Elysian Acoustic Labs Pilgrim – Is this the Elysian IEM for the masses?

Introduction:

Elysian Acoustic Labs is no stranger to the world of high-end in-ear monitors and most if not all of their IEMs hold their own against the best IEMs available today. Diva 2023 and Gaea are IEMs that I enjoyed quite a bit and they both sit comfortably within the top 5 IEMs that I’ve heard to date.

When the Pilgrim was announced, I was first intrigued but didn’t think much more of it at the time because knowing that it was an Elysian IEM, I assumed it would be unobtainium.

A couple weeks passed and I saw a reference to the actual price being $399, roughly 1/4 the price of the next cheapest Elysian and my interest level shot straight up! Could this be the Elysian IEM for the masses? Elysian certainly things so – as you unbox the Pilgrim, two phrases are highlighted, “The First Path,” and “Make No Compromises.” Does pilgrim live up to expectations? Does it really make no compromises as it tries to take on the budget/mid-fi segments?

Where to Buy:

The Elysian Pilgrim will be available to purchase on 5/7 from Hifigo:

Hifigo

PROS:

• Very exciting sound signature (bright leaning with good bass response)
• Very clean mids
• Vocals (both male and female but especially female) are sublime
• Good fit/ergonomics
• Very wide stage and good L/R imaging
• When it hits, bass texture and quality is top tier
• Very good details.

CONS:

• Lack of soundstage depth
• Can sometimes sound congested due to lack of depth to the soundstage
• Bass isn’t always there when I want it
• Pentaconn connector on the IEMs is rare and may require buying custom cables and connectors, some of which can be very expensive.

Build, Fit, Accessories:

What’s in the box: The Elysian Pilgrim comes in modest sized box but the presentation is pretty nice.

• a nice faux leather case
• IEM cleaning kit
• Microfiber cloth + warranty card
• Pentaconn cable
• 3 pack of Spinfit eartips, S, M, L (I believe these are the CP100)

Build and fit: The build quality of the Elysian Pilgrim is very solid with shells are made of stainless steel with a high polish spiral design for the faceplate for contrast against a matte background. Nozzle size is pretty par for the course for IEMs, which is to say they aren’t especially large. The shells themselves are medium sized and should fit most people comfortably. This is a relief because the two other IEMs I have heard from Elysian Audio have been quite large!

The cable is okay – it has a semi-sticky/rubbery feel to it but isn’t memory prone. It’s not bad but it’s also nothing to write home about. If you do want to change it out for something else, keep in mind, the IEM uses a rarer Pentaconn connector so you’ll either have to go with something custom from one of the more well known cable stores on AliExpress (like Xinhs, Hakugei, or iVipq, etc), buy an expensive Effect Audio cable, or use adapters if you want to use your existing 2-pin or MMCX cables.

Bass:

The quality of the Pilgrim’s bass is nothing short of excellent. When it hits, it hits hard. As one might expect from a DD, it pushes quite a bit of air and there is a very physical aspect to the bass response. There is a good amount of decay but not enough to detract from bass resolution or from the tactility and I would consider the quality of the bass on this set to be among the top 5.

The bass is capable of rumbling very, very hard. For example, on Deja Vu by Tomorrow X Together, the subbass dominant bass line made me feel like there was an earthquake going on in my head and had to I had to stop and compare this against a few IEMs I had on hand, all of which are known for bass quality – the 64Audio U12T, 64Audio Trio, ThieAudio Hype4, and Elysian Diva. Surprisingly the Pilgrim actually had the most visceral rumble of the group.

Going into the midbass, the same physical qualities carry over and it can be pretty punchy when called for.

This is all to say that the quality of the dynamic driver on the Pilgrim is likely among the best I’ve had the pleasure of hearing. I do think Elysian could have been a bit more aggressive with the bass shelf though and added a couple more dB.

8/10

Mids:

The mid range is very clean. There is no bleed from the bass which keeps anything from sounding muddy. Voices and instruments throughout the range sound crystal clear and are nicely textured. This is in line with what I experienced with the Diva and the Gaea, at least in terms of tuning. This is not what one would call a completely natural or neutral sound, however. There is a bit of brightness and coloration here but it’s tastefully done and doesn’t detract from timbre, which is fantastic. Good amount of texture.

The star of the show here, like the Diva, is the vocals. Vocals on the Pilgrim are fantastic. They are nicely emphasized and very clear. And while both male and female vocals are great, female vocals are among the best I’ve heard in an IEM.

8/10

Treble:

Treble on the Pilgrim is good. Pretty good extension with tasteful elevation and no harsh peaks to my ears. That said, those that prefer a very dark signature will probably want to demo this before buying to see if this is something they like. It’s certainly not as intense as previous Elysian IEMs but is present enough to add a good amount of air that is somewhat reminiscent of what I’ve heard in other Elysian IEMs. However, it does so in a way that is actually more palatable for the masses – the Gaea, for example, was too bright and harsh sounding for a good amount of people, but the Pilgrim is quite a bit more contained in this regard. Even the Diva is a bit more intense in this regard.

7/10

Technicalities:

Resolution – Above average in the mid-fi category. I don’t find myself missing details as much as details can sometimes feel “lost” in the commotion due to the lack of depth to the stage.

Soundstage – Stage is very wide for an IEM and extends out of the head. But it lacks in depth.

Imaging and Separation – Imaging is mostly left right, which it does quite nicely. But there is a lack of depth which can make it sound a bit congested at times when too many instrument lines and voices are playing at once.

Dynamics – Decent dynamics but don’t come into this expecting a dynamics monster like the rest of the Elysian lineup.

Transients – Decent but not standout. Another thing that the Pilgrim falls short of compared to its siblings. I do wish some of this trickled down from the more expensive models in the Elysian line up because this would probably help with the congestion.

7/10

Comparisons:

• ThieAudio Hype4
  • Priced exactly the same, the Hype4 is a much more “traditionally” balanced sounding IEM, following the the neutral with bass boost tuning philosophy that has been widely utilized over the past couple years. The Hype4 sounds less “colored” than the Pilgrim with a bit of a warmer sound signature. Where the Pilgrim is a very clean sounding IEM, the Hype4 has a bit more heft to the sound, owing, possibly, to a bass shelf that extends further into the midbass region.
  • That said, while the Hype4’s bass drivers (double DD) are no slouch, the Pilgrim still hits a bit harder and viscerally. The Pilgrim sounds more clean but both resolution on both are on par with each other. Hype4 has a deeper sound stage but Pilgrim edges it out in terms of width. Both could be good complements to each other given there isn’t much overlap in tuning.
• Elysian Acoustic Labs Diva 2023
  • Since Elysian is marketing this as the Elysian house sound for the masses, it makes sense to compare to another Elysian IEM. I happen to have the Diva 2023 on loan so how do they compare? The Diva is well known to have some of the best vocals of any IEM. And to this regard, the Pilgrim does retain this characteristic. They also do share a certain clarity through the mids but the Pilgrim does sound a bit warmer compared to the Diva. This makes the Diva sound more crisp in comparison. Going back and forth between the two, the Pilgrim can sound muddy after listening to the Diva. Likewise, the Diva can sound a bit thin after listening to the Pilgrim.
  • One of the characteristics that really made the Diva special is that beyond beautiful vocals. However, it also has some of the best technicalities, dynamics, and engagement that can be found in the IEM form factor. This characteristic of most of the Elysian lineup. The Pilgrim, unfortunately (but also as expected for the price difference) loses this quality. Transients on the Pilgrim are much less apparent and separation is a couple steps down from the Diva. The Pilgrim not as resolving and the stage is almost two dimensional. In comparison, the stage that feels like it surrounds your head on the Diva. This was an unfair comparison, however, and can’t be considered a negative for the Pilgrim.
  • Bass on the Diva is also pretty special. Despite using a BA driver for the bass, it can sometimes can feel like a DD with the physicality that it displays. With the Diva, you get the speed and resolution of a BA driver and the tactile punch of a DD driver. The DD on the Pilgrim is notably slower which means it loses a bit of resolution in the bass. Because of this, it does slam and rumble harder in the sub-bass regions.
  • Again, Diva being a significant step up is no surprise and the comparison isn’t close to being fair given that the Diva costs four times as much. The Pilgrim is no slouch and compared to others in the price range, it’s actually quite a bargain. Just don’t expect it to replace the Diva, Gaea, or any of other Elysian IEMs.

Conclusion:

Elysian marketed the Pilgrim as the Elysian house sound for the masses and I would agree with this to a certain extent. While most brands don’t necessarily have a house sound, Elysian seems to. All of their IEMs generally bright and energetic with a very strong low end. All Elysian IEMs to date have also had industry leading dynamics. Elysian IEMs are very exciting to listen to and the Pilgrim mostly captures this essence. The overall tuning and tonality is in line with the Elysian house sound. It does have a little bit of brightness, having a little bit more upper mid energy. And bass is exceptional.

However, I did say it “mostly” captures the essence of Elysian. The Pilgrim, unfortunately, doesn’t quite live up to its older siblings in terms of sheer resolution and dynamics. It doesn’t have the “wow” factor when it comes to technicalities that has been present in all Elysian IEMs to date. This isn’t to say that the Pilgrim is bad. On its own, the Pilgrim is a very solid IEM. But being the youngest sibling of the Elysian family, expectations were high, even if these expectations weren’t exactly fair.

The Pilgrim comes in at 1/4 the price of the next cheapest Elysian IEM. And if you separate it from its lineage, it is a very, very solid pick in the price range. While you won’t get most of what makes the Elysian IEMs special (at least for me), the Pilgrim is a capable IEM on its own. Notably, it has excellent vocals and instrument timbre, and quite frankly, some of the best quality bass you can find in an IEM. For these characteristics alone, the Pilgrim, is my opinion, is an excellent value proposition. While it doesn’t exactly give you the full Elysian experience as promised, it is a fantastic IEM in and of itself. It is an IEM, that currently, has me constantly grabbing to enjoy music and that’s what matters most!

Note: There is a followup release to the Pilgrim that is coming soon. Elysian is collaborating with Effect Audio (again) to produce the Pilgrim:Noir. This new version supposedly has upgraded internal wiring, one additional crossover, an upgraded cable (made by Effect Audio) and a tuning change that supposedly addresses some of the issues I’ve listed above. However, the Noir version will be coming in at $799, which is a completely different price category, and because of this, I don’t think there is any reason to consider one over the other.