Elysian Acoustic Labs Pilgrim IEM - Impressions, Discussions, Pictures, and Comparisons

Great minds think alike :sweat_smile:

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Howā€™s the soundstage compared to Galileo ?

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Iā€™d say the Pilgrim does better but itā€™s not like a massive one

Pilgrim has wider soundstage and does layering and separation well compared to Galileo. Galileo has vocal forward presentation which is slightly closed in.

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Saw Zeos 's video. Pretty interesting

Everytime I have a gear that Iā€™m getting bored of, I watch Zeosā€™ review and feel good about it :sweat_smile:

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I am not getting into the habit of cross posting, I promise! But seeing that I did so with my review of the Noir, I just posted my review of the Pilgrim with some comparisons to the Noir over in the Acho Reviews thread:

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I donā€™t know why he is getting hate. I might not like Zeos / but canā€™t hate him if you are in this hobby for fun. Whenever I get bored, he somehow managed to get me into this hobby again.

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Also do watch his Volg (Zeos 2nd Channel), his Vlogs are insane

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Noir interests me but 800$ :confused: almost double the cost of the standard one.

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Oh no! No hate towards Zeos!! I just wanted to say that heā€™s one of the fun guys who makes me feel good about my gear whenever I get bored with them.

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same I aslo want to how much better is noir from the standard pilgrim

Elysian Pilgrim - The Mid-fi king?

Pros: *Excellent technical performance (present each and every micro and macro details) (top of the class instrumental separation and layring)
*Sturdy build quality
*Excellent bass quality and dynamics
*Very refined and detailed treble

Cons: *Pentacon connector
*Non-modular cable
*Stuby nozzle with shallower fit.
*Spinfits are not the best pairing for this item

Elysian has released its first iem in the 400 dollar midfi segment. This is a very competitive segment. Will Elysian manage to dethrone other iems in this segment or will it get dethroned, letā€™s find out in this review.

I want to thank Hifigo for arranging the review tour of this iem in my country, here is the non-affiliate link https://hifigo.com/products/elysian-acoustic-labs-pilgrim

Design, Fit and Accessories Package

The unboxing experience is very good and premium. The accessories provided in the box are spinfit cp100 ear tips, 3.5mm or 4.4mm non-modular cable and a leather case. The spinfits provided are not a good pairing for the iem, I will talk more about this in the sound segment. The cable provided is good but not great. For this price cable is non-modular and for the same price some other iems come with a better cable, for example - Tangzu Nezha. The iem is made out of 304 stainless steel material and it feels very robust and sturdy. This is one of the best-built iem in its price category. The iem features a pentacon connector to connect cable and this is also a con, as most of the people who will buy this iem will not have compatible cable and cable rolling will be an issue.
The fit of the iem is great, it has a stubby nozzle that offers a shallower fit which will be a non-issue for anyone. The isolation is good enough but worse than iems that provide deeper fir.

Frequency Response

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Before talking about sound I want to touch on the spinfits provided in the package, these are not the best pairing for the pilgrim. I recommend you tip roll to get the most out of these iems. The spinfits make the bass lose its power and texture to my ears so I used azla sednaearfit max tips and divinus velvet eartips for my sound analysis.

Bass

Elysian, instead of using a more popular 2-DD setup, they are using a 9.2mm LSR Dynamic driver. And oh boy! It is a potent performer. The bass profile is sub-bass over midbass with a smooth glide into the mids. The sub-bass is very well extended. It is rumbly and well-textured. The mid-bass thump and slam are also very impressive, is it for bass heads or those who prefer more mid-bass? No. But still the the quality of the bass present is just awesome. This is one of the bass performance you can find in this price range. I am very much impressed by Pilgrimā€™s bass performance.

Midrange

The pilgrimā€™s mid-range gives it the elysian house sound. It is forward and very revealing. The frequencies between 1k to 2.9k are slightly boosted, which pushes the vocals forward in the mix, some people may also find it a bit unnatural, but I donā€™t mind it that much. Female vocals shine on this iem, they feel very open and extended. Male vocals are also good, they have enough heft and body to sound natural. I have no issues with the midrange on the pilgrim.

Treble

The treble adds to the energetic nature of the iem. It is for sure on the brighter side but it never crosses the line of sibilance for me. The treble is very revealing and extracts every micro nuance from the tracks. The air region is not overly boosted like other iems in the price range it is present where it should be. Overall, all I can say, pilgrimā€™s treble has that special sauce that may take many audiophiles by surprise.

Technical Performance

The technical performance is the most impressive thing about the iem. The detail retrieval is top of its class and may rival the iems in higher price categories. The detail retrieval is excellent, both macro and micro details are well presented by pilgrim. The stage is also very wide with excellent instrument separation and layering.

Conclusion

Elysian has released an excellent contender in 400 dollar segment. Currently, this is my favorite iem in this price range. For many audiophiles, this can be a great option. Overall I can highly recommend this iem to all people who want a slightly different and forward sound signature.

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Thereā€™s no reason this should be almost twice the price of the Pilgrim.

Different tuning, different internals (yawn) and different cable shouldnā€™t double the price. Seems like a typical ā€œretuneā€ marketing soak to me. But this is even more egregious because it was released pretty much simultaneously with the original, correct?

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People are not counting the Cable cost ?
Itā€™s a fantastic cable in my opinion

Sure, its around 10 usd.

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Itā€™s a CABLE. Nearly doubling the price for the minimal alteration to the sound a cable produces is ridiculous. I buy headphones and earphones for their drivers and tuning, not cables.

The tuning changes and upgraded internals better be magical, or this Noir version is an overpriced boondoggle.

An extra $100 for the tuning, cable and different internals? Maybe. But nearly double the price? Hard no on that gouge.

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It is a good cable, no doubt but when youā€™re asking double the price, I would expect an improvement on technicalities as well which going the reviews, I dont think there is.

I am just saying itā€™s a pretty good cable. And they mightā€™ve added the price since itā€™s a $299 cable here. Not saying anything good or bad about the decision.

To be frank, I believe the primary reason for the price difference is likely the added expense of the cable. Sonically, they are quite similar, with a slight retuning being the main outcome. In my experience with the Noir, I observed a bit more bass, slightly subdued mids, and reduced upper treble, though the differences were not drastic. Regarding the cable, Effect Audio offers premium cables on their official website, with the Eros S cable that comes with the Noir priced at around $379. It comes with TermX (modular plug system) and ConX (interchangeable connectors like MMCX, 2-Pin, etc.). Therefore, the $400 price tag for the Pilgrim, $379 for the cable, and the remaining cost can be attributed to the variances in the BA driver and crossover network or retuning. The Pilgrim is a better value for sure.

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