I will happily admit I really love THIEAUDIO’s Clairvoyance and while I plan to one day review it(maybe), I constantly use the Clairvoyance in most of my reviews. I recently had the chance to check out both the THIEAUDIO Monarch MK2 and their flagship V16 Divinity. While I was excited for the new Monarch, I wasn’t sure how I would feel about their all BA V16 Divinity. Well today is the day I finally review one of the newer THIEAUDIO products. The V16 comes with 16 mixed Knowles and Sonion balanced armature drivers per shell. It comes in at $1499.00.
Quick shoutout to Taron from Headphones.com for letting me borrow the V16 to check out and review. While I always appreciate the chance to test and review products sent in from manufacturers and dealers, it never affects the rating of my reviews.
The V16 Divinity isn’t sold at Headphones.com but more info can be found below. Do shop at Headphones.com for other products if possible as the team there is always nice and fantastic. Plus they let me borrow IEMs to review that they don’t even sell.
https://www.thieaudio.com/products/thieaudio-v16-divinity
https://www.headphones.com/
Gear Used
IPhone 12 pro with headphone adapter, Lotto PAW S1, Moondrop Moon River 2 and SMSL SU-9 feeding the SP400 amp.
Looks and fit
The fitment on the V16 was a little hit or miss when it came to getting a good comfortable seal. I was able to get a good seal with the CP500 spinfit tips and I was able to use the V16 for super long periods of time with no real comfort issues. I also find the design on the faceplate very pretty. It has a very unique foil and almost 3d design at certain angles. This is a very common style I find on other newer THIEAUDIO products and I love the way it looks. The rest of the shell is a glossy black and I don’t find the shell overly bulky. Though some might find this to IEM to be on the bigger side.
Isolation and sound leakage
While the V16 is an all BA design, it isn’t completely sealed. It does block out most outside noise fairly well but it does have a vent on the bottom of the shell. I would assume the BA drivers are all tube fed to the nozzle but I do hear a little sound leakage from the vent. I still think at a lower volume, these work well in quiet places.
Packaging and accessories
Inside the box we are presented with the cables and IEMs on the right and on the left a bigger portable case with a zipper. Inside the case we have tips, cleaning cloth and the additional plugs for the cable. I think this is a good set of accessories and it follows THIEAUDIO’s standard packaging style as of late.
Sound(overall)
These final impressions were done off the SMSL SU-9 connected to the SMSL SP400. These impressions are what the V16 Divinity sounded like to my ears. This was also using the CP500 eartips from Spinfit. Things like ear tip selection and DAC/amp selection will produce different results and impressions vs what my ears hear on my specific gear.
The V16 was quite surprising in terms of the tuning I was expecting vs what I ended up hearing. The only all BA IEM I’ve really liked in the last few years was the Symphonium Helios which blew me away with its bass that sounded like a dynamic driver and showed everyone that an all BA IEM can be tuned better than most hybrids. The V16 is mostly doing the same thing here with the bass. The bass on the V16 comes in very accurate but still can produce very good impact/slam when needed. The bass does hit hard but it’s pretty fast so it doesn’t quite have the fun bass cannon quality some hybrids can produce. I can be picky at times when it comes to bass quality and the V16 does it well. The mids are fairly warm but guitars and other instruments still sound good with a little energy towards the upper mids that feel both clear and fast but lack some of the possible fatigue a strong mid range can cause. Vocals do feel slightly relaxed with less focus and I found vocals can feel a little more blended in with the background instruments. The treble is on the tame side but it does sound very detailed for a warmer IEM. Everything has a smoother and slightly slower speed at the higher frequencies. While it lacks top end sparkle or splash, I can still hear stuff I’ve only heard on much more expensive IEMs in the past. As someone who likes warmer tunings at the cost of treble extension, I’m happy to hear something that is warmer without the extreme loss of resolution. I think with this type of tuning I would call the V16 more of an all rounder type of tuning since it’s not offensive or punishing.
Soundstage/Imaging
I like the staging here. I normally liked a balanced stage but the V16 has a deeper stage with an above average width. It feels like there is a lot of room for the sounds to spread out. This is especially noticeable with the bass hits. The imaging is fantastic here as well. There were many times I was able to notice and pick out sounds that felt precise in busy tracks. Rare for me to hear lots of little details that I normally can’t hear on some of my other IEMs. The last time I really liked the imaging on an IEM was the Helios so the V16 gets high regards for that.
Sensitivity/Drivability
The V16 is incredibly sensitive and is extremely easy to drive. That being said, I found no issues with noise floor or issues with balanced source noise either. I think the V16 can be powered off any device easily. I would recommend keeping an eye out for possible issues with high wattage headphone amps or DAPs as volume at lower levels can cause issues due to how easy it is to drive the V16.
Stock cable
Like the Monarch MK2, I really don’t like using the stock cable. I think its a very good looking cable but I find it uncomfortable for long term listening sessions and find it makes too much noise if I walk around and listen at low levels. The stock cable uses their own quick detach plug system which I don’t believe was designed well. It requires you to pull on a small tapered smooth part of the plug which means getting a plug off and new one on can be a pain. The unit I received already had the rubber strain relief torn. I think for like 90 percent of people this cable is perfectly fine however. I just choose to use a different cable for longer sessions.
IEM comparisons
UM MEXT
The MEXT comes in a little less money wise. I do like the MEXT and while it is a little upper mid focused, I do enjoy it when I want something a little more fun sounding and thumpy. While both do bass really well, the MEXT has a stronger impact/slam compared to the V16. The V16 has better quality however at the cost of a more fun low end. The mids are much smoother on the V16 but the MEXT does have slightly more recessed lower mids. The vocals on both sound good with the MEXT having a little more energy with female vocals. The upper mids are more sibilant on the MEXT but it’s not bad and V16 simply sounds a little better controlled. The treble on the MEXT is very tame and lacks the detail retrieval that the V16 is able to produce. Both IEMs are less intense when it comes to the treble but I find the V16 sounds better overall with a more controlled tuning.
THIEAUDIO Monarch MK2
The Monarch MK2 is a newer tribrid IEM that was all the rage when it launched. While I didn’t really care much for the newer Monarch, I did think it was more capable than my still favorite THIEAUDIO Clairvoyance. Now the big question is whether the 16 BA V16 sounds $500 better than the new Monarch. To my ears they have two different focuses in their tuning but both do detail retrieval well, just in different ways. I think both have a similar sound but I find the bass more enjoyable on the V16 but the Monarch is very close with a better impact/slam but it just doesn’t quite feel as controlled as the V16 which sounds stronger with a slight loss to feeling the bass hits. Mids felt a little more thin and clear on the Monarch vs the smooth and warm sounding V16. I preferred vocals on the Monarch as they had just a little more clarity and sounded more accurate. The treble is where I noticed the biggest difference. Both were able to pull in fantastic details from the upper end of things, with the Monarch having a stronger sounding treble. The Monarch has some sharpness and sparkle where the V16 felt tame and smooth up top. Well I felt the Monarch had a better sounding treble, I just didn’t like the overall thinner sound. I ended up liking the V16 over the Monarch which makes sense as the V16 has a tuning that I feel is closer to the Clairvoyance. I do prefer the Clairvoyance tuning vs all three but I find both the Monarch MK2 and V16 do resolution/detail retrieval better than the Clairvoyance.
Amping Combinations
Aune BU2
The BU2 is one of my preferred portable DAC/amps or traveling since I use it bluetooth when needed and Can use it as a portable desktop replacement as well when I’m not home. The BU2 has a brighter sound signature so I think it works well with the V16. The bass sounds about the same as my desktop setup with maybe a slight loss to impact when paired with the V16. Mids are still warmer with a slight sharpness at the end of tones. The treble is brighter but not so much that it really changes the sound of the V16. It just has a bit more sharpness in the treble but still maintains the smooth texture throughout the upper end of things. The staging was mostly the same if not a little more closed in. Imaging was still fantastic as I expected since I personally don’t find source gear to make much of a difference. I think that most quality sources will work just fine with producing good results on the V16.
SMSL SU-9/SP400
The sound impressions are always based on this SMSL stack. The V16 really doesn’t need a powerful source to get to high volumes so in this case, I prefer a really nice DAC over a hardcore solid state headphone amp. I did find the best results from my desktop setup and the Questyle CMA 15 but I had hard times on the CMA 15 getting the volume right that wasn’t instantly loud or imbalanced from the pot used on that amp. One could only run the V16 in single ended to solve that problem.
Overall thoughts
So how do I feel about V16 Divinity? I absolutely love it. I wasn’t expecting this outcome as I normally don’t like all BA IEMs and I was honestly more excited for the Monarch mk2 I received at the same time. The V16 is a winner in my book and I absolutely recommend it. The big thing here is that it’s not a bright IEM and that might turn off those who want an intense listen. In which case, something like the Symphonium Helios or their own MK2 monarch might be the better choice. That being said, the V16 sounds wonderful, pulls in great details and does imaging really well. All while being smooth and refined. I’m gonna have a hard time letting them go back to their home. Wonderful job to the THIEAUDIO team on making a very good all BA IEM! Thanks for reading!!
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