Thieaudio Monarch MKIII A

[@sujayp11]

Yet another amazing review. Also the comparison with Hype 10 should be helpful to a lot of people in this budget range. Only thing you could have added was the Hype 4 as some claim its 90% MK3's. Personally I have an expensive purchase planned this year, the HD800S, so I'm keeping my iem wishlist in the sub $500ish category. Particularly curious about the Tansio Mirai X and waiting for you to get your hands on them. When you do, please compare them to the Penon 10th. The X uses Knowles for mids and Sonions for highs and I know you like the Sonion mids like in the 10th, so it would be an interesting comparision, also with the X's retarding vent system 😅

[@christiharris292]

I have the mkIII. I originally tried the nkII but it was not a good fit, way too big and uncomfortable. While the mkIII is as large the shape is better for me personally- less boxy. The clarity and detail are very good while female vocals are enjoyable. The bass is not as textured as I'd hoped but it's probably my 50-something ears. Great review as always

[@tonedeafmonk]

Thanks for sharing! Love hearing from others as well !

[@reflection1119]

I recommend you listen to the Prestige LTD. Best bass I've ever heard. perfectly levelled and incredibly textured. Great spaciousness to the sound and very smooth treble. Excellent mids and treble too. If there is one criticism, some say they find the mids slightly recessed. I can't say I agree, but I understand why they might say that, YMMV

[@Mastermnd1]

I'm actually more interested in the hbb jupiters. Linsoul just published a sound comparison video if you're curious

[@tonedeafmonk]

Cool, thanks! It's definitely on my list!

[@reflection1119]

@@Mastermnd1 just had a look. Seems more within basshead territory than the LTD. I'm sure it's a lot of fun but probably more than I can handle

[@fabiojungle4722]

I agree with you wholeheartedly Mr Monk. I bought the Mk111 6 months ago and I never use it. In fact until your review I forgot I had it. Huge disappointment ! The tuning is not great. They sound unbalanced and unengaging to my ears. A real shame as the MK 11 are way better. They messed with the liquid magic of the MK11 for something more mainstream . The soundstage and imaging are a problem. A lack of depth makes it sound very flat and 2D . In fact I prefer the Pula to the MK3 and they are almost a 10th of the price. ! A lot of folk really like them , fair play . For me they missed the mark just like they did with the Oracle 2 ... Anyway , great review ! Keep up the good work sir 👌🏿

[@tonedeafmonk]

You hit the nail smack dab on the head. They need to be engaging if not they just collect dust. This silly little single DD from EPZ the Q1 PRO for $29 Now that's fun , if your a stage hound like me pick it up. It still shocks me how entry level stuff can get this good.

[@johnhayes8476]

You have me hyped for my hype 10 if it ever ships.

[@MykWazowski]

Same boat.

[@earlybird3668]

Loved the Pula PA02, wouldn't buy the Monarch MK III, fascinating. What is your favorite owned IEM please? Ni ce thoughtful reviews.

[@tonedeafmonk]

Softears Twilight, Sound Rhyme DTE900, ThieAudio Oracle are my top 3 faves

[@earlybird3668]

@@tonedeafmonk thank-you.

[@Mastermnd1]

Great review. I own the mmk3s and I partially agree with you. However, in the 1k price range, is there anything better? Yeah, the grand maestro might be better but it's 3 times the price. The loki is a sidegrade and also 3 times the price. The simgot ea500lm might be amazing for its price, but falls short in some aspects vs the mmk3. So imho it is a really good IEM in its bracket. Agree with divinus velvet being the best tips for it, and I also landed on an spc cable (ea cadmus). If you get the chance, listen to a song called halo (urbandawn remix) by pendulum. If the subbass at around 1:35 doesn't blow you away, pay attention to how clear the highs are at the same time. I don't think many IEMs can pull that off. My mest mk2s sound boring in comparison when listening to electronic stuff of this kind.

[@tonedeafmonk]

Good to hear from a MKII and III user. Might have a contender from Kinera with the Verdandi soon?

[@n00kie]

Imho find MEST MK2 more exciting overall. Fun and more balanced than MMK3despite of the recessed pinna gain.

[@samuelchan3920]

Is there anything better than MMK3 in sub 1k? Yes. MMK2.

[@ElNINETEENTH]

Overall mkiii or the Xenns up ?

[@tonedeafmonk]

For me UP easy win more musical and engaging and bass is standout

[@jeffreybateman7314]

Honestly, your review came right before I was to purchase the MKIII, and it has me wary. It has been a challenge to find IEMs that excel with rock music. And your Satriani comment didn't help, as I love fusion. Wish there were more places to demo these sets in the USA. 1k blind buy not ideal. 😂

[@tonedeafmonk]

Hype 10 would be better for rock , I prefer my Xenns UP

[@jeffreybateman7314]

Thank you. Keep going. You always seem to have a counterpoint to the seemingly universally loved IEMs. Important work.

[@tonedeafmonk]

@jeffreybateman7314 Its hard making decisions with your hard earned $$$ when everyone says it wonderful its sounds fantastic and they get ears on and try to like it.

[@jeffreybateman7314]

@tonedeafmonk Still on the fence with MKIII, and I can get a decent deal. The UP really intrigues me because of your rec. It's actually on sale on the website. My buddy suggested the Meze Advar for rock and Twilight as an all-rounder. Now I'm really confused. 😆 I wouldn't get the Hype 10, as I can the MKIII for less. You're the only reviewer who has done a comparison of Hype 10 to the MKIII. Seems like that's worth talking about! Thx! (And any opinion on the Advar? I know you love the Twilight.)

[@tonedeafmonk]

@jeffreybateman7314 love the Advar I think I did a bit of a comparison with the Timsok TS316 , We all love the Advar at CAA

[@princeh4604]

For Classic Rock and Blues listener which one would you choose, Morarch III or Oriveti OH 700 VB ?

[@tonedeafmonk]

I found the OH700VB a very worthy contender, both are not great for Midbass tho something to consider

[@HVagoge1]

The world needs a TDM collab out there now...jus sayin...

[@tonedeafmonk]

Working on it but done differently

[@AichaSeghrouchni]

Go 🎉

[@radiofreealbemuth]

22:14 what would you recommend for low volume people?

[@tonedeafmonk]

If I knew you budget and spund preferences I might be able to rec something

[@radiofreealbemuth]

@tonedeafmonk recently I was considering Prestige LTD or Duna Glacier

[@tonedeafmonk]

@radiofreealbemuth I heard the Presige is the best of the ThieAudio but if it scales like the others not a good one for low volume listening. The Oracle is good tho so can't say. The Dunu is also going to be a power pig the glacier is not getting good feedback in the community. Have you thought about the Oriveti OH700VB? That is a amazing IEM great for chilling and has some nice technical chops

[@radiofreealbemuth]

@tonedeafmonk ah, i didnt know that iems that scale weren't good for low volume listening. I heard the Prestige LTD was the upgrade to the Oracle. I have never heard of the oriveti oh700b. Thanks, I will check it out

[@naren.freak1c]

It's not my fault, it's just my writing 😂

[@pong20237]

I'm also disappointed with the Monarch mk3 when comparing to my Yanyin Canon 2. I tried it each for 30 mins in an iem store and here's what I found. The monarch mk3 is slightly better than the canon 2 in overall sound quality by 10-15% depending on the music. Both use the spinfit w1 eartips but the price difference doesn't justify the small improvements. Somehow I found the monarch mk3 not as comfy compared to the canon 2 despite the similar size. What a damn shame from the perspective of a newbie to the iem hobby. Feel free to correct me tho if I'm wrong about this.

[@tonedeafmonk]

The nozzle angle is super important that's why some are more compfy than others and why they sound different. If you watch the Plunge Audio Video it explains more.

[@pong20237]

Ah gotcha, I'll take a look into your plunge audio review. And thanks for mentioning the nozzle angle, didn't factor that highly into my listening experience. Will have to try again when I visit back to the store lol. Hopefully that may change my opinion of the mk3, thanks a lot man.@@tonedeafmonk Also, the cable at 1:17 to 1:30 is the epz dp13, right?

[@snailjob09]

Lets face it Jason..you're a mid-bass guy..mid-bass over sub-bass..that's why you like the KZ Castor Black

[@tonedeafmonk]

100% I can appreciate Sub bass but there needs to be some texture to the bass not just various amounts of air movement. That's why it's important to state my preferences that I now do at the start of my video.

[@Rex88282]

I don’t like any of them. I’ve tested a lot of them and sold them the same week even the Jupiter X HBB collaboration. I like music bro. I don’t like thin, dry mids the highs bleed into the mids and the bass is very bad bro boosted in a bad way. They don’t know what bass means and all of them sound different with sources, noticeably worse in some cases. It's low quality stuff! They listen to this kind of Chinese music and tune them based on that music 😂

[@tonedeafmonk]

I so agree with you, I would rather listen to the full sounding Oriveti OH700VB

[@The_Shock_and_Awe]

It's just your personal preference so demoing is the best way to go