Dsnuts
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2011
- Posts
- 15,607
- Likes
- 32,013
Firstly let me introduce you guys to a new iem brand called Narmoos. More info can be found here.
RIM
10mm
98db/1mW
10Hz-20Khz
16 Ohm impedance
3X bass tuning buttons.
Many of you guys might recognize this particular design and it has always intrigued me that earphones can be tuned with screw on caps that either enhance the bass or lowers the bass end to ones own preference.. Previous efforts from other companies have had some mixed results with their efforts but these.. These are new to the earphone realm. So how they do?. I was contacted by Eric at Narmoo and he was excited to see how I liked their newest and only offering..With more earphones for this start up company in the future I was eager to try these out.
I gave them a good 50 plus hours of burn in and I will get to how they sounded and what burn in has done for the sound later but for now. What you guys are seeing is an earphone based on a philosophy that is near and dear to my own beliefs..Value for your money is truly what you get with the RIM. Most earphones offer the basics. Tips of various sizes and if your lucky one that works with your smartphone have a good build or better yet provided a nice case..
What you see in the picture above is what you get in the package.. One of the nicest cases for earphones if not the nicest I have seen on any set. Including my $350 Sony XBA-H3..The RHA750 comes close but this case these earphones came in is the best quality I have ever seen for a pack in case.Inside are these earphones tuning screws and the different sized tips. The tips are nothing to write home about they are the standard fair and do their job but what makes these earphones worth writing about is how much they cost and what you end up getting. So without further ado.. Introducing RIM from Narmoo. Once you all get to the bottom of this review there will be a special announcement from Eric I believe.
BUILD....
So the build quality of these phones are excellent..I have not seen phones in the $100s that have the solid build quality or the isolation of these earphones. They do have microphonics but worn over the ear microphonics are at a minimum..These are exactly the type of iems you can use on your busy commutes or even while working out. I have no doubts these can take years of use.. I treat all my earphones like they are all $300 phones so I have no issues with the longevity of any phone I own but I know many of you guys use your phones to the point of breaking them. I have no doubts these can take everyday use including on your smart phones as they have a built in mic..
SOUND....
You guys might know of the older Hippo Vb or the Xeport 5010. Which has the exact same form factor of the RIM and while initially I thought these RIMs might be a rebrand.. I do believe these are an evolution of the screw in bass form factor.. I owned the Xeport a while back and it was the 5010 that had the best overall sound from recollection but I ended up selling them to a friend.. These are a new version of that same tuning..First let me get to the foundation of the sound that is on these RIMs.
These have a wide large balanced sound presentation and with a turn of the screw in bass ports you get varying levels of bass for this large presentation. Silvers bass light to the Blacks being bass heavy. On open box listen the sound was not as tight as I would have liked and brought back memories of why I ended up selling off my Xeports but with 3 days of burn in the overall sound has tightened..Treble grain was evident on open listen and now it has dissipated. Bass end has tightened.. From memory the Xeports were a bit too bass heavy even when using the bass light screw. And what probably did them in for me was that the overall quality of the screw on interface had some really bad QC issues..I ended up stripping several of the screws and had to get new ones..In any case. The sound was good and had much potential but it was quickly passed by with other more exciting offers from other manufacturers.
RIMs are a revision of that sound an form factor. While the sound tuning is very similar. The RIMs tuning actually works.. Bass on the black screws have what I perceive as 6-8dbs of bass both mid to sub bass frequencies. The bass or the complete sound presentation is not as clean sounding using the black screws but it is cool the option is there when needed. Guys that want their music with a full blown bass will enjoy the bass end of these. The bass is strong. Bass head levels actually and while not the most refined bass of higher end in ears does a great job with bass heavy genres.. Outstanding for Hiphop and edm on the black screws. The Silver screws ultimately is what I enjoy which gives a more closer to a neutral bass presence.. The bass is still boosted but is around 3-4dbs in bass.. While the grey screws are at around 5-6dbs..
The silver screws give a nice balanced presentation that does not color the bass end as much and genres requiring more detail the silver screws give the best performance there..Tonality is a touch on the warm side of sound and is a non fatiguing presentation. Mids are relatively grain free but does exhibit some grain in the upper treble region..Again burn in has helped tremendously to tightened up the sound overall making the bass screws much more effective..
The bass end is tremendous..Bass lovers will definitely enjoy these..Even with the lightest bass screws there is solid bass presence. So I suppose these would not be for the guys that want no part of any type of low note but I find the silver screws to do an excellent job of keeping the lower mid range bass free. The Greys work well when out and about as they add a more fuller low end to the sound that is welcomed during busy commutes that helps out block out outside noise..The blacks? You a basshead?..Try them out.
The mids of the phones are actually the strong suit of these earphones..A touch mid forward sounding, Vocals and instruments have a nice even presentation. A big full mid section that come correct. Guys that enjoy their vocals male and female will be surprised with the fullness of vocals and enveloping mid range..The mids could use more definition and better instrument separation with more depth in sound but for what is on there the sound is very satisfactory.
Treble tuning is done on the safe side. These have proper treble presence that don't offend with its relatively sibilant free tuning.. Treble definition and sparkle is ample and while microdetailing is not it's strong suit.It could use a touch more treble extension and depth here as well but for what is there. These earphones were made for enjoying your music more than picking off details of orchestras and live shows..Actually there are only a handful of earphones I consider it's equal for the given price of the RIM...Perfect for that daily commute as they isolate very well while giving you that full range large sound..I do believe for a first time effort..Narmoo has created a very competitive product..
CONCLUSION....
It is interesting to me that one can take some screws and just throw them on for more bass or less depending on your mood. I know on these threads many guys complain how a phone has too much or too little..While these are not without any bass even on the lightest setting, what makes these interesting is that they will suit more guys in how they prefer their bass presence over most iems with a simple adjustment.. Bass is not only what these earphones offer. Their full enveloping mid range lets you enjoy your vocals and instruments in full frontal glory all done with a large stage. A very satisfactory sound overall. The strong build, great isolation a solid sounding phone and all presented with one of the best earphone cases I have ever seen. The sound kicks above the price for listen with ease. Yet another compelling new product from a new company. Now here is the kicker. These cost $30 new on amazon.com and I do believe Eric @ narmoo has a special announcement for all headfiers. Subscribe and find out..
RIM
10mm
98db/1mW
10Hz-20Khz
16 Ohm impedance
3X bass tuning buttons.
Many of you guys might recognize this particular design and it has always intrigued me that earphones can be tuned with screw on caps that either enhance the bass or lowers the bass end to ones own preference.. Previous efforts from other companies have had some mixed results with their efforts but these.. These are new to the earphone realm. So how they do?. I was contacted by Eric at Narmoo and he was excited to see how I liked their newest and only offering..With more earphones for this start up company in the future I was eager to try these out.
I gave them a good 50 plus hours of burn in and I will get to how they sounded and what burn in has done for the sound later but for now. What you guys are seeing is an earphone based on a philosophy that is near and dear to my own beliefs..Value for your money is truly what you get with the RIM. Most earphones offer the basics. Tips of various sizes and if your lucky one that works with your smartphone have a good build or better yet provided a nice case..
What you see in the picture above is what you get in the package.. One of the nicest cases for earphones if not the nicest I have seen on any set. Including my $350 Sony XBA-H3..The RHA750 comes close but this case these earphones came in is the best quality I have ever seen for a pack in case.Inside are these earphones tuning screws and the different sized tips. The tips are nothing to write home about they are the standard fair and do their job but what makes these earphones worth writing about is how much they cost and what you end up getting. So without further ado.. Introducing RIM from Narmoo. Once you all get to the bottom of this review there will be a special announcement from Eric I believe.
BUILD....
So the build quality of these phones are excellent..I have not seen phones in the $100s that have the solid build quality or the isolation of these earphones. They do have microphonics but worn over the ear microphonics are at a minimum..These are exactly the type of iems you can use on your busy commutes or even while working out. I have no doubts these can take years of use.. I treat all my earphones like they are all $300 phones so I have no issues with the longevity of any phone I own but I know many of you guys use your phones to the point of breaking them. I have no doubts these can take everyday use including on your smart phones as they have a built in mic..
SOUND....
You guys might know of the older Hippo Vb or the Xeport 5010. Which has the exact same form factor of the RIM and while initially I thought these RIMs might be a rebrand.. I do believe these are an evolution of the screw in bass form factor.. I owned the Xeport a while back and it was the 5010 that had the best overall sound from recollection but I ended up selling them to a friend.. These are a new version of that same tuning..First let me get to the foundation of the sound that is on these RIMs.
These have a wide large balanced sound presentation and with a turn of the screw in bass ports you get varying levels of bass for this large presentation. Silvers bass light to the Blacks being bass heavy. On open box listen the sound was not as tight as I would have liked and brought back memories of why I ended up selling off my Xeports but with 3 days of burn in the overall sound has tightened..Treble grain was evident on open listen and now it has dissipated. Bass end has tightened.. From memory the Xeports were a bit too bass heavy even when using the bass light screw. And what probably did them in for me was that the overall quality of the screw on interface had some really bad QC issues..I ended up stripping several of the screws and had to get new ones..In any case. The sound was good and had much potential but it was quickly passed by with other more exciting offers from other manufacturers.
RIMs are a revision of that sound an form factor. While the sound tuning is very similar. The RIMs tuning actually works.. Bass on the black screws have what I perceive as 6-8dbs of bass both mid to sub bass frequencies. The bass or the complete sound presentation is not as clean sounding using the black screws but it is cool the option is there when needed. Guys that want their music with a full blown bass will enjoy the bass end of these. The bass is strong. Bass head levels actually and while not the most refined bass of higher end in ears does a great job with bass heavy genres.. Outstanding for Hiphop and edm on the black screws. The Silver screws ultimately is what I enjoy which gives a more closer to a neutral bass presence.. The bass is still boosted but is around 3-4dbs in bass.. While the grey screws are at around 5-6dbs..
The silver screws give a nice balanced presentation that does not color the bass end as much and genres requiring more detail the silver screws give the best performance there..Tonality is a touch on the warm side of sound and is a non fatiguing presentation. Mids are relatively grain free but does exhibit some grain in the upper treble region..Again burn in has helped tremendously to tightened up the sound overall making the bass screws much more effective..
The bass end is tremendous..Bass lovers will definitely enjoy these..Even with the lightest bass screws there is solid bass presence. So I suppose these would not be for the guys that want no part of any type of low note but I find the silver screws to do an excellent job of keeping the lower mid range bass free. The Greys work well when out and about as they add a more fuller low end to the sound that is welcomed during busy commutes that helps out block out outside noise..The blacks? You a basshead?..Try them out.
The mids of the phones are actually the strong suit of these earphones..A touch mid forward sounding, Vocals and instruments have a nice even presentation. A big full mid section that come correct. Guys that enjoy their vocals male and female will be surprised with the fullness of vocals and enveloping mid range..The mids could use more definition and better instrument separation with more depth in sound but for what is on there the sound is very satisfactory.
Treble tuning is done on the safe side. These have proper treble presence that don't offend with its relatively sibilant free tuning.. Treble definition and sparkle is ample and while microdetailing is not it's strong suit.It could use a touch more treble extension and depth here as well but for what is there. These earphones were made for enjoying your music more than picking off details of orchestras and live shows..Actually there are only a handful of earphones I consider it's equal for the given price of the RIM...Perfect for that daily commute as they isolate very well while giving you that full range large sound..I do believe for a first time effort..Narmoo has created a very competitive product..
CONCLUSION....
It is interesting to me that one can take some screws and just throw them on for more bass or less depending on your mood. I know on these threads many guys complain how a phone has too much or too little..While these are not without any bass even on the lightest setting, what makes these interesting is that they will suit more guys in how they prefer their bass presence over most iems with a simple adjustment.. Bass is not only what these earphones offer. Their full enveloping mid range lets you enjoy your vocals and instruments in full frontal glory all done with a large stage. A very satisfactory sound overall. The strong build, great isolation a solid sounding phone and all presented with one of the best earphone cases I have ever seen. The sound kicks above the price for listen with ease. Yet another compelling new product from a new company. Now here is the kicker. These cost $30 new on amazon.com and I do believe Eric @ narmoo has a special announcement for all headfiers. Subscribe and find out..
