ThieAudio Origin In-Ear Monitors Review - Basshead Love 4

ThieAudio Origin In-Ear Monitors Review - Basshead Love

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Value and Conclusion

  • New go-to pick for bassheads with plenty of quantity backed by legitimately good quality
  • Well-textured male vocals and instruments
  • Good separation and layering
  • Good detail retrieval throughout
  • Extremely spatial stage for those who prefer it
  • No sibilance or fatigue in my ears
  • Comfortable with a secure fit for me
  • Great channel matching
  • Customizable design with different faceplates, albeit at an extra cost
  • Easy to drive with even a decent dongle
  • Decent accessories included
  • Imaging and some notes take a hit from the BCD, albeit this can be user-dependent
  • Too much bass for me
  • Shells and nozzle are on the larger side, can be challenging for comfort and fit
  • Cable is overly stiff and heavy
ThieAudio looks to have finally stepped away from putting out similarly tuned sets targeting different takes on neutral w/bass boost. Not all of these worked as well as others, with the likes of the Prestige and Oracle MKII being noteworthy in this regard. The Monarch MKII continues to be popular as a kilobuck "safe" set to this day, despite the Monarch MKIII having been released over a year ago. You also have less expensive versions of this formula, be it the notoriously underrated (in my opinion) Elixir, or the Hype 4 that I maintain is one of the best sub-$500 sets on the market today, and arguably even more attractive than the more expensive Hype 10. The newer Origin is closer to the Hype 10 and Monarch MKIII in price, yet it sounds quite unlike these to help carve out a niche to itself. I'd even argue this is a better buy than either of those two, not just because the Origin costs less, but because it meets the expectations set forth by ThieAudio's own marketing and thus executes said goals too.

Make no mistake about it, the ThieAudio Origin is a bassy set. It's not crazily so as with the likes of the Fatfrequency Scarlet Mini, and manages to still put out competent and mostly neutral mids and highs thereafter—there's some coloration here and there, but tastefully so for the most part. Indeed, the upper mids are even pretty much spot on with the new meta tuning that have some people excited as a population average for what should sound neutral to them. I prefer some more upper mids personally, and certainly not as much bass as on offer here, yet I see the strengths on offer. For the former, you do have more neutral-tuned sets with a bass boost for far lower cost, including the likes of the MOONDROP x Crinacle DUSK, the XENNS Mangird Tea Pro, and the Kiwi Ears KE4, so this is not the unique selling point that should sway you towards the more expensive ThieAudio Origin. It's the bass, with an ample 12 dB shelf from 250 Hz that will no doubt please bassheads if people I personally know are anything to go by, that has quantity backed with good impact, texture, and resolution too. What happens thereafter is arguably even more intriguing, with ThieAudio's first bone conduction driver (BCD) used to add some weight and tactility to the mids and the lower treble. While there are some other BCD sets launched recently for less—Tansio Mirai Shock and Pula Anvil 114 come to mind—I have not heard them and thus can't speak for them.

The effect of the BCD here seems to have a mixed response online, with some people not perceiving much of anything, others absolutely loving what it does to the soundstage and vocals, and then you have me who saw the execution as a double-edged sword, or perhaps something that felt less controlled than it should have been. Soundstage with the Origin for me felt artificially large, including in the back of my head, which can work well for some songs and genres at the expense of feeling less coherent and precise elsewhere. Thankfully, the Origin is decidedly down the fun sound presentation road than it is an analytical one, so I have fewer issues in this regard as long as people know this implementation can sound and/or feel different for them. I'll also complement ThieAudio on nailing the EST driver execution here better than on most other sets, including several of its own, with a fairly detailed yet relatively smooth treble that should not be fatiguing to most listeners, hopefully. This makes me feel like the brand has matured and is willing to explore beyond just a safe all-rounder sound now. Some of that experience is also likely why the ESTs don't sound as shrill in the Origin, and perhaps we will see that pay off in the future as no doubt ThieAudio will have more takes on the bone conduction driver too. While the ThieAudio Origin isn't necessarily for my specific music preferences, I am happy to recommend it as a more specialist set to accompany an all-rounder, or even to someone who primarily listens to bassy music. Just be aware that ThieAudio likes to implement a pre-order system even for the stock design of its IEMs now, so there can be a waiting period—especially if you go for the made-to-order versions with a different faceplate.
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Jan 15th, 2025 09:49 EST change timezone

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