The tale of a young, up and coming Singaporean brand in the IEM world!
PROS: Excellent build with minimalistic design, different sound signatures across the lineup, very good quality stock cables and accessories. Helios has segment leading performance which makes it standout in the market and Meteor presents a very nice, slightly coloured alternative to reference tuning.
CONS: Helios and Triton shells could be a tricky fit for smaller ears. Sound wise, Helios could use a bit more ear gain and lower-treble to nail TOTL tonal perfection, Triton needs more ear gain too and some spark for competitiveness and Meteor could’ve done with slightly lesser mid-bass boost and a bit more ear gain.
About Symphonium Audio.
Symphonium was conceptualised in 2015 as the founding members were dissatisfied with the state of the personal audio market. They thus set out to design and manufacture their own IEMs from the ground up focusing on sound quality, reliability, premium materials and innovative designs. As per them, their founding journey has not been an easy one with countless failed prototypes and manufacturing difficulties in the initial years. Since then they’ve built strong relationships and partnerships with fellow brands and their team has grown considerably, evolving from their founding members to a fully capable team that now manufactures each earphone entirely in-house, from start to finish.
Official Website – Symphonium Audio
Technical Specifications.
Meteor ($599).
- Drivers – 4BA
- Driver Crossover – Custom Tuned True 3-Way Crossover with PHAT Technology
- Frequency Response – 12Hz – 21kHz, ± 3 dB
- Sensitivity – 111dB/Vrms @ 1 kHz
- Impedance – 9.7 Ohms @ 1 kHz
- Socket – Spring Loaded 0.78mm 2-Pin
- Cable – 26 AWG OCC Copper
- Cable Impedance – 0.18 Ohms (3.5mm), 0.17 Ohms (4.4mm)
- Limited 1 – Year Warranty
Triton ($899)
- Drivers – 1DD + 2BA
- Driver Crossover – Custom Tuned True 3-Way Crossover with FLAT Technology
- Frequency Response – 11Hz – 21kHz, ± 3 dB
- Sensitivity – 107dB/Vrms @ 1 kHz
- Impedance – 8.3 Ohms @ 1 kHz
- Socket – Spring Loaded 0.78mm 2-Pin
- Cable – 26 AWG Silver Plated OCC Copper
- Cable Impedance – 0.20 Ohms (2.5mm), 0.25 Ohms (3.5mm), 0.28 Ohms (4.4mm) @ 1kHz
- Limited 1 – Year Warranty
Helios ($1099)
- Drivers – 4BA
- Driver Crossover – Custom Tuned True 4-Way Crossover with FLAT Technology
- Frequency Response – 12Hz – 24kHz, ± 2 dB
- Sensitivity – 104dB/Vrms @ 1 kHz
- Impedance – 8.5 Ohms @ 1 kHz
- Socket – Spring Loaded 0.78mm 2-Pin
- Cable – 26 AWG Pure OCC Copper
- Cable Impedance – 0.20 Ohms (2.5mm), 0.25 Ohms (3.5mm), 0.28 Ohms (4.4mm) @ 1kHz
- Limited 1 – Year Warranty
Included in the box.
Meteor.
- 2 Types of Silicone tips (SML)
- Foam tips (SML)
- 2-pin cable (3.5mm or 4.4mm)
- Plastic Case
- Bigger Leather Case
- Cloth Sack
- Cleaning tool
Helios and Triton.
Helios and Triton have identical packaging. Helios and Triton’s ear tips are nicely place in a pull out drawer in the original box. Here’re all the things that come stock with the IEMs –
- Azla SednaEarfit Standard tips (S, MS, M & L)
- Azla SednaEarfit Short tips (S, MS, M & L)
- Symphonium silicone tips (SML)
- Metal case
- 2-pin cable with choice of 3.5mm or 4.4mm jack
- Metal card with serial number
- Cleaning tool
Build quality.
All the Symphomium IEMs have excellent build quality as the shells are all made using AL6061 aluminium alloy. They all have a simplistic but attractive shell design with the Meteor going with a red and black paint scheme and Helios and Triton a no-BS all black scheme.
Cable – Symphonium include really nice cables with their IEMs and it’s no surprise if one knows about their association with cable brands – NightJar Acoustics and Altatune Audio. I myself didn’t know of NightJar or Altatune before coming across Symphonium but from what I’ve read, they’re both Singapore based cable brands like Symphonium. NightJar makes Meteor’s Type 2 Litz OCC copper cable while Altatune makes Triton’s 26AWG Type 2 Litz OCC Silver-Plated Copper based cable called Luna as well as Helios’ 26AWG Type 2 Litz OCC Copper based cabled called Nova. Both Luna and Nova are available for purchase separately on Altatune’s website, priced at $119. All of them are really nice stock cables – they’re all very supple, have hardly any downward pull and all have very good hardware. Meteor’s NightJar cable has ear hooks while Helios and Triton’s Altatune cables don’t.
Case – Meteor comes with two cases, a small plastic clip lock case and a very nice leather flap case that’s a bit big in size and can accommodate the smaller case as well as the eartips case. Symphonium even include a cloth sack but I don’t really see much use for it.
Helios and Triton on the other hand come with very nice metal hockey puck cases that have a premium brushed finish – ones that have now become my favourite travel cases along with the everyone’s love Pelican 1010 case. As the Altatune cables are extremely supple, the IEMs and cable fit in the hockey puck cases very nicely.
Fit, Comfort and Isolation.
Helios and Triton have quirky shells – they’re on the larger side, have an abnormally long nozzle and don’t have as carved out semi-custom contours on the back, which make them a bit tricky for a snug fit. They fit me (who has average sized ears with deep concha) fairly well and have excellent isolation but I’d advise people with small ears to be vary.
Meteor on the other hand has much smaller shells and the nozzle is the right size, which allows the shells to disappear in ears like mine. So, they’ll surely be comfortable for people with smaller ear sizes.
Twister6 Reviews 
I really enjoyed the deep and detailed review — it was a pleasure to read.
I have an important question, and I think you can really help with your precision and attention to detail.
My current IEM is the Monarch MkII, and I’ve also owned the Blessing 2 in the past (both were excellent for me). Now, I’m looking for a complementary IEM to the Monarch MkII — something more fun and aggressive in presentation. I’m not entirely sure whether I should be looking for that excitement in mid-bass or sub-bass.
I’ve also tried the Variations before.
To be honest, the Variations had very prominent sub-bass, which really stood out to my ears. While it performed very well in other aspects and I didn’t want to take it off, the sub-bass felt a bit too dominant, like it was drawing too much focus away from the rest of the mix.
So I have three questions:
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Thanks. Well here’s what I think,
Also for now I only know of your views on two IEMs – Monarch MK2 and Variations – which are very similarly tuned. So I can’t suggest without knowing what you’re looking for exactly. If you’re getting Helios under $600, that’s a great deal and you should jump on it to see and decide what you like more of – a cleaner sounding IEM or fuller/bassier. It’ll give you a clearer view of where to go from there if you don’t. It should be an easy sale even if you don’t like it. Just beware, the fit is not ideal. I’d suggest looking for Helios SE if you find one. That has a better fit from what I’ve been told.
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Thanks for taking the time to respond. I actually live in Iran, so there’s really no place for me to test IEMs in person — most of my decisions have to be based on reviews and trusted impressions.
I’ve heard the sound of Monarch MK2 and Variations, and while they’re good, I definitely feel a lack of excitement, punch, and natural timbre. I think a more U-shaped or V-shaped tuning might be more fun for me. (Just to clarify, I do understand sound profiles well.)
What I want to be sure of is whether the Helios can give me that extra excitement and punch. I’m confident in its technical performance, no doubt about that, but I’m a bit unsure about its tuning and whether it has that engaging, dynamic feel.
Or — maybe there’s another $500–600 IEM out there with a warmer, more V-shaped tuning that could give me what I’m looking for? (Even if it doesn’t reach Helios levels in technical ability.) Something like the Meteor — which has that fun, energetic character — or maybe another recent release that fits this description.
Again, I know Helios is technically very strong and can be considered endgame. I also don’t have any issues with fit — my ear canals are basically black holes, haha.
Thanks again for your help!
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Haha 😅 I think Helios will fit your bill very well in that case. I can’t think of another IEM around $600 that can. Most do not have as well extended treble as Helios nor Variations or MM2. Meteor is too bassy and warm for my preferences. If you come a segment up, Phantom SE and Custom Art FIBAE 5 are 2 very fun IEMs. Phantom SE is a looker with a very nice high end cable. FIBAE 5’s sizzle can need a slight adjustment period but it’s a lot of fun and you can control between 2 bass shelf levels using the filters they provide. Both have big and open soundstages too. I’ve reviewed both here. Check out the reviews and see if they’ll work for you. If you know how to read graphs, you compare all of them on my Squiglink – https://animagus.squig.link/
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Thank you so much! The suggestions you gave are excellent—I’ll definitely read them and check them out. I’ll also take a look at the graphs; I can somewhat understand them. But I also know that everything isn’t about graphs, and I can benefit much more from your listening experience. Time to dive into those reviews—just need another earphone, haha.
That said, my gut feeling tells me that, based on the descriptions I’ve heard so far, the Helios might be the perfect match for my ears. Thanks again for your helpful responses, my friend.
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