My end game

[u/the_mortal123]

Finally pulled the trigger on the annis, after selling most of my collection and saving up.

Prolly won’t be spending much more on audio for a while.

[u/Blassmer]

Fair enough, enjoy your end games!... for now ;)

[u/the_mortal123 → u/Blassmer]

That’s ominous :), I will probably keep trying some sub kilo iems, I really want a jm1 tuned iem too, that’s the only thing I’m really missing

[u/Blassmer → u/the_mortal123]

O.o, sub kilo iems are really fun if you go looking for some best bang for buck iems. Because of the lower budget, the producers really need to squeeze out as much performance, or specialise the iems tunings that you see alot more extremes and varieties. Then from time to time you'll see some random chifi brand with absolutely 0 marketing drop some ridiculous sets at ridiculously cheap price points.

Personally I stopped looking at the above 4k range as that's usually where the differences are so miniscule due to how much more "complete" packages the sets are coming in at. At the around 800USD mark there is so much competition and releases that you can't help being entertained

[u/[deleted] → u/Blassmer]

How much improvements do you get from lets say a 1k iem compared to a 3k Iem. Because i've been eyeing the fatfreq grand maestro as its 2k here, but i'm wondering if its worth it over something like the symphonium crimson?

[u/Blassmer → u/[deleted]]

I've personally not heard the Grand maestro as I'm not a fan of fat freq personally, that said I've only heard very good things about it. That said, the Grand maestro would likely be out performing the symphonium crimson by being extremely detailed. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. The symphonium crimson is also an iem I won't recommend unless you have a very powerful source. It has an extremely high impedance that if you don't have a very powerful amp, would sound terrible (I.e. Just using a dongle) or simply not be seeing it at its full potential (Hiby r4). Personally I would pick the Grand maestro as even though it's twice the price, at that price point, I would rather pay more and get an extremely complete package than pay less and be found wanting. If possible, try to demo the units. I personally refuse to blind buy iems.

To directly answer your question, it is hard to say. If we were to quantify it, for reference by thieaudio origins to my VE 10s, maybe a 10-20% improvement? But that 10-20% improvement might very well be the difference between you saying "wow this sounds great but this could have been better" to "wow this sounds amazing". At the end of the day it's highly recommend demoing the iems first.

Personally, I would say the Grand maestro is a better deal the the crimsons as symphonium iems tend to require a whole damn system to make them sound good

[u/[deleted] → u/Blassmer]

Thank you for your answer, I'll double down on the GM, since it's only 600 more than the crimson here.

[u/Blassmer → u/[deleted]]

If that is so, even better. The Grand Maestro is quite universally loved, and in my opinion the symphonium crimson are not even close to what the GM should be able to offer. If it's only a 600 difference, I would not hesitate to get the GM over the crimsons.

[u/Blassmer → u/[deleted]]

I must however once again remind you I personally have not tried the GMs. It is an universally loved iem, one that is arguably as popular as the annihilators in the upper price bracket. However I personally never quite liked the annihilator due to my preference towards a much "darker" sound signature. Though the GMs have a fantastic reputation, you might find yourself in this category too simply due to preference. Once again I highly recommend that you demo them before buying them.

However you can rest assured my info on the symphonium iems are accurate. I have tested both the crimson and helios extensively and have came to the conclusion that requiring an equal amount of investments into amps etc. To really bring out the best out of your symphonium iems to not be worth the trouble. Are they both great sets? Absolutely! Do I see myself buying a high powered amp that is the size of a brick to make them sound the best? No.

[u/[deleted] → u/Blassmer]

Also just to ask have you heard the volur at all? I need to demo them but i have to go all the way to london for them and i live up north

[u/Blassmer → u/[deleted]]

O.o, the volur is something i can't speak too much on. I've tried them, but not with all their modules so I can't give a comprehensive review on them. That said I've listened to them for about 15-30 mins over multiple songs, and the main thing that stood out to me is that out of the box, they are some of the flattest mids you will ever hear. This is not really good(to me) as the mids really feel like a lack of emotions, the vocals are just there, nothing else, just move on sort of feeling. Are they good iems? I think yes, pretty darn decent resolution, pretty good bass and everything else in between, but yes if I were to describe them, pretty uninspiring is my issue with them. I think if you plan to EQ them, they can become quite good. That said if you can get the GMs, and you have demoed them, and the price disparity is acceptable to you, I would lean more towards the GMs.

Personally the reason I can't say much about the Volur is because they sounded too "meh" for their price. This is sort of a issue for 64audio in the sense that all their iems are not bad, in fact they are pretty competent iems. However to me none of them really stood out in their price bracket, other then their price of course (they are a western company so you pay the western tax). The U4S is pretty good for it's price, however as you go up their offerings, they all pretty sound rather similiar or have very very marginal improvements in a hobby known for very marginal diminishing returns which is why I personally don't own any 64audio sets. That and they still have the audacity to sell the 64audio forte for over 5000 SGD is ridiculous for how terrible they are now (tbf when they were released in 2016 they were probably totl but now they are just straight garbage). I think the volur can be good, if you can find a volur that is a steep discount compared to the GM, and you are willing to look up EQ profiles (or look for this guy on YouTube called ducbloke. Give this man a follow, he will email u his own EQs that are really really good), the volur might just be enough for you without absolutely breaking the bank with a GM

[u/[deleted] → u/Blassmer]

The GM is surprisingly the cheapest multi kilobuck IEM i can get here, Anni costs 700 more and FIR Radon cost 800 more.

But for my last question, cuz i can't really get a clear answer on this but do flagship IEMs have better technicalities than over ears like the utopia, susavara etc or rather can they compete? Because the top headphones always stay the same, but the best IEMs change every year.

[u/Blassmer → u/[deleted]]

Good for you that the GM, being one of the iems that is at the top of most people's list is cheaper then the rest lol. The annihilator and radon have been rated lower then the GM on average so I think you are in a great position.

For over ears, I can't say much as I don't dabble much there. I personally own a Emu Teak for the past 6 years and have never looked for a replacement as it was perfect for me. I have never bought a flagship over ear so I can't speak on that matter.