ThieAudio - Monarch MKII

if the iem is strictly for gaming, then comfort is king. and you don't need to spend too much for a set. im currently using tanchjim zero ultima and its so comfortable sometimes i forgot that it was there. i use it mainly for CS and League and i dont feel any disadvantages over my monarch mk2

Only recently got back into the game, but tried a variety of new releases besides the current gen peak-fi stuff. Would say something like the Yu9 Que or Hercules Audio Noah are easily there. They're both resolving enough to easily compete with IEMs at double the price or more like the Monarch Mk2. While from personal experience I feel that he Monarch is just a tinge better at soundstage and timbre, the Que and Noah aren't far behind. In fact, they're very very VERY close. Hence for just 400USD, I'd say they set both the new benchmark for the price-range, and also are the new lowest price-point for endgame technicalities.

Monarch mk2+project daybreak (or epz p50)+truthear Nova. Combined price should be less than 1.5k and I think these 3 would essentially give you 95% of what this hobby is really about 

I was just thinking that it was interesting that ASMR doesn't get brought up on r/iems much. My recommendation is the dunu Braindance or a used Mest series. I have the Mest mkIII and it's perfect for comfort when falling asleep to ASMR, but a little out of budget. The Braindance is a little less spacious but is still comfortable for me. IEMs I've also tried for ASMR include: * Empire Ears Raven (too big but very nice rumble feeling) * Mega5EST (comfortable but not as spacious) * Thieaudio Monarch MK2 (too big) * Galaxy buds 3 pro (not nearly loud enough)

Using Monarch for ASMR, that’s some dedication for ASMR

I have some kilobucks iems coming from sub 500 stuff. The thing is while sub 500 stuff sounds good, or great value they usually just tuning good, but lack some technical performance and soundstage. At least thats how i felt. Kilobuck stuff tends to give you extra 10-20% of that like Monarch mk2 (superb vocals with superb resolution) 64 audio u4s/u6t (better instruments separation and soundstage) Westone mach 80 ( best detail retrieval and resolution under 2k usd) Etc etc.. This is just an example of course theres many other kilobucks that are good too but for me 1000-1500 is where the diminishing return start to kicks in

If discussing in context of diminishing returns: thieaudio monarch (2-4). Especially the mk4s, which are indistinguishable from 4-5K sets. Just tuning at that point. Anyone who says otherwise is just trying to justify their purchase. If discussing in terms of value: Xenns top pro. $500 gets you about 92-93% of monarchs.

Tried it. Still prefer monarch MKIIs

Mega5ests, monarch mk3/mk2, oracle mk3, u12t used. Really depends on what you want in a sound profile

lol monarch mk2 ranked low. This person literally is tone deaf. Can’t take any of these ranking tier list seriously. If you want to know if it’s good best to try it yourself at a meet up Also the volume s sounds like shit.

sure, but the MK2 depreciate because they are USED, not because they're suddenly worse

This will be a very quick review. About me: I am coming from the Moondrop Variations as my daily driver. I just wanted something non-harman/meta-tuned which does not break the bank. I tested many IEMs in different price ranges. After I daily used the Odyssey now for a few weeks, I feel confident enough to write a short review. The best thing about the Odyssey is no doubt the tuning. It's rooted on the new meta with adding a bit more excitement in the bass and treble, but really just a bit. It sounds very different as my last daily driver, which have a much more colorised tuning (harman IE 2019) - which can sound great, but they are really hit and miss depending on the song. That's the reason why I decided I need something more versatile which works with all sorts of content (basically all music genres, movies, gaming). I consider this a "common sense endgame", because if someone wants to enter the expensive world of IEMs, the Odyssey can be reasonable advised as an one-and-only purchase because of it's sound signature. This can be of course also said about other meta-tuned IEMs in that price range. They don't really differ a lot in how they sound. If you looking at higher price ranges, there is the Monarch MK2 with a similar tuning but much better technicalities. I A/B tested both while testing and can say with confidence that the difference here is not worth the decreased comfort and increased price for the MK2. Maybe I am not "audiophile" enough to hear a big difference or I had not enough time to test the Monarchs. Another thing is how easy the Odyssey can be driven. Connected to the 3.5 Audiojack of a Macbook 16% of audio volume is a sweet spot. You basically have no volume problems on any source. Connected to a Qudelix 5K DAC/AMP they sound the same. Using a DSP/EQ to normalise the sound to JM-1 - I like the native sound signature more than the original new meta (JM-1) - it just adds some excitement without being too much. It can be still considered as neutral with bass boost. One drawback is how sensitive they seem to be. Connected to a "poor DAC" (e.g. Playstation Portal 3.5 Audiojack or DualSense Controller 3.5 Audiojack), there is a noticeable background hiss and noise floor when a sound is played. This is not so noticeable when gaming, but I would definitely not advise the Odyssey if this is a use-case for you. Compared to that, the Variations do sound absolutely clean connected to the DualSense or PS Portal. In it's price range, I would easily give the Odyssey a 10/10 Score with the Label "Endgame for most". If price doesn't matter, maybe a 8/10.