ThieAudio - V16 Divinity

I have the V16, and if the Valhalla plans to exceed that driver count — rest assured, it’ll cost more. Unfortunately, but understandably so, that’s usually how it goes.

Amongst the thieaudio iems I’ve tried  Valhalla > prestige Ltd > v16 divinity > monarch mk3 > monarch mk2 

Thieaudio V16 is my favorite in that price range

Enjoy what you have. I've listened to my fair share of iems. I just returned the thieaudio origin due to size and fit issues. I just got the thieaudio divinity v16 to try an all BA iem again. With a few mins of listening these things have a big stage and great imaging. My other iem isthe thieaudio Oracle mk3

I won't be able to use the correct terms for you, but here's what I experienced. Tuning is really important. I can take my Alba or MP145 and EQ it to a point where I am very happy. $143 - $159. At CanJam, I got to listen to expensive Thieaudio iems (Valhalla, Monarch MK4, V16 Divinity). I could appreciate the clarity of sound and the placement of instruments while listening to the Valhalla and MK4, that was just plain better than my Alba or MP145. But not better enough to warrant me spending 6x - 10x more. The V16 Divinity was a whole 'nuther situation for me. It sounded like God touched me in the brain! Now, guess what? The sound signature of the V16 is pretty similar to that of the MP145 when I look at the graphs. So - my opinion only - once a higher-end iem aligned with my sound preference, the details really stood out (instrument placement and sound clarity for me). The V16 has 16 Knowles and Sonion BA drivers in each ear (Alba has one DD, MP145 has one Planar). Clearly better driver technology - which I appreciated (in my opinion) because the sound signature was closer to what I like. Somebody else might prove me wrong, that's fine. For somebody else, the MK4 will sound fabulous and the V16 will be like, meh. A $200 sound signature you like will likely be a better choice for you than spending $1,000+ on something that doesn't align with your preferences.

True statement. I heard the V16 Divinity ($1,500) at CanJam and my goodness. Yes, I can be happy with my MP145, but my MP145 or my Alba or my Pure isn't anywhere near as enjoyable as listening to the V16. Two things can be true at the same time ... you can get an amazing iem at a low cost AND there are expensive iems that are beyond fabulous.

Hard to say what's the best for "neutral" since there's almost always trade-off which is funny as I haven't found any IEM that has achieved decent neutral response (mid-treble according to IEF 2025 target and mid-low according to Harman 2019) with near-perfect diffuse field response (JM-1 target (5128 DF has certain flaws for IEMs as it overphamsizes on the pinna's contribution to the response and IEM is directly fed into the ears)). I think a near-perf. neutral would be low Harman, mid (somewhere between), and treble, IEF 2025. We also have to consider Harmonic Distortion + (Noise) of the setup (ideally at around <= 0.5% at 1 kHz, 94 dB). But honestly, having tested THIEAUDIO Monarch MK4 and Divinity, Moondrop Meteor, and Letshuoer Cadenza 12 on Moonriver 2 Ti at around 70-80 dBa, and compared the diffuse field/freq responses, group delays, and whatnot on some 32-bit 96kHz tracks (a bit pointless but want to make the details like decaying sounds, scratches, etc. are clear enough). As for instrumental separation and imaging, I'd say maybe Divinity has overall best based on how close it matches the JM-1 target, but based on my experience, I can't faithfully say I have noticed audible spatial difference between Meteor, MK4, and Divinity on imaging and instrumental separation. Though, Cadenza doesn't do too well well on treble, and the clarity is noticeable. MK4 is also amazing, but it fleshes out too much detail on high freq, and sometimes, we can hear some unnatural emphasis on breathing or air noises; we can hear those sounds neutral enough on Meteor and Divinity. Also, my hearing is not bad as I can faithfully hear up to \~19.5 kHz and down to 20 Hz with my setup, and I've cleared hearing tests. Though, for treble, I think that Moondrop Meteor really aced it the most neutral out of all of them; I think it might have the most neutral overall treble in all IEMs based on the graphs. For mid-range, honestly, I haven't noticed much difference as all of the them sound exceptionally natural and clear. Now, for the bass region, I think MK4 nailed it the best, and also I think that Meteor does better at bass region than Divinity. So, it depends what region of neutrality you care the most about as there isn't one that aces all of them... In my case, I chose Meteor as I'm way more into treble details. It's also relatively cheaper than others \~$600, and if you can get it from some Chinese stores in China, it can be reduced to around $500 USD. Also, the bass on Meteor is quite punchy and the decaying details are clearly present (if you play at around 70-80 dBa); it's just that it doesn't hit as much as the others.

In case you aren’t sure, you can wait a bit or try to attend some shops/conventions. But if you want to go blind, then I would just elaborate again with bit more detail and tips. I’d say that MK4 isn’t really good if you’re sensitive to treble and your tracks also contain lots of mid-high trebles since if we look at both Harman and IEF preferences, the high treble differs by like 3dB from both curves which would be very bright if you are sensitive. There’s no need to worry about bass as all of them have bass under decent control. Though, if most of your songs don’t contain much high treble (can caused by breathing/air, percussions, violin, overtones…), you can still consider MK4 as it would be the the smoothest/neutral for bass and midrange as the curve sits right between IEF and Harman curve and its DF response almost perfectly overlaps with JM-1 besides for mid-high treble region. Or, in other cases, you can consider V16 as it should provide best overall separation (even mid-high treble) while also having decently smooth/neutral treble (fits IEF-2025) and bass (fits Harman bass + midrange). It’s a combo I also really enjoy as Moondrop Meteor also follows the same pattern besides MM really smoothened that treble to fit IEF and has decent separation too (it’s just that its bass might feel a bit less natural to some given bit higher deviation from JM-1). In a way, Meteor and V16 are very versatile for various tracks where V16 would have more natural overall imaging and Meteor would have more natural treble and as for bass region, I think MM better but that’s more debatable. I’m not sure about other expensive IEMs as I haven’t tried.

i tried V16, similar with thie prestige, natural is one word i could describe it, yes more details across the range, but it's tuned in such a way that will not wow you, everything will sound "normal" i guess. and it is even more chonky than the dusk. to get real upgrade from dusk you have to go multiple its price.

The Monarch MKII is still by far my favourite Thieaudio IEM and it's not not even close. Even after listening to the Prestiges, Valhalla, V16, origin, hypes and oracles, I still put the MkII right at the top above all of them. It's personal preference which monarch you like more but for me, it's MKII >>> MKIII anyday

Neutral to what ? Harman, JM1 DF or something else ? I would say Letshuoer Mystic 8 and Moondrop Meteor if you look for Hexa on steroids. If you want neutral with bass then Thieaudio V16 Divinity, but its also double the price, but still in your range