Short answer: the Kinera Imperial Loki. Both are rated 3.6/5 for sound quality (#774 and #777 of 1369 in-ear headphones), and the Kinera Imperial Loki costs $3,099 against $3,299 for the Elysian Acoustic Labs Annihilator, and with sound quality even, the cheaper one is the better buy.
Why pick the Elysian Acoustic Labs Annihilator: A broadly balanced tuning with a preference score of 68 against the Harman target. The catch: An uneven response, 2.1 dB standard deviation from target.
The case for the Kinera Imperial Loki: A twelve driver flagship with a dynamic driver, six balanced armatures, four electrostatic tweeters and a bone conduction driver. The catch: Treble sits about 2.7 dB below target, a dark, relaxed balance.
Buy the Kinera Imperial Loki. Both are rated the same for sound quality, and it costs $200 less than the Elysian Acoustic Labs Annihilator.
Looking for alternatives? See the complete Headphones rankings.
A broadly balanced tuning with a preference score of 68 against the Harman target.
Bloom Audio $3,299.00 eBay
A twelve driver flagship with a dynamic driver, six balanced armatures, four electrostatic tweeters and a bone conduction driver.
Kinera official store $3,099.00 eBayPrices on this page were last checked October 17, 2026 at 6:04 PM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of that date/time and are subject to change; the price and availability shown on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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Specifications Side By Side
| Elysian Acoustic Labs Annihilator | Kinera Imperial Loki | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3,299.00 | $3,099.00 |
| Ranked | #777 of 1369 in In-Ear Headphones | #774 of 1369 in In-Ear Headphones |
| Form Factor | In-ear | In-ear |
| Back | Closed | Closed |
| Harman Preference Score | 68 (median of 11 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) | 68 (median of 4 squig.link measurements, calibrated to AutoEQ) |
| Deviation From Target | 2.13 dB standard deviation | 2.09 dB standard deviation |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.84 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) | -0.64 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+2.2 dB at 30 Hz) | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (+2.4 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Driver Type | Tribrid | Quadbrid |
| Drivers | 7 drivers (1 dynamic driver + 4 balanced armatures + 2 electrostatic drivers) | 1 x dynamic + 6 x balanced armature + 4 x electrostatic + 1 x bone conduction |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz - 45kHz | - |
| Connection | Wired | Wired |
| Impedance | - | 12 ohms |
| Sensitivity | - | 107 dB @ 1kHz |
Frequency Response Compared
Both headphones’ measurements overlaid on the Harman target. Above the target sounds louder in that range, below it quieter. Each curve is the median of several independent measurements, shifted so its 500 Hz to 2 kHz average sits at 0 dB, so only the tuning is compared.
Measurement data: the Elysian Acoustic Labs Annihilator from animagus, atechreviews, dchpgall, dl, elrics, jaytiss, precog, recode, soundignity, superreview and zerostresslevel; the Kinera Imperial Loki from mmagtech, silicagel, soundignity and tonedeafmonk, all via squig.link.
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