Part of this “hate” towards Senn is also due to the fact that some YouTubers started to instill the opinion that the 200 is the 600, only that it costs less! 
Learn the lesson—> you get what you pay for! 
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100% After hearing the 200 makes me curious on the $600 but not enough to say I gotta get more.
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Today our appartment was struck by a tiny Meteor, but don’t worry, nobody got hurt 
Let the battle begin 
vs 
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Hehe nice, did you already write you impression somewhere?
Curious to what conclusion you came.
Here are my initial impressions (Please note that I have a retuned Kinda Lava with +3db bass)
Testing was done on Fiio K7 and Shanling M6 Pro
Kinda Lava was my first love but I try to be as unbiased as possible.
Subbass more or less the same, Midbass slam noticeably more on Meteor.
Bass texture better on KL.
Female Vocals I do like better on Kinda Lava, they sound more lively/airy/goosebumbtriggering on KL and when directly compared a little muffled on Meteor.
I guess that´s the increased midbass affecting the lower mids.
Female vocals range from 165-1000Hz. Midbass from 60-300Hz.
Mids are about the same (except for upper mids)
KL is a little more in your face which can sometimes lead me to decrease the volume.
Meteor is safer in the upper mids, more relaxed, but that to me, makes it also less special, it just sounds very safe to me and less energetic, I can crank it up way louder though and don´t find myself adjusting the volume that often on shuffle.
Quality of mastering becomes more apparant on KL.
Treble to me sounds more airy/crisp on Kinda Lava and I do prefer that.
(Easily noticeable in Fearless Flyers “The Speedwalker live at Madison Square Garden”)
Technicalities I can not really tell a difference and don´t want to talk out of my ass.
Both are excellent performers but as I mentioned before KL has that secret sauce which I am missing on Meteor and I think that comes down to the tuning of upper mids/treble and not so much to technicalities.
All in all the Meteor is a safer tuning for the masses.
I do like the increased midbass on the Meteor but not to the cost of less lively female vocals.
I like the inoffensive upper mids on meteor but also not to the cost of less energy/presence so I guess it´s a give and take.
If I would have to decide between these two I would choose Kinda Lava again, it is just more special and I can easily add just a little more bass if I feel like it.
Thanks for reading 
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We actually have the same KL + 3dB bass boost 
I also have the same views, I like Meteor’s midbass slam, it gives a good physicality.
Lava’s vocal feels more textured, intimate and slightly more forward. Lava seems to have better upper mids imo, much detailed. I feel like Lava seems to have a little more note weight.
I think Meteor’s timbre feels a little plasticky/metallic? Probably due to the BA timbre. Song like Stargazing - Travis Scott around 00:10-00:15, if you notice the slam I feel like KL’s slam is more pleasant while Meteor felt a bit plasticky.
My first few minutes with Meteor I felt the sharpness in male vocal’s ‘sss’.
Soundstage feels more intimate with KL, while Meteor I feel like it’s wider.
This, I wholly agree. I feel like it’s a safe U tuning. I actually started to appreciate my KL’s vocal and bass sound texture even more, but I will take Meteor’s fit anytime.
If only I can have Meteor’s fit, mid-bass slam, soundstage and KL’s bass and vocal texture, dream come true
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enjoy them two red heads.
Thanks a lot brother
I agree on texture and added it in my post aswell!
Stage wise i really can not tell a difference, do you have an example for me where it does sound wider to you?
I did listen to this imaging test here The Ultimate Headphones Test Video! - YouTube
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Some songs I used
Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa
Letters - Yosi Horikawa
Doors and Distance - Antonio Sanchez
I can perceive that KL is more intimate and the space when the drums change position did not go as far as how I perceive Meteor. With Meteor seems like the drums actually went a bit far away in my perception.
I am using CP100+ for KL and Meteor’s green eartip which I think may have more prominent soundstage than the default red one according to my ear.
Hard to resist an OG Testarossa 
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Your comparison was excellent. Nice to see a few of in here with the retuned KL much easier to understand the comparison when you have the same IEM you can go back and listen too
Cheers well done.
TDM
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Okay, so now that I’ve had some time to wrap my head around them more, here are some thoughts on the Subtonic Storm:
- They sound, IMO, exactly like what they are described to be: an IEM emulation of monitor speakers with a subwoofer in a treated room. What does this mean? They are, to my ears, about as neutral as you can reasonably get with current tech. They reach VERY low and as high as I can hear (my cutoff is between 15khz at normal volume and 17.5 when cranking things) but without excessive emphasis. They are neither warm nor bright, but you can tweak them slightly in either direction (more on this later).
- The soundstage is natural (read: not as wide as you may have heard on other sets or buds), but appropriate to THE TRACK. If if was recorded in a small room, it sounds like you are in a small room. Live venue? You get spaciousness and reverb. The depth and height is very above average, and more like I’m used to with great 2 channel setups. The imaging is fantastic, among the best I have ever heard.
- The bass. We need to talk about the bass. It is everything you have heard, but it is NOT basshead. The way they’ve got the BAs setup, there is plenty of slam and rumble (you can FEEL the visceral sensation of air moving) but again, I must emphasize this again, only appropriate to what was recorded. If the track has even, clear bass without a lot of heft, that’s what you get. If it has brain-massaging levels of UNCE-UNCE, you’re gonna get a rubdown. I mentioned this in a discord in the early days with it, but this is probably gonna be my bass reference for a long time. While it’s not 100% dynamic bass, it’s REALLY really close and kind of makes me not care. It DOES do amazing texture with bass regardless of levels, too; every instrument has its unique feeling whether it be 808s, bass guitar, uprights, Bassoon, Baritone vocals, Synth…the quality is amazing. It’s also got that clean feeling where the bass never gets out of control or buries anything, even when it does go ham. I imagine this is what people are talking about with sets like the Maestro Mini and SE.
- Mids are dead where I feel they should be. Energetic, but never shouty (unless it’s a shouty recording). Neither dry nor overly rich, just where they should be. Vocalists and instrument placement sounds spot on, again, based on how it was recorded.
- Highs are basically perfect to me. Cymbals has just the right decay and sheen, and details pop at you in a way that is never unnatural.
- So about that tuning. Tips. You will want and NEED to tip-roll these things. Not only do you need a good seal to get that wonderful bass, but you can absolutely tilt things to your preference with tips. We’re not talking night and day difference, but throw on some short wide-bores like Azla Earfits or Spiral Dots for a little more top-end. Want a little more impact in the bottom? SpinFit CP100 will get you there (Final Type E did, too, but I had a hard time keeping the nozzle in place on the stem so I have put them aside for now). My current preference for sound and comfort are either CP100 or Symbio Ws.
- Fit. These are chonkers. They are THICC but well-shaped, even for my small ears. If you have extremely tiny outer ears, these may not be for you. The weight is neither heavy nor featherweight, and I find that with the right tips I can wear them comfortably for >2 hours at a time with no real discomfort.
- Cable. I got them with the standard Mira 2-wire, and I think it’s fine. Is it worth $1500? Lol probably not, but it’s what came with them (and was designed for them) so it’s fine. If you wanted to splurge on the 4-wire Mira, you better be using these at home or office on a desktop setup because the 2-wire is already substantial. If you got the urge to, I do not think you could comfortably wear these while jogging (although stationary wear or walking is probably fine). The cable does have an extremely premium feel, and it retains almost no shape memory whilst being quite solid. I am not a “cable guy” so I will probably never swap it out because it does the job it was meant to do. I will leave that to those that want to.
- Power. These are thirsty girls. I mean thirsty. Something I would run unbalanced on a Hiby r3 pro Saber at ~40 volume single-ended needs 50-60 BALANCED with the Storm. It’s not impossible to power, but for IEMs they are pretty dang inefficient regardless of the specs. I would personally recommend running them balanced on the go, you could get away with Single-ended on a desktop amplifier with good headroom. Be forewarned…they WILL make you want to crank the volume, too. I have found myself listening in bed and walking the volume back down for fear of my hearing lol.
So, what can I say based on my experience so far? Full disclosure, I did not pay $5000 for these but I did pay a sum that most would consider ludicrous. I ABSOLUTELY feel that it was worth it, but the majority of people will not. Diminishing returns applies as ever, and I think I could get close to the enjoyment out of units that are <10% of the price. I will say that, even if you have no interest in the Storm, keep your eyes on Subtonic and Symphonium. They are COOKING and I think that they’re poised to really shake up the market in the coming years, especially once more affordable units start releasing (the Meteor is just the beginning IMO). I know everyone rolls their eyes when they hear this, but I think The Storm is the end of the road for me, at the very least for a good long while. They will not be everyone’s endgame, or even their favorite, but they fill a specific niche of exacting accuracy and delivery that I can not deny. I WOULD recommend that anyone who can demo them at a show or, provided the tours get going after early fulfillments, get in on a tour to at least try them. Who should realistically be looking at this set?
Storm is for:
- Neutral heads
- People who prioritize music over tech and new toys
- Those who don’t need to sell a kidney or child to afford one
- People who use sources with plenty of clean power
Storm is NOT for:
- Bassheads, Treblefiends, people who love V- or U-shaped signatures
- Someone expecting the heavens to open up and choirs of angels to raise them on high when they put them in their ears
- People looking for the FOTM or shiny new toys, unless you are balling
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, I will do specific track references and more specific in-depth reviewing when I have time (mad busy with work ATM). Again, I absolutely have to shoutout @SoundJedi at Elise Audio and @toranku for all of their hard work and dedication. You guys are aces.
EDIT: I wanted to add something for point of clarification: Neutral DOES NOT MEAN BORING OR FLAT! These will absolutely get you head-bobbing and toe-tapping, again if you have ever listened to a good 2-channel setup that’s close to neutral but still very strong in dynamics, you’ll know what I mean. Another thing to touch on is that these are revealing to the point of being very unkind to poor quality recordings. I listened to a lot of early albums from Anthrax and Megadeth, and while they’re still great you can tell that it sounds like it was recorded through a tin can stuffed with toilet paper. Not really a heartbreaker, but you’ll learn if you really love a lo-fi sound or not lol (and appreciate well-mastered materials that much more)!
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I also listened to these songs before you mentioned them here
Listened to them again and really can not tell a big difference but maybe KL stage is really smaller but if so it is ever so slightly to my ears.
To me KL stage is wide enough and far from being intimate but yes, maybe a little bit more intimate than Meteor but for me it is negligible
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Glad you’re enjoying Storm 
I think if I was thinking about dropping that much 
on a set with fq positives like that then Trailli would also be demoed for sure, but tbh for me…
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Probably it’s my CP100+ eartip 
I feel like it’s more intimate than the stock tips.
Going to tiproll more see which eartip would make the soundstage feel more wider on my KL 
I use Tri Clarion Tips on KL, probably widest bore possible.
I wanted to use them on Meteor too but don´t get a good fit and ended up using Azla Xelastecs which bore is also very wide, maybe a tad more narrow
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The good news is that Subtonic have said that V- and/or U-shaped units are probably on the way (Storm is the initial product, not the only one), possibly still in their “Embody” line. As always, patience is our friend…
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