Blue is Me

Tag: vision ears

  • Vision Ears Phonix review

    A true endgame IEM with a fun energetic w shaped tuning
    Pros: Really good bass (for a BA driver)
    warm forward mids
    very good detail overall
    excellent packaging and accessories
    excellent build quality
     
    Cons: soundstage width is just ok
    subbass is still lacking
    can be a bit fatiguing to some
     
    The VE Phonix is the flagship IEM from Vision Ears. It retails for $4200 USD now (up from $3900 USD when it came out). It is a 13 driver IEM with all BAs – that’s typical of VE as they usually prefer to tune their BAs well rather than stick a bunch of driver types together. My source used for review is the Lotoo Paw Gold Touch.

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    The packaging and accessories are excellent. It comes with a somewhat average quality coppy cable, but it includes a nice leather case, a lanyard, business card wallet holder and AZLA sednafit SE1500 eartips – nice!

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    The actual IEM itself is pretty nice with carbon fiber shell and glass faceplates. VE didn’t cut any corners for their flagship here and it shows.

    Bass:

    The bass for Phonix is actually very very good for a BA implementation. It’s very punchy and has that slam that we usually associate with dynamic drivers. It ranks amongst the best BA bass I heard along with UM Multiverse Mentor. However, the subbass is still a bit lacking because it is still just BA bass even though it’s as nicely implemented as I’ve ever heard, so the limitation of that is still there with not much subbass extension.

    Mids:

    The mids of Phonix is very forward and in your face. Singers sound like they’re right in front of your face and this might be a good IEM for those who want a very forward and warm vocal presentation.

    Treble:

    The treble is well extended and slightly pushed up which rounds out the w shaped tuning of this IEM. It’s not quite as impactful as the bass and mids are however, and I think the treble is probably the weakest part of the Phonix. Still quite good but not wowing me as much as the bass and mids.

    Technicals:
    The Phonix has average soundstage height and width for its price point – compared to IEMs like MM Multiverse Mentor or Nostalgia Tesseract, it will fall behind that level despite being a $4k IEM. However overall detail and resolution across the board is quite good.

    Overall the Phonix is an endgame level flagship IEM that is recommended for those who want probably the best all BA IEM which excels at both being dynamic sounding for energetic tracks due to its great bass texture and warmth and extended treble, but also for vocal tracks due to its forward mids. It’s only weakness being soundstage width is just average and it could be slightly fatiguing for longer listening due to how forward all the frequencies are.

  • Vision Ears VE10 review

    Well tuned IEM that could use some better technicalities
    Pros: well tuned w shaped sound signature
    good subbass extension
    amazing packaging!
     
    Cons: could use better technicalities at this price
     
    This is my first Vision Ears IEM, it is a 10 driver hybrid with 9BA, 1DD configuration and costs $3000 USD. My source used is Astell & Kern SP3000M for this review.

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    Hats off to Vision Ears for some really nice packaging extras. It comes with an ok SPC cable but the nice leather case, IEM sock, ear cleaner tools and generous amount of tips are all appreciated. And of course the IEM looks very solidly built, as expected from VE.

    Bass:

    VE10 bass is very good. It’s got punch, slam, good dynamics and good sub bass extension. It’s got it in both quality and quantity, as it’s definitely elevated but it’s not to a crazy amount but it’s an amount that most people would call ‘fun’

    Mids:

    VE10 has pushed up upper mids and recessed lower which creates a smooth transition that is popular in alot of IEMs these days. While I won’t say the mids match up to those of the flagship Phonix, I will say they are done decently well and will work with pop tracks and other vocal genres well.

    Treble:

    VE10 also has slightly pushed treble but its also done tastefully without being too harsh or sibilant or fatiguing.

    Technicalities:

    I think this is the area VE10 suffers a bit in, as I feel the technicalities in soundstage, imaging and resolution are not up to par with what I expect a $3k IEM to sound like. Instead, it feels like it competes with UM Mest Jet Black in terms of technicalities, and there’s IEMs that actually beat it here quite handily like 64 Audio Tia Trio or Noble Sultan, both of which cost less. In fact I would go on and say that Noble Sultan at $100 less would give VE10 quite a run for its money because while it doesn’t have as much bass and treble as VE10 does, but technicalities has it beat.

    Overall it’s a very well tuned IEM that sounds close to harman tuning w shape that will satisfy most listeners for a ‘fun’ IEM that can also do vocals well. It’s just a bit on the overpriced side when it comes to technicalities though, as there’s cheaper IEMs that can match or beat it in that department for less.