Audiophilepure

From an ergonomics point of view, the Viking Ragnar is not a very small monitor, so you need to go through the necessary trial & error process. However, with the right ear tips, it is very comfortable which is a nice surprise for me. I have had zero issues with the Ragnar in terms of fit, comfort or isolation.

Sure, they don’t come close to what a custom IEM offers, but this is as good as it gets for a universal. I highly recommend Final Audio E Tips, which I’ll mention in the closing stages of the review. Let’s go on.

I could utilize them to gauge the signer’s level in how well and stable she could hold notes and in every nuance she brought to the table. What I like most about this track is outside of the light piano track and backing vocals, it’s as close a situation as a listener may find themselves in to an artist using In-Ear Monitors for their intended purpose. Except this time we are the silent watchful observer, using such creations to enjoy the performance on hand.

Each pair of faceplates are handcrafted by ThieAudio, with slight variations in appearance and finish. Speaking for my pair, I absolutely love it, as I am a big fan of the space, of the unknown! Overall, the design of the Prestige is visually striking and looks unique. As we have come to expect from Thieaudio, the quality, and workmanship is quite good. I didn’t find any flaws in the parts that are difficult and tedious to make by hand, such as the joints that connect the nozzle to the shell, and the ventilation holes required by the dynamic driver. The handcrafted ThieAudio units we have reviewed before were also flawless in these areas, so we can say that ThieAudio has a very strict quality control phase and we appreciate their attention to detail.

The Maven Pro has a couple of unique features, and we’ll go deeper into some of them. First off al, the driver configuration. The Maven Pro uses no less than 12 drivers on each side, with a 4-way crossover and a 4-tuning tunnel design. This setup was first used in the Mentor series. Each frequency range has its own tuning tunnel to fully isolate between frequency sectors. A metal sound tube is connected at the end of the sound tunnel to ensure that the sound tube will not be squeezed out of shape and to maintain the consistency of sound transmission. But back to the drivers.

There’s good detail with good extension. Yet, you shouldn’t expect Zeta to be the ultimate treble performer in this price range. It prioritizes the bass first, then mids, and then you start to realize it has good treble too.  

It doesn’t hide anything from you, but it’s not a very crisp or bright treble response. If you like that kind of sound, Zeta might come a bit polite for your preference. Microdetail retrieval is nice too. The whole presentation is resolving, but again, a bit thicker than neutral. 

The build quality of the Mangird XENNS Top IEMs is quite good. I have experienced various IEMs from Mangird and each one shows impressive elements of craftsmanship. The resin shells are not only visually appealing but also provide a solid, durable construction that can withstand the rigors of daily use. The company states that the resin is imported from Germany and is of medical grade. The build quality deserves praise as all the joints look well-built. I can’t find any imperfections on the shells. Another subtle but nice detail is the use of a sleek piece of aluminum instead of a plastic filter in the DD’s air vent. I love it.

And there are, it turns out, limits to these monitors’ powers of resolution. ‘Girls in Their Summer Clothes’ by Bruce Springsteen [Columbia] is a narrow, congested pea-souper of a recording, with competing elements piled on top of each other – and despite their best efforts, the IE600 can’t open it up or spread it out. The listener can almost sense a power struggle going on, as the monitors attempt to force some distance between the horns, the percussion, the piano and the voice. Still, that’s more about the recording than the Sennheiser IE600.

Having enough money to buy premium in-ear monitors and attach them to a high-quality audio player doesn’t automatically mean you only listen to glossy, high-fidelity recordings, of course. But as long as you’re aware of the limitations of the IE600 where the silk purse/sow’s ear interface is concerned, there’s very little else that should dissuade you from trying them out.