For months I had been fine with the 64 Audio Solo. I knew it wasn’t better than the likes of the Monarch mk3-4 or the Valhalla. I never needed it to be. It connected with me on a personal and spiritual level because of the faith the company and owner expressed. I wasn’t looking over my shoulders because what it gave me was so good and so satisfying that I didn’t need anything more.
But over the weeks and months I ran into issue after issue with the fit of the Solo’s. Now typically I wouldn’t let it bother me because there are always tip swaps. But this fit issue was the same exact fit issue I had with its superior brother the U12T’s. No matter what I did, they would squeeze themselves out of my ears while listening to music, breaking the seal. They would fit perfectly for the first couple of days or weeks and then they would start to progressivly start to consistently squeeze out of ear more and more as the weeks go by despite using all the tips I own and purchased in hopes to stop this from happening. Just when I would find one that I think would actually fix the issue. It would sooner or later happen with the new ones.
I finally realized that the 64 Audio tear shapped construction design and length of nozel just doesn’t work for my ears. No other IEM squeezes itself out of my ears like IEMs from 64 audio. So, I knew once that started to happen more and more, I would be in trouble with my desire to keep them and would be looking to get a different brand. And once this started, there was no doubt what brand I was going to end up with again; my tried and trusted Thieaudio. I’ve owned and trusted Thieaudio more than any other IEM brand. And if I was going back, it had to be for something that truly moved the needle this time out. I had plenty of the mid tier IEMs. The Valhalla (not a fan of the name) was just the greatest Thieaudio had as a flagship, and if I was going to go buy yet another one…there was really no other stop to make.
Being that I already experienced a test sound and heard its sure power, width, and scale of the sound qualities from my video and visit with Mike over at Mike Wat channel on YouTube, there really wasn’t much left to talk about. I knew it was the greatest sound I’ve ever heard even with only a few minutes of listening. I also knew it was $2000. So that was a commitment I truly didn’t want to take lightly, so I waited and waited. Mostly because I didn’t want to go back on my word that the Solo’s would be the last ones. Secondly, I wanted to be wrong about the fit and wanted to keep trying different tips to find the right fit, but never did find a single pair to correct it.
So I bought the Valhalla, and just like all Thieaudio IEMs, it’s amazing, expansive in sound, emotional, powerful, detailed, and unique in both its looks and its ability to play every genre like it had a master’s degree in it. Yes, the IEMs are bigger than most, but they still fit my ears like the Monarch Mk2 did, which was the most important. The only problem I had was that the 4.4 adaptor that came with the IEM created channel imbalance sound issues. When I would use the 3.5 adaptor, it was not present, but when I used the 4.4 adaptor, the sound would weigh more to the left than the right, so I had no good centering.
So, I replaced the cable altogether with a T-Cable from Moondrop, a gorgeous 4.4mm cable I had already(which, in many ways, looks better), and let Bloom Audio know about the problem. They, of course was willing to take back the product or the exchange, but I wasn’t willing to depart from it, so they are willing to allow me to send in the adaptor and or cable only in hopes that this fixes the problem so I can keep my IEM.
Update: Thieaudio actually reached out to me directly and is sending me their Elite Noir cable not just a adaptor (that no longer comes with the Vahalla) to make things right.
So now I have to sell off my 64 Solo’s, my Sennheiser IE 600, and my Thieaudio Oracle mk3. This should at least even me out on what I invested in the greatest Thieaudio IEM to date, the Valhalla… aka now as “Daniel, of the Endless”. I’ve never actually spent this much on a single IEM or Headphone. Even when the IEMs were $2000 like the U12T’s, I never paid that retail price. I was always able to get them for $1000 or less on the used market. I’ve also never brought any IEM that was considered the very best a company had to offer, aka their Flagship. I’ve always brought IEMs that were in the middle somewhere, believing that I was leaving myself room to grow if I wanted.
Now that I have the very best from Thieaudio, it feels a little weird and yet gratifying, I will admit. I can easily say I have never in my life experienced this amount of detail, power, and flat-out perfectness in sound, imaging, tonality, and soundstaging. Since the first time I heard the Valhalla, there was never a doubt in my mind that I just heard the summit of sound in an IEM for the brand Thieaudio and being that it’s sound signature is what I gravitate towards the most over all other brands, this is a default Endgamer. Again, I just didn’t think I would ever spend that much on an IEM, and yet here I am.
So, can I finally say “I’m done?” I’m done”saying” …”I’m done, this is it” . I failed at this too many times in my life. Did I need this $2000 IEM? Nope, not at all. Do I believe it’s worth $2000? This is where things got tricky and then the flood gate blew open. Burn in is real people. Before the burn in the Vahalla was already the greatest sound I had experience. But just 1 hour ago they opened up again to a new level that went beyond levels any tech should take someone. The sound was actually majestic! The soundstage and imaging go some kind injection of superpowers. I literally heard the sound shift to something unbelievable and well beyond anything I could imagine sound ever achieving. I have no real way of explaining this to you if you have not experienced it. But it’s like the world and life became separate and all that was left was the music and my inner mind. For the first time in my life I can say that an IEM is worth the $2000! This has never happened in my life. I have never felt this way. the architect itself of 19 drivers in each IEM is a massive accomplishment and deserves consideration of cost in itself. Even the very venting design helps me remain headache free adds to this amazing quality of worth. And let’s not forget about the absolutely gorgeous plate on the IEMs.
Lastly, do I believe it’s the best sound ever created by Man? Don’t know. All I can say is that I have never seen a more universally accepted Endgame crown given on an IEM, than the Vahalla. It’s better than all the Monarchs, better than the flagship 64 audio products like the U12T, 18T, and Volur, which are all flat out beasts in their own rights. Better than the Sennheiser IE lineups, the Kinera line ups, better than the final Audio 8000 series, and even better than the might Empire Ears Oden Mk 1 or 2 which are $3k+$4k.
It’s not hype people, when you see everyone tell you that this IEM is on a mountain of touchables. Yes, there might be others on the top of that mountain that cost the same or even greater, but that sound, I am willing to bet, is going to be greatly affected by the law of diminishing returns at that high up on the tier mountain of best IEM on the planet. And rest assured, this is exactly what this is, one of the very best IEMs ever to exist on any brand at any price, that I am aware of to date. Again, “that I am aware of, to date.” So don’t kill me if you have discovered something better from a brand I have never heard of or tried. For me it must have a frequency direction like Thieaudio for my ears. The flat ruler like mids are a staple of their sound across all their IEMs and is why I’ve bought more of this brand than of any other brand.
With every IEM I’ve ever had, I could always say or believe there were others better, but I didn’t care about getting better. With this one, I don’t know how something can be better at this point. I just believe it most likely exist somewhere in some way because that’s what I’ve said before others and was wrong. That’s about all I can say at the moment. Spending more for something that is better, I don’t want to ever duplicate what I spent on this for a while, if ever. But as long as I can complete all my sales I shouldn’t feel the sting. But this does bring up a interesting point. Maybe it’s just best to save and get the very best than a bunch of stair steps.
If I add up just some of my recent IEMs like the U12, Monarch 2, and Solo’s alone…that’s more money than just buying the Vahalla by a mile. My Solo’s weren’t worth $1399. Nor was my U12T’S worth $2000. I paid $900 for my U12T’S, I paid $900 for my Solo’s. The Vahalla, like I said, is the first IEM I feel is actually worth $2000.
At the end of the day, IEMs are merely tools to listen to your music. So we all have to keep them in their place as such. Not to place them above what their purpose is for. Especially IEM like the Valhalla that creates experiences far beyond what you have felt in sound before. This is a IEM that is a 1 of 1 and yes, I do highly recommend it even at the cost of $2000 if you are in the market for the very best or at the very least one of the very best IEMs money can buy.
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