Thieaudio Legacy 4 Review

Thieaudio Legacy 4

Technical Performance

The L4 has great performance in terms of technicalities and staging is one of the impressive parts. Thanks to this particular presentation, the stage is wide and deep with a 3D feel. It’s by no means at the level of high-end gear, but for a price like this, it’s not easy to find a stage of this magnitude. So yeah, the sound stage is excellent.

Timbre is not the best I’ve heard in its own price bracket but it’s not bad at all. Especially when the 2nd switch is on, the mids are well-balanced with good tonality and the instrument timbre is quite nice. It could’ve been better but I think Thieaudio wanted to highlight the capabilities of bass and treble in this model.

Thieaudio Legacy 4

Thieaudio Legacy 4

The overall balance could’ve been better also with a bit more controlled and refined treble section. Well, when you’re an audiophile, you always want more I guess. I’m not sure it’s fair to expect even better performance for a price like this, but still, I would’ve liked a bit more tamed response in the treble.

In terms of other parts of the technical performance. there are a lot of positives here and the biggest one is the resolution. The L4 is a very resolving IEM with high-performing transparency. The instrument separation is also very good.

Comparisons

The Shozy Form 1.4 is a warmer IEM with an organic tone and it has a definitive mid-bass. The treble is much softer and a bit laid back. So it’s totally a different sound signature. I would say that the Legacy 4 has the better bass and treble, though that might not be your choice because of its brightness.

The Form 1.4 has a better tonality and more consistency in the mid-range. For sure, the L4 is the more exciting choice, whilst the Shozy is better for instrumental and Jazz music. Yet, if you like your bass to be rumbling and attacking, the Legacy 4 is the winner.

Thieaudio Legacy 4

Etymotic ER2XR

The ER2XR is an amazing performer and there aren’t many IEMs out there that can beat it in terms of price/performance. The ER2XR can also be considered as a bright IEM but it has better coherency and it’s much more neutral. It has a lean bass response of course with much less quantity. But in mids and treble, it just performs extraordinarily.

The L4 has great resolution and transparency but not on the same level as the ER2XR. You might like its excellent bass presentation and sound stage, but the ER2XR is just better in every other category, especially from a technical standpoint.

Kinera Freya turns heads for sure with its excellent premium design. It also has a great cable for the price just like the L4. It has an even more impressive packaging too. But how do they compare in terms of sound?

The Legacy 4 sounds more atmospheric with a wider sound-stage and better layering. It also has a better bass response with more texture and tightness with great attack. In the mid-range, they perform similarly good but I think the Legacy 4, with switch no.2 being open, gives a bit better tonality. In the treble region, they’re not too far apart and they both give great detail and resolution here.

But thanks to its bass response being better than the Freya, I think the Legacy 4 is the better overall IEM. But of course, the Freya has an incredible design with just perfect packaging for the price.

Thieaudio Legacy 4

Conclusion

If you’re after that tight and rumbling bass, crisp treble, and high-resolution instrument reproduction, the Thieaudio Legacy 4 is an excellent performer for this price. If you like a fuller, mid-bass-oriented thick mid-range with a rich performance in that particular area, you can get something like the Form 1.4.

As always, it depends on your personal taste. I would say that the L4 is a great performer and it impressed me since I opened its package and put it in my ear. This is a highly competitive market especially in this price range, but the Legacy 4 is definitely a viable choice. It’s not that impressive and game-changing as the ER2XR, but it’s recommended. Good job.

Page 1 – Intro – Click here: https://www.headfonia.com/thieaudio-legacy-4-review/

Page 2 – Sound: https://www.headfonia.com/thieaudio-legacy-4-review/2

4/5 - (43 votes)
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A keen audiophile and hobby photographer, Berkhan is after absolute perfection. Whether it is a full-frame camera or a custom in-ear, his standpoint persists. He tries to keep his photography enthusiasm at the same level as audio. Sometimes photography wins, sometimes his love for music takes over and he puts that camera aside. Simplistic expressions of sound in his reviews are the way to go for him. He enjoys a fine single malt along with his favourite Jazz recordings.

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