Rockit Sounds R-50 Review/Impressions/Appreciation - Page 2

The good part is that the stock tips were causing them to sound a bit thick and hurting the soundstage size a bit. They also exacerbated the driver flex. While they are thicker and of seemingly decent quality, I think the R-11 get along much better with thinner, softer tips.

So, they did clear up after a tip change and seemingly some more after a night of run in.

They are quite  versatile due to the gels and long sound tube. Stage size and sound balance are quite tun-able with tips and fit. Shallow will bring more clarity and balance by decreasing bass amount. You can also insert them quite deeply and shift the balance more toward the bass, adding warmth and thickness. They are capable of a good amount of seal and isolation which will bring the most bassy thick warm sound. 

They sound real good for $25. A bit of metallic sheen on the treble but not offensive and it gives them a bit of sparkle/liveliness and the treble has good clarity. The treble extension is decent and the roll off is slow and smooth. Mids are quite clear and clean and well separated. Bass is fairly tight and fairly quick even when using a deeper insertion. That is the rub though. More iso and you give some bass bloat and thicken the mids and subdue the treble some. I prefer them with a more comfy, shallow fit which is easier in and out and provides a more balanced, clearer sound but retains a decent thump down low. Actually more punch than thump. The punch turns into more of a thump with a deeper tighter fit.

With the right tips, the stage size is quite impressive. Good depth/3-D, nice height and width as well. Nice equal proportion. Not there with the stock tips though, at least for me. So, that does vary with tip selection.

I have also found that a slightly slower more deliberate insertion allows them to vent the pressure so driver flex can be avoided. A bit of practice on insertion should make driver flex a non-issue that happens maybe once every so often.

I have just received a pair yesterday, so far I'm very impressed and will post some more impressions when I have had time to spend some more time with them.

I can confirm that the R-50 uses the Knowles TWFK driver and that "Rock it" has tuned it in a different way than some of the other TWFK based IEM's I have heard (DBA-02, UE700, Q-jays).

I have now been listening to the R-50 for a 3-4 days and as I posted a few days ago I'm still impressed by their sound.  

As mentioned it uses the Knowles TWFK micro driver that is also used in the DBA-02/Q-Jays/UE700. However, the sound presentation of these three has been covered numerous of times on Head and many other places.  

At one point I had them all at the same time. Out of this threesome the DBA-02 was my top partner particular because of it's low end speed, mid range clarity and detail performance combined with a very nice spacious conical shaped sound stage presentation. I actully liked it so much that I had it customized.

But the DBA-02 is also an IEM that by many are disliked or maybe just not a preferences because of it's more analytic sound and/or it's treble presentation would be way too dominant or hot.  The DBA-02 is also a very tip dependent IEM where an overabundance of sibilance could be experienced when using certain tips. 

I believe that the R-50 could be an IEM that could appeal to those who didn't like the DBA-02 or for those who want to complement their DBA-02 with a different tuning of sound.

Just a few word about it's build etc.  It's designed to purely be used around the ear with a memory cable etc.  The shape/looks of the housing reminds me very much of the Q-jays, but the angle degree of the nozzle is higher, more like the DBA-02. I find it very comfortable to wear and the stock tips works great for me, which doesn't happen very often! 

Now back to the most important how does it sound.  As I understand the R-50 is tuned by their acoustic guys. Which means that they basically have added filter, that's just my opinion since I have had a close look at the filter.

The R-50 still manages to retain all of the qualities of the DBA-02 that I mentioned earlier.

I find the major changes to be that the lower end sounds a bit thicker, still with the nice speed and low decay as I prefer it to be presented.  The mid range, particular vocals, has a tad more sweetness or smoothness added to it, sounding less dry and I also hear that vocals are pushed a a few inches more more forward in the overall sound picture. The treble hotness has been decreased, but still retaining sparkle that's presented when needed. I still find that the R-50 is critical to songs/albums that have been poorly mastered and the occasional sibilance will appear.  

To simplify it. I find it to be a warmer sounding version of the DBA-02, but it still manage to maintain many the qualities that the DBA-02 are valued for.  The past couple of days I have been going back and forth between the R-50 and my Westone 4 that I received the day before the R-50, it's somewhat a switch in sound signature and some other things that I won't bring up here, but the R-50 and holds it's ground and I certainly find worthy its price tag and probably the  most enjoyable "tuning" of an IEM using the Knowles TWFK driver that I have experienced.

Sounds like the R-50 might be a good budget alternative to getting their hands on a TWFK; any pictures? RockItSounds' website isn't very good with their pictures.

Unfortunately my camera doesn't do close-ups very well, maybe I will try again later today. What I can add is that in real life it looks a lot smaller than the pictures on their website. Housing is smaller than the DBA-02 and very similar sized and shaped as the the Q-jays  It's protected by a rubber cover that is removable. The cable is kind of similar to a Westone cable and with memory wires.  I purchased my pair through Amazon, although it said shipped from USA, it was shipped from HK but with express shipping so it only took three days to arrive here in the US. 

I think I've seen the website for the OEM for all of RockItSounds' earphones before, but I don't remember the name of the OEM company, so I can't find the company website anymore...

I don't know what IEM's you have heard or have to compare with the R-50 or what's your choice of music are and how it's presented, but I'm sure you by now are very well aware of the cons and pros of  the DBA-02/B2 BA etc. driver sound, so I do think you will be more than pleasantly surprised by the performance and sound presentation of the R-50 and IMO at a very reasonable price compared to other IEM's using a TWFK driver. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Techno Kid 

The fact that you say the R-50 isn't as "hot" sounding is one of the things that sold me because treble that is to bright can really take away from the listening experiance imo.

 

Also they shipped my order out last night at 3am which is great service I might add.

Well, although I do find the DBA-02 to be an excellent performer and that the "hot" treble not taking so much away from my listening experience but more so it can significantly decrease the time I would spend with them since the treble hotness can sometimes be a very exhausting experience!

I don't think you will experience this with the R-50, at least this is how I hear them and most of the positive traits of the DBA-02 is very well retained. 

One more thing I will add is that I have experienced that the R-50 can be very ergonomically suitable to use when going to sleep, and I don't mean at work!, but right before I normally go to sleep, since I can lay on one side or the other and they don't really bother me at all. When I wake up they are still in my ears which is very uncommon for me with most other IEM's.

I was also surprised how relative quick they were shipped and that Rock-It used express shipping and that the R-50s arrived within 2-3 days from HK and not 14-21 days as I initially feared when I suddenly realized that they were shipped from HK and not from a US store.

and pls. and some pics