Fit and Comfort
Seen above is the right channel of the Elysian Pilgrim placed into an artificial ear mold with the included size M ear tip installed. I have average-sized ears, and the ear mold above represents my own experiences well enough as a proxy. Size M silicone tips are my go-to for testing, since foam tips are not included by some brands, as is the case here. I also mentioned before how I had a challenge getting a consistent seal with the stock ear tips on the Pilgrim. I had to fiddle around to get a decent seal but, slowly over time, I noticed the bass impact to be lessening before I eventually had to re-fit the IEMs in my ears. Sometimes this took 20 min, sometimes under 5 min. Your mileage may vary though, but I know I am not the only one to have issues with the stock tips here. Thankfully I do have a lot of other options at my disposal and I ended up using my go-to Softears Ultra Clear tips which worked like a charm and allowed for good isolation consistently. The rest of the user experience was quite good, such as the average-sized shells that have an ergonomic shape on the inside and fit comfortably in my concha. There are multiple points of contact to help spread the weight of the metal shells—8.7 g per side—more evenly, and the cable also provides additional support with the ear hooks and the cinch. The cable connectors can be rotated easily, thus allowing you to also position the ear hooks in a more comfortable manner around and behind the ears.
Audio Performance
Audio Hardware
Now we get to the drivers and tuning where Elysian Acoustic Labs decides to showcase its strengths and be more transparent about things. The Pilgrim is a hybrid set of IEMs in that it uses two different types of drivers. The bass is handled by a 9.2 mm dynamic driver that uses an aluminium-magnesium alloy diaphragm with a liquid silicone rubber (LSR) surround that the brand says allows for deeper sub-bass rumble and is sized to optimize bass impact and speed. A well-regarded Sonion 2300 series balanced armature driver is responsible for the mids whereas the Sonion E50 dual tweeter caters to the treble response. This results in a 1 DD/3 BA configuration in a 3-way crossover, and the drivers are placed in a 3D printed acoustic chamber that accounts for minimal signal distortion and accurate phase coherency. The Elysian Pilgrim is fairly easy to drive with a low rated impedance of 9 Ω (@ 1 kHz) and sensitivity of 101dB @1 kHz @100 mV—thanks for using non-standard units, Elysian. You really don't need the 4.4 mm balanced cable unless you simply prefer to use the larger plug, a single-ended cable terminating in 3.5 mm TRS will be plenty fine. Just get a clean source with a low output impedance and call it a day.
Frequency Measurement and Listening
I will mention that I have a general preference for a warm-neutral signature with a slightly elevated bass, smooth treble range, detailed mids, and good tonal separation. I also generally prefer instrumental music over vocals, with favored genres including jazz and classical music.
Our reproducible testing methodology begins with a calibrated IEC711 audio coupler/artificial ear that IEMs can feed into enough for decent isolation. The audio coupler feeds into a USB sound card, which in turn goes to a laptop that has ARTA and REW running and the earphones connected to the laptop through a capable and transparent DAC/amp—I used the Questyle M15 here. I begin with an impulse measurement to test for signal fidelity, calibrate the sound card and channel output, account for floor noise, and finally test the frequency response of each channel separately. Octave smoothing is at the 1/12th setting, which nets a good balance of detail and noise not being identified as useful data. Also, the default tuning was used for testing, and no app-based settings were chosen unless specifically mentioned. Each sample of interest is tested thrice with separate mounts to account for any fit issues, and an average is taken of the three individual measurements for statistical accuracy. For IEMs, I am also using the appropriate ear mold fitted to the audio coupler for a separate test to compare how the IEMs fare when installed in a pinna geometry instead of just the audio coupler. The raw data is then exported from REW and plotted in OriginPro for easier comparison.
I know it might be hard to focus on anything else but that bass shelf but let's hold off long enough so I can get some disclaimers out of the way. The IEC711 is such that you can't really compare these results with most other test setups, especially those using a head and torso simulator (HATS). The raw dB numbers are also quite contingent on the set volume, gain levels, and sensitivity of the system. What is more useful information is how the left and right channels work across the rated frequency response in the Elysian Pilgrim. The left channel was separately tested from the right one, and colored differently for contrast. I did my best to ensure an identical fit for both inside the IEC711 orifice, so note how the two channels are quite similar across the entire useful 20 Hz to 20 kHz range! Keep in mind that this is a randomly chosen retail unit and this is all the more encouraging that all retail units will be similarly impressive. Elysian says the drivers are carefully handpicked with consistency in mind and then tested to be within a +/-1 dB tolerance. Note that this doesn't explicitly say the tests are done for the finished product to be within this same tight range, but so far so good anyway! Measurements taken after 50 hours of testing, which included these playing a mix of various songs as well as white or pink noise and sine sweeps, showed no difference. There was no perceived burn-in effect thus, and none was measurable, either. The response with the anthropomorphic pinna in place matched the ideal scenario in the coupler quite well, and here too I need to point out the insertion depth can change how the resonance peak (matched at 8 kHz) and frequency response thereafter behaves, even with the fact that these couplers aren't the most accurate in this range.
Here is the average frequency response for both channels of the Elysian Pilgrim plotted against my personal target taken from VSG.squig.link, which also gives you an idea of my personal preferences to better correlate any possible biases. The tuning of a set of headphones or earphones does not have to match my target as long as it is tuned with some direction, makes sense, and is executed well. After all, no one set will appeal to everyone, and having different options is what makes this hobby so interesting and hard to quantify. This is in addition to a second graph using a newer target that's based on a more scientific methodology involving a -10 dB tilt (-1 dB/octave) applied to the diffuse field target for the newer, more reliable B&K 5128 but then compensated for my exact 711 coupler instead. Do scroll down to the targets in my database linked above and see the new 5128 section to the left where you can click on the yellow question mark for a brief primer. The bottom line is this target is closer to what many people are likely to prefer out of IEMs and headphones alike. I have chosen to plot this graph with the frequency response normalized/compensated to the target to make it easier to see how the Elysian Pilgrim is tuned.
I didn't want to overwhelm you with graphs, but I will say that anyone familiar with IEMs tuned to the Harman in-ear target should probably click here. This makes it quite evident that the Pilgrim goes for a very Harman-like bass shelf and mids, before deviating from it for the better. The first thing which struck me is the sub-bass on the set is incredible, almost to the point where I would recommend it purely for EDM music afficionados. Elysian Acoustic Labs did promise that sub-bass reach and impact which the Pilgrim more than delivers on. Some of this can be attributed to the fantastic extension going below 20 Hz, but there are plenty of other IEMs which do this without the associated engagement factor. You will definitely hear a rumble in your ears as a result, and yet this is a double-edged sword because it makes the mid-bass less punchy as a result. I've made sure to test this with different ear tips to rule out that variable, and note that the measurements are taken with the stock tips as always where the seal is very good in the metal orifice, so I feel confident in that the mid-bass coming off slightly soft is more an IEM thing in this case. Notice the tonality with the bass shelf predominantly catering to the sub-bass and now it will make sense too. This isn't to say the Pilgrim doesn't give you good bass, just that I wouldn't say the famous Elysian bass sound is felt here—kick drums in particular feel less dynamic and punchy. Now imagine this with a less-than-satisfactory seal, and it becomes even more obvious!
In contrast, I thought the lower mids sounded fine despite also seemingly lean-measuring based on the graphs. Male vocals come off quite natural and most brass instruments shine as well. I do wish there was more body to the fundamentals though, although timbre felt natural enough to help offset this. Then I realized the ear gain was happening earlier than usual for IEMs; this can be good if you have a lot of bass to try and balance out, but the Pilgrim isn't really a mid-bass centric set. The end result is some female vocals—Beyonce, for example—came off slightly nasal. I do appreciate the slightly relaxed ear gain though, this helps make the Pilgrim a more pleasant listen if you are sensitive to shouty vocals. On the other hand, that 5-6 kHz emphasis is quite real and I noticed this particularly with piano key and violin harmonics sounding slightly off-key. Thankfully it's not enough to disrupt the tonal balance, especially noting as how I do perceive the 5 kHz peak more than most. Everything thereafter is again down the smooth road, including a well-controlled treble output. It handles complex tracks well enough and is not going to be fatiguing, but that also means the Pilgrim misses out on the sparkle and air in the treble which helps add a sense of added space and detail to some IEMs. The end result is a fairly average soundstage in width and depth, with imaging being crystal clear in a cone up front that starts to get slightly hazy around the ears. I'd say this is probably not the set for acoustic jazz or classical music, but does quite well for country and hip-hop tracks.
Elysian Acoustic Labs typically operates in a price range where there are a lot fewer entries, purely because the market for those expensive IEMs is quite small. The Pilgrim changes that, however, now finding itself in a highly competitive field. One such recent entry is the MOONDROP x Crinacle DUSK, a collaboration effort using a 2 DD/2 BA/2micro-planar driver configuration and a novel DSP cable to put out a variety of different tuning signatures for you to try out. In particular, the default DSP profile is quite excellent, and I'd argue is a benchmark for IEM tuning regardless of the cost. Things are not perfect though, with a cable that isn't the best to use and upper treble emphasis that can be annoying. I'd say the Pilgrim with its metal shells will also be more reassuring given MOONDROP's build quality history, and it certainly has better sub-bass, but I honestly can't recommend it over the DUSK for anyone looking for a single set of IEMs that goes well for a wider variety of music genres. Then there's the 1 DD/7 BA AFUL Performer 8 which builds upon the innovative Performer 5 to put out a controlled, albeit overly damped sound. It offers more acoustic engineering technology built perhaps on the back of less impressive drivers. The end result is a more sterile sound than I'd like for the money, especially when the Performer 5 gives you most of the user experience for a significantly lower cost. A more direct comparison would be the ThieAudio Hype 4, a 2 DD/4 BA set, which uses the exact same dual tweeters paired with another set of Sonion mids BA drivers and a push-pull style dual DD configuration which executes the mid-bass far better than the Pilgrim in my opinion. It also does not have the excess 5-6 kHz energy that the Pilgrim does, although here too I'd be remiss to not mention the metal shells and that sub-bass magic that Elysian has managed to offer here. The end result is that the Pilgrim feels like a set that specializes in some use cases, but is less of an all-rounder for the money where there are some truly excellent recently released options.
