Sound Analysis.

Drivability.

All 3 Symphonium IEMs like good amount of juice, for IEMs. You’ll need to run your regular devices at 80-90% volume to drive them to good levels. Even though you can drive them with your phone and laptops, I’d highly recommend going for the 4.4mm stock cable option and pairing them with a nice dongle with a powerful 4.4mm BAL port or a nice DAP to drive them properly. These days the balanced dongles can be had for very little money. Here’s my article on some of the nicest dongles you can buy under $150 – The Dongle Olympics.

Let’s start with Symphonium’s flagship Helios and go through the lineup in descending order of price.

Symphonium Helios

Graphs are measured using an IEC60318-4 (IEC711) setup. You can compare all the graphs on my IEM Graph Database here – Animagus Squiglink.

Summary – Helios is a very tasteful, very slightly coloured take on a sub-bass boosted Reference signature. If I match the graph with a target at 250Hz, you can see where Symphonium Audio drew its inspiration for this IEM (see graph below). It takes the Harman In-Ear target and improves on it based on where majority people had their complaints – mainly the amount of ear gain and warmer treble post 10kHz. Helios comes across as the most accurate and neutral sounding IEM out of Symphonium’s lineup. It goes for a 9-10dB bass shelf quite in line with the Harman IE target, has the mid-bass to lower-midrange contour in the 150-300Hz region which makes sure of the bass to midrange transition point sounding very clean, slight north of neutral emphasis in the 300-1.5kHz region, slightly lesser ear gain in the 2-6kHz region like the 64 Audio U12t, slightly warmer but well balanced lower-treble presentation and an airy upper-treble presentation. I can see Helios going for a U12t kinda signature but with an even better upper-midrange to upper-treble balance. I’m sure most at this point would be curious to know if it is able to play at the same level as the U12t in technical performance but we shall discuss that in the Comparisons section later.

Let’s dig in deeper…

Bass – The slope of the 9-10dB bass shelf is very well executed and results in a very clean, tastefully boosted bass presentation that has remarkable tonality and timbre coming out of a BA. I can see it fooling many for a DD. It’s a more sub-bass oriented bass boost which helps bring out the rumble in songs very nicely while the mid-bass is boosted with good control so that it doesn’t take over other instruments nor bleeds into the midrange. The bass notes are very well resolved with speed and precision. The only thing I can nitpick is that the attack sometimes sounds a little softer than reference precision and that is because of the slightly less gain in the 4-8kHz region.

Midrange – Let’s get the praise out of the way first before we get into the nitpicks. I have to say that the midrange is very well executed for the most part. The lower-midrange is fairly clean and the 150-300Hz contour like the Harman target actually greatly helps with a clean mid-bass to lower-midrange transition. It’s the primary thing adding onto Helios’ LCR separation as it separates and cleans up the bass in the centre really nicely. The ~8dB of ear gain helps keep everything sounding smooth and non-shouty with fairly good forwardness and definition. The midrange overall sounds very clear and has very good layering and resolution, which is commendable for its 4BA configuration and even in terms of technical performance at its price.

Now the nitpicks – the slight emphasis in the 400-1kHz adds very slight haze that I wish wasn’t there. Most people might not even hear it but as an audio engineer and reference head who uses well calibrated reference transducers on the daily and likes his lower-midrange to be clean AF (a straight line from 250-1kHz), it’s audible. The upper-midrange ear gain peaks at 2.5kHz and dips at the more accurate 3kHz which is necessary for absolute accurate tonality and timbre. In general, it’s a tough balance to nail between ear gain and volume – limiting shout at louder volumes and making sure there is enough clarity/instrument definition at lower volumes. Even though Helios makes for a non-shouty comfortable listen at louder volumes, its dip in the highly important 2.5-5kHz region takes away from absolute accurate forwardness and definition, and makes instruments come across ever so slightly softer than they sound on more reference setups. I wish Symphonium could’ve somehow avoided that dip while adding 1 more db of ear gain to make for the perfect balance between forwardness, tonal accuracy and comfort of listening but that’s wishful thinking. There’s a reason why my Animagus Neutral and Animagus Preference targets have this region sculpted with precision. It’s of course WAY more difficult to do it with drivers than multi-iteration building of target curves but the 2.5-8kHz dip along with the very minor 400-1kHz boost are mostly the only things I see holding the Helios back from giving a TOTL tonal performance.

Treble – Treble is ‘almost’ brilliantly executed. It is very well balanced, smooth, extends well and adds some nice air on top to make for a very exciting and engaging listen with very good detail retrieval but like I mentioned in the Midrange section, the dip in the 5-8kHz takes a bit away from the perfect instrument attack. You particularly notice in stick attack of percussive instruments but also the overall attack of the whole mix in quite a few songs when comparing it against other reference IEMs that do not have this dip. It won’t be as obvious at louder volumes because loudness makes up for a lot of things but you particularly notice it when listening to the Helios at slightly lower volumes than average. If it didn’t have that dip, it would’ve maintained its precision, the type it has at louder volumes, at lower volumes too. But this is majorly me nitpicking because I’m a reference head who gets excited when an IEM is tuned really well and then nitpicky when it misses slightly in key areas. Many of my nitpicks might not even realise into what others hear and feel because of how nicely Helios is tuned.

Technical Performance – This is where Helios does unbelievably well for a 4BA IEM and breaks the misled beliefs on how you need a zillion drivers in an IEM for best technical performance. If the engineers know what they’re doing and have good engineering skill, one can make a lot happen with less. Sometimes less really is more and that is exactly the case here. The 3 things that impress right off the bat when you first start listening to Helios are the soundstage, imaging and particularly the LCR (left, centre and right) separation. A lot of it has to do tuning but there really is something going on, on top of that. The soundstage is open, wide and deep and Helios is able to provide an out of head experience which isn’t common at all in case of IEMs. It’s almost like you’re listening to a nice headphone with a good soundstage that extends the stage boundaries beyond the level of one’s ears. It has very good resolution as well as depth layering and quite a nice black background that is able to resolve the reverb trails and the quietest instruments in the background really well, especially for its price. The slight hit to TOTL level of instrument definition and detail because of the very slightly dipped 2.5-8kHz is the only thing keeping it from playing in the biggest of the biggest leagues but I have to say that it’s up there for the most part.

Symphonium Triton

Summary – Triton is a tri-brid with 1DD+2BA and warm V-shaped sounding option in Symphonium’s stable. It has a more linear and controlled 7dB bass shelf, neutral lower-midrange, slightly recessed upper-midrange in the 1-7kHz region and fairly balanced treble presentation which goes for balance over boosted sparkle or air.

Let’s break it down further…

Bass – Bass duties are handled by a DD and the shelf is very well done. This kinda shelf goes for a more neutral approach promoting sub-bass over mid-bass boom. This results in bass notes sounding refined and in their own centre space than trying to take over everything else. Bass notes have good attack owing to the treble balance but not as much definition and bite owing to the recessed 1-7kHz region. Otherwise, it is quick, precise and represents the true mix of the song.

Midrange – Lower-midrange is tuned very cleanly and neutrally but the upper-midrange is recessed by about 5-6dB. This results in instruments having accurate body but not the accurate forwardness and definition. As a result the instruments aren’t as forward sounding and aspects like detail retrieval and imaging take a slight hit because of it. The only upside of recessed upper-midrange tuning is that it makes it easier for you to boost volume levels as the midrange does not sound anywhere near shouty at louder volumes. As I stated before, tuning the midrange is always a battle of balance relative to the volume listening levels. 4-5dBs more of ear gain in Triton would’ve been ideal to provide a balance of accuracy while retaining that easy on the ears character.

Treble – Treble is well balanced but the more neutral treble presentation along with the recessed upper-midrange makes Triton quite a balanced and smooth listen. It adds in enough sparkle to make for a warm V-shaped IEM (because of upper-midrange recession) but fans of forward and extra sparkly sounding signatures might be left wanting for more.

Technical Performance – Because of its recessed upper-midrange, Triton falls a bit behind in some areas of technical performance like instrument definition and imaging compared to the segment leaders like Moondrop S8. In isolation, it however has good left to right separation and a fairly open soundstage with good width and depth.

Symphonium Meteor

Summary – Out of the 3, Meteor is the wild party kid that likes to do drugs and party all night! It has a bass boosted W-shaped tending U-shaped tuning with a 10dB bass boost, clean lower-midrange, forward upper-midrange that is very slightly recessed compared to reference ear gain and sparkly as well as airy treble tuning. This results in a signature that presents the music with enthusiastic liveliness because of tasteful boosts at both ends. Even with the airy treble boosts, Meteor still comes across as a fairly warm and easy listen because its bass boost adds in more than enough punch, body and warmth to level out the boosts at the top end.

Bass – Owing to the kind of slope the bass shelf has, the 10 dB bass boost in Meteor boosts not only the sub-bass but much more mid-bass compared to Helios and Triton. This results in the overall bass coming across stronger and more in your face compared to the other two IEMs. This definitely is an IEM for the bass lovers as it pushes all the expressive bass notes more upfront to take centre stage but is done in a very tasteful way that it keeps it short of a hostile take over. It does it with tasteful finesse to make for a W-shaped tuning than a bass head one. The boosted mid-bass not only adds in in-your-face punch but also weight and body to instruments. Of course kicks come across punchy and weighty but so do most instruments as they get some extra body, which isn’t the most neutral but makes for tastefully added colour. I’d go as far as saying that Meteor ‘almost’ tricks you into thinking that it has a DD for bass just because of the amount of punch it has. This is a good example to show how big a role tuning plays in perception.

Midrange – The lower midrange is very neutral and that’s very welcome not just for portraying accurate tonality of instruments but also limiting what would’ve otherwise been more bloom and mid-bass bleeding into the midrange. Meteor’s neutral and accurate lower-midrange tuning shows Symphonium knows what they’re doing – what to keep clean and accurate, and what to boost and cut tastefully. Meteor has 6dB ear gain at the highest point at 2.5kHz. This though more forward than V-shaped IEMs is considered recessed when compared to reference accuracy. This results in instruments not being presented as forward as reference IEMs and that takes away a bit from instrument definition as a result. But on the other hand, the pushing back of the instruments results in the soundstage sounding slightly deeper.

Treble – Treble, in fact the air region, is Meteor’s USP as it extends very well till 20kHz and balances the 10dB bass shelf taking it away from becoming a run of the mill bass head IEM. It’s a bit recessed in lower-treble and mid-treble but has north of neutral airy boosts in upper-treble, making it for a exciting and airy listen, if not a bit sizzly at times. My main nitpick here is that it’s not perfectly natural sounding but is the kind where you know it’s coloured but don’t really mind it because it adds tasteful sparkle and air to most mixes making them come across more lively. It’s mainly the songs where the treble peaks don’t gel as perfectly that you notice them standing out. But it’s still one of the airiest IEMs with very good treble extension in this price segment, something that isn’t as common as one would imagine.

Technical Performance – Meteor has a pretty nice soundstage with good depth for its asking price. It’s a bit fuller sounding owing to its boosted bass signature but the recessed upper-midrange and lower-treble character pushes the instruments a bit back in the soundstage, which helps in creating an enveloping soundstage. But the latter in turn also affects and reduces instrument definition and nuances. Because of that it isn’t the top performer in its segment when it comes to detail retrieval but is no slouch in isolation. Imaging and depth layering on the other hand are pretty nice for its asking price.

Page 3 – Comparisons and Conclusion.