Balanced tonality, crisp airy soundstage, rock-solid imaging, quick transients, punchy, slammy, and good dynamics with a decently wide soundstage. These combined terms don't typically come from me on most of the review units I receive, much less ones that are priced in the affordable range and by an obscure no-name Chinese brand like 7Hz. But, so it is.

I have never heard of 7Hz before, and Lillian from Linsoul asked if I wanted to try out this new planar magnetic driver in-ear monitor earphone called the "Timeless" several months back. As some may know, I enjoy my fair share of planar magnetic over-ear headphones, and have owned several disappointing in-ear planars in the past, and have demoed, reviewed and painfully listened to most of the ones on the market to date.

All of them are tuned terribly. Very few of them can be fully saved by EQ. The ones that do though can be technical beasts like the Audeze LCD-i4, but again, requires some sort of EQ capability on the go. Yes, Audeze packages their units with the optional Cipher cable, but that also requires a soon to be outdated lightning jack limited to iPhones and older iPads. Android users can get by with an Anker adapter but can't tune the Cipher since the App is iOS exclusive.

Enter the Timeless. It's all the things I mentioned in the first paragraph, and a shockingly good IEM at just $219 with a well thought out package to boot. Let's talk about it some more.

Unboxing​

The Timeless comes in a simple box that feels a bit more weighty than one would normally expect out of an IEM package. The reason for this is because there a hefty machined aluminum hinged-flip-top box that is included to store and carry the Timeless in. It's a very nicely designed and finished case that should hold up to even big drops, while also feeling very luxurious and premium.

The Timeless also includes a series of tips and a silver-colored 2-core braided cable that I absolutely love. It's very lightweight, but feels and looks premium. Its the type of design choice I like and is similar to the same cables I bought from XINHS on Ali Express, except the Timeless cables have more premium connectors and splitters that are metal and color-matched to the black and red shell housing colorway.



The Timeless itself is a 14.2mm planar driver within the round disc-like aluminum shell. The driver size puts it smaller than my very own Unique Melody ME1, and the Audeze series of iSine/LCD-i4 and i3/Euclid, but however, it is larger than the RHA CL2, and the various Tin P1, P2, and other recent chi-fi planar iems.

At this size, it looks perhaps a bit intimidating; not as much as when I got the iSine and ME1 several years ago, but more so than other IEMs. But Timeless made this set very lightweight, and incredibly comfortable for my ears, which don't jibe well with certain IEMs. Surprisingly, I am able to wear this unit for several hours without any discomfort. I haven't had a chance to really see how long I could go, because I'm always interrupted by meetings or other things during the course of a typical day, but it's one of the few IEMs that I never feel when I'm wearing.

Sound Impressions​

Not feeling any discomfort is a good thing, because the Timeless sounds really good. It's rare that I have no urge to take off a random review sample that I never heard of before, after hours of listening for an entire week. There were times when I was grooving to jazz band, Go Go Penguin, or soul artist, Celeste, between meetings and begrudgingly had to take the Timeless off to attend to my calls.

Part of this was because the first time I put the Timeless on, I was immediately shocked that I heard a planar IEM that was tuned to be listenable without EQ straight out of the box. And not only that, but this was tuned better than MOST IEMs I've heard, no matter the driver configuration. It's just tonally balanced to my liking and if I had to describe it, I would say that it's perhaps a tad too elevated in the low end, but is very punchy and dynamic with a steady mid-range and an upper treble region that is right on the spot in terms of balance. The treble range is well-extended but can be just slightly north of neutral, but that also helps provide that dynamic sense and added excitement, while never sounding sibilant to me (YMMV, see more below). It's just a well-tuned device.




The Timeless's biggest weak point perhaps is that its not the most resolving planar out there. That belongs to the Audeze LCD-i4, which is priced 12 times more. But even so, it is still resolving, but maybe not enough for how much bass level it has. If I had to really nitpick, I'd say that the bass is just slight too much at times, and because it isn't the most resolving, or the fastest in transient speed here, that it comes off just a little blunted or lacking definition at times. To simplify it all, the bass range sounds more rounded than I would like and missing the final layers of depth and detail.

But that is nitpicking it down, because I find most everything about the Timeless to be very strong, and given its price, this is maybe a no brainer purchase for those looking for a "low-priced" IEM with high-priced sound. Wow, I am sounding very shilly in this piece, and that's not normally my style, but I have come away very impressed on this unit!

The other nitpick that I think some people may find with this is that the treble is a little spicy. I've heard that some do find it a little too bright, but for me, it's not a thing. I find its treble tuning to be smooth for the most part with good extension that really lets me hear those closing resonance of cymbals and hi-hats and strings of the jazz and bluegrass music I frequently listen to in my review playlists and my typical relaxing listening sessions.

If there was specific area where one may find this a bit on the harsh or aggressive side, I'd say that I found some brass instruments and saxophones to be a little more forward and more personal than maybe I want to on many jazz tracks I heard. I never found similar issues with female singers, though I've read about such things on the various forums. It could come down to tips, insertion, or general tolerance for treble sensitivity.

Wrap-Up​

For just over $200, the Timeless is one of my new reference IEMs for this price range, maybe up to $500, as you start heading into Dunu SA6 territory. The Timeless really sets itself apart from the rest of the pack here with a good balance of tonality and technical performance where many of the attributes that make planar driver special seem to come off with this unit -- that is: quick speeds, solid resolution, separation and imaging. And even then, it can actually hit pretty hard with its elevated bass.

Add to that a nice carrying box, and a simple but attractive cable, and I think the Timeless really hits it out of the park. 7Hz, good job!

This iem can be purchased here:

https://www.linsoul.com/collections/all-archived/products/7hz-timeless

The Helios is a new in-ear monitor product from a relatively new brand out of Singapore called Symphonium. The brand started out in 2017 and have three current products in their line-up. The Helios is their flagship product and comes in at about $1099 USD.

The Helios features four balanced armature drivers in a configuration that was developed in collaboration with some familiar faces for those of you who have followed Audio Discourse on YouTube -- mainly Leneo, Toranku, and Valoncia, who have started their own brand, Subtonic, and working on exciting new products together.

So that's a heavy disclaimer here, as I have worked on Audio Discourse's YouTube channel along side some of the folks involved in the creation of this product. This tour unit was loaned out to me from Symphonium directly, and this unit, along with a few others across the world, are being sent to various people in the community for feedback and impressions. All that said, as usual, I try to minimize as much bias as possible and have come into this with excitement, but also will provide my critical takes as well.

The Helios tour unit was sent with two copper-colored balanced cables in 2.5mm and 4.4mm varieties. These two cables are very soft and supple, and I find them both attractive and easy to use. They terminate in 2-pin connectors, and unlike most cables available, these cables do not have pre-shaped hooks.




The package also comes with a hefty round screw-on metal case that is polished metal and has a nice attractive and luxurious look to it. I am typically not a big fan of these screw-on round cases, but this one is pretty nice and I'd probably use it for storage at home.

The Helios shell design is a rounded triangular shape that isn't too dissimilar from others like 64 Audio and Tachijim's general shape and design. It is however quite large, and has a deep cavity and a longer than average nozzle that is also about 5.75mm in diameter. It is a bit on the large side, and is meant to for a deep insertion into your ear canal.

This can present some challenges to small-ear hole folks like myself. My left ear was able to get a deeper insertion than my right, as my left ear canal is just slightly larger and has a less sharp bend to it. My right ear is narrow and has an early and sharper bend, and so the nozzle length and diameter hits up against my ear canal a bit prematurely, and so no matter how deep I try to push it in, its maxed out due to the interference.

This causes the IEM to stick out a little further and at a kind of strange angle out of my ear. All that said however, with the right sized tips (in my case, SpinFit CP100 Small), I was able to get a tight seal and no real issues with pain or discomfort. It just didn't look or feel as secure as I hoped it would. I did not have the same types of pain I felt with the Moondrop Blessing 2 or the Campfire Solaris despite them also having similar fitment issues due to nozzle length, width, and angle.

Sound Impressions​

The Helios is a very well-tuned IEM that expresses a nice deep sub-bass presentation with clean lower-mids, and a smooth mid-range and treble response that falls in-line with my preferences. It can be perhaps a smidge bright but nothing really to concern about if I had to nitpick its tonal balance. I could also ask for just a little more mid-bass for extra warmth and smoothness, but man, this is a nicely balanced IEM that should be a great all-arounder for most genres.

If I had not known the quantity of the driver count, I may have thought there were more. The 4-BA configuration gets a lot of performance on this IEM, especially when I compare it to my beloved 4-BA Viento B Custom IEM. Yes, that one is several years old now, but it still stands strong in my opinion due to its fantastic tonal balance and coherence.




The Helios takes a similar tonal balance, but adds more sub-bass performance and adds a lot more dynamics to the overall quality. Bass has better texture and punch, and there's a nice amount of sub rumble that can be felt in my ears. It can slam when it wants to, though not as much as some other IEMs I have tried of course. The Monarch and Odin slams just a bit more for similar sounding gear.

Symphonium's mid-range is a perhaps a tad lean in the lower end, but has a nice balance in the upper mids where I don't find it too lean nor too hazy. Some people may find this to be a tad lean overall given the entire mid-range response as whole, but for me personally, I really enjoy this presentation, which is slightly dry, but very clean and clear, and strikes a good equal balance to the spectrum.

Treble, despite being perhaps just slightly more elevated than I like, is very smooth. There is a refined and buttery slickness to it that reminds me of the best EST IEMs (i.e. Odin), or even the all-BA ultra-warm and laidback Vision Ears sets like VE8 and Erlkonig.





One of the most noticeable sonic impressions I found with the Helios, for good or for bad, is that it sounds like some notes or some frequency range sounds a bit more forward and closer to my ear than others. The midrange just seems a little bit louder than the rest, which is good for those who enjoy hearing the mids, and for some reason, I do feel like I am turning this IEM a little higher up on the dial than others. Still, I do find that I prefer a slightly more relaxed tuning, and at times I do think that the Helios' mids are a bit aggressive.

The dynamics are very well done. Despite what I say in the last paragraph, there are nice varying levels of sound range here, and quiet moments come off quiet while loud moments are intense. It's not the best IEM in terms of macrodynamics I've heard, but it's definitely above average.





I spent a lot of time with the Helios in all sorts of genres and musical selections -- anything from old classic rock, to jazz, to electropop and folk, to country and to classical. It does well with all genres. I did find it best for some music specifically though.

For example, the subbass gain, tacked on with the nicely tuned upper-midrange is a great combination for the newest Chvrches album, "Screen Violence." The Helios does well with the electropop band's mix of deep subbass synths, and Lauren Mayberry's vocals. Even the dark, emotive track "How Not to Drown" featuring The Cure's Robert Smith sounds fantastic on this IEM.

I also spent a bit of time listening to Massive Attack and Morcheeba, trip hop legends from the past with the Helios, and again felt it works well with this electronic brand of music. Helios provides the much needed deep subbass this genre asks for, while also the electronic synthesized keyboard play on full display.

I will say that my most listened to music of late, trio-based jazz music, is probably the least favorite stuff I have heard on the Helios. Perhaps it's due to the lack of low-end warmth and just not having the real grunt of the double bass stand out, or the slightly forward piano notes being a distraction. This wasn't my favorite combination for the music I played with on the Helios, but again, it is still very enjoyable and well-resolving for this music.

The Kilo-buck Market Competition​

The Helios enters competition against a lot of other $1000-ish in-ear monitors that are very popular and very good. Here are just some of the ones I can think of off the top of my head:

• Campfire Andromeda (2020)
• Sony IER-M9
• Hidition Viento
• Thieaudio Monarch
• Unique Melody MEST

There are definitely others to consider, but these are some of my top ranked IEMs and are tough, tough competition for a new company with a new kilobuck entry. How does it stack up?

The Helios' defining difference between most of these IEMs is their sub-bass elevation and focus with the exception of the Thieaudio Monarch, which have very, very similar tonality. The Helios is more coherent, with better clarity and resolution from my memory versus the Monarch, and the treble is smoother. It's also a little more costly at $350 more.




The Andromeda is quite a bit different sounding, while also sharing an all-BA setup. Both have good dynamics and resolution, while the tuning is where they go off on different tangents. The Andromeda is warmer with a significant amount more lower mids and midbass compared to the Helios.




The IER-M9 is also an all-BA setup, and just has a much different sound. It's ultra smooth and warmly tuned and darker. Its a more relaxing listen and does not have a sub-bass focus. It's been a while since I really listened to the M9, but I never felt the technical performance as compelling on first glance as I did with the Helios. It's not saying that much, but perhaps it the smoother, warmer nature of the M9 not showcasing its full talents.






Finally, the two IEMs I do own: The MEST and the Viento...

The Viento is also a 4-BA setup, but I feel its tonally better than the Helios with similar upper mids and treble, but less subbass and more mid-bass warmth. It gives a more even sound throughout, while the Helios has probably a bit better clarity, texture, and excitement.



The MEST is quadbrid, that also has a subbass focus, but not nearly as energetic as the Helios. It also differs in the uppermids, where the MEST is quite a bit more relax and darker, given the comparison between the two very different flavors.

Podcast Impressions​

This was a live stream video of first impressions of the Helios from myself (Antdroid) and Rush on our Youtube channel:

Wrap-Up​

The Symphonium Helios is a really nice entry to the market. I am quite impressed by its technical ability and it has a tonal balance that I think will make it a favorite amongst many, especially those who enjoy electronic and other sub-bass focused music. It has a lot of the tangibles in place to really set itself as the top "neutral with sub-bass" top dog in a crowded marketplace. While I still prefer my Viento-B, another "neutral with sub-bass" IEM just a little bit more for its tonal balance and warmth, I can see the Helios being a close runner-up, but with better technicalities.

The biggest gripe I really have with the Helios is the shell design. It's large, requires deep insertion, and I'd prefer a lighter acrylic shell over the metal housing it comes in, but for many, this might not be a big deal.

The Helios is good and a solid-buy. I look forward to the next Symphonium and Subtonic collaboration as I hear there's something(s) even bigger down the road in the high-end market that gets me very excited. This is a teaser, and a really good one at that.

Audio Discourse Interview with the Creators​

Finally, to wrap everything up, here's an interview with Subtonic hosted from Rush of Audio Discourse's YouTube channel.

The Falcon Pro is Dunu's latest ECLIPSE-based single dynamic driver in-ear monitor that uses trickle-down technology from the Zen and Zen Pro and their flagship Luna. This new IEM comes in at a relatively low price of $219 and is packed with goodies, which I'll talk about a little bit more below.

First off, I'd like to thank Tom of Dunu for providing me this review unit to try out and provide my impressions here.

The Falcon Pro is not only just a new IEM, but it also features the first use of Dunu's new modular cable connector system that I'm aware of. This new mmcx and silver-colored wounded and braided cable is very clean looking and easy to use. The new connector is a little bit easier to use as it is just pulled on without any moving mechanism to secure it into place. You do have to make sure you have it aligned correctly for it to fit. The new connector may look large in marketing images, but in reality, its actually a lot smaller than I thought and is a little more compact than the original Dunu modular connectors.




As with other Dunu products, there is a lot of tips provided, as well as a zipper carrying case. The case included with the Falcon Pro is a green canvas-like material and has a netted pocked on the inside. There's plenty of space for the IEM and tips and small accessories. My little Sony Walkman NW-A55 will actually fit inside this case as well!

Dunu uses a metallic shell that has a polished mirror look with 5 vent holes on the interior side. The shell design is tear-drop shaped and small to medium sized with a medium depth nozzle. My overall comfort level wearing these with SpinFit tips was excellent and I never felt like I needed to take these off nor had trouble with seal.

Sound Impressions​

The Dunu Falcon Pro exhibits a warm-bodied and smooth sound no matter the filter choice. Now, each one does something with the amount of bass and treble output, but overall the Falcon Pro has a warm and elevated bass response, and a slightly dark and relaxed treble range that makes it a comfortable listen for long periods of time. If anything, the Falcon Pro has a very vanilla, yet elegant sound.




For most of my listening, I decided upon the least bass, and more treble filter called the Transparency filter. This one provided a little bit less mid-bass, and just a tad more treble than the standard Reference filter, and the very interesting Atmospheric filter. With the Atmospheric one, it's hard to pinpoint exactly what is going on, as it doesn't necessarily sound as dark as it graphs, and provides an interesting level of depth and imaging that sounds a bit diffused out, and I don't tend to notice the dark FR response that it exhibits.

With the Transparency filter, I found the bass to have the least amount of bloat, though I wouldn't necessarily say that the other filters are excessively bloated. They have a very mid-bass focused sound but does not necessarily translate into a great amount of punch and slam. Instead, I find this to be a smooth and warm-bodied experience, with any of the filters. The Transparency filter, however, allows just a little bit more texture to shine, but at the end of the day, the Falcon Pro isn't the most resolving and texture-filled experience there is for an IEM nor does it compare to Dunu's higher-priced sibling, the Zen.




The Falcon Pro's midrange is even-keeled. It's warm and subtle and does not do anything to make it really stand out. Perhaps, this has to do with the elevated lower bass, and the Hifiman-like subdued 1KHz range, which gives the Falcon just a bit more space to play with in an otherwise warm-tuning that can cause music to come across just a bit more intimate than my normal preferences.

The treble response of the Falcon Pro shows a mature smoothness to it that isn't overly bright or sharp, but also not too dark either. It's got a decent amount of treble extension, but a softness to it that makes it sound very refined, especially at the price point it is targeting. Many IEMs in this price range don't really give the listener proper treble extension, and many mask treble extension-less with just peaks in the lower treble to give an overly sharp but "clarity" sound. In the case of the Falcon Pro, treble is present, but it does not stand out, which is nice. I wouldn't classify it as sweet totally, but it's nearing that type of sweetness that I desire.




The Falcon Pro's technical performance is a bit of a mixed bag. It's solid given its low price point, but I wouldn't consider it above average against other competition either. It has solid separation, and treble extension, but it lacks microdynamics and punch. It doesn't slam as hard as you may think given its FR graph, nor does it provide a great level of bass texture given its dynamic driver. But it does not falter in any of these cases either. It's just, average.

I gave out the sample units of the Dunu DK2001 and DK3001 Pro a couple years ago to the boys at Headphones.com and they still have them, otherwise I'd love to compare how these fare against one another. I think the Falcon Pro may go well head to head against these two, as a very similar cross of the two IEMs, with the bass/warmth of the DK2001 and the relaxed sound of the DK3001 Pro, but with more treble extension than both.

I did compare this to the smaller, but pricer Zen from Dunu. The Zen is punchier, more dynamic, and just an overall better IEM in many of the technical categories. The Falcon Pro does best the Zen in soundstage distance and treble extension though, and provides better instrument separation, but the Zen has better resolution, slam/punch, and a more exciting overall sound. I do like the Falcon Pro's tonal balance just a tad more just because the Zen can be a bit too forward in the upper mids, which can be fatiguing to me. That's never a problem with the more chillax Falcon Pro.

Wrap-Up​

The Falcon Pro is a nice entry for Dunu. While I don't think it's something that is uniquely great or a world beater, I do think its a nice overall package when you consider the cable, accessories, and build quality. The tonal balance works well for many genres, and is smooth and warm and should work well for long listening sections. Plus, it has some treble extension!

Its not the most technical IEM on the market, nor even in its price class, but it sits in the average to above-average category of IEMs as a whole. That's not a bad thing, as it probably won't disappoint those spending their hard earned cash on this little package.

The all-new P1 Plus is the latest in the P-series of planar in-ear monitors from Tin Hifi, and comes up against some very tough competition with the very good and recently released 7HZ Timeless. The P1 Plus was provided by Linsoul for review and retails for $159 USD, which is actually less than the previous P1 and P2 models.

Find the product here: https://www.linsoul.com/collections/all/products/tinhifi-p1-plus

Visually, the P1 Plus looks just like the P1 and P2 models with a stainless steel mirrored-finish housing that has a rounded triangle shape. The unit continues to include a 10mm planar magnetic driver and uses MMCX connectors. The cable is a braided-copper color with metal connectors.

Sound Impressions​

Internally, I don't know if anything really changed, besides whatever was used for tuning. The P1 Plus is tuned differently, and is perhaps the best tuned IEM of all of Tin's product lines. I found the P1 Plus to have a laid-back and warm tuning, which has a dipped upper-mid range and treble, but with plenty of treble extension. The bass range is linear and extended, and not as elevated in the mid-bass as the other P-series IEMs.




When I first put the P1 Plus on, I felt it was pretty mediocre, in that it was tonally acceptable, but technically not. As with the other P-series, the fit was pretty challenging for me, and getting a proper seal and secured fit in my ears was difficult. I tried several tips, with varying degrees of success. Some caused extreme sibilance due to poor fit, and some just did not want to stay in when I moved. I ended up sticking with the included large foam tips that Tin supplies with this IEM.

With the foam tips, I was able to both get most of the sound issues out of the way, and I did not have any problems walking around and worrying about them falling out. With the foam tips, I'm sure it also helped with a some of the upper treble issues I was experiencing while using other tips, though not all of it went away.

One of my biggest issues with many of the Tin products is that they are brighter than my preferences. In the cases of their dynamic driver T-series, this was mostly in the upper-mids and lower-treble range being a little more exaggerated than I'd like to varying degrees, with the recent T2 Evo being the worst offender. In the P1 and P2, my troubles were set primarily in the upper treble.

For relatively budget IEMs, having upper treble output is not always a given, as many of them, at least until more recently, cut off sound at below 10KHz, making some upper-harmonic sounds very muted. High strings and cymbals sound more deadened than usual, so having upper-treble really makes these instruments sound alive, but too much can make them piercing and fatiguing. Such was the case with the P1 and P2.

These previous generation planar IEMs from Tin Hifi's biggest knock, tonally, was that they did not filter out these higher frequencies well enough, and in many of the music I listened to, caused quite a bit of ear pain. Sharp strings, extra splashy cymbals and hi-hats, and sibilant female vocals in poorly compressed pop music, amongst other audio artifacts.

With the P1 Plus, I found that the tonal balance was improved. The sibilance and upper harshness was reduced. It is still there, especially when I was using silicone tips and paired with my Sony NW-A55 digital audio player, but swapping to foam tips and using these alongside the Chord Mojo + Poly player, I found most of the harshness to disappear surprisingly.

The P1 Plus reduces the amount of mid-bass from the previous efforts with a more linear bass response that I prefer. There's no muddiness while listening to this set, and this along with the lower upper mid-range produces a warmer and thicker sound that still doesn't sound off. It's a richer experience than most Tin Hifi products with the reduced pinna compensation, but one that I find good for non-fatiguing listen. Of course, this is dependent on how much the upper treble bothers you.

Technical Musings and Comparisons​

On the more technical side, the P1 Plus isn't stand-out performer in this price-range. It shares many of the same things I found lacking in the P1 and P2, and when directly compared to the newly released Timeless planar IEM, it really shows its technical limitations. The Timeless costs a bit more, roughly $60 more, so budgets need to be taken into consideration of course, but I'll go over some of the areas where I find the P1 Plus and Timeless differ in technical performance.

I listened to a variety of jazz music from Go Go Penguin and Bill Laurence to Avishai Cohen and Joey Aleaxander, as well as the psychedelic guitar play of Tash Sultara, and soul music from Jorja Smith and Celeste during the music sessions between the two IEMs.

The main points that I came away with outside of just their tonal differences is that the Timeless has a larger presentation, more refinement, improved resolution, micro and macrodynamic abilities, and speed. In other words, it's a much more technical beast than the P1 Plus is.

The P1 Plus seemed to lack resolution, and in some cases quite a bit of it in some passages of Tash Sultara's latest album, "Terra Firma." Some of the small intricate guitar play just seemed like it was lost in the mix. In other areas, the P1 Plus seemed a bit sluggish in its transient speed and this probably contributes to the loss of refinement and resolution.

While the P1 Plus is warm and pleasing, it doesn't have the slam and rumble that the Timeless presents as well. The dynamics are also missing in general, as I found the P1 Plus's ability to clearly depict quiet and loud parts of some of my jazz tracks to be a bit lackluster. In general, most instruments and passages all sounded forward and close. There wasn't a large gradient or softness to parts of music that needed it. Instead, everything was a bit more in your face. I don't think this was as bad as the original P1, not even close, but it isn't the best I've heard at $159.

Overall​

The P1 Plus isn't a bad IEM actually, despite its limitations. At $159, it is alright. It has a easy to listen to tonality, and for the most part sounds accurate. I found its technical ability to be just about average to perhaps slightly below at its price point, and that along with its kind of challenging fit, I don't necessarily recommend this for everyone. It's a decent IEM, and I won't fault someone for wanting it. I just find that there may be better ones around for the same, less, or slightly more money.

For me, and for many entrenched in this audiophile world, there is always this fascination with analog tube amplifiers. It's old school, it's cool and unique looking, and it has its own set of parameters to mess around with. It also provides a different listening experience for the curious ear. I've gone through a number of tube amps in the past: from hybrids, OTL, or SET-style tube amps for headphones and speakers, and I've also gone through a few portable tube amplifiers as well. While I've had some success with the desktop ones, the portable ones have always been mostly misses or more of "what's the point?"

The Cayin C9 was announced a while ago and has more recently just showed up for sale. It caught my attention when it was first announced due to its looks and its specifications. It features both balanced and single-ended input and outputs, a nice sized volume knob, a switch to activate solid-state or vacuum tube circuitry, and an additional switch to active Class A or Class AB circuitry. In addition, this is a pure amplifier, and does not have a DAC, which lets users choose which pairing they want to go with it. Many portables are DAC/Amp combinations and does not give users the option to choose, which for most cases is the only way to keep them portable and have a small footprint.

The C9 comes in at a $2000 price tag, and is definitely on the upper-end of the portable amplifier market. It does, however, make up for its price tag with a very nice and high quality build, featuring an all-metal chassis that is simple yet elegant. The input/output connectors have gold rings around them, as well as the power button and volume knob to provide both style and functionality to its design.



The C9's tube selection is powered by Korg NuTubes. These are unique and a relatively new tube design that glow with green LEDs and are laid flat on the board. The Cayin C9 has two oval-shaped window cut-outs on the top surface of the amp that lets the Nutubes shine their alien look when activated. When off, the windows are very dark and internals are not visible.

The C9 is pretty hefty, and definitely not pocketable. It may fit into a large coat pocket, but the weight would be pretty distracting and heavy to carry. Instead, this is definitely made for bag travel, and to sit on a solid table surface when in use. Due to the amp selections and metal chassis, the C9 also gets very hot in any of the combinations, and you'll probably want to minimize contact with it when it has been running for a short time. It will heat up the area around it.

Note: The Cayin C9 amplifier was provided on loan as part of a private review tour hosted by Cayin directly. I will be shipping the C9 amplifier to the next leg of the tour in Europe immediately after this review.

Sound Impressions​

The Cayin C9 has two "timbre" modes (solid-state and vacuum tube) and two amp circuits (Class A and Class AB), giving it a total of 4 combinations of user amp configurations. There is, of course, a high and low gain setting, but I'll just say that for headphones, I used high gain, and for IEMs, I used low gain for all my impressions.

I'll first take a look at some of the basic power demands and general observations and then go into the different configuration impressions and finally comparisons with other portables I have on hand.

Initial Stress Test​

When I first took out the C9 and got it setup, I connected my Lotoo PAW 6000 digital audio player with line-out enabled into the input of the C9. I used balanced 4.4mm interconnects, which are provided with the C9 and are quite stunning looking. The C9 also includes matching 3.5mm to 3.5mm interconnects as well.

My first stress test was to see how the notoriously hard-to-drive Hifiman Susvara planar magnetic headphone would sound with the Cayin C9, however only using the 3.5mm singled-ended output which has less power capability. I enabled Line Out on the PAW 6000 and set the switches to High Gain, Class A and Tube mode on the C9 and it was time to rock n' roll. I put on Grace Potter & The Nocturnal's modern classic rocker, "The Lion The Beast The Beat" and was happy audio came out, but I wasn't thrilled that I ran to the end of the line on the volume knob.

Now mind you, it got loud enough for me to enjoy music at almost my normal listening volumes (roughly 70-75dB SPL@ 1KHz), however for some, that may not be loud enough, and this specific headphone pairing didn't get it to even that level. Unfortunately with this, I did find the C9 to sound a tad bright, thin, and just lacking a great mid-range and smooth treble that I'd expect from the Susvara. The low-end held up fine though, surprisingly.

But, let me reiterate, this was just a stress test, and very, very few headphones require the amount of sheer power that a Susvara does and I also only tested it out of the weaker single-ended output stage. The majority of headphones and earphones I tried worked well within the bounds of the C9's power output.

Headphones Pairing with the Sennheiser HD600​

Now with that out of the way, I spent the majority of my headphone experience with the Sennheiser HD600. This is a classic reference headphone that many in this hobby have heard, and has a very well known and established tonality and timbre that appeases most people. It also pairs extremely well with most tube amplifiers, and so this was one that I had some good expectations for.

On this pairing, I kept the PAW 6000 in the chain, turned it to NOS mode, connected it as a DAC to my computer and turned on Roon and HQPlayer. I set HQPlayer to 768kHz oversampling with the Sinc-L filter and fired off some music.




First, I compared Class A and AB using the Tube mode on high gain.

In "Restless" by Alison Kraus & Union Station, I found the angelic voice of Kraus to sound really no different between either of the Class modes. In Class A mode, however, I did find the low end bass guitar to have just a slight amount of more impact, while the Class AB mode had a softer and brighter midrange.

Switching over to the live recording of Bill Laurence's "The Good Things" from "Live at Ronnie Scott's", I found there were some more noticeable differences between the settings. The Class A setting had a more warm sound but with a more muted piano strike, especially around 0:54 in the track. In Class AB mode, this piano attack was slightly more strained with more resonance in comparison.

I continued to listen and moved quickly towards the mid-point of this track, where the stand-up bass solo begins around 5:38 into the track towards the end. In this case, the amp settings did not seem to make any pronounced differences.

So, of course, I decided to mess around with the "timbre" switch. I flipped back and forth between Solid-State and Tube modes and found that the second half of the track, which is led by a bass solo, while drums and keyboard are still continuing in the background, had some more appreciable differences.

In Solid-State mode, I heard harder transients with more crisp edges, while also have more defined cuts. While in Tube mode, the transients became softer and sustain notes held longer with more decay and just an overall more euphonic sound.

At this point, I wanted to try some older music, and pulled out some classic Beatles music. On "Let it Be", Paul McCartney's vocals sounded much the same between any of the settings I messed with, but the most audible change between modes was how drums sounded. On Solid-State mode, drums sounded a tad thin and lean, and lacking the heft and weight I heard while on the Tube mode, which sounded more realistic and defined. I also felt the whizzing guitars and bass around the 3 minute mark sounded clearly better with the tube amp enabled.

There are many great Beatles tracks, but one of the more memorable introductions is the combination of drums, bass and buzzing guitars of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Weeps". In tube amp mode, this intro has a softer guitar presentation, and a smoother transition from the initial introduction to the guitar frenzy later. In Solid-State mode, the imaging is improved and things are little more separated, however, guitars are sharper but also more defined.

Some Time with In-Ear Monitors​

I also spent a bit of time with various in-ear monitors on the low setting with the Cayin C9. No matter which IEM I used, I did not find any issues with hissing or noise. All of them had black backgrounds, and no trouble with any sound anomalies. For reference, I used custom Hidition Viento and Unique Melody MEST, and also some time with the universal Shuoer EJ07M, Dunu SA6, and Kiwi Ears Orchestra.




I spent most of the time here with my two customs. With the Viento, I thought the pairing was alright. The Viento is a very neutral reference monitor, with a small bass boost. The Cayin C9 tube amp had a clean signature, that had just a slight amount of warmth, but a surprising amount of air and treble quantity to it that I wasn't expecting. It never felt harsh though with any of the IEMs, and that was good. It felt relatively sweet, especially after the initial brightness I found with the Susvara. Luckily, this isn't the case here nor was it with the HD600.

I thought the pairing with the Unique Melody MEST was quite nice. The MEST is a quad-driver IEM with dynamic driver, balanced armatures, electrostatic-tweeters and a bone conduction driver. The MEST's relaxed, yet exciting signature had some extra pop and reverbish sound to the low end while using the C9 in Tube, AB mode. Those Bill Laurence Trio live tracks had a nice amount of energy and an organic decay that felt very nice physically and mentally.

All in all, I think the C9 plays well with IEMs, which I will say, isn't a typical thing with many portable tube amplifiers. Many are just too loud for most IEMs or have loud feedback from amp noise or electromagnetic interference (EMI) from phones or other wireless signals. The C9 is quiet. Very quiet.

Comparisons with...​

Lotoo PAW 6000​

The Lotoo PAW 6000 is my current audio player of choice when it comes to portability since it has a lightning fast UI, easy touch interface, and a really nice sound signature that is resolving yet natural without sounding too stuffy or too bright. The sweet treble is probably my favorite part of the experience.

I spent a good chunk of time using it as a DAC for the Cayin C9 and then quickly A-B switching between the player directly and the amplifier. This worked well since I was able to use balanced cables for the I/O between the two devices and 3.5mm cable for headphone listening.

The PAW 6000 surprisingly sounded a touch warmer than the C9, with just a little bit more elevation in the lower midrange and a more relaxed treble range. As mentioned previously, I don't think the C9 is utterly bright, but I did notice it sounds like it has a little more energy up top than the other amps I have been using and own today. The C9 is also a little more precise in some ways, especially in solid-state mode. In tube mode, I do find these two line-up more comparably.

Chord Mojo + Poly​

The Chord Mojo + Poly combination is new to me. I only just received it a couple days after I got this C9 and intend to use it as a portable Roon streamer while in and around my home. In my brief time with both of these amps, I have noticed the Mojo plays just a bit more warm, a little more rounded in the edges, and a little more contained. The C9 has a little more pop and dynamic energy, and again, has a more lift in the upper range.

Both of these have equivalent power, though, I think the Susvara had a little more drive with the Mojo than it did with the C9. Again, this is a crazy ask for either of these amps so take that with a grain of salt. In other headphones play, I found power to not be an issue on either of these units.

Conclusions​

Ignoring the price tag, the Cayin C9 is a very nice addition and one of the better portable tube amplifiers on the market. It has a nice high quality build, pretty Korg NuTubes, and solid feeling switches and knob. The battery life also seems pretty good in my experience especially given how much heat this thing generates and the amp circuitry.

If I had to criticize anything, it would be that its a bit large, and heavy, and not super easily transportable without a bag. It also has a hefty price tag at $2000 USD, and puts it in the upper echelon of portable amplifiers.

But that said, I do like what I heard. It does not necessarily present the stereotypical warm and liquid sound that many think of tube amplifiers, but instead softens the transients just enough while keeping the upper range active and energetic to keep dynamics alive and resolution in-tact. It definitely outperforms other portable tube amplifiers I've tried, albeit, those were significantly less costly. So in the end, its a big dollar amplifier for those who can afford it. Its worth a demo for sure.

The Sonion-developed electrostatic tweeter driver has been gaining a lot of popularity in the past year or two with many manufacturers jumping on this bandwagon. The EST driver, at least in my opinion, combines some of the characteristics of a standard balanced armature driver and some of the high powered electrostatic driver. But, first, let's not confused Electrostatic Tweeter with a real electrostatic driver, like the one used in the Shure KSE-1200 and KSE-1500 or a typical Stax-brand headphone. Those require a separate energizer unit to power the incredibly insensitive drivers. With that said...

Dunu is the latest headphone brand to announce an EST-featured in-ear monitor to their lineup, and this newest model comes in at just $489 and is packed with a pair of EST drivers, as well as their 13.5 mm dual-sided beryllium-coated dynamic driver, and a single custom Knowles BA driver. This new product is called the "EST 112", and the major selling point is the simpler-driver arrangement, which drives the cost down significantly, making this new product the lowest EST tri-brid offering on the market (to my knowledge), cutting down even the Thieaudio Monarch and Clairvoyance twins.

Before I dive into my review, I would like to thank Tom from Dunu for sending this prototype of the EST 112 to me prior to the launch for a preview of the product. I was told that this final prototype's tuning is the same that will be in the production unit, with some possible cosmetic changes for the packaging.

Unboxing​

The EST 112 comes in a rectangular box that has a exploded CAD-view of the EST 112's parts on the cover, much like was featured on some of the other Dunu packages prior. The EST 112 comes, again, with a series of tips, a case, and a new cable that I have yet to see or use before. This Dunu cable is reminiscent of the original DUW-02 cable that I really enjoy, but with improved braiding that's thicker, but just as pliable and maneuverable as before. It's aptly called, DUW-02s.

The DUW-02s cable is immensely better than the DUW-03 cable that comes with the SA6 and Zen products. Like the other Dunu products, this cable comes with their patented modular cable connectors that pop off and are replaceable with other heads for different amp configurations.

The metal shells are pretty large, and easily the largest of any of the Dunu IEMs I've tried. There is a reason for this, of course, and that's to house the two EST drivers and their own mini energizers, and the larger 13.5mm diameter woofer. Because of the larger shell size, thicker depth, and angle of the nozzle, I did have some trouble getting a good quality fit with my ears. I do want to note that I do have occasional problems with fitment in my right ear on a variety of in-ears, however this one was troubling all around.

I did manage to get a decent fit and good seal using SpinFit 360 tips, which are wide bore, but a little shallow and designed for true-wireless IEMs. These did give me comfort while wearing the EST 112, though may not have provided the deepest insertion depth possible, although, they did go in my ear fairly well and did not stick out.

The design on the faceplate is a mirrored metal look with a circular fan pattern that remind me a little bit of wings. There is also a chrome-mirror appearance on the bezel of the faceplate that give this unit a shiny, but not too showy look. It's a subtle but classy design.

The face plate also features a slit opening that looks like a vent port. There is another pin hole sized vent on the inner-side of the shell.

Sound Impressions​

I was excited to put these on at first because I have grown to really like the Dunu set of gears that they've shared with me over the past 2 years and each one seemed like a step up from the previous release. The latest two units: the SA6 and the Zen are among my favorites in their price class and driver configurations.

When I first put on the EST 112, I did have to play around with several tips to get an adequate level of seal and insertion to give it a fair shake. When I finally landed on the first available tips, I did find the EST 112 to have a little bit of upper mid-range forwardness and a bright shrill sound (shouty?) that wasn't the most enjoyable. I went back to the drawer and pulled out some more tips and finally settled on the Spinfit tips I mentioned previously.

This led me to a much more accurate representation to what I expected from listening to the Dunu EST 112 and more closely aligned with the measurements I took later. The EST 112 presented a fairly neutral tuning, but with a slightly warm lower midrange, and a forward mid-range. This mid-range was still "peaky" at times, but not as bad as when the tips weren't fully seated right. The treble range is fairly smooth, but peaky (confused? more on this later), and does extend a little bit into the upper range, though isn't the most airiest of IEMs I've heard.




The EST 112 has an interesting blend of refinement and rawness to it that is makes me really appreciate it most of the time, but then it'll do something that I feel is slightly lacking. Some of this is due to the tuning, which I do find just a little too sharp in the upper-midrange and it can be a tad fatiguing. When I played through a score of trio-jazz records, the constant cymbals and hi-hats can leave my ears with a little bit of ringing after removing the IEMs.

It is similar to the sensation I mentioned in some of my previous reviews, most notably the written and video review I wrote on the Unique Melody MEST Custom In-Ear. Over time with the MEST, I did get used to this tuning, and my ears adjusted and the sensation subsided. For the most part, this was also the case with the EST 112, but there is still the occasional splashy hit that bothers me.

Despite this kind of uneven upper treble response, the EST drivers do show off their semi-ethereal being on this unit. I think the simplicity of the driver configuration does help drive this point home, and showcases the drivers more so than some of the other offerings I've tried. The treble range has a unique softness that is also well-defined and silky sounding, and it's something I commented on in my Empire Ears Odin and Vision Ears Elysium reviews. It's effortless in its presentation, sans the occasional splashy ringing harmonics.

My little complaints on these little peaks are more than likely due to the inherent frequency response of the EST drivers themselves than anything, as they do have inherent peaks starting at 4 Khz and 13 Khz from memory. That said, for the most part, the EST drivers have a nice sheening effect that does gloss over the peaks a bit where I think a typical BA driver may not be as able to.

The low end of this IEM is powered by the 13.5mm dynamic driver and for the most part it is quick and nimble is less weighty than other tunings I've heard. It's more about precision and speed here, and that's somewhat reminiscent of most beryllium-coated or pure beryllium (Final A8000 or Dunu Luna) in-ears I've heard in the past. This does lend itself to match better with the mid-range BA driver and the EST, however, I do find that there is occasionally a bit of disjointed cohesion between the drivers.

This cohesion isn't a big problem on most tracks I heard, but it was a little bit more noticeable when I listened to Of Monsters and Men's "Hunger." The basslines felt separated from the rest of the track on this one and it didn't feel like one cohesive pack.

That said, though, there is a price and a budget constraint at play here. And most multi-driver-type hybrids and tribrids I've have cohesion issues, and even some multi-BAs in the lower price tiers. There are actually very few IEMs where I feel that the entire frequency spectrum sounds effortless and cohesive as one unit, outside of a single dynamic-driver IEM. Those few cohesive rarities belong in pricier-tiers than this EST 112 at its sub-$500 pricing, which I was as shocked to hear as I've had in while on pricing. Lately, it's the sticker-shock is more on the exorbitant pricing increases and not the opposite.

Comparisons​

As previously mentioned, Dunu has released two stellar IEMs in this price category in the recent past with the multi-BA SA6 and the single dynamic-driver Zen. How do these two compare to this new tri-brid EST 112?



Of the three, I probably would choose the Dunu SA6 as my own personal choice, but they all have their own strengths and weaknesses relative to one another that the prospective buyer will have to compromise with.

The reason I like the SA6 more is because it has the most forgiving tonal balance of the three, has the smallest and most comfortable fit, and my personal favorite in the looks department. Of course, your miles will vastly vary as each SA6 is unique due to its use of real stabilized wood with varying stain colors that is a surprise at unboxing. The SA6 lacks a little bit of low end girth and dynamics compared to the others as well.

The Zen offers the most organic and realistic sound, with a very punchy and warm presentation using its single dynamic driver, and more so than the EST 112. I find the Zen's presentation the most forward and in-your-face of the three, which is a little too intimate for my personal tastes (I like open and wide space for my musical choices), and the occasional shrills of the treble peaks in the 8-9K, which is also apparent in the EST 112.

In actual tonal balance, the EST 112 and Zen have the most in common. They both have a warmer mid-range body, with a bit more upper-midrange energy than the SA6 and a slight peak at 8-10KHz that can cause a little ringing for my ears.

But the EST 112's electrostatic tweets does smooth out this characteristic more so than the SA6 and I find it's treble response the most interesting and smooth of all three.

So the quick comparative version:​

Bass: Zen
Mids: Zen or SA6
Treble: EST 112
Soundstage: SA6 or EST 112
Imaging: SA6
Dynamics: Zen
Transient Speed: EST 112
Resolution: SA6 or EST 112


Fit: SA6
Style: SA6
Cable: EST 112's DUW-02s by a mile

Wrap-Up​

Do I like the EST 112? Yes, it's pretty good. Is it my favorite? Probably not. But it does treble a bit differently than other products in this price range, and that's a unique characteristic it has. Dunu has 3 solid units now in this price class that can compete with others. I do think that this is maybe my least favorite of the three mentioned here, but it can hold its own against others.

It is in tough competition with the Moondrop Blessing 2 and Blessing 2 Dusk, which are priced lower, but this one also brings to the table the latest driver technology and the typical Dunu package of goodies which are a step above most of its competition.

The Empire Ears Odin is a luxury piece, priced at $3400, and is the second most expensive in-ear monitor from the Georgia-based brand, behind the Empire Ears Wraith. The Odin was provided to me for an extended loaner demo by Headphones.com who are an official seller of the Odin and overall good people.

Now that aside, I will take a deep look into this IEM in a different perspective than I probably normally do, and I am doing this because I came away totally enamored by this thing. It makes my Unique Melody MEST and Hidition Viento sound so plain and vanilla compared to it and I just want to reach for the Odin every single time, for anything I am listening to. Why? Let's discuss.

What's in the Box?

Unboxing the Empire Ears Odin was like picking up a fresh candy bar at the store. You know its supposed to be delicious and you can't wait to get it open and see what its about. While chocolate bars are full of things like nuts, caramel, wafers and nougat, the Odin is packed full with two dynamic driver (Weapon-X DDs), five balanced armatures (BA), and four electrostatic tweeters (EST), underneath the colorful "taste the rainbow" shell.





The Odin also comes with a customized PW Audio Stormbreaker cable that retails for approximately $1300 which is nicely braided and with custom metal logos for splitter. In addition to this, various tips and the typical Empire Ears round metal screw-on case is in the box.




Now, imagine picking up this candy treat and finding the Golden Ticket underneath the wrapper you just opened. To me, that's like what discovering the Odin is like. This ticket grants you access to a sonic world where chocolate flows as slick as butter, bass impacts with a satisfying crunch, and the resolution is clean like a flawless glass elevator.

Yes, I could have used an Odin/King theme for a review like everyone else did, but no, I am going to use a story about chocolate instead.





Odin's Sound Signature



The Odin is really a treat. It has a nice bass response powered by two independent dynamic drivers that control the sub-bass and upper-bass response. The resolution of these is nice, and provides a nice natural decay with a punchy sound that has good impact and rumble. This is definitely one of the nicer bass implementations I've heard for a hybrid or tribrid.

While bass isn't highly elevated, it does have a sub-bass shelf above neutral that provides clean output without any mud and really falls in-line with my preferences. It's not like biting into that mystery white nougat thing which is kind of chewy and mushy. No, it's like biting into a Kit Kat wafer, where there's a lot of texture and layers and layers of depth; each with their own level of crunch.... err... sound.

The mid-range is on the leaner side, and isn't necessarily velvety like a thick creek of chocolate. It's more light and flowing like the waters that take you through the magical wonderland the Odin provides. Because the bass is very tight and clean, there was not any semblance of excess bloat, like an oversized violet blueberry here. The upper-midrange around 1 to 2 KHz is a bit nasally, but it's nowhere near as bad looking as the graph shown above would indicate; at least not for me.



When I first looked at the Odin graphs from various sources, I did not think I'd enjoy this IEM and this mostly came down to that 1-2KHz range which I do find an area I find sensitive. It looked shouty and potentially ruin vocals and other instruments for me. Surprisingly, the Odin does not do this. Yes, there is a bit more forward approach for vocals (females mostly) and when I listen to my jazz music where some piano notes come away much more forward than normal. This does help present a bigger sense of depth though, as you have notes more forward in the presentation, and others further away.

Now, the treble: It is magical in my opinion. Listening to the Odin, the thing that really stood out to me was how smooth it sounded. It felt like you were floating in a room as it felt weightless and effortless. This is perhaps what that the EST driver is all about. There's only a few IEMs I have tried that provide this type of buttery smooth signature, and those all came from Vision Ears and the Shure electrostatic KSE1200/1500.

While I don't think its as ethereal as a true electrostatic, I am quite impressed with how smooth the treble and overall sound signature flows within the Odin, while not compromising resolution. I think, normally, when you hear a leaner sounding IEM that isn't as lush and laid-back as something like the Erlkonig or VE8, you would expect the treble to sound slightly edgier. This is not the case with Odin and probably one of my favorite parts of the whole experience.

Coherency is great. This directly affects the smoothness of the overall signature from Odin. Its not like biting into something of a Butterfinger bar where the hard weird and super sugary peanut butter layer that throws the whole thing off (Ok I admit, I hated Butterfingers, and I have not tried the new recipe either). It's more like biting into a soft and creamy truffle. Your teeth just go straight into it without any thing in its path. It flows like velvety chocolate lava in the factory of an eccentric King of Candy: the Odin of candy, I guess.



More Listening Impressions and Comparisons

I did most of my listening of the Odin through the Lotoo PAW 6000, but also used it with the Dethonray Honey H1 and the Topping A90 amplifier and Bifrost 2 DAC. Of these, I enjoyed the PAW 6000 the most as it provided the most clean and neutral experience while have great dynamics and depth. The Honey H1 added the most kick to the sound and a warmer overall signature, while the A90 was quite a disappointment. Really. With this amp, I think the Odin's characteristics were taken away that make it top of the food chain. The dynamics were totally taken away rendering the Odin to sound rather flat and boring.

I also mostly listened to the Odin on jazz trio music, vocal bluegrass, and indie rock. I also took some time on other genres with my typical listening test playlist music like Daft Punk, Fleetwood Mac, Massive Attack, and others. But for me, the Odin really excels in acoustical music and stuff that has a lot of detail tightly wound up in layers and layers of depth -- stuff like My Bloody Valentine, or The War of Drugs, or Sonic Youth. It also excels in female vocal bands with a lot of depth to it as well. London Grammar sounds fantastic with Odin.



Wrap-Up
And to be frank, I think Odin is a great all-arounder.

I unfortunately don't have any other flagship level IEMs besides the ones I own and I already mentioned that they sound just a little less exciting now after my short time with the Odin. I go to pick it up each time, because I want that thrill of going off into a wonderous candy land.

The Odin delivers a reference sound signature, but a fun and well-defined bass attack, coherent mid-range, and a smooth treble display that mixes in top tier resolution, depth and layering, and a good soundstage that makes this both an excellent IEM in terms of tonality (sans slightly forward upper-mids) and technical performance.

It's crazy to think that just a few months ago I was reviewing the Wraith from this same Empire Ears company and asking myself, this is really their flagship, and it cost how much?! Now they released the Odin and I'm going wow. This is a night and day difference. It's still expensive though!

So, while some of Empire Ears previous IEMs have not been to my liking, whether just not my sound preferences like the Valkyrie or just a "bad egg" like the Wraith, it sure seems like the Empire Ears flock has delivered a golden egg in the Odin.

The Shuoer Tape Pro is the follow-up to the popular Shuoer Tape released a year ago. I have not heard the original model, so this quick review/impressions will be based solely on listening to the newest model from this brand.

The Stuff



The Tape Pro comes with a carrying case, a fancy-looking cable, and a series of tips. In addition, there is a cleaning brush, and a tool to unscrew filters placed flushed within the shell. Let's talk about teach quickly.

The carrying case.
It's small and the same case I've seen on other Shuoer products I've tried. It came in very smelly, and the chemical smell hasn't worn off yet, though I do admit, I put it right back in the box and don't want to take it out due to the smell. It's otherwise a nice case that is simple and functional.

The cable.
It's nice looking from afar, but I do not like how thick it is, and how easily it tangles and how hard it is to handle. It's just too heavy and janky to use on a daily basis, and I'd opt for something else. In addition, this cable comes with a 2.5mm connector, but it comes with a 3.5mm adapter, which isn't too bad. I mainly use 4.4mm for my desktop amp and digital audio player though, but I have several adapters.

The Filter Screws.
Ok this is just a weird design. I just took a look at the VE Erlkonig recently and it had a flat head screw that could be turned to change settings. In the Tape Pro's case, you physically unscrew two of these and then swap them to change filters and alleged tuning. I say that, because in my measurements, nothing changes! Not to mention that the tool is quickly lost (I lost it already), and the screws are small and easily dropped (I did that three times while trying to swap them), and this just seems like a lot of work for nothing. (really, nothing... apparently)

In addition, you can also remove the front nozzle filters too. They unscrew and come off. The filters themselves are very open so I doubt any sonic changes occur, but because you have a different unobstructed insertion depth now, it may increase treble slightly. I measured about 1dB difference.

The Sound
I am not a fan of the Shuoer Tape Pro. That's the quick version.



The slightly longer version is that I feel that both the tuning, timbre, and technical performance of the Tape Pro is very lacking. While tuning can be subjective, I do think that there is quite a bit of bass bloat, and there's a severe lack of treble. The large drop-off in sound after 4KHz is evident of this, and this really creates a dark, grainy and super veiled sound. It makes it sound very low-resolution.

The shouty region is quite shouty. And the lack of the treble mentioned above, pushes this way forward, and this totally reduces any dynamics. The mid-range is very recessed in my opinion, with mid-range instruments and vocals sounding very thin and missing and a lot of that has to do with the elevated bass.

That said, I can deal with the bass, and I can somewhat deal with a darker tonality, but the dynamics of this IEM are severely poor, even at $120, and even at half the cost, and perhaps even less, as I've listened to a few $50-range IEMs that easily top this one. The IEM sounds flat. I tried several songs across different genres, and outside of the tonality, the flatness of how dynamics came across was totally clear and distinct to me.

I tried the most dynamic songs, and nothing. Everything sounded dull, dead, and just there. Everything was presented in a way that makes music lifeless, and forward, and the energy and soul sucked out of even the most expressive and angelic of voices.

The Tape Pro taped everything shut. Sorry. Move on.

I thought Thieaudio was going to slow down on the releases of their in-ear monitors but then they come out with the Legacy 4. This four-driver IEM comes packed with a single dynamic driver and 3 balanced armature drivers and retails at $195, placing it in-between the Legacy 3 and Legacy 5, both of which I've reviewed this year.

The product was sent to me by Linsoul, who are the makes of the Thieaudio brand and are found at http://www.linsoul.com.








Packaging


The Legacy 4 comes with a new dynamic driver that has not been used on previous Legacy series IEMs. This new DD is perhaps a welcome change as one of my biggest negatives with the previous Legacy 3, Legacy 5, and Monarch/Clairvoyance, were mainly triggered by the lack of resolution and softness of the bass range.

In addition to this change, the packaging is all-new, again! It seems like every unit I've gotten has come with a new unboxing experience and this one has been my favorite yet. The L4 ships in a large nylon zipper case, which when opened, houses the IEMs, matching smaller case, and tips in their own small compartments within the larger case.

The cable included is also my favorite of the ones Thieaudio has included in any of their sets to date. This one is white colored, and is braided with a soft sheathing material that has a lightweight, but durable feel to it. It's extremely easy to wind and unwind without tangling, and is very maneuverable. I also just like the overall simple modern look of it.

The shell design is small and petite, much like the Legacy 3 in size and shape. The faceplate art is available in only one swirl pattern that features a mix of blues, yellows, and orange within in a semi-translucent black shell. There's a single vent on the shell, and it also features a pair of tuning switches which add or subtract mid-range to the IEM in what seems like just 2 configurations total in my measurements.




Sound Impressions
The Legacy 4 has a well-balanced signature that does stray a tad bright in the lower treble regions that I think some may find fatiguing over time, but this also provides a clean clarity to the overall sound. It surprisingly has good extension for this price class and I find it sounds like a better tuned and more technical Moondrop Kanas Pro or KXXS, and is priced just a few dollars more than those well-received IEMs.





The new dynamic driver which handles the low end seems like a large improvement over the previous dynamic driver found on all the previous Thieaudio IEMs. This new one has better microdynamics allowing for better punch and resolution, and does not fall behind the quality of the BA drivers as much in that department. It still isn't the best dynamic driver I've heard in an hybrid IEM (MEST!) but its quite enjoyable for this under $200 price point.

It's no longer blunted and smoothed out, and I don't jokingly call it the Blon DD anymore. It's also a marked improvement over the Moondrop KXXS and Kanas Pro low end sound. Those two are a single DD which handles the entire frequency response.




The mid-range of the Legacy 4 can be altered depending on the dip switch choice. While there are technically four different combinations of switches, in my testing and measurements, only two configurations make a difference. If you leave the RIGHT side on or off -- in other words, OFF-OFF and ON-OFF are the same, and ON-ON and OFF-ON are the same. This is similar to the Legacy 3, where they could have just kept one switch and saved time and effort.

The midrange does change from a flatter and thicker sound to a more recessed sound that changes the overall sound from a mild U-shape to a mild V-shape signature overall. I found that I enjoyed the Right ON (flatter mid-range) more for most things, though with rock music and some more pop genres, the RIGHT OFF signature worked well as well. I would also prefer this for movie watching.

The treble range on this unit can get a little hot. It is just a tad brighter than my preferred sound signature, but only slightly. For those who are familiar with the Moondrop Blessing 2, it is pretty similar in that type of level of treble. That said, I do find this one behaves a little more so, by being more treble tame, than the Blessing 2 in terms of overall brightness, and it does not sound quite as lean, mostly due to the fact that it has a bigger bass shelf.




That said, when I listen to music with a lot of stringed twangs, those instruments (primarily guitars) can come across quite forward and tizzying (is that a word?). Some piano notes came across this way as well, with strikes coming in a tad sharp at times. I wouldn't say I found these fatiguing, but I am one is quite accustomed to listening to slightly brighter than neutral gear, and the peaks in the 5KHz region is common amongst some of the gear I own and listen to regularly. For those who are sensitive to this area, it may be something to be wary about.

Treble extension is quite decent for this price range, and specifically I am going back to talking about its contemporaries here -- the Moondrop dual, and even the Etymotic series, which are similar in tuning and capability. Both the Moondrop and Etymotic series sound just a bit flat and missing full treble extension. The Moondrop twins are more guilty of this however. With the Legacy 4, it does extend treble, but maybe not with the same amount of air and shimmer as some other gear I've heard at higher price points. That said, I am perfectly pleased with this amount for price range and I am quite content with the overall sound in general.

I've spent some time talking about it with regards to its competition, but how does it stack up within its own family?

I gave the Legacy 3 are mostly supportive and recommendation earlier this year and even bought the universal and custom versions. It's a great deal for the price, however my biggest complaints with it were its lack of technical capabilities. This had a lot to do with dynamic driver sounding very mushy, but it also had a very forward and 2D sound to it. This means, I never really felt the depth was there, and it lacked good imaging and instrument separation.




The Legacy 4's improved driver configuration seems to help out a lot here. While the sound signature is similar, the L4 does not have as much issues with mushy bass resolution, and it has a major upgrade to the soundstage and imaging. The resolution is overall much improved on this set and I would highly recommend someone who is thinking what to get between the two, that its well worth the extra $70 to upgrade to the Legacy 4. The L3 is a little more laid-back and pleasant sounding though, and should be less fatiguing due to its tamer treble response and it does not have that sharper 5KHz sound to it, but it does lack a little bit of the airy treble that I like about the L4.




When we talk about the next one up the price list, it gets a little more interesting. The Legacy 5 is priced at $50 more than the Legacy 4 and adds an extra BA driver to the count. It still uses the older DD though and that is obvious as my major complaint with the Legacy 5 was, again, the mushy, blunted and lower quality bass region. The L5 is also a more warm and lush sounding IEM, with a significantly tamer and thicker sounding mid-range and treble. It's full-bodied in everyway, while the Legacy 4 sounds quite lean compared to it, and has an airier overall sound.

The L5 isn't as bad in the major technical departements as the L3, but I'd say the L4 is on-par and if not surpasses the L5 in every category -- soundstage, imaging, resolution, texturing and layering. I may give the L5 a nod for coherency, because I do feel the sharper BA sound in the L4 makes it sound a little disjointed from the low end DD.




Finally, many have asked how this stacks up to the Monarch and Clairvoyance -- the twins that I believe define the capabilities of Thieaudio. Both of these have well-thought-out tuning and have solid technical capabilities. I think these two still stand top of the Thieaudio brand that I have tried. I have not tried the Voyager 14 and Legacy 9 yet, so keep that in mind.

While the Monarch and Clairvoyance use that old dynamic driver that I did not like, there are a set of BA drivers that are also used down-low to help keep resolution at a good level on these two. Both the Monarch and Clairvoyance have improved resolution and don't have as a fatiguing sound, though the Monarch is a bit shouty in the 1K range, which may affect some.

The Legacy 4 has just a slightly fuller sound in the low-end, but it does have a brighter treble region, and some may not like that. Again, there's an emphasis in 5KHz range, so it'll provide a lot of presence to guitars and strings for the music I listen to.



Wrap-Up
The Legacy 4 is yet another solid addition to the Thieaudio lineup that is continuing to grow and most of the ones I've tried are well-tuned and fit solidly within their price points, except perhaps the Voyager 3. I have got to say that I am impressed with this whole thing, and they continue to up their game in both sound capability, and also the entire package, which is full of accessories and a unique and meaningful unboxing and package of tools to use.

This one definitely competes in its price point and will get a recommendation from me. It's enjoyable all-around, but it does have a little brighter than neutral treble, so just be mindful of that when considering products with it.

When Cayin announced the N3 Pro in early 2020, I was very excited for what it could be. On paper, it seemed like a cheaper and smaller N8 -- Cayin's Flagship Digital Audio Player. The N8 was extremely well-built, fast, and had a solid-state and tube amplifier mode using Korg Nu-Tubes. It was also extremely heavy, and extremely expensive!

The N3 Pro, instead, is a lighter-weight and smaller player that fits well in my hands, and also has the ability to switch from solid-state to a discrete tube amplifier with a press of a button on the touchscreen. This player retails for $479 USD and was provided on loan directly from Cayin as part of their Head-Fi Tour group. I was the first to get my hands on it as part of this tour and was able to provide a full unboxing experience video shown below:



Unboxing

The N3 Pro comes equipped with a pair of AKM 4493 DACs and has the ability to play from its solid-state amps in balanced mode using 4.4mm or single-ended using 3.5mm. It also has the ability to swap to using a tube amp mode using JAN6418 matching tubes and play using the single-ended 3.5mm output only. The tube function has two filters available for different sounds which I'll discuss later.

In addition to these functions, the N3 Pro also has 2-way bluetooth and digital output using USB-C and a dedicated line output using 3.5mm. One can also use Hiby's app on a mobile device to control the player's music using HibyLink.

The User Interface is a customized Hiby OS that looks very modern and simple and has a touch button on the lower center of the front panel, that is lit with an LED ring. Just above this ring is a transparent glass display that shows the tube lit when activated, and the main screen is a 3.2 inch IPS display that is sharp and looks good.

There is a large volume knob on the right side of the player that also acts as the power and screen-off button when pressed-in. Below that are the skip and play/pause buttons. The player uses USB-C for data and charging and that is at the bottom of the player next to the phone outputs.

Finally, the player includes data cable and a single case. The first case is a simple clear TPU bumper case that protects the edges and sides of the player. The second case that came with this bundle and is available to purchase separately is a green leather case with a metal screen on the back side that looks very reminiscent of cases made by Korean brand Dignis. This case is quite nice and I love the overall look and feel of it and highly recommend it for the optional $39 USD.




Software Experience
The Cayin N3 Pro uses a customized Hiby OS which means it has the proprietary wireless remote feature, HibyLink. This feature lets you control you music and volume via your phone or tablet without having to touch your DAP once enabled.

The user interface seemed quite snappy to me, especially after upgrading to the v2.0 firmware. The main screen gives users an option to search for music by various methods such as Folder, Lists, Songs, Artist, Albums and Genre. My music collection has well-defined tags, and so I did not notice any issues with weird tag reading or any other anomalies with file display.

Album art isn't pre-cached, so it does take a second to refresh the artwork while scrolling through each menu, but it's not any longer than I've noticed on other Hiby-based player.

Swiping down from the top of the screen shows a quick-access menu similar to what you'd find on Android. Its here where you can switch from solid-state to tube and also change the tube sound from Triode to Ultra Linear.




Swiping up from the bottom of the screen brings up the two settings menus. One is to control settings related to the sound/music functions like changing filters and EQ, and the other is to change system settings.

Overall usage of the UI is easy enough to use for me, and everything just works fine. I had no issues using it once I figured out the LED ring is actually a home screen button, which saved a lot of button presses to get back to the main playback display.

Sound Experience & Comparisons
The N3 Pro runs in three different modes as I've mentioned before. It also has several AKM DAC filters, but I've kept it in the "Slow" filter for the most part during this trial period. This has been the filter I found to sound the most realistic for the acoustical music I typically listen to in my experience.

Most of my listening on the Cayin N3 Pro were with the Hidition Viento-B, Unique Melody MEST, and Thieaudio Legacy 4 in-ear monitors. I spent a very short amount of time with the ZMF Verite and Denon D5200 headphones as well.

In all-cases, I find that the overall sound and character of the Cayin N3 Pro is that is a warmer than neutral audio player. Its been a while since I've had a chance to hear the N8 or the N6-II with its default amp, but I remember those both being a little warmer in their default settings, but I do feel that Cayin's house sound is a more warm and lush sound style than a flat neutral or airy signature.

My main points of comparison in this review are with the Lotoo PAW 6000, Hiby R2, Apple USB-C Dongle, and a Topping A90 desktop amp. Of these, only the A90 is within the same price bracket as the N3 Pro, but of course, its not a portable unit. The PAW 6000 is over double the cost at $1200 USD and the R2 is a fraction of the cost at $109 USD, so these do show if the Cayin hits its price mark, below or above it in my comparisons.



Solid-State

With the solid-state active, I found the Cayin to have a similar general signature to the Hiby R2, which is a warmer sound signature that emphasizes the lower mid-range more. The N3 Pro sounds a little lacking in air when compared to the Lotoo PAW 6000 and Topping A90, and presents a thicker overall signature. The resolution is very good on the N3 Pro solid-state but I do find the PAW 6000 to just go slightly beyond and adds a deeper level of layering and depth that the N3 Pro doesn't dive as far down.

Tube Amp

The tube amp modes is where the N3 Pro differentiates itself from its competition at any price range. The player is equipped with a matching set of JAN 6418 mini-tubes that are suspended in the player to reduce the amount of noise from movement and shock. While it does a fantastic job at this, I do still hear the occasional hum noise randomly while idle, or electromagnetic interference from my cell phone if the phone is right next to the tubes. In most situations, though, it's generally quiet, though I would be wary with the most sensitive of IEMs. Still, it is impressive and much quieter than I would have expected of a portable tube-based amplifier device.

There are two modes when you activate the tube mode to choose from. There is also a 5 second waiting period for the tubes to warm up prior to music playing. You can continue to play music using the solid-state amp side while you wait, but there will be a short pause when switching over, so it's not seamless, and I wouldn't expect it to be either.

Triode
The first mode is the Triode mode, which is the tube amp in its purest form. This really opens up the sound and changes it up. The low end is bloomier, with an even warmer and engaging presentation. It can make bassier IEMs sound, perhaps, too much, but it is up to preferences here.

The overall sound is smoother, though I did find the treble to be a little jarring at first, but I believe that really had more to do with the tubes not fully being broken in and opening up, since this unit was brand new when I received it. I let the tube section on and playing music for hours at a time while I was doing other things to let it naturally open up and I don't sense that harshness using triode mode anymore.

This is the more pleasant of the three major options on this player, and one I would pick to use if I had to. I really liked it with the Hidition Viento-B, which is a reference monitor with a small bass shelf bump. It tames down some of the highs when using it on the solid-state mode and especially the ultra-linear mode, which I'll take about next.

Ultra-Linear
Yes, Cayin put in an ultra-linear mode using it with tubes. It's an interesting and almost contradictory combination, but then again, I do this on my desktop setup often. I use my Topping A90 when I need to power my planar headphones, but use my Feliks Elise OTL Tube amp as a tube buffer pre-amp to it. This way, I get a small amount of that harmonic distortion along with the current power I need to use the planars at full efficiency.

In the case of the N3 Pro, the ultra-linear mode seems like a filter change that makes the player have very much a neutral sound profile that brightens up the sound significantly. The change is pretty dramatic, especially if you flip back and forth between the Triode and Ultra-Linear with everything becoming leaner, brighter, and more airy, though I don't feel it sounds more forced than natural.

I am not a big fan of this mode to be honest. It loses a lot of the engaging sound of the N3 Pro and even if the tube is still running in the background, I find this makes some of my IEMs become nearly unlistenable. It does not pair well with brighter gear.

I believe they were trying to make this mode to compete with more neutral-tuned gear, but when comparing it to the Lotoo PAW 6000, I just don't think it stacks up. Cayin's N3 Pro performs much better with the warmer and intimate sound than it does with the brighter tuning.




Wrap-Up
The Cayin N3 Pro is a really nice package at $479 and it comes with a great deal of options to satisfy a lot of different tuning options and features. It doesn't do streaming apps but at least you can use your device to stream via BT directly to the player if you want to use Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, etc.

The tube portion is definitely not a gimmick and it seems to do what I'd expect a tube amp to do and that's a nice feature. It's also good that it does not have too much impact on extraneous noise such as hissing and humming. I like that all three major sound options on this player are unique to the others and that provides an option for all listening types and one should be able to find a nice pairing with most gear.

Finally, there's really nothing in this price range that competes with this unit, if you're looking at something that sounds pleasant and has nice build and feels great. Yes, it does not have Android like the iBasso DX160, but this unit runs smooth and does not have many quirks with it in its hardware or software.

Overall, this seems like a nice recommendation from me. It's probably a small step behind players double to triple its price in sound quality, but competes and exceeds players at its own price range, and I find that very appealing.

Lotoo is a Chinese brand who has been in the audio market for many years making audio players and audio recorders and have had a line of digital audio players that have been very well received. I personally had never had a chance to really play around with one save a few minutes with the Lotoo PAW Gold.

In looking at various DAPs to invest in, the one that I always came back to was the $1200 Lotoo PAW 6000. I never committed to buying it because I always felt I wanted to have streaming capabilities and quickly turned my attention to Android-based players, which led me to buying and owning the Sony NW-ZX507 for nearly a year now.

But things change of course. Nothing against the ZX507, but I did want to get something a little more neutral and resolving, and my search picked up more recently after picking up the Cowon Plenue 2 Mk II which was surprisingly marked down to nearly 70% off it's retail price during a special sale just prior to Prime Day.

I learned to use both the Sony and Cowon players without streaming capability and it was good for most cases but I still occasionally missed not having the ability to quickly use Qobuz or Spotify. In came the Paw 6000, which I purchased from Andrew of MusicTeck at the following link:

https://shop.musicteck.com/collections/lotoo/products/lotoo-paw-6000



Unboxing
The Lotoo PAW 6000 comes packaged in a small black box that opens up with the PAW 6000 player, various booklets, and some accessories. The player comes with a USB-C cable, 2 tempered glass screen protectors and a black leather case.

The interesting thing here is that the player comes with dual layers of glass already is raised from the main body. Adding the tempered glass screen protector on the front screen actually causes it to bubble and lift up when you use the included case. That's kind of annoying. I replaced it with a Boxwave branded film screen protector and it worked much better with the included case.





The case is very nice by the way, slim enough to be easy to hold still and stylish enough to not tempt me to find a new one. It is needed too, since, like I mentioned earlier, both sides have raised glass, and could be very prone to cracking and chipping.

There is a gold volume dial on the top that is placed horizontally and rotated like a dial. It's actually very easy to use and a nice addition. When you start the dial, it activates a volume slider on screen and you can switch to using the on-screen slider or continue to use the hardware dial.

Next to the volume dial are the headphone outputs. One is a 4.4mm balanced and the other is a 3.5mm single ended jack. Both outputs have 300mW of power on a 32 ohm load. This is interesting as both balanced and single-ended have similar output power, which is unusual. Both modes also have low and high gain options.

There are 4 buttons on the right hand side for power, play, and skip forward and skip back. Placement is fine and I don't have any issues with using these buttons.

On the bottom side of the player, there is a USB-C jack and the microSD slot. The slot is not covered and self ejects by pressing on the card.

User Interface
Lotoo uses their own operating system for the PAW 6000 as well as the PAW Gold Touch. The player boots up in less than 5 seconds and is ready to go immediately. This is easily the fastest booting player I've ever used.

The OS is quite slick with an abundance of features and tools. I tried pretty much all of them at this point and there's some quirks, but let's just start with the list of features.

First there's various icons to choose to find music by Album, Artist, Folder, Playlist, and Songs. There's a nice sized font that works well for visibility and looks modern. Responsiveness through the folders is quick and loading of data is also fast.




Among the music tools available are several DAC filters, options for Lotoo's DSP feature called ATE (Acoustic Timbre Embellisher), and a parametric equalizer. This PEQ has plenty of user slots and lets you choose 5 bands at any frequency and choose to have it be a low shelf, high shelf, or a peak filter, along with custom Q-factor. I have an example of my PEQ settings for the Smabat DT-S10s Gold Edition ear buds below.



In addition to just normal file playback, the PAW 6000 also has bluetooth and wifi. The wifi is only used for firmware upgrades and streaming is then only limited to bluetooth or through USB. Bluetooth features all the major codecs including LDAC, and can be used bi-directionally. That means, you can stream to headphones or speakers, or stream music from your phone to the PAW 6000.

In addition to bluetooth streaming, you can also use the PAW 6000 as a USB DAC for your computer or phone, with an option to have the device power the DAP or have the DAP be self-powered for phone pairing. I've tried the USB DAC in both modes on my Windows PC, Android phone and iPhone and have have no issues with any device.

Ok, now the quirks.

The Lotoo OS does not really make full use of music file tags. The way it reads and sorts files is totally based on how you format the file name! This is quite ridiculous in my opinion, but luckily I was able to format all my music quickly using the free Windows/Mac application, mp3tag.

To correct format the files, I recommend using two digit track number first followed by a space or separator and then the song title, like this: 01 TRACKNAME. You can use the following expression in the CONVERT menu to automatically add a track number into two digit: $num(%track%,2) %title%





I place each set of music files into the folders with the following notation: Artist - Album

This was almost a deal breaker for me, but luckily, I was able to batch change the file names using the mp3tag tool and saved hours upon hours of work for 200GB of music.



Sound Impressions & Comparisons

I find the Lotoo PAW 6000 to have a neutral-ish sound signature, but I also don't find it super sterile either. I do find the player has a small added bit of warmth and fantastic resolution, with good layering and texture capability. Extension is good on both ends, and is something I sorely did miss with it's airier sound signature than my incumbent daily driver. I have been listening to it a lot lately and comparing it directly to the Sony NW-ZX507 and the Cowon Plenue 2 MK II.

Sony NW-ZX507
The comparison to the Sony NW-ZX507 is pretty apparent and clear to me. First off, the two players differ in size, features, and price, but also in sound characteristics. The $829 ZX507 is Android-based and has full Google Play store capability, which allows full streaming capabilities via any app you want. The 507 is also slimmer, thinner, lighter and easier to hold in your hand. It is, however, a touch taller.

When it comes to sound, these two are contrasting in their sound qualities. The ZX507 has a much warmer sound, with a boomier low-end and a more laid back upper treble region. The PAW 6000 is a more even keeled presentation with better extension on the upper-treble region, which gives it both a more airer presentation, as well as a more clear and clean presentation. I do find the PAW 6000 to have increased resolution, texturing, and layering capabilities.




Cowon Plenue 2 MK II
The Cowon Plenue 2 MK II is a much closer competition in terms of sound profile and capability. Both of these DAPs are custom operating systems with no app capability. The Cowon P2 MK II takes it a bit further and does not even include bluetooth, so there's no wireless antenna at all. It also still uses the micro-usb plug, but has onboard memory of 256GB and two dials for volume control and a custom dial for user preference. I use it for fast forward/rewinding within a track.

Both the players are very similar in size. The Lotoo PAW 6000 weighs about 20 grams heavier, though both are fully machined metal shells, though the PAW 6000 does have a glass overlay on the back.

The Cowon is an interesting player. By default, it sounds very neutral and not too dissimilar from the Lotoo PAW 6000 in its sound signature and quality. I do think the Plenue 2 MK II has a slightly more compressed sound in its default stock sound signature, but only slight, and is a half a tick below the Lotoo PAW 6000, but there's some magic in this little beast. The DSP features in the Cowon players have some fairy dust in them and the use of BBE+ and some of the other filter implementations do some real results that are both stunning and natural. Just the basic use of enabling the BBE filter, which adjusts phase of the music, can really put new life into the songs that make both resolution seem improved and the sound more lively. Adding the Mach3 Bass to my Viento makes hit slam with power I didn't know it had. There's some voodoo there that make the Cowon Plenue series of DAPs quite powerful and stand out, even against the enjoyment I've had on the Lotoo PAW 6000.

Wrap-Up
I have gone back and forth with whether I wanted to have streaming or not, and always wanted it just to have, and that has always gravitated me towards an Android-based player. With both the Cowon Plenue 2 MK2 and the Lotoo PAW 6000, my thoughts have changed slightly. While the Plenue 2 lacks any type of wireless antenna, the PAW 6000 has a nice combination of great sound quality, and a ton of features that still lets me stream music from my phone to it when I need to use Spotify or Qobuz.

With the PAW 6000, I have found a nice experience from a lightning fast OS and easy to use UI with full parametric EQ and a good balance of neutral, but appealing sound signature with good resolution and technical performance. It's one that I recommend and one that I'll be enjoying for the next forseeable future.

It's always interesting to see a brand grow from its infancy into a full-fledged competitor and this is how I am starting to feel with Thieaudio, Linsoul's house brand of portable audio gear. They started with headphones, and then moved to their bread and butter IEM products with the Voyager (multi-BA) and Legacy (dynamic driver + BA hybrid) products. I've reviewed a few of their products in the past with mixed results, but this latest batch of products -- the Clairvoyance and the Monarch -- come with great anticipation and a certain bit of hype.

Being involved in the community, I've gotten to discuss the tuning and progression of this brand through their owner, as well as these two specific IEM's tuning wizard. It's because of this, and the thoughts behind how it should be tuned that got me most excited to try these two sets out, as they were tuned with an objective and for the most part, I think these two do their tasks well.

This review will be a little unlike others I've done mostly because these are two similar but unique IEMs with slightly different tunings. I'm going to spend most of this article talking about how they differ than anything, but just remember that both of these are top tier IEMs in my opinion and hopefully I'll capture that as well.

The Thieaudio Clairvoyance is $700, while the Monarch is $730, and both are tri-brids featuring dynamic driver, a series of balanced armature drivers, and electrostatic tweeters.
Unboxing
I posted a video of the unboxing experience and will just leave it at that:



To quickly summarize though:

• Same packaging for all Thieaudio IEMs
• Nice brown fake-leather case
• Selection of tips
• 2.5mm white braided cable is nice, however to use it with 3.5mm or 4.4mm requires a very long adapter

Sound Impressions
Both the Thieaudio twins, the Monarch and Clairvoyance, are well-balanced tunings with sort of reference mid-range and treble, but with elevated bass to provide a nice fun, but accurate sound. They do differ across the spectrum though, and I find the Monarch to be much more sub-bass focused and have a shoutier upper mid-range and a brighter treble. The Clairvoyance, on the other hand, is a more smoother overall sound signature, with a thicker bass region that doesn't emphasized sub-bass, and adds more mid-bass to the sound. The upper mids of the Clairvoyance is also slight tamer, as well as the treble presentation, making this one sound a little less technical, but more musical.







When I listened to both, my first impressions were that the Monarch is right up my alley. It has the reference-type sound I really like, with a similar comparison to the Hidition Viento, but with a bigger sub-bass emphasis. Listening to it more and more, and comparing it to the Viento, I did find some things I did not like -- and that was mainly the slightly nasally and shouty upper mid-range. These are very nitpicky issues, and not overly glaring however, but it is something I notice when I listen to piano music where the weight of a piano strike in this range hits harder and with more ringing.

The Clairvoyance is more equally weighted in the low-end than the Monarch. I found the Monarch to have a large subbass emphasis, while the Clairvoyance has more mid-bass, but it's more to put it in equal playing with the subbass. In this regard, the Clairvoyance provides a more natural low end sound, and a thicker lower mid-range, while also having a more unemphasized upper mid-range and treble. The Clairvoyance does lack the deep rumble that the Monarch has, but it replaces it with a more smooth and full sound.

This is a really generic genre chart that I came up with based on music I listen to and a small sample of random music within these genres.



In both acoustic and new wave music, I found that there's trade-offs for both of these IEMs, but both play them well. Depending on the acoustic rock though, I do partially prefer the Clairvoyance more, and with New Wave, I do partially prefer the Monarch more.

In the genres of Bluegrass, Classical, and Jazz, I prefer the Monarch over the Clairvoyance. This is due to my impressions that the Monarch has a little bit of a bigger soundstage, better imaging, and a little improved resolution over the Clairvoyance. The deeper sub-bass also gives double bass guitars a bit more rumble and drive, which tickles my ears.

When I play rock music, pop, and country music, I tend to prefer the more full and smoother sounding Clairvoyance. These genres seem to perform better with the mid-bass addition that the Clairvoyance provides, and the slightly tamer treble, does make electric guitars and any constant high percussions attacks from becoming overly fatiguing.

There's very distinct difference when listening to these two IEMs when I listen to my stable of rock music -- whether it be the layered rock tunes of Sonic Youth or The War on Drugs, or the Seattle grunge originals, Temple of the Dog and Mother Love Bone, or the more catchy tunes of The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac -- I find the performance of the Clairvoyance is much better suited for these bands.

One of the most distinguishing bands that really show off the differences between the two of these IEMs is Daft Punk. I listened through the entire Random Access Memories album on both of these, and there's some very audible differences. In "Giorgio by Moroder", the sub-bass focus of the Monarch really shows its strength towards the end of this track where the heavy bass is skull crushing while it sounded rather tame, but filled-in, on the Clairvoyance.

On "Contact", the final section of this track is a insane mix of sounds, percussions, synths, and a heavy bass line. Many IEMs fail to give proper instrument separation and also clearly define each layer of this multi-layered track. The Monarch handles this song with absolute ease. It's quicker transient response and improved imaging over the Clairvoyance really shows its characteristics here. That's not to say the Clairvoyance fails, because it doesn't but it just doesn't quite have the separation capability nor does it have the raw bass impact that the Monarch provides, and this is why I feel like in EDM music, the Monarch's added clarity and sub-bass focus makes it a more fun and exacting experience.





Wrap-Up + Comparisons
At this point, I just want to reiterate that both of these IEMs, the Clairvoyance and the Monarch, are two of my favorite IEMs that I have listened to, and the fact that they are tri-brid IEMs at a relatively low price makes these two sets a industry disrupter and a market statement from Linsoul and Thieaudio. There's little to not like here, and recommending these sets is easy for me. They work well with a lot of music, and they have a price well below comparable products, and in fact, you can get both for the same price of it's competitors. That's saying something.


Let's talk about some of those competitors....

Hidition Viento-B
The Viento-B was one of the IEMs that I recall was the inspiration behind these two twins. It has some characteristics of both of the Monarch and Clairvoyance, and probably leans closer to the Monarch in general sound, but I kind of feel like it can compete with either one. The Viento is more coherent and I think a more natural tonality than both of these two IEMs, but the Clairvoyance and Monarch both have much better bass texturing and just overall natural bass sound. While the Viento-B does have a nice bass shelf, the Monarch has a bigger subbass shelf, and the Clairvoyance has more bass presence in general. The Viento-B is less shouty than the Monarch and is probably more in-line with Clairvoyance though.

In this case, even though I have the Viento-B, I think I'd take the Monarch over the Viento-B personally.

64 Audio Nio and U12t
The U12t and Nio are two pairs of similar IEMs from 64 Audio that are also in-line with the Thieaudio twins. The Nio is a bit bigger in it's bass presence, in the fact that it hits harder with more slam and impact, but not so much as it's subbass. When looking at that, I think they are comparable to the Monarch. The Nio is probably a good mix of both bass characteristics of the Clairvoyance and Monarch, but more emphasized than both of the Thieaudio products. This is mostly because the treble is more tame on the Nio and U12t than the two Thieaudio IEMs. The Monarch is clearly the set that has the most bright signature.

Unique Melody MEST
I was not able to demo the MEST side-by-side with the Thieaudio Monarch and Clairvoyance, so I don't have any opinion that can be fully taken. From memory though, I feel like the MEST has better texturing and imaging ability than both the TA products. The MEST is a tad narrower at times, but it has a chameleon-like soundstage that morphs around depending on the song. I think resolution of the MEST is top notch, and may be slightly better than the TA, but the Monarch and Clairvoyance have it beat for tonality and are easy to recommend for overall non-fatiguing listening.


Video Review

It's always interesting to see a brand grow from its infancy into a full-fledged competitor and this is how I am starting to feel with Thieaudio, Linsoul's house brand of portable audio gear. They started with headphones, and then moved to their bread and butter IEM products with the Voyager (multi-BA) and Legacy (dynamic driver + BA hybrid) products. I've reviewed a few of their products in the past with mixed results, but this latest batch of products -- the Clairvoyance and the Monarch -- come with great anticipation and a certain bit of hype.

Being involved in the community, I've gotten to discuss the tuning and progression of this brand through their owner, as well as these two specific IEM's tuning wizard. It's because of this, and the thoughts behind how it should be tuned that got me most excited to try these two sets out, as they were tuned with an objective and for the most part, I think these two do their tasks well.

This review will be a little unlike others I've done mostly because these are two similar but unique IEMs with slightly different tunings. I'm going to spend most of this article talking about how they differ than anything, but just remember that both of these are top tier IEMs in my opinion and hopefully I'll capture that as well.

The Thieaudio Clairvoyance is $700, while the Monarch is $730, and both are tri-brids featuring dynamic driver, a series of balanced armature drivers, and electrostatic tweeters.
Unboxing
I posted a video of the unboxing experience and will just leave it at that:



To quickly summarize though:

• Same packaging for all Thieaudio IEMs
• Nice brown fake-leather case
• Selection of tips
• 2.5mm white braided cable is nice, however to use it with 3.5mm or 4.4mm requires a very long adapter

Sound Impressions
Both the Thieaudio twins, the Monarch and Clairvoyance, are well-balanced tunings with sort of reference mid-range and treble, but with elevated bass to provide a nice fun, but accurate sound. They do differ across the spectrum though, and I find the Monarch to be much more sub-bass focused and have a shoutier upper mid-range and a brighter treble. The Clairvoyance, on the other hand, is a more smoother overall sound signature, with a thicker bass region that doesn't emphasized sub-bass, and adds more mid-bass to the sound. The upper mids of the Clairvoyance is also slight tamer, as well as the treble presentation, making this one sound a little less technical, but more musical.







When I listened to both, my first impressions were that the Monarch is right up my alley. It has the reference-type sound I really like, with a similar comparison to the Hidition Viento, but with a bigger sub-bass emphasis. Listening to it more and more, and comparing it to the Viento, I did find some things I did not like -- and that was mainly the slightly nasally and shouty upper mid-range. These are very nitpicky issues, and not overly glaring however, but it is something I notice when I listen to piano music where the weight of a piano strike in this range hits harder and with more ringing.

The Clairvoyance is more equally weighted in the low-end than the Monarch. I found the Monarch to have a large subbass emphasis, while the Clairvoyance has more mid-bass, but it's more to put it in equal playing with the subbass. In this regard, the Clairvoyance provides a more natural low end sound, and a thicker lower mid-range, while also having a more unemphasized upper mid-range and treble. The Clairvoyance does lack the deep rumble that the Monarch has, but it replaces it with a more smooth and full sound.

This is a really generic genre chart that I came up with based on music I listen to and a small sample of random music within these genres.



In both acoustic and new wave music, I found that there's trade-offs for both of these IEMs, but both play them well. Depending on the acoustic rock though, I do partially prefer the Clairvoyance more, and with New Wave, I do partially prefer the Monarch more.

In the genres of Bluegrass, Classical, and Jazz, I prefer the Monarch over the Clairvoyance. This is due to my impressions that the Monarch has a little bit of a bigger soundstage, better imaging, and a little improved resolution over the Clairvoyance. The deeper sub-bass also gives double bass guitars a bit more rumble and drive, which tickles my ears.

When I play rock music, pop, and country music, I tend to prefer the more full and smoother sounding Clairvoyance. These genres seem to perform better with the mid-bass addition that the Clairvoyance provides, and the slightly tamer treble, does make electric guitars and any constant high percussions attacks from becoming overly fatiguing.

There's very distinct difference when listening to these two IEMs when I listen to my stable of rock music -- whether it be the layered rock tunes of Sonic Youth or The War on Drugs, or the Seattle grunge originals, Temple of the Dog and Mother Love Bone, or the more catchy tunes of The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac -- I find the performance of the Clairvoyance is much better suited for these bands.

One of the most distinguishing bands that really show off the differences between the two of these IEMs is Daft Punk. I listened through the entire Random Access Memories album on both of these, and there's some very audible differences. In "Giorgio by Moroder", the sub-bass focus of the Monarch really shows its strength towards the end of this track where the heavy bass is skull crushing while it sounded rather tame, but filled-in, on the Clairvoyance.

On "Contact", the final section of this track is a insane mix of sounds, percussions, synths, and a heavy bass line. Many IEMs fail to give proper instrument separation and also clearly define each layer of this multi-layered track. The Monarch handles this song with absolute ease. It's quicker transient response and improved imaging over the Clairvoyance really shows its characteristics here. That's not to say the Clairvoyance fails, because it doesn't but it just doesn't quite have the separation capability nor does it have the raw bass impact that the Monarch provides, and this is why I feel like in EDM music, the Monarch's added clarity and sub-bass focus makes it a more fun and exacting experience.





Wrap-Up + Comparisons
At this point, I just want to reiterate that both of these IEMs, the Clairvoyance and the Monarch, are two of my favorite IEMs that I have listened to, and the fact that they are tri-brid IEMs at a relatively low price makes these two sets a industry disrupter and a market statement from Linsoul and Thieaudio. There's little to not like here, and recommending these sets is easy for me. They work well with a lot of music, and they have a price well below comparable products, and in fact, you can get both for the same price of it's competitors. That's saying something.


Let's talk about some of those competitors....

Hidition Viento-B
The Viento-B was one of the IEMs that I recall was the inspiration behind these two twins. It has some characteristics of both of the Monarch and Clairvoyance, and probably leans closer to the Monarch in general sound, but I kind of feel like it can compete with either one. The Viento is more coherent and I think a more natural tonality than both of these two IEMs, but the Clairvoyance and Monarch both have much better bass texturing and just overall natural bass sound. While the Viento-B does have a nice bass shelf, the Monarch has a bigger subbass shelf, and the Clairvoyance has more bass presence in general. The Viento-B is less shouty than the Monarch and is probably more in-line with Clairvoyance though.

In this case, even though I have the Viento-B, I think I'd take the Monarch over the Viento-B personally.

64 Audio Nio and U12t
The U12t and Nio are two pairs of similar IEMs from 64 Audio that are also in-line with the Thieaudio twins. The Nio is a bit bigger in it's bass presence, in the fact that it hits harder with more slam and impact, but not so much as it's subbass. When looking at that, I think they are comparable to the Monarch. The Nio is probably a good mix of both bass characteristics of the Clairvoyance and Monarch, but more emphasized than both of the Thieaudio products. This is mostly because the treble is more tame on the Nio and U12t than the two Thieaudio IEMs. The Monarch is clearly the set that has the most bright signature.

Unique Melody MEST
I was not able to demo the MEST side-by-side with the Thieaudio Monarch and Clairvoyance, so I don't have any opinion that can be fully taken. From memory though, I feel like the MEST has better texturing and imaging ability than both the TA products. The MEST is a tad narrower at times, but it has a chameleon-like soundstage that morphs around depending on the song. I think resolution of the MEST is top notch, and may be slightly better than the TA, but the Monarch and Clairvoyance have it beat for tonality and are easy to recommend for overall non-fatiguing listening.


Video Review

The Studio series is a new lineup of multi-balanced armature (BA) in-ear monitors from the Chinese brand Dunu. If you have not heard of Dunu, they are not a new company like most of the Chinese brands that get hyped up on a weekly basis. Dunu has been around for 26 years and have been a known name in the portable audio world for some time. I believe the Studio series, however, is their first foray into an all-BA setup. Their lineup up until this point featured dynamic driver and hybrid (dynamic driver + BA) product forms and the Studio series changes it up with no DD this time around.

It was brought to my attention that 7-8 years ago, Dunu had a custom monitor called the DC4 which was a 4-BA CIEM, so this perhaps makes the Studio Series the first universal all-BA IEMs. Thanks for pointing this out Redcarmoose!

The first of the series was the SA3, which features 3-BA drivers and unfortunately I have not had a chance to get my ears on them yet. This newer set is the SA6, which features a 6-BA setup as the name implies, and is as follows:

Bass: Sonion AcuPass Vented Dual Woofer
Midrange: Knowles Custom Midrange Driver (×2)
Treble: Knowles Custom Dual Tweeter

Before I move further, I do like to thank Tom Tsai from DUNU for preparing this review sample unit to me for a chance to audition them ahead of the US release, however at the time of writing this, they are available now in many US retailers such as Musicteck, Audio 46, and Linsoul.




Unboxing
The review sample SA6 I received did not come in a box, however came secured in the blue leather zippered carrying case that has the brand name DUNU etched into the top. The cable included is a silver-plated copper 8-core cable that is various shades of silver and gray and wound together to make a nice, braid that looks thick, but is actually easy to handle and can be bundled but not get tangled or become too stiff. The connectors on this set is surprisingly 2-pin connectors. Other Dunu products I have tried have used mmcx. The source end is a silver variant of the patented Dunu quick-switch modular plug system, and this unit came with 3.5mm, as well as 2.5mm and 4.4mm balanced modular plugs.





The SA6 shell is a nice small-ish custom-like fit and I found it was very comfortable to wear. My wife also tried wearing it and really enjoyed the fit as well. The faceplate on the SA6 series is a very cool stabilized wood and acrylic resin.

Stabilized wood, for those who may not know, is dried wood that has been embedded with resin and heated and heat cured in a vacuum to harden the resin and bonds it to the wood. The result is a very cool looking art piece that is part plastic and part wood, and the added color for the resin can make the grains glow.

Moving back to the shell again, Dunu slipped in a toggle dip switch on the rear side of the IEM shell. This switch flips on "Atmospheric" mode and switches off to it's default tuning. The "On/Atmospheric" tuning seems to add a gentle bass and lower mid-range boost making the IEM a little more warm and mid-focused, but I'll discuss a bit more in the sound section next.




Sound Impressions
The Dunu SA6 has a balanced sound signature that has a slight bass bump, and a smooth mid-range and treble. I don't really consider it neutral, as it does have a bit of coloration, but it's only slight. The general sound is more intimate, but not claustrophobic sounding, and has a good amount of resolution and sound separation.




The low-end of the SA6 has a bass shelf starting around 300Hz that rises gently up 7 dB above the mid-range. This is the same no matter the switch position, however there is a slight, very slight, bass boost with the switch on, but its really not a big change of about 1-2dB. The bass has a small amount of rumble and has a little amount of slam and impact. It does have a slight mid-bass focus over sub-bass, but only slight, and I find it is a good bass response for many or all genres.

The Sonion driver used is vented, meaning that it does use additional air to increase the driver movement to create a larger bass response, but this does make it sound slightly less resolving than if it were unvented. In practice, I find the bass response to have some decent decay amount, while also have a little bit of tactile response. It's not powerful and well-textured as a good dynamic driver, but it is solid for the price range and being a multi-BA set.

While the coherency isn't the best I heard, it's quite good. There's little disjointed sounds in this product, and I think that helps create a nice robust mid-range that is evenly tuned, though some may find the upper-mids not risen enough, as it only 5 dB above 1KHz and 7 dB above the rest of the mid-range, as this unit does have an earlier rise to the treble and pinna compensation area of the frequency response curve.



As I've listened to more and more IEMs and switch out genres, I find that my personal target compensation for my listening enjoyment has seen a smaller and reduced amount of rise in this upper-midrange and presence region. This takes away a more forward sounding female voice, and also reduces the guitar attacks, but I find it presents a more natural and less fatiguing presence that creates perhaps a more open soundstage in the process. The SA6 hits pretty well for me.

There is a big dip in the lower treble, and it's eerily similar to the qdc Anole VX, which I've owned and still love. In fact, the majority of the mid-range and treble hits the VX curve quite closely, with the major difference being the lower mid-range and bass region, which is much warmer on the VX. Now that said, I don't find the same glaring tonality issues with the SA6 as I do on the VX. I believe this might have to do with the bigger spike up between 7-9KHz on the VX, which isn't quite as drastic of a bump on the SA6.

In this aspect, I tried to recreate some of the sibilance issues I had on the VX and some of the songs I found with odd timbre, and I wasn't able to find the traces of sibilance in those pop songs like Tegan & Sara's Boyfriend, or Norah Jones' Seven Years. The SA6 doesn't have the sharper and edgier tone of the VX.

I really enjoyed listening the SA6 with various genres, however it felt most comfortable with rock music for me. No matter if it was alternative or grunge music like Mother Love Bone's Chloe Dancer or The Smashing Pumpkin's Disarm, or if it was singer-songwriter music like First Aid Kit or Sondre Lerche, I found the SA6 to have a nice natural sound that had just enough tactile bass and a smooth mid-range to sound very pleasant. Yes, it's a tad soft on the lower end, but I'm not complaining too much.

Comparisons
The Dunu SA6 is priced at $550 USD and with that it'll probably be compared directly with it's hybrid sibling, the Dunu DK3001 Pro. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this review, I loaned my set out and can only give auditory memory impressions which should only be taken with a grain of salt. I remember the DK3001 Pro to sound a bit warmer and more laid-back, but with nice tonality. I think, from memory again, that the SA6 improves upon the DK3001 Pro in resolution, imaging, and soundstage, while competing head to head otherwise, despite not having a dynamic driver to handle bass. I am fairly confident that I enjoyed my time with the SA6 more so than my time with the $479 DK3001 Pro, though I did like that one as well.




Another comparison I think people may bring up is how it competes with the Mini MEST, which is priced at $599 and is the more budget-friendly sibling of the popular MEST unit from Unique Melody. In this case, these two are multi-BA IEMs, however the Mini MEST also includes a bone conductor driver. I found the Mini to have a warmer sound signature and a brighter treble response, but lacks great treble extension. The Mini's sound signature is more V-shaped, while the SA6 is a more U-shaped sound. I find the SA6 to be more preferred overall for my personal preferences.




The popular Moondrop Blessing 2 has finally returned back to me after nearly 9 months on tour around the continent. I finally got a chance to re-listen to it recently and compared it to the SA6. With the Blessing 2, I think that the upper mid-range, and treble, are both shoutier and brighter than the SA6, while the overall sound is leaner in its presentation. The Blessing 2 bass is a little more punchy, but doesn't quite have the overall warmth and resolution that the SA6 does. I found both are equally resolving across the board however, but the SA6 is less fatiguing and has better treble extension.






Wrap-Up
The DUNU SA6 is another solid product from this Chinese brand and one of its first entries into multi-BA IEMs. I think they did a great job with this one, from the tuning, to the nice fitting shell geometry, and to the stunning stabilized wood faceplates with each set being unique. The accessories are also a wonderful addition to the package with a nice case and cable with swappable plugs.

This is one of those sets that I think is done well across the board and I think can be easily enjoyed, but of course, this is just my opinion, and also my wife's, who quickly took this review sample from me the day I got them and listened to them for several days before reluctantly giving them back so I can finish this review.

The few negatives I have on this set are pretty minimal. I think the tuning switches are unnecessary and don't change the tonality enough to warrant the additional labor and parts cost, and that it doesn't quite have a strong sub-bass performance, but those aren't deal-breakers for me. This is a good set, and recommend at least considering this one if you're looking for a $500-ish multi-BA set.

The Sony IER-M9 originally came out at the MSRP of $1499 but has since dropped down to $999 in recent months. This puts in the shouting distance of other multi-BA IEMs like the Hidition Viento and the Moondrop S8. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to hear the S8 yet, but I was very excited to try the IER-M9 and see how it stacks against my custom Hidition Viento-B.

This unit was sent on loan to me by community member, tma6. Thanks!

Unboxing

The IER-M9 is a 5-Balanced Armature driver in-ear monitor that features a black magnesium housing with a carbon fabric looking decal in the front. The shell is very lightweight, surprisingly, and feels premium. It also is very comfortable in my ears and I had no issues wearing these for long periods of time due to the nice shell design, weight, and comfort. The cable is also wonderful to use.

In fact, the silk-braided cable is housed in a nice soft rubbery-sheath that is easy to move around, unwind, and doesn't tangle easily. It terminates in an L-connector of both 3.5mm and 4.4mm varieties. Yes, there are two cables included in the box. The connectors of choice for the Sony IER-M9 is mmcx, it fits in a recessed opening on the M9 shell.

In addition to the cables, the M9 comes with 13 sets of tips to choose from, as well as a carry case, and a series of other accessories. The unboxing for the M9 is quite nice, though still lacks to the drawer box approach of the IER-Z1R.

Sound Impressions
The Sony IER-M9 was mostly paired directly with my Sony NW-ZX507 digital audio player for the majority of the time I used it for this review. I also did try it alongside the Topping A90/Schitt Bifrost 2 combination, and an iPhone 5S. The Sony-Sony pairing is a popular one in the community and I've seen a lot of impressions of the M9 paired with the 507, so I was excited to see how these aligned with my own thoughts.





As general blanket statement, I found the Sony IER-M9 to have a warm, enjoyable and extremely coherent signature with outstanding mid-range and and generally laid-back and almost boring sound signature. I use the term "boring", not necessarily in a negative way. It's just an inoffensive sound signature that doesn't have any stand-out feature in its tonality/timbre that makes it either wrong, colored, or the like. I wouldn't necessarily call the IER-M9 reference tuning, as I do find it a little warmer and a little dark, but not overly colored.

Let's start a little differently this time that my normal reviews. I find the M9's coherency outstanding. The multi-driver setup seems to be well designed and doesn't show any disjointed sound across the board. Add to that the really strong resolution, and it seems like Sony knows a thing or two about how to make a good sounding cross-over setup and maximizing each driver's potential.

In the same sense, this is the same experience I found with the Hidition Viento in both the universal and the custom versions. Like the M9, it also featured great coherency and good resolution despite having less drivers than other models which tout tons of drivers. More does not always mean better.




To go on further with the comparison to the Viento-B, I find that both share a lot of similarities. The M9 does have 1 additional BA driver, but both are priced similarly now, and have outstanding mid-ranges where everything just sounds accurate and reproduced well. They both do lack some of the resonance and natural decay that comes inherently sometimes with the use of a standard balanced armature driver, but that's fine for their use cases.

Where I do find that they differ a little bit is in the tuning. The Viento is more reference neutral to me, and when compared to the IER-M9, the Viento has a more focused upper mid-range and even treble region, that may sound a little bright and lean compared to the M9. The M9's additional warmer lower-midrange also adds more body to the sound, and one can't really go wrong with either of these for a solid multi-BA setup under $1K. It's more about picking your tonal preferences.

Okay, I skipped a bit from my normal routine, and now I not only spoiled how I feel about the M9, but also how I compared it to what I consider it's biggest competitor in it's price class. Let's move forward with some music discussion.



I found the M9 to really go well with singer-songwriter type music. I listened to a lot of James Taylor with the M9, and really enjoyed how it presented the softer acoustic guitar songs of the famous musician. The bowed bass guitar on "Fire and Ice" has a nice amount of rumble can be pictured just slightly behind the rest of the instruments in this track, lying a little further back in the scene with its soft growl. The guitars are just over to the left of my hearing, and Taylor's voice is dead center, perhaps a slight bit to the right. The effortless vocals are shown in all their greatness with the M9, and the warm body really helps give his tender vocals in this track some character.

I didn't talk a lot about imaging characteristics a lot until just now, and I do think overall that the M9 excels in this area. It has a nice soundstage that isn't exactly wide or super deep, but it's a good playing field that's above average width and in the upper tier in terms of depth. This allows instruments to sound well separated and it makes the M9 sound open and free of chaos in the most chaotic tracks like Daft Punk's Contact.

The entire lead-up to the finale of this track sounds very detailed and intricate on the M9. The kick bass hits with some authority even if it does not have the slam and decay of typical dynamic driver like it's older sibling, the IER-Z1R. The cymbal crashes sound accurate but not over-done and this constant beating can sometimes be fatiguing on many headphones and in-ears. Again, what is most impressive on the M9 is how effortless it handles the battlefield of this track, with instruments smashing in all directions as it leads to its final build-up and closure. There's no muddiness, no meshing of sounds, and no blunted sounds. Everything comes in well-defined and clean.

My current addiction drug is Tingvall Trio, and specifically their "In Concert" live album. I'm finding myself craving the track, "Movie," for it's sweeping piano melodies, and constant snare drum attack, and heavy bass notes that keep everything gelled together. I normally enjoy this type of music with my Viento and Hifiman Arya, both more reference and neutral-bright signatures. But the added bass warmth of the IER-M9 does give the low end a little more body and power to it. The slightly darker treble helps give these types of songs a nice romantic-type sound approach that is easy to enjoy for long periods of time, while not losing any of the soundscape.

Wrap-Up
I've said a lot of praising remarks to the IER-M9 and the question to be asked is, where does it rank and will you buy it?

The second question is a quick, "no." And it's not because I don't like it. I do like it, but I don't find it different enough than what I own now to make it a purchase. I already have the Hidition Viento-B, and its tuned closer to my neutral preference target, and I prefer a little more air, and a little more upper-mid range than what the IER-M9 provides, but in many ways, I could go either set, as a stand-alone multi-BA IEM to use .

As far as the first question, I think the M9 stands on and near the top of the IEM playing field. It's not the best multi-BA IEM, as I still believe that title goes to either the qdc Anole VX or the 64 Audio U12t, but it's that small tier below where the Hidition Viento and Vision Ears VE8 reside for me.

At $1000, I think this is a nice buy that comes with a great accessory package and a great build. It has a few minor flaws, that are more preference things than anything else, but that's typical in this price category where preferences matter more. Good work Sony.

The Unique Melody Mini MEST is the new and smaller sibling of the very likeable MEST that I reviewed a few months ago. The Mini MEST is one of the lower priced products from luxury brand Unique Melody. As of right now, I believe the $599 Mini MEST is the lowest price product in their lineup, which will soon introduce a $300 USD triple-dynamic driver IEM in the near future.

This Mini version strips away both the dynamic driver and the two EST drivers from the larger MEST as well as reduced the balanced armatures count to 3. It still retains the signature bone conduction driver, however, making this a 4-driver hybrid (3-BA, 1-BCD).

One thing to point out on this Mini is that the BA drivers are open-air drivers, similar to the Tia driver used by 64 Audio in their Audiophile lineup. These drivers feature tubeless and unrestricted diaphragms that can give a little bit more of a dynamic driver feel to them, while still being very much a BA. In this case, Unique Melody is using 3 of these types of drivers, and I've been told that the distortion is controlled, and co-mingling of the drivers is enhanced by the addition of the bone conduction driver.

This Mini MEST was provided by Unique Melody and MusicTeck (North American distributor) for the purpose of a review. The link below will take you directly to the product page on MusicTeck's site:
https://shop.musicteck.com/products/um-universal-mini-mest



The Mini MEST comes in a small package which contains several tip choices, a cable and case as well as the IEMs. The case is a vibrant blue-themed Dignis brand case that has been custom made by Unique Melody and features their branding on it. Unlike the regular MEST, the Dignis case is made of a canvas-fabric material instead of leather, but is similarly sized.

The cable included is a braided, multi-colored tan/black cable that ends in a 2.5mm balanced connector that can also be optioned with standard 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced.

For this review, I decided to go with my own set of 4.4mm Kinboofi cables and generic double-flage silicone tips that worked with my ear shape to provide the best seal and response.

In terms of actual shell design and fit, I found the Mini to be, as the name implies, a smaller version of the MEST. It has the same carbon fiber weave look on the faceplate, with blue flakes sprinkled in for contrast and the branding in silver font that shimmers in the light. The shell design is a semi-opaque royal blue color that looks very much solid, though has just enough translucency that you can kind of see the inner workings of the IEM.

The shell, while smaller than the MEST, is similar in depth/thickness and this is a bit more than some other IEMs I've tried in the past. For me, this never came up as a problem. I never have had fit issues with this particular set, nor did I have issues with fit with the larger MEST either.



Sound Impressions
The Mini MEST has almost a V-Shaped sound signature that I want to say is quite generic sounding, but I think that would be a bit too negative sounding for what it is. It's tuning is very safe and is not unlike other gentle V-shaped IEMs with a bass shelf that starts early in the mid-range and a rise from 1KHz up through the treble region. Despite this, I never found the mid-range to sound recessed like a V-shaped IEM would, and so perhaps calling it that is not the best name and rather a balanced-warm focused U-shaped IEM would be a better title. But that's a lot of titles for a thing isn't it?




What makes the Mini MEST stand out from other similarly-tuned IEMs is a natural resonance factor that I recently experienced in the Campfire Andromeda 2020. In that IEM, I quickly noticed a more lively atmosphere when listening to acoustical music genres and I can somewhat sense that here too with the MEST. It is a touch harder to hear these nuances though, because there is a heavier bass response, which sometimes can be overwhelming in some songs, but it's also quite fun too. (This is all relative because some may think my bass preferences are on the lower end of the spectrum than others)

There's a tactility to the bass response on the Mini that I feel is missing on a lot of multi-BA sets out there. Very few can achieve a level of bass decay and tactile punch without having a dynamic driver, and is something I wish my Hidition Viento-B CIEM had more of sometimes. The 64 Audio U12t, for example, has a little bit of decay and punch in it's bass response, and the Mini MEST here does also but to much less extent. I am not going to claim it's as natural as the best dynamics and hybrids out there, but it is a little better than some multi-BA setups in this regard, although I do feel that it can some a little blunted sometimes and missing attack.

The mid-range does not sound as scooped as I would have imagined, and actually has a nice thick and full sound to it. Rock music was my favorite genre to pair with the mini since the general tonality goes well with it. Thicker notes and an exciting treble response make the buzzing guitars and drum hits with more power and emphasis. I found my head bobbing to some Alice and Chains, and Smashing Pumpkins with this set.

I never found the timbre to sound off here. Like the MEST, this isn't exactly the neutral-reference-type sound, and is heavily colored. But somehow, to me, it still retains a natural realistic sound, that is also a little fun and enjoyable, although more boring when compared to the MEST and other IEMs that have more captivating sound signatures.

The technical performance of the Mini is average to above average, and in terms of its price range, I'd say its above average. I think the coherency is quite good with no real disjointed sounds across the 3 BA drivers and whatever the bone conduction driver does, which is impressive given the type of BA drivers they use can lead to a lot of distortion and other issues.

I think the resolution is pretty good, but not on the same level as the larger MEST or other flagships. It has resolution I'd expect from a multi-BA setup that is tuned well, and surprised a bit that some of the nuances stand out still with the heavier bass emphasis that can sometimes become muddy and buried.

It's been a while since I've had a good listen to both the Dunu DK3001 Pro or the Moondrop Blessing 2, but I probably would put it's resolution in between the realms of the Blessing 2 and the more relaxed DK3001 Pro. Both are good IEMs, but I think the Blessing 2 does more technical things than the Dunu hybrid, and I believe the Mini MEST is in-between those two in this aspect.

Soundstage is generally wide but not endless. It's more wide than deep, but provides enough depth to showcase decent imaging capabilities, enough to have proper instrument separation and defined locations in the soundscape. When looking back at the MEST, with its holographic spherical soundstage, this one is very flat in comparison, and has a more traditional left to right stage as opposed to one that engulfs the listener.




Wrap-Up
The Mini MEST is a solid addition to the Unique Melody family, which in my limited experience with them has been a hit or miss lineup. In this set and the larger and costlier MEST, I have a bit of renewed interest in this brand again and their interesting alchemy of driver technology, shell designs, and tuning choices. It's always a something unique with their products, and I think this one is one of the more safer approaches to tuning, while attempting something a little clever with their technology.

The Mini isn't exactly the most exciting sounding IEM out there. It's got a kind of tired and overly done sound signature, but it does do a few things well that make it stand out from the rest, and that's a nice mix of BA signature resolution and transient speed mixed with a little extra resonance and tactility that makes it a little more fun of an IEM than the traditional multi-BA.

I do want to give a quick extra bonus wrap-up shoutout to the really awesome looking and feeling case that this product comes with. I even prefer it to the more luxurious one that the more expensive MEST came with.

The EVE20 is a limited edition IEM from german manufacturer Vision Ears. The EVE20 is planned to be only available to purchase in 2020 and comes in a universal form factor for $1300 USD through MusicTeck or 1300 euro (including VAT) directly from Vision Ears.

This review demo unit was provided by Vision Ears through Barra's Audio Tiers/Head-Fi Loaner tour.
Package & Fit
The loaner unit sent out did not include the box, and only included the metal round case, a black braided cable and the IEMs themselves. The case is similar to the one that came with the Vision Ears VE8, which is a hefty and very well-built aluminum case that has a screw-on top.

The EVE20 shell is surprisingly very flat with a rounded triangular shape and is one of the lightest premium IEMs I have ever held. The nozzles are long and narrow and come in at an angle that isn't the most ideal for my ear shape but I was able to get them to fit and seal off very well. I wouldn't say these are the most comfortable monitors around, and some may find them troubling to wear.

For my short time with the EVE 20, I used Azla Xelastec SS tips as I found these were comfortable and provided a fantastic seal.



Sound Impressions
The majority of my listening sessions with the EVE 20 came with the Sony NW-ZX507 player and a variety of music choices. I also did use it on the Topping A90 amp hooked up by way of the Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC to my PC.

The EVE 20 is a no thrills sound signature with a very warm and engaging sound that doesn't really have anything that truly stands out. In a sense, I find it a bit boring. It does measure as a very gentle V-Shape sound, but in actual listening, I found it does not sound this way, and sounds a bit like the VE8 but with technical ability, and perhaps an occasional treble jolt.



I'll admit, the first time I put the EVE 20 on, I was very unimpressed. It sounded a bit dark, and little hazy and very boring. While I still find it 'boring' after more hours of listening, I have come to truly appreciate the Vision Ears mid-range sound. It's just succulent and has a magical mix of high coherency and a rich, intimate and mellow melody.

This came to light when I stopped trying to listen to it with every type of music out there, as I found it lacked some of the treble extension and deep sub-bass sounds I want for dance tracks or even my onslaught of jazz and post-rock music, but for vocal tracks from Norah Jones, Tracy Chapman, and James Taylor -- these really shine -- pushing the gentle guitar and piano-based tracks in a small window with their singer-songwriter style music that shifts a lot of the focus to a relaxing and enjoyable listen.

I think this is really helped by how coherent the transitions between the various areas of the frequency response are. It keeps everything in balanced without sounded disjointed.




Like I mentioned, I didn't enjoy the VE8 on Tingvall Trio music. The overly warm and laid-back sound signature didn't provide the sizzle and spark I like with jazz music that has an emphasis on percussion and acoustic bass play. I also did not enjoy it as much with London Grammar's two records. I felt like Hannah Reid's electric voice lacked some of that excitement and strain, and the deeper electronic notes just lacked definition and rumble.

The EVE 20 is plenty punchy though. While it doesn't have a dynamic driver, it does punch and decay pretty naturally for using a series of balance armature drivers.

The biggest issue I did have with the EVE 20 came with the lack of soundstage width, depth and generally just average imaging and resolution. I felt some of the technical performances were under-performing a bit for it's price tag and exclusivity, but I do have to remind myself that the coherency is fantastic. The level of expectation across the board is the VE8, and may be that's a bit too high of a benchmark for something $1000 less in cost.

Campfire Audio has gone through a lot of iterations of their popular Andromeda line of in-ear monitors over the years and it's still one of the most popular premium IEMs on the market. It's always had the nice shell design with bold colors and a good technical and sound experience for the most part, which has made it a staple recommendation for years now, despite the continual change and special edition models that have come out.

And there's been a lot. Even last year, Campfire released two updates to the Andromeda brand, with the 2019 update featuring a new shell design and new packaging, and the Andromeda Gold special limited edition model with black shell and gold fasteners. This year, Campfire has released a 2020 update to this classic line.

This is a follow-up written review of the Campfire Andromeda 2020. I did a video review of this same product earlier and that can be found here:




As a quick note, I do want to thank Taron from Headphones.com for letting me have some time with a loaner unit to write this review with. They also have a community forum called The Headphones Community, which is active and fun forum for audio enthusiast and one I highly recommend.

Packaging/Build




The 2020 model keeps the identifiable green anodized color and design, along with the updated shell that has more rounded edges that no longer pinch and stab the back of my ears. Like last year's Gold model, the deeper and larger nozzle with grills from the Solaris is now on this 2020 update. This makes this overall, the most comfortable design of the Andromedas that I've tried (Andromeda Gold being the same design).

The packaging features the fancy outer paper covering and an inner box that is reminiscent of last year's opening experience, which is an enjoyable one. The included case is made out of cork and has a greenish hue to it that looks unique and interesting. It has the purse-like look with zippered opening and soft inner padding. The package also comes with tips and several mesh protector pouches to store the IEMs individually in.

The included cable is the Smokey Litz cable that I really enjoyed previously. It's lightweight, tangle-free, and easy to wear, and a significantly better experience than the cable used on the older Campfire products. The connectors are still mmcx at the shell, and the source features an L-shaped 3.5mm connector jack.




Sound Impressions

Source Gear
Like previous iterations of the Campfire Andromeda, the 2020 model is extremely source pairing dependent. This is because the multi-BA design is very sensitive to the output impedance of the source, whether that be your phone, audio player or an amplifier. Whatever is connected to these IEMs, may make a subtle but audible impact to the level of bass or treble this IEM projects.

In my testing, I've noticed audible changes depending on the source I use as well as the cable length I used! It seemed that every 3 feet cable extender I added made a 1 decibel change to the measurements I performed, with bass lowering and treble increasing as output impedance increased. I plotted a graph below of measuring directly out of the less than 0.10 ohm Topping A90, and using a 2.7 Ohm iFi EarBuddy adapter.

For my actual listening, I tried the Campfire Andromeda primarily out of my Topping A90, hooked up to the Schiit Bifrost 2, as well as my portable DAP, the Sony NW-ZX507.

The ZX507 is about 1-1.5 ohm output impedance from my various FR measurement test approximations, but I have yet to confirm it by measuring it directly.

General Sound
The Andromeda 2020 has a nice balanced sound signature that is slightly warm with a smooth treble response that is a bit different than the older models. While the older one, I tended to refer to it as "Haze-Fi", due to it's recessed upper mid-range and lower treble, the 2020 edition has that area raised up to a very natural and preferred level for my ears, making this an IEM that closely matches my target preference curve from 1KHz and up.




The first time I put this set on, I immediately noticed the Andromeda's excellent imaging and layering capability. The first track I put on was Tingvall Trio's "Sjuan", which is a piano-led jazz song with deep basslines and a steady assault of snare drums and cymbals. The way each instruments resonates on the Andromeda was surprising, as I don't remember feeling this way when I heard the original set, and it's not something I've noticed in many IEMs in general. To me, it somewhat resembles the type of natural reflection that I heard from the Emu Rosewood cups that I recently reviewed on my Fostex 600 series headphones.

While the Andromeda doesn't quite have the full natural effect that a typical hardwood used for real instruments has -- it does have a little bit of a shimmering effect instead of a natural decay -- I do enjoy the extra bit of resonance that adds a lively nature to my musical selections.

Bass response on these are surprisingly not the extra-warm and sometimes bloated affair I occasionally got with the original Andromeda. It's a little tamer, while still being just north of neutral in warmth. There's not a deep elevated sub-bass, but there's still enough to make it sound present and rounded out. While I do think a little more sub-bass emphasis would have been nice, I can't truly say I missed it either while listening to this product.

Texturing seemed pretty good. It doesn't necessarily have a lengthy decay that is more noticeable to some of it's competitors, but it layers instruments well with the added sonic resonance that creates a nice sound in a complex passage. I noticed that in particular songs from Beach House ("Lemon Glow" or "Lose Your Smile") or Sonic Youth songs.

In "Lose Your Smile", the soundscapes that remind me of Air's Moon Safari come to life well on the Andromeda with glistening instruments panning left and right, and the sweeping synths strung across the field around me. The depth and macrodynamics are quite nice on this track.

On the other hand, "Lemon Glow" does seem a tad tame. This song can really rumble and hit hard with impactful and strong bass response. With the Andromeda, this slam factor is missing a bit. The deep low textures do seem a little missing in this case.

The mid-range is very smooth and coherent and there's not too much more to say about it. I find that vocals are done well. There was never any sense of shout or fatigue or sibilant in any track I heard, and general voice tonality sounded correct. After listening to a lot of recent chi-fi offering where there is an elevated 1-2KHz region, going back to something with a smoother transition between the mid-range and lower treble presence region is a breath of fresh air. Female voices don't come across ultra-forward, and have a little more space to breath.

My best example of this is the Stevie Nicks-led "Dreams" from Fleetwood Mac. Her voice can become very shouty and fatiguing on some IEMs where there is a early and steep rise, but on the Andromeda, her voice is nicely placed not too far forward, while still sounding in the center of the stage.

One example of a track where I find the coherency and mid-range and treble sound very much in-tune with each other is Jason Isbell's "24 Frames." The song has a wonderful amount of instrument play and transitions from an all-acoustic beginning to effects-driven electric guitar in the breaks between the chorus and the bridge that sounds ultra-smooth. Isbell's voice has a soft but defined voice. There acoustic guitar strings have a nice resonance to it, while cymbals hit with nice extension and realism.





Comparisons

Campfire Solaris (original)
I have yet to listen to the 2020 Solaris nor I had a chance to listen to the Special Edition model, but when compared to the original Solaris, from memory, I find the Andromeda to have a much more coherent and more correct tonality and instrument timbre across the board. Where the Solaris may beat the Andromeda is the 3D soundstage which is fun and unique, and perhaps the more natural lingering decay in the bass. That said, the Solaris does not have a typical lengthy decay, but still more so than the Andromeda 2020 does.

The Solaris was a tough one to wear as well, and I had major fit pain after 30 minutes to an hour of usage and this has not been a problem at all on the Andromeda 2020 design. This pick is easy for me, and while I still like the Solaris, the Andromeda 2020 is now the king of the Campfire lineup for my preferences.

Hidition Viento
The Hidition Viento-B is a Custom IEM that I own now, and does have some similarities to the Andromeda 2020. I find both to have some similar mid-range and treble traits and both have a very natural tonality and strong coherency. The Viento-B has better sub-bass extension and elevation which creates more sub-bass rumble for me, while the Andromeda does have a nice resonance-effect, most likely due to its tubeless and acoustic chamber design.

Unique Melody MEST
The MEST is new quad-brid IEM featuring dynamic driver, balanced armatures, electrostatic tweeters and a bone conductor driver for good measure. It has a more V-shaped sound signature than the Andromeda 2020, and I do find it a more exciting listen with a bigger bass response and a more holographic soundstage that seems to change from song to song, while still retaining generally accurate timbre. The Andromeda 2020 is much more even keeled and presents stuff in a more normal and natural way.

64 Audio U12T
The U12t is one of my most highly rated IEMs as it has solid tonality and technical performance. Actually, all the ones listed in this comparison section are very good, but the U12t is also the most boring of all of these in some sense. This is because it does nothing really wrong and does most things right. It does have a lot better bass performance than the Andromeda 2020 in my opinion, with more sub-bass extension and elevation, better decay and slam, as well as a thicker sound. It does have less exciting treble and does seem to be a tad more laid back, and hence I do find it a bit boring sounding, but tonally correct.

Fearless x Crinacle Dawn
The Dawn is also one of those IEMs where I find the tonality its strongest suit. It doesn't quite have the technical chops as the U12t or the Andromeda 2020. I think the Dawn, again, has better sub-bass. The Andromeda has a more coherent sound and much better dynamics as I found the Dawn to sound very forward and missing a lot of depth and layering capability for something that cost $1400. The Andromeda doesn't have issues with this area.

Wrap-Up

I've said a lot of good positive things about the Campfire Andromeda 2020 and that actually would have surprised me coming into this. I was not a big fan of the original version, but did appreciate it for what it was. This model came in and really took me away. I am impressed most by it's technical performance in the area of layering of instruments, dynamics and imaging. The tonality has changed for the better and sounds much more inline with my target preferences, and I found the new fit to be much more easy to wear and extremely comfortable.

To top all of that up, the standard unboxing and accessories that Campfire has been known for is left untouched and still one of the better packages available today.

My only main area I found lacking was it did not have an elevated deep sub-bass which does make it lack a little bit of rumble and the shakes, and the bigger concern of source matching. The impedance shifts on the Andromeda 2020 are very much the same as the original one, however in this case, I prefer a lower impedance than a higher one.

All in all, the Campfire team did a wonderful job on this updated model to their classic Andromeda. This one comes highly recommended.

I do not really know how to begin my impressions of the Empire Ears flagship in-ear monitor from
their EP series, the Wraith. This $3500 IEM is one of their newer models that also includes the use of four Sonion EST electrostatic tweeters, as well as 7 balanced armature drivers, making this an 11-driver hybrid.

I say I’m not totally sure how to begin this because I was mostly puzzled when listening to this IEM for the first few songs. As I listened to it more, the progressively worse state of shock I found myself in.

I joined a Head-Fi tour of the Empire Ears Wraith and Valkyrie and being the last one of the tour, as of writing this, I was quickly sent these two units. I’d like to thank Empire Ears and Barra from Head-Fi for allowing me a chance to try these out.

Accessories

The Wraith comes with in an average sized box with very cool drawer compartments much like the Sony IER-Z1R but on a smaller scale. It comes with a metal carrying case, a nicely braided cable, and a set of Final Type E tips and cleaning tools. I found the cable to be nicely made and looks attractive, however I did not like how springy it is which makes it a little hard to maneuver and hold in place.





For the review I opted to use my own 4.4mm and 2.5mm balanced cables to make use of my various sources. For the sources, I used a mixed bag of digital audio players and desktop gear. The following are the combinations of gears I tested with:

• Astell & Kern Kann Cube
• Sony NW-ZX507
• Astell & Kern SR25
• Samsung Galaxy S10e
• iFi Zen Dac + F. Audio AM01
• Schiit Bifrost 2 + Schiit Jotunheim

I’m just going to go straight into the sound impressions now.
I think the Wraith is very limited. It has a tuning that I do not think works well with many genres, and, for me, cannot be considered an all-arounder by any stretch of the imagination. Due to its bass and treble roll-off as well as its really dark tonality and sharp shouty nature make it one of those one-trick ponies that our Podcast team discussed recently.

The Wraith does have good resolution and I think generally images well, but I feel like I expect a lot more from the price tag of $3500 USD. That’s a large chunk of change and I feel like, price and performance consideration only, it fits more in the $1000 (or maybe much less) range. The tonality is strange, but it doesn’t falter in every genre.




I think it sounds perfectly acceptable in music that really focuses on the mid-range, and mid-range only. Acoustic guitar music with male vocals sound fine, so I did enjoy the more intimate tracks from Chris Stapleton’s library for example. Even for some female vocal, acoustic, tracks, like Civil Wars -- I found this to be quite acceptable.

Where I find it falters heavily is when I listen to jazz music or rock music with a heavy emphasis on drums. Drums sound very dead, dull, and lacking any liveliness at all. It’s to the point where when I listened to Tingvall Trio’s Bumerang, I wanted to immediately take it off and not listen to it again. The song has a heavy dose of snare drum and cymbal hits that carry the song from start to finish, and each strike sounded flat and thud-like, and lacked any liveliness to it at all, and because it’s such a focused part of the song, I could not finish the track with the Wraith on.

I find this problem rears its ugly head in many tracks, with only the music that focused more on the mid-range instruments sounding alright to me. Still, despite it’s darker tonality and lack of treble extension (wait, there’s four EST drivers in this thing?), I find imaging to be solid and detail retrieval was fine in the audible range of the IEM. That again, means I still can’t hear the upper harmonics, or if I did, it’s severely lacking, especially at the asking price.

Another thing about the Wraith that’s good to know is that it is extremely sensitive, if not the most sensitive IEM I’ve tried to date. Because of this, you do not need to go very far on your volume dial and if you have a hissy amp, it will hear everything in full effect. I recommend a very clean source for the Wraith.




Wrap-Up

While I think the Wraith sounds passable for some very specific genres, such as guitar-focused acoustic rock music, I find that it's lack of treble and treble extension makes it severely limited for many other genres and types of music with a wider array of instruments. Some may find the tuning unique, thick and molasses (insert syrupy buzz word here), but that doesn't really jive with me too much, because I don't think treble should sound that way. Instead, it makes some lively music sound rather dead and uninspired.

I am also more impressed with the box than the accessories package. I'd expect a little more from add-ons of this price range. Competing companies offer better cables, better cases, and more accessories.

I do not totally fault everything in the Wraith, however. It does have pretty good resolution and imaging is good, however I expect a lot more from an IEM that cost $3500 and considered a flagship product and even if it touts 4 new EST drivers.

The VX name seems to be popular amongst Chinese brands for earphones. This is now the third VX-named product in the past couple years – the Moondrop VX earbuds, the qdc Anole VX, and now this, the TRN VX.

While the qdc Anole VX is the flagship and my favorite IEM on the market that I’ve tried so far and retails for over $2200 USD, this VX from TRN comes in at a much more budget-friendly price of around $75 USD and comes in black and green shell options.

The TRN VX was provided to me for review by Linsoul and can be found on the Linsoul site directly at http://www.linsoul.com.

The VX is a 7-driver hybrid featuring a single dynamic driver and six balance armature drivers. Like some other TRN IEMs I’ve tried in the past, the shell is a nice feeling metal design that also fits very cleanly and well in my ears without any pain or discomfort. The box is rather simple and only contains the standard TRN cable which isn’t really great, and a few tip options.

For this review, I opted to use the default silicone tips along with a 4.4mm cable made by Kinboofi. The connectors used on the VX are 2-pin 0.75mm style and is quite common and easily replaced.

Sound
Like many other TRN IEMs I have tried, the VX is somewhat of a V-shaped IEM with a brighter treble range. The VX itself is probably a bit more balanced and perhaps closer to a U-shape than other iterations.

In general, the VX has a nice tuning with a warm lower mid-range, bass that doesn’t overly muddy anything and is elevated but not too bloated, and a nice pinna gain, however its biggest flaw lies heavily in the treble region, where there’s a spike past 8KHz that can be rather sharp, fatiguing, and just unpleasant in music that has some emphasis there.

The problem definitely shows its ugly head in watching YouTube videos, especially ones where recordings are not well done, and likewise, shows up in poorly recorded music too. For the most part, it’s not noticeable in most rock music, but there are exceptions.

Song Selections
In Pearl Jam’s “Breath”, which appears in the fantastic early 90’s soundtrack, “Singles”, as well as later re-issue of Ten, the cymbal crashes have this tingy character to it that can have a sharp attack that can be abrasive. Unfortunately, that sound is scattered and littered throughout the entire track. Eddie Vedder’s powerful voice seems a little tamed down, and the basslines are missing a tad of power, but the VX does come across otherwise reasonably ok.

In “Kora”, a new track from GoGo Penguin, the VX seems to excel a bit more. Bass notes have good power and punch, while the drum hits have good weight to them. It’s a song that doesn’t focus too heavily on the cymbals which can be fatiguing, and really stays towards the lower end of the mid-range. Piano notes sound nice and generally accurate, and performs well in the VX.

A song with a more mixed result is “20 Years” by The Civil Wars. The guitar rifts by John Paul White sound really nice and full of detail, but the duet vocal of White and co-singer Joy Williams, are a bit too forward and there’s this edgy sibilance to many of their words that can be jarring.

A song that features a lot of hi-hat strikes that didn’t sound totally wrong was “Ceremony”, the first track from New Order, following the death of Ian Curtis and the end of their prior band, Joy Division. Stephen Morris’s constant drum attack doesn’t come across as fatiguing in this track for whatever reason, and Peter Hook’s melodic signature bass carries the song with authority. This is another track where I feel like the VX’s sound signature shines, though it still does sound a small bit on the bright side.

Overall
Name conventions aside, I think the VX is a modest IEM with an almost ideal warm balanced sound signature that is really broken by its upper treble sharpness. This, in some ways, ruins the tonality and smoothness on many songs I listen to, despite having a very pleasing sound signature, otherwise.
Just to answer any snarky questions in the future, the VX from TRN does not trump the VX from qdc. Not even close. They actually do sure some similarities in sound, but are miles apart in overall smoothness and technical performance.
The TRN VX is probably my favorite TRN IEM to date, and they seem to get better with each iteration, so I am hoping the next set cleans up the harsh treble that is inherent in each TRN set to date.