Yes, yes, please. Would love to read what you both have to say about the Monarch MKII…
1 Like
I like how Ant’s justification to sell stuff is to buy more stuff 
1 Like
Editor’s Note: This is the second review of these KZ IEMs on Audio Discourse! The first one posted earlier was by Precogvision, and this one is by Antdroid.
If you’re reading reviews of IEMs here on Audio Discourse, then you probably have heard of Crinacle (from In-Ear Fidelity fame) as well. He’s one of the premier voices on the internet for IEM reviews, measurements, and information, and has taken on several collaborations with manufacturers as of late. I’ve had the opportunity to review all of them to date and have been mostly happy to hear the results. The latest announcements from Crinacle’s collaborations include a new Fiio IEM unit, which will be arriving at my doorstep in the coming days, and this special release from Knowledge Zenith.
Yes, that’s right! KZ. The infamous brand of super budget IEMs that garner a lot of hype with varying degrees of success. Some of their units are solid offerings for their price points, and some are pretty mediocre, and it’s almost always a guessing game of how well one will turn out. But with Crinacle helping the tuning on this set, there’s a good chance it’ll turn out well. So let’s dive into this!
First off, there’s a twist. KZ actually released the collaboration previously under the name ZEX Pro, the follow-up to their ZEX IEM from a year ago. The ZEX Pro was released without the fanfare and prior to the announcement of the collaborative effort to see how it would be received free of any bias from “tuned by Crinacle.” Just a couple weeks ago, Crinacle announced that the ZEX Pro was in fact a collaboration effort and the IEM with his “face” on it would be called the KZ x Crinacle CRN.
These two units are sold for $38 USD and can be found on various stores that carry KZ including Amazon.com and through KZ directly (link at the bottom with coupon code!). Both units were sent to me by KZ directly for review.
The only difference between the two units is literally that Crinacle “face” on the side of the CRN unit, where the ZEX Pro has no decal. They both otherwise come in a rose gold or black finish, with tranlucent inner shell, a clear/silver cable, and a small set of tips in a tiny shipping box. I received both the CRN and the ZEX Pro versions and can confidently say they are exactly the same unit with measurements to back it up here:
Sound Impressions
The ZEX Pro/CRN has a warm-ish tuning, with a sub-bass emphasis, and a generally tame mid-range and low treble. There’s a tad bit of excess sparkle in the treble range, and overall it lacks upper treble extension, which is not uncommon for something in this price range. Tuning is not really the problem with this IEM, as it’s done mostly well, and the expertise of Crinacle really shows, as this is one of the more balanced KZ releases I’ve tried.
But just because it’s got Crinacle’s name on it, does not mean it lacks flaws. I’ve never shied away from talking about my personal preferences and pros and cons of any IEMs and Crinacle’s line-up in the past has had their fair takes as well. The Fearless Dawn was well-tuned, but really lacked any sense of dynamics, soundstage, imaging, and general technical performance for the price it commanded, and the Blessing 2 Dusk had the same fit and discomfort issues of the large Moondrop Blessing 2 standard shell that I really disliked.
The ZEX Pro/CRN’s biggest flaw, in my opinion, is that it tries to be a bass-driven IEM, but I feel it falters here. It doesn’t hit hard enough, and it’s bass range is quite soft and rounded. It lacks a dynamic flair that makes me feel the bass, whether you’re talking about slam, punch, or rumble. It just feels tamed down and lacking resolution. Of course, on the resolution front, this is $38 so I can’t have too much heartache over that.
When I compared it to the newest CCA CRA, which was also sent to me along with the ZEX Pro, I immediately felt the bass performance of the CRA was quite a bit better than the ZEX Pro, and at half the price. So part of my judgement is directly tied to its cheaper sibling.
The other area I felt that the ZEX Pro/CRN didn’t hit home right was the mid-range. On paper (in this case, graph paper…), the mids are look fantastic in that FR graph above. It aligns directly with my preference target, but in reality, it sounds wonky. I didn’t feel strangeness when I listened to deep male vocal music such as country and rock singers, but my first impressions of the CRN were with a variety of female vocalists: namely, Alison Krauss, The Wailin’ Jennys, Kacey Musgraves, Jorja Smith, and Jenn Champion.
All of these vocalist had the same reproduced flaws on the CRN. Mainly, this was a compressed and grainy sound that also sounded a little disjointed, where at times they sounded quite forward and at other times, distant. I never could quite find a track where I felt the CRN really shined for vocals in general, but that was a tad disappointing. The mid-range just didn’t sound as I was expecting.
Now that said, the overall tonal balance of the CRN isn’t bad. It actually goes well with the instrumental piano jazz music that I listen to the most lately, and outside the lack of bass emphasis that I felt was strangely tame, I thought that ZEX Pro/CRN did well here. There was a good smoothness to this genre that didn’t have any shrilling highs or oddities. Unfortunately, drums do sound muted, dull, and lacking crispness due to the tailed-off treble, and this makes the overall staging a bit small.
I’m asking a lot here for $38, so I caveat it with that. It doesn’t beat it home as a killer above its price point, but, for its price point, it does quite well compared to its competition, and let’s explore that a little more.
Battle with the BLON
While I already talked briefly about the CCA CRA in comparison here, I’ll have another set of impressions on that new IEM in a future article. I do want to quickly discuss a comparison to another equally priced IEM and previous king of this price range: The Blon BL-03.
The BL-03 had quite a hype around it that was fairly justified given its budget price, metal housing, and generally pleasant tonality. How does it stack up against this new KZ ZEX Pro/CRN?
Well, I find the CRN to out-perform it in a number of areas.
The BLON’s small shell and shallow fit cause a number of issues for me. First, I could never get it to feel secure in my ears, and because of that, it was easily losing seal. Secondly, the included cable is horrible in just about every way, making it not only a tangled mess to unwind, but also adding to the fit issues.
The ZEX Pro/CRN, on the other hand, has a more traditional shell and fits wonderfully despite the cable being almost as bad and easily tangled.
As far as tuning goes, the BL-03 has more bass emphasis and can seem like its quite bloated compared to the more balanced tonality of the ZEX Pro/CRN. The BL-03 also sounds a little more shrilly and shouty in the 1-3KHz range, and becomes quite a problem for me when listening to piano music, especially when keys are struck with might. Both have similar treble responses with missing upper-treble extension, though I feel like the overall mid-range to treble transition is better on the KZ.
In terms of technical performance, this probably goes to the KZ again. The BL-03 has an even mushier bass response that bleeds more into the mids, despite the mids of the ZEX Pro/CRN having the issues I stated above. The soundstage on both are small, and comparable, and imaging chops are just slightly better on the KZ, with also a slight advantage on resolution and clarity.
All in all, I think the KZ ZEX Pro/CRN is the winner of this battle, and can potentially be crowned the next budget king in this under $50 price category… perhaps, until I review the CCA CRA?!
Final Thoughts
The CRN is a good solid addition to the under $50 market and easily can be put in the top or near top of the bracket in terms of tuning and overall enjoyment. I do find it lacking in some technical areas with lacking a bit of soul and character, but that is can be dismissed partly due to its limited constraints and pricing.
5 Likes
Once upon a time there were three little IEMs named Barcelona, Provence, and Shangri-La. They had built their homes with materials found in their land: sets of dynamic drivers and various balanced armatures.
The first little IEM, Barcelona, was the smallest and youngest and he could only pick up 1 DD and 1 BA to build his shell with.
The middle-IEM, Provence, had a little more money and strength, and decided to build his shell out of 1 DD and 2 BAs.
The oldest and wisest IEM, Shangri-La, went all-out and built his shell out of 1 DD and a whopping 4 BAs! His shell was well guarded, but could it stop the big bad wolf from blowing his shell down with a poor review?
This article will take a look at Fearless Audio’s latest batch of IEM: The Barcelona ($118), the Provence ($138) and the Shangri-La ($228). I received all three of these together from Linsoul for review and I’ll be talking about all three together here. There’s a few reasons for that.
First, they are all the same brand and came out at the same time.
Secondly, they all look very similarly, including the same box, accessories, fit, styles, and even sound.
Thirdly, again, they all sound very similarly mediocre.
This is going to be an article of mostly complaints, so I’ll start with some thing good about them first. I think these three IEMs fit nicely in my ears and also look pleasant and are light weight. They aren’t the best built IEMs out there, but they at least look stylish and attractive.
The cable is nice to look at, but they are very thick, stiff, and generally very uncomfortable to use. It’s a silver color with heavy aluminum splitter and chin strap. The extra size and metal design gives it a premium feel and appearance, but I don’t find this very utilitarian in practice since my frustrations using it severely outweigh outwardly appearances.
The Fearless trio here all have a very similar V-shaped sound signature with variations on how they handle the lower treble region. They all have bass boosts, slightly recess mid-ranges that all generally sound the same.
The Barcelona sounds the darkest of the three with the most compression and bluntness of all. The Provence is the most balanced of the three with a smoother sound overall, and the Shangri-La presents the brightest sound, to the point where I find it obnoxious. This perhaps gives it more perceived clarity, and hence the title of the most expensive of the bunch, but I don’t really think it technically performs better than the other three.
In reality, all three of these perform very similarly outside their small tuning differences. I found them all to have similar faults that other Fearless IEMs I’ve tried have had, even at the highest tier, the Fearless Dawn. That is, these IEMs lack much in terms of staging and depth, and often sound very bland and sterile. Lifeless comes to mind at times. There’s a general sense of compressed dynamics as well, which makes Fearless IEMs actually very smooth and somewhat ethereal in a sense, but really lacking any soul.
That’s all present here, and I don’t think there is a significant difference between the lower priced Barcelona or the higher priced Shangri-La. They all have the same fundamental flaws, which is worsened by just a boring and overly generic sound signature.
8 Likes
Wow, didn’t expect to see the score of Monarch is so high. Would love to see the inclusion of Monarch mk2.
I just received th Monarch II and also another Monarch 1 set, so I’ll be adding them to the ranking soon. My first impressions of them are that they sound pretty good with certain music, but the upper mid-range does come in a little hot and can be a bit fatiguing much like the original Monarch does. It’s a very forward presentation, but still has good bass dynamics and punch. I haven’t had a lot of ear time on them since I’ve got them since I have a half dozen other IEMs in the queue right now, including two more Crinacle collabs.
8 Likes
Looking forward to CCA CRA review.
It’s short but I just posted it:
The CRA is the an ultra-budget $17.99 IEM from CCA, one of the off-shoot brands of the popular Knowledge Zenith (KZ) family. The CRA is a fun, enjoyable and great listen for a very measly price and I’ll hope to tell you why in this short review.
First off, I would like to acknowledge KZ for sending me this review unit. It’s been around my house for a little bit now and I’ve finally had some time to sit down and write about it. They had also sent the Crinacle collaboration ZEX Pro and CRN along with this set, which I have already covered previously.
The CRA comes in a very similar box to those two. It’s a small, white box, with simple set of ear tips, and a brown-colored cable and the IEMs. The CRA has a dark translucent shell and fits pretty nicely in my ears. I did not have any issues with fit, comfort, or anything for that matter, and the default tips worked pretty well out of the box. I did not need to tip roll.
So how is this thing fun? It has one of the most fun slam and bass impacts of any of the budget IEMs I have heard. The single dynamic driver here provides the excitement. When I first put on Lo Moon’s “Loveless” and it’s opening sub-bass buzzing intro, I immediately was shocked with delight. This little cheap thing has great rumble, and the kick drum has impact. It’s boosted up a bit, but it is played back fairly well controlled, and there’s no bass bleed. I hear my mid-range and treble ranges quite cleanly.
On a track like Loveless, there’s quite a bit of hi-hats and a shaker that constantly keeps the tempo up along with the bass backdrop. If you don’t get a great seal, these two higher frequency attacks can get pretty fatiguing, but when I found the proper seal and resting place for the tips in my ears, the aggression of these instruments calmed down a bit and it wasn’t so bad.
The CRA, while borderline V-Shaped with an elevated bass and treble, still has a solid mid-range which is smooth and apparent. I never felt that vocals sounded dead or recessed, and they also never sounded shrill or top heavy either.
While the CRA isn’t the most resolving IEM, nor is it the most controlled IEM, nor is it the most smooth overall IEM, it has a fun combination of solid dynamics and a very engaging bass presentation that makes me want to crank up the volume and turn on tracks that emphasize and bring out my inner basshead.
The CRA is one of, if not my favorite budget IEM on the market right now.
9 Likes
Cannot agree more - just received my pair today and ran thru’ my bass-heavy test tracks. Love it!
1 Like
Fiio is one of the big names in Chi-Fi audio and is well-known for their long line of portable amplifiers and digital audio players, as well a small series of in-ear monitors. My personal past experience with Fiio has been interesting. I find their lineup has some great value but also nothing that I have personally kept. But despite that, their popularity and success is well known in the personal audio world, and it’s hard to not to miss their products when searching for your next portable audio gear.
I was a little surprised when Crinacle, the famous IEM audio reviewer, announced a partnership with Fiio. Up until that point, he had worked with Fearless and Moondrop: two much less known brands in the industry, though Moondrop’s popularity continues to rise. With Fiio, and also the recent KZ partnership, Crinacle’s tuning is now being made available to much larger audience that has a bigger reach than previously, as both brands are sold in many online retailers, and Fiio even being carried in stores across the globe.
The Fiio x Crinacle FHE: Eclipse, or Eclipse for short, is this collaboration. It’s Crinacle’s re-tuning of the Fiio FH3 IEM and this Eclipse model sells for $149 USD. Crinacle and Fiio provided me with this review sample.
The Eclipse is a 1-dynamic driver, 2-balanced armatures hybrid model that comes in a black metal shell that looks very much like the other Fiio IEMs of the past, including the FH3. The cable is a browner-tint than the silver used elsewhere, and relatively thick but quite usable, and terminates in an L-shaped 3.5mm connector on one end, and mmcx angled connectors at the ear pieces.
I found the design to be very comfortable for prolonged usage, and the weight to feel hefty in the hands, but not very noticeable in the ear. So this brings a nice feel overall to this IEM and the quality is representative of the price tag.
Fiio also includes a series of tips and cleaning brush, along with their Fiio branded hard shell case. The case reminds me a lot like a custom-sized Pelican case, but has a wavy texture appearance on the transparent top that makes the case pop a little bit giving it a nice finish and look.
Sound Impressions
The Eclipse very much follows Crinacle’s general target tuning with a well-balanced sound profile that has a weighted bass, slightly recessed mid-range, and a generally smooth, but extended treble response. The Eclipse is definitely bass-leaning, but also exhibits some enough mid-range and treble to be considered perhaps the most V-shaped Crinacle-branded IEM product to date.
With all IEMs, there is no perfect flawless IEM. With the Eclipse, I really like the general tonality of it, especially the extended treble and the warmer body of the low end. Both of these give both a clarity and definition to the upper harmonics in instruments such as cymbals, hi-hats, and orchestral strings. With the warmer body in the bass and low-midrange, I enjoy listening to bass guitars and deeper male vocals, and all of this gives off a pretty convincing and enjoyable listen for these areas.
But, I do find the Eclipse just a little hot and forward at times in the upper-midrange. While in many parts of Norah Jones’ “Shoot the Moon”, I found the Eclipse to handle it quite well and sound very nice, but there certain parts where the snare drum hits or the some of the guitar solos just get a little too forward and emphasized, and I feel it becomes borderline harsh when listening at a moderate to loud volume. This also occurs with Jones’s vocals every so often as well.
The uneven upper mids I think is the biggest flaw on the Eclipse, as it causes this type of harsh fatigue occur when listening to a lot of the music I do. Now, this IEM isn’t bright in general, but the little FR bump at around 2KHz, can cause some wincing every once in a while, but its no way as bad as many other IEMs I have listened to, and for the most part, a little listening adjustment can help the brain compensate for this, for the most part. This area’s sensitivity will vary from user to user as well.
At $149, the technical performance of the FHE Eclipse is about on par to others in this class. It doesn’t present any real wow factors in its technical performance, and nothing truly stands out, but nothing really performs poorly either. If I had to nitpick, I’d say that the bass texture is a bit flat, and lacking resolution and dynamics. Let’s say, it performs fine for the price, but also doesn’t outperform something lesser in cost like the Moondrop Aria or Dunu Titan S either.
The soundstage, depth and general sense of openness are all about average here. No big giant soundscapes, but also not claustrophobic either, which is typically a problem with some of the under $200 sets, but again, I do run into the occasional zingers from the forward upper-mids peak.
Quick Final Thoughts
All in all, I find the Fiio Eclipse to be just about what I expected it to be. Crinacle’s tuning is solid, but it still has some flaws which I can more or less live with at the asking price. I don’t think this is my favorite Crinacle IEM release to date, as that probably belongs to the Blessing 2 Dusk, which is double the cost, and doesn’t fit nearly as well for my ears, but this is a decent addition to the IEM lineup which I think will make a lot of users happy with the results.
Whether this out-performs its contemporaries here such as the Moondrop Aria/Kanas Pro/KXXS/Kato, etc is probably going to go down more to preferences. I think I prefer the Moondrop offerings just slightly more, but this is a perfectly acceptable and good set at its selling price.
8 Likes
Also posted my Thieaudio Monarch MK2 review here: Thieaudio Monarch MKII - #27 by antdroid and I’ve updated my ranking list today!
2 Likes
Hi, Ant!
Do you maybe plan to review Oxygen and Olina?
The S12 is LetShuoer’s new and first planar in-ear monitor and comes in at $149 USD. This IEM packs a large 14.8mm planar magnetic driver encased in a all-metal shell and comes with a fancy multi-colored braided cable and a tin case. It’s quite a decent package all together and it has a nice resolving and clean sound that should please many.
First off, I’d like to thank Joseph from LetShuoer for reaching out and sending me a review unit of this new product. As some may know from reading my past reviews, I’m not always the biggest fan of Shuoer’s previous products, in fact many of them rank in quite the lowest tiers of my ranking list, but the recent EJ07M and this product is starting to change my opinion of this brand with a new name.
So let’s just get down to business.
The S12 is a really nice sounding planar. A couple months ago, I reviewed the Timeless planar IEM from 7Hz, and gave the $219 IEM a rave review with some of the best commentary feedback I could give at the price point. Driver-wise, these two are similar in size but the S12 goes a step larger and increases the driver from 14.2mm to 14.8mm. Now, I don’t know if these are similar drivers at all, or made in the same factory, but the driver plus tuning combination between the two IEMs are quite similar and very enjoyable.
Unfortunately during this review period of the S12, I did not have the Timeless on hand. I had lent it out to another reviewer, ufospl2 of Headphones-N-Stuff, for an extended listen on holiday, and so he’s out there, somewhere, enjoying that set. Instead, I’ll just have to manage this written review without that crucial A-B comparison, at least in the near term.
The S12 presents a small bass-boosted take on a balanced/neutral sound, that is right up my alley on tuning preferences. The mid-range is just slightly recessed with forward upper-mids and a generally smooth treble for me, however, some could find a slightly excess energy peak in the treble range, depending on how deep of a fit you can manage. There is also a nicely extended treble which helps with percussions and strings.
Many of the same characteristics I wrote about in the Timeless review can probably be brought over to here, but one of the key differences (from memory of course) is that I find the S12 just a little smoother, a little warmer, and with an extra amount of sub-bass rumble. These are things that I do not really think I mentioned in my Timeless review, but I can write here.
I never found the S12 to have the occasional bright glare on random tracks either, and I played this through a gauntlet of acoustical tracks from country to bluegrass to folksy music to female pop songs. The S12 handled them all quite well and with a good amount of “fun” for my tastes.
The tonal balance of the S12 is really solid in my opinion, however it doesn’t have the fastest planar-like transient speeds. It’s not quite the same speed and precision as my Hifiman Susvara, and is more along the lines of the Hifiman HE400SE, which is actually a very similarly priced $149 headphone. That is, while there is a decent amount of quality and resolution for this price tag, I don’t think the precision is there. There isn’t that extra layer of detail or exacting edge to each note that makes a higher tier driver or IEM stand out. It’s not necessarily blunted, or blobby, either. It’s just good, but not great or exceptional.
In addition, I find the S12 to have a relatively small and condensed sound. It’s not grand and majestic, but provides a more intimate soundstage and more up and center presentation. While I don’t mind this and it’s never claustrophobic, I do like a wide and open soundstage personally, and this does not quite hit that mark.
But, all and all, I find these little things to be rather small in negative points when you take a look at what you’re getting for $149. This is a very nicely put together package of build quality, accessories, and great tuning and above average sound. LetShuoer did a very nice job here, and they hit it home with great values in the last two IEMs I’ve tried. Things are changing for the better with this brand!
5 Likes
German in-ear monitors brand Vision Ears is back with two new models, the purple-loving EXT and the luxious PHöNIX. These are both high-end IEMs with high-end prices, at $3000 and $4000 USD values respectively. This article will go over my short impressions of the two IEMs as I’ve only got a short time period to play with them as part of the Audio Tiers Vision Ears tour.
The EXT comes in an amazing royal purple color and if you know me, I love me some purple. The IEM has both a metal purple lidded carrying can, and matching metal purple shell faceplates on the IEM itself. The EXT is a unique hybrid driver configuration consisting of two dynamic drivers and four electrostatic-tweeters. The 2 DDs are used for bass and mids, while the 4 ESTs are used for treble.
On the other hand, the PHöNIX is a 13-BA driver IEM with a gold and red faceplate with a phoenix bird logo on each shell. The driver configuration has 4 BAs handling each of the bass, mids, and high section with a special additional BA for the extended treble, and is marketed as the spiritual successor to VE’s most expensive set, the ERLKöNIG.
Sound Impressions
First off, a safety tip: Phonix, like many VE iems, is ultra-sensitive, so be careful listening to this. It’ll get loud quick. The EXT isn’t nearly as sensitive and is more aligned with other IEMs on the market in terms of how sensitive it is to volume differences.
I listened to both of these IEMs primarily off my Chord Mojo/Poly portable DAC/Amp setup streaming Roon music. I also played these with a small amount of time on the Hiby R5 Saber Digital Audio Player. I didn’t try these with my desktop DAC/Amp setup due to the high sensitivity of these IEMs unfortunately, and due to not being able to go to my work office during this short demo period, I was unable to try these on more volume-matched desktop gear from Topping.
PHoNIX
I’m going to start my impressions with the more expensive PHoNIX. A while back, maybe a year and half ago, I spent some time with the Vision Ears ERLKoNIG, and was pretty impressed with the warm, soothing, and high technical sound that it provided. It had classic buttery-smoothness of Vision Ears IEMs, while providing a great intimate and enjoyable listen for rock music and singer-songwriter tunes.
The PHoNIX takes my favorite tuning of the ERLKoNIG’s 4 options (#2 being my favorite), and improves its mid-range performance and extends and smooths out its treble range. With these small little tweaks, Vision Ears has created a very impressive warm-tuned IEM that takes my enjoyment factor up a notch. I don’t have the ERLKoNIG with me so I can’t compare side-by-side, but I will say that I have spent a good amount of time with the PHoNIX in my ears and have continued to like listening to music on it.
The initial listen was a little different, coming from listening a lot of IEMs tuned with more sub-bass focus and drier midrange, but after a quick adjustment period, I was able to recapture my not-typical enjoyment of a warm, laid-back tuning. The PHoNIX played well with Norah Jones, and with Iron & Wine.
With the latter, I listened to Iron & Wine’s collaboration effort with Calexico from back in the mid 2000’s called “He Lay in Reins” and found this blissful combination to be splendid. Vocals were soft and gentle, and the varied instrumentation of acoustic guitars, bass, drums, steel pedals and a mix of other percussions came out with exacting detail, but also non-fatiging and open. It was a taking a song that in many headphones and IEMs, can sound a little claustrophobic and closed-in, and being able to separate the instruments and bring out the smallest and lightest strokes, hits, and echos to light, and without a crowded feeling.
I would not say that the PHoNIX has a grand and large soundstage. In fact, I think its more on the average side, but it has a good to great ability to pinpoint instruments to where they need to lie in space, and that imaging and separation can make everything sound highly detailed, and enjoyable.
As with many VE IEMs I’ve tried in the past, they have done a great job here with coherence. It’s not always a term I use often, but typically when I do, it is because the IEM stands out in this area where others are just normal. Vision Ears have always shown excelled in this area, and I think the PHoNIX is no different. Smooth transitions from bass to mids to treble are norm here, and I enjoy the extended treble without a sense of harshness or disjointedness either. Things come together well.
EXT
The EXT is what I would consider Neutral-tuned with a big bass boost that is quite tasteful, enjoyable, and should be a very popular tuning choice. In popular IEM-world terms, the EXT has a sound quality that someone who enjoys the Moondrop IEMs but with more clean bass and more emotive soul and resolution. It’s FR is generally trending towards the basic Moondrop Aria, or Kanas Pro/KXXS series, but of course, I do find that the driver is quite limited in those budget-tier IEMs.
Instead, the Vision Ears EXT has very good resolution, and is a more coherent sounding IEM, despite being a mixed-driver package of dynamic drivers and EST drivers. It does have a couple small flaws, however.
I do find the EXT to be a little more in your face at times, especially compared to the PHoNIX, which is smoother, more gentle and elegant in its approach. The EXT is a bit more of a fun IEM and with that, the bass can slam, though it’s not necessarily the most impact IEM out there.
Outside of the Moondrops, of course, I compared the EXT a little bit to my Empire Ears Odin, which has generally similar tonal balance, with the Odin being a little more forward in its upper mids presentation. The EXT is priced at $3K while the Odin is $3.4K. I found the Odin to have more punch, more slam, more bass texture and tactility, and a more open soundstage with equal smoothness in its treble range. While the EXT has little to really complain about, it is a step below the Odin overall, but also comes in at a smaller price tag.
Now comparisons aside, the EXT is a solid-all arounder. Its tuning is likely to be a favorite amongst many, and it has many of the technical chops that VE typically brings.
Final Thoughts
Both of these IEMs are well-designed and have solid tuning. They are also quite pricey in the grand scheme of things, but come from a well-respected, small IEM company. I love the appearance of both the EXT and PHoNIX, and the technical ability of both is rock-solid as expected. While the EXT is only perhaps average in this aspect compared to tough competition, it has a likeable tonal balance that will appeal to many. The PHoNIX is a bit warmer and laid-back and will work great for the right music and for long listening sessions, and its technical ability still shines through even with the thicker wall of music that many lesser IEMs would just sound muddy and lacking.
3 Likes
I couldn’t agree more.
1 Like
OK, quote any IEM with similar or better “precision” near the price point. And it is not 7Hz Timeless.
A few days ago I reviewed the newest in-ear from Singaporean maker Symphonium called the Triton. This short article will go over the price-ranged competition I have on hand along with the Symphonium Triton and how it stacks up.
Let’s get started.
Triton vs Hidition Viento-B Custom
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The Viento-B Custom sells for around $900-1000. The Triton is $899
While the basic tuning of these two are similar in both bass and mid-range, they do differ quite a bit in the upper-mids, where the Viento is more elevated, with a clearer and more forward tuning for vocals and strings. Despite the similarities, however, there are differences in how its presented. I found the Triton, overall quite a bit warmer, with a more lush sound when compared to the Viento, which exhibits more edgy transients and a leaner personality. The Viento’s resolution is about on par with the Triton, and its soundstage is perhaps a tad larger. Overall, for me, I like the Viento more, but it is my personal favorite tuning of all IEMs I have tried. The Triton’s fit is the toughest part for me, and comparing a CIEM to a universal isn’t fair.
Triton vs Unique Melody MEST Custom
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The Unique Melody MEST is no longer for sale, however the MKII is $1199-1799 depending on Universal or Custom and sale pricing. The Triton is $899.
The Triton and MEST both feature a reduced upper-midrange area with downsloping bass and both give an overall warmer signature with some differences here and there. On a pure tonality standpoint, I find the Triton to have a more accentuated mid-bass and low-mids, while the MEST has more sub-bass pop. The MEST also sounds just slightly darker overall, but has a bit more energy in the upper harmonics, giving cymbals and hi-hats an extra splash compared to the Triton. Could be good or could be more ringing, depending on your sensitivity levels.
The MEST has quite a bit more texture feel to it with some improved resolution and better imaging. I like the Triton for its overall warm and feel-good presentation, but the MEST has some extra levels of quality in the technical department that really sets it apart, and may make it worth the extra dollars it commanded.
Triton vs Unique Melody MEXT
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The Unique Melody MEXT is $999-1499 depending on Universal or Custom and sale pricing. The Triton is $899.
The MEXT is an interesting L-shaped IEM and is clearly darker sounding than the Triton. I have not spent a lot of time with the MEXT but I personally strongly prefer the Triton in terms of tonality and just overall pleasure. The MEXT’s darker signature masks quite a bit of its technical abilities, but it is still resolving and has decent imaging. It’s also a lot more comfortable to wear than the Triton is for me, but overall, the Triton is a much better tuned IEM for most of the music I enjoy and the way I want to enjoy them.
Triton vs Dunu Zen
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The Dunu Zen retails for $699, while the Triton is $899.
The Zen is one of my favorite single-dynamic driver in-ears and comes in at a lower retail price than the Triton. In terms of just overall visceral impact and dynamics, the Zen wins hands-down. The Triton still has good impact and dynamics, but I think the Zen is really good in this aspect. While I do like the Zen’s tuning quite a lot, I do find it’s upper mid-range to be a tad bright at times, creating a very forward splash of certain prominent instruments like pianos and guitars in songs I listen to. This isn’t a deal breaker, but comparing it to the very smooth and robust Triton in this area is going to make it sound faltered. The Zen is a more exciting IEM with a more dynamic sound, while the Triton is a careful, pleasuring, and relaxing listen that works for better long-term enjoyment.
Triton vs Dunu SA6
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The Dunu SA6 sells for $549, and the Triton sells for $899.
The cheapest of this round-up is the Dunu SA6. It’s one of my favorite $500-ish IEMs because of its stunning wood-look, super comfortable fit and design, and just a really great tuning. Despite being an all-BA setup it can have very good bass response, with good harmonics and depth. The Triton is a little bit better here in terms of just more natural bass presentation with better decay and a warmer and more realistic sound. The SA6 sounds leaner, despite their tonal balance being very similar (look at how how close their FR is). The little extra peak at 4-5KHz makes a difference here, and the SA6 does have that extra push there that makes it sound less dark and lush as the Triton, but for some, it could have an occasional jarring attack. I don’t find it too bad, but randomly a piano note that hits hard around this frequency could come up to bite a little, but I’m not overly sensitive here. I found the Zen above to be more jarring, but still manageable.
Overall, I like the Triton for its natural and well-balanced tuning, if not a tad dark. It’s great for long-term usage, and if you have the ears to make it fit and stay in (unlike mine), I think a lot of people will be satisfied to find that this is a good all-arounder with it’s only main issues being the fit, and perhaps the average to above average technical performance at its price range. It’s tonality is one of the best in this price point however, and that’s a good thing for most listeners.
8 Likes
I started my iem-that-kills-your-wallet journey with Fitear TG334 and 64 Audio u12 (no t), and ended up with Odin and u12t (and LCD-4i, this thing is so special, I will never let it out of my collection. With the lighting cable, It is also a great party trick to spook my muggle friend). Maybe “end up” is too strong a word to ever use in this hobby, but I sincerely believe I will be content for at least a couple of years to come. With proper source, Odin and u12t, particularly Odin can comfortably outperform many mid-to-high-end HPs that I owned/tried, Arya, TH900 and Emperean to name a few, even VC at certain tracks. The likes of Susvara and Utopia are still safe, but considering the convenience of use and the scenarios you can actually use them, they are unbeatable.
5 Likes
Ya i love the Odin. I own those and the Susvara. Pretty great combo. I do tend to find myself using my Hidition Viento CIEM most of all my IEMs though, or my Galaxy Buds Pro 2.
I haven’t updated this IEM ranking list in a year. I will need to populate it with all the new stuff I’ve tried and reviewed over the past year.
4 Likes
It’s been a while but I finally added to and updated the IEM ranking list:
Still a WIP, but it does contain initial new scores for all the new iems ive reviewed over the past year.
11 Likes