Thieaudio is audio retailer Linsoul’s in-house model, and it has delivered various hits over time. The recently-released Monarch MKIII are a contender for one of the best IEMs below $1,000, and the Oracle MKII I reviewed a couple of months in the past ship a stellar sound through a mixture of three audio drivers.
The Status LTD is a revised model of the Status that debuted in Q1 2023, and the distinction between the 2 is tuning — Thieaudio made a couple of tweaks to the sound signature after soliciting suggestions from its userbase. Specifically, you get higher power within the sub-bass and mid-bass frequencies, and the treble is not as vivid. The Status LTD are accessible for $1,299 on Linsoul, and you will get your fingers on main audio retailers globally.
Just like the Oracle MKII, the Status LTD makes use of a tribrid system that homes three distinct driver models in every earbud. You get the standard 10mm dynamic driver, and it is joined by 4 balanced armature drivers, and 4 Sonion electrostatic drivers which are designed to fill out the treble.
Every driver unit is tuned to deal with distinct sections of the frequency vary, and like different tribrid configurations I examined in current months — together with the Fiio FX15 — the Status LTD ship extremely detailed sound that is extremely resolving. Whereas the LTD model is geared toward music listening, it may also be used for monitoring.
Coming to the design, the Status LTD have a galaxy motif that I like fairly a bit, and the design on the faceplate grabs consideration with out coming throughout as ostentatious. It is all the time a skinny line between the 2, and Thieaudio managed to do an incredible job. The IEMs have Thieaudio branding prominently highlighted, and once more, it’s finished tastefully, with the silver textual content accentuating the design.
The construct high quality is among the many greatest on this class, they usually’re constructed to final — I used these for the higher a part of six months, they usually have not picked up a lot in the best way of scratches or any seen indicators of damage. The shells are made out of resin, and the IEMs are on the bigger aspect, however the contoured design would not exert an excessive amount of stress in your ear, and it is not tough to get a snug match.
Thieaudio bundles three pairs of silicone eartips together with three pairs of reminiscence foam choices, and whereas each units are of high quality, the choice is not anyplace as intensive as what you get with different IEMs on this class. I’d have favored extra silicone eartip choices within the field.
That mentioned, Thieaudio’s carrying case is among the greatest round, and it makes use of a tough shell design that does an incredible job securing the Status LTD. The bundled silver-plated cable makes use of a 4-braid Litz design and has modular connectors; I am a giant fan of module cables as they simply make it simpler to change between sources, and the cable has the usual 3.5mm plug along with balanced 2.5mm and 4.4mm. Altering the plugs is about as easy because it will get, and Thieaudio did all the suitable issues on this space.
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I used the Status LTD largely with the Fiio M15S, and I additionally paired it with the K9 Professional. The IEMs are comparatively straightforward to drive and do not want a strong supply, however you may get probably the most out of them with a devoted DAC — even DAC dongles just like the KA11 are sufficient.
An enormous change with the sound signature of the Status LTD versus the common mannequin is within the low-end frequencies, with Thieaudio boosting the bass shelf. The result’s far more vibrancy with the sub-bass, and the IEMs do not sound flat on this part. You get rumble and definition, and whereas it is not exaggerated by any measure, the sound is dynamic.Â
The exuberance extends to the mid-bass as properly, and it makes the Status LTD extremely pleasant. In fact, should you want even higher bass, the $999 Monarch MKIII are the best way to go.
The mids are pure and have wonderful layering, Vocals come by way of with loads of element, there’s nice instrument separation, and also you simply get steadiness that permits the IEMs to shine. Essentially the most noticeable distinction in tuning is within the treble area, with the Status LTD delivering a smoother presentation that is not as vivid. You continue to get plenty of airiness to the sound and nice element retrieval, but it surely is not harsh.
Equally, the soundstage is beautiful, and the Status LTD maintain up simply as properly for studio monitoring as informal music listening classes.
Thieaudio did a unbelievable job with the Status LTD, and the IEMs mix a beautiful design with terrific sound and nice tonality. They’re extra technical than the likes of the FX15 and a number of the different tribrid configurations round, however the tweaks to the tuning make them simply as pleasant.
The Status LTD use a tribrid driver configuration to ship beautiful sound, and the design is fairly nice too.Â
