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Thieaudio Hype 10 – Sound Impressions
The Hype 10 features a relatively balanced sound presentation with a neutral-warm signature. It has an elevated bass shelf, smooth mids, and energetic highs, delivering a dynamic and engaging listening experience.
Thieaudio seems to have found a very safe and solid tuning with the Hype 10, appealing to both general consumers and audiophiles alike, making it a more versatile choice compared to tunings that lean heavily towards analytical or bass-heavy signatures. Frankly, it’s a well-done signature that is easy to enjoy in various genres. It’s excellent with popular genres like Pop, R&B, EDM, and Rock. It sounds coherent, transparent, and detailed to my ears. Let’s dig deeper.
Low
The Hype 10 provides a powerful bass that impacts with great force and recovers swiftly. This is not my first rodeo with a dual DD bass configuration. Still, Thieaudio’s Impact2 technology stands out as the best on the market, in my opinion, since it focuses solely on the sub-bass with assistance from balanced armatures for the rest of the bass spectrum, merging airy, spacious DD bass flavor with the texture and layering of BA bass.
I’ve been closely following ThieAudio for the past two years, and I find their crossover approach to be on point. For the majority of their earphones, they cut the bass elevation around 200-300hz, which offers a breather for the lower mids and a more seamless transition into the linear midrange. Their midrange tuning is a brand hallmark at this point, receiving praise around the globe for its timbre and clarity. This is true for Hype 10 as well; the transition to the midrange is excellent, and the bass does not bleed or influence the cleanliness of the midrange at all. It does not feel disjointed either; it’s a tuning that is well done.
The Hype 10 is not a basshead IEM, but it offers excellent, weighty lows when the track asks for it. The Hype 10’s bass remains balanced, avoiding overpowering any other range. For example, in ‘Players’ by Coi Leray, a pop-funk-rap track, you get an ear-drum punching bass from the Hype 10. The bass, while abundant in quantity in this track, exhibits excellent thrust, definition, and articulation without impeding clarity.
Mid
The Hype 10’s midrange is characterized by linearity, clarity, and coherence. This is yet another area where I find ThieAudio’s flagships to excel. The MKII was a prime example, and the Hype 10 has not fallen far from the tree. The midrange clarity is excellent, and the timbre feels natural, not analytical or dry. The instruments have good weight/body, and the reproduction feels realistic. While it is not as transparent as MKII, it has a slightly bigger body that conveys the mid-based instruments with more weight and slightly more warmth, which translates into strings being reproduced more naturally, as well as the male vocals. In a nutshell, the Hype 10’s midrange is closer to MKIII’s tuning, but it feels fuller, more coherent, and a tad sweeter in comparison.
The Hype 10’s play well with all popular genres, from pop to rap, and its midrange foundation is a big part of the reason why. I went through my entire library with the Hype 10, and never once did the midrange feel disjointed. It’s cohesive, articulate, and quite resolving. Throw Radiohead’s captivating vocals, Portishead’s congested passages, or Queen’s mediocre remastering at it, and it will have no trouble conveying the dynamics and soul of the vocals and the fundamentals of the instruments.
High
Starting with the upper midrange/lower highs, the Hype 10 is clean, crisp, and transparent, with an excellent amount of energy here. It’s not hot or dull and has the perfect quantity to be energetic without being shouty.
The highs are beautifully tuned; Hype 10 handles cymbals, crashes, saxes, and flutes in a smooth, airy, and resolving way. The notes carry a good amount of resolution and the whole region feels expansive.
While the top-end extension (14/15-ish kHz) carries less energy than sets like the U4s, IE 600, or Crimson, the overall coherence of the entire signature more than makes up for it. I really like this treble tuning as it plays well with poorly mastered tracks where things are splashy or shouty due to poor recording/mastering conditions. The Hype 10 gives you all the information without going overboard, so you can enjoy the 10 for long listening sessions regardless of genre. If you have guilty pleasure genres, and I know I do, these are the IEMs you’d want to use.
Technical Capability
The Hype 10 is a star when it comes to dynamism, thanks to the well-done bass region, balanced midrange, and energetic yet smooth treble. Its tuning is bulletproof signature-wise and is easy to love. Due to its impressive technical capability, it plays well with many genres.
The Hype 10’s PRaT is impressive. Directly compared to the MKII, the 10’s transients are a tad less prominent. The MKII has sharper attack and a faster decay with a slightly more agile PRaT due to the recessed lower midrange and the driver/crossover config. The MKIII fares very similar to Hype 10, but to my ears, the coherency of Hype 10 overrules all. Its well-roundedness surpasses both the Monarch and Prestige flagships, and that is the most important highlight of the Hype 10, in my opinion. It’s a do-it-all kind of earphone.
As for separation and layering, the Hype 10 delivers. The instruments are easy to locate and track on the stage. The headroom is satisfactory, too, with a good amount of width and an adequate amount of depth. It’s not particularly stellar in any of the areas, but for the price, you get a solid technical capability that can rival some of the pricier units. Its soundstage is as wide as the €1.700 Euro Vision Ears VE7.
Last Words
In my opinion, the Hype 10 represents ThieAudio’s effort to blend consumer-friendly sound with audiophile quality. The engineers aimed to create an earphone that caters to a wide audience, and they succeeded. It’s a versatile earphone that performs well across all genres. At $899 USD, the Hype 10 competes in a crowded market but stands out as one of the few IEMs that can fully immerse listeners in their music, which is rare at any price point. I definitely recommend giving it a try if you are in the market for an all-rounder under the thousand bucks limit.
It’s now in great company, besides the IEMs we wholeheartedly recommend! Click to browse the list of the best universal IEMs we carefully procured!
Pros
- Excellent All-Rounder
- Excellent bass reproduction
- Clean midrange & energetic treble
- Impressive technical capability
Cons
- Big shell size
- Mediocre ear-tips
Page 1: ThieAudio, Hype 10, Packaging & Accessories, Build, Design & Fit
Page 2: Sound, Low, Mid, High, Technical Capability, Comparisons, Last Words
