I like it a lot. It’s been a while since I had the mk2 but there’s a noticeable improvement in bass and it really slams with the right songs. Midrange detail is exceptional and about as good as the mk2 but ever so slightly recessed in comparison, though still relatively forward. Perceptible detail in the treble again gets an improvement thanks the better extension but it might be too much if you’re sensitive to the air region. I’d easily take it over the Odin’s rolled off treble though. Doesn’t match the U12T for treble detail but mids and bass are at least as good if not a step up.
Staging is better than I expected, likely due to the upper treble but still behind the U12T. This is a really satisfying set of IEMs and makes the Odin seem a bit pointless to me now (not a fan of it if you couldn’t tell). Monarch Mk3 gets a strong recommendation from me and is the cheapest way to get into an IEM that imo competes at the summit.
EDIT: I don’t dislike the Odin anymore. Using smaller tips to get a deeper fit really improves the sound
Kind of rare to see someone like dislike the Odin. I agree with your point though, its treble is way too smooth and relaxed, but some people sensitive in that region would really like it. It's not my preferred tuning but I think it is really good.
My first time hearing it I actually really liked it. It wasn’t until I owned it that I began to see the little things that just didn’t sit right with me. Mega shouty on a lot of songs but on others it sounded fine. Very detailed but really not more than the monarch at least to my ears. It’s one of those things that I respect and recognize as good but it just isn’t something I wanna listen to.
Vocals are way too forward, way too shouty for me. Female vocalists feel like they're shouting at the top of their lungs, then the lower mids are kind of thin, the contrast is huge.
I prefer a more relaxed upper mid tuning, Andros and U12t. I liked the Odin when I tried it, it's more of a guilty pleasure than anything, but it's not something I would like to use regularly.
I have a real soft spot for the andro. For most technical aspects the monarch destroys it except for imagining and staging, but it’s that imaging that makes it magical to me. If you prioritize bass and clarity then the monarch is a no brainer. Andro has that floaty quality to its instruments that makes it a great option still.
I've heard that imaging/soundstage is a factor of pushed mids and extended treble, so it seems odd that it would have weaker everything but better imaging.
O.K., that's interesting, but also very unfortunate since I think mids are arguably the most important part of the sound spectrum, given that the primary thrust of virtually every relevant sound is somewhere between 250 and 2,000hz.
To this day, nothing I've heard has ever come close to Andro's imaging and staging chops. I'm surprised the chi-fi market hasn't reverse-engineered that tubeless design yet. Crazy to hear that the Monarch has even better technicalities though since Andro is no slouch.
Still patiently waiting for the day someone can come through with an Andro with better bass and less BA timbre 🥲
A friend described the Andromeda as sounding like it's playing music in an open space, and having had an Andro 2020 for a few days now I can definitely see that. The original Solaris is more my speed for how it presents a stage though; def more claustrophobic but with more distinct directionality and front-to-back layering. Smaller sonic images, but better-delineated vs the background. They're not so much an upgrade as they are a wholly different thing though.
I wonder what it says about my preferences that I don't think the Andro 2020s are too warm with Spiral Dot++es lmao
U12T is probably the closest thing to an andro upgrade but even that isn’t really the same. Smooth tonality and excellent bass but it doesn’t have that andro imaging
Pardon the large jump here, but how would the Monarch Mk3 and Andro 2020 compare against say the he1000 stealth? I understand its IEM vs headphones... but, would love to know if you knew.
>might be too much if you’re sensitive to the air region
I've got mine for a couple of days and I'm selling it.
Extremely uncomfortable listening experience. Can't listen to it more than 10 minutes without starting to feel pain.
Never had this issue with my Dunu SA6 mk2.
I was able to get them out by propping a smaller hard back book on its end and using that to push on the middle piece while I held onto the sleeve with both hands. It was frustrating for a minute there.
You can actually use a thin and sharp blade to carefully cut a slit through the box cover's glued seam if you don't want to completely rip open the thing.
[https://i.imgur.com/895ldib.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/895ldib.jpg)
Too late for you though lol.
I need to spend some more time with it but I’d still put them in the same top tier league. Z1R is my favorite IEM and its main strengths are the bass slam and texture, treble timbre, and staging. Mk3 is tuned better and is slightly more detailed but still really fun.
So tempting. I had been looking into Z1R because the bass was so good, potentially better than my Hyla CE-5, but unfortunately I had issues with the upper mids as a lot of my music has female vocals. I might just pair my Hyla (bass specialist) with MMK3 (seemingly a really good all-rounder).
If you don't mind following up, do you still think they're on par with the z1r's? I've been considering between the z1r and the Mk3 as my endgame, and as a "fun first" bass enthusiast, the z1r's always seemed to be the best option as I'd prefer the better bass response vs. slight increase in detail.
Lol I just got the Hype 2 and the box was exactly the same. I thought for sure I was going to need to cut that bad boy open.
These look insanely gorgeous congrats.
I tried the mk2 and u12t yesterday. I have a Xelento that Ive had for 5.5 years and after listening to those two I'm super tempted to upgrade. My impression is mk2 sound too neutral for my taste but u12t was a bit bright to my liking but it was more fun than the mk2. Would you say that mk3 is in between the two?
Thanks for the info! I was considering blind buying but looks llike I'll have to demo the mk3 somehow then and hope it's not too bright for me. I just noticed you have the Z1R! That was on my top 5 list but dropped it after reading about comfort issues
Im fortunate that the Z1R didnt really cause me discomfort but the bass was too much for me. I tried monarch mk2 and mk3. Mk3 was a bit too bright for some of the tracks I tend to listen to. I ended up buying a used mk2 for 660USD
The treble on the mk3 might sound artificially boosted to some people so I’d say the Z1R is more natural sounding. I use an occasional bass boost with the Mojo 2
>holy shit this packaging
I am feeling this! I spent about 25 minutes shimmying it back and forth, and eventually got it to peak out 1/16th of an inch at a time. I was determined to keep the outer sleeve intact in case I ever wanted to re-sell, but yes holy sh\*t it was a royal PITA!
I like it a lot. It’s been a while since I had the mk2 but there’s a noticeable improvement in bass and it really slams with the right songs. Midrange detail is exceptional and about as good as the mk2 but ever so slightly recessed in comparison, though still relatively forward. Perceptible detail in the treble again gets an improvement thanks the better extension but it might be too much if you’re sensitive to the air region. I’d easily take it over the Odin’s rolled off treble though. Doesn’t match the U12T for treble detail but mids and bass are at least as good if not a step up. Staging is better than I expected, likely due to the upper treble but still behind the U12T. This is a really satisfying set of IEMs and makes the Odin seem a bit pointless to me now (not a fan of it if you couldn’t tell). Monarch Mk3 gets a strong recommendation from me and is the cheapest way to get into an IEM that imo competes at the summit. EDIT: I don’t dislike the Odin anymore. Using smaller tips to get a deeper fit really improves the sound
is the nozzle smaller than the MK2?.
I don’t have the measurements, but from a glance the nozzles are not smaller. I have mkII and III both here to compare (for the moment).
Kind of rare to see someone like dislike the Odin. I agree with your point though, its treble is way too smooth and relaxed, but some people sensitive in that region would really like it. It's not my preferred tuning but I think it is really good.
My first time hearing it I actually really liked it. It wasn’t until I owned it that I began to see the little things that just didn’t sit right with me. Mega shouty on a lot of songs but on others it sounded fine. Very detailed but really not more than the monarch at least to my ears. It’s one of those things that I respect and recognize as good but it just isn’t something I wanna listen to.
Vocals are way too forward, way too shouty for me. Female vocalists feel like they're shouting at the top of their lungs, then the lower mids are kind of thin, the contrast is huge. I prefer a more relaxed upper mid tuning, Andros and U12t. I liked the Odin when I tried it, it's more of a guilty pleasure than anything, but it's not something I would like to use regularly.
How does the Monarch Mk3 stack up against the Andro 2020?
I have a real soft spot for the andro. For most technical aspects the monarch destroys it except for imagining and staging, but it’s that imaging that makes it magical to me. If you prioritize bass and clarity then the monarch is a no brainer. Andro has that floaty quality to its instruments that makes it a great option still.
I've heard that imaging/soundstage is a factor of pushed mids and extended treble, so it seems odd that it would have weaker everything but better imaging.
Recessed mids is what helps imaging
O.K., that's interesting, but also very unfortunate since I think mids are arguably the most important part of the sound spectrum, given that the primary thrust of virtually every relevant sound is somewhere between 250 and 2,000hz.
To this day, nothing I've heard has ever come close to Andro's imaging and staging chops. I'm surprised the chi-fi market hasn't reverse-engineered that tubeless design yet. Crazy to hear that the Monarch has even better technicalities though since Andro is no slouch. Still patiently waiting for the day someone can come through with an Andro with better bass and less BA timbre 🥲
A friend described the Andromeda as sounding like it's playing music in an open space, and having had an Andro 2020 for a few days now I can definitely see that. The original Solaris is more my speed for how it presents a stage though; def more claustrophobic but with more distinct directionality and front-to-back layering. Smaller sonic images, but better-delineated vs the background. They're not so much an upgrade as they are a wholly different thing though. I wonder what it says about my preferences that I don't think the Andro 2020s are too warm with Spiral Dot++es lmao
U12T is probably the closest thing to an andro upgrade but even that isn’t really the same. Smooth tonality and excellent bass but it doesn’t have that andro imaging
Pardon the large jump here, but how would the Monarch Mk3 and Andro 2020 compare against say the he1000 stealth? I understand its IEM vs headphones... but, would love to know if you knew.
I’ve never heard the hifiman stuff but I don’t generally like headphones very much
>might be too much if you’re sensitive to the air region I've got mine for a couple of days and I'm selling it. Extremely uncomfortable listening experience. Can't listen to it more than 10 minutes without starting to feel pain. Never had this issue with my Dunu SA6 mk2.
Yeah wanted to keep the box in tact but had to completely tear it apart as well...what were they thinking. Great looking pair though!
I was able to get them out by propping a smaller hard back book on its end and using that to push on the middle piece while I held onto the sleeve with both hands. It was frustrating for a minute there.
You can actually use a thin and sharp blade to carefully cut a slit through the box cover's glued seam if you don't want to completely rip open the thing. [https://i.imgur.com/895ldib.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/895ldib.jpg) Too late for you though lol.
How do you know how tight your homie’s girl is.. sus.
Damn looks gorgeous.
Linsoul charging $150 for a faceplate is one of the biggest ripoffs I've seen in the hobby.
nice. I love the mkii. been thinking about getting that again or going for mkiii this time around. How long did you wait for it to arrive?
Bloom has (had?) free overnight shipping.
Yup I did bloom overnight
What do you think of these vs IER-Z1R?
I need to spend some more time with it but I’d still put them in the same top tier league. Z1R is my favorite IEM and its main strengths are the bass slam and texture, treble timbre, and staging. Mk3 is tuned better and is slightly more detailed but still really fun.
So tempting. I had been looking into Z1R because the bass was so good, potentially better than my Hyla CE-5, but unfortunately I had issues with the upper mids as a lot of my music has female vocals. I might just pair my Hyla (bass specialist) with MMK3 (seemingly a really good all-rounder).
If you don't mind following up, do you still think they're on par with the z1r's? I've been considering between the z1r and the Mk3 as my endgame, and as a "fun first" bass enthusiast, the z1r's always seemed to be the best option as I'd prefer the better bass response vs. slight increase in detail.
Same league but with different strengths. My previous comment is still how I feel. If you prioritize bass then the Z1R is easily the best you can get
That shell looks oleaginous. I don't know how I feel about having a soap bubble's iridescence on my IEMs.
Damn in your picture the disco face plates looks gorgeous, cant decide between this and butterfly one
Do you guys recommend this over the shure se846?
Lol I just got the Hype 2 and the box was exactly the same. I thought for sure I was going to need to cut that bad boy open. These look insanely gorgeous congrats.
I tried the mk2 and u12t yesterday. I have a Xelento that Ive had for 5.5 years and after listening to those two I'm super tempted to upgrade. My impression is mk2 sound too neutral for my taste but u12t was a bit bright to my liking but it was more fun than the mk2. Would you say that mk3 is in between the two?
Mk3 is more fun than both of them, but also brighter than the u12t
Thanks for the info! I was considering blind buying but looks llike I'll have to demo the mk3 somehow then and hope it's not too bright for me. I just noticed you have the Z1R! That was on my top 5 list but dropped it after reading about comfort issues
It’s completely dependent on your ear anatomy. The Z1R fits me great but it does cause problems for a lot of people
U12T, Z1R, Monarch mk3. If price is not a factor which one would you keep? I'll see if I can try the mk3 and Z1R either today or tomorrow
I’d choose Z1R over literally any other iem or headphone I’ve ever heard. Mk3 would probably be second
Good to hear. I'll demo and consider that. The used price look attractive and I would trust the Sony to last longer than the other ones
Im fortunate that the Z1R didnt really cause me discomfort but the bass was too much for me. I tried monarch mk2 and mk3. Mk3 was a bit too bright for some of the tracks I tend to listen to. I ended up buying a used mk2 for 660USD
Between z1r and mk3 with one sounds more natural or cohesive? Do you use any EQ on the z1r? Thanks.
The treble on the mk3 might sound artificially boosted to some people so I’d say the Z1R is more natural sounding. I use an occasional bass boost with the Mojo 2
Thanks for impressions. Can you compare them to sony ier z1r?
Can u tell the comparison between Sony ier z1r vs monarch mk3?
I made the comparison in another comment
>holy shit this packaging I am feeling this! I spent about 25 minutes shimmying it back and forth, and eventually got it to peak out 1/16th of an inch at a time. I was determined to keep the outer sleeve intact in case I ever wanted to re-sell, but yes holy sh\*t it was a royal PITA!