Hidition Viento First-Impressions
My first run-in with the Viento consisted of me trying to force-fit someone’s custom Viento-B; suffice it to say that was an excruciatingly painful experience. It was, however, enough to tell me that it would be an IEM that I’d be interested in hearing later down the line.
Hidition themselves hail from South Korea; they’re one of the most underrated manufacturers stateside due to having next to zero marketing presence. Also because, you know, they don’t have any employees who speak English. And because their website is a hot-mess. And because it’s more costly to buy from overseas. And because…well, you get the idea, I think. I myself only managed to snag a pair thanks to a friend in South Korea who was kind enough to proxy for me. So how does the Viento-B (henceforth referred to simply as “Viento”) actually sound? Well, the Viento sports four balanced-armature drivers. Not to beat a dead-horse, but a larger driver count doesn’t necessarily translate to better sonic performance; the Viento is a prime example. It follows a reference-oriented curve, so think something like the ER4XR but with some extra sub-bass and treble tacked on.
The Viento’s got some of the better BA bass I’ve heard. It neither slams as hard as the U12t nor is it as textured, but it’s getting there. The Viento’s transient attack is definitely tighter than the U12t which has something of a gentle softness down low that I quite enjoy. The Viento’s probably not the IEM to buy if you’re going to be listening to a lot of EDM, but it’s more than respectable for a BA IEM in this respect. Of course, I went for the “B” model because it stacks ~5dB or so onto the stock configuration; it was basically mandated for my preferences. Tonally, I think it should be in that sweet-spot for most listeners, curving as it should by 200hZ.
One of the first things that caught my eye about the Viento was actually the midrange; I suspect that the Viento served as the inspiration for the Moondrop B2: Dusk’s midrange. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing at all considering the Dusk has one of the best midrange tonalities I’ve heard. Subjective listening, however, is another matter entirely. To this end, the Viento is considerably more upper-midrange tilted, thinner, and to the point of which it borders on sibilance at times to my ears. I don’t think it’s bad , but it does leave something to be desired in this respect. On the bright side, vocal intelligibility is excellent, paying foil to my U12t which dips strongly in this region. Perhaps most notable, though, is the sheer texture present to the midrange. And I’m not talking about the crappy “grain” generally associated with most BA IEMs. The likes of Scotty McCreery, Joe Nichols, and Dierks Bentley, for example, all fly really well with between this note texture and the leaner lower-midrange. So while I don’t love the Viento’s midrange, I don’t hate it either, and it could be a whole lot worse.
The treble of the Viento is mid-treble emphasized with copious amounts of crash and sparkle. It’s pushing it here, I think, but it does work. While I haven’t sine-sweeped the Viento yet, I’d say extension is sufficient, albeit not matching some of the best stuff I’ve heard in this department. Really, what makes it somewhat hard to tell is that the Viento has something of a splashiness, or resonance, to the way a lot of treble instruments decay. I suppose in this vein it’s quite realistic and paying homage to its “reference” roots; however, I still think this could have been reigned in a tad, as I could see it being fatiguing.
On paper, the tonality of the Viento is exceptional; however, I do feel let down by these issues (which are both rectified by the custom version, so I’m told). Thankfully, the Viento is a technical performer too, and where it excels most is coherency : The Viento may just be the most coherent IEM I’ve heard. Everything syncs into place seamlessly; I fail to discern anything that sounds disjoint or out of place, and that’s something that I can’t help but admire. Even something like the U12t, because of its tia driver, doesn’t get quite this close, much less any other hybrid IEM I’ve heard. The macrodynamic ability of the Viento is definitely not in the same ballpark as the U12t - the Viento sounds somewhat dry, upwards-compressed by comparison - but its microdynamic ability is surprisingly good, and I think it easily gives the U12t a run for its money in this department, if not even surpasses it. Vocal inflections, minute instrument shifts - stuff of that nature - just fly really well on the Viento. That’s something I can definitely get behind. Staging is pretty average; overall imaging is on the “above-average” side of things with sufficient incisiveness to the violins panned to the left/right corners of the center image on Sawano Hiroyuki’s “Binary Star” and decent diffusal of the center image itself.
I think what impresses me most of all, then, is the fact that this is a 6+ year old design. I’ve been told that there might’ve been some slight modifications along the way; however, don’t let that discount how mind-blowing that is an industry that moves so quickly. Furthermore, I’ve consistently drawn comparisons with my 64 Audio U12t because it’s my other personal, flagship IEM and represents - to me only, mind you - the near-pinnacle of portable fidelity. The Viento’s the real deal. It’s an IEM that’s stood the test of time and still has what it takes to trade punches with the best in the game; it’s not hard to see why it’s garnered a stellar reputation in core IEM communities.
But rock is sporadic listening for me, so I shouldn’t be making any decisions based on that.)
I very much understand enjoying the details, so between the Monarch and Clairvoyance (at least on paper), I would have chosen the Monarch too.
