Monarch MKIV

Since you’re not picky abt the signature good pick near the price of the u6t would be the monarch mk4 more bit more neutral and less warm you have the option of a bass switch if you want it to be warmer/ bassier. A cheaper option would be a mega5est or a xenns top pro and under those would be the astrals me personally I like monarch the best and astrals then mega5est the top pro. Only thing to note is that the monarch shells are big asf so I’d demo if you can.

For me it’s a mix of the feel of the build quality along with generally higher resolution and better separation of instruments as you go up in price (to a point). Other than that tuning is largely the difference and you could easily prefer a $300 IEM with your tuning style to a $1000 one with a different signature. I just got the s12 ultra used for $120 and compared it to my $1000 monarch mk4 and honestly it’s tough to justify keeping the monarch. The resolution and separation on the s12 are pretty impressive, the bass hits more to my liking as well… then I compared to my old apple ear buds and there is a clear difference in resolution even though to me the apple buds still sound pretty dang good. Other ppl will have better explanations I’m sure and it’s debatable what resolution means to people in this hobby. Either way In today’s market, $50-300 can get you some incredible sounding IEMs

The bar is dropping lower and lower so it’s hard to say, the new $120 (on sale) 7hz crinicle diablo is getting more ear time than my monarch mk4 ($950). It’s wild what you can get now for under $200

I do love planar with bass boost :-) , the metal shell helps make diablo feel more premium too as well as sounding great….monarchs are stellar too though just definitely past the the spending point to sound ratio for me OP is asking about

I’ve had it with the Meze alba, s12 pro 2024, kiwi ears astral and now monarch mk4! Great feeling

can't judge about others. got the monarch mkiv only as 2025 release and enjoying them quite a bit. my only comparison is the dunus sa6mk2.

Never tried the mk3 but own the 4 and agree with most of your impressions. Particularly that they are much more unforgiving on poor recordings than my Dunus SA6MK2. I can’t listen to some Bob Marley tracks unless they are remastered with them, even though all my files are flac. Also agree that the bass is a tad heavy, and so is the high trebles to my ears. Am going to spend some time eqing them to my taste over the weekend

Purchased the Monarch mk4 last week, looking for a warm upgrade from my Dunu SA6mk2 for easy and musical listening with a bass boost compared to the Dunus. After burning them in for a few hours and paired to my iBasso Dx180 I feel like it's a miss. Pros: - the extra bass rumble is there, particularly in the sub bass department - very revealing - large soundstage - goes higher in the trebles - Nice for bass heavy music like afrobeat or hip hop Cons (to my needs and taste): - the soundstage is larger but more forward. so not a laid back listening - the voice timbres can get fatiguing. overall i prefer the male voices on the Dunus. - i find them overall less musical (and more revealing) in their presentation than the Dunus - they are more unforgiving on old tracks with poor recording in example some Bob Marley tracks sound horrible with it - they tend to get fatiguing soundwise to my sensitive ears So yes it has its qualities and I can see a crowd for it. But it's quite a big miss for me, i get an energetic, in your face, revealing iem while i was looking for something musical, laid back, but with extra sub-bass vs the Dunus. I'll give them another try when my new dap (onix xm5) arrives but have little hopes, will probably end up flipping them (in Europe if someone interested). Based on this experience, what would you recommend i go for to reach my aim: laid back, warm and musical listening with just enough extra details to make it worth vs bluetooth earbuds, and good enough bass rumble - not necessarily basshead as I listen to lots of jazz also-? Price not the top consideration, anything from 200 to 1500 usd is fine. Just looking for the one and only second iem that will complement my Dunus and rest my game.

yes these will probably end up in my rotation sometime as I'm reading such good about them. my concern for now is that they don't seem to have the added sub-bass I'm looking for vs the sa6. for the story was hesitant between the Volume S and the SA6 when i made my first iem purchase. went with the Dunus.

Great dap - I have the same - but for iems don't use the balanced port. Use the 3.5 with low gain output and it'll take any iems. Use mine with thieaudio monarch mkiv

Probably one of the Thieaudio Monarchs. Either the MK2 or the MK4 while in standard mode.

Worth is subjective to you and how much you make and where you are willing to spend, I started with ZS10s went to Aretes, quickly jumped up to hype 4s from there and loved every jump, I just now recently got my endgame pair being monarch mk4s and to me they were worth it, but for others I would likely recommend that $400 range being a good stopping point because of diminishing returns, yes my MM4s sound incredible but $750 more incredible than hype 4s? Probably not for most. I want the most I can get out of this hobby/experience and I also love being able to share that with others as most people will never experience true hifi

I've eq'd to them back to back They're absolutely brilliant. Not too "compressed" like a harman, bass is on the lighter side but it hits just right and the treble reveals details whilst not being too harsh (i think it has the least treble you can find in a planar beside maybe the letshuoer s08)

Tips are extremely different on IEMs. I have Monarch Mk4 right now, one tip even with the bass tuning switch can make it far more open, lower end more detailed than more boom, then I swap to another, stage shrinks a bit, but its a bass head set suddenly. Part of beauty of IEMs is tip rolling. Not just comfort but the entire sound can change. You can to some extend do this with headphones, but not on the same scale.

Have you had any issues with condensation building up on the filters of the MK4? Adore mine, maybe its just Welsh winter and humidity or something, but mine get a build up I have to wipe off in not too long a time.

UM MEST MK2. Got a very kind offer from Musicteck and jumped on it. I had previously only used headphones but because of a jaw injury IEMs were more comfy, I had saved to get a really nice pair of headphones, but using that on IEMs made more sense. Blew me away and I still have them, though now I use Monarch MK4 a little more.