The Sundarban
Tony Ware
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THIEAUDIO has spent years building have confidence and a following by packing excessive tuning obsessions into attainable equipment. Since launching below Linsoul and rising fleet on the strength of objects relish the Monarch line, the Chinese designate has no longer been subtle in its ambitions to provide boutique-level configurations without boutique-level pricing. While THIEAUDIO has launched compelling kilobuck+ flagships, the candy predicament has been mid-fi merchandise for obsessives on a funds. And the Hype 4 MKII IEM and Cypher semi-initiate headphones feel relish a sharper extension of that consideration. At $399 each and every, they diagram in very heaps of shapes but stir equivalent ends: sound with extra poise and precision, but with simply ample mischief left in it.
The construct
An update to a 2023 forums celebrated, the Hype 4 MK II is a six-driver hybrid in-ear monitor rebuilt from the ground up in an enclosure machined from durable anodized aluminum. Beneath an iridescent inlay are the designate’s most in trend IMPACT2 dual-8mm sub-bass machine paired with four up to date Knowles balanced armatures. The Cypher, meanwhile, is a silent 50mm dynamic-driver wired headphone constructed from aerospace-grade aluminum, stainless steel, lambskin, and ample self belief to debut at a CanJam and act relish it belongs there.
The Hype 4 MKII’s IMPACT2 low-cease machine aspects composite-diaphragm dynamic drivers in a proprietary pneumatic acoustic chamber, then fingers the remainder of the spectrum to a stack that’s pure in trend hybrid maximalism: two RAB-series drivers for the lower mids, an ED-33465 handling upper mids and lower treble, and a RAD-33518 extremely-tweeter pushed up reach the nozzle for further extension. On paper, that provides up to a four-formula crossover, six total drivers, an 18-ohm load, 101dB sensitivity at 1 kHz, and a quoted 5 Hz to 22 kHz frequency response. In observe, it’s easy to drive from ordinary sources, but tuned with the kind of fixated care that makes every sonic edge feel sincere as filed and fitted as the physical casing.
Accompanying the IEMs in the diminutive rectangular demanding case, you’ll find a detachable modular cable made with 6N extremely-pure monocrystalline copper and accompanied by without complications swappable 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm unbalanced plugs. Furthermore, there’s a series of silicone and memory foam ear tips, even though I ended up swapping to a pair of Divinus Velvet Wide Bore and doing most of my listening from FiiO M27 and iBasso DX340 [AMP15] DAPs.
The Cypher makes train of a newly developed 50mm dynamic driver constructed around a 20-core N45 magnetic array, a semi-crystalline polymer-and-rubber composite diaphragm, and a excessive-stress copper-aluminum composite negate coil. The shell is equally intentional: swiveling CNC-machined single-block aerospace-grade aluminum earcups, a stainless-steel headband with a carbon-fiber-relish floor medication, a supple suspended lambskin strap with fabric-lined segmented padding on the underbelly, velour-and-memory-foam magnetically mounted pads, and a final weight of 411 grams.
The grille’s geometric weave has a cloth-relish look with an nearly Meze Audio-lite industrial class. The Cypher is rated at 32 ohms, 96dB sensitivity, and 20 Hz to 20 kHz—easy ample to sprint off a laptop, even though clearly happier when given a little dignity upstream, which is why I attempted them with the TEAC UD-507/HA-507 stack and a Schiit Audio Jotunheim 3.
Included in the surprisingly low-profile leatherette carrying earn [the Cypher pivots flat] is a detachable 1.5-meter (4.9 ft.) braided cable with a nylon-braided exterior and 3.5mm/6.3mm gold-plated connectors. And if you occur to would relish to upgrade to a balanced choice, the Cypher’s dual mono inputs are aftermarket-friendly.
The sound
The Hype 4 MKII is an extroverted IEM, but no longer a messy one. For heaps of acquainted with the relaxing-tilted original, this is able to per chance additionally additionally be surprisingly well-organized and managed. In the low cease, adrenaline’s sparks contain been exchanged for dopamine’s gradual burn. Bass nonetheless hits with a correct, piston-relish punch that offers kick drums a beveled edge and synth lines true physique. But it indisputably’s no longer bloated.
The stated tuning profile takes inspiration from studio monitors paired with a subwoofer, and the moving 150Hz bass shelf helps that. There’s also a tender nudge around 400Hz that brings warmth to the lower midrange, pushing it closer to a extra Meta tuning. When put next to the original’s woozier woofer, nevertheless, it’s extra disciplined than indulgent. Up top and all the scheme through the stage, the Hype 4 MKII sounds extra separated and sorted than earlier than, so even busy mixes maintain trim rather than slumped together.
The psychedelic flourishes of an album relish Beck’s Sea Commerce drift through with a kind of narcotic readability, all shimmer, mumble, and damaging home. There is, admittedly, some heat on top, a little treble flare, but that quicksilver snap contributes to a diagram of tempo and keeps haloed layers of phosphorescence ingredient neatly banked instead of throwing the entire steadiness off. This V-fashioned incisive diagram might well presumably be shameful for heavily compressed, excessive-octane genres with the exception of in moderation, but this heightened imaging is ideally fitted for further organically unfurling selections.
The Cypher takes the opposite diagram, with a heat-neutral, mids-forward response that’s much less about consideration or extension and further about staying energy. Right here’s the kind of headphone you might be in a position to hear to for hours on yarn of it might maybe per chance well rather indicate than dazzle.
The Cypher’s bass is extra planted than punishing, nevertheless it’s bought grip for an initiate-aid. It’s no longer thin and keeps low-cease info intact, but it’s defiantly uninterested in showing off. And the upper register has an anchoring,
