Driver setup, driveability, fit, aesthetics, price etc.
Symphonium Audio Helios. Release date September 2021. Retail price $1,099. 4 balanced armatures with a 4-way crossover.
Coated aluminium alloy shell. It’s pretty big. It should fit the shape of most ears okay but it won’t press flush into your ear because of the nozzles. The nozzles are long. Very long. And smooth. Which creates two problems. Helios needs to insert deep into the ear canal, which is not everyone’s idea of a fun time. And eartips slide down the nozzle. If the end of the nozzle is flush with the end of the eartip the bass and mids lose all weight. An eartip needs to sit on the end of the nozzle creating its own cavity space. The most effective I’ve tried are Final E Tips. Their narrower bore also helps bring up the bass. Having tiny ears won’t necessarily exclude you from using the Helios. I’ve got narrow ear canals, use small tips, and manage fine. For many people thought fit is unreconcilable and they cannot achieve a satisfactory sound. It’s a significant enough problem that a redesigned shell has been developed with the good people at Elise Audio. The Helios SE was released June 2023 in a limited run. All impressions given here are of the sound signature as intended with the correct fit. The next problem issue with the Helios is its power requirements. It’s more akin to driving a headphone. Without decent amping they will sound thin. You get a 2-pin cable with it. A case as well. Maybe even a cloth.
Bass and lower mids.
The bass is surprising. With a good fit and tips that bring out the lows there’s more there than you’d expect from a balanced armature. The emphasis is on deep frequencies and sub bass. There’s some real force to low bass notes. The low bass effect is more a heavy pulse than a thick blow. Deep frequency tones are clean and have an emphasis and sense of dramatic scale to them. Drums and percussion have decent impact but more noticeably a crisp coating of upper frequency texture. It works. The texture the treble gives permeates all through the Helios. Mid bass is less pronounced and sits with the rest of the mids. It doesn’t get buried by the mid range getting equal clarity. It’s not weighty but something does carry over from the sub bass to give it good authority. But with a bad fit it will recede.
Mids and vocals.
Helios sounds like it flattens out quite early in the bass and stays relatively flat through the mids. It’s clean and clear without being sterile. There’s enough warmth coming up from the low bass to give a physicality. And certainly enough coming down from the treble to give personality. The issue again is fit determining whether mids come off as delicate and refined or just outright thin. Vocals are very clearly rendered but they don’t push out much. Vocals tend to sit in a slight mid hollow with the treble zinging out and away. It’s almost as if there’s a dual layer of sound where the mids stay tucked in place and higher frequencies spark off and around them. It gives an exciting dynamic. So there’s plenty going on around the centre of the presentation. Mids are neither lush and rich or super vibrant and energetic. They’re polished. Maybe a touch restrained. But they set up the treble beautifully.
Treble and air.
The crystalline treble. The character of the Helios is in the treble. Treble extends a long way so things fizzle and ring at the edge of hearing. The treble has a texture that avoids being piercing or shrill while sounding like cut glass. It’s very alive. It creates a real build and energy when an instrument or sound moves up the scales, like a spit of fire as the treble catches. The treble response gives facets to all the other registers. Sound that has any aspect of treble in its makeup starts to ping. The original Tin P1 micro planar has some similar traits in the high treble (and similar issues of needing significant power to flourish). But the P1 has a more tinny edge and lacks the finesse of the Helios. As sparkling as it can get it’s not clinical or sharp. It sounds tonally right.
Detail, separation, imaging and stage.
Detail is excellent. The high air treble throws a lot of light over everything. But clarity is not just a trick of tuning. Helios is a great technical set with nuances revealed even in the slightly recessed mids. Separation is nicely done without feeling forced or the sound being cut apart. Stage is good. The mids seem to hold a certain space while sub bass gets big and expansive and treble can push further out still.
Tone, timbre and dynamics.
The tonality is bright given the treble showcase. Mids maybe don’t have the most natural sound. Voices are pleasing but the timbre lacks a degree of realness to it. Just slightly. It doesn’t have a heart and lungs physicality. The reproduction of metallic strings and synthesised noise seem to fit the tonality better. The treble tones zip and shimmer in fun ways. It’s the treble that creates fantastic dynamics putting vivid energy into builds and tensions in the music and shutting them down with equal impact.
Tuning, summary, and general thoughts.
Sub bass emphasis. Pretty flat in the mids with no overly energetic peaks. And treble that even dogs can’t hear. High end technical ability. A really smart bit of tuning to make it all work together coherently. It has analytic traits but wraps them up in an exciting and engaging package. One of the best treble implementations you’ll find. Not great ergonomic design. Symphonium are a Singapore company, of a growing few producing high end earphones challenging Chinese manufacturers. The Helios is a distinct product. It’s a bit special. And expensive. Any purchase without hearing for yourself is a risk, and none more so than when fit and tips and power are such variables. If all that is right, and you can cope with the expenditure, but still don’t get some joy from these then you’re probably in the wrong hobby. Should earphones be the luxury you’re happy to plough copious money into then Helios is a good investment. Thanks for reading all this. Take care and smile at passing dogs.
