I apologize, because I meant to write the Meteor, and not the Helios, sorry for that
I have the Helios SE, I did say it was soulless, but it was a bit premature. It’s not soulless, but it’s certainly lean and can sound dry, as it basically has next to no midbass. It’s certainly not warm.
The sub bass though, that’s a different matter entirely. It’s fantastic, I can’t believe it’s a BA, it even has dd-like decay.
I so agree with trouble though, if I was looking for one set to do it all, I’d be inclined to go with a dd for bass, probably a hybrid tbh.
However, having said that, everyone’s preferences vary, some people love a warm tuning, some people want clean and lean mids. There’s no option which will fit everyone, but a hybrid with dd bass is the safest option imo.
Just wanted to share a related anecdote:
First, a bit of background. A few years ago, I tried my best to “escape” the hobby (to get back to the music, save $$$, yadda yadda), and after a 3-year hiatus I was curious if anything could dethrone my former favorites. I managed to pick up a second-hand Odin and was pleasantly surprised to discover that the playing field was, IMO, truly stepped things up substantially. All the more curious, I paid Andrew of Musicteck a visit and from the moment I arrived he very graciously laid out just about every flagship on the table he had on hand, one after the other, at my request. Despite spending the entire day there until closing, I felt no pressure to commit to a purchase, and like a try hobbyists even brought more than half of my own collection spanning over a decade for Andrew/Leon to try. Fast forward to the IEMs that left me most impressed, it was down to mainly the Aroma Jewel, Oriolus Trailli, Softears RS10, Noble Spartacus (then unreleased) and VE EXT/Phonix LE. There were a few other standout IEMs, but staying honest my ears were fatigued after literally a full day of listening and A/B-ing just about everything I could manage to shove into my ears lol. Not to mention, all other offerings were more or less flavor changes than anything else, and apart from the Spartacus, for whatever reason, i did NOT gel with ANY of the others with BCD (this was also my first time experiencing BCD, so maybe I was not properly acclimated). I left there knowing it was just a matter of time before I begin once again scouring the second-hand market for the few favorites I mentioned.
A few days later, I found a local listing for a second-hand Jewel at half price. I noticed the very same seller had also listed and sold the Orioulus/Bird not too long prior to the Jewel. When I met him, I asked him why he chose the Jewel over the Bird. He said ultimately it was because of the dynamic driver in the Jewel, and this may have played into my own preference (though short-lived) during my pwn listening session.
I have had no regrets since; the Jewel is going nowhere any time soon. I’ve shared my new top 5 in the appropriate thread here on HFG, but more often than not I too am finding myself in the DD camp. That said, variety is the spice of life, and I feel there is just as much space in my rotation for all BAs like the Promission/ProPhile/RSV/LZ Big Dipper as there is the Odin/Jewel/EXT.
P.S. @Leonarfd Really enjoy your reviews, and always looking forward to future reads! You’ve made me VERY curious about the DTE900. With the current 11.11 sale, I may just add it to the list of sub 1k IEMs that seemingly punches well above their weight.
As a Crimson owner, I can attest to the magic behind Symphonium’s creations. Truly some of the most enjoyable bass I’ve ever experienced, no matter the questionable (4 BA) implementation.
how about campfire ara ,all 7BA ? good allrounder?
Having had the HSE for a while now, I can say I genuinely love the set, and it’s my favourite in my collection.
I just needed time to adjusted /recalibrate my hearing to a the leaner tuning. Now I actually prefer it for most genres.
It has the most natural dd like decay I’ve ever heard from a BA in the bass. And it only has a total of 4BA’s!
I prefer the HSE over my previous most expensive and favourite iem - MMK3. It just has superior imaging and overall resolution. In addition to the tuning balance just being so well done.
The MMK3 is no slouch at all and was the best iem I’d heard until the HSE. it just shows how well done the HSE is.
I hope to try the Crimson eventually.
how good fiio fx15 vs xenns top>?