I mentioned how the Symphonium Helios is already a critical success and has sold many units, now I understand why. There's not just one good reason, but several as listed above, and to me the biggest takeaway here is that this set made me re-think what a fewer number of driver units can do in a market increasingly dominated by IEMs that fit in many more. Indeed, the whole "more drivers is better" mindset has resulted in some poor engineering, weak tuning choices, and a general brute force approach whereby some companies have even artificially added in drivers to increase the count for marketing purposes. By going with just four drivers here, Symphonium Audio have certainly bucked the trend.

There there was the part where these are all balanced armature drivers too, and I am confident that blind tests would result in most people assuming the Helios has a dynamic driver or two in there, and perhaps even some e-stat tweeters. Such is the nature of the bass response here, that I've only heard two other sets using BA drivers here that surpass it for my preference, and both cost significantly more. In fact, one of those two is the Subtonic Storm that feels like the Helios on steroids, and Subtonic deserves at least partial credit for making the Helios what it is. There's clever engineering ongoing here in addition to some compromises too, with the end result being a highly resolving set that is tuned well and sounds great.

The caveat is that all this is only valid if the large set fits your ears, and even then there has to be a good fit/seal to make the most of the Symphonium Helios. This is a large set no matter how large your ears are, and I would really like to see Symphonium Audio provide STL files, as previously discussed, so potential customers could 3D print dummy shells and see how the fit is before committing to a purchase. After all, $1100 is not an easy pill to swallow even if you can comfortably afford it. The set also needs a legitimate portable DAC/amp at least, and it's still not going to be considered a top-of-the-line (TOTL) IEM even if it may well be your end game set. There are small things here and there which keep it from being so. For example, I mentioend the aforementioned bass limitations that other sets manage better. Then there's the extended treble response which the likes of Elysian Acoustic Labs do in a more natural and musical manner. The Symphonium Helios feels like a V12 engine that needs some chassis work and perhaps a refined fuel injector system, but there's enough in this hot pocket rocket to easily warrant a recommendation.