In the world of Chi-Fi, Crinacle has been at the forefront of "influencer"-manufacturer IEM collaborations. This all began, of course, with the well-acclaimed Fearless x Crinacle Dawn back in 2020 which built on an already-astounding IEM and improved its tuning while delivering at a more reasonable price point. Since then, Crinacle has then continued on to create several revisions of products from high-profile Chi-Fi brands such as Fearless, KZ, and FiiO. This brings us to the SeeAudio x Crinacle Yume Midnight, the latest of Crinacle's ventures into IEM collaborations. However, I had yet to try any of these IEMs, so when HiFiGo reached out and offered to loan one of their units for me to listen to, I couldn't refuse.
Physical Attributes
Included in the package was a carrying case, a generous set of silicone ear tips, a cable, and the IEMs themselves.
The Yume Midnight's enclosure is made up entirely of plastic, which felt like a bit of a cop-out for sub-$200 IEM when competing manufacturers with the likes of Moondrop offered with full-metal constructions for a fraction of the price. My opinion of this instantly changed upon putting them on. Compared to the Moondrop Starfields, they feel much lighter and significantly more comfortable in my ears. The fit was also perfect for my ear shape, providing excellent noise isolation from the outside environment.
The cable was a different story. At a first glance, it looked great; the silver-plated copper strips that lined its braid was beautiful. In practical use, it was stiff and its glossy coating stuck to all sorts of surfaces, reminding me of my horrendous experience with the cable included in the original Tin T4.
Tuning and Subjective Listening:
As I began to play music, right off the bat, I was immediately impressed by their layering and separation capability. Instruments and other intricate elements in the music were well spaced and easy to pick out. However, its soundstaging ability was nothing more than lacking. Its width and depth were easily outclassed by lower-cost IEMs. Nonetheless, it pulls back with its speed and dynamics which sounded just about appropriate for its price range. In terms of tuning, it sounded relatively Harmon-like with a hit of warmth to the lower end.
The Midnight is by no means a bassy IEM, but its low-end was thick and controlled. It offered a satisfying undertone to most of my music and refrained from disturbing other frequencies in the spectrum. All of this was achieved while maintaining an appropriate level of refinement and detail in the region.
The midrange is a bit of a mixed bag. Piano and violin tones sounded great, offering an outstanding sense of naturality and acoustic guitars were good but carried an ever so slightly metallic timbre. Its vocal performance was decent all around with the exception of a slight nasal characteristic which was notable in several tracks. This was not particularly pleasing, but nothing game-breaking.
Scaling up to higher frequencies, the Midnight retains a good level of extension while staying clear of any sort of sibilance. Its treble offered a tasteful amount of detail retrieval without being overbearing or fatiguing over long periods. Climbing higher up, its upper treble brought out the air and ambient intricacies, offering a fantastic listening experience for the more observant listener.
Conclusion
SeeAudio and Crinacle's Yume Midnight is everything you can expect from a well-oiled sub-$200 IEM. No, it may not be a complete game-changer, but it offers a gratifying listening experience with good tuning, very reasonable technical performance, and outstanding imaging and layering capabilities.
Thanks to HiFiGo for loaning the product to review. You can check out the SeeAudio x Crinacle Yume Midnight on HiFiGo's website: https://hifigo.com/products/seeaudio-x-crinacle-yume-midnight-iems.
Physical Attributes
Included in the package was a carrying case, a generous set of silicone ear tips, a cable, and the IEMs themselves.
The Yume Midnight's enclosure is made up entirely of plastic, which felt like a bit of a cop-out for sub-$200 IEM when competing manufacturers with the likes of Moondrop offered with full-metal constructions for a fraction of the price. My opinion of this instantly changed upon putting them on. Compared to the Moondrop Starfields, they feel much lighter and significantly more comfortable in my ears. The fit was also perfect for my ear shape, providing excellent noise isolation from the outside environment.
The cable was a different story. At a first glance, it looked great; the silver-plated copper strips that lined its braid was beautiful. In practical use, it was stiff and its glossy coating stuck to all sorts of surfaces, reminding me of my horrendous experience with the cable included in the original Tin T4.
Tuning and Subjective Listening:
As I began to play music, right off the bat, I was immediately impressed by their layering and separation capability. Instruments and other intricate elements in the music were well spaced and easy to pick out. However, its soundstaging ability was nothing more than lacking. Its width and depth were easily outclassed by lower-cost IEMs. Nonetheless, it pulls back with its speed and dynamics which sounded just about appropriate for its price range. In terms of tuning, it sounded relatively Harmon-like with a hit of warmth to the lower end.
The Midnight is by no means a bassy IEM, but its low-end was thick and controlled. It offered a satisfying undertone to most of my music and refrained from disturbing other frequencies in the spectrum. All of this was achieved while maintaining an appropriate level of refinement and detail in the region.
The midrange is a bit of a mixed bag. Piano and violin tones sounded great, offering an outstanding sense of naturality and acoustic guitars were good but carried an ever so slightly metallic timbre. Its vocal performance was decent all around with the exception of a slight nasal characteristic which was notable in several tracks. This was not particularly pleasing, but nothing game-breaking.
Scaling up to higher frequencies, the Midnight retains a good level of extension while staying clear of any sort of sibilance. Its treble offered a tasteful amount of detail retrieval without being overbearing or fatiguing over long periods. Climbing higher up, its upper treble brought out the air and ambient intricacies, offering a fantastic listening experience for the more observant listener.
Conclusion
SeeAudio and Crinacle's Yume Midnight is everything you can expect from a well-oiled sub-$200 IEM. No, it may not be a complete game-changer, but it offers a gratifying listening experience with good tuning, very reasonable technical performance, and outstanding imaging and layering capabilities.
Thanks to HiFiGo for loaning the product to review. You can check out the SeeAudio x Crinacle Yume Midnight on HiFiGo's website: https://hifigo.com/products/seeaudio-x-crinacle-yume-midnight-iems.
