yup, getting a unit soon hopefully
Ya’ll buying DUSK or nah lol
13 Likes
I am buying for the hype to see if it’s all worth it and to compare it to other iems coming out. Seems like an important release but not sure if it is worthy of all the hype. Looks very low pinna gain imo.
5 Likes
I won’t be buying it. I don’t need another crin tuned set that needs to find some bass. If I am spending that much It will be a Maestro Mini
I am however digging the Doscinco and powering them from the new Fiio KA17.
6 Likes
The faceplate is sexy as fuck ngl - Jay, u must temper my expectations.
2 Likes
“You shouldn’t pay for tuning” - Crin
“There’s no way you’re paying for tuning when there isn’t one”-SimЕater (joke but truth)
4 Likes
I’ve ordered it. I actually really like the stock tuning. The DSP is just an additional bonus.
4 Likes
F… I ordered it too 
3 Likes
Whilst I’ll likely just stick with the default tuning, the DPS presets look interesting (the V and Bass+ anyway):
1 Like
Thieaudio Hype 10… the latest of Thieaudio’s flagships - but versus the Hype 2 and 4, which one is the best for you?
Since I already reviewed both the 4 and 2 I’ll just jump straight to the 10 first. The 10 has a balanced and U-shaped sound, very well rounded with a slight emphasis in the low-end. The main star of the show here is the bass - the sub-bass in particular has a great tactility to them, very compact in the push and pull, and it feels very well-controlled but also still impactful and heavy in the slam. The bass is very “resolving” as you can easily pick out the micro-nuances and the air lingering behind each note as you can really hear the texture of the rumble.
Although you won’t get that full sub-woofer like playback since the 10 falls in-between half scooped and half filled, you do however get the benefit of a high quality low-end while not bleeding or overtaking the mids. It’s got a decent amount of bass, but it’s not basshead level by any means - the FatFreq series would be the better fit for that.
Vocals and mids are solid, expected for its price, and the 10 again is well balanced and doesn’t lean towards male or female vocals in-terms of the note-weight. It’s got a good mix of air and body to the singers, or using the vocal analogy - it’s got a great mix voice but doesn’t specialize in neither the lower or higher octaves - just a solid performer; if I were to rank it it’d be near the top of A vocal wise. Same with the vocal distance it’s not too forward nor too recessed everything just sounds correct and well placed - familiar is the word I would use, but if I were to nitpick maybe it’s a tiny bit forward if you A/B, but the 1.5K area isn’t congested or anything, still nice and opened.
Treble wise it’s also solid, the Hype 10’s got a good amount of air and cymbal crashes crash nicely and linger on with a good amount of splash and micro-nuances in the decay. It’s not the splashiest like the HELIOS SE, Crimson, or the STORM, but as an all-rounder, it has the right amount and you won’t feel like you’re missing out at all. Basically, you can summarise the Hype 10 in 2 words: solid all-rounder (or is that 3 words?)
vs Monarch MK3
It does everything very well at an “endgame” level like the MK3s… but depending on your preference the MK3s might be actually better. If you want something that can play everything very well but you want slightly more focus on the bass then the Hype 10 would be better because it shifts the overall sound more towards the low-end. For starters, the 10 simply just has more bass, and drums, bass guitars, and male vocals has a little more body to them as the sound is a little fuller than the MK3s while maintaining great separation. If you have more hiphop, rock, R&B then I would go for the Hype 10, whereas the MK3 on the other hand is cleaner, has airier vocals, female singers especially pop out more, and the layering and separation feels slightly better because the low-end isn’t as forward and prominent as the Hype 10. I found the MK3s to be fantastic with indie, ballads, and acoustic stuff because of that cleaner sound - it sounds sweeter, whereas the 10 sounds fuller bodied.
vs Prestige LTD
As for the Prestige LTD it sounds the lightest with the most air out of the 3 where the low-end isn’t as heavy and tactile as the Hype 10 and MK3. The overall presentation is more laid back, vocals are more pushed back but still having that sparkliness in the end notes, and most importantly the staging feels the biggest and deepest out of the 3 - the LTD has the most “special sauce” because of that airy/sparkly treble.
So, if you like bass get the Hype 10, if you like vocals get the either the MK2s or the MK3s, both are great, but it really comes down to unit variation since out of the 2 MK2s I’ve heard, one has less bass than the MK3s which is to be expected like most people, but @domq422 MK2s actually has more bass than my MK3s, so, just watch out for that - and then lastly if you want the sparkliest treble and biggest stage, go for the LTD.
vs HYPE 4
Now, endgame sets aside, how does the 10 compare against the 4? Is it worth the upgrade Jay? Welllll… kinda - depends on what you’re looking for because if you like bass, then the 4 is actually more forward and slams a little harder because of its tamer uppermids and less air, which limits the head space and pushes the focus on to the low-end more, since quality wise they’re both pretty much the same, very tactile, full bodied, and slams nice. But where things starts to defer is in the staging and resolution.
When I was A/Bing both, the 10 feels more open, airier, better extended in the treble where you can hear the cymbals better, and they’re more detailed on the 10 with the decay lasting longer. Vocals are also slightly more resolving as well, the 10 isn’t as soft in the uppermids/treble is how I would describe it, and separation is also slightly better on top of the resolution boost. So, yeah, the 10 is technically better than the 4, but is it more than 2x better like the price suggests? No, it’s more like 15% better, but the difference is there for sure. Now, if you already have the 4 I would just go for the MK3s or LTD instead since those sound more different where you get more variety to your collection, but hey, I mean if you love how the 4 sounds and just want that sound but better, then get the Hype 10.
vs HYPE 2 and Others
Now if you’re coming from the Hype 2, Cincotres, or Doscinco I would skip the Hype 4 entirely since it’s a marginal upgrade and you’ll see a bigger difference by jumping straight to the MK3S for vocals, the LTD for the treble and air, and the 10 if you like bass or even the Fatfreq Scarlet or Maestro minis depending on how much bass you want. And if you’re coming from the Performer 8 or Quintet or sets that have a more treble emphasis then go for the LTD - you won’t be disappointed.
For those wondering, the Hype 10 is a direct upgrade to the Hype 2 all-around with a more engaging and refined sound. The stage feels more open, the resolution and bass texture is a noticeable step up, and it’s a lot smoother in the vocals while being more detailed. Overall, it’s around a 25-30% jump tech wise if I had to estimate. But ya, another solid all-rounder from Thieaudio, a bit redundant with the 4 and I do wish the Hypes were more different, but it is what it is.
Aso, a huge shoutout to Chris @hawaiibadboy for hooking me up with these. I was asking around if anyone were willing to loan or sell theirs because the pre-order time is like 1-2 months, and luckily Chris saw and reached out, so thanks again to the legend himself. But with that said, here’s the final ranking for the Hype 10:
Tonality: S-
Tech: S-
Overall: S-
Thanks for reading 
19 Likes
Another banger write-up and video, Jay! My Mk2 unit is strange, no doubt about it.
I agree with your thoughts on the H10, but if I’m comparing it to the Monarchs of the world, I thought the treble was a bit unrefined compared to the EST implementation. The BAs came off as a bit sharper, and less airy, where as the ESTs have a whispy-like timbre to them, almost lighter in note weight but still impactful. It’s hard to describe.
Sadly, the stuff from Thie is all so similar - I wish they would try some new stuff in terms of the tuning because they know what they’re doing, they’re just playing a bit safe lately.
10 Likes
Video taken down?
3 Likes
Thank you Dom 
You got the pre-production MK3s 
LOL
For BAs, the 10s do a pretty good job. Not as airy as the Supernovas, but I don’t notice that big of a difference vs the Monarchs - maybe slightly airier on the MK3s? But I will say my MK3s at least sounds cleaner, and I do prefer it over the 10s for that reason.
5 Likes
Thanks for the reality check. I’ve heard a lot about these and yet not a single EPZ has sounded decent to me, with a couple cases of downright awful. They somehow always manage to stir up some hype though.
2 Likes
I believe they send out a lot of review units so that is why you see much talk about them. if they are good or not though, I dunno…i wasnt interested in the unit they offered me at least lol.
2 Likes
The EPZ Q1PRO and the G10 are both excellent and inexpensive, regardless if they sent samples out real world users who also bought thiers with real money are saying the same.
Thats a true statement to if a product stands the test of time or if its just hype.
1 Like
I disagree about the G10, mostly ok I guess but some frequencies unbearable. K5 was also awful. Q1 was ok at best, but nowhere near the hype it got. 320 was archaic.
I’m not sure I see their price point as special either given 3 inexpensive sets I just happened to compare lately (Simgot, Pula, Ziigaat) which actually all sound very good too.
I just tried those because they were available, not because I was seeking the best, but all cheap and all way better than anything I’ve heard from EPZ.
It’s all opinion but for the record the G10 is one of the ones I’ve heard and I still just don’t get it.
5 Likes
I am using EPZ Q1 Pro and they are decent i wont claim they are anything groundbreaking. They are decent indeed for the price.
1 Like
So after some A/Bing, the Q1 Pro is basically the direct upgrade to the 7hz Zero, meaning, if you like that clean neutral sound but want better resolution/clarity then the Q1 Pro would be that - a 7hz Zero with better tech
3 Likes