In this video I’m talking about the Thieaudio Cypher, a single dynamic driver headphone I’ve had in-house for a bit. At the time of recording it’s an early release tied to Kickstarter—$399 retail, but $329 as an early bird—and my unit was a sample from Linsoul. I go over the unboxing, the included leather case, the stock 3.5mm dual-ended fabric cable (not usually my favorite, but totally usable), and the overall build. The big headline: this thing looks and feels extremely premium—honestly “$3,000 headphone” levels of pride-of-ownership—plus it’s easy to drive and very comfortable on my head. Sound-wise, I like it a lot, especially the midrange clarity and that “X factor” (soundstage/overall presentation). My nitpicks are pretty specific: it could use a touch more sub-bass, and there’s a 4.5k-ish spike that I’d recommend EQ’ing down. The treble also feels a little dry/monitor-like—pleasant, but not as juicy and punchy as I personally prefer. I compare it against sets like the HD550, D1, H600, E3, Fluxen, and even Tungsten to show what’s going on, and I share that with a little EQ and pad/position variance, the Cypher can land in a really strong spot—especially at $329.