TAS Commitment
Description
Experience Elysian’s Award-Winning House Tuning
Have we heard all the rave about the legendary ANNIHILATOR and its sister DIVA? We’ve unpacked what makes these two products special and compacted them into a small, starter IEM. This is what exceptional lows, mids, and highs should be like—no compromises, even at a lower price point. That’s it. That’s our PILGRIM.
Hand-Picked Hybrid Setup for Premium Sound
Featuring a purposeful hand-picked hybrid setup with one customized LSR dynamic driver and two different types of balanced armatures, the PILGRIM provides an authentic Elysian House sonic experience. Coupled with premium aluminum and precision 3D printing for its internal chambers, you can expect perfect consistency with high durability.
Naturally Coherent and Harmonious Sound
PILGRIM is tuned personally by Lee, using two distinct types of custom-tailored Sonion drivers to extract the unique strengths of each driver. The aim is to deliver an incredible and harmonious listening experience, achieving technical excellence. The Sonion 2300 for mids ensures a versatile, smooth midrange response, creating a well-balanced, natural sound across various music genres. Complementing this is the Sonion E50 series, a dual ultra-tweeter balanced armature driver, extending high frequencies with unprecedented technical capabilities, offering clarity and brilliance. A custom 3-way crossover ensures each frequency band perfectly blends into the next for a smoothly coherent sound.
Advanced Technology for Superior Performance
Instead of using vibrating bone conductors or traditional PET drivers, we took a different approach, developing a custom-made 9.2mm dynamic driver featuring Liquid Silicon Rubber (LSR) technology. The LSR is capable of reproducing low frequencies that reach an impressive 10 Hz, compared to the standard 20 Hz of traditional PET drivers, contributing to a strong sub-bass rumble. After numerous stages of R&D, we optimized the size of the LSR to ensure a powerful kick without sacrificing speed in sound delivery. The magnesium-aluminium alloy diaphragm was chosen to deliver optimal performance for a prolonged period, resulting in remarkably fast, deep, and precise performance with minimal distortion.
Perfectly Consistent Performance
Consistency is one of our greatest focuses for PILGRIM. We go the extra mile to ensure impeccable consistency across every single unit. Using the latest cutting-edge technology, our master-crafted internal chambers and sound tubes undergo precision 3D printing, ensuring both structural integrity and quality while providing minimal signal distortion and accurate phase coherency. Each driver is carefully handpicked to ensure the utmost consistency and standards of performance. Moreover, stringent tests are conducted to ensure that every single driver is within a +/- 1 dB range.
Aesthetic Design Inspired by Nature
The PILGRIM IEM's design takes inspiration from the serene topography of knolls, with each subtle and purposeful tier mirroring the gentle, rolling hills.
Unparalleled Industrial Materials
PILGRIM's shell is crafted from high-quality aluminum, offering the benefit of lightweight durability, while the bores are made from 304 stainless steel known for its corrosion resistance. This combination ensures longevity and maintains the exceptional sound quality you expect.
Our Review
Customer Reviews
I am in this hobby for years and I think I have got the perfect stopping point.
Some of my previous mid fi iems include
Truthear Hexa
Etymotic ER2XR
Letshuoer S12
Kiwi Ears Quintet and many others.
BTW I consider the samsung galaxy bus 2 pro a audiophile grade mid fi IEM
My favorite among these are the Quintets followed by the Samsung buds and then the etys
The Quintets had a few flaws namely they can sometimes be sibilant with poorly recorded music, most of not so famous JPop artists and it has a recessed mid bass so kick drums and stuff were not that satisfying but in terms of detail retrieval, staging and imaging it was top notch.
The pilgrim fixes all the negatives and retains the positives of the Quintets.
My only issue with the pilgrim is that the chrome finish is chipping off within a few minutes otherwise I love them. Oh and it has a big fat nozzle 5.9 mm to be exact and so I had to tip roll quite a bit and settled on the Final E tips.
Now lets come to the sound qualities:
Bass : The bass is amongst the best I have heard till date. It has good physicality and the rumble and growl is just unreal. Bass details shines through and has a very natural feel to it. It is a sublime experience.
Vocals: To me personally it feels a bit recessed, but it is also quite natural and hardly gets sibilant or honky. Both male and female vocals sound natural and carry good weight to them. Its not enough to make you cry or pierce your soul. The Quintets and the galaxy buds are much more vocal forward than Pilgrim. But I find the pilgrim more natural and enjoyable.
Treble: They are bright but not harsh. For me this is the perfect amount of treble to bring out micro details and nuances in the treble without being too fatiguing or distracting. I miss the splash of the cymbals from the quintet sometimes but again they can border on the line of too bright sometimes
Soundstage: its good enough. Its above average and can sound open or boxy depending on the music that you are playing.
Imaging and separation: its great. You can hear every instrument and pinpoint then and every instrument feels really tactile. Like you can feel the instruments being plucked or hit or blown into. It feels surreal sometimes.
I played the mountains track by Hans Zimmer and every time the organs started playing I got goosebumps these are that good.
Everyone has their own music preferences and for me these are just perfect. In terms of details, resolution and dynamics, I personally don't think you can get anything better under 80k or 1L.
You have to get the fit right to enjoy these to the fullest so you have to tip roll a bit. For my case final E tips worked the best.
Thanks to the team for helping me out with my request. I thought that these will sell out like hot cakes and to think that my review will be the first here is unbelievable🥲
Thank you so much for your thorough and detailed review of our Elysian Acoustic Labs PILGRIM IEM. We are thrilled to hear that it has become your perfect IEM and that it fixes the flaws you found in your previous mid fi options. We apologize for the issue with the chrome finish, but we are glad that you found your perfect fit with the Final E tips. It's great to hear that the bass, vocals, treble, soundstage, and imaging meet your expectations and provide a natural and enjoyable listening experience. Thank you for choosing Elysian Acoustic Labs and The Audio Store,happy listening!
A) The chain
1. Apple music / Spotify from my phone to Earmen Colibri to Pilgrim.
2. Apple music / Spotify from my phone to Chord Mojo 2 to Pilgrim.
3. FLAC / AAC / 320 kbps MP3 / 128 kbps MP3 music from my computer to Chord Mojo to Pilgrim.
4. My DAP Onkyo DP X1 to Pilgrim (mostly FLAC / 320 kbps music files)
B) The music
1. Bollywood (from the 40s till date)
2. Malayalam songs (from the 60s till date)
3. Tamil songs (from late 80s till date)
4. Telugu songs (from the 2000s till date)
5. English (Mostly Soul, Jazz, Reggae, Motown, Rock, Hard Rock, Metal, Pop from the 60s to the 000s, some specific artists from the current era like Adele, Billy Eilish, Norah Jones, Dua Lipa, Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Llorde etc.)
6. Music and songs from anime movies and series.
7. Instrumentals.
All the hearing has been done with the stock Pilgrim cable and eartips (Spinfit CP 100s supplied with the IEM itself).
C) Pilgrim's strengths
1. Very good bass - Quality, not quantity. The bass is not as heavy as some of the IEMs like the Sennheiser IE600. The quality of the bass is really good, the bass notes have really good texture, mostly sub bass, but just enough mid bass also to lead good weight to instruments. Very controlled, zero bleed into the mids. The bass is present in enough quantity if the song demands it.
2. Mids - Very transparent with good note weight. Both the male and female vocals sound great without being overly thick or mushy. The timbre of the instruments in this range is really good.
3. Treble - Extended without being sibilant.
4. Technicalities - Very good detail retrieval, precise imaging and a good soundstage. Top class technicalities for this price.
D) To be noted
1. Break in (or burn in, if you prefer) is an absolute must. The IEM sounds really bright right out of the box, but the bass wakes up as it is played more and takes more of the stage as the usage increases. I had put in more than 100 hours of burn in before listening to the Pilgrim analytically.
2. Power: The Pilgrim can be played off most dongle DACs. My Earmen Colibri ran it without any issues. But it really scales with more power and sounded way more powerful and airier with the Mojo2.
3. Source: Goes without saying, the better the source the better Pilgrim plays.
E) Comfort: No issues for me. Very light.
F) The Gripe (a very small one)
It is really hard to load the stock eartips onto the Pilgrim. The nozzle of the Pilgrim is big. Spent more than 10 minutes wrestling the tips onto the nozzle.
G) Side Note: I personally do not mind a bit of treble as I am a bit of detail head and like analytical sets. So the Pilgrim's treble, it's resolution, details retrieval, soundstage and precise imaging was just great for me (better than my Sennheiser IE 600). But I can see some of our community having an issue with treble of the Pilgrim.
To make a long story short, I find myself reaching for the Pilgrim the most these days, out of my small IEM collection. I think that it punches way above its price point.
The purchase experience was fantastic. I had pinged Pritam on the availability of the Pilgrim before it was launched in TAS. He kept me updated throughout and shipped the Pilgrim immediately on arrival. Thanks a lot, Pritam.
Thank you for taking the time to leave such a detailed and comprehensive review of our Elysian Pilgrim IEM. We are glad to hear that you have had a positive experience with our product and that it has met your expectations in terms of bass quality, mids, treble and technicalities. We appreciate your feedback on the importance of break-in and the use of a powerful source to fully appreciate the capabilities of our IEM. We hope you continue to enjoy your listening experience with our product. Thank you for choosing Elysian Acoustic Labs & The Audio Store.
You may also like
Recently viewed
OUR HONEST REVIEWS FROM THE CO-FOUNDERS & AUDIOPHILES
View all
TRUSTED BY OVER 50K+ MUSIC ENTHUSIASTS
Let customers speak for us
Some online product selling giants didn't understand how to package product because it delegate and wants to handle with care and I really appreciate your customer support thank you great product delivery app in reasonable rate
It’s a neat dongle with crisp sounding music, it’s on a brighter side of music
one of the best earbuds in this price range.
As a beginner audiophile I did research on all budget IEMs but this KZ EDC Pro stood out in all reviews as best and most affordable no-nonsense IEM without distortion in sound output that drew my attention to it. And I am glad I made the choice, this deserves every bit of praise for the price & sound output better than my 5000INR TWS from reputed brands, a little bit EQ Tweaks just enhances the experience multifold... Must but for those who looking for affordable yet best sounding wired earphones/IEM. Brilliant build and sound quality for the price. A Must buy on a tight budget, and Thanks to audiostore for delivering package before scheduled delivery time.
Great DAC for the price in terms of build and aesthetic. When paired with a good IEM definitely makes the experience worth investing. Just go for it, must buy for a beginner/intermediate audiophile...!
Easy blind buy for the price. Most recommended set of iems if you're new to the iem community and are looking for something under 5000 rupees. Sounds clean and has a lot of customisation options with app support.
good sound and clear even without the dac and anything haven't tuned anything still clear sound!
After having owned a few kilo-buck IEMs, I was prepared to get something that was insane and probably endgame and rightly so Pritam sir recommended the FIR audio Xenon 6 and thus deep dived into this and I am sure this would be the end game IEM for me.
The XE6 is so wonderfully crafted looks like piece of jewelry and although a large IEM it is very comfortable for me for long sessions.
It sounded good from the start and was really different from the other IEMs. It started to sound even better and grew on to be the best I ever heard after listening to it for longer. I paired with Astell&Kern SP3000T and Hiby rs8 II and with desktop DAC Amps (FiiO K19, Topping D70. A70, Hifiman R2R and Xduoo TA 22) and the immersive, warm, musical and soundstage that filled my head all over. The sub bass is where it stands out the most, but the mids and highs are also so clear and crisp. I havent yet tried to change the atom modules as yet, I am sure this will make the XE6 even more great than that it already is.
The shells in the IEM I were crafted in the US (was crafted in China earlier, but as Trump wanted his MAGA force it had to be made in the US now)
This is definitely end game worthy!!!!
I’ve been using the Moondrop Chu 2 for around 5 months, and I’m really happy with them overall. The size is very good – small, lightweight, and comfortable for long sessions. They fit well in the ears and don’t feel bulky at all.
In terms of sound, they’re excellent for the price. Clear mids, detailed highs, and a balanced tuning that works great for vocals and instruments. They still feel solid and well-built even after months of daily use.
The only drawback is the bass – while it’s clean and controlled, it’s not very strong. If you’re looking for heavy bass, these might not fully satisfy you.
But if you want clarity, balance, and detail in a compact design, the Chu 2 are a fantastic choice.
Very good value for its price range,
Solid build, durable metal shells
Comfortable fit and decent ergonomics
Tuning flexibility thanks to interchangeable nozzles
Soundstage depth isn’t exceptional (though width / height are decent)
The black nozzle for brighter tuning is a bit aggressive.
This is my first IEM..so I'm not knowledgeable enough to decide if it's the best or not..but definitely a good buy..go for it guys..and don't forget to pair it up with a good dac....
I got these cables for my CHU II because I broke the stock cable.
For the following reasons I would say it's a solid recommendation for it's price.
The cables themselves are not as heavy as they might look and more importantly, they are not "stiff, ear hooks are also fairly comfortable.
Also, they don't particularly retain shapes and seem to be freer and tangle free.
The quality on the cables is good, it's been almost two weeks, and I haven't seen any quality issues come out.
The mic quality on calls is decent, very serviceable.
Don't expect upgrade cables to change the tonality of your IEMs.
These don't have a chin-slider, I would have loved to see that.
(THE COOLEST PART, they include a free hard case and tbf it's actually a good case better than some listed even for around 300INR out there)
Tuned like a blessing formy ears, Go for it
I use the moondrop free dsp mini with my hidizs mp145 planar iems and the response is amazing. Micro details are good mids are just right. The bass is tight. You'll love it.
After searching for around 7 days, I finally ordered these. I have received them just an hour ago. Will update the review in few days. Initial impressions are too good.
