Myer Audio SLIIVO SL-41 – Myer Audio Has Impressed Me Again!

Disclaimer: The SLIIVO SL-41 was sent to me by Myer Audio for review. As always all thoughts and opinions remain my own and they have not requested I do or say anything.

Personal preferences in audio gear may vary. This review is based on my own subjective experience.

If you prefer to watch a video review you can watch mine here

Pros –

  • Extremely Coherent
  • Mids are extremely detailed and pushed slightly forwards making them stand out
  • Driver keeps up well and doesn’t get congested
  • Great Imaging
  • Holographic Stage
  • Tons of micro details
  • Accessories are very nice
  • Treble sounds great and is nicely detailed
  • The best vocals, both male and female across ranges that I have heard so far

Cons –

  • Mids and vocals may be too forward for some preferences

Gaming:

Pros –

  • Imaging is the best I have heard
  • Immersive worlds sound and feel huge
  • Great bass impact and detail

Cons –

  • No notable cons for me

Build, Fit & Accessories:

The SL-41 is priced at $170 at the time of writing

it has a very nice looking shell that I like aesthetically, the almost alien looking faceplate looks beautiful in person and gives it a stand out appearance. These are quite comfortable for me and more of a standard shape, both my wife and I can fit these comfortably for longer periods. These are standard 2 pin connectors if you are looking for alternative cables…Although I doubt you will as the included cable is fantastic.

The unboxing experience is extremely nice and all of the inclusions are of very high quality. The cable is definitely up there as one of the nicest stock cables I have used. You receive SML tips in two different styles as well as a pair of red foams. There is a nice pleather zipper case that is soft lined…Although not the biggest grandest unboxing I must say that everything feels like it is higher quality than most other packages here. A full solid kit.

Equipment Used:

  • FiiO K11 on Windows
  • FiiO Q11 on Windows and Android
  • MusicBee on Windows 11 with FiiO ASIO drivers for local FLAC and DSD files
  • Tidal Music Streaming
  • Hidizs AP80 Pro Local FLAC and DSD

Test Tracks used:

Sound Quality:

The SLIIVO SL-41 is a single dynamic driver and four balanced armature set. The DD is used for bass and 2 custom Knowles BAs for mids and 2 for highs. The tuning comes across to me quite neutral with a touch of warmth. The upper mids stand out here, But overall is all sounds very correct with tons of micro details screaming out at you. For me, These are one of the best IEMs I have heard so far and if you wanted to compare them with something on par I think you will be comparing them with sets in the $400+ range these are insane for the price.

Bass:

Bass is quite strong with serious texture and detail here bass quantity. There is a good balance of quantity and quality here, although not the engaging focus of this set it sounds extremely full and accurate and flows into the mids effortlessly.

Midrange:

The midrange is more in your face and has a great energy to it instruments are rich and detailed and take the center stage both lower mids and upper mids are the focus of this IEM and man are they ever presented nicely. Guitar solos are heavenly on this set and violins sing to you. Extremely nice and detailed.

Vocals:

Vocals are presented in a forwards manner with great detail and timbre to them, I wouldn’t consider this shouty per say as everything else still sits in the mix perfectly. Male vocals across the board are hands down the best I have heard for my preferences. Female vocals are also presented in a masterful way for my preferences and library. An amazing vocal forwards experience.

Treble:

Treble is extremely well defined and has plenty of air, I think this is done very well and doesn’t hit my level for sibilance no issues with splashy cymbals or anything. Older metal tracks that are often quite sibilant are very nice here and have plenty of details. Cymbals are great and swirl around you. Awesome experience and fantastic treble tuning at this price.

Technicalities:

Techs are fantastic and hit way above this price point. This set is well defined and coherent with great clarity across the board. no issue of congestion or bleeding from the bass, there are tons of micro details and the dynamics are impressive, making sets more expensive than these almost sound flat. The soundstage can be huge and holographic with sounds swirling all around me on some of my favorite prog metal tracks. Imaging is just silly at the price point being spot on with great layering. Very impressive techs at this price point.

Gaming Performance:

SL-41 offers one of the best FPS and immersive experiences I have tried so far in IEMs, there is a wonderful balance to everything, audio cues are apparent with pinpoint imaging and imersive games have great impact and a large soundstage to breath in. Truly a great gaming experience all around here, I will continue using this set as my main gaming set for the foreseeable future.

FPS Gaming:

Escape From Tarkov was fantastic, from the main menu music hitting in an awesome way to the initial ambience of the map. Audio cues were very apparent and stood out and the imaging was fantastic on letting me know the orientation and locations where they were coming from, ranging from shots and fights going on in the distance to closer enemy positions. There is a very nice balance for FPS games here with an awesome amount of detail and stage for the world to breathe.

Immersive Gaming:

Elden Ring felt huge and gave me a massive world to play in, this set has huge feeling and sounding impacts with the soundstage to really let the world live alongside it, lots of detail and information. Boss battle music was fantastic and very well separated. I really enjoy the presentation for immersive games on this set.

Comparisons:

So, the closest comparison I can give is the other Myer Audio set I reviewed that instantly became my #1 IEM. How does the SLIIVO hold up in comparison? Well, for me it’s not one or the other but both that share the top now. Depending on the album I listen to or genre I find I enjoy one or the other slightly more as they are so similar, CKLVX CK-D41 being warm and rich with a strong bass presence with vocals and mids that take the back seat a little bit. Where the SLIIVO SL-41 is just a hint of that warmth and more of a neutral presentation with more forward mids bringing out string instruments and vocals. Tech wise they both are quite close for me and the accessories are the same, the SL-41 does have a smaller shell though. Both are incredible sets and are set apart even more by the price point they are at. I highly recommend both as they are different enough for me to want to reach for one or the other depending on what I am listening to but if you don’t like forward mids go for CK-D41 or if you don’t want the bass boost that the CK-D41 offers go for the SL-41, definitely a choice of preference here. Awesome stuff.

Conclusion:

Well Myer Audio did it again. I was honestly slightly worried with this set coming in that it wouldn’t compare or compete with the CKLVX CK-D41 and it would fall short but here we are, both of my favorite IEMs coming from the same company, at a lower price point than I think they should cost. Myer Audio has really shown that they are serious and aren’t kidding when they said that they are using some of the best engineers in the industry, How they are selling these at this price blows my mind. You could tell me this is a $400-$500 set and I wouldn’t even blink. I know they have a slew of other products coming and I am very excited to try them and I hope they continue to be on this level or even higher.

SL-41 has yet again blown me away with what can be done with IEMs and at a price point that isn’t insane, this is an extremely satisfying set at a very reasonable price. Easy top recommendation from me, the only people I would say might want to avoid are those who don’t like their mids to be a touch forwards. Other than that I would say anyone looking for a set in this price range should heavily consider this set or the CKLVX CK-D41.

Thanks for reading this review! Feel free to ask any questions if you have any. Also feel free to share your experience if you have been able to try SL-41. 

If you are interested in the SLIIVO SL-41 it can be purchased at the links below.

Cheers!

After the release of this review Myer Audio has released a new color option with blue stabilized wood faceplates….I think they look awesome!

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