Thieaudio just released the next entry in its Hype line-up and the hype is real. The Thieaudio Hype 4 builds upon the Hype 2 (reviewed here) with more drivers and an even more striking design. Sonically, it’s a wholesale improvement and builds on the series’ impressive debut. For gaming or music, it’s a fantastic choice and is one of the most competitive IEMs in its price bracket.
Specifications
- Current Price: $399 (Linsoul)
- Drivers: 4 Balanced Armatures + 2 Dynamic Drivers
- Cable Interface: 3.5mm
- Impedance: 17 Ohm
- Sensitivity: 105dB (±1dB) @1kHz
- Frequency Response Range: 10Hz-22kHz
- Plug Type: Detachable 0.78mm 2Pin
Thieaudio Hype 4 - Design and Features
The Thieaudio Hype 4 is the second release in the company’s new Hype line-up. Hype is an acronym for Hybrid Performance and describes the design of this series. In the audio world, the term “hybrid” indicates that there are two different types of drivers being used. Most often, it designates the presence of at least one dynamic driver and one or more balanced armatures.
This combination of drivers has proven to be very popular over the years and it’s easy to see why. Dynamic drivers, conical drivers similar to what you’ll see in full-size speakers, tend to excel in the lows and mids. Balanced armatures, on the other hand, are much smaller drivers that excel in the mids, highs, and ultra highs. These drivers are popular in hearing aids for their exceptional detail and resolution but tend to focus on comparatively narrow frequency bands when implemented in IEMs. Including both types of drivers in a single pair of IEMs allows the designers to allow each to focus on their respective strengths, transitioning between each across the frequency band to create a unique and high resolution sound.
The Hype 4 uses a total of six drivers in each ear piece. There are two 10mm dynamic drivers, both positioned in an isobaric chamber. One driver acts as a dedicated subwoofer to lend the earphones deep reach into the lows and kick and punch through tracks. It’s the same design as we’ve seen even on the company’s flagship Monarch MKIII.
The balanced armatures, on the other hand, are the latest generation of Sonion drivers, which are a very popular choice in high-end IEMs. The mids are covered by Sonion 26A drivers, which provide an exceptional amount of detail and transition smoothly into the treble. The highs and ultra-highs are driven by a Sonion E50 dual ultra-tweeter. Thieaudio claims that this driver competes with electrostatic drivers, which I personally think is slightly stretching things. But it remains an excellent treble driver with a lot of extension and sparkle in the higher registers.
Tonally, there are some clear similarities between the Hype 4 and the Monarch MKIII. This has led a lot of people to wonder how the two compete, which I’ll get into more in the next section. Though it would be unfair to expect a $400 pair of IEMs to compete with a $1,000 pair, but there are definitely some similarities in the low end, which makes the Hype 4 even more appealing.
The Hype 4 is available in three different colors: white, black, and blue. Each faceplate is glittery and beautiful. I was sent the blue version, which is pale blue speckled with pink flakes that look great. The faceplates attach to resin shells that use a UIEM (universal IEM) shape are quite comfortable. They’re on the larger side due to the amount of drivers, but using the selection of silicone and memory foam tips, most listeners should be able to find a comfortable fit.
It comes with a nice cable, though you won’t find the modular ends of its more expensive sibling. It uses a standard, single-ended 3.5mm audio jack, but since the IEMs are easy to drive at 17 ohms of impedance and a sensitivity of 105dB, you won’t need the power of a balanced connection from most sources. The cable uses silver-plated oxygen-free copper and is soft and non-microphonic with its twisted coil. There is almost no cable memory either. It connects to the earbuds using a standard 0.78mm 2-pin connection and the source side has a meaty metal jack that’s surely durable but a touch longer than I like.
The IEMs also come with a nice zippered travel case that’s very similar to the one included with the Monarch MKIII and the brand’s other premium monitors.
Thieaudio Hype 4 - Listening Impressions
I won’t bury the lede here: the Thieaudio Hype 4 is a fantastic pair of earphones and will be my recommendation at the $400 price point. This is a set that punches above its class and is versatile enough to match a wide array of genres. It’s also great for gaming, so you could pick it up and expect a wholesale improvement to all of your listening if you used it across the board.
The magic here is both in tuning and the performance of the drivers. The comparisons to the Monarch MKIII are apt but I find this to be mostly in the bass and lower mids where the dynamic drivers rule. That’s not really surprising considering it’s using a similar isobaric chamber arrangement (the IMPACT system, as Thieaudio calls it).
The bass reaches low on this set and has a solid, impactful presentation. On songs like Jonny Craig’s DREAM it nails the opening sub-bass drone exceptionally well, making the song sound just as full bodied as it’s intended. On more classic tracks, like Tuesday’s Gone by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the kicks have a realistic thump and impact. For gaming, there’s ample rumble, so tanks have a tactility that’s very enjoyable. Genre-wise, it works best with hip-hop, EDM, rock, metal, and electronica. Acoustic tracks don’t really leverage it in the same way, but even on acoustic guitars, you can hear that extra resonance the drivers provide.
Nothing about this is overdone. There isn’t any bass bleed into the mids, and in the graph above, you can actually see it level off around 200Hz. This allows the middle frequencies to sound clean and gives them room to create a sense of space and separation higher up the register. It’s exceptionally well tuned and some of the best bass you’ll find under $500, without question.
The mids on this set are very smooth and natural without any extra huskiness. Both male and female vocals are forward and detailed with great texture. Electric guitars sound great too. Angel Vivaldi’s Dopamine had this killer edge to the rhythm guitars in the background but a liquidy smoothness to the solos which sounded great to my ear. On my Beautiful Classical playlist, Max Richter’s On the Nature of Daylight highlighted how great cellos and violins sound too.
The upper register is crystalline and energetic without tipping into sharpness or sibilance. What I found especially interesting on this one is that the ultra-tweeters allowed me to hear more air in certain notes, like the tiny cymbals on Jonny Craig’s Memories, and was able to notice their decay than I’ve heard on other sets. The treble allows the upper harmonics to come through so there is no veil at all. Pianos, like those in Teodor Wolger’s nostalgia, resonate with this beautiful airiness that makes them sound lively.
For the price, the tuning here really is fantastic. I went back and compared them to the Mangird Tea 2 and was struck at just how far the performance of IEMs has come even since that time. The detail, resolution, and tuning are wholesale better. The Hype 4 is $50 more, yes, but the two IEMs are really in separate classes with only $50 of separation.
I also compared it to the Moondrop Blessing 2, a set I really enjoyed that’s also around $320 today. While the detail retrieval is similar on both sets, I find the Hype 4 to be better tuned for my library and for gaming. The bass is also much, much better for the money. It’s worth paying extra for the Hype.
When stacked up against the Monarch MKIII, the edge still goes to the Monarch in technical performance. The EST drivers definitely bring out more air and detail in the listening experience, which is pretty much what you would expect. Overall, the soundstage, imaging, and detail are all also better on the Monarch. But is it $600 better? For most people, probably not, which makes these a great value if the MKIII is too expensive and you want a similar listening experience.
For gaming, the Hype 4 is a performer. The soundstage is fairly wide and is quite deep. There is good separation between the layers of sound, so you can pick up every detail in the game, even when things get intense. For MMOs, I found the added bass of this set to increase my fun factor and made walking into Stormwind that much more fun as the city theme song hit. Positionality is also very good on these. There’s no need for Atmos but the set does respond well to it if you want to take it up a notch further.
Final Thoughts
The Thieaudio Hype 4 is one of my favorite sets this year. As I write this, I have a backlog of sets demanding my attention, but I can’t seem to pull myself away from them. They’re so versatile and just plain fun to listen to for these genres and gaming, that they’re one of the most compelling sets in my collection. Thieaudio has really knocked it out of the park, in my opinion. $400, while certainly on the more expensive side of this hobby, still manages to feel like a good value when you compare them to the competition, even higher up the price bracket. There’s a lot to love here.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
