The Thieaudio Hype 4 is a premium in-ear monitor (IEM) priced at 399 USD, positioned in the middle of Thieaudio’s Hype series. It is a hybrid, and uses dual 10mm dynamic drivers for the bass, two balanced armature drivers for the mids, and two balanced armature drivers for the highs.
The Canon Pro is the third iteration of Yanyin’s Canon series in-ear monitors. It’s also priced at 399 USD. As the Hype 4, the Canon Pro is a hybrid. It features one dynamic driver and six balanced armature drivers.
THIEAUDIO HYPE 4 SPECIFICATIONS
- Drivers: 10mm dual diaphragm dynamic driver + 2 x Sonion 26A and 2 x Sonion E50 balanced armature drivers
- Impedance: 17 Ohm
- Sensitivity: 105 dB (±1dB) @1kHz
- Frequency Response Range: 10Hz-22kHz
- Nozzle Diameter: 6.2mm
- Inner Nozzle Diameter: 5.0mm
- Earphone connectors: 0.78mm dual-pin
- Cable termination: 3.5mm jack
- Cable length: 1.2 m
Current price and availability:
YANYIN CANON PRO SPECIFICATIONS
- Type: Hybrid driver resin housing
- Impedance: 18 Ω @ 1 kHz
- Sensitivity: 104 dB
- Driver Units: 1DD + 6BA Driver Configuration
- Frequency Response Range:20 Hz – 25 kHz
- Passive Noise Reduction: 26 dB
- In the box: Earphones and cable,
- 5 pairs of silicone ear tips (two different types), leather pouch
Current price and availability:
- Linsoul : YanYin Canon Pro
- Amazon: YanYin Canon Pro
BUILD AND COMFORT
The Hype 4 and Canon Pro both feature similarly styled lightweight resin housings, semi-custom in shape to better fit most ears. Which will fit you better is impossible to say, both fit me well, but the Canon Pro feels slightly smaller in my ears. Both sets come with nice braided cables, using 0.78 2-pin connectors on the earphones.
COMPARISONS
Associated equipment:
- Amplifier: Topping A90
- DAC: RME ADI-2 DAC FS
- SpinFit CP145 tips on both
Jambi by Tool
The Hype 4 has more bass presence; the low end of guitars and bass is more pronounced. In general it offers a lusher, warmer presentation. The Canon Pro, on the other hand, is brighter, with more emphasis on the upper mids and treble. In terms of technicalities like detail, soundstage, and imaging, they are quite similar.
Smile by Pearl Jam
The Canon Pro sounds tight and crisp, with punchy percussion and good separation. Sibilants are present but not bothersome. The Hype 4 is darker, lusher, and more laid-back; sibilants are softer, yet detail remains intact. Vocals are less forward in the mix.
Almost Like The Blues
The Hype 4 delivers powerful bass, with Cohen’s vocals sounding rich, nuanced, and slightly dark. The Canon Pro offers crisper vocals with more upper mids, greater texture, and a more pronounced presence. Its bass is drier, with a tad more texture but less body.
Black Crow by Cassandra Wilson
Bass on the Canon Pro is rather polite, but there’s generally great dynamics and good articulation. Vocals are energetic and crisp. The Hype 4 features smoother, more laid-back mids and a darker, less upfront overall presentation, complemented by more powerful bass presence. Soundstage and imaging are similar between the two.
As Before by Olga Konkova
The cajón hits deep and powerfully with the Hype 4, while vocals have a velvety quality and the piano sounds clear without being overly crisp. The Canon Pro presents a thinner cajón, a crisper and brighter piano, and vocals that are nicely rendered with more texture than the Hype 4, yet still retain some of that velvety feel.
Escape Route by Boris Blank
The Canon Pro offers a very nice presentation—lively and upfront, with energetic trumpets and snappy percussion. The Hype 4 sounds darker, with fuller bass. It has generally less articulation but still maintains strong detail retrieval.
Young Vivaldi RV 820 by Modo Antiquo
The Hype 4 has great timbre on strings—smooth yet textured. The Canon Pro is also impressive, delivering a more energetic, slightly nasal, and more upfront presentation by comparison, with a similar level of detail.
Mahler’s Symphony No 2 III by Paavo Järvi
Both have similar soundstage, imaging and general detail. The Hype 4 has more bass, a more laid back midrange and smoother highs. It’s generally darker sounding.
The Canon Pro has more upper mids energy, crisper highs and again a generally brighter feel.
WRAPPING IT UP
Sound Signature
The Canon Pro and the Hype 4 have quite different sound signatures. The Canon Pro is brighter, crisper, and more upfront, while the Hype 4 is more laid-back, darker, and delivers greater bass presence—even with the Canon Pro’s bass switches maxed out.
Treble
The treble on the Canon Pro is crisper, though not excessively so. While both feel similarly detailed, the Canon Pro presents detail in a more articulate manner, whereas the Hype 4 delivers it more subtly.
Adjusting the switches on the Canon Pro doesn’t affect the treble.
Midrange
The midrange is beautiful on both IEMs but distinctly different in character—a key differentiator between them. The Canon Pro’s midrange is generally more upfront, significantly crisper, and brighter. I really enjoy its presentation, though it can occasionally sound a bit nasal or shouty when directly compared to the darker, more laid-back midrange of the Hype 4. That said, they’re both great and offer similar levels of detail.
Adjusting the switches on the Canon Pro doesn’t affect the midrange
Bass
The bass is another diverging area between these two. With the medium bass settings on the Canon Pro, it is still quite bass-light compared to the Hype 4. Sometimes it feels more textured, but mostly it’s just about quantity. The quality of the Hype 4’s bass is generally excellent.
Adjusting the switches on the Canon Pro gives you more or less bass, which is a nice option the Hype 4 doesn’t have. However, the Canon Pro never becomes very bassy, and even though it often is close at the max setting, I still find the Hype 4 to have more general bass presence. Neither of these IEMs have full basshead-level bass quantity, though.
Soundstage and Imaging
The size of the soundstage, the spacing between instruments, and the overall three-dimensionality of the listening space are very comparable between the two. Differences do appear from track to track—sometimes one edges out the other—but overall, they are quite similar in this regard.
Detail, Dynamics, and Timbre
In terms of detail level and dynamics, both are very comparable, with variations across tracks depending on factors like frequency response. However, their timbre differs significantly. The Canon Pro is crisper and drier in both the midrange and treble, while its bass is thinner —not necessarily better defined, just leaner in character.
CONCLUSION
The Thieaudio Hype 4 and YanYin Canon Pro are two similarly priced IEMs (~399 USD) that are closely matched in build quality and overall performance. However, they offer distinctly different sound signatures: the Canon Pro is brighter and crisper, while the Hype 4 is darker and more laid-back. Both deliver the high levels of detail and dynamics expected at this price point.
Thanks for reading. You can support us by purchasing anything using any of our affiliate links.
- Linsoul : YanYin Canon Pro
- Amazon: YanYin Canon Pro
Any purchase you make on Amazon or Linsoul with any of our affiliate links will give us a small provision at no cost to you.
We only get a provision for items that are not returned, so there’s no incentive for us to recommend something that’s not good.
Linsoul : Headphones, Earbuds, Wireless Earbuds, Desktop DAC/AMP, Portable DAC/AMP, Digital Audio Players,
Amazon: Headphones, IEMs, Headphone Amplifiers, Home Audio or Anything else.
.
If you enjoyed this article or other content on The Headphoneer, you might consider leaving a small donation to keep this website up and running. No donation is too small. Thanks for supporting us!
If you like our work please follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter , it will help us grow. Sharing is caring 🙂
