Origin

Have you tried the Thieaudio Origin? I have both and prefer the Origin when portable but Titan wins at home on proper gear. Great iems indeed, highly recomend powering them properly since they do like a bit of power to come alive, what amp/dac do you have?

I was in Tokyo and went to E\*Earphone and tested about 30 IEMs in the $750-$2500 range. I own the Theiaudio Origin along with several <$200 IEMs. At home I use DCA E3 and Hifiman Arya Organic. As far as IEMs I considered my Origins ideal and end game. I tested about 30 IEMs in the $700+ range. Nothing really stood out as considerably better than the Origin, there were several IEMs that sounded great to me including the Lucifers but nothing that I thought exceeded the Origin to the point where I would consider buying another IEM. Even the Monarchs III/IVs were meh. Until I tried the Theiaudio Valhalla. I’m all about soundstage and bass, and holy shit, the Valhalla sounded surreal. I have no idea how they managed this with just BA drivers but it truly sounded holographic, the closest thing to a 7.1 surround sound system in IEM format. Now here’s the rub: If I was in the US the price of the Valhalla would be far too high to justify the purchase since I already had the Origin, but they were 250,000 yen after the tax free reduction and with the current US-Yen exchange rate the price came to about $1560 out the door vs $2200 in the US after taxes, tariffs, and shipping. I pulled the trigger. They’re still in the case, sealed, as I can sell them in the US for an easy $400+ profit, but I’m seriously debating just keeping them and trying to sell the Origin (never sold/bought used gear before). After 9 hours of testing, these truly are the best of the best. Unless money is no object, I’d suggest the Origins instead, because they are 95% of what the Valhalla offers, but that last 5% isn’t just better clarity, fidelity, etc., it’s a truly unique experience, and one of a kind.

So I really wanted to carefully take a note of each IEM and what u thought. I wrote down a mini review of the first few you see in the photos I posted. After the first few I tried, the store got super crowded with people. One thing that may not be obvious, is that they provide wipes to clean the tips before and after each use. So the process got a bit overwhelming and I just went through them quickly. I thought I took a photo of the entire $750+ section, but I looked though my photos and I can’t find it. I had visually noted which ones I tried on the wall, as well as any standouts, but unfortunately I had no idea why the photo didn’t get saved. I recall trying the high end options from 64 Audio, Symphonium Audio, Thieaudio, Vision Ears, Sennheiser, and a few others.

Check their Japanese website, the in store price is about 5-10% less than what’s listed on the website. Then you get another 10% off for tax reduction with passport. Convert that final price from Yen to USD. It was hard to spot good deals, because pricing is in Yen and I couldn’t quickly do the conversion in my head to compare them to the US pricing. There were crazy deals on used (like new) IEMs tho

Don’t forget Thieaudio Origins as an edge case. Those are incredible imo

That’s interesting because I don’t get that from my set. Just deep, controlled, splendid bass, smooth mids, and an incredible soundstage. Only downside I can relay is they are some CHONKy boys.

BA gang! Similar experience to what you had, origins were great, but the valhalla were next level. Sell the origins, keep the valhalla.

64 Audio U12T bought it used for around 1000€, my daily driver at home. I use the m20 apex modules on them, absolutly worth it. Thieaudio Origin, 850€ new, is my work iem. The BC is the gamechanger.

Well, both (With the m20 apex module.) have a nice sub and mid bass. The origin has a better bass rumble. Mids go to the u12t, both are also pretty releaxed with the treble. So only the big shell from the origin is for longer sessions maybe a little bit troublesome, but depends on the ear. Soundstage is a 50/50, both are great. The origin has a nice soundstage that gets elevated by the bc and u12t sometimes scare me with the soundstage especially in videos when you dont expect it. The rest is great too.

There are many cables that you can get that work well with all your IEM's why do your care if a IEM comes with a good cable. To answer your question I'm very happy with the excellent cable that comes with the Thieaudio Origin.

The Origin was one of 3 that made me say wow at a show. I ended up buying 2 the Thieaudio Origin and the Dunu Glacier the one I didn't buy was the Thieaudio Valhalla. The Origin is very special but the Glacier is the one I pick up most.

Penon Fan 3s is a good IEM, but especially when it’s on sale. The BC driver really does its job – the bass becomes a bit fuller and more tactile. You need a tip rolling! Another nice feature is that it has a switch that allows you to turn it on and off. The vocals are slightly pushed forward. Thieaudio origin - the best bass, but it is for basshead!