ThieAudio - Monarch (First Generation)

I'm currently using monarch OG as my daily driver, but it's a little aged now. May I seek your recommendation, what is a good value upgrade from monarch OG?

The PR2 issue was interesting. First run had an additional filter between the driver housing and nozzle, which tamed the treble a bit and gave the tuning a more well-balanced and natural timbre. It was a $30 planar with an excellent tuning that was easy to recommend to new hobbyists. Blew up because HBB got behind it. Started selling like hotcakes. KZ decided to pull out the filter, wither to save costs, labor, or both. Totally changed the tuning. It was shrill, sibilant, and a tinny, metallic mess. They pulled the rug out to save a few bucks, and then reframed the change as a “retune.” It was a whole thing. Ironically, the PRX was an attempt to capture that original PR2 tuning, but I don’t think they quite captured the magic of that original set. Which I still own, because it was a genuine banger for the price. Sits in the same case as an EM6L as one of my gaming IEMs. Don’t get me started on FatFreq; big longtime supporter. Owned the original GM (before the fancy repackaging) and Maestro SE, was an early supporter of the Scarlett Mini, even had Antonio from Gladiator make a custom cable for it. Was hyped. Preordered day one, took nearly 6 months after the promised ship date to arrive. Similar thing happened with Deuce; decided to pass on their planar as a result. Still waiting on additional Noah modules for the GM, how many years later? Haven’t experienced any issues with Thieaudio or Mangird thankfully. Been happy with the Top Pro, coming from the original Top and Up. Been solid, but wasn’t happy with the included cable. Been happy with most of the Monarch lineup, except the MKIVs shitty cable. That cable is an outright crime. I curse anyone that’s given it praise in a review. I never got behind Penon’s entire guerrilla marketing/forum business model approach. Something about it was always underhanded to me, especially since it was mostly the same characters from the same forums getting their review units and heaping them with praise. I know they have some legendary sets, but I’ve mostly avoided them.

Everything comes down to your preference in music and comfort. Check if you have any previous IEMs or headphones that you really liked, and see if there's a particular genre of music you listen to. Pinpoint exactly what you enjoy in that music. If you like bass, you buy stuff with a lot of bass. You like treble more? You buy something with lots of treble. If you're buying for gaming, just aim for something with a lot of sub-bass and bass. (And stage. Really important for shooters and sh). For comfort if the nozzle is too big for your ear canal, you’ll have a bad experience. Some IEMs can be bulky, and that can also affect comfort. And well, I think this won’t be too useful since you guys are already buying IEMs. Some people can’t appreciate all the sound frequencies (like me), and the effects of IEMs only really kick in after spending a bajillion on high-end ones. Had 1 iem out if each price category and got satisfied only after buying monarchs (spending so much felt like a gut punch). And like it's usually really nice to find someone who already has iems and ask for a listen (this advice literally never works but if you actually manage to find anyone willing it's amazing) Overall you have to choose yourself (what a helpful guide). Stick to the new once (zs and kefine) and then it comes to details.

Monarchs are not V shaped, but not neutral either so you're 50% right.

I actually prefer braindance over monarch. Monarch is a safe choice, bd is something else, it doesn't need to be perfect.

Long useless post, TL;DR reached endgame. MH334SR good. Started with the KZ ZS1 a long time ago, with many incremental upgrades until I landed on the 7Hz Timeless. Then, after moving to Japan, I replaced it with the Variations paired with a DT990 for gaming. Somewhere along the way, I became that guy who kept making a fuss about cables, claiming they made everything sound so much better. I turned into a file format snob, only wanting to listen to FLAC and DSD. I kept talking about it to my friends (damn, I must have been really annoying). Ultimately, I purchased a used LCD i4 as a reward for enduring all the hard work of labor and finally landing a much better job. It stopped me from wearing headphones entirely since the soundstage and sound quality were more than enough. The bass and soundstage were incredibly addicting. At this point, I started to realize that cables were just snake oil, Bluetooth was a godsend, and my ears didn’t even care when listening to 128kbps audio. Qudelix is life. Recently, I got myself a pair of Diamond 220 speakers. However, they ruined my i4 in a sense that listening to speakers became so enjoyable that I spent less and less time with the i4. It felt like the entire area in front of me was a sound field. It was quite wild to be able to "see" (or feel) sound moving in front of me. The speaker itself looks like "muted", I don't hear sound from the speaker itself. Idk how to describe it haha. I still needed an IEM for outdoor use, though. Demoed the Z1R, Monarch, and others. They were okay, but it was hard to justify their sound when my main IEM was the i4. So, instead of deciding based on sound, I thought, why not prioritize comfort? That’s when I started looking into custom IEMs and came across the MH334SR on sale for 200k yen. Checked the frequency response, Immediately pulled the trigger and went to their clinic the next day to get ear impressions. It took about a month from there until the IEM was completed and delivered to my apartment. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting great bass (I thought it might be bloated) since it’s just a BA. But damn, maybe it’s the seal. It’s definitely not on the same level as the i4’s airy bass, but it’s good enough to satisfy my ears. The mids, highs, and technicalities are fine. At this price point, they’re as resolving as expected, just tuned differently. I listen almost exclusively to Japanese songs. Specifically, those leaning more into vocaloid, UTAU, visual novel OSTs, etc. If I see weeb art, I play it. Artists like DAZBEE, Nanami Urara, and Isekaijoucho are my daily dose. Below is just me trying too hard to explain the sound of the MH334SR: The highs are slightly above my preference (not that the IEM is harsh, but I butchered 4kHz in my i4). However, I got used to it pretty quickly in few hours. All instruments have presence. I don’t have to try hard to distinguish them (which is different from being able to hear all instruments). I can clearly hear vocal harmonies, which is a big plus. Can’t hear the sub-bass (drum) sound in the Aster Lore song at 3:37 - 3:50 though, which is a bit of a bummer (though so far, I’ve only been able to hear it on the Timeless). The beats are satisfying, most likely due to a bump at 200Hz. It’s not bloated, just a nice, punchy drum sound. I love that I don’t have to use EQ at all. I might even replace the Qudelix with something that looks nicer and has a knob in the future. But damn, the comfort is just peak, and the isolation is awesome. It’s close to Etymotics-level isolation without violating my ears. I desire nothing more for IEMs now (more like I don't care that much anymore), but I’ll still visit the shop regularly to demo IEMs since friends often ask for recommendations, especially in the budget range. Hopefully this doesn't make me plunge into speaker rabbit hole which is many times scarier. But so far satisfied since I only listen in very-very low volume anyway.

I tried TheAudio Monarch and Oracle (don't remember Mk numbers) some time ago and wasn't impressed really. The do sound good, and have good technicalities but nowhere near the headphones at this price (Arya or LCD-2C) or substantially better than good quality $200-300 planar IEMs. Tonality is different but that's taste more than anything else. Timeless (1 or 2) is where IEM peaks for me personally, and diminishing return is hitting hard after that. At least based on my hearing abilities.

Honestly for an entry level iem just save up some more for the supermix 4, skip the timeless soundstage is so narrow. Then the next upgrade with honestly be either the Variations or Xenns Top. Final endgame will be the Thieaudio big boys (Monarch, Prestige, Origin). Alternatives would be Elysian endgame range iems too.