Meteor goes BOOM!

Pros: Great bass
Great looks
Awesome accessories
Good fit

Cons: OK cable
Not the most detailed
Not the best resolution

Overview:

Up for review today is the Symphonium Meteor. Symphonium is a relatively new player to the IEM game, and this is only their second IEM – the cheaper option at only $600 instead of $1k. That doesn’t mean it’s any less impressive than its bigger brother, just different. The Meteor uses a 4 BA driver setup. I personally think the Meteor is one of the best IEMs under $1k, especially for bass – but ymmv. On with the review!

Accessories/Earpads/Eartips (10/10):

The Meteor is an example of exactly what I want to see an IEM come with – at a bare minimum. Not only are there multiple ear tips, but there’s also a bag I’ll never use, but it looks cool, a box to hold everything, a foam-lined case inside the box for the IEMs and cable, a sticker, and a nice little note from the company. The stock ear tips are good, and so are the Spinfit W1s for this IEM. Everything matches the Meteor theme and is really nice. As always, I’m using my Spinfit W1 tips since they’re the best I’ve found (You can buy them here if you want a set: https://amzn.to/3WDrNIk.)

Cable (8/10):

The cable that comes with this is OK. It’s clearly a decent 3.5mm copper cable, but it can get tangly and does have some memory retention. Those are the only downsides – it’s not the best stock cable and it’s nowhere near the worst, and definitely above average. That said, I preferred the Kinera Leyding’s balanced 4.4mm preferable to the stock cable. You can also get the cable now in 4.4mm, so that’s cool.

Build Quality/Comfort (10/10):

I really don’t like the color Red. However, I absolutely love the Meteor’s aesthetics. The tiny meteors on the faceplate just look amazing, though I wish they’d release a white version with tiny red meteors, or a black version with red meteors – that’d be even better. Nonetheless, the Meteor looks great and feels really durable.

Not only does it look cool, but the Meteor is also tiny, especially compared to its bigger brother. They fit quite easily in my ears and are very comfortable.

Sound:

Take a look at the squig.link below. You can clearly see how much bass these have compared to their mids. That’s one of the main claims of the Meteor – BASS. It does a good job of delivering on that promise, almost too much at times. Compared to the EJ07, the Meteor has more bass, and more recessed high-mids/low-highs. I am powering these from my Shanling M6 Ultra with the balanced jack at 45-50/100 volume – these are TOUGH to power compared to quite a few other IEMs.

Lows (15/20):

I’m starting off with the Mid-bass/Sub-bass test I’m using David Guetta’s “I’m Good (Blue).” To no one’s surprise, these are super bassy IEMs. The impact in the intro kicks REALLY hard with a tiny bit of bloat, but not a ton. The sub-bass roars in the background and almost blots out the sun mids. If you love bass/sub-bass, these are going to make you very happy at half the price of the MEST Mk2. They are bassy AF and it’s good quality bass too, not just quantity (but definitely quantity.) This is a 9/10 on the bass quality/quantity points (I’m trying to be more transparent on my scoring.)

Up next is Demon Hunter’s “I Am A Stone,” which I use to test whether the bass is too strong and overwhelms the mids as that is just as important as how strong/good the bass is. Yeah, unsurprisingly, the bass overwhelms the strings and vocals here. You can still hear them, but the bass is so strong that it is actually more to the forefront than the mids are, which is not my preference, but it may be yours. It’s not the worst I’ve heard (Kennerton), so about 5/10 points here.

Mids (14/20):

Weaving The Fate’s “The Fall” is my test song for clean/dirty guitars and vocals with background instruments to see how clearly the vocals can be heard. The intro guitars sound good – if a tad muddy. The distorted guitars sound pretty good, though quite muddy/distorted. The vocals sound really good here with a somewhat forward presentation, but the words are clear and don’t sound too far away in the soundstage. Overall, this is a solid presentation of this song, if not the best, and I appreciate the full-body feeling of the song on the Meteor. 4/6 points here.

Staind’s “Something to Remind You” has clean electric guitars and wonderful vocals – this song tests vocal quality and background noise. The song sounds really good – if a bit blurry/distorted. The Meteor is not the clearest IEM on the market, nor is it the most detailed. It is a nice warm-sounding IEM though and the bass guitar in the background can, of course, be clearly heard. I still really like how this sounds, though it won’t give me chills like the EJ07 did here. 6/7 points here.

To test classical instruments in the mids, I’m using The Piano Guys’ “Code Name Vivaldi.” Of course, the bass-string instruments come in strongly in the intro. A little too strong, as they overwhelm the piano that ends up feeling very distant. There is some definite muddiness here with the lower instruments blurring together into a single sound instead of being separate. When the bass gets out of the way, the mids shine through quite nicely, though still with that fuzzy veil. Also, the piano can be quite good when given the chance to shine. 4/7 points here

Highs (16/20):

To test sibilance on headphones I use Panic! At The Disco’s “High Hopes. The Meteor somehow avoids most of the sibilance on this song – there is still some, but it’s surprisingly muted. The song itself also sounds more full than it does on the EJ07. Due to the amount of sibilance here, the Meteor earns 4/6 points here.

Dream Theater’s “The Alien,” is the highs test song I use to see if the cymbals/high-hats/snare drum can be clearly heard and distinguished from the rest of the music (also good for instrument separation.) The Meteor does surprisingly well here considering how bassy it is. While not top-tier, you get a lot more cymbals and high-hat on these than you will on a lot of other headphones, including full-size headphones. 6/7 points here.

Michelle McLaughlin’s “Across The Burren” is another of my favorite highs/sharpness test songs as it can easily sound painful on some headphones. I’m expecting a little sharpness here, but really don’t get any until 0:38. Then, there is a little bit, but the overall presentation here is extremely well done and better than a lot of top-tier IEMs I’ve heard. 6/7 points here. An overall surprising rendition from the Meteor.

Soundstage/Instrument Separation/Imaging (6/10):

I use MGMT’s “Time to Pretend” to test soundstage, instrument separation, and imaging. The soundstage is pretty decent, but not mind-blowing. Instrument separation is somewhat mid-tier with more blending of instruments than I’d like, and imaging is just alright – you’re not getting a full 3D with these. 6/10 points here.

Comparisons:

I already wrote a comparison between this and the more expensive EJ07. The Meteor is solid competition for the EJ07 for $300 less (that said, I know people who have gotten the Meteor and hated it, so as usual, everyone has different tastes.) If you want more bass, more treble presence, and a bigger soundstage with more instrument separation and imaging than the EJ07, at the expense of clarity and detail, the Meteor is a better fit for you. You will get more bass bloat and lower bass quality with increased bass quantity and it will overwhelm the mids sometimes. The Meteor just comes across as more distorted than the EJ07, which is very clear. Also, the fit might not be for everyone since the nozzles are pretty small and it’s harder to get a good seal with the Meteor. You could also just get the Final A5000 if you want to pay half as much as the Meteor and don’t need the bass, or even the Truthear HEXA for only $80.

Conclusion:

This is my second pair of these and I recommended them to someone on Head-Fi as a good cheap-ish bass IEM. They hated it and preferred their Raptgo Hook X, so really, get them or don’t get them – I couldn’t care less (I don’t work for you, and I’ve made $0 reviewing stuff.) I like how they sound and I love how they look, and I don’t even like red. They have some fantastic bass if you love bass, just understand that they aren’t detail monsters and they have some fuzziness to them you won’t get on colder, more analytical, less fun IEMs. Know your preference and go with what you like!

Headphone Scoring (v3):
Accessories / Earpads / Eartips (10 pts):	10​
Cable (10 pts):	6​
Build Quality/ Design / Comfort (10 pts):	10​
Lows (20 pts):	15​
Mids (20 pts):	14​
Highs (20 pts):	16​
Soundstage / Instrument Separation / Imaging (10 pts):	6​
Total:	77