Comparison.
This testing was done using Perseus with a stock EA Ordinis cable, stock ARC Oval eartips, and SP4000 source, volume matched in every comparison.
Starting with a comparison of EA “family” IEMs:
Perseus vs Elysian Apostle OG – While I haven’t heard the Apostle ’26 version, when comparing to the original Apostle, which I still hold in high regard, I hate to say this. Still, I found a cheaper Perseus to be an upgrade in tuning. Of course, ‘upgrade’ is a very subjective term, relative to your (my, in this case) sound preferences. But as much as I enjoyed Apostle with its expanded holographic soundstage, more holographic expansion than Perseus, it (Apostle) had a more energetic treble tuning, carrying a signature Elysian sound with a touch more sub-bass and a more prominent treble presentation. Perseus has a more natural, fuller-bodied tuning with a bit more presence in the upper mids and a more relaxed treble presentation for longer, non-fatiguing listening. Again, not saying one is better than the other, but Apostle is tuned in Annihilator direction, while Perseus has its own unique fine-tuned character with more natural treble. Also, typical of Elysian, Apostle is more power-hungry. Again, I don’t know how Apostle ’26 sounds, and I heard it’s a fine-tuned version of the OG, but relative to Apostle OG, I preferred Perseus tuning.
Perseus vs Elysian Pilgrim NOIR – This version of Pilgrim is tuned more in Perseus rather than Apostle direction, but there are still some differences that make Perseus stand out. Perseus’s soundstage is more rounded, with wider L/R expansion and better sound separation, while Pilgrim has more depth than width, resulting in a different sound spacing. Pilgrim has a bit less sub-bass rumble, which makes its bass sound more neutral than Perseus’s, whose velvety, textured, elevated rumble adds more weight. Pilgrim’s upper mids also have slightly less definition, and the same goes for its treble, which is more relaxed and scaled down. As a result, Pilgrim sounds more neutral, while Perseus is more balanced and more energetic, moving closer to W-shaped tuning. I still enjoy Pilgrim NOIR a lot and prefer it to the original Pilgrim, but when you compare it to Perseus, Perseus sounds higher-end in tuning and technical performance.
And, in some other comparisons:
Perseus vs UM Mest MKII – MKII tuning, specifically its lower-end tuning, crossed my mind when I started listening to Perseus; one of the reasons I was actually curious to compare their FR measurements for confirmation. So, from a tuning perspective, they have very similar sub-bass boost and extension, perhaps with the MKII offering a bit more mid-bass punch. Their lower mids also have a similar north-of-neutral tuning. But once you get to the upper mids, their tuning becomes the complete opposite, as if someone flipped it. MKII stays linearly tuned throughout the mids with a lift in lower treble and more emphasis on mid-treble. In contrast, Perseus does the opposite, giving you more pinna-gain definition in upper mids and taking it down across the treble. They also have a similar soundstage expansion and imaging. I’m well aware of MKII’s popularity, but if you’d like to keep its lower-end tuning while flipping the switch on the upper mids and treble, Perseus would be the right direction to go.
Perseus vs 64 Audio U12t – Another popular IEMs with an iconic status, at least for some, after a long time of being around. So, I wasn’t surprised when I received a few questions about this comparison, even though U12t is priced at 2x the price. There are too many differences in this comparison. From a technical perspective, U12t has more depth/height than width, making its soundstage expansion a bit limited in L/R separation and the imaging more center-focused. In comparison, Perseus has a wider, more rounded soundstage with more expansive imaging. From lows through mids, U12t is more neutral, with a natural tuning and typical BA bass performance. In comparison, you can hear Perseus DD bass performance, which stands out with a deeper, more elevated, and more textured sub-bass rumble. Perseus upper mids have more forward presentation with much better detail retrieval, along with noticeably improved layering and separation of the sounds. U12t treble also has a bit more energetic zing, while Perseus is smoother, more natural, and slightly more laidback. Perhaps their tuning targets a different audience.
After my recent review of Quill Karma and considering the same price bracket, I have also received many questions about this comparison. Unfortunately, I loaned Karma to someone else for a short period. Hopefully, once I get it back, I will update this review based on the actual A/B comparison without relying on memory. And the same with Mysticraft Myth, which people are asking me about to compare, and I’m only familiar with from a short demo early this year at CanJam NYC, so I feel uncomfortable misleading people with my “by memory” comparison.
Source Pair-up.
In each of these source pair-ups, I was using a stock EA Ordinis cable and stock ARC Oval eartips. Also, with 108dB sensitivity and 18ohm impedance, Perseus IEMs are relatively easy to drive, unlike traditional Elysian Audio IEMs, which require more power to drive them efficiently. My sound analysis and comparisons were done using the SP4000 DAP. That is my baseline natural source. Then, when I was thinking about Perseus and its everyday listening status, I thought that it would be more interesting to hear how its sound performance changes across different popular USB DAC dongles.
w/NiPO A200Pro – while the soundstage shape remains the same, I felt like imaging and the way sounds were positioned in space became more holographic, literally reaching 3D level. Another difference I noticed was the mids being a little more revealing, just a touch brighter. This was a pretty good pair-up, especially if you want to extract a bit more detail from the sound.
w/NiPO A100 – this pair-up sounded very close to A200Pro, except I felt it lost a bit of texture in the mids. It’s a very small change; some might not even notice, and with either dongle, Perseus sounds great. Perhaps there is a bit of bias, considering that since I started using A200Pro, the A100 has gotten a lot less action lately. Either one pairs up great with Perseus.
w/Cayin RU7 – oldie-by-goodie 1bit DAC dongle; I hear a similar soundstage expansion as with SP4k, rounded soundstage with a very convincing imaging. In this pair-up, I noticed a little more weight in sub-bass and a bit stronger mid-bass punch. Mids were a touch more revealing, but the biggest change I noticed here was in the bass.
w/L&P W4 – the only difference I heard was a bit more weight in sub-bass. The rest was very similar to how I hear Perseus with SP4k, down to the same natural, detailed mids, and more relaxed treble.
w/iBasso DC-Elite – big, expanded soundstage with an imaging reaching the holographic level. Very tight, articulate bass, more neutral, revealing mids, and slightly more sparkle in treble.
w/iBasso DC-Tonfa – lately, I have been using this R2R dongle from iBasso more often than DC-Elite. Again, compared to SP4k, the sound tuning and technical performance are almost unchanged.
At this point, it is safe to assume that Perseus will pair up well with any source, although expect some variations. Personally, I preferred it with more neutral, warmer sources to give the sound more texture and a smoother upper-frequency response. And again, these IEMs are easy to drive, regardless of whether you are using a DAP or a dongle.
Conclusion.
Based on some of this year’s releases, it looks like the $1k IEM market is heating up and attracting not only the chi-fi crowd but also other multi-kilobuck audio enthusiasts who don’t feel comfortable carrying around $6k-$10k ear jewelry on their everyday journeys. Plus, many prefer easy-to-drive IEMs on the go, often relying on a USB-DAC dongle as their source companion. It looks like Effect Audio did their homework, and did it quite well to come up with their latest Perseus IEMs release, which I had the pleasure of reviewing here. It almost felt like they decided to come out from behind the shadow of Elysian Acoustic collab releases, this time relying on their own name and accumulated experience as the acoustic and cable designers of new IEMs from the ground up.
As a result of this work, they developed a mature, balanced sound tuning with a natural, detailed tonality. The sound signature is balanced, closer to W-shaped, with greater emphasis on sub-bass weight and upper-mid definition, and a more relaxed, natural treble extension. The soundstage expansion is round, evenly extending in all 3 dimensions, creating a natural spacing of sounds without any holographic exaggeration, with a very convincing placement of instruments and vocals that creates a perfect imaging balance. I was also pleased to hear that, despite a fuller-bodied natural tonality, there is zero congestion or muddiness, and you can expect precise layering and separation of the sounds. Some might consider this a safe, natural tuning without anything jumping out if you crave extra bass impact or higher resolution treble extension, but that is exactly what makes these IEMs stand out, with a non-fatiguing, engaging tuning, eye-candy design with a very comfortable fit, easy to drive from any portable source, and without requiring to invest any extra money into a cable upgrade or even searching for different eartips. It’s a complete and relatively affordable package for everyday listening, even for demanding audiophiles on the go.
