LinsoulTHIEAUDIO Hype 4 2DD+4BA in Ear Monitor, HiFi IEM Earphones with Tonal Balance, Latest Sonion Driver, Detachable Silver-Plated OCC Cable for Audiophile Musician Professionals (Blue)

I was somewhat underwhelmed by the Hype 4 when I first got them and put them on. They sounded great, don't get me wrong, but just, not as big a jump in perceived sound quality as I'd been hoping for, coming from the position of having a lot of experience with IEMs in the $200-300 range. But diminishing returns is a serious thing with IEMs, and you should never expect $400 IEMs to be "twice as good" as a pair that costs $200. They can still be worth the premium, of course, but you really need to temper your expectations with IEMs in this price bracket.But after a few weeks I keep finding myself coming back to the Hype 4, and I've started to understand what sets them apart and makes them worth $400. And at this point I can confidently say:Yes, these are fantastic IEMs. If you're considering them and don't automatically wince at the price, just buy them. I doubt many people could be truly disappointed with the Hype 4.Let's start with the tuning: the Hype 4 are sometimes called "V-shaped," but that's really not accurate at all. They're actually pretty close to the neutral "new meta" tuning, just with a bass shelf and a couple of treble peaks. Take a look at a graph and compare them to something like the Thieaudio Monarch Mk2 or Kiwi Ears KE4, both renowned for being pretty dang close to a perfect "new meta" tuning. The Hype 4 are tuned VERY similarly to the Monarch Mk2 - just with more bass emphasis. So I would call them fairly neutral-warm overall.If you like bass, these will probably make you very happy, unless you're just an absolute bass nut or something. You can only push bass so far with IEMs before it sounds totally muddy - the Hype 4 nail it, imo. Bass is warm, full, punchy, natural, and CLEAR. There is a distinct separation between sub-bass, bass, and lower mids, and that's what you want with any IEM, really. You really FEEL bass drum hits or 808s. And yet, those "boomier," punchier sounds don't drown out the bass guitar or synth or anything else in that lower range. It all just works together perfectly. On really well-recorded tracks, the bass emphasis of the Hype 4 really helps sell the feeling of "space" and three-dimensionality.Mids are crystal clear and neither over- nor under-emphasized. Vocals are very clear and distinct, very "forward," so to speak, but they are almost never shouty or piercing. Treble is very pleasant - I really despise IEMs with over-emphasized treble, as it almost always sounds shouty, piercing, and fatiguing to my ears. The Hype 4 gets treble right, at least for me. It's cranked up just enough to create that feeling of "detail" and "headspace" while never really overwhelming the mids or hurting my ears.Soundstage is a very subjective thing, and frankly I don't think it's as REAL a thing as the audiophile community seems to believe it is. As such, I don't really like to talk about soundstage when reviewing IEMs. All I'll say for the Hype 4 in this area is that they feel very spacious.Imaging, on the other hand, is very much a real thing, and tends to not get enough focus in reviews. The Hype 4 have pretty good imaging. Not the best I've ever heard, but far from the worst. In most cases, the Hype 4 present individual instruments and voices very clearly and distinctly from one another. The fact of the matter is, some songs are just poorly produced, and neither the Hype 4 nor any other IEM can pull distinct images out of mud. But on well-engineered tracks, imaging is very good, especially considering their bass-emphasized tuning.Comfort is also subjective. I find the Hype 4 to be perfectly comfortable in my ears over long periods of time. But they are big, so if you have small ears, these may be too much for you. They're far from the biggest out there, mind you. I would think the vast majority of people could use them comfortably with the right tips.The cable is fine. I replaced it with a Tripowin cable purely for aesthetics. Oh, speaking of aesthetics, they look really nice. I bought the white/pink/purple sparkly ones and they look and feel very premium.All in all, I think the Hype 4 are excellent neutral-warm IEMs and an easy "blind buy" recommendation. I think they're worth the price - they're not "twice as good" as the KE4s, for example, but that extra $200 really does get you another level of clarity and spaciousness. To me, that's worth the premium.My recommended IEMs per price bracket:$25: 7hz x Crinacle Zero 2$50: Truthear x Crinacle Zero: RED$100: 7hz x Crinacle Dioko$150: Truthear Nova$200: Kiwi Ears KE4 or 7hz Timeless 2$300: DUNU x Gizaudio DaVinci$400: Thieaudio Hype 4

This is an excellent piece of audio technology. I hesitated to buy this for a bit because I own the Dusk and I also have the monarch mark 3. But let me say I’m blown away by these. The fit and comfort is very good with no issues whatsoever. The cable is high quality and very functional. The audio quality is excellent for my use case. I very much enjoy the sound signature. There is very good bass impact and slam. The mids are very well placed and the treble extension is very strong. Overall bass boosted and bright leaning sound. The item got delivered quick from the seller as well. Overall I’m happy with the 3.5 mm audio jack that’s not swappable. The clarity these bring is outstanding.

My experiences with IEMs started with the TruthEar Crinacle Zero to see if I could make switch from headphones to IEMs. Once I felt comfortable with that then I bought the Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lites which I returned and then bought from friend who sold his and I just got used to them. Fabulous pair of IEMs that I still use even if the pressure and size of it bothers me occasionally. I also have the Sony WF-1000XM3 and WH-1000XM4 for use when traveling so don't mind spending money for the better experience.First off, the Hype 4 is a gorgeous set of IEMs. The white color ones in particular stood out to me and are even better to look at in person. Size and nozzle compared to the OL are smaller so were easy to wear in my ears for extended periods of time the brief time I had them and the sound without a DAC/AMP were fine but really shine with one like the Qudelix 5K pictured with the Hype 4 above. Wanted an IEM that had more bass while still retaining the treble I liked in the OL and with some tweaking it was the perfect IEM to use. The price of $399 for them I think is more than fair for the performance it provides for the user. Wish they provided a little more in terms of the case provided to store them which is in the large side and the ear tips were better, but nothing something like the DUNU S&S (also pictured above) could help to get the most out of the Hype 4.Even with all the positives the few negatives I encountered had me returning these (twice in fact). The issue I ran into is as a controller player I needed a boom or inline mic wire to pair it with in order to chat with friends on Discord, Xbox and PlayStation and the options are limited out there. Originally, I tried using the Kinera Gramr Modular and Linsoul KINERA Celeste RUYI with boom mics but the pin on the mic wires is too big for the Hype 4 port so the connection couldn't be seated properly and was loose as a result. Then my friend suggested the okcsc inline mic but same issues with the connection not seating properly causing the IEM to pop loose with very little touching which is not ideal to say the least.Finally, I found the Linsoul Tripowin Grace which is I guess technically on brand and seated firmly into the port of the Hype 4 which was a relief when I felt that soft click. Thought I had solved my problems there but my luck isn't that good apparently. The issue with Tripowin cable is it was echoing audio from what I was watching/playing/listening to from video games to online content like YouTube and Twitch to the chat I was in. First I thought it was Discord doing it but testing it on Xbox had the same issues when playing or watching YouTube/Twitch while in a party chatting with friends. Trying the other cables I had I couldn't reproduce the same issue at all. Finally, I decided to give up on this IEM and return it and the Tripowin Grace to Amazon for a refund.If you don't have the niche issue I have, the Hype 4 is an amazing IEM you can drive as is with no DAC but truly shines with one if you have one. The sound is amazing and for the money spent well worth it IMO. I really, really, REALLY wanted to make it work but the cable issues prevented me from keeping it but if you buy it for purely the music listening experience you won't be disappointed.

The IEMs seem great, however the item I received was not new, it is clearly used/open box. I will likely end up purchasing instead from a different vendor that I have confidence will ship a new set.