IEMs Reviewed by Precogvision

S-

$6500

Subtonic Storm

• The best IEM I've ever heard. Best timbre. Super natural. TOTL tech. It's just good. That's all.
• Exceptional resolution, neutral sound signature. Hard to drive. The most detailed IEM I’ve ever heard.
• Easily at the top for resolution and dynamic contrast, accompanied by rigid transients and pinpoint layering.
• Pros: The most extraodinary normal sounding IEM ever. Amazing all-around. Cons: big and heavy shell.
• World-class resolution and layering. Extreme, almost exaggerated dynamics. Staging is large but not class-leading.

Neutral 7BA+2EST

9.4

8.1

S-

$3000

Elysian Annihilator 2023

• Powerful, impactful bass, the best treble I’ve experienced in an IEM, endgame-level detail. The bass might be too much for some people. Hands down, my favorite IEM.
• Treble extension is insane, I always think I'm over it, but I may never be over it.
• More of an all-rounder with better bass compared to the 2021 version, sacrifices some soundstage.
• Pros: More defined bass than 2021 version. Cons: 2021 is cleaner and more open sounding.
• Top-tier resolution with world-class treble. Great dynamics. Could use better bass texturing. An exciting listen.

U-Shaped 1DD+4BA+2EST

9.2

7.6

S-

$3500

Elysian Annihilator 2021

• Agressive listen with excellent resolution and, currently, the only true implementation of the EST drivers.
• Pros: Speediest Treble, well extended, high details. Cons: Midbass a bit too much for me.

U-Shaped 1DD+4BA+2EST

9.1

7.6

A+

$1350

Dunu Glacier

• Clean, balanced sound, clear vocals, great midrange and tech, would rec if not for the unit variance in the tuning, the unit I got sounds different than the earlier ones which was bass-boosted...
• Exceptional bass, ethereal treble, remarkable clarity, and outstanding detail. The upper mid-range might be a bit too much for some people. Reveals every detail in your music, both the good and the...
• Upper mids kill it for me, but it's a fun set.
• Quite exciting and dynamic, possibly a bit bright in the treble.
• Pros: Less thin harman with amazing tech. Cons: Not very natural timbre.
• Convinces me that the harman target can sound excellent.

U-Shaped 1DD+4BA+4EST

8.6

7.9

9.5

A+

$2000

64 Audio U12t

• TOTL tech. Mid-scoop can affect mids/vocal texture and placement, recessed midrange, treble is harsh at high volumes. Great bass detail, but could be punchier.
• Amazing bass (for a BA), top-tier resolution and detail-oriented signature.
• Just Smooth and nice, great all arounder with smooth technicals, but too boring.
• Terrific dynamic range and soundstage depth; the closest I have heard to a two-channel system in an IEM for these qualities.
• Pros: Extremely versatile signature, great bass and details. Cons: Potentially too safe tuning wise.
• Good resolution and dynamics with great imaging. Smooth, slightly recessed upper-mids with an upper treble peak.

U-Shaped 12BA

8.5

7.2

A+

$2300

64 Audio Tia Trio

• A more correct sounding version of the Fourte with slight cutbacks in staging and sheer resolution.
• Rich bass and out-of-head imaging.

Neutral 1DD+2BA

8.5

6.4

A+

$3600

Empire Ears Raven

• V/W Shaped. Energetic treble. Great tech. Fun bass and engaging signature. Overpriced?
• Sounds quite hi-fi and grand sounding, but coherency could use work - bass is distinct from the EST tweeters.

n/a 2DD+5BA+4EST+1BC

8.5

7.5

A+

$1000

Thieaudio Monarch MK2

• Neutral tuning with one of the clearest mid-ranges. Natural and clean vocals. Great resolution, separation, and detail. Can be a little dry with its analytical presentation. Bass is well-seperated...
• Smooth, balanced tuning with natural vocals, beautiful timbre, and excellent tonality. Detail and could use more bass. Treble depends on ear tips. Outstanding tuning.
• Still a king, more neutral to my ears, than MK 3. Just wow.
• A solid improvement in imaging with slightly more palatable tonality than its predecessor.
• Pros: Cohesive, smooth, balanced, technical. Cons: slight treble wispiness.
• Good treble

Neutral 1DD+6BA+2EST

8.5

7.5

A

$1500

Symphonium Crimson

• U-shaped/Slight V/W Shaped. Energetic treble. Great tech. Fun signature.
• Suffers from BA bass, but is exceptional outside of that.
• Colored tonality done correctly with incredible bass and dynamics. Upper-treble can be slightly too zingy depending on source.
• Excellent bass, dynamics, and resolution. Very large soundstage with great imaging. Mid/upper-treble may be too elevated for some.

U-Shaped 4BA

8.4

7.6

A

$1700

Sony IER-Z1R

• Best of the best in most areas, but vocals and mids can be thin due to fit issues. Insane bass texture/detail and HUGE soundstage. One of the best trebles I've heard.
• Extended yet natural treble, realistic sub-bass focus and spacious imaging capabilities.
• Top-tier bass, treble, and soundstage height and width. I don't approve of the midrange these days.
• Pros: Incredible extensions on both ends. Cons: Lower midrange.
• Visceral, hard-hitting bass, sparkly treble, and a large, spherical soundstage with impressive height. Fit may pose a challenge for many. Cons: Poor fit.

V-Shaped 2DD+1BA

8.4

7

A

$1600

Elysian Diva

• Dynamic driver-like bass, natural vocal reproduction, and an incredibly smooth tonality. Could use a bit more mid-bass for my taste. One of the best IEMs for vocals.
• Excellent BA bass and aggressive listen that maintains Elysian's house sound.
• Pros: Addictive smooth, natural treble....top tier tuning overall. Cons: mid bass shy.
• Forward, hyperpigmented vocals. Great tuning and solid techs. 3-way bass switch adds tuning versatility. An exciting listen. Cons: Build quality concerns.

Neutral 6BA

8.3

6.6

A

$1100

64 Audio U4s

• It's a solid set, with great build quality, but sonically isn't the specialist that I want it to be.
• Fantastic colored tonality with options, and the unique technical qualities to back it up. M12/M15 modules recommended.
• A tastefully colored U12t with a more intimate soundstage, a cutback in technicalities, and more bass realism.

Neutral 1DD+3BA

8.3

7

A

$4500

Elysian X

• Basically a more sub-bass focused Annihilator 2021 with some trade-offs in technicalities.
• Pros: Near excellent timbre, fantastic bass. Cons: Slight uppermids uneverness.

V-Shaped 1DD+4BA+4EST

8.2

6.8

A

$2300

Letshuoer Cadenza 12

• Pre-Production Unit with a different tuning. A better version of the U12T vocal/tuning wise, no mid scoop and wonkiness. (#1 or #2 vocals for me). Vocals are sweet, extended, open, airy, but also...
• Great timbre good on classical. Detailed and analytical, but too Safe.
• More 'musical' tonality with a touch of spice in the treble. Technicalities could use work for the price.
• Pros: One of the best treble-head set. Lots of micro details. Cons: Treble will be too

Neutral 1DD+11BA

8.1

6.9

A

$1000

Thieaudio Monarch MK3

• Better low-end texture and overall more engaging than MK2, but lacks the mid-range/vocal magic, so depending on your preference either is great. Still TOTL tech like MK2. Great all-rounder.
• More bass, treble, and detail than the Monarch MK II. The vocal magic of the Monarch MK II is gone. I prefer the Monarch MK II for its tonality, vocals, and timbre, but I get why some prefer the MK...
• Fatiging at times for me, too fun at times.
• Still perplexingly poor bass performance, but improves upon the Monarch MKII's treble extension noticeably.
• Elevated, well-textured mid-bass. Pleasant mids. Elevated upper-treble may be pesky to some.

U-Shaped 2DD+6BA+2EST

8.1

7.3

6.8

A

$2000

qdc Anole VX

• Endgame-level detail. BA bass and timbre. A highly detailed IEM.
• Very well-rounded, but sounds overly plasticky and artificial.
• Pros: Unrivaled Resolution. Cons: Can be fatiguing.

Neutral 10BA

8.1

6.8

A

$850

7th Acoustics Supernova

• Super smoooth. TOTL dynamics and treble air - dunno how they managed this airy and smooth with only BAs. Very clean, no sharpness, or sudden peaks, endgame separation and detail. Only drawback is...
• Natural king. Special iem at any price.
• Nearly immaculate tonality, coherency, and timbre with reasonably good technicalities.
• Rich, honeyed timbre. Well-tuned with solid techs. A very smooth listen. Could use better resolution and incisiveness.

Neutral 6BA

8

7

A

$1300

64 Audio U6t

• Nice graph, but images weird for an iem of this cost.
• Warm, thick, and with excellent dynamics. U12t's tubby younger brother that could use more resolution.

Neutral 6BA

8

6.4

A

$6000

Oriolus Traillii

• Dull microdynamics and treble at a not-so-dull price.
• Very natural and balanced-sounding set. Exquisite voicing and tuning. Soundstage is somewhat intimate. Bass is plasticky and lacks slam/texture. Cons: Price.

Neutral 8BA+4EST

8

6.1

A

$1500

Unique Melody MEST MK2

• TOTL imaging chops/layering. Tons of micro-details. Bass texture and impact second probably only to the Z1R. Wide and 3D staging. AGGRESSIVE, and get fatiguing when cranked up/long-listening sessions.
• Pretty much the same as the Mk1, though with extra sub-bass presence.
• A warmer, more coherent MEST with setbacks in resolution and imaging.
• Pros: Great balance, none offensive tuning with little to fault.

V-Shaped 1DD+4BA+2EST+1BC

8

7

A

$1500

Symphonium Audio Crimson

• Colored tonality done correctly with incredible bass and dynamics. Upper-treble can be slightly too zingy depending on source.

n/a 4BA

8

7

A

$2100

Softears RS10

• Great tuning with forward vocals and excellent detail. Unvented design, BA bass, and can be slightly shouty on some tracks. I prefer more bass.
• A little shouty and intense but very resolving and well-defined. A somewhat refined Moondrop S8.
• Nice iem, clean clear out of the box
• A slightly more resolving S8 at the expense of added grittiness and more upper-midrange.
• Cons: BA timbre.

U-Shaped 10BA

8

6.7

A

$780

Sennheiser IE600

• Tons of detail and amazing clarity. Stage is smaller than most IEMs at/below its price tag but very well defined details and imaging within that space. Bass is detailed, but amount is not as much as...
• Fantastic bass (both quality and quantity), great V-shaped tuning, excellent detail, and precise imaging. Treble is too much, could use more vocal focus. Fun, V-shaped tuning.
• Well-tuned mids, powerful yet controlled sub-bass, with highly extended (and somewhat spicy) treble.
• Lots of upper trebble.
• Well-extended on both ends of the spectrum and adds back in the upper-midrange the IE900 lacked.
• Pros: Very well rouned fun subbass focus sound. Cons: Treble might be too much.

V-Shaped 1DD

8

7.4

A

$1150

Symphonium Helios SE

• Best Treble around it's price. Super airy but still smooth. Bass-scoop isn't as bad as I thought, but those who want mid-bass - avoid it.
• See Helios but with more mid-treble and mid-bass.

n/a 4BA

8

7.2

A-

$650

Hisenior Mega5-EST

• Neutral, clean, well-balanced, monitor like, great tech, but boring. Just get the TOP PRO, Oracle MK3 or Volare, or Xuan Wu Gate.
• Great tuning, neutral with bass boost, smooth, safe, and balanced. Could use more detail, incisiveness, and excitement. Very neutral, "plain water" sound signature.
• Let's call a spade a spade, this is boring.
• Very bouncy bass but midrange sounds sucked out and has some oddity. Original sounds more coherent even if less exciting/detailed.
• Pros: Exceptionally tuned across the board. Cons: Could use more "wow" and details.
• Fantastic tuning.. it really does not get better. Technical performance could be better.
• Well-tuned and great techs at this price point. Lacks dynamics and the mids are a little lean. Otherwise a great all-rounder.

Neutral 1DD+2BA+2EST

7.9

7.3

A-

$550

Moondrop Variations

• Very clear with lots of detail. Sub-bass has a nice rumble and texture. Amazing treble extension and stage air. Female vocals are vibrant and shines. Mid-bass cut is real, affecting some genres and...
• Great sub-bass, Harman tuning, and excellent detail. Can sound thin. A solid benchmark.
• Sub-bass-focused signature with Moondrop's clean tuning makes this one of the best $500 tribrids.
• The more I listen the more perfect I find it.
• A more refined B2 Dusk with better bass texture and treble extension.
• Pros: Great separation and details. Cons: Thin lower midrange.
• Great tuning, neutral timbre, and a satisfying bass with a sub-bass focus. Solid all-rounder.

U-Shaped 1DD+2BA+2EST

7.9

7.4

7.8

A-

$3100

Empire Ears EVO

• Great bass texture. BC driver actually works. Very well controlled but still impactful. Great resolution. Doesn't scale well because of spicy uppermids. Vocals often gets shouty on certain tracks,...
• An improvment over the LX SE's bass, but still lacking in the Odin's control. BC is no gimmick at least.

n/a 2DD+5BA+1BC

7.9

7

A-

$730

Softears RSV

• One of the best vocals I've heard on any IEM (especially for male artists). Mids and Treble is TOTL, smooth and well extended and has great naturalness and the perfect bite. Bass has great speed and...
• Warmer, bassier, and slightly more resolving than the Studio 4, with great timbre. BA Bass. I prefer the Studio 4.
• Very well-balanced tonality with surprisingly good timbre, though slightly lacking definition.
• Great upper treble, but its overall tonality isn't perfect.
• Well-tuned from top-to-bottom with good timbre. Safe to the point of boredom.
• Pros: Timbre so beautiful you think it's not a BA set.

Bright 5BA

7.9

7.4

7

A-

$3400

Empire Ears Odin

• A Legend X with the bass properly controlled and the resolution one step higher.
• High-clarity signature that invokes a sense of stateliness.
• Pros: Well textured bass, good control, pleasing tones.

Neutral 2DD+5BA+4EST

7.9

6.6

A-

$1100

Symphonium Helios

• Great technicalities. Lacking that last leg of refinement in terms of coherency.
• Exceptional treble with solid bass. Great techs. Some may find the midrange a bit clinical. Fit will be a dealbreaker to some. Cons: Poor fit.

Neutral 4BA

7.9

6.8

A-

$1700

64 Audio Nio

• A decent bassy set with the m15/m20 modules, but really shines with the mX modules.
• Sub-bass oriented with a very warm, thick tonality. MX module cleans things up quite a bit.

Neutral 1DD+8BA

7.9

5.7

A-

$700

Moondrop S8

• Harman-like sound with plenty of detail. BA bass. Smooth, detailed, and balanced tuning.
• More faithful to the Harman target compared to the A8, with a smoother bass response.
• Special set.
• Excellent treble extension and detail retrieval.
• Pros: Smooth engaging harman signature with fun bass. Cons: BA timbre.
• Very resolving with a sweet, pleasant timbre. Good mids and treble. Average bass. Upper-mids may be shouty to some.

U-Shaped 8BA

7.9

7.3

A-

$1300

Unique Melody MEST

• A MEST MK2 with slightly more uppermid/bass. More v-shaped. Even more AGGRESSIVE than MK2. Also gets fatiguing when cranked up/long-listening sesisons.
• A smooth, relaxing listen (in custom form) backed up with good technicalities.
• Engaging imaging with some minor coherency issues.
• Pros: Impressive staging and details. Cons: Aggressive signature.

V-Shaped 1DD+4BA+2EST+1BC

7.8

7.1

A-

$1300

Sennheiser IE900

• Well-resolving DD IEM with excellent treble control, though with somewhat weak mid-high harmonics.
• I don't get it, not even a little.
• Excelllent bass - simply excellent. Midrange could use some work, as could the generally average imaging chops.

V-Shaped 1DD

7.8

6.7

A-

$400

ThieAudio Hype 4

• One of the best all-rounders under $600 (v-shaped harman). Treble quality is smooth and well extended. Great low-end texture with lots of impact. Good vocals. Solid tech, and just solid in general.
• Fun, bass-boosted sound with powerful bass, great treble extension, and clear vocals. Treble can be overly crisp at times. A fun and exciting IEM.
• Upper trebble is odd on many tracks, but is a strong set.
• Bass sounds somewhat 'BA-ish' for being DD, but well-tuned, decently technical, and a very solid package overall.
• Great imaging and headstage. Width is outstanding. Even at 400 bucks it's outstanding in this pricerange.

JM1 ish 2DD+4BA

7.7

7.7

A-

$599

ThieAudio Oracle mk3

• Great bass texture, much better than predecessors, smooth and slightly airy giving it a sizzly timbre, great layering/separation, vocals are slightly laid back but not gone, very balanced across...
• It's like a Pilgrim OG with EST. It's kinda cool.
• Pretty detailed but sounds incoherent, particularly in the treble, which also seems exaggerated in a bad way.
• A step in the right direction compared to mk2. I like this as much as the mk1. Solid all-rounder, good sense of separation.

n/a 2DD+2BA+2EST

7.7

7.7

A-

$539

ThieAudio Oracle

• Amazing airy and relaxing vocals. Sweet and gentle presentation. Clean, clear vocals - could be too balanced tho. Great separation, but stage size could be better.
• Functionally similar to the Clairvoyance with slight cutbacks in overall clarity and resolution.
• Great iem for what it is. Really impressive.
• Pleasant tonality, but low-level detailing and compression.
• Pros: Tuning so good it melts your soul (kinda). Cons: treble wispiness + slight incoherent.

Neutral 1DD+2BA+2EST

7.7

7.1

A-

$450

Softears Studio 4

• Best all rounder under $500. "Correct" and neutral tuning. Perfect vocals, not as forward like RSV but zero faults. Slight Improvement over RSV in-terms of seapration and stage size/treble is...
• Neutral, accurate sound with great bass, tonal accuracy, forward vocals, and natural timbre. Excellent isolation. Unvented design and BA bass may not suit everyone. A benchmark for tonality and...
• Something magical about this set, but it's not the Bass.
• Sounds plasticky and smoothed; inoffensive to the point of being offensive.
• Pros: Just great all around, balance with amazingly clean midrange.

Bright 4BA

7.6

7.4

A-

$280

Tanchjim Origin

• A cleaner/less warm LM, smoother EA1000 (fermats a little more resolving), very balanced, clean, and neutral sound. Very tough competition.
• Cohesive, vocal-focused tuning with dynamic bass, smooth extended treble, and excellent detail. Could use more sub-bass. Smooth, detailed, and vocal-centric sound.
• Great Clarity, exceedingly tip sensitive.
• Japanese flavor of tuning (mid-bass and upper-mid focus) finally done justice. Strong technical chops and slightly forward.
• Pros: Beautiful timbre and treble. Cons: Bass can use a bit more...volume.

n/a 1DD

7.6

8.2

A-

$600

LETSHUOER EJ07M

• Holographic staging with an amazing midrange. Great bass texture and impact. Incredibly immersive and endgame for most. Has more sub-bass and treble air than OG doesn't scale as well.
• Fit is an issue same as the Blessing 2 Dusk.
• Excellent tonality and dynamic bass held back only by a lack of intangible performance.

U-Shaped 1DD+2BA+4EST

7.6

7.2

A-

$320

Moondrop Blessing 3

• Bright-neutral. Slight resolution bump over the B2 Dusk, but at the cost of weak bass and sharp 6K.
• Neutral, vocal-focused sound with great treble extension and detail. Light bass, can sound lean, thin and technical. Excellent resolution.
• A little lean, but if you eq it's one of the best sets out there for the price.
• Detail-oriented signature at the expense of sounding quite anemic.
• Pros: Brighter, slightly more detailed version of B2 Dusk. Cons: Bass a little light.

Neutral 2DD+4BA

7.6

7.5

A-

$1500

ThieAudio V16 Divinity

• Nice BA bass and detail overall, but the upper-midrange is odd and treble sounds sort of dead.
• Pros: Excellent across the board. Cons: Not special in one particular way.

Neutral with bass boost 16BA

7.6

6.5

A-

$1000

Sony IER-M9

• Neutral tonality, highly coherent and decent detail pickup. The all-rounder of the IER lineup.
• Boring, but you won't find anything more well-rounded for the price. Exceptional timbre for a BA IEM.
• Pros: Just great accross the board, nothing to fault. Cons: Not very special.

Neutral 5BA

7.5

6.4

A-

$600

Symphonium Audio Meteor

• Meaty textured mid-bass, but can be a bit much. VVery warm sound. Library dependent. Airy treble, but vocals are a bit pushed back and buried.
• I'm just not a fan of the tuning, but I can see how others might like it.
• A fun U-shape through and through, at the expense of some detail. Fantastic bass and upper-treble extension.

U-Shaped 4BA

7.5

6.9

A-

$3000

Vision Ears EXT

• Tasteful W-shape tuning that delivers in the technical department. Mid-treble can be sharp, though.

U-Shaped 2DD+2EST

7.5

6.2

B+

$1300

Effect Audio x Elysian Gaea

• Fantastic clarity at the expense of sounding somewhat dry.

n/a 1DD+4BA

7.4

6.9

B+

$500

Dunu DK-3001 BD

• Technical, but thin, and bright tilt with LOTS of planar sizzle and timbre. Needs more low-end (small scoop), noteweight is very light, not peaky, but just artificial. Needs 10hm adapter to be...
• Excellent bass quality, deep sub-bass, transparent mids, and great resolution. Low mid-bass, slightly lean vocals, and bright treble. More mid-bass and less treble would be perfect
• I prefer this with the adapter, but is fine without.
• Not to my taste - treble sounds slightly brittle and harsh - but plenty of resolution and clean presentation.
• My second 5 star IEM in 2024. The Braindance is a very satisfying IEM to listen to.

V-Shaped 1DD+4BA+4P

7.4

7.9

B+

$2400

Empire Ears Legend X SE

• A more upper-mid-forward variation of the original Legend X, which could come off as slightly more mid-recessed.
• Lacks control in the bass, but it's so fun. Excellent imaging performance that belies its tuning.

V-Shaped 2DD+5BA

7.4

5.9

B+

$700

Thieaudio Clairvoyance

• Inoffensive, pleasant tuning specialising in extremely balanced tonality and bass control.
• A more pleasant, warmer Monarch with cutbacks in resolution.
• Pros: Amazingly balanced tuning.

Neutral 1DD+5BA+2EST

7.4

6

B+

$580

DUNU SA6 MKII

• V-shaped SA6 Ultra with more recessed mids and vocals. Sharper and more bass than SA6U but mids are buried in busier tracks.
• QDC Anole VX tuning, excellent resolution, and great bass with a practical bass switch. Unvented design. Similar to the SA6 Ultra but with more bass, airier treble, and improved soundstage and fit.
• Technical, nice but upper mids not for me.
• A warmer rendition of the original SA6, best considered a side-grade than a true upgrade.
• Pros: Slightly more V-shape than the Ultra with small detail boost. Cons: Could use a little more upper mids.

Neutral 6BA

7.4

7.3

B+

$600

DUNU SA6 Ultra

• An SA6 with improvement in treble extension, and stage air; better tuned Oracle2 with wider stage. Relaxing tonality but also very resolving. Airy stage with great depth and height. Smooth dynamics...
• QDC Anole VX tuning, excellent resolution, and great bass with a practical bass switch. Unvented design. Tuning style is a matter of preference.
• A slightly refined SA6 with better treble extension. Very coherent.
• Pros: Anole VX-ish tuning with less treble and details. Cons: Could use a little more upper mids.

Neutral 6BA

7.3

7.2

B+

$1400

Fearless x Crinacle Dawn

• Excellent, pleasing tuning only held back by a lack of technicalities.
• Pros: Clean midrange + excellent resolution. Cons: Not as dynamic bass.

n/a 6BA+2EST

7.3

4.9

B+

$1200

Lime Ears Terra

• Harman-like tuning with full-bodied sound, great sub-bass, and solid detail. Could use more mid-bass impact. Slightly bright treble. Excellent balance of detail and musicality.
• Lots of details, may not be for everyone.
• Sounds Harman-inspired with some minor tuning liberties. Decent overall but I'd prefer more air past 10kHz.
• I don't think its an exceptional sound for this price. There are better options. Build Quality and aesthetics are nice though.

U-Shaped 1DD+5BA

7.3

6.7

B+

$1200

ThieAudio Prestige

• Sub-bass boost + treble boost. Similar to Crimson, lots of treble energy, great tech, more aggresive LTD.
• Lots of bass, good slam, controlled mid-range. Bass quality, too much upper treble, timbre, and overall detail.
• Very bright in the upper-treble which leads to a fatiguing sound and masking issues.
• Pros: High micro details, clean bass. Cons: Treble damage timbre.

n/a 1DD+4BA+4EST

7.3

6.7

B+

$900

DUNU Zen Pro

• Solid tuning with good speed. Could use more air and some minor work in the treble.

Neutral 1DD

7.3

5.6

B+

$530

Mangird Xenns Top

• What the Variations should've been. Fantastic tehcnincalities. Neutral-bright leaning. Nothing wrong with it at mid-volume, but I can see treble can be too much at highet volumes.
• Very inofffensive tonality with a soft treble response, sounds like lower and mid-treble are too recessed.
• Pros: Exceptionally tuned, full range and detailed. Cons: Treble might be too much for some.

n/a 1DD+8BA

7.2

6.8

B+

$730

Thieaudio Monarch

• Endgame clarity and layering. Great resolution, and open staging. Not holographic but very clean. Rumbly sub-bass but mid-bass tuck can kill some libraries, and affects vocal thinness.
• Neutral with bass boost
• Not particularly coherent, but an attention grabber with solid, surface-level detail.
• Pros: Superb separation, fun clean signature.

U-Shaped 1DD+6BA+2EST

7.2

7.2

B+

$4500

Vision Ears Erlkonig

• Good tonality, high resolution and an overall decent all-rounder.
• Good detail retrieval and tonal balance on settings 3 & 4. Poor midrange micro-dynamics, though, and quite boring.

Variable 13BA

7.2

6.2

B+

$550

Dunu SA6

• Gorgeous mid range and great dynamics. Good timbre makes me forget it's a full BA set. Good bass texture, but wish it had more rumble. Wish stage and imaging was more 3D. Could use more treble air...
• Tonality reminiscent of the Anole VX, though not up to the same level of technicalities.
• Slightly "wet" characteristic that takes the edge off of the qdc-inspired tuning. Very pleasant on the ears.
• Pros: Engaging signature with great vocals.

Neutral 6BA

7.1

6.7

B+

$500

Kiwi Ears Orchestra

• Great vocals. Clean and neutral signature. A bit vanilla and "boring" but scales great with volume.
• Very well-tuned reference-y signature with a mild bass and treble emphasis for added energy.
• Well-tuned with surprisingly good treble extension. Upwards compressed dynamics contrast poorly with tuning.
• Pros: Slightly warm neurail tuning, well done.

Neutral 8BA

7.1

6.4

B+

$300

Audio Hekili

• Slight U-shape for a wholly fun sound.

V-Shaped 1DD+7BA

7.1

6.6

B+

$299

ThieAudio Hype 2

• Mini-Monarch MK3 with less bass and details. 80% there. Harmanish tuning, and best all-rounder before Studio 4.
• Just not right for me, but solid.
• Poor bass performance and sounds like surface-level detailing due to mid-treble recession despite great frequency response.
• Imagin is fantastic and stands out. Hype 2 is a pretty good place to start in the hobby

n/a 2DD+2BA

7

7.8

B+

$3300

Hidition Violet

• Strong sub-bass presence, slightly cut-back upper mids. A fun IEM through and through.
• The best BA bass that I have heard, otherwise marred by poor imaging and slight congestion issues.

V-Shaped 13BA

7

6.1

B+

$300

Sony XBA-N3

• Exceptional tonal balance only limited by its slightly smoothed over definition
• Sinfully addictive tuning hampered only by a slight lack of detail and imaging performance.

V-Shaped 1DD+1BA

7

6.5

B+

$1250

Hyla Sarda

• Standard "HYLA" house sound, doesn't do much different from the CE-5 and TE-5B.
• Fantastic bass response and strong clarity in the upper-midrange. However, can be genre dependent.

U-Shaped 1DD+2BA+1PZ

7

6.3

B

$300

Etymotic ER4XR

• A more mainstream tuning of the ER4S/SR with slightly boosted bass.
• So. Darn. Boring. But yes, it's the BA benchmark.

Neutral 1BA

6.9

6.9

B

$1400

Softears Turii

• Resolving and fairly well-tuned dynamic-driver IEM.
• One of the more technically proficient single-DDs on the market.

V-Shaped 1DD

6.9

6.4

B

$99

JUZEAR x Z Reviews Defiant

• Another all-rounder with good balance. Doesn't do anything right or wrong, but has qc issues with channel imbalance (and also my case ziper broke within a few weeks), it's ok but there are better...
• Punchy bass, natural vocals, balanced tuning, great detail. Solid all-rounder.
• Fun engaging set!
• Pleasant, neutral warm tuning with good treble extension that wholly belies its price point.
• Pros: Great balanced tuning with a vocal emphasis.
• Exciting and contrasty. Very well tuned. Sub-bass focused. Vocal area pretty well tuned. Treble surprisingly well tuned. Tasteful V-Shaped sound signature.

n/a 1DD+3BA

6.9

8.2

B

$1400

64 Audio Solo

• It's nice, but is planar and kinda dull.
• Warm and shimmery with excellent imaging. Dampening in the mid-treble elevates this above the standard planar IEM experience.
• This Planar lines up with the 64 Audio house sound. There are better options for Planars and this sound signature.

n/a n/a

6.9

6.3

B

$190

Moondrop Kato

• For $200, I'd probably recomend other iems. But it's solid.
• A slight improvement over the KXXS all-round in the technical department.
• Pros: KXXS with better vocals and details.

V-Shaped 1DD

6.9

7.4

B

$2300

Empire Ears Legend X

• High resolution hybrid flawed only by lack of control in the bass regions.
• Bass lacks texture, but a fairly holographic, "grand" presentation that is unique for a V-shaped response.

V-Shaped 2DD+5BA

6.9

5.5

B

$1250

Hidition NT6

• If Etymotic made a multi-BA IEM, this would be the closest to that dream
• A Viento on steroids with not-so-desirable consequences. Lean and shrill.

Neutral 6BA

6.9

6

B

$3000

qdc Anole V14

• Rather bassy even in stock form; fun and engaging, though at the expense of sheer technical performance.
• Fixes Anole VX's bass texture and plastickyness, but comes with its own quirks in the metallic treble.

Neutral 10BA+4EST

6.8

6.1

B

$270

Tanchjim Oxygen

• One of the best-tuned DDs tuned somewhat to Harman. Defined and detailed.
• A better KXXS with slightly out-of-head imaging.
• Pros: Great energy for a harman signature.

V-Shaped 1DD

6.8

7.4

B

$799

Moondrop Dark Saber

• It has it's moments, but it is a massive please demo first style iem.
• Basically the Moondrop S8 with a dynamic driver for the bass. Negatively affects the coherency of the presentation.

n/a 2DD+8BA

6.8

6.2

B

$380

DUNU Vulkan

• Neutral bass glide, full mids, and decent treble extension. Some masking and not as technical vs blessing series, but better note-weight and timbre/tonality.
• Solid iem, nice tonality but really not for Bassheads.
• Musical, slightly out-of-head presenation at the expense of blunted transients.

Neutral 2DD+4BA

6.8

7.1

B

$900

Hidition Waltz

• Neutral-fun signature that works both as a reference monitor and a rock-out IEM.
• Fun tuning with Hidition's mid-treble sparkle and none of the Viento's nasty resoance.

V-Shaped 3BA

6.8

5.6

B

$2699

Moondrop Solis 2

• Great bass quality, vocal clarity, and detail. I prefer more bass.
• Very mediocre sounding overall and build quality is reminiscent of a $20 IEM.

Neutral 2DD+2BA+4EST

6.8

5.7

B

$500

MiM Dark Magician

• Weighted and airy vocals but with expansive staging. 3D/ball imaging. Coherency and dynamics are TOTL. Clear - details are "big"/forward, but can use better separation. Super immersive. Could use...
• Pleasant and smooth tonality; however, the DD being used does not seem very technical (for the price).

Neutral 1DD

6.7

6.6

B

$1100

Campfire Andromeda 2020

• Out-of-head imaging, plus terrific layering chops and musicality. Stay away if you want good bass.
• Pros: Extremely airy soundstage. Cons: Slightly bright, not very natural mids.

n/a 5BA

6.7

5.9

B

$2700

Vision Ears Elysium

• First decent implementation of Sonion's EST tweeters.
• The first "passable" implementation of the Sonion ESTs. Not particularly coherent, unfortunately.

V-Shaped 1DD+1BA+2EST

6.7

5.7

B

$720

ThieAudio Excalibur

• Probably the weakest of the ThieAudio tribrids, but still great on its own.
• Better clarity than the Oracle and more dynamic than most of ThieAudio's IEMs at the expense of some shoutyness.

V-Shaped 1DD+2BA+2EST

6.7

6.1

B

$80

Truthear Hexa

• Foam helps tame uppermids/treble. Amazing detail for price and new benchmark below $100. Better tuned "softer" Dusk with slighlty less accurate imaging. Note-weight can be light.
• KING. Special. Inoffensive. But honestly where bass?
• Sounds like a warmer, lo-res Moondrop B2, emphasis on lo-res in the bass.
• Pros: Well done, clean midrange focus tuning. Cons: Can be fatiguing in the treble.

Neutral 1DD+3BA

6.7

7.3

B

$220

Aful Performer 5

• Fun slight v-shape tuning with forward vocals with slight excitement in the treble. Separation takes a hit as a result, and treble is a bit uneven.
• Still a king.
• Inoffensive other than being a bit too gritty and clacky in the treble.
• Pros: Balanced tuning with fantastic treble extension. Cons: imaging could be better.

V-Shaped 1DD+4BA

6.7

7.5

B

$430

Fiio FH7S

• Warm and gooey with some sparkle. Relatively pleasant overall.

V-Shaped 1DD+4BA

6.7

4.8

B

$350

Xenns Mangird Tea 2

• Slightly more technical version of the OG TEAs. Thumpier low end, and treble is more extended. Less forward presentation. Stage has more depth. Can't scale as well as OG. Vocals are not as "magical"...
• A little odd in some parts of the treble and detailing could use some work, but nothing offensive overall.

Neutral 1DD+6BA

6.7

6.3

B

$1860

Vision Ears VE7

• Fairly inoffensive tuning with solid technicalities.
• Very pleasant tonal balance for the astute midrange connoisseur and solid technicalities.

V-Shaped 7BA

6.6

5.5

B

$899

Moondrop Illustrious

• Basically the Softears Twilight with less sub-bass extension, alot more neutral and monitor like, and very pricy since Twilight goes on sale for $700 with a more musical playback. This is just...
• Nice single DD, not a benchmark, but very nice.
• Sounds like it has metallic timbre. Percussino compression around 5kHz due to lack of treble extension and generally bad tuning.
• Sounds like an open-back IEM. It delivers on open design. Something to consider if you are looking for that.

Moondrop 1DD

6.6

6.3

B

$330

Moondrop B2: Dusk

• Terrific tonal balance and bass shelf, but with slightly gritty treble and poor bass texturing.

n/a 1DD+4BA

6.6

5.9

B

$190

Moondrop KXXS

• Well-tuned single DD with proper timbre and decent technicalities.
• Excellent timbre; not the most resolving set, but very easy on the ears.

V-Shaped 1DD

6.6

6.4

B

$285

SoftEars Volume

• Smooth, slightly splashy treble, but a legend.
• Decent tonality but boring dynamics and low-level detailing. Oddly dipped in the mid-treble.
• Pros: Nicely tuned, vocal forward signature. Cons: Treble air.

Neutral 1DD+2BA

6.5

7.3

B

$420

Tanchjim Darling

• A tad shouty but with excellent imaging performance.
• Excellent imaging, but with too much shout and an uneven treble response.

V-Shaped 1DD+2BA

6.5

6

B

$350

BGVP DM8

• A bit wonky on paper, but nothing to really complain about in practice.

Neutral 8BA

6.5

4.8

B

$1200

Unique Melody MEXT

• Decent tonality and BC seems to work in the midrange, but low-level note definition.

U-Shaped 1DD+4BA+1BC

6.5

5.7

B

$2200

Vision Ears VE8

• Extremely coherent signature with a pleasing tuning and high technicalities.
• The warm IEM of warm IEMs. Carried by its excellent midrange.

Neutral 8BA

6.5

5.3

B

$1100

Hidition NT6 Pro

• A V-shaped version of the NT6. The change in tuning kills the technical ability slightly
• Hidition's take on a V-shaped signature and one executed pretty well at that. Slightly too much lower-treble begets drier sound.

Neutral with bass boost 6BA

6.5

5.9

B

$260

Fiio FH5

• Stellar bass response and decent technical ability, not much to fault.
• Easily the best Fiio IEM. Warm, pleasant tuning with decent detail.

Neutral 1DD+3BA

6.5

6.3

B

$200

DUNU Talos

• It's a fine set, but my excitement is dulled by it's price.
• Sounds best with the BA switch off. Somewhat thin, mid-treble oriented sound.
• Pros: Very well tuned, well balanced. Cons: Could use more air.

Neutral n/a

6.5

7.4

B

$220

7Hz Timeless

• Great details. Good stage in front but lacking in wideness/3D. Imaging is good and speration is great, but uneven treble peaks. Planar timbre. Vocals and notes can be thin. Fatiguing at higher volume...
• Clean, impactful bass, great detail, fast transients. Upper mids are a bit intense, bright treble, planar timbre.
• Easily the best-tuned planar IEM by a country mile, the Timeless is also no slouch on the technical front.
• Has the planar advantage with most of its disadvantages and a reasonable tonality.
• Pros: High details for the price, good fun tuning. Cons: Metallic timbre.

V-Shaped n/a

6.5

7.8

B

$3500

64 Audio Tia Fourte

• Unique sound; high clarity and bass response with immensely wide staging, held back by a wonky tonality.
• Tia Trio's older brother that takes things too far off the beaten path for tonality.

W-Shaped 1DD+3BA

6.5

6.1