As the IEM market has continued to grow, 2025 was a huge year for flagships with a wide range of unique IEMs each using different driver types and designs to achieve incredible sonic performance. Driver count was the name of the game in 2025 with 9, 11, 13, and even 19 driver designs filling up the top of line IEM slots category. Does having the most drivers make for the best IEMs? What about the most driver types? We’ll take a look at seven recent flagship IEMs to see what makes these some of the best IEMs in the world.

Build and Design

While in most cases, the visual appeal may be a secondary concern to the sound, with this level of price, the total package, from the visuals to the materials to the pack-ins needs to be top of the line.

Thieaudio Valhalla - $1999

While many brands target $4000 or more for their flagship IEMs, Thieaudio released their current flagship, Valhalla, at $1999. Valhalla features 19 balanced armature drivers inside of a titanium shell. The package here isn’t as impressive as some of the others, but Valhalla’s package is still solid, featuring  a carrying case, eartips, and the EliteNoire cable. EliteNoir is a silver-plated copper cable that features a modular plug system with 4.4mm and 3.5mm options.

Astell&Kern x 64 Audio XIO - $3000

XIO is a 10-driver hybrid evolution of 64 Audio’s Nio IEMs which ups the driver count from Nio’s 9-driver hybrid design by adding another dynamic driver, bringing the final count to 2 dynamics drivers and 8 balanced armatures. XIO uses 64 Audio’s Apex modules to provide tuning and air pressure control for listeners. XIO also ups the visual appeal from 64 Audio’s usual designs, with a polished stainless steel shell and an upgraded cable specifically designed for XIO.

7th Acoustics Asteria - $3800

While we got our hands on the contents of the 7th Acoustics Asteria package, we haven’t seen the full original box and presentation, so we can’t say exactly how cool the whole package is when it comes together. The IEM itself features 13 drivers: 12 balanced armatures and 1 dynamic. The shell is primarily aluminum with a ceramic coating, and the faceplate is ceramic covered in tempered glass that provides a very cool three dimensional, holographic effect. Asteria isn’t exceptionally large, and provides a good fit in this category when compared to other high driver count IEMs in this category.

In the box you also get the premium LYRA cable terminated in 4.4mm, a genuine leather case, and a really generous selection of eartips (OEM, SpinFit, Final E Series, and Dekoni Foam). There’s also basics like a cleaning cloth and brush, along with a 4.4mm to 3.5mm adapter.

Volk Etoile - $3999

Etoile is a 10-driver quadbrid, but this time without a bone conduction driver. Instead Etoile features 1 dynamic driver, 4 balanced armatures, 4 ESTs, and a single specially designed Magnetostatic tweeter. The shell is ceramic with a gold outline to the faceplate, and the included package for the Founder Edition is top of the line, with high quality materials, a bespoke unboxing experience, and countless nice little touches throughout the experience. The included ARC cable features multiple types of silver, along with gold, copper, and palladium.

Odin MK2 - $4299

Odin MK2, Empire Ears’ follow-up to the original Odin features an 11-driver Quadbrid configuration, with 2 dynamics drivers, 5 balanced armatures, 2 ESTs, and 2 bone conduction drivers. The package has a very high end flavor, with a sleek unboxing experience for the included case, cable, eartips, and other case candy. The included Kvasir cable features gold, silver, and copper conductors woven together in a unique design. The cable has a black cloth wrap, similar to the cables for Empire Ears other flagship offerings like the Raven and original Odin.

Noble Kronos - $4500

Kronos is another quadbrid, this time with 9 drivers, featuring 2 dynamic drivers, 4 balanced armatures, 2 ESTs, and 1 bone conduction driver. Kronos features a titanium shell with a Damascus titanium faceplate. In terms purely of build quality and materials, Kronos is the clear winner, though the package might not have the same sort of boutique luxury appeal as those of the Grand Maestro Anniversary and Volk Etoile. The included cable is excellent, and items like the case may provide to be more practical than their more luxurious counterparts in other IEMs.

FATfreq Grand Maestro Anniversary Limited Edition - $5490

The FATfreq Grand Maestro Anniversary is a 13-driver tribrid, featuring 1 dynamic driver, 8 balanced armatures, and 4 ESTs. The design also features the NOAH tuning module system that allows you to adjust the bass level and soundstage of the IEMs. There’s also the vocal tuning switch which adds a boost to the upper mids. The package is absolutely top tier, with the IEMs packages with the cable, eartips, and other accessories packed in a polished wooden jewelry box with built-in humidity control.

Sound and Performance

While there are a number of similarities in the sound signature – each of these IEMs provides strong detail retrieval, with excellent imaging, separation, and spatial qualities – there are also a number of distinctions in the sound presentation.

Thieaudio Valhalla offers the most fundamentally simple presentation: a classic tuning target masterfully executed with a single driver type. The bass is slightly elevated, with a clean, textured sound. The midrange is similarly clean, with just a slight warmth, and the treble is well extended and resolving without feeling strident or bright. The soundstage is large, with a nice body and weight to instruments and voices. 

64 Audio XIO offers a similar experience to Valhalla, but with added emphasis in the low end delivered with 2 dynamic drivers. The bass is hard hitting, fast, and well-textured, while the mids and highs deliver clear, balanced details and resolution. XIO still retains a touch of the NIO and N8’s DNA as reference monitors, but elements of the treble aim for slightly more musicality than absolute reference detail.

7th Acoustics Asteria delivers a slightly more “fun” tuning, emphasizing bass, vocals, and upper treble sparkle in equal measure. Asteria provides strong vocals that pop in the mix thanks to the slightly pulled back midrange and emphasized air and sparkle. The tuning also provides for very clear imaging separation, and a spacious presentation.

Where most of these other IEMs, have some emphasis in the bass, and, perhaps, a little extra pop in the treble, Odin MK2 focuses more on the midrange and treble, with a stronger emphasis on detail, clarity, and separation. The bass remains accurate and impactful, but doesn’t have as strong of an emphasis, giving Odin MK2 a very clean, open sound that’s perfect for any number of genres more focused on classical and traditional instruments.

Etoile offers a similar balanced take on a flagship tuning with many similar characteristics, but where it really stands out is the imaging. Etoile has quite possibly the clearest, most lifelike presentation of instruments and voices I’ve ever heard in an IEM. The tuning balance, with a largely reference presentation coupled with a touch of musicality makes it a great generalist meaning that you can enjoy Etoile’s incredible imaging with your entire music collection.

Noble Kronos exemplifies balance in a flagship IEM, offering an engaging, addicting tuning and strong technical characteristics. The tuning has a warmth that runs down from the midrange into a moderate emphasis through the bass and subbass. The vocal presentation is clear and natural, while the treble is nicely extended with a hint of softness to the delivery. The imaging and soundstage are top tier, delivering a wide, expansive stage, and clear, lifelike presentation.

FATfreq Grand Maestro Anniversary has a tuning that’s just as bombastic as its name. It delivers deep rumbling in the bass, with great physical punch and impact. The NOAH modules and tuning switches let you tweak the sound, with the black module offering harder hitting bass, the blue module opening things up to tame the sound a little, and the SuperStage module offering a combo of deep bass and even more spacious soundstage. The technical performance and detail are still at a level you’d expect from a high-end flagship, offering a presentation that’s both an engaging and technically impressive.

What’s the Best Flagship IEM for me?

With this many options – and a lot of money on the line – it can be hard to determine which one is the right pick. The safest picks of the lot are probably Valhalla, XIO, and Kronos, with each offering a balance between technical performance and musical, nonfatiguing sound. At $1999, Valhalla comes close to the same performance at less than half the price of some of the competition, but both XIO and Kronos offer a physicality in the bass that Valhalla can’t quite match, along with some upgrades in the build and design.

If you’re listening exclusively to rock, alternative, metal, or even hip hop and electronic, Grand Maestro Anniversary’s unmatched bass performance might make it into your ultimate flagship. Asteria offers a bit of energy and fun that’s more appropriate with pop and electronic music than metal, and is capable of wringing every last bit of detail out of your high resolution tracks, though it might be too revealing for some lower quality recordings.

Etoile and Odin are the cleanest, most uncolored of the group, with Odin MK2’s focus on detail and clarity making it especially effective for classical, orchestral, and other forms of traditional music, and Etoile’s next-level imaging making it a strong pick across genres for clarity and musical insight.