Let me be straight with you right away: the Grand Oriveti Supremacy is an excellent IEM, and I wholeheartedly recommend it! Apologies if the title was misleading (on purpose – let’s just call it clickbait).

However, it’s been almost a year since I posted my first impressions of the Supremacy. I did promise a full review in the typical “flavor of the month” style but never got around to it. Frankly, I felt I had already said everything I wanted to. The Supremacy is a refined TOTL flagship with a natural-warm sound – smooth, easy to listen to, never harsh or fatiguing. It offers pure enjoyment! A year ago, I concluded “the Supremacy has quickly become one of my favorite IEMs.”

One year later, I finally have more to say.

Thoughts on Making a Successful Product

First, I’ve genuinely enjoyed using this IEM since I received it. It’s been in my commute bag for most of the past year, ready for use at work or home whenever I want to simply enjoy music. Imagine someone like me – known for critical reviews, with little tolerance for deviation from neutrality – not only accepting but thoroughly enjoying a “musical” sound signature. That alone should put the Grand Oriveti Supremacy on your radar. Its presentation is effortless, its soundstage grand, its timbre natural. Plus, it’s one of the best-looking and best-packaged IEMs ever made. The accessories are top-tier and plentiful. It’s pure luxury for a relatively low price of around 2.000 USD.

So why on earth haven’t you considered buying it? (Please note that I am addressing you as a Westerner from USA or Europe. My understanding is that Oriveti is far more successful in Asia, especially South Korea and Japan.)

Too Little Reach, Poor Marketing

Oriveti isn’t a new brand – not at all! They’ve been releasing excellent products for years. I’ve always felt that especially the OH500 was among the best in its class at the time. Yet Oriveti has been practically absent on the international stage. I’ve only seen them represented at a show once – and that was when I represented them myself for the Headtek store at Audiovista 2019 in Germany. I believed their beautiful OH500 even deserved to be most prominent on my backdrop. Shortly after, they released the O800, which was truly ahead of its time – a superbly tuned 8BA IEM that could rival the Moondrop S8, and in a better-looking package. But its release was so silent, I had to double-check that the product even existed! More recently, the OD200 has been accepted as a great all-rounder, but based on my observation, its success seems largely limited to Asia, where they also collaborated on exclusive editions.

Let me ask loudly: Why doesn’t Oriveti exhibit at CanJams around the world or other influential shows like SIAS?

Participating in audio shows is one thing, but to gain traction, you need to generate discussion and engage influencers. Oriveti’s problem is that they rely on a few selected reviewers like myself, and less than a handful of review platforms, hoping we’ll convey their quality through word of mouth. The sad truth is, my influence is limited. Don’t worry – I’m not here to share an existential crisis – but I must stress that nowadays, you have to play the influencer game. You need to “flood the zone.” In a time when controversial figures like Donald Trump become presidents, it should be clear that there’s no such thing as bad publicity. What matters is that people are talking about you.

Look at most Chi-Fi brands that manage to drop 20 review videos on release day. Those products burn into your subconscious. The more they’re mentioned around you, the more likely you are to consider them when making a purchase. This is especially true in a hobby like ours, where you’re more likely to remember positives and downplay critical opinions. Yes, our brains work that way – and that’s not even getting into how many “reviewers” are becoming little more than ad transporters.

A Lack of Brand Story

If you see the Grand Oriveti for the first time, you might wonder which design-leading Italian brand it belongs to. But you’ll find no information. There is basically no brand story! This should be the easiest story to tell: How a luxury materials designer married a technical engineer, or something along those lines. Any Italian brand‘s CEO would proudly stand in front of their product – but that doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Instead, Oriveti sticks to the company history of being a “Hong Kong brand,” which is highly indicative of a Shenzhen-operated business. Hong Kong implies internationalism: it used to serve as a quality-control gateway between China and the West. Maybe Oriveti is registered in Hong Kong, but does the community see it that way? I don’t think so. I believe this is perceived as a facade, winning them few fans in either Hong Kong or mainland China. Maybe I’m reaching too far, but could this be why Oriveti seems to remain unseen at shows and generally inaccessible?

These days, Chinese mainland cities like Chengdu, Tianjin, and Shenzhen are highly regarded in the IEM scene. More and more brands are proud of their heritage – and rightfully so! If my assumption is correct, Oriveti could help elevate Chinese brands further, earning international acclaim for design and build quality. Instead, Oriveti remains caught between two worlds, with a scattered fanbase – destined to stay niche.

Dealer Network and Pricing

Availability is the number one criterion for success. Brand building and sales efforts are useless without it. This includes time management, production, logistics, and points of sale. Oriveti is missing dealers in the grand scheme of the audiophile market. Outside of India (with lower-priced products), I expect Oriveti’s biggest success is in the UK, likely thanks to my ex-colleagues at KS Distribution, who supported them early and landed some positive reviews. But I don’t see the same activity elsewhere.

Of course, to attract new dealers and bigger distributors, a brand also needs a strong story and marketing.

My best recommendation for Oriveti? Price the Supremacy at $2,500 instead of $2,000 and invest the extra $500 profit per unit into the points above. Get the name out there! Attend shows, maintain a steady flow of quality reviews, collaborate with community brands (cable or amp bundles), initiate raffles – you name it. If you get more people talking about your product, it raises its perceived value. With enough praise (which the Grand Supremacy deserves), it could be worth up to $3,000.

Maybe my suggestions are useless because the brand is successful enough in South Korea alone – I don’t know. Maybe Oriveti is fine with USA and Europe being a niche market. After all, audiophile IEMs only make out for a comparably tiny market here, unlike in East Asia.

Anyway, let’s not forget…

The “Review”

Let’s get to why you probably clicked on this article. (BTW, thank you so much if you’ve made it this far!)

The Supremacy is a 4-way tribrid (1DD, 2x2BA, 4EST) tuned masterfully for a rich, natural sound. It sounds warm but never bassy or bloated – just effortless. True, it doesn’t strictly follow any community target curves, but I promise it sounds more realistic than you’d expect.

Bass

The bass looks massive on the frequency graph – boosted by up to 8dB – yet it doesn’t shelf. Perhaps that’s precisely why it doesn’t sound overly bassy. The low frequencies blend perfectly into the mids without disconnecting, as often happens with Harman or the new meta tunings. In the range where most bass resides, the elevation is only about 4dB compared to 1kHz – hardly exaggerated. As a result, the lows are always present and ready to rumble or punch when the track demands, but they never force their way forward. Versatility is this dynamic driver’s strength.

Midrange

Welcome to Oriveti’s masterclass. In this episode: how to create rich, full vocals that sound natural, lifelike, intimate, and three-dimensional. If I had to pin it on the tuning alone, I’d say it’s due to cutting back the 3kHz pinna gain and adding a bit more at 2kHz – something Oriveti did with the OH500 and that qdc has also used successfully in nearly all its premium releases. Of course, it’s not that simple (I wish I had more insight into the Supremacy’s development). What I hear are flawless crossovers and a midrange that’s as sweet as it gets.

As I mentioned, the Supremacy has accompanied me for most of this year. Whenever I want to enjoy music without distraction, I gladly reach for it. It has a softness to its sound without losing detail, and it sounds incredible even at high volumes. It handles rough tracks well – whether edgy guitars or blasting death metal walls – and also renders jazzy vocals from artists like Youn Sun Nah perfectly. When I want to listen to Red Hot Chili Peppers, I choose the Grand Oriveti Supremacy 9 out of 10 times!

Treble

At first, I didn’t fully get the treble. It’s very tip-dependent and can sound either spicy or subdued. The Pentaconn Coreir Brass tips, among others, work well for me, balancing the treble just right without noticeable dips or peaks. Granted, despite using 4 EST drivers, the treble isn’t as perfectly tuned as the lows or mids. But as long as it supports the midrange, that’s all I ask for. Sibilance is avoided thanks to a somewhat reduced lower treble. If you want more definition, any wide-bore tip will bring it out – even to the point where it gets hot. I recommend medium-bore tips for that sweet cymbal zing.

Soundstage and Resolution

The Supremacy’s tuning isn’t boastful. It’s nuanced and soft, with micro-details available for attentive listeners. There’s no forwardness, splash, hiss, or sibilance in this natural presentation. The soundstage is mid-centric but with decent distance from the listener, matching the often-described “front-row” experience with ample width and depth.

The Grand Oriveti is like a well-balanced wine you know you can enjoy every day – without feeling guilty that you’ll need a different bottle for specific occasions.

Summary

If you’re considering a high-end IEM in 2025 and want to support a niche brand without sacrificing quality (in sound or build), then you should seriously consider the Grand Oriveti Supremacy.

I’ve basically disarmed myself earlier in this article, so why should you even listen to me? I wish there were more users sharing their impressions so you wouldn’t have to take just my word for it – that was the lesson from the first part of this piece. The second lesson is how this IEM could compete if it cost a grand more. I’d love to eventually see a “Grand Grand Oriveti” (for the sake of Oriveti’s success). If that never comes, consider this to be the one – and be happy you saved some bucks.

I can only recommend the Supremacy for its rich, natural-warm, and deeply musical tone.