Finally. Inner Peace.
Two years ago, a thief stole my whole setup-my Hiby R6 Pro (2018) and my Focal Elear. I was so traumatized that I rage-quit the hobby entirely.
Fast forward to recently: the itch came back. I tried to be casual. I got the Meze 109 Pro for home, dusted off my ancient Hidizs MS4 Mermaid, and ran them off a Questyle M15c dongle on my phone. It was a great setup.
But then, the audiophile brain-rot kicked in.
Using my phone with the M15 was fine, but I missed the pure, uninterrupted experience of a dedicated player. No emails, no texts, no distractions. Just music. So, I went a little crazy and bought the Onix XM2 Tocata.
Now, if you know anything about the Tocata, it's an absolute powerhouse. And this is where the classic audiophile mental gymnastics began.
I looked at this flagship DAP, looked down at my old Hidizs MS4 IEMs, and realized I was basically putting budget supermarket tires on a hypercar. The Onix had no right to exist if I didn't give it a partner worthy of its power.
So, to justify my expensive new DAP, I obviously had to buy endgame IEMs.
Logic!
The Verdict: The Monarch MKIV plugged into the Onix Tocata is an absolute out-of-body experience.
The detail retrieval is stupid, the bass texture is pure filth, and the stage makes me forget I'm wearing IEMs.
It took two years and a lot of questionable financial decisions, but I am finally back, completely decoupled from my phone, and firmly stuck at the bottom of the rabbithole.
Happy listening, everyone!