Not a Baby Annihilator
So I wrote this a few weeks ago and have had the privilege of living with the Pilgrim for a long time. I thought I would have to put it on loan for a friend, but have had more time with it. OverallI find it a fun tuned iem that is competitive with the Elsyian Diva due to better bass, (Blue is too high, white is too lame) and similar upper mids. Just a good value if you are looking for the Elsyian tuning and a fun set overall.
Pros: Great impactful bass
Air and upper trebble is incredible.
Sound is very fun, and impressive.
Very fun iem at any price.
Cons: Upper mids aren’t to my liking.
While its the cheapest Elysian, it is still expensive.
non aff link
Elysian PILGRIM 链接更新HiFiGo: https://hifigo.com/products/elysian-acoustic-labs-pilgrim… AliExpress: https://aliexpress.com/item/3256806735808497.html…Amazon US:https://amazon.com/dp/B0D3PPPJ9F/elysian+acoustic+labs+pilgrim/…Amazon JP:https://amazon.co.jp/dp/B0D3PVH4B4/elysian+acoustic+labs+pilgrim/
This is an interesting iem. A lot of people have called this a baby Anniliator, but it’s not it’s different it’s it’s own monster. So there is a hint of disappointment to my ears as I want to say “Hey, this is just like the anniliator!” There is a trend to jump on the bandwagon. I could throw shade and try to call others out in a way, but I want this iem review to start off with some simple statement about what this iem is, and is not. This is a satisfying iem, that is well worth the price, but it isn’t exactly what an Anniliator is.
This is a purchased set. I had to move a few headphones around to be able to afford this set. While purchasing or samples can effect how a reviewer might want to review, I try to remain unbiased when possible.
This is a personal product and I am fully happy with my purchase. I really enjoy this iem. I was able to demo it at Can Jam 2023. I would never recommend buying any iem past say 200 dollars if you haven’t demoed it first. Maybe your limit is higher, but that’s my default recommendation to all. I try to tell the story of purchase or acquisition whenever I buy an iem. I asked Hifigo about this iem and told them that I was interested in reviewing it, I did buy this iem with my own cash and had to move some gear around to afford this.
Let me share what music that I listen to:
Song Choice: Tidal list here:
I listen to a wide variety of music. I pick the songs because of various reasons. But I picture myself locked away like Andy Dufresne from Shawshank blasting music and shut off from the world. It’s a blissful image.
The Marriage of Figaro -The opera song from Shawshank Redemption, terrible recording but fun and gets me in the mood to listen to music.
O mio Babino caro -This is a modern less operatic version but a song with great female vocals.
Video Rigoletto - “La donna e mobile” Sung by one of the three Tenors, great song for high-performing male vocals. Pavarotti is the greatest classic singer maybe ever. Fight me!
Iron man - The sound at the beginning is hard to make sound great, great drums, and cymbals, and if done right it feels like an old-school band.
I Will Survive (1981 recording, I like her voice, and the old vocals, the drums, and various natural instruments really make this a favorite for me.
There is a light That never goes out - Smiths ( A classic, I just love it. It’s mellow, and I can tell a lot of the tuning if this song is done right.)
Jump (I like how the sound effects are in this!)
Star Child Someone recommended this song to me, and I like how funky it sounds and has nice vocals and a mix of music and things going on.
Dicke Titten Ramstein The beginning is amazing and the bass hits hard. Great song. I love rock and metal. The German language fascinates me
Master of Puppets: Very fast song. Helps me determine if the driver can keep up.
This is a newer version of my 10 favorite songs that also work for audiofile music.
This is a copy of a bunch of good audiofile music. Some are on my favorites, but all are great to test headphone tracks. (70+)
This is my favorite overall music. 300+ songs (needs to be edited a bit)
Bass (20-60 Sub Bass, 60-250 Hz Mid Bass)
The details of the bass is strong and everything sounds right on it. The bass seems well-controlled and fun. One thing the Pilgrim isn’t is lean, it has a nice tonality that is very suiting and pleasant. I do find the quality of the bass is correct. I feel percussions on it sound great. The iem is clean and lush even in the bass.
The Above is my Targe with the Bass only on the Pilgrim. It’s a nice fit!
Midrange (250 HZ to 800 HZ Low Mids, 600-200 Hz Mids, 2000-5000Hz Upper Mids)
The timber and tone is great on this iem, people have described it as near perfect or class leading and they aren’t joking. It is basically perfect for what I want out of an iem. . It has nothing that will often plague other iems. No weird plastic feeling, voices sound right with no plastic feeling.
I don’t find it shouty but fun, smooth and enjoyable. The Timbre of this iem is lush and energetic. This comes across slightly energetic and U shaped, but is still a smooth listen and very enjoyable.
Treble (5000- 10000 Trebble/Highs, 10000 ++ HZ Upper Trebble & Air)
The 5-6k region which is still fairly accurate on a 711 coupler is very hot for me. This might be an issue with some people. I personally prefer sets that have this down a lot more. Is this an issue, no in fact in just reviewed a set that had a peak around that level. But for what I am used to the 5-6k region comes across very bright.
The treble is a good part of this set and this iem has great detail and sparkle for me. No issues here. I’m able to game, listen to music, and a podcast all at once with this iem. It has incredible details that come across in the treble. Looking at the frequency response I would think it would sound neutral or boring without the 3k spike, but I enjoyed it. All the music that I listen to sounds great and I feel that it has a wide beautiful soundstage.
Gaming
Gaming is great on this iem, it’s cozy and has a world class feeling of fit to me. Details sparkle for me, but the treble and space aren’t much better than the Hexa, it is fairly similar and on about the same level. It has a beautiful open and clean sound. The stage isn’t too wide, but just right. Detail retrieval during fights is immaculate, and the imaging vertically and horizontally is fantastic. It has great imaging and a good sense of where I am.
Shell -
The shell is pretty, it fits great and I find it an exceptional fit. I’m not a huge fan of metallic shells but this iem feels great in ear. It feels pretty great in ear. I had some minor concerns over the shell of the iem, and I was pleasantly surprised.
Case- The case have an odd feeling and doesn’t feel as good in the hands that it looks. It has a beautiful look, but the inside has a ridge aroud that it doesn’t feel super durable. Almost like a cardboard ridge that could be destroyed very easily. Overall it’s a nice case that feels and looks great. I took it to work to do some testing and it worked great for my use.
Cable- The cable comes in 3.5 or 4.4. I would recommend to chose carefully as it is a pennaconn cable and those are expensive to come by. Overall the cable is very nice and premium feeling. I was concerned about the cable. But it feel durable in hand and thick.
Tip Selection - The tips are Spinfits W1, they are the same used in the anniliator. I found myself using Eletech Baroque tips, as the iem was having a slight issue staying in my ear.
Comparisons:
Vs Anni 2023
Ok, vs the iem of the same brand that, I own and love. The bass is better a tad more rich and organic, the upper treble isn’t as natural, but it’s close, it’s so close. The midbass in the anniliator is much better, and the overall natural tone of the anniliator is better by a lot to my ears. This doesn’t mean the Pilgrim is a bad iem, but to me it just a strong iem that isn’t exactly perfect. Some people might even like The Pilgrim better as the sound is a little bit more organic. I always say to demo anything over say 200 dollars when possible, and take everything with a grain of salt.
It amplifies the slightly odd fun treble of the annihilator up to 10. Some people might be reminded of how bright the annilator sounds, but to my ears the Pilgrim is brighter, almost plastically so. It’s a unique experience. Again, the Pilgrim is a very good iem, I’m using my audiophile microscope here. But using that, the Pilgrim is brighter, the Annilaitor has better vocals, bass, and more balanced treble with a better fit. It by no means takes “Anni’s” place to me in the market. Despite being a very solid and nice product.
Vs Hype 4. (The similar price)
Let’s compare the iem that I’m reviewing vs an iem that is of the same price. I think the mids of hype 4 are slightly better. I like the eargain region of the Hype 4 better. I wouldnt’ call the hype 4 much better, just a different colorization of sound. I think the Hype 4 has a more mainstream tuning for those looking for something similar to JM-1 curve.
The Pilgrim is brighter, but to my ears sounds more technical and right. But it is a close comparison as their graphs are somewhat similar. They trade blows and are both very good iems. At their prices I recommend both, one isn’t better than the other. The Hype 4 would be my recommendation as I like the resin shell a bit more, and I think the sound is a little less colored. The Pilgrim is slightly flavored and fun, and an overall masterful sound for it’s price. Like if I wanted to recommend to someone in the hobby who had only 400 dollars I’d say go Pilgrim easy, but to someone who wanted a one and done set to ride off into the sunset, I’d go Hype 4.
VS MEGA 5 EST
This is the that hype tuning that many are searching for. If you want to experience that hype tuning the Xuan NV might be the better source for you. The Pilgrim is a very good set with slightly recessed Male Vocals and female vocals, but it is still very nice. Demo both, but if I had to recommend one over the other I’d go with Pilgrim due to its much cheaper price. I really didn’t like the Mega 5 EST, but don’t find it a poor iem, just dull. The Pilgrim isn’t dull and has better bass and better air and technicalities. The Mega 5 est is more neutral and plain and lacks anything of excitement to me. It feels like a iem made in a factory by robots and doesn’t get me excited. Just way to neutral and bland.
But again, demo everything first.
VS Aful 5
Similar tonality in some ways. It is much better than the P5. But has some similarities and it is an option that gets you pretty close to the tonality of this iem. I think the Aful 5 might be a better value, but the Pilgrim is a great set if you can afford it. If you can’t and only have money for a cheaper set, the Aful Performer 5 is my recommendation at the cheaper price point.
Graph:
Sound - Final Impressions
While this iem is very good, and almost perfect, especially at its price it doesn’t fall into the category of “BLIND BUY THIS NAO!!!”, but more of yeah it’s pretty good, enjoyable, but not an Annihilator. I welcome the day an iem takes or beats the 2023 Elysian Annilator for me, but this aint it. It’s a super good iem, that I would feel is competitive with it’s peers and either class-leading or better. I recently review the hype 4 and loved it. I think the Pilgrim is on par with the Hype 4, and maybe better sonically. I think both of these 400-ish dollar iems are better than MANY 1000+ sets that I’ve listened to. But again, all my opinions are based on my ears and your mileage might vary.
Recommended EQ: I use Peace APO to EQ on the PC. This EQ is done to my preference. I recently set up a preference curve on My Squig. So for at least iems, I can use my own graphs now. Please feel free to use the measurements as you want… Jaytiss.squig.link
Overall this is an amazing iem that could easily be a game for most. The goal for me with an iem is to have an that doesn’t need EQ. This iem does sound better to me with this eq, more neutral and less colored.
Preamp: -2.1 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 34 Hz Gain 1.9 dB Q 0.700
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 150 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 670 Hz Gain 0.7 dB Q 1.200
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 1400 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 2.000
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3700 Hz Gain 3.3 dB Q 1.900
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 5600 Hz Gain -4.4 dB Q 2.000
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 7900 Hz Gain 1.5 dB Q 1.200
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 9500 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 2.000
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 12000 Hz Gain -2.2 dB Q 0.500
Filter 10: OFF PK Fc 0 Hz Gain 0.0 dB Q 0.000
Gifting/who is it for: I think this is a nice hifi iem to gift to someone, it is an expensive iem but overall it’s a solid package that sounds fantastic. It’s a handsome shell, a good-looking cable, but it is a little too white for my take. If price wasn’t a concern I’d probably consider the Noire due to its superior color and 350 dollar included cable. But the packaging of the Pilgrim is very much so on point and very enjoyable.
I do think this is a worth mainstream iem for the masses and gives you a taste of the Elysian sound. It may or may not be the best dollar-for-dollar iem for your tastes, but it is an exceptional product that is exceedingly enjoyable from a packing sound and build quality. I have no doubt these shells will surivie the Zombie Apocalypse.
Pairing: I used a Quidelix 5k for mobile, my dongle Dac iBasso DC04 for my laptop, and my JDS labs Element III MK2 Boosted for my Desktop PC. I also tried the iem briefly on the Apple dongle as well. This iem had no issues being driven. Typically I only find overears to really have a hard time being driven and maybe some planar iems.
Summary-
Great iem, it gets my recommendation and I think it’s competitive at the price point.
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The only thing I’d wish for is maybe 1-3 dB more mid-bass, but everything else is perfect for me.
