I received, tested the heart mirror and compared it with the Aria.
With these two having the spinfit cp100 tips, it’s a hand down victory if the Aria for me: voices are more natural, have more body, and detach more from the other instruments. The heart mirror demonstrates many sibilances, too.
With some xelastec tips, the heart mirror get better: voices have more body. But they still are on the verge of being sibilant.
With my library, the Aria are easier, and will fit way more music styles.
I tested on:
Lorde - buzzcut season
Birdy - skinny love
Prodigy - smack my bitch up
Koji kondo - Zelda medley
The heart mirror isn’t bad per se, and especially for the price, but the aria does everything better with easier tips.
All automatically set to Monarch MK2 ( S ) level. In my opinion, this will be the disappointment of the year. For this price, they need to do more things and be more versatile, not just listen to Chinese folk music . It became clear that metal could not be listened to. The dynamics is level (C) according to reviews and comments, no soundstage … Let me not continue. This is not my end. Many deluded people
I didn’t think about final Es, I’ll try them asap!!
On the tech side, I must admit I didn’t really pay attention. I found the soundstage quite narrow, but I feel biased by my first experience, with a bad seal. I remember having tested it on buzzcut season, and it was bigger on aria.
Now with the xelastec, hearing yosi horikawa - bubbles on Spotify, I feel layering is quite good in this “small” soundstage.
With m.Jackson - thriller , the 2 sets were on par for the step noises going 'round
Thanks mate! I know how good the EJ07m is, and the SA6 seems more in line with it as well. Xenns UP is the tuning outlier of the three.
My take is that I’m a imaging and sound stage hoe, then coherency through all frequencies comes next, then clarity comes next. I once thought I was a V-shaped guy, but after listening to the Tea and MEST, I realized that even Mele can sometimes sound too boomy for my every day listen. MEST has been living in my ears almost every day since I got it last week.
For me so far:
Xenns UP: Dan’s latest review of the Dusk really bumped up my interest in the UP, but I fear that the sub-bass thickness is going to distract me a lot from my work. Also if it’s veiled in the mids or highs, I’m gonna notice too.
SA6: Actually my first pick until I realized the EJ07m discount. Seems to be a smooth listening experience without the BA timbre, but not sure if the sub-bass would be sooo thin that it doesn’t punch.
EJ07m: New contestant and now increasingly piquing my interest. Just afraid that the short nozzle will have that weird effect with my ear canals. I can’t stand thinness and peaky treble… that said, the 5k-6k bump on the MEST seems fine for my taste.
What I didn’t like about the Variations: the coldness of the technicality and the shrillness of the treble can sometimes make it undesirable for long session listening. So what I want: a long session listener with enough enjoy factor while working.
The ThieAudio Oracle might be something to try / look out for. They‘d fit right in what you are looking for. I‘d consider that set a long section listener while being fun (at least to me).
One of the best tonal balances I‘ve heard in any headphone. Really glad I got these.
Oracle was originally on my list as well, but due to it being not so easy to find nowadays and the only new option that I have is DD on AE, I decided to drop it. Linsoul’s has it for pre-order only.
I think eventually I might go for the EJ07m + filter for a safer neutral yet borderline fun tuning
Damn, I just checked and you are right. Pre-order only. Makes me really happy that I got them locally second hand, and in flawless condition no less.
When I got to try the EJ07 and EJ07m, they both were not my cup of tea, simply because of their treble extension. They just sound too dark for me. Great IEMs indeed, just not the tuning for me. Same Reason I did not get the Xenns Up.
I guess I‘m more of a treble head after all, I need my sparkle
The Excalibur sounds like a slight v-shape compared to the neutral with a bass boost response of the Oracle. The frequency response graphs of both really are a bit misleading.
The Oracle has not as much Bass quantity than the graph would indicate. It sounds like a very tastefully done bass boost with great impact, speed and detail that more so sounds like a deep, natural extension of the bass instead of a boost.
The Excalibur on the other hand has more Bass quantity than the graph would indicate without sacrificing its quality. Treble is a bit elevated as well and leads to the slight v-shape. Techs are slightly better compared to the Oracle, but the set also sounds more imbalanced.
I‘d describe the Oracle as the more mature (but still fun imo) tuning while the Excalibur is the more fun and energetic set.
I like the Oracle more which ultimately got me to buy it. It‘s tuning is just so good. The Balance is incredible. That set has no weaknesses tuning-wise and replays every genre without fault. Truly an all-rounder, jack of all trades.
The Excalibur is a great set in it‘s own right though, and almost as good imo. They both are incredible IEMs. A hard recc from me.
If it weren’t for the availability issue now, Oracle was supposed to be the number one pick and my very first Thieaudio. I’ve heard so many good things about Thie that I regret never saving up and buying a set.
Word of advice to any IEM newcomers: 3 sets of sub-$100 IEMs are ENOUGH.
(I got 6 before I realize that the big bois are the real deal…)
. It became clear that metal could not be listened to. The dynamics is level (C) according to reviews and comments, no soundstage … Let me not continue. This is not my end. Many deluded people 
