Symphonium Meteor

Name: Symphonium Meteor
Brand: Symphonium

Four balanced armatures tuned to hit like a subwoofer, in a shell small enough to vanish — if the sealed shell agrees with your ears.

A collaboration between Symphonium Audio and fellow Singaporean brand Nightjar Acoustics, who designed the stock cable — sold and reviewed under both names. It is Symphonium's small, cheap one: four balanced armatures like the $1,099 Helios, in roughly half the shell. Not the later Giant ($699, 2025) or Titan ($999), both of which are vented; the Meteor is not. It carries Symphonium's PHAT single-bore tubing but, contrary to a common mix-up, not their FLAT linear-impedance technology.

OverreviewIn-Ear Monitor13 sourcesas of 2026-09-05

Symphonium Audio spent 2021 making a name with the Helios, a $1,099 four-driver reference monitor that reviewers loved and a lot of buyers physically could not wear. The Meteor was the answer to both halves of that: the same four balanced armatures, packed into a shell about half the size using a new single-bore tubing scheme the company calls PHAT, at $599 — and tuned in the opposite direction, toward fun.

The result is one of the more unusual things at the price: a set of tiny armature drivers asked to do the job of a big dynamic driver, with roughly ten decibels of bass and a spike of air on top. Reviewers broadly enjoyed it. What they could not settle is whether the warmth that comes with all that bass is the point of the thing or the cost of it — and whether a shell with no vent at all is the most comfortable in-ear they own or unwearable.

The overview

A deliberately coloured, bass-led four-armature in-ear that reviewers describe with unusual consistency and rate with unusual spread. The agreement is firm on the physical object and on the extremes: the machined aluminium build is excellent, the shell is genuinely small, imaging and layering are a real strength, and the tuning is not neutral and never claims to be — about ten decibels of bass shelf, a dip through the lower and mid treble, and a large boost in the air region. Two things split the field. First, that low end: one camp hears armature bass convincingly impersonating a dynamic driver, the other hears a low end that dominates the record and thickens everything above it, and the same divide reappears in the midrange, where vocals sit behind the bass by an amount the measurement rigs themselves cannot agree on. Second, comfort — the shell has no pressure-relief vent, so listeners either forget it is there or cannot get a seal without a long session of tip-rolling. Nobody argues about resolution: it is competent for the money and not more than that.

Where they agree

The machined aluminium shell and the Nightjar cable are genuinely premium — no source disputes the build
Imaging and layering are precise, and surprisingly so given how warm the tuning is
It is not neutral and does not pretend to be: roughly 10 dB of bass shelf and a large boost in the air region
Treble extension is a highlight — several reviewers call it the best-executed air at the price
Resolution is merely competent for $599; rivals at the price retrieve more detail
Soundstage is average — depth is decent, scale is not
It wants a bit of power; a balanced dongle or DAP suits it better than a laptop headphone jack

Where they split

Bass quantity: an impressive dynamic-driver impression from armatures, or a low end that dominates the mix
Midrange: warm and natural, or vocals pushed behind the bass — the measurement rigs themselves disagree on how recessed the upper mids are
Comfort: one of the smallest, most wearable in-ears going, or a sealed shell that causes pressure build-up and needs long tip-rolling
Whether the treble's air lift reads as sparkle or as a slightly artificial zing on the wrong recording
Whether the whole package is worth $599 given the resolution on offer

The verdict, mappedEvery aspect on one axis — criticized to praised. Hover a point for its spread; click to jump.

CriticizedNeutralPraised

By aspect — in detail

Bass

Contested · 10 src

Sources split on quantity, not quality. Everyone measures and hears roughly the same ~10 dB shelf that lifts sub-bass and mid-bass together, and almost everyone is impressed that balanced armatures produce it at all. The disagreement is whether it is judged tasteful or excessive — and the split does not track experience level, it tracks how much low end each listener wants sitting in front of the mix.

Measured

Two independent IEC-711-class rigs land on the same number. Precogvision: "At its deepest point, it packs about 10dB of amplitude, and there is a generous thickness from 100-200 Hz as well." Animagus, measuring on an IEC60318-4 setup, reads the same 10 dB but stresses where it goes — "the 10 dB bass boost in Meteor boosts not only the sub-bass but much more mid-bass compared to Helios and Triton". On a B&K 5128, Fc-Construct later noted the practical consequence for a sealed armature design: the shelf depends on a perfect seal in a way a vented dynamic driver's does not.

Where it splits

armature bass that convincingly does a dynamic driver's job — deep, fast, and kept clear of the mids64%

“the Meteor puts on a pretty damn impressive show for bass given the tiny drivers it's packing”
Headphones.com (Precogvision)

too much of it — the mid-bass in particular is overdone and casts a shadow over everything above36%

“Meteor could’ve done with slightly lesser mid-bass boost and a bit more ear gain.”
twister6 (Animagus)

Mids

Contested · 10 src

The most evenly split aspect here, and the one where the measurements themselves disagree. One camp hears a warm, natural, unforced midrange; the other hears vocals pushed behind the bass by an ear gain that never quite arrives. Both are describing the same curve — the rigs differ on how recessed that curve actually is.

Measured

Animagus measures 6 dB of ear gain peaking at 2.5 kHz; Precogvision sees "a slight recession from 1-3kHz to the way the Meteor rises for its pinna compensation"; Andrew Park, on a GRAS RA0402, calls the same region "fairly normal". The lower midrange is not in dispute — every source calls it clean, and nobody reports mid-bass bleed.

⚠ vs. listeners — The two bare IEC-711 couplers read the upper mids as recessed against reference; the GRAS RA0402, which has an anthropometric pinna and so a different pinna-gain baseline, reads them as normal. That is a rig-class disagreement, not a unit-to-unit one, and the subjective camps above line up with it almost exactly — which is a reason to trust your own ears here rather than any single graph.

Where it splits

the pinna gain is normal enough — mids come through warm, natural and unforced49%

“I also wouldn’t call the Meteor neutral, even though the ear gain up to 3khz is what I would describe as fairly normal”
Headphones.com (Andrew Park / Resolve)

vocals sit behind the bass — the ear gain is short of reference and instruments lose definition51%

“Meteor has 6dB ear gain at the highest point at 2.5kHz. This though more forward than V-shaped IEMs is considered recessed when compared to reference accuracy.”
twister6 (Animagus)

Treble

Moderate · 10 src

Broad agreement on both the shape and the appeal: relaxed through the lower and mid treble, then a large lift in the air region that reviewers repeatedly call the Meteor's signature trick at this price. The recurring reservation is that the boost is not a natural one — a minority find it zingy or sizzly on the wrong recording — and several note that tips move it.

“I'm fairly confident that there are not any IEMs at this price point that have their treble done like the Meteor does”
Headphones.com (Precogvision)

“The treble extends to the top octave without any brittleness or sharpness”
Headfonia (Yagiz)

“It’s a bit recessed in lower-treble and mid-treble but has north of neutral airy boosts in upper-treble, making it for a exciting and airy listen, if not a bit sizzly at times.”
twister6 (Animagus)

“I think some may find this level of air to be a bit zingy or fatiguing, but this is also where tip rolling achieved a nice middle ground for me”
Headphones.com (Andrew Park / Resolve)

“Incredible treble that is airy and lively”
Head-Fi showcase (domq422, 4.5/5)

Measured

All three rigs agree on the shape. Precogvision: "It is slightly dipped in the lower-treble around 5-6kHz, again slightly recessed in the mid-treble, and then boosted strongly somewhere after, say, 14kHz." Animagus has the air extending to 20 kHz; Andrew Park's GRAS reading simply shows more upper-treble air than the SA6 Ultra he compared it against. Read the very top of the 711 graphs with care — Precogvision flags that "There is a resonance peak at 8kHz" on his coupler, above which the data is not reliable.

Tonality

Moderate · 10 src

Nobody calls it neutral, including the manufacturer, and nobody disputes the ingredients: big bass, relaxed lower treble, boosted air. What varies is the label — U-shaped, W-shaped, V-shaped, down-tilted, warm-and-slightly-dark have all been used for the same curve — and how much warmth each listener will accept. The clear majority read the colouration as deliberate and well-judged; a minority hear it as veiled.

“It also has a bass boost that’s distinct and very punchy sounding, so for those looking for ‘slam’, this has it.”
Headphones.com (Andrew Park / Resolve)

“The Meteor has a warm and balanced sound that leans slightly dark.”
Audio Discourse (Antdroid)

“The Meteor’s bass, however, casts a large shadow. I find the Meteor as a whole to be thick and steeped in warmth.”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

“Overall muffled sound.”
Head-Fi showcase (Leonarfd, 3/5)

Measured

Symphonium markets it as a "U-shaped" signature and the graphs support that reading: a large low shelf and a large air lift with a relaxed stretch between them. The naming disagreement between reviewers is vocabulary, not data — Animagus's "bass boosted W-shaped tending U-shaped" and Fc-Construct's "down-tilted tonality" describe the same measured curve.

Detail

Moderate · 7 src

The most consistent criticism in the corpus, and one the positive reviewers make too: resolution is fine for $599 and no better. Sources tie it to the same cause — the bass shelf plus the dipped lower treble — and several name price-class rivals that resolve more. Headfonia is the lone dissenter, and its praise is for speed rather than retrieval.

“the Meteor is not the most detailed IEM to my ears for $600”
Headphones.com (Precogvision)

“Its resolving ability doesn’t strike me as anything special despite the presence of a mid/upper treble boost.”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

“Because of that it isn’t the top performer in its segment when it comes to detail retrieval”
twister6 (Animagus)

“This tonal balance, however, does shield itself a little bit from being clear and as resolving as I'd like”
Audio Discourse (Antdroid)

“it lacks details especially considering the price that it commands for itself”
Head-Fi showcase (monkonomics, 4/5)

Measured

Both 711 rigs point at the same mechanism rather than a driver limitation: a ~10 dB bass shelf sitting under a dipped 5–8 kHz region reduces the contrast that reads as detail. Animagus attributes it specifically to the recessed upper-midrange and lower treble pushing instruments back, which he notes also buys the extra stage depth listeners like.

Imaging

Strong consensus · 6 src

The clearest point of agreement after build. Every source that addresses it — including the two most critical ones — calls placement and layering precise, and several are explicitly surprised by it given how warm the tuning is.

“It is surprisingly open sounding and notes have a pleasant palatableness to them on the stage”
Headphones.com (Precogvision)

“The Meteor has surprisingly good imaging and separation for being a bassier, and darker tuning.”
Audio Discourse (Antdroid)

“its imaging and layering ability has a commendable precision to it that prevents the Meteor from feeling congested”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

“Imaging and depth layering on the other hand are pretty nice for its asking price.”
twister6 (Animagus)

“Imaging is very spot on.”
Head-Fi showcase (Leonarfd, 3/5)

Soundstage

Moderate · 7 src

Rated average, with mild spread. Depth is the part reviewers credit — a consequence of the pushed-back upper mids — while width and scale are repeatedly called ordinary. It is not a reason to buy the Meteor and, for the listeners who want a big room, it is a reason not to.

“Meteor has a pretty nice soundstage with good depth for its asking price.”
twister6 (Animagus)

“The Meteor have excellent imaging and a stage that is moderately sized.”
Headfonia (Yagiz)

“Soundstage is similarly middle-of-the-road for me.”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

“Soundstage is okay, more like a studio than an avenue in size.”
Head-Fi showcase (Leonarfd, 3/5)

“the staging is not large or 3D, so not too immersive”
RedditRecs (r/iems owner, aggregated)

Dynamics

Moderate · 4 src

Praised for punch and speed, with one substantial caveat: the sense of drive is concentrated in the low end. Reviewers who listen for slam rate it highly; the one who listens for dynamic contrast across the whole range finds it narrow.

“it may be one of the fastest, most dynamic IEMs under the 750-mark, despite its unorthodox tuning”
Headfonia (Yagiz)

“Bombastic bass presentation that's also very fast”
Head-Fi showcase (domq422, 4.5/5)

“The Meteor’s dynamic ability tends to be limited to the bass.”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

Comfort

Contested · 10 src

The sharpest split in this record, and it has one nameable cause: the shell has no pressure-relief vent. Reviewers who get a seal easily describe one of the smallest and most wearable in-ears at any price — that small shell was the entire design brief after the Helios. Reviewers who do not describe pressure build-up, a nozzle angle that fights their ear, and long sessions of tip-rolling. This is a try-before-you-buy set, and it splits close to evenly.

Measured

The mechanism is a design fact, not an opinion: the Meteor's shell is sealed, with no pressure-relief vent — Symphonium added venting on the later Giant and Titan. Fc-Construct, measuring the Giant against the Meteor on a B&K 5128, noted the knock-on effect for sound as well as comfort: "its dynamic drivers allow it to be less sensitive to having a perfect seal than the Meteor’s balanced armatures". Owners who report a pressure problem also report the sound suffering with it, so a poor seal costs twice.

Where it splits

tiny and ergonomic — it disappears in the ear, including in small ears52%

“Meteor on the other hand has much smaller shells and the nozzle is the right size, which allows the shells to disappear in ears like mine.”
twister6 (Animagus)

no vent — pressure build-up and a seal that takes serious tip-rolling to find48%

“it doesn’t have any venting holes for its 4 balanced armatures (BA) set-up so be aware if you find the pressure build-up from inserting IEMs to be uncomfortable”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

Isolation

Moderate · 2 src

Not much discussed, but the physics is unambiguous and the two sources who address it agree: a fully sealed shell with no vent isolates well. That is the flip side of the comfort split — the same design choice buys quiet and costs pressure relief.

“it isn’t the top performer in its segment when it comes to detail retrieval but is no slouch in isolation”
twister6 (Animagus)

“it doesn’t have any venting holes for its 4 balanced armatures (BA) set-up so be aware if you find the pressure build-up from inserting IEMs to be uncomfortable”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

Build

Strong consensus · 5 src

Unanimously strong. A single block of heat-treated aluminium, a well-regarded Nightjar cable, and a package reviewers repeatedly call above its price. The only complaint anyone raises is cosmetic — the laser etching on the faceplate could be crisper.

“the shells of the Meteor are made fully out of metal and feel extremely sturdy”
Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)

“excellent build quality as the shells are all made using AL6061 aluminium alloy”
twister6 (Animagus)

“the Meteor’s compact size is a major advantage, providing a comfortable fit even for those with smaller ears”
Headfonia (Yagiz)

Measured

T6 heat-treated AL6061 aluminium shell, anodised red faceplate over a black interior, spring-loaded 0.78 mm 2-pin sockets, and a 26 AWG Type 2 Litz OCC copper cable made for it by Nightjar Acoustics in 3.5 mm or 4.4 mm. One-year limited warranty.

Value

Moderate · 9 src

Most sources conclude it earns its price by being a good version of a tuning almost nobody else attempts, rather than by out-resolving its rivals — several say so in exactly those terms. The dissent is real and comes from two directions: one reviewer is simply ambivalent about it, and one cannot see $599 in it at all. Used prices around $350 change the calculation for a lot of buyers.

“The Meteor is a good IEM. It's not great, and it's nowhere near bad. It's solid.”
Audio Discourse (Antdroid)

“The Meteor offers one of the best bass performances I’ve heard in the competitive sub-$750 price range.”
Headfonia (Yagiz)

“warm, bassy set with great upper treble extension”
RedditRecs (r/iems owner, aggregated)

“I have big problems understanding the $600 price.”
Head-Fi showcase (Leonarfd, 3/5)

Best for

Listeners who want a big, physical low end without giving up treble extension
Small ears — the shell was designed specifically to fix the Helios's size problem
Electronic, hip-hop and rock libraries, where the bass shelf and the air lift both pay off
Anyone who finds Harman-style, upper-mid-forward in-ears fatiguing or shouty
People who want an all-metal build and a good stock cable in the box

Skip if

You index on vocal clarity and want the midrange forward
You are chasing maximum detail retrieval at this price — several rivals resolve more
You want a wide, holographic stage
You have had pressure or seal trouble with unvented in-ears before, or cannot audition first
You want neutral: this is a deliberately coloured tuning and every source says so

At a glance

↳Consensus

71 / 100weighted mean across 13 sources — an aggregate, not a single verdict

↳Type

IEM

↳Sources

13 · 5 classes

↳As of

2026-09-05

↳Owner rating

4.8/5 · 20small, self-selected sample — skews high

Where to buy

Sources13 reviews across 5 classes. Weight reflects expertise × independence; echoes collapsed.

s1Symphonium Meteor Review - The Spice of Sound (with the reviewer's own clone IEC-711 measurements)Headphones.com (Precogvision)Editorial2022-11-28w1.00
s2Symphonium Meteor Measurements and Impressions (GRAS RA0402)Headphones.com (Andrew Park / Resolve)Measurement2022-11-10w1.00
s3Symphonium x Nightjar Meteor Extended Impressions Review: BAs for BassheadsHeadphones.com (Fc-Construct)Critical2023-09-27w0.95
s4Symphonium Audio Meteor ReviewHeadfonia (Yagiz)Editorial2023-10-03w0.85
s5Brand Spotlight - Symphonium Audio (Helios, Triton and Meteor), measured on an IEC60318-4 rigtwister6 (Animagus)Measurement2023-06-29w1.00
s6Symphonium x Nightjar Meteor ReviewAudio Discourse (Antdroid)Editorial2023-07-13w0.90
s7The Meteor crash landed, mini review. (3/5)Head-Fi showcase (Leonarfd)Critical2023-09-13w0.80
s8From my biggest disappointment of 2023, to the biggest surprise of 2024 (4.5/5)Head-Fi showcase (domq422)Owner2024-02-06w0.65
s9The Symphonium Meteor: wonderful sunset drive with the windows rolled down (4/5)Head-Fi showcase (monkonomics)Owner2026-01-08w0.60
s10Symphonium Audio Meteor - all Reddit reviews in one place (75% positive of 8)RedditRecsCommunityaffiliate2026-09-05w0.80
s11Symphonium Giant: The Experiment - Meteor vs Giant graphed on a B&K 5128Headphones.com (Fc-Construct)Measurement2025-07-31w0.50
s12Head-Fi showcase star ratings - 16 owner ratings, mean 4.19/5Head-Fi showcaseOwner2026-09-05w0.50
s13Meteor - Small Size, Massive Sound (manufacturer specification and price)Symphonium AudioEditorialsponsored2026-09-05w0.10

Limitations & method

This is a read of where the reviews land as of September 2026. Most were written between late 2022 and 2023, and the $600 in-ear field has moved a long way since.
The two owner-rating pools disagree: the shop where the headline 4.8 comes from has 20 ratings, while Head-Fi's 16 reviews average 4.19. Both are small, self-selected samples of people who chose to buy it, so treat either as a mood rather than a measurement.
How the midrange sits is the one thing even the test rigs argue about — a bare coupler and a rig with an artificial pinna read this in-ear's vocal region differently, so your own ears are the deciding vote here more than usual.
Comfort is not a detail on this one. The shell is completely sealed, so whether it works for you depends on your ear and your tips more than on anything a reviewer can tell you — try before you buy if you can.
Prices move. It lists at $599 and has been out of stock at both the maker and its main US shop for a while; a dealer or two still had it near $549, and owners regularly pass them on around $350.
Tips change this in-ear audibly — several reviewers reached for wider bores to settle the treble or tame the bass, so a set that sounds wrong out of the box may not stay that way.

Consensus-of-sources synthesis · as of 2026-09-05 · not a measurement verdict or ground truth.