear. Both are well suited for people sensitive to upper mids with EXT being a better pick. While Indigos mids are not going to push anything back.

Treble is actually really really well done on EXT. No peaks, no scoops. Well extended, its briliant. It sits well in contrast with bass. Not letting EXT sound dark.
Indigos have slightly toned down treble and there is a slight roll off at a very top end. But funny enough i fell in love with this kind of tuning as it sounds so natural and effortless.
They are both excellent in treble while having a bit of different flavour. So will come down to preference.


Soundstage and imaging wise. Well EXT will not win awards but this is relatively speaking in TOTL segment. It has great width and good separation. There is definitely nothing bad about it. There plenty iems in this price range that are far worse.
But here Indigo, being helped by bone conductor, is just a firework show in comparison. Its imaging and space between notes is clearly distinct. Width wise they are comparable. But Indigo has better depth and height also separation is better in midrange.

They both hide nothing when it come to resolution. But EXT will satisfy people who enjoy upper treble sparkle. Where Indigo will have upper hand in entire midrange.

Also in regards of bass speed. I see nothing too slow on both here. They are different presentations but they are quite tactile for DDS. I think we need to be realistic here. Its not a BA bass or a BA wannabe Berylium DD bass of A8000.
But yes Odin and EVO are faster than both, or any DD out there that i have heard.

Ergonomics wise EXT is a click in fit where i could probably do burpees with them and they still would stay in my ears. But this also means, this kind of tight fit might not be for longer period listening. Will need to find out. I do feel like it might not work for small ears.

Indigos improved fit over MkII significantly so there is no complains about it. I wear them sometimes for 4hrs with no issues.

One thing to note, which was mentioned already, nozzle size is around 5mm + the lip. It significantly reduces tip compatibility. So far i was able to put on whirlwinds, spiral dots and SD++, azlas and SP500.

On Indigos side. Tips change signature massively. My best call was cp145s.
Some tips i found make it too thick in lower mids or too dark. So it might affect first impressions badly. I actually had them on sale briefly just for that lol.

In essence it will come down to preference. They are both very good.

I will update if anything changes during my sessions with EXT.

 

[Tom75]

Well i only EXT since yesterday. Which is part of UK VE tour organised by @PhilW from Audio Conciercge. So big thanks to him for allowing me to participate! And big Kudos for organizing such rare, but much needed events in UK.
All i can say they are both excellent in they own way.
Just to note i took Indigo off sales as i realized almost too late how good they are.

In General EXT is a very tastefully done V shape. Where as Indigo is a slight U shape.

EXTs have midbass focused without rolling off subbass. Its slighly bassier too.
Indigo is subbass focused without loosing too much warmth in midbass.

Mids are taking a small step back on EXT. But i tried some tips that calm down bass slightly allowing mids some space.
Indigos have full bodied lower mids and more presence in upper mids. So is a bit more linear. Both are well suited for people sensitive to upper mids with EXT being a better pick. While Indigos mids are not going to push anything back.

Treble is actually really really well done on EXT. No peaks, no scoops. Well extended, its briliant. It sits well in contrast with bass. Not letting EXT sound dark.
Indigos up to have slightly toned down lower and treble and there is a slight roll off at top end. But funny enough i fell in love with this kind of tuning as it sounds so natural and effortless.
They are both excellent in treble while having a bit of different flavour. So will come down to preference.


Soundstage and imaging wise. Well EXT will not win awards but this is relatively speaking in TOTL segment. It has great width and good separation. There is definitely nothing bad about it. There plenty iems in this price range that are far worse.
But here Indigo, being helped by bone conductor, is just a firework show in comparison. Its imaging and space between notes is clearly distinct. Width wise they are comparable. But Indigo has better depth and height also separation is better in midrange.

They both hide nothing when it come to resolution. But EXT will satisfy people who enjoy upper treble sparkle with EXT more. Where indingo will have upper hand in entire midrange.

Also in regards of bass speed. I see nothing too slow on both here. They are different presentations but they are quite tactile for DDS. I think we need to be realistic here. Its not a BA bass or a BA wannabe Berylium DD bass of A8000.
But yes Odin and EVO are faster than both. Or any DD out there that i have heard.

Ergonomics wise EXT is a click in fit where i could probably do burpees with them and they still would stay in my ears. But this also mean this kind of tight fit might not be for longer period. Will need to find out. I do feel like it might not work for small years.

Indigos improved fit over MkII significantly so there is no complains about it. I wear them sometimes for 4hrs with no issues.

One thing to note, which was mentioned already, nozzle size is around 5mm + the lip. It significantly reduces tip compatibility. So far i was able to put on whirlwinds, spiral dots and SD++, azlas and SP500.

On Indigos side. Tips change signature massively. My best call was cp145s.
Some tips i found make it too thick in lower mids or too dark. So it might affect first impressions badly. I actually had them on sale briefly jist for that lol.

In essence it will come down to preference. They are both very good.

I will update if anything changes during my sessions with EXT.

Thanks a lot! Highly appreciated.

 

[Tristy]

Well i only EXT since yesterday. Which is part of UK VE tour organised by @PhilW from Audio Conciercge. So big thanks to him for allowing me to participate! And big Kudos for organizing such rare, but much needed events in UK.
All i can say they are both excellent in they own way.
Just to note i took Indigo off sales as i realized almost too late how good they are.

In General EXT is a very tastefully done V shape. Where as Indigo is a slight U shape.

EXTs have midbass focused without rolling off subbass. Its slighly bassier too.
Indigo is subbass focused without loosing too much warmth in midbass.

Mids are taking a small step back on EXT. But i tried some tips that calm down bass slightly allowing mids some space.
Indigos have full bodied lower mids and more presence in upper mids. So is a bit more linear. Both are well suited for people sensitive to upper mids with EXT being a better pick. While Indigos mids are not going to push anything back.

Treble is actually really really well done on EXT. No peaks, no scoops. Well extended, its briliant. It sits well in contrast with bass. Not letting EXT sound dark.
Indigos up to have slightly toned down lower and treble and there is a slight roll off at top end. But funny enough i fell in love with this kind of tuning as it sounds so natural and effortless.
They are both excellent in treble while having a bit of different flavour. So will come down to preference.


Soundstage and imaging wise. Well EXT will not win awards but this is relatively speaking in TOTL segment. It has great width and good separation. There is definitely nothing bad about it. There plenty iems in this price range that are far worse.
But here Indigo, being helped by bone conductor, is just a firework show in comparison. Its imaging and space between notes is clearly distinct. Width wise they are comparable. But Indigo has better depth and height also separation is better in midrange.

They both hide nothing when it come to resolution. But EXT will satisfy people who enjoy upper treble sparkle with EXT more. Where indingo will have upper hand in entire midrange.

Also in regards of bass speed. I see nothing too slow on both here. They are different presentations but they are quite tactile for DDS. I think we need to be realistic here. Its not a BA bass or a BA wannabe Berylium DD bass of A8000.
But yes Odin and EVO are faster than both. Or any DD out there that i have heard.

Ergonomics wise EXT is a click in fit where i could probably do burpees with them and they still would stay in my ears. But this also mean this kind of tight fit might not be for longer period. Will need to find out. I do feel like it might not work for small years.

Indigos improved fit over MkII significantly so there is no complains about it. I wear them sometimes for 4hrs with no issues.

One thing to note, which was mentioned already, nozzle size is around 5mm + the lip. It significantly reduces tip compatibility. So far i was able to put on whirlwinds, spiral dots and SD++, azlas and SP500.

On Indigos side. Tips change signature massively. My best call was cp145s.
Some tips i found make it too thick in lower mids or too dark. So it might affect first impressions badly. I actually had them on sale briefly jist for that lol.

In essence it will come down to preference. They are both very good.

I will update if anything changes during my sessions with EXT.

Nice write up! Spiral dot ++ are my favourite on EXT after a cable change (silver) but CP155’s were my favourite prior with the tri-copper. Do you also have the Phonix coming?

 

[Skullar]

Nice write up! Spiral dot ++ are my favourite on EXT after a cable change (silver) but CP155’s were my favourite prior with the tri-copper. Do you also have the Phonix coming?

Cheers. Yes, Phonix will probably arrive next year though.

I am regretting selling my silver cable. Need to look at getting some mid-priced decent one.

 

[Elite_Force]

Hope everyone is enjoying their PHoNIX, it is very suitable for an extensive long listening section, it is all the right box checked.

I think you were impressed by EXT some time ago - I remember P6 in yellow case and Centurion cable. May I ask you to provide your impressions (short comparison) between these two - Phoenix and Ext? Would be much appreciated by the community.

 

[SLC1966]

This was great! I'm thinking of picking on of the new VE IEMs primarily for Jazz - thoughts of EXT vs Phonix for Jazz?

@Deezel177 beat me to the punch and said more eloquently and along the same lines of what I will say.

I listen to Jazz at least 50% of the time. And 90% of that is Trio Jazz or Modal Jazz. Fewer instruments and more space between the notes. Charles Lloyd is a good example with what he has done the last 25 years. Most everything Miles Davis did right before, during and after the album "Kind of Blue" are great examples. The early Bill Evans also.

Phonix to me is for the big picture. The whole part rather than each instrument. That being said Phonix is a detail Meister. It is the whole picture with nothing missing and with a whole lot of musical detail. Some IEMs have detail but the musical part or engagement part are missing. Phonix has all of that.

EXT for me is about the euphonic sound of each note, of each instrument. Each individual part stands out. With EXT I find myself analyzing the individual parts of the song. The notes on the EXT are warmer and linger a little longer i.e. less detail than Phonix. But Timbrelicious!

I hope that helps. My next post in a day or two will be directly comparing EXT and Phonix. Bob just texted me and that was his question. Of course he had to include some inappropriate pictures. I deleted those!

 

[kevin638880]

I cannot comment on Traillii bass vs. Phonix since it has been a month or two since I sold my Traillii. I can say that the bass sound/impact on Phonix is different to the bass on setting 3 for Erlkonig. They may have used the same setting but the bass on the Phonix is tighter and more impactful and has a combination of sub and mid bass that is wonderful to my ears. I feel like I am feeling DD air movement but that is my mind playing tricks with me. I think more sub bass is heard with the Phonix (and tighter bass) due to the super tweeter adding more space and more air to the Phonix signature vs. the the Erlkonig signature. Setting three on Erlk lacks some breathing room for me. Hence, I prefer (love) setting 2 on Erlkonig vs. 3.

Edit: OMG I did it again. Confused settings 2 and 3. Reverse 2 and 3 above. I prefer Erlkonig on setting 3 due to added staging and air. But yes the bass is reduced.

I was back at my local dealer‘s shop to do some AB testing (still patiently waiting for my Phonix to arrive....heavily backordered in HK. Mine should land before the end of December, they say.). Here are some quick thoughts of what I‘ve heard - I think it is in line with your observations.

Quick disclaimer: I am able to identify some subtle differences between the Erlk OG and LE, with the LE being warmer and notes being more dense.
Both Phonix and Erlk LE tested with the stock cable on my SP2000Cu. Erlk LE on Setting 2.

Both the LE and the Phonix are tuned similarly, but the LE is slightly warmer, more laid back and more musical sounding. Phonix is slightly more a W for me, more airy and energetic, while the LE is more neutral.

The Phonix bass punches like Setting 2 but with more texture and tightness, also with more subbass rumble and less midbass emphasis. LE‘s bass also pack a punch but sounds softer with an elevated midbass (perhaps that’s why it sounds a bit more musical to me).

No competition for the treble, Phonix wins hands down. It also wins in other technical departments such as imaging and resolution, albeit only slightly.

Mids is where I think why some would keep holding on to the LE. Phonix mids are slightly more forward, but the biggest difference here is the note weight: the LE sounds - for the lack of a better description - extremely heavy. As in you can “feel” each note has some kind of weight behind it. Vocals sound really, really dense and textured, instruments sound heavy and has more body than, frankly speaking, anything else. The Phonix also has substantial body behind its notes (similar to the OG Erlky), but not on the same level as the LE. It sounds more airy in comparison.

Overall speaking I think the LE‘s note weight really separates it from the Phonix (and anything else tbh) - it is something special. I don’t think I would ever describe music as heavy, but here we are. Just think about the weight difference between the Phonix and the LE - that‘s how heavy the LE sounds, and it does wonders for vocals. I’d say LE has the best sounding vocals I have ever heard of before because of the substantial body behind its delivery. With that being said, the Phonix sounds effortless, coherent and balanced, and I think it would appeal to a wider audience based on its tuning. I’d say the Phonix could replace the OG Erlky, but the LE? That becomes a difficult question.

Which one would I pick?

At least land before Christmas, please? Not next year?

 

[SLC1966]

I was back at my local dealer‘s shop to do some AB testing (still patiently waiting for my Phonix to arrive....heavily backordered in HK. Mine should land before the end of December, they say.). Here are some quick thoughts of what I‘ve heard - I think it is in line with your observations.

Quick disclaimer: I am able to identify some subtle differences between the Erlk OG and LE, with the LE being warmer and notes being more dense.
Both Phonix and Erlk LE tested with the stock cable on my SP2000Cu. Erlk LE on Setting 2.

Both the LE and the Phonix are tuned similarly, but the LE is slightly warmer, more laid back and more musical sounding. Phonix is slightly more a W for me, more airy and energetic, while the LE is more neutral.

The Phonix bass punches like Setting 2 but with more texture and tightness, also with more subbass rumble and less midbass emphasis. LE‘s bass also pack a punch but sounds softer with an elevated midbass (perhaps that’s why it sounds a bit more musical to me).

No competition for the treble, Phonix wins hands down. It also wins in other technical departments such as imaging and resolution, albeit only slightly.

Mids is where I think why some would keep holding on to the LE. Phonix mids are slightly more forward, but the biggest difference here is the note weight: the LE sounds - for the lack of a better description - extremely heavy. As in you can “feel” each note has some kind of weight behind it. Vocals sound really, really dense and textured, instruments sound heavy and has more body than, frankly speaking, anything else. The Phonix also has substantial body behind its notes (similar to the OG Erlky), but not on the same level as the LE. It sounds more airy in comparison.

Overall speaking I think the LE‘s note weight really separates it from the Phonix (and anything else tbh) - it is something special. I don’t think I would ever describe music as heavy, but here we are. Just think about the weight difference between the Phonix and the LE - that‘s how heavy the LE sounds, and it does wonders for vocals. I’d say LE has the best sounding vocals I have ever heard of before because of the substantial body behind its delivery. With that being said, the Phonix sounds effortless, coherent and balanced, and I think it would appeal to a wider audience based on its tuning. I’d say the Phonix could replace the OG Erlky, but the LE? That becomes a difficult question.

Which one would I pick?


At least land before Christmas, please? Not next year?

I only have heard the Erlkonig LE and not the OG and I agree with what you wrote about LE versus Phonix. Well stated and you did not reverse setting "2" and "3" in your writing. I think "heavy" is a great word to use for the notes of the Erlk LE compared to the Phonix! I have used the term "thicker" but I think "heavy" is even more appropriate for the Erlk LE.