This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preference lies somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight tilt towards warmth, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently and succeed. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Kefine Klean directly from Kefine. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Feel free to check out their official site here: https://www.kefineelec.com/en/ProductDetails.aspx?iProId=25


How My Reviews Are Structured

This will be a barebones stripped down version of my reviews which I will use on sets below a certain price tag from now on. Meant for those sets where writing thousands upon thousands of words is not really worthwhile. Let's face it, no one's reading a book about a 49USD set, so let's trim the weeds and cut straight to the point with a quick rundown of packaging, accessories, design and fit, then moving on to my graphic tools and finishing with a few comparisons.

I have left the set to burn-in for 50+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Klean. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE AMP + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the stock tips and cable.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

I always take into account the item's price and want to see most of the budget used on the IEM itself, so while packaging is indeed very important for that initial impression that colours our perception, it's secondary to many other things. With that preface, I am happy to say that Klean strikes a great balance. It offers a decent cable and a case, while the tips selection is a bit lacking.






Klean is a tiny set that is bound to fit nearly everyone. The nozzle isn't extra short, so I think that shouldn't be a problem for most either. It feels heavy and durable and its appearance goes along with the form factor. It is a fit and forget kind of set.




Graphics, Graphs & Scores

As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

Six Basic Traits

comfort is second to none. It comes at a cost of not isolating too well. Bass struggles a bit due to its occasional boominess, midrange is well done with ample openness and naturalness. Treble is well judged and sweetly detailed for being a single DD. Overall cohesion is nearly perfect, but again, the boominess just slightly detaches the bass.
Magic Balance Boards


Soundstage Measurement Tool

Good width with okay height and depth.

Quarter Circle Playground

It stays very much dead center. It's neither laidback nor energetic per se, and I would say the bass and treble cancel each other out to help reach a neutral W-shape to my ears.

Overall scoring

Looking Very good. Bass struggles a bit with slight midbass softness and boominess. Mids and treble are almost spot on.


Extra

Fun factor: Another tough one to simply close by saying either yes or no. It exemplifies a well balanced set that is not dull by any means. Is it the most energetic listen ever? No. Is it fun while randomly playing through a varied library? Very much so!

Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: A neutral source will do just fine. The tonal balance is spot on from the start.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: No real standout failures while it does not completely excel at any certain one either.


Comparisons



These two sets were the ones I ended up choosing. To the left of the Klean is the Sivga Que, another single DD, while to the right is the FitearxQDC SuperiorEX - yes, single DD as well. Yes, they are both more expensive than the Klean, but the Que is like a better accessorized and arguably better looking Klean, and the SuperiorEX tries to do a bit of the same as the other two in being a rich sounding single DD. Let's give these a fair shake over a couple of songs.

I used the iBasso DX180 and the same cable and just reattach different IEMs to give this A/B the fairest battling grounds. The cable is my best to date, the Effect Audio EROS S II.




Soldier of fortune, Deep purple

Guitars are one of my go-to's. Not easy to pull them off in smooth, weighty, but bitey and lively fashion. It often leans either way. Working my way through the three sets, the Que leans far towards the weighty and smooth side, individual notes are not the focus, but rather to make the whole package feel like a musical journey which brings the somewhat blurry and thick texture. Klean is less in your face in the upper mids and makes the guitar even less forward, but it's not as free and unruly in the low mids, hence the guitars sound a bit more sterile. Individual notes are more pronounced and offer clearer microdetails. Still not my perfect guitar replay. SuperiorEX is much easier to drive so I need to lower the volume by 30%. Guitars are free of bloat and aren't too spicy, but they feel somewhat hollow. None of these excel at guitars is the final answer. If I had to line them up, it'd go: S-EX > Klean > Que

Male vocal is an often occurrence in my playlists. So, back to Que. It offers a well placed vocal and the song is built around it. It's chesty, touching, and sufficiently detailed. Klean places it further back but not in a bad way, it simply sounds like the vocalist was actually standing further away. That provides an even larger perceived stage which goes well this song. It's not as detailed as on the Que, though. S-EX makes it sound more ethereal as if it's floating around and thus makes it more difficult to pin point singer's placement. It also sounds more veiled than the other two. Result: Que > Klean > S-EX


Summer by Emeli Sande

Female vocal obviously comes in multiple flavours, but Emeli's velvety and alluring quality is a real gem. Que does it very calmly and she feels even warmer and weightier. I miss some of that luxurious detail. The song therefore becomes a bit more tedious and not as touching. On the Klean she is much clearer and out in front. Her placement and clarity allows for better detail perception and allows the song to breathe better. On the SuperiorEX I like her placement and feel it's most well balanced to the rest of the mix, but she has this veiled and somewhat muted feel. It is more rounded and larger in how much stage she occupies. I like my female vocals forward while still well judged, so: Klean > S-EX > Que

This song also offers a great test for low bass tactility, texture, precision, and midbass attack. Let's see how it goes starting with the Que. Que offers a big bass that is more diffused in nature, not a very clean and surgical one. It has plenty of character and happily follows the song's progression down to the lowest note in its chorus. Initial note attack could be better and overall bass quantity could be more for this song. Klean is just a bit snappier at the start of the note, but still lacks midbass solidity. Low notes are not a problem, it descends into low 30s sweetly, but has a bit less texture and naturalness to it than the Que. Superior's note beginnings are better defined and less strained. It also rumbles the most ecstatically and gives me a feel it could easily keep on descending into infrasonics. The bass quantity is the highest, also in part thanks to its very attenuated higher range. This gives us a score of: S-EX > Que > Klean


Rosita by Coleman Hawkins and Ben Webster

I'll be looking out for timbre, detail retrieval and soundstage+imaging. Without further ado, Que excels in providing a natural harmonic listen full of character. It remains timbrally correct throughout and expands nicely to the sides as well as having okay depth and height. A truly well-suited set for this groovy masterpiece. The Klean is almost as characterful as the Que while having a more pronounced subbass and treble. This makes it a bit less organic to my ears which goes well with its appearance vs the wooden-faceplated Que. It's timbrally fine, but I preferred the way Que rendered the sax. It's also a bit less spacious. On to SuperiorEX, the note weight is a standout feature I spot from the get go. All notes are larger and more dense. Only the sax is too hollow and occasionally plasticky, however, which kills the whole gig. The stage feels more crowded, they step on each other's toes. Imaging-wise, it's close between the Que and Klean, but Klean takes it. Overall: Klean >= Que > S-EX

Summing Up The Kefine Klean

This is a quality set that I feel does so much right and it easily falls into the 'Suggested' category. Either as a gift to your closest ones or to yourself, this set will not disappoint anyone but the biggest opposers of neutral-warm leaning sets. Even then, in this avalanche of warm sets, this has the correct balance to tastefully counterbalance the healthy bass shelf. At this price, it is a no-brainer.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This is not my first time writing about a portable BT speaker, but it is not my primary field of expertise, so I will draw from my previously acquired knowledge to say a thing or two about the S100.

Let us start with the price just so we get a feel for what to expect and see whether our expectations are met. It currently retails for 79.99USD. You can find out more about the product here: https://www.tronsmart.com/products/tronsmart-mirtune-s100-portable-outdoor-speaker

It is available for purchase via Amazon (unaffiliated link): https://www.amazon.com/Tronsmart-Mirtune-S100-Retractable-Waterproof/dp/B0DG2MND7F

Disclaimer: I have received this unit from Tronsmart in exchange for an article. This will not sway my thoughts and I will remain completely transparent as to how I feel about the item. I do this as a hobby, not professionally.


A bit about me

Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extra-terrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy besides listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a mixed choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear some of my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

How To Describe The S100

I have received this unit a few weeks before it was officially announced and therefore had no idea about the specifications or the price. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the price, because even my first impression of pulling the unit out of the box was positive. OK yes, the unboxing is not interesting in any way, but I am one of those that wants to get rid of the box ASAP anyway.




The unit feels sufficiently weighty not to feel brittle and fragile like such speakers often do, but it is still easily portable thanks to the spectacularly well implemented handle that retracts when not in use.



The fabric-like material that covers the whole fascia of the speaker feels comfortable and durable, but I do need to mention that it was not well connected on my unit and thus made a clicking sound when pressed in one exact spot. Sadly, summer has already passed and I have not yet put it through its paces at the pool or similar, but based on its IPX7 rating I would not be too afraid to do so and patiently await the first opportunity.



Buttons are intuitive. Connecting my phone for the first time was as simple as can be. While talking about the buttons, they offer a satisfying feedback click when you press either of them – so often do manufacturers get that aspect wrong and buttons feel so inconsistent in their response while also feeling awful with each click. One negative I found (which won’t even really be a negative in most situations) is that the turn ON and OFF sounds as well as the connection sounds are loud which means late evening incognito listening is made more difficult, especially if you have someone else nearby that is not in the mood for music but would rather catch a good night’s sleep. The LEDs surrounding the passive radiators on either side are a nice touch and have modes to choose from. They are bound to make the sleepy ones stay around and party for longer before finally giving in and going to bed.




Sound!

Okay, all the first impressions out of the way, it was time to choose a song I know well and see how Tronsmart Mirtune S100 does in the most important aspect. This offers a different take to other Tronsmart speakers I have tried beforehand with more of a subbass-dominant approach that offers a pretty magnificent feeling of air movement on subbass-heavy tracks, especially in bass boost mode – yes, there are a million possibilities to fine tune the sound to your particular mood and liking. The way it carried a smooth low end over a medium-sized room was impressive for small drivers and a 'racetrack subwoofer' as Tronsmart call it. In this regard, it is far ahead of similarly priced competition I have tried before, such as the Soundcore Motion Plus which has served me well for a while now – maybe its time to retire has come? Midrange is specific in that it does not sound too forward or present but still the vocals and instruments find a way to separate from the rest as in being able to follow either performer well enough. No, this is not a highly analytical and completely colourless sounding speaker. It has a way of capturing listener’s attention without ever overdoing it and becoming annoying – unless the songs that are playing simply aren’t to someone’s liking, but oh well, that’s DJ’s, not speaker’s fault. Then we get to the high frequencies which are also handled by the two 'tweeters' (but I have a hunch these are responsible for more than just treble) that are either side of the ‘racetrack’ speaker – that’s a funny but catchy name. Those higher frequencies are where most either like or dislike the sound – they’ve got a way of being either ultra-enjoyable and magical or awfully annoying. I am happy to say that the S100 does away with the annoyance for the most part and feels rather composed instead. However, when the volume gets higher, the Fletcher-Munson curve takes over and when the necessary bass to balance the treble is not there anymore, the sound gets more hollow and strained. That’s a trait of most if not all speakers of this size and similar price range. That won’t be too much of an issue outdoors where the reflections are minimized, we rarely listen directly on-axis (more on that up next), and having ample volume is of greater importance than ultimate tonality.



I wanted to see how much the sound changes whether you’re sitting right in front of it or on whichever side around the speaker – we know listening to such BT speakers is usually done in company, so not all will be as privileged to have the front middle seat – that golden ticket should be reserved for the speaker’s owner, but I digress.
So, what were my findings? I am happy to report that the sound stays recognizable and does not lack too much higher frequencies when moving a bit off-axis. Now of course, the further to either side one goes, the more muted and unclear the sound becomes. For a gathering around a table I do prefer something omnidirectional to fire out to either side in a more coherent fashion. That is definitely one of the obvious advantages of omnidirectional speakers such as the Mirtune C2 I wrote about before. I would recommend a corner placement for electronic music and similar to aid the bass which despite being solid loses some power as we creep up the volume scale.

Outdoors, this speaker sounds very clear and plays decently loud for just about any situation except a larger party with 10+ people that are in the mood for a dance. There are multiple ways Tronsmart has your back even in those larger gatherings – you could either get any of their larger speakers or connect two of these S100’s into a TWS (True Wireless Stereo) to amplify the volume as well as increase the soundstage coverage. What helps and makes that TWS idea quite a tempting one is that I have experienced zero connection issues and the overall ease of use is exceptional.




How To Sum Up The Tronsmart Mirtune S100

To sum up the S100 I could once more keep it brief and say that as far as value for money is concerned, Tronsmart truly offer a wide variety of speakers at competitive prices. While the S100 does have its limitations, it still feels like a quality unit that is going to last. While I cannot say that definitively yet, I now look forward to all the events that can be improved with some music.
Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preference lies somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight tilt towards warmth, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently and succeed. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Kotori Audio Zephyr directly from Kotori representatives. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Price and date of release are still TBD, however feel free to check out their official site here: https://kotoriaudio.com/collections/earphones


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering the Kotori Zephyr, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer via private messaging.

I have left the set to burn-in for 50+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Zephyr. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE AMP + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the Moondrop Spring tips and Tripowin Noire cable, but the stock cable is very good too.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

... but before we do, a quick word.

I have always liked companies like Kotori that seemingly come out of nowhere and stir up the market. This release is bound to raise some dust and get Kotori on the map. What really proves to me that they mean business is the insanely in-depth and professional-looking product overview presentation they shared with me, their thought out packaging, and how they happily addressed any questions I had in a constructive manner. Potentially ruffling some feathers here, but this is certainly not always the case in this fast-paced hobby where most seem to be focused on making a quick buck instead.

... OK, back to scheduled programming


Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

Nothing to complain about. The box itself is pleasant to look at with the shapes on the outer sleeve and then the sweet little birdie that is their logo right on the box itself. The layout of items in the box is different and keeps the IEMs hidden from eyesight for longer. A minor nitpick - the actual piece of cardboard that needs to come out of the box to get full access to all items is a bit fiddly and could be rethought.






The splitter is very nicely designed, but just a tad too bulky in my opinion. I like the L- connector and how this cable handles.

These are an interesting fit with their deep insertion that needed some playing and tip rolling to fit me well. Oh but when they got seated well, they really got seated well. These are now among my comfiest sets that also isolate about as good as passive isolation can.


Next to the Penon Voltage on the left you can see how much longer the nozzle is on the Zephyr. Thankfully it's aimed very well and allows a fantastic, custom-like fit with the correct tips.



I'll leave the design for you to decide, but in person these have a nice matt grey faceplate that looks class, while the rest of the shell is dark black plastic which I'm not the biggest fan of, but if that's what's needed for the shell to be shaped this way, so be it.

Graphics, Graphs & Scores

A warm-leaning midrange-dominant musical set with okay technicalities. Rare sort of set for sure. And, as I like to say, the world is better thanks to it.

As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

Six Basic Traits

Magic Balance Boards

Soundstage Measurement Tool

Quarter Circle Playground

Laidback and neither trebleheady nor bassheady – this is midrangeheady (what a catchy term, I know).

Overall scoring looks somewhat strict, but it was not easy for the Zephyr. It's always tough to put sets like this into a preformed scoring template and expect perfect scores.




Sound Descriptions

The obvious quartet of categories will be divided into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: This won't win as the bassiest nor the most surgical of bass sets. But that's not what it's set out to achieve. And don't get me wrong, while this is far from basshead territory, it never feels completely lacking. It also does sufficiently well in quality aspect for me to not be turned off because of it.

Rumble: Precisely the thing that won't be too impressive while still covering the lowest octaves well enough. It is a bit devoid of that pure devilish rumble that some lust after whereas others just get scared of and feel it's overbearing. Depending on the day and mood I can be in either camp. When I don't want to have my brain turned into an omelette, the Zephyr does wonderfully.

Attack: While both the onset and offset of a punchy bass note are not too finely delineated, it's certainly a decently punchy set and replays kickdrums in a cool way. The anger some of those kicks seem like they carry is impressive.

Decay: Not sure if that's the titanium membrane, but it's a bit on the stiffer side not really feeling like it slowly stops vibrating, but tilting more to the BA side of decay presentation where it's a bit less wet and flowy.

Boominess: None. Thankfully. I'm pretty alergic to that and it is one of the areas that I feel still separates great IEMs from meh ones. It's also the thing that 'regular' folks who aren't as sound-picky as us probably find impressive and mix up with actual quality bass. Not us, we know better.

Bloatedness: Certainly not a bloated set. And the only currently available graph shows that very well.



Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani)

Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Always a sensitive topic. Timbre is not an easy one to unfold and pack into these little forms we call words. We also have a different understanding of 'correct timbre'. Hearing the instruments in multiple settings and played by different artists is a must to really get familiar with their intricacies. While it's not perfectly natural to my ears, it also does not stick out and become annoying at any point on the Zephyr. Bass guitar is a touch unrefined and hihats can get a little splashy.

Forwardness: Very forward in their tonal balance, but they stay mixed into the stage at all times, so never too forward in placement. I like it, different to our usual balance where bass and treble are above the mids.

Clarity: Not what I'd count as one of its strengths, but it is not a weakness either. Despite mid-fowardness, there is just a slight veil which depends on what I drive it with too. VE Stack for example adds a good amount of bass while also opening the mids which allows them to breathe better and seem clearer.

Vocals: Male vocals are very well rounded and emotional, while females can seem a bit lacking due to that upper midrange. I do, however, prefer this slightly tamed approach over overdoing the upper mids and risking a shouty and thin sound. So females might sound a bit grainier and huskier than usual. Their placement is very good. Never overflown with the rest of the mix.

Note weight: I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across. This is a pretty lightweight piano playback since it does not have much low end to really feel dense and lush. However, none of the notes feel hollow or too feathery. A reduced note weight overall, but skillfully done.



Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins, Shivers by Ed Sheeran)

Crispness/sharpness: A mix of multiple qualities hidden all the way from upper mids high up into treble. There is no straight-cut rule to tackling this and having it fit all ears and preferences. No sharpness ever. Crispness is there however, and it's most likely down to that low treble or presence region that looks scary on the graph, but totally acceptable and a non-issue upon listening. It does mean that cymbals will be a bit more zingy and metallic than elsewhere. Trumpets feel lively and ringy as they should.

Sibilance: Not here. You should really go digging for it. That's why I think the pronounced 4-5kHz and then a scoop out up to 8kHz might be an interesting thing to experiment and perfect further.

Naturalness: Just slightly metallic in overall feel, which might take away some naturalness, but it improves other areas. Still, I would not really recommend it for exclusively acoustic, especially percussion-heavy jazz, recordings.

Air: It does not extend too far up into mystical territory that no one hears yet we do and that's most likely down to the fact it is a single BA that is helping the DD but cannot be asked to do everything.


Technicalities

Soundstage: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. This feels nicely tall and has no real ceiling, so vocals sit high up and proudly carry the song's flag. Width and depth won't be too jaw dropping, though.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs. And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. This images very nicely, especially in less crowded songs. Following individual performers and 'seeing' them throughout their gig is not too challenging.

Detail retrieval: A subject that should be cut into even smaller subjects to cover more easily, but I will try to explain it in one. Macro- and microdetails is how they are usually referred to. Macrodetails will be the larger items we can look into. Maybe something like a clap. How well is that clap separated and detailed in its onset and offset. While microdetails would mean delving even closer into that clap – how crisp is it, any minute detail that stands out, possibly the person is wearing rings and those hit each other when clapping. Another one of those that is neither a huge dealbreaker nor a new trendsetter. It sits right there in the middle, somewhere in the average camp. Guitar plucks or lip smacks will remain hidden for the most part.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? It never gets out of place. All elements function as a team. While bass and treble are a bit held back compared to most of what's on the market today, they happily follow and stay on duty.


Extra

Fun factor: This is not the most fun of pairs in the usual way. This will be fun to those who value something different with mids in the forefront. Not as fun for bassheads, trebleheads or naturaltimbreheads.

Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: Something revealing that aids the bass to clean it just that little bit more.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: Hm, difficult to answer, but purely instrument-based or low bass stuff wouldn't be my pick for this one. It likes male vocals in any accompaniment.


Comparisons

Meet the contestants. AFUL Explorer (1DD+2BA), BQEYZ Cloud (1DD+PR), FitearxQDC SuperiorEX (1DD).



Zephyr is a more refined Explorer with (even) less boomy bass and better, snappier midbass kick. Midrange is more open on the Zephyr while the Explorer has a thicker and more noteweighty feel. The clarity is easily Zephyr's for the taking, most likely due to the 4-5kHz boost, but the BA would seem to be of better quality in the Zephyr too, since it easily feels more resolving in the treble. Where Explorer makes back some ground is on naturalness and soundstage width. Zephyr wins.

Against the Cloud, the Zephyr feels like it has lots of bass. But the bass of the Cloud is more to my liking in terms of cleanliness. The Cloud does seem more natural and detailed as well, but that's mostly down to the more usual pinna and the surrounding FR area – so that will be tough to judge in A/B comparisons. That said, the Cloud is not nearly as fun in its character as the Zephyr and fits worse with much less isolation. In terms of staging, Cloud feels even more open and one of those that's easy to mistake for earbuds. Not an easy one to settle. Ultimately, I prefer the slightly more delicate approach of the Cloud.

And finally, the more expensive, but recently discounted SuperiorEX. The Zephyr has a better controlled bass with less bloat and bleed into the mids. Those are far better on the Zephyr too in my opinion. Treble is splashier and less refined on the SuperiorEX. It's more or less a one way street in this comparison. SuperiorEX claws its way back into this battle by being the more natural sounding set with sweeter piano playback as a whole and having a more speaker-like presentation where sound seems to be floating around and having more surfaces to reflect off of. Easy W for the Zephyr.


Summing Up The Kotori Audio Zephyr

Coming in at a very well judged price point it does do so much well. Ultimately, whatever I had mentioned as negatives, is nitpicking and very much down to personal preference. I could wholeheartedly recommend this set to those who are not on any extreme of this hobby, be it bass-, treble-, or timbreheads. But if you value midcentric daring tunings and wish for a set that fits custom-like with two well implemented high quality drivers, this is one to consider.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Disclaimer: I have received the TINHiFi C2 2025 directly from Linsoul. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

An unaffiliated link to this item on Linsoul's site: https://www.linsoul.com/products/ti...5W10HgWoGd-sb5LuItbo-jfF2O7NaTFmrueLs0YSANKAj

New, Simplified Version Of Reviewing

This will be a barebones stripped down version of my lengthier reviews which I will use on sets below a certain price tag from now on. Meant for those sets where writing thousands upon thousands of words is not really worthwhile. Let's face it, no one's reading a book about a 29USD set, so let's trim the weeds and cut straight to the point.




Design, Quality, Fit, & Accessories

C2 2025 is one of those ladies at a party that impresses right upon her arrival. This is a special looking set, especially at this low of a price point. The metal shells are rare wherever you look, but having them done so seemingly well and at this low of a price point is a rarity for sure. Bonus point right off the bat. As for the actual quality, only time will tell, but they seem nearly indestructible right now. You're certainly not breaking it while cable swapping. Fit is okay, but some precaution to those who struggle with short nozzles is definitely worthwhile. I usually do struggle and these need some convincing to stay securely in place, but when they do, it's very comfortable.

Accessories won't win this set any additional points. The stock cable is your usual cheap and tacky affair at this price range for the most part. There are exceptions - this is not one of them.

Graphics & Comparisons

Let's go through the graphics and explain why the C2 lands where it does.

Neutral-brightish with decent technicalities for the price, but not breaking any records.

Let's compare it to the Tripowin x 0DiBi Vivace in some aspects.

Both of these are ~30USD single DD sets released at more or less the same time. The C2 takes it in most regards. The two sets are just as comfortable with the slightest of edge going to the C2 due to its lengthier nozzle. Neither of them isolates particularly well, so keep that in mind if this is your planned commuter set. Bass, particularly midbass, is lesser on the C2, but much more precise, snappier, and less boomy & bloated which I'm particularly sensitive to - the severity of bloat will depend on songs. The midbass on Vivace feels more substantial, but a bit clumsy. In the mids, there isn't much between the two. I like both decently enough for vocals (male vocals have more body on the Vivace, so that's a preference) while certain instruments are not as crisp (guitars) or notes are not as full and almost spherical (piano) as I'd like. Treble is livelier and better implemented with the rest of the spectrum on the C2. Vivace feels inconsistent and sometimes drowns out the treble completely. As a result of all of the above, the C2 also feels more cohesive to me.


The difference in thickness is primarily due to the added midbass and low mids of the Vivace as well as its lesser treble. The bloat makes it a slower sounding set which makes it lean more towards musicality on the last balance. In comparison, the C2 remains more centered on the last balance while taking the leaner and speedier role. The technicalities are not too impressive in whichever regard, but that's to be expected at the price point.


Height is more than decent enough for an affordable set, while width and height are somewhat compromised. As a result the soundstage remains pretty boxed in and not too eventful.


This remains very near to the center point which goes to show it's neither laidback nor energetic and it won't tailor too well to neither the bass- nor trebleheads. It's a very agreeable sounding set that covers ample ground decently enough.




Does nikbr recommend the C2 2025?

This gets my recommendation for those among you that wish for a good sounding neutralish set and don't absolutely need the most bass, especially midbass, to get you grooving. It also looks special and feels bulletproof, so it doubles as ear armor. So, if you don't yet have a good set for on the go that you wouldn't mind losing, this is one to consider.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Disclaimer: I have received the Tripowin x 0DiBi Vivace directly from Linsoul. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

An unaffiliated link to Linsoul's site of this item: https://www.linsoul.com/products/tr...5PPEa0_uW06fQepgJusWgq36JkYmKhljd841hcrsRu-hZ


New, Simplified Version Of Reviewing

This will be a barebones stripped down version of my lengthier reviews which I will use on sets below a certain price tag from now on. Meant for those sets where writing thousands upon thousands of words is not really worthwhile. Let's face it, no one's reading a book about a 29USD set, so let's trim the weeds and cut straight to the point.




Design, Quality, Fit, & Accessories

Vivace is a set that won't impress with any of the basics like the design or build quality. It's a simplistic design in a plastic shell. That comes with its benefits namely the set being very understated and awfully light - a bonus we rarely think about, but dropping this one (it is only a matter of time with sets that we carry around) should not do too much damage to the driver. Therefore, despite having a relatively short nozzle and a shape that mostly does not fit me all that well, this one fits fine after choosing the right sized tips (larger than usual).



Nozzle comparison with the TINHiFi C2 2025 (on the right)

The cable that comes along is surprisingly alright in comparison to cables that usually come with sets at this price tag. Alongside the sound which we will get to in a moment, this is another reason the Vivace could be a decent entry into the hobby.




Graphics & Comparison

Let's go through the graphics and explain why the Vivace lands where it does.


A warm set with okay-ish technicalities at its price, but it won't light your ears on fire with detail nor imaging.

Let's add the TINHiFi C2 2025 to try and settle this duel.




Here I have added the TINHiFi C2 2025 alongside for easier comparing. Both are ~30USD single DD sets. The C2 takes it in most regards. The two sets are just as comfortable with the slightest of edge going to the C2 due to its lengthier nozzle. Neither of them isolates particularly well, so keep that in mind if this is your planned commuter set. Bass, particularly midbass, is lesser on the C2, but much more precise, snappier, and less boomy & bloated which I'm particularly sensitive to - the severity of bloat will depend on songs. The midbass on Vivace feels more substantial, but a bit clumsy. In the mids, there isn't much between the two. I like both decently enough for vocals (male vocals have more body on the Vivace, so that's a preference) while certain instruments are not as crisp (guitars) or notes are not as full and almost spherical (piano) as I'd like. Treble is livelier and better implemented with the rest of the spectrum on the C2. Vivace feels inconsistent and sometimes drowns out the treble completely. As a result of all of the above, the C2 also feels more cohesive to me.


The difference in thickness is primarily due to the added midbass and low mids of the Vivace as well as its lesser treble. The bloat makes it a slower sounding set which makes it lean more towards musicality on the last balance. The technicalities are not too impressive in whichever regard, but that's to be expected at the price point.


It provides a decent width but lacks in height and depth, so it's not too captivating at any moment and lacks the magical spaciousness of some sets.


It leans more towards energetic because it allows for a louder listen with its warmer approach. And I would say this is not the one for either bass- or trebleheads.


Does nikbr recommend the Vivace?

On a scale of No to Yes, this sits closer to No, since it does not do too much differently to most other decent sub 30USD sets while also feeling rather cheap, so if you've got any of those and are happy with them, I would suggest saving up for a bigger buy some time down the road instead.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preference lies somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight tilt towards warmth, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently and succeed. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Sivga Luan directly from Sivga themselves. While I understand your concern about blurred honesty, even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Feel free to check out their official site here: https://www.sivgaaudio.com/product_d?id=15

Unaffiliated Amazon link for the ones that wish to try this set: https://www.amazon.com/SIVGA-LUAN-Detachable-Professional-Audiophiles/dp/B0C6D7WY8Z?th=1




How My Reviews Are Structured

Since this is my first headphone review, it will require a slightly modified approach.

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased item in my special trademarked graphs & graphics (since these are all made primarily with IEMs in mind, Luan's placement will make more sense if you also read the sound descriptions below), give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a dynamic open-back headphone at a reasonable price, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer via private messaging.

I have left the Luan to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from it. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the stock cable.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that might result in a slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.

Despite releasing what is officially my 30th(!) Head-fi review, I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The playful graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.



Let's Get Going!

... but before we do, a quick word.

This being my first headphone review is both a positive and a negative. I have become very familiar with different sonic performances with what must be 100+ IEMs I have heard. This allows me to better position the headphones in regards to the IEMs or try to explain how these differ and why I feel these are a nice addition to a completed IEM collection. The negative then is me lacking serious experience with headphones. That said, I do own a Meze 109 Pro for a good little while and I will compare the two in a few words at the end.

... OK, back to scheduled programming


Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

A big box in which hides the gorgeously made case. Simple. That case has all you need. The headphones, a cable + the 3.5 to 6.35 adapter. No real complaints, but if you were hoping for a jaw-dropping unboxing, this isn't it.





These little happy feet on the 'bottom' of the case are a great addition.



These are a dream to wear. By far the most comfortable headphones I have tried. Their weight is the biggest plus. At 350g, their great headband and plush-feeling earpads allow for a fit-and-forget feel. Earpads, while not the deepest nor tallest, should fit most ears.



I'll leave the design for you to decide, but in person these are very dark brown wood, nice non-glossy silver construction and black mesh & headband, so overall a very understated and classy look.





Graphics, Graphs & Scores

These will lean a tad to the warm and musical side. Very different in perception to the more energetic Meze 109 Pro despite the Luan graphing brighter.



Six Basic Traits


Magic Balance Boards


Soundstage Measurement Tool


Quarter Circle Playground

Laidback and pretty sophisticated unless the song depends largely upon that slightly problematic upper midrange.

Overall scoring ended up looking mostly positive due to just how inoffensively tuned this is. A departure from what I may have expected, knowing how wildly daring and unique their Sivga Nightingale IEM I have reviewed recently is. No real complaints, though, this is an all-rounder headphone to go with their crazy flagship IEM.




Sound Descriptions

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. Excuse me, I swear I'll get better with time.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: This straddles the middle line and sacrifices neither quantity nor quality in its pursuit to offer a satisfying low end.

Rumble: Ample for an open-back HP, but it won't make your ears flap like elephant's. This is still a calmer overall approach. Trying to add artificial rumble would ruin the balance.

Attack: Just a bit soft around the edges. When I turned the volume a bit too high (95dB+) some distortion creeps in right on that initial swing of the driver, but only in the most demanding of punchy midbass notes and even then this is hardly noticeable.

Decay: Smooth and appreciably natural. Not the most full sounding and it could be carried further in some instances.

Boominess: Just slight. It adds to the playful character in this case and serves as that softest pillow you keep aside your bed for when your main one gets tiresome. In short, it is not a negative.

Bloatedness: None. Wonderfully flows into low midrange and gets it's job done.



Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani)

Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Always a sensitive topic. Timbre is not an easy one to unfold and pack into these little forms we call words. We also have a different understanding of 'correct timbre'. Hearing the instruments in multiple settings and played by different artists is a must to really get familiar with their intricacies. I have spotted no real timbral issues with the Luan. While it does calm down the character of all instruments, it remains truthful sounding and nothing ever sticks out like a sore thumb.

Forwardness: A healthy medium. They are neither buried far behind the rest of the spectrum, nor do they feel forward in either placement or amplitude-wise. What then makes this a good listen is that they're never overshadowed or feeling subdued.

Clarity: Not spectacular, but decent enough for a headphone in this price range and especially decent enough for the musicality this provides. I would not be choosing these to do any deep dive analysis on the midrange.

Vocals: They lack the ultimate detail to catch every breath, lip smack, saliva build up, … Every vocalist is just a tad smoothened out, whether it be a soothing baritone, a soaring soprano, or a screaming metalhead.

Note weight: I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets (in IEM language) because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across. This is often where headphones do better than IEMs. Why? Because physics. It's a combination of having larger drivers moving more air and the effect of pinna which is absent on IEMs. Therefore, the Luan feels lush and lustrous with every note, but sacrifices a bit of that ultimate precision and clarity which I mentioned before.



Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins, Shivers by Ed Sheeran)

Crispness/sharpness: A mix of multiple qualities hidden all the way from upper mids high up into treble. There is no straight-cut rule to tackling this and having it fit all ears and preferences. Very limited here on the Luan, this is a slightly calm-leaning headphone. That does of course depend on your preferences and definition of what feels crisp or sharp to your ears, but I don't think anyone would find the Luan to be too energetic. It does get a bit crisper higher up in volume as is to be expected.

Sibilance: Well handled. Even the worst of offenders in modern pop, like Shivers by Ed Sheeran, get by without any cringeworthy moments. This area is very seriously attenuated, which might be part of an explanation why it feels calmer in its presentation of instruments that make use of this area.

Naturalness: Beautifully done. This is the quality that makes me either love listening to the gear in question or getting uninterested quite quickly. Luan is an all-day headphone for my ears. It can cover lots of ground and does so without ever catching your ears off-guard.

Air: Not happening. Treble is a bit on the shy side. And I have yet to hear a headphone or earbud do this area well or okay even. So those of you searching for that treble shimmer which has an almost undescribable, magical effect on the overall outcome in some scenarios, look elsewhere.


Technicalities

Soundstage: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. This does not expand too far out to the sides or forwards and upwards, but it forms all sound elements into these large images yet manages to keep them separated just enough to avoid feeling claustrophobic or squeezed.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs (headphones too). And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. This is a funny mix of not having the ultimate precision for each minute detail, but the overall image of, say, a guitarist, is very well placed and not dubious at all.

Detail retrieval: A subject that should be cut into even smaller subjects to cover more easily, but I will try to explain it in one. Macro- and microdetails is how they are usually referred to. Macrodetails will be the larger items we can look into. Maybe something like a clap. How well is that clap separated and detailed in its onset and offset. While microdetails would mean delving even closer into that clap – how crisp is it, any minute detail that stands out, possibly the person is wearing rings and those hit each other when clapping. While I wouldn't call this detail-less, it's not its main objective to capture every little thing. Just like lenses in photography. There are so many for different situations. Spoken like a true photography expert while struggling to take any mediocre pic haha.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? This is so smoothly integrated on the Luan. Just sound. No bass, mids, treble to worry about. Just listen to frequencies while they flow around you and tell a story. Just as it should be.


Extra

Fun factor: A tough one to simply close by saying it's either fun or not fun. This won't be the most fun of V-shapes or bassiest of beasts, but it earns its fun badge by doing everything capably and being a joy to wear and listen to for longer periods.

Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: Do not add any warmth, so I would say neutral to neutral-bright is what would suit the Luan the most.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: It won't be the most dynamic and quick sounding headphone, so perhaps avoiding the 'extremes' such as metal or classical is the way to go.


Comparison

To put them into some perspective, here is a rapid comparison with a similar headphone in that it features a dynamic driver in an open-back chassis, has wooden cups and feels marvelous both in hands and on head – the Meze 109 Pro.



First song I tried was the evergreen Soldier of Fortune by Deep Purple. Upon first seconds, the Meze 109 Pro resolves much better, this is the first thing that strikes me. Guitars feel more brisk, his vocal is better layered and richer, treble is zippier and more precise, bass is stronger and better textured. Despite all that Luan keeps up decently for being 40% of the price. In isolation, I would not be missing much in this particular tune.

And for something different, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus & Zerrin. Starting with the Luan, I feel a well positioned and descriptive vocal within a decently spaced area and a good sense of atmosphere to accompany the listen. With that drop, the extreme left and right elements do get a tad blurry while the center image stays strong as does the bass. The 109 Pro has a bit more area in low treble which makes her voice a bit crispier and more spiky. The atmosphere is larger and better layered. Bass is not much stronger here, but individual notes are more well defined. Left and right extremes are easier to dissect.

While similar, these two are different enough to warrant keeping both alongside.


Summing Up The Sivga Luan

And this brings an end to my first ever headphone review. A joyous adventure that makes me a better listener, slightly better reviewer, and appreciative of the difference headphones offer versus my usual IEMs. The Luan is a smooth sounding, gorgeously well made and good looking offering by Sivga that's an easy rec for its lush sound that never gets sharp and allows for longer listens.
Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have been lent the DITA Project M from a friend after wanting to hear it for months and months and nearly buying it a few times already. DITA was always interesting to me as a company and the huge praise the M has been getting was increasingly tougher to ignore.


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering the Project M, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer via private messaging.

I have listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Project M. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the stock cable and Feaulle H570 tips (after quite a bit of tip-rolling).



Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I have started doing it differently. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me via private messaging.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

... but before we do, a quick word.

As you might realize by now, I am all in for a well done set that dares to go a different way. Project M does just that. It's a 1+1 hybrid with a high quality full-range DD that is supported by the BA only in the highest octaves. The transparent shell allows us to see the internals and that DD sound tube looks enormous in comparison to some other sets. Now, how well does it do? We'll take a closer look with some help from my faithful graphics and describe them in more detail.

To clarify, it is the sort of set that will absolutely not work for treble-shy (quantity of mid treble is pretty serious), because it is not afraid of putting its treble foot forward and bases the whole experience around it even though I'd argue its best range is bass. I can see bassheads being like, »oh, okay, this is niiice, but can we turn it up by maybe another 5dB?«. Consequently, this set is highly dependent on genres and even more so on recording quality and brightness – choosing meticulously is the goal to happiness. Not for those who only listen to modern pop or metal. And not for those who listen loudly – the treble will simply be too much. Those of you who exclusively listen loudly or to pop and metal, run away now. What is interesting and keeps me entertained is the openness and midrange freshness of this tuning. Each note has ample body and presence. Now sure, it won't be the most weighty-feeling of notes, nonetheless they keep the listener engaged. Captivating is the main word.

... OK, back to scheduled programming


Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

I will have to skip the packaging and accessories since this set was lent to me by a friend and he only added the bare necessities to ship it safely and let me experience it in its stock form.

All I can say is this cable is awesome to me and the way the termination secures is perfect. I swapped to the 4.4 immediately.



These should fit just about everyone unless you've got small ears or dislike deep fitting IEMs. Even then, a set of one-size-smaller-than-usual tips should solve that. Their weight is also low enough not to feel too taxing on the ears.



I'll leave the design for you to decide, but in person these are works of art. So much so that if I was richer I'd have these in my collection just to look at them. That DD and the DITA writing on it is gorgeous. That is also why I don't think their new 'candy' colourways are the right move, but I would like the design on both of those too had I not seen the OG before.




Graphics, Graphs & Scores
A bright-leaning musical set with solid low-end support and good technicalities. Sweet culmination of attributes.



As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

Six Basic Traits


Magic Balance Boards


Soundstage Measurement Tool


Quarter Circle Playground


Overall scoring looks pretty good for the M. I still need to figure out how to judge sets more fairly while staying true to this sort of simplistic approach. Perhaps I'll need to turn it around – giving the set a score for bass/mids/treble and mention in positives and negatives why the score is as is.



Sound Descriptions

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. Excuse me, I swear I'll get better with time.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo, Let the music flow by Sound Synthesis)

Quantity vs quality: This fits my taste to perfection. It's just right. There is ample quantity to never overstep or overshadow the midrange while also countering the lively treble. Quality is incredible. My previous favourite bass was that of the AuR Audio Aure. Project M polishes it further. The sense of ease and flow is second to none.

Rumble: While not ear(th)-shattering, it provides a beautiful base. This subbass region is responsible for a sense of spaciousness and ethereal playback. Those are two of Project M's strengths which I will cover more in technicalities. So, not a set that's necessarily focused on techno and hiphop, but it can do those respectably too.

Attack: Capable. Snappy, athletic, elastic, quick, effortless. It never feels stressed even in the craziest of bass lines. It unpacks information and presents it with sense of immediacy and urgency. As I said before, incredibly capable bass overall. Movement of the DD's membrane must be so well controlled.

Decay: Natural and plentiful, but wonderfully smooth and honey-like. No graininess, weird fluctuation or unexpected variance on same notes. Each note tells a story of its own. Just what a DD is supposed to do. This is where BAs just cannot compete – at least not in Project M's price segment or, heck, even at twice its price. It can do everything from wild electronica subbass decay to the intricate bass guitar solos.

Boominess: Nowhere to be found. This is often an achilles heel of sets that try to do it all by raising the midbass to achieve fake punch and muscle, while making DD's work way too difficult. How DITA have achieved it here is beyond impressive and it makes me so eager to hear their next creations.

Bloatedness: Not an issue. Low mids are sculpted wonderfully and allow for an overall very transparent signature despite intentionally taking a bold risk by cutting the upper midrange as much as they did.


Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Shivers by Ed Sheeran)

Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Always a sensitive topic. Timbre is not an easy one to unfold and pack into these little forms we call words. We also have a different understanding of 'correct timbre'. Hearing the instruments in multiple settings and played by different artists is a must to really get familiar with their intricacies. On the M, it starts off well in the bass and most of the midrange before derailing in treble. The treble makes higher-pitched instruments and their overtones sound just a tad off and wonky. Most noticeable on cymbals and brass. Even those would be passable in isolation, but feel incoherent to the rest of the mix, thus sounding out of place ocassionally. Piano changes character from the lowest to highest octaves. Just how annoying one finds this is down to music they listen to and sensitivity to timbral accuracy.

Forwardness: They aren't forward in their presentation nor in their placement. What is special, though, is just how weightless they remain despite that. While carefully threading in the background, they keep their composure and fill out the audible space.

Clarity: While not the best I have ever heard, the fact mids stay as clear as they do despite the chosen tuning approach is amazing. Not much detail escapes you. And it's all supported by healthy fullness – more in note weight section.

Vocals: Neither male nor female vocals lack much, but as expected, they won't soar as freely as on sets with more aggressive pinna and high mids. Therefore, my decision whether I enjoy the vocals or not is rather difficult and I have no straight answer. I enjoy the lack of shout and sibilance, but at the same time miss some of that soul and bite. Singer-dependent for sure.

Note weight: I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across. Project M strikes a balance of note weight throughout the range, except treble, where they can get all haywire and crazy. Elsewhere, it's a happy medium, not the thickest and fullest of notes, but they don't seem hollow or lacking substance either. I am a fan. That said, this won't be my set of choice for piano arrangements.


Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins, Shivers by Ed Sheeran)

Crispness/sharpness: A mix of multiple qualities hidden all the way from upper mids high up into treble. There is no straight-cut rule to tackling this and having it fit all ears and preferences. Project M is a special blend of crisp and sharp. While it's not offensively sharp, it's incredibly crisp. That serves as a great tool to aid the poorer recordings. Old stuff that sounds muffled and poorly mastered gets invigorated. However, on the contrary, those songs that need no brightening will be just as affected by this crispness. That can result in a highly detailed listen, or so you think at first before fatigue creeps in. This mid treble tuning ends up sounding very planar-like (or at least, planars of the yesteryears) in that it's certainly energetic and attention-grabbing, but soon gets overwhelming. This hobby of ours is weird in that age has a huge impact whether we like it or not, thus older ears may appreciate this better.

Sibilance: Very safely avoids it. Even in Shivers by Ed Sheeran which is recorded insanely crispy and bright even in all the risky areas. And while the M skillfully avoids sibilance in this song, it cannot escape sounding grainy and too enthusiastic in mid treble.

Naturalness: Due to the tuning I struggle calling this natural. I have yet to hear a concert or any live performances sound as aggressively bright in the upper register as the M. The treble quality itself is very enjoyable, though.

Air: Extension is not the greatest ever, but this will sound airy to most due to what happens before the 15kHz mark. Not an issue at all. In fact, I would like to see less of it because it can get a bit much with the mid treble excitement.


Technicalities

Soundstage: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. While the M doesn't expand too much to the sides, it feels sufficiently deep and tall to avoid me calling it closed in or cramped. Soundstage-heads, look elsewhere.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs. And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. And yes, the M separates tremendously well despite not expanding too wide. Some of its imaging is down to just how forceful the treble is, but I believe it's mostly a function of great drivers and fantastic implementation.

Detail retrieval: A subject that should be cut into even smaller subjects to cover more easily, but I will try to explain it in one. Macro- and microdetails is how they are usually referred to. Macrodetails will be the larger items we can look into. Maybe something like a clap. How well is that clap separated and detailed in its onset and offset. While microdetails would mean delving even closer into that clap – how crisp is it, any minute detail that stands out, possibly the person is wearing rings and those hit each other when clapping. Project M passes with high marks in both micro- and macrodetailing. Especially the bass is so nuanced that it really made me appreciate certain bass lines even more. It also opened my eyes to what is possible at this price range while making me so curious about the high-end and just how far they can take the bass in this physically very limited space we call IEMs.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? And Project M gets it slightly wrong. It's as if the attackers (treble) just don't feel like running back to help in defensive duties too. Bass and midrange work together wonderfully, but that is to be expected since they're driven by the single DD anyway.


Extra

Fun factor: Another tough one to simply close by saying either yes or no. It's fun until a treble-heavy song comes on. It's fun at low to mid volume and nothing but pain at higher volumes, even though the bass edges you on to turn that knob higher.

Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: Warmer preferrably. The DX180 is okay with all its neutrality, but does nothing to address the elephant in the room, the mid treble.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: It's not as much down to genres as it is to individual songs and their recording & production. I can enjoy it with most genres, but would prefer more subbass for techno or hiphop if that's your thing.


Summing Up The DITA Project M

Thanks to the gentleman that is my friend who trusted me enough to lend me this IEM for me to have a go. Project M is a unique beast. Most are focusing on its treble, and I feel that can be the thing that both makes or breaks someone's experience with the M. It's right on the edge for me and requires careful musical choice. What stood out to me was the near-perfect bass and the fact the midrange works well despite the dip. I can recommend this one to certain audience only (and those that have the cash to risk not liking its sound, but buying it solely for the looks). As for others, wait and see what DITA comes up with next.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Sivga Nightingale directly from Sivga. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Feel free to check out their official site here: https://www.sivgaaudio.com/
For the ones that wish to try this different than norm set: https://www.amazon.com/SIVGA-Nightingale-Magnetic-Monitor-Earphones/dp/B0CHRZHNFF

How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering the Sivga Nightingale, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer.

I have left the set to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Nightingale. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the stock tips and cable - both are wonderful.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I have started doing it differently. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.

Let's Get Going!

... but before we do, a quick word.

As you might realize by now, I am all in for a well done set that dares to go a different way. Nightingale does just that. Instead of placing its emphasis on the low end, it tries to impress with midrange forwardness and sense of vividness. Now, how well does it do? We'll take a closer look with some help from my faithful graphics and describe them in more detail.



To clarify, it is the sort of set that will absolutely not work for bassheads nor fierce trebleheads (quantity is sufficient, but rather because of how it feels in the mix), because it is not afraid of putting its midrange foot forward and bases the whole experience around it. I can see bassheads pulling their hair out and making a very telling facial expression when they hear this. Consequently, this set is highly dependent on genres – choosing meticulously is the goal. Not for those who don't really spend any time listening to acoustic, singer-songwriter, jazz or calm rock. Those of you who exclusively listen to other genres, run away now. Bass, despite being of decent quality, almost feels like an afterthought and is there just to add weight to low midrange. It is balanced by quite a bit of treble in comparison, which in turn ends up making the sound very weightless and effortless. What is interesting and keeps me entertained is the freshness of this listening experience. Each note rings out very sweetly. Now sure, it won't be the most weighty-feeling of notes, nonetheless they keep the listener engaged. Daring is the main word.

... OK, back to scheduled programming

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

Nothing to complain about. I could only praise Sivga for knowing how to make the packaging and accessories very appealing at all price points. The Que which I have reviewed before was wonderfully accessorized, and here it is no different. So enjoyable to unbox and interact with all items.





The cable is particularly great. So well made and a perfect fit both physically and visually. The way it marries with the connector in that spring-like metal protector is just pure masterpiece.



These should fit just about everyone unless you've got serious issues with shorter nozzles. Even then, a set of longer tips should solve that.




I'll leave the design for you to decide, but in person these are very dark and the faceplate being wooden is very unapparent under most light. I had to flash them to show the faceplate better.



Graphics, Graphs & Scores

A bright-leaning thick-ish musical set. A unicorn. And the world is better thanks to it.



As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

Six Basic Traits


Magic Balance Boards


Soundstage Measurement Tool

Great width, okay height, subpar depth.

Quarter Circle Playground


Laidback and more trebleheady than bassheady. Another unusual combo of qualities.

Overall scoring did not do much favours to the Nightingale. I still need to figure out how to judge sets more fairly while staying true to this sort of simplistic approach.



Sound Descriptions

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. Excuse me, I swear I'll get better with time.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: Quantity? What quantity? There is almost no subbass on the graph and it does indeed feel empty in certain scenarios. In others, it's weirdly filled out and not really lacking at all. Midbass is where it's at. That and a few other reasons join to make this weird looking graph work out wonderfully … in certain scenarios (have I said that before?). Quality is slightly held back by the usual planar speed that's just a tad devoid of substance, but as a whole – not a downside at all.

Rumble: Well yeah, there is none. It's midbass and midbass only. That does trick our brain into hearing more rumble too, especially in songs we know well and have heard a million times before with a wide variety of bass presentations.

Attack: Usual planar affair with great snappiness, but held back due to its tuning. Intentionally, of course. So trance won't have the drive it needs. Bass guitars do sound very effortless, however. So do drum kicks. Those are actually very sweet. As a result this works well with certain rock and metal, even.

Decay: Never a strength of planars, at least not the ones I've had the pleasure of trying thus far. This will be a case of preference and, critically, listened genres. It's precisely the lack of overdone decay that makes it crisper and more athletic to keep up with quickness of bass lines in rock/metal. The reduction in overall quantity also means it stays well out of way of the rest of the spectrum.

Boominess: Not happening at this bass quantity. It's mostly lean, so the exact opposite of overbearing and boomy.

Bloatedness: Just impossible. Thought out tuning that avoids that like plague. I must say I am a fan of just how free the low mids are as a result. The treble, which we'll get to later, is to thank for the overall free sounding character of this IEM.



Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani)

Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Planars are getting better not to sound to strange with their zingy nature which is almost nullified on the Nightingale. Always a sensitive topic. Timbre is not an easy one to unfold and pack into these little forms we call words. We also have a different understanding of 'correct timbre'. Hearing the instruments in multiple settings and played by different artists is a must to really get familiar with their intricacies. Getting to the Nightingale, its timbre is good for the most part, except the most simple one to catch issues with, the piano. The hole in upper mids takes away the joyful nature of certain piano notes while the reduced bass makes them just a tad more hollow than I prefer (easy to catch in Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball). Therefore, it's tough to give it a great score in this regard. Instruments that mainly reside in either lower or higher register, are much more complete sounding. Strings have their rasp and metalicness. Brass is highly captivating while not too screechy (Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen is a good example). Solution is simple, I won't be picking this set to listen to Yuja Wang any time soon.

Forwardness: One of Nightingale's party tricks. The ever-present midrange. While it always stays the center of attention, it actually does not feel to far ahead of either the bass or treble. Instruments cooperate so nicely in instrumental jazz and alike. This was a weird realisation for me. We'll get to vocals later, but the upper midrange shyness costs it slightly in female positioning and delicacy.

Clarity: This will depend on what clarity means to someone. The sheer presence of midrange might make it feel a tad thick and lazy. The range where plenty of detail hides that in turn makes us more aware of the clarity is tuned (too) carefully for this to be a set I'd call clear. Nonetheless, the lowered bass' level and treble's satisfying and captivating energy balance it sweetly for it to not feel like a mess.

Vocals: Slight preference of male vocals. Both male and female vocals will sound different to what you're used to. Actually, that is the first thing that needs some adjusting to, not the lacking bass or the wild looking 8kHz peak. Both male and female vocals will sound warmer. Primarily due to pinna gain, well, not really being there. This is a tough one to swallow if you're a man of well-defined taste and find it difficult to adjust. It's a bit like tasting 90% chocolate after getting used to and only knowing milk chocolate.

Note weight: I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across. I have sort of covered this under 'timbre' as well, but here we're focusing more on individual notes versus how they correlate to each other. Individual piano notes are still on the lighter side than usual with not much meat on their bones (check out the Morning bird by Sade in that opening section), however, weirdly enough, it works because some other instruments feel lighter too – the balance between relatively little bass and lots of treble achieves that. On the opposite, guitars are not as brisk and lively as on more Harmanish sets, but do have amazing note weight to them. So, note weight is just another thing that takes slight adjusting especially if you come to the Nightingale right after, say, its sibling, the Que – more in a quick A/B later.



Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins, Shivers by Ed Sheeran)

Crispness/sharpness: A mix of multiple qualities hidden all the way from upper mids high up into treble. There is no straight-cut rule to tackling this and having it fit all ears and preferences. The crispness in Nightingale is all down to the planar driver, which to my ears feels to be of very high quality. It's also crisp in mid-treble which, despite the ridiculously scary looking 8kHz peak, won't be sharp to most ears. Unless you are crazily sensitive precisely to that 8kHz region – keep in mind, that 8kHz peak would not look as scary had it been joined by the usual ~10dBish pinna gain. Ultimately, it's a set for calmer and non-analytical sessions. That said, I love the way this replays certain rock and metal. It is nowhere near as tiresome as on the 'normally tuned' sets within this price range. Free of bloat, shout, and sibilance. Speaking of …

Sibilance: Unless the song is awfully recorded (Shivers by Ed Sheeran – it's like they want it to be as sibilant as it can), it won't happen. So, unless you're all about new pop craziness, this is a safe bet in that regard.

Naturalness: Hm, how do I put this. Natural in comparison to what? To others sets nowadays? No, not really, but are those natural in the first place. This topic will always first require someone's own description of naturalness to easier compare. Certain aspects are very natural while others aren't. As a whole, I would therefore struggle classifying the Nightingale as natural. The way it presents the stage and just how calming it sounds is, however, more natural than the forced detail that's thrown at us with raised pinna and too boosted upper range as a whole. So, unnaturally natural?

Air: Not much, but it's never been as enjoyable to my on planar sets even if they pulled off decent extension. So I would not say this is a negative.


Technicalities

Soundstage: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. Nightingale is wildly truthful in this regard despite not really extending all that far forwards or upwards. Width sounds quite wonderful to my ears. It makes a banana-shaped soundstage. To me, it's more crucial how a set makes use of the soundstage, over just how artificially broadened it is. So I would say this is one of Nightingale's positives before I'd say it's a negative.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs. And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. Nightingale won't be too pinpoint accurate due to the tuning itself, but it never sounds veiled or unruly. It's mostly placed on this flat surface that extends wider to the sides than back and forth. Individual performers do have their space and don't feel cramped. While you won't be able to point to that hihat with 100% accuracy, you'll definitely hear it in its own bubble of space. Like electron orbitals in atoms. 95% certainty.

Detail retrieval: A subject that should be cut into even smaller subjects to cover more easily, but I will try to explain it in one. Macro- and microdetails is how they are usually referred to. Macrodetails will be the larger items we can look into. Maybe something like a clap. How well is that clap separated and detailed in its onset and offset. While microdetails would mean delving even closer into that clap – how crisp is it, any minute detail that stands out, possibly the person is wearing rings and those hit each other when clapping. Not Nightingale's strength in either macro- nor microdetails. It's a set that leans extremely musical. The 8kHz peak and sufficient treble extension take care of certain details, but midrange, despite being forward and ever-present, is not microscopically detailed. I usually choose acoustic guitars for this. Hearing plucks to their core is a chore on Nightingale.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? This is what caught me offguard above all else. The way all these spectrums and their character gel together to form a captivatingly soulful dance of sound waves is mesmerizing. Like that special someone you really don't share much in common with, yet you finish each other's sentences effortlessly.


Extra

Fun factor: Another tough one to simply close by saying either yes or no. It's very fun to my ears in freshness it brings. The charisma is off the charts. That forbidden low-hanging fruit that's so appealing yet comes with risks. But if you're a genrehead and have a very specific playlist, this might miss the mark by a mile. Electronica fun factor? Meh, not really. Pop fun factor? Nope. Classical fun factor? Not quite.


Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: I enjoyed it most via my DX180, which is as neutral as they come. This allowed the Nightingale to be itself. A warmer source did provide more bass, but it also killed the magical balance. Then the bass felt about equal to treble and it's a bit off-putting.


Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: Jazz, rock and metal sound good in their own way. Electronica, pop, classical sound unbalanced and lack their key ingredients.


Comparisons

VS Sivga Que

Sivga, I'm waiting for a middleground set between these two. That would be so sweet. Maybe a DD+planar combo. Here are the key differences that make both so special:

Bass: The Que is driven by its bass shelf that is both more textured and more eventful, especially noticeable in that 80-120Hz region. It feels more elastic and willing to go along with the bass line than Nightingale's planar. The additional bass heft comes at a price of making low midrange much muddier upon first listen than on the Nightingale. Nonetheless, bass aficionados will be happier with the Que. The low end resolution is not far apart between the two.

Mids: Despite this being Nightingale's bread and butter, I would have less trouble recommending the Que. Nightingale is that sort of weird we start searching for when we're content with our main set(s). Like having a garage full of exotic cars and not having a Reliant – awful, right? Flawed, but adorably so. I have gone into more detail on both's midrange in either's review.

Treble: Much livelier on the Nightingale. Que is safe and boring in direct A/B as hihats and cymbals don't shimmer as freely, percussion is tame and shy, strings are less nuanced and hidden in the background. Interestingly, the Nightingale is actually closer to sibilance than the Que.


VS TINHiFi P1 Max II

Bass: Planar vs planar, so their character is much more alike. Their presentation is similarly leaning towards midbass, but the additional quantity especially in subbass on the P1 Max II makes bass feel as if it leads the whole signature and will suit many genres better than the Nightingale. While Nightingale's bass is significantly lesser in quantity, I would argue it is a better controlled bass with better defined onset and offset as well as decay. Kick drums are livelier on the P1 and feel more spacious. Immediate A/B shows precisely how the Nightingale tricks us with its midrange into believing it's got at least some bass too. Some songs are painfully bassless. Bass and cello are better rendered on the Nightingale, in comparison P1 sounds bloated and unrefined.

Mids: They feel much more buried on the P1 despite Nightingale too not having them as forward as the graph would suggest. The additional energy on both sides makes the P1's mids more digital and tasteless. On the P1, I do prefer the liveliness of female vocals, but they can't seem to get rid of the graininess and nasalness even where I know there should be none. Piano sounds slightly fuller and more coherent throughout the range. Neither is perfect across the board, but Nightingale takes this by its uniqueness and smoothness in comparison.

Treble: Nightingale is very treble forward versus the P1. Nightingale is closer to sibilance than P1. Nightingale's treble is crisper, less wet and less annoying in that low treble range where planars often get it wrong and feel unnatural as a result – slightly the case on the P1 too. Cymbals carry better, image nicer, and ring sweeter on the Nightingale too. Due to all of the above, treble is done in a more grown up fashion on the Nightingale, but I would avoid this set with all my might if I were a loud listener.



Summing Up The Nightingale

Nightingale is the furthest away from an all-rounder I have ever tried. Therefore, I fully recommend reading many reviews before pulling the trigger. When you think you've gotten the image of how it sounds down, you still haven't. The bass can surprise you since we immediately think it has none due to the funny downslope instead of a gradual rise towards the infrasonics. Jazz, blues, certain rock and metal fans, should apply. If you need either of these things – subbass, upper mids, air, tall and deep soundstage, precise imaging – this is not the one for you.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.

Disclaimer: I have received the Thieaudio Hype 4 from Linsoul in exchange for a review. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Should you be interested in checking it out, here is an unaffiliated link: https://www.linsoul.com/products/th...PLt8zWpTkHvzZwUK9rBz2ifPHFcHCNcAqXMl-4hrUOqcx


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a Thieaudio Hype 4, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer via private messaging.

I have left the set to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Hype 4. As sources I have been using my trusted FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the Juzear Pure cable and stock medium-sized tips.

Pictured is the DX180 connected via LO to the VE RA2B-FE - the middle one of the three silver stacked units. The top one is the Prime DAC, while the lowest one is a battery pack that powers the amp.


Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I will do it a bit differently this time. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

These came in the largest box I have ever seen for IEMs. Was I happy about it? No. Does it make you feel as if you bought something serious? Yes. That's also a negative for those who hide this addiction hobby from their significant others. Besides being large, the box and whole unboxing experience are average at best.






Accessories are fine to get you going, but do not depict this IEM's value well at all.



Here is how amazing it looked after matching it with the Juzear Pure cable.



Design is tough to comment on, especially since my ears are as untrained as they come when it comes to things fashion-related. Nonetheless, I will say these look premium and definitely stand out in this white colour I got them in.

Fit will be very personal, but there are certain basics that don't need much figuring out. There is the outer ear element and then there is the ear canal element. The Hype 4 is very ergonomic despite being on the larger side. Smaller ears beware, others should be fine.



Graphics, Graphs & Scores

Whether it leans warmer or brighter is largely dependent on the source. I do feel that it mostly stays above the neutral line leaning more neutral-bright than neutral-warm. The brightness is of that good sort, however, because it's perceived due to the absolute extremities of the frequency spectrum instead of having the upper mids pronounced.

As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

Six Basic Traits

Magic Balance Boards

Soundstage Measurement Tool

Quarter Circle Playground

Overall scores ended up looking very positive.




Sound Descriptions & Comparisons

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. Excuse me, I swear I'll get better with time.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass

Quantity vs quality: Glad to report, it's a tasteful mix of both. The quantity is certainly above average, but not near basshead levels. Quality is truly where this set shines. It does, however, prefer a good amount of power despite being easy to drive. It scales wonderfully. That's either good or bad - depending on what sources you've got at hand it might make you wish to spend on (even) better ones.

Rumble: Sufficient. I appreciate it's not trying to impress primarily with rumble, but instead focuses on a well-behaved and balanced subbass-to-midbass ratio. This helps it suit more genres. Significantly improved when I used my DX180 connected to the RA2B-FE stack via LO. It became scarily demonic on some songs.

Attack: Good! Not too soft and pillowy like some midbass-first sets might be. Am I fully satisfied, though? No. I believe it could be more incisive and clean with better defined trail-end of notes. Messing around with digital filters on my DX180 actually achieves just that, but not to full effect. Adding the aforementioned RA2B-FE further improves this aspect too, particularly the onset of notes which seems more immediate and snappy.

Decay: Double DDs have from my experience always been quite good at that. It's a matter of air movement, so additional membrane surface area certainly helps. That said, if not tuned well, these next two topics might prove that.

Boominess: A risk midbass-first approach brings. Even the Hype 4 is not completely free of it. Some songs just trigger my boom-sensor. Not too crazily so. It feels even more so due to the scooped out low mids, but as I say, only rarely an issue. Fixed with DX180 + external amp in the form of Venture Electronics Runabout Amp RA2B-FE.

Bloatedness: Easily avoided here since the low mids are behind the upper mids while also remaining sufficiently macrodetailed. I can only guess that the crossover has been done perfectly too, handing off the DDs' work to BAs.


Mids

Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Hybrids have gotten better recently at blending the crossover between DD and BA units for those not to sound to strange whenever a single instrument crosses that line. Plenty of instruments can play low enough or have their undertones in bass area, so carefully chosen units that can cooperate in a uniform fashion. Always a sensitive topic. It's not an easy one to unfold and pack into words. We also have a different understanding of 'correct timbre'. Hearing the instruments in multiple settings and played by different artists is a must to really get familiar with their intricacies. Hype 4 is a set I'd easily classify more timbrally correct than many single DDs out there. Timbre is unavoidably connected to tuning as well. The low mid scoop costs it in certain instances of piano, bass, cello, etc., but as I said before, this can easily be a difference between hearing the said instruments in a smaller room vs outdoors. Sound waves are living creatures!

Forwardness: While I would appreciate a bit more body for the lower male vocals, this allows for a very all-rounded mid placement where no instruments feel left behind as an afterthought. This won't be too welcome for those that prefer mids up front and first in the mix. While never feeling as if they were left forgotten, they aren't as tangible and emotional as some other sets, first that come to mind are the AuR Audio Aure or Aurora.

Clarity: If this wasn't clear and transparent I would not be too kind to it, because noticeable V-shapeness is really not my preference usually. Once more, a careful source pick will either improve this by providing even more space between performers – like the RA2B-FE does – or do the opposite.

Vocals: As teased before, low male vocals in that bass and lower baritone range will feel as if they have not eaten well enough the day they performed. Not crazily so, it's miles ahead in presence compared to some all-BA sets. Those often sacrifice low midrange weight, but feel airier and more feathery as a result. Female vocals are better handled. No sign of shoutiness or screeching. Possibly just a little bit of metallicness on my more analytical sources. But honestly, it provides a well-rounded female vocal. And I looove female vocals. Despite that slight drawback with certain male voices, I would say this is still a good set for vocal lovers all things considered. Vocals are also constantly well supported by both bass and treble - depending on recording quality and overall warmth or brightness of the track they may ocassionally get a bit much.

Note weight: A quality that can make quite a big difference and is not visible on graphs. It is not necessarily limited just to midrange, but since the majority of instruments are hiding here, this is where I have placed this subcategory. Often I have a problem with note weight on V/U-shaped sets. Those boosts just mess with my preference for a healthy note weight throughout the piano's range. The Hype 4, despite getting lighter in those low mids, manages to present a well-fed note and captures the attention with each note.


Treble

Quantity vs quality: Just like bass, it's most certainly there in above neutral quantities, but for the most part, I am decently impressed by it. BAs can have this gel-like texture to them that does not feel as shimmery as I'd like and that is the case here too, but not offensively so.

Sibilance: Get this wrong and many aspects of the overall sound perception will struggle. There is lots of overtones hiding in that 6-8kHz range. While I would say I am sensitive to sibilance, I am even more sensitive to overdampening this range which sucks out lots of energy. With Hype 4 sibilance is not present. You can expect companies as renowned as Thieaudio to know how and where to cut to avoid harsh 's' and 'sh' sounds.

Crispness: A mix of multiple qualities hidden all the way from upper mids high up into treble. There is no straight-cut rule to tackling this and having it fit all ears and preferences. Recent example of a set that got this ever so slightly wrong and feels tiring to my ears because of it, is the DITA Project M. The BA in that is too hyped in that risky mid-treble range. Hype 4 is definitely crisp. And thankfully, to my ears, it does not struggle with any particular frequency range sticking out too much. I could, however, see it improved even further.

Air: Not lacking. Now sure, it's not as delicious and effortless and seemingly endless as in sets equipped with ESTs and tuned well. I feel it won't be a negative for a large majority of listeners. I also feel we only get caught up on this 'air' thing when the rest of the treble range is not to our taste – here the rest of treble is fully capable and could only be improved by smoother air extension.


Technicalities

Soundstage: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. I'm starting to get a grasp on which qualities make sets present a large soundstage to my ears. V/U-shaped sets I have heard usually felt more cramped than not in this regard, but not the Hype 4. While not feeling the largest, I have no complaints either and am fully satisfied with its height and depth, while the width could be better. Still it remains true that to my ears largest soundstage is achieved by sets that are much more to the warm side – Venture Electronics SIE still remains my champ in just how easy it is to forget you're actually listening to IEMs, not speakers.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs. And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. Hype 4 has both the soundstage and imaging well covered. Individual content gets its own place within the audible space that the Hype 4 draws. Following along to any of the performers is simple as long as the song is not too crowded in that upper mid and low treble region where it can get slightly chaotic.

Detail retrieval: A subject that should be cut into even smaller subjects to cover more easily, but I will try to explain it in one. Macro- and microdetails is how they are usually referred to. Macrodetails will be the larger items we can look into. Maybe something like a clap. How well is that clap separated and detailed in its onset and offset. While microdetails would mean delving even closer into that clap – how crisp is it, any minute detail that stands out, possibly the person is wearing rings and those hit each other when clapping. Both the macro- and microdetail retrieval are perfectly executed by the Hype 4. I particularly like how effortlessly resolving the low end is, especially when amplified to the fullest.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? Hybrids have come a long way in assuring the DD and BA drivers cooperate and mask their personality traits well. It is also always risky when deciding to tune the set more into a V/U-shape. That means you start from an intentionally worsened starting point since the midrange will feel like it's put on the backburner. Hype 4, once more, defies my previous understanding of V-shape and manages a tasteful balance between bass and treble while also making sure the midrange does not get left behind. The result is a cohesive hybrid that does well across a wide spectrum of genres.


Extra

Fun factor: Off the charts, especially on sources that amplify the bass over treble. On the DX180 which is dead neutral, the treble is a step sharper and more present than the bass. Switching over to the VE Stack and seeing how much sources can affect the IEM's character is eye-opening. All of a sudden the Hype 4 is much bassier and would lean closer to the basshead territory on my Quarter Circle Playground scheme. While smoothening the top end, it does not drown the detail either, so I would suggest a warmer-than-neutral source for the Hype 4.


How To Sum Up The Hype 4

This is a wise approach by Thieaudio. This will appeal to so many that its 'Hype' name is truly well chosen even though I still grin in amazement whenever I write it down. First few seconds of me hearing it were enough to make me a believer. With additional listening time it only grew on me further. Despite not being the largest fan of tunings that push the bass and treble over the mids, it somehow works even for my ears in this case. An all-rounder? Yes, I would say so.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

The H1 is a problem solver. It is perfect for situations when you have to leave your home stereo, car audio, IEMs, headphones, and earbuds behind, but still crave some music. Attach it anywhere on your clothes, bike or backpack, and go exploring. However, Bluetooth speaker market is very competitive nowadays, so let's check this one out in a bit more detail to help you reach the decision on whether this is worth your money.

Disclaimer: I have received this unit free of charge from Tronsmart in exchange for an article. This will not sway my thoughts and I will remain completely transparent as to how I feel about the item.

Feel free to explore here should you end up wanting this cutie:
https://www.tronsmart.com/explore-new-portable-speaker-and-noise-cancelling-headphones.htm

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DD7HDQ7J
Amazon FR: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B0DD7FQJBG
Amazon IT: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B0DD7FQJBG


A bit about me

Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extra-terrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvellous and life is nothing but a journey.

Let's Cut All The Non-Sense And Get To It

I have received this unit a few weeks before it was officially announced to have ample time for a shake through to form my thoughts, therefore I had no idea about the specifications or the price. I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I found out the price (currently on sale for 25USD), because even my first impression of pulling this cutie out of the box was positive. The H1 feels sufficiently weighty (273g) not to feel brittle and fragile like such small & affordable speakers often do, but it is still easily portable in any larger sized pocket. What’s especially useful is the great large hook design which allows you to hang it anywhere or secure it to your backpack for example. The recycled fabric material that covers the whole front side of the speaker feels comfortable and durable. I have not yet put it through its paces at the pool to truly test the IPX7 rating, but based on its quality feel I would not be too afraid to do so and patiently await the first opportunity.



Connecting my phone for the first time was a walk in the park. Connection remains stable even through multiple walls. Outdoors it never cut out even at greater distances, thanks to the 5.3 version of bluetooth it offers. Buttons are simply laid out and intuitive. Why over-complicate something as straight-forward. While we are mentioning the buttons, they offer a satisfying feedback click when you press them – so often do manufacturers get that aspect wrong and buttons feel so inconsistent in their response while also feeling awful and unsatisfying with each click. One negative I found (which won’t even really be a negative in most situations) is that the turn ON and OFF sounds as well as the connection sounds are too loud which means late evening listening is made more difficult, especially if you have someone else nearby that is not in the mood for music but would rather catch a good night’s sleep. Not a huge issue, you can always cover it by a pillow and reduce the turn ON/OFF volume in that old school way.

Second most widely spread and annoying downside of such speakers is their weak battery life. Not here, this is an easy all-day listen at medium volume. Tronsmart claim 20 hours in their testing at 50% volume, which I fully believe. It will easily get you through any hikes or bike rides unless you’re on your way around the world. Needless to say, upping the volume or playing with the - spoiler alert - customizable EQ will affect the battery life.



Okay, all the first impressions out of the way, it was time to choose a song I know well and see how Tronsmart Mirtune H1 does in the most important part of them all - the sound! I was not expecting much. I mean, how could such a tiny thing impress with its sound in any way? I was wrong. First thing I was impressed by was indeed how effortless it felt at 50% volume and how loud it was already. What immediately stood out to me was the impressively large sound it produced. It obviously was not as pinpoint precise as larger multi-channel speakers would be, but if you were to demo this one to someone with their eyes closed and asked them to show the size of the speaker they think they’re listening to, most would think it has to be something at least 3 times the size. It will suffice for background tunes on larger picnic gatherings in your garden.

Do not go in expecting any earth-shattering bass – this holds true to just about any speaker of this size, not solely the Mirtune H1. That said, official frequency response is 70-20000Hz, so it digs relatively low for its compactness. What you can expect is a tastefully presented midrange with ample drive and a truly remarkable timbre that makes it sound natural and tasteful. I have gone through a multitude of vocal tracks and have yet to find a voice that simply cannot be reproduced faithfully on here or having to skip a track. Treble is tuned very skilfully and it never oversteps the line of sharpness/shrillness/sibilance which would be a deal breaker. A combination of impressive bass, good mids and well-judged treble means this little thing can replay most non-bass-heavy music with ease and never feel like a fish out of the water. When you feel daring enough to try modifying the sound even more to your liking, there is a customizable EQ within an app through which you can connect your H1. I felt no need to do so, but knowing the app from other Tronsmart speakers I have tried before, it is amazingly simple to use and does just what you wish for.



Outdoors, this speaker sounds very clear and plays sufficiently loud (8W power rating is among the higher ones in this segment) for just about any situation when you need background music to maintain your energy levels high. You can connect two of these to play in stereo which would be fun if there are two of you going on a walk or to put them out in your garden and have ample coverage with actual stereo imaging.



I never use BT speakers to answer phone calls, but knowing that the H1 has a built in mic and allows for that functionality too, can be helpful to some.

Ah, worth mentioning, they come in two colours, black and blue.

How To Sum Up This Little Item

To sum up this little unit that could, I honestly have no real complaints about its ease of use or sound playback. And that are the two aspects I am very critical of in the competitive world of BT speakers. For the asking price you cannot go wrong with this adorable jewel. By now, having tried many of their speakers ranging from the smallest to largest one they offer, I have no doubt in Tronsmart's quality work and truly have no problems recommending the Mirtune H1 to anyone on the lookout for an affordable way to play music on-the-go.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the BQEYZ Cloud at a significant discount via BQEYZ official AliExpress store in exchange for this review. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the decision-making process behind the graphics & scores to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering the BQEYZ Cloud, please do not hesitate to reach me and ask for any specifics you want me to answer.

I have left the set to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Cloud. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 65-75dB. I am using the Pentaconn Coreir Brass tips and the Hisenior Whitewhale cable.


Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it

It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition

This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues

Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks

Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level


Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I will do it a bit differently this time. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

The Cloud comes in a schematic box that beautifully depicts both its visual appearance as well as its sound.



Upon opening you are greeted by the IEMs and IEMs only. This is a welcome change from the usual All-At-Once approach which tends to look messy and disorganized.



But worry not, a decent collection of accessories is hiding right under the IEMs. I was nicely impressed by all. Differently presented eartips ('Atmosphere' are narrower-bore, while 'Reference' are wider - the latter reduce bass which is by no means overpowering and right on the cusp of neutrality with the 'Atmopshere' tips) and the extra foam pair that came in a plastic container, a silky smooth and tangle-free 2-pin 3.5mm cable, a cleaning tool (not pictured), and a sweet carrying case.



I much preferred how the Cloud sounded with the 'Atmosphere' tips over 'Reference' ones. Latter are very bass-shy and increase upper mids which need no increasing.



Design is always going to be the most subjective topic. I for one, am positively impressed by how vivid yet calming this particular shade of blue they have chosen here is. The shell is simplistic and in no way offensive or too ostentatious, despite the colour. I like its shape which certainly reminds me of clouds too.

Comfort is tough to put into words. All of our ears are different. Yet, this should be a relatively secure and comfortable fit for most. The shape is ergonomic and the nozzle is not on the thicker side.



Some might struggle with the nozzle being a bit short perhaps. That is one of the reasons I have chosen the Coreir Brass tips in the end too. And tip-rolling was quite an undertaking, see proof below.



A few hours later, I've found the winner! Others were simply not a good fit character-wise to the Cloud. Second place actually stayed with the stock 'Atmosphere' tips which were not too far behind the Coreir to be frank.




Graphics, Graphs & Scores
As you might realize by now, I am all in for a well done set that dares to go a different way. Cloud does just that. Instead of placing its emphasis on the low end, it tries to impress with high end clarity and openness. Now, how well does it do? Let's have a closer look with some help of my faithful graphics.

I have added some other recently reviewed sets to this graph to help you better understand where the Cloud is in comparison to these others. Going from warmest to brightest - Sivga Que, Tripowin Piccolo, Simgot EW300, and BQEYZ Cloud. It boasts the greatest technicalities too, albeit closely followed by the EW300.



Six Basic Traits


As mentioned before, comfort is a non-issue and I would be willing to bet it won't cause any discomfort for the majority of users. What its universal shell design fails to provide is any significant isolation so these won't be the greatest listening partner in louder settings. Bass strikes a very sweet quality, but won't be sufficiently rumbly, punchy, nor present enough for lots of listeners that are used to ample bass most sets nowadays provide. It also does not provide enough meat for certain istruments to sound fully correct, eg. cello. Mids are a thing of beauty with their spaciousness and timbral accuracy as well as their clear as day vocal replay. Treble is just beautiful in this setting, but its wet and thick character only works this well in conjuction with the relative lack of bass. Cohesion is almost spot on, but treble does occasionally give a slight impression of wandering away on its own. Only rarely, though.

Magic Balance Boards


Cloud leans extremely lean which means it won't be too forgiving to poorer recordings. It also feels more speedy than slow, but the enjoyable decay on the bass notes (even though they're attenuated to begin with) brings sufficient balance to remain distinctly DD in presentation and avoid sounding BA-ish (talking solely about difference in driver character, I like all-BA sets too). On that last balance board it leans only slightly towards techy instead of musical. I find this set tremendously musical too, despite usually reserving this description for those warmer and less technically-savvy sets.

Soundstage Measurement Tool


Simple to read graphic that provides us with how I perceive the soundstage dimensions of the Cloud. It provides an impressive width and height while the depth is neither great nor bad. Particularly impressive is the sense of height which almost feels weightless and unburdened by bass. It fits acoustic music so wonderfully.

Quarter Circle Playground


Cloud leans trebleheady, but does not quite reach that status because of its exemplary balance that puts sufficient emphasis on bass too and will satisfy those bassheads that put first a tasteful texture and a delicate quantity over sense of speed, attack, or rumble. Cloud also leans a bit towards energetic instead of laidback due to its lively treble and the detail retrieval maintaining listener's attention.

To clarify, it is the sort of set that will absolutely not work for loud listeners, except those semi-deaf ones, maybe, because it is not afraid of putting its uppermids' foot forward and base the whole experience around it. I can see younger loud listeners clinching their teeth and making a very telling facial expression when they hear this.
Consequently, this set is highly dependent on genres – some genres can only really be enjoyed when turned up and supported by a healthy bass shelf. Those of you who exclusively listen to such genres, run away now. Bass here almost feels like an afterthought, yet is beautifully textured and non-intrusive. That in turn ends up making the sound very weightless and effortless. What is interesting and keeps me entertained is that despite the lightness which feels like a floating feather in the wind, it is not sterile, sharp, nor lacking substance. Each note rings out very sweetly. Now sure, it won't be the most weighty and full-bodied of notes, nonetheless they keep the listener engaged. Clarity is the main word.

This all lead to my overall score of the Cloud being very good. All things considered, this is easily my favourite neutral-bright set I have heard.



Keeping the scoring simple and easy to read is proving very difficult. Describing bass, mids and treble in three subcategories a piece is awfully unfair to some sets while others benefit. Either way, these are the categories I am continuing with for now. And Cloud's midrange is scored fairly via these three measures, so all is well.


How To Sum Up The BQEYZ Cloud

An all-rounder it is not. This won't put out any bass itch nor will it be the choice for those metal nights. What it will do is provide an open stage akin to that of earbuds and do so with ample detail and finesse. This is very impressive for those acoustic recordings. Jazz, especially such with female vocalists, is beautiful. The quality of shells, accessories, and the rebellious tuning vs the popular warm-leaning tuning fashionable nowadays, is what causes me to easily recommend this one to those unafraid of neutral-bright.
Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

What follows is my first ever Digital Audio Player (DAP) review. This will need a completely different approach than my usual IEM reviews, nonetheless, I am up for the challenge! But first ...

Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.






Without Further Ado

What makes a DAP either nice to use or an absolute pain are the following criteria:
size, weight, quality feel, battery, user interface, responsiveness, sound quality and possible sound tweaks it allows.
So let's get through these one by one and let me describe why – spoiler alert – I feel the DX180 is well worth its asking price.

To remain fully transparent, I have received the DX180 from iBasso at a discount in exchange for my review.
This does not affect my views and I am not afraid to mention the negatives – please refer to some of my other reviews which were not only sunshine and rainbows for confirmation.

Should you be interested to grab your own, here is a non-affiliated link to their website: https://www.ibasso.com/

Since I have not heard as many DAPs or other sources as I have IEMs this limits my scope on whether the DX180 competes well with others in this price segment, however, I have had the FiiO M15S before this one and despite costing twice as much, I feel the DX180 absolutely takes first place in every single category besides power output. A small price to pay. Every other aspect is much better implemented and a nicer user experience than the M15S was. This in itself is a major achievement however you look at it. To try and explain just why that is, we need to delve deeper into individual aspects of the DX180.


Unboxing & First Impressions

To start off where we all start off. Unboxing. I am an advocate for simplistic and non-wasteful packaging. Most of us just throw the box away or store it somewhere hidden from the light. In either case, while it sure is sweet to marvel at the lengths manufacturers go to to present their product in best possible light even before we as consumers start using it, going overboard on stuff like that screams worthless luxury to me. This is why I believe the budget should rather be focused on improving the product further instead of pretty boxes. But I digress, here is how it went with the DX180.


I have also received the CB18 and CB19 interconnects which do not come included!



Pulling the unit out I was so impressed by its build quality and its size is just about perfect too. The thickness is roughly twice the size of any modern phone. The height and width allow for a large screen while comfortably fitting in any reasonably sized pocket – even right alongside the phone if the other pocket has keys and wallet to carry. Its weight is right on that limit of feeling highly solid and not annoying to carry around or pulling down on your pants. Then the search for an turn ON button was on! Of course I was way too excited to get this thing going and see what it's like to bother reading any quick start guides or what the buttons do. Finally figuring out that the volume knob can be pressed too, I manage to awaken the blue beast!

I am very sensitive to how buttons respond and their feel. Another non-issue for the DX180, but if I were to nitpick, I would prefer the volume knob to provide some more resistance to turning and a more satisfying click. It's far from bad, but not quite perfect. Other three buttons which serve the duties of skipping to next/previous track or playing/pausing respectively, are very tactile and feel unbreakable. What is a slight negative regarding these three is that they don't provide any real feedback nor feel when you press them with the case on. That's not too annoying because they take care of their job quickly enough and that itself lets you know whether you pressed it effectively or not.

Since I have not heard as many DAPs or other sources as I have IEMs this limits my scope on whether the DX180 competes well with others in this price segment, however, I have had the FiiO M15S before this one and despite costing twice as much, I feel the DX180 absolutely takes first place in every single category besides power output. A small price to pay, unless all you use is very hard-to-drive gear. Every other aspect is much better implemented and a nicer user experience than the M15S was. This in itself is a major achievement whichever way you look at it.

To try and explain just why that is, we need to delve deeper into individual aspects of the DX180. Seeing the iBasso logo pop up on the screen, I knew immediately this screen has very decent graphics – unlike the FiiO M15S, but let's not get too carried away.



Turn on procedure is rather quick. So was the initial setup, and off I went to searching my Tidal playlists and deciding which song to choose for the ever important first listen. I went back to my favourites and gave the Creep by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart a listen via my current favourite set – the AüR Audio Aure. Yes, this is good. It did not take long to appreciate how effortless and resolving it felt. But more on its sound later.

I was immediately impressed. And equipped with that positive first impression I was very intrigued to find out how it does with all my other favourite head gear.



What's Included

The accessories are well thought out. All the basics for stress-free usage of your new DAP are there. A well fitting case that still allows for your chosen colour to shine through, and many screen protectors, which, despite being on the flimsier side and loving to bubble, do their job sufficiently well. I have managed to make a complete bubbly mess upon first application, so having multiple tries is a nice touch. It's like iBasso know some of us are simply not as handy.

Since this is a low-midrange priced DAP, expecting a wild unboxing experience would be foolish. Instead, you get a sweet normal-sized box with no less and no more than the bare necessities. No, it's actually better than that. You don't have to worry about getting the case nor the screen protector on the aftermarket since they come included - unless you end up wanting to upgrade them after you fall in love with the DX180 and find out you might be keeping it for loooong. The only other thing that's there is a thick USB-A to USB-C charging cable.



Specs

These have certainly had something to do with me deciding to go for the DX180. It offers ample power and is bang up to date in many of the most important aspects in my opinion. Being able to change the battery is a big one – very thoughtful of iBasso. Throwing a decent chunk of money into something that is inevitably going to lose most of its value in two years because of its dying battery is a tough pill to swallow. Thankfully, here we avoid swallowing that one.

As for all other specs, here they are and I will not pretend to have an ear skilled enough to hear those numbers in function. What I will do instead, is tell you how it performs with my head gear I have at hand.



Usability

I have had the DX180 with me and used it regularly for more than a month now. To put this into perspective, in this same time period, I had already decided the FiiO M15S just was not up to my standards and was looking to get rid of it. That's a good sign for the iBasso. I have had no major lags, it never really felt too big for my use case, it continues impressing me with its sound as well. It offers a very open soundscape with all elements present but never overly excited. It's a serious step up from the dongles I have heard, though admittedly, those were in a much lower price category. Therefore, I can only really compare it to my trusted Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC combo (short, VE Stack) which is, ... hah, yeah well, ... transportable at best.




Sound characteristics

I am glad to disclose that this is a very uncoloured and refined-sounding DAP. While most of my other sources provide at least some colour that can either end up working well or not, depending on the IEM/HP/earbud I use, here it's simply a clean sheet of paper that lets the gear sound as its true self. It allows a slight play with the digital filters which can actually make a bigger difference than I had imagined. They won't completely transform your bassless IEM into a basshead monster, of course, but they can serve to refine or polish the sound to perfection should you find it maybe just a tad boomy, or sibilant, or slugish, or digital, or … It essentially balances out your favourite IEM with your mood to that last couple of percent.

I'll deploy three different variants to truly give the DX180 a good shake up.
In the Headphones camp, the Meze 109 Pro. In the earbud camp, the Yincrow RW2000. In the IEM camp, the AüR Audio Aurora.



So let's start making our way through some songs to describe how the DX180 colours, or rather does not colour the sound much at all.


Soldier of fortune, Deep Purple

This is a gorgeous song that sounds tremendous on the Meze 109 Pro. The neutrality of the DX180 is welcome to keep the character of the 109 Pro untouched for this song which requires the spaciousness and not too much additional warmth. Low end stays very full but not boosted at all. Smaller dongles usually try to trick us into sounding larger than they are precisely by boosting midbass and hence bloating the lower midrange too. I was hoping this won't be the case for the DX180 and it most certainly isn't. 109 Pro are not the bassiest pair of HPs, but that's not why I bought them in the first place. I knew all too well these are meant more for acoustic music instead. This pairing with the DX180 is therefore wonderful. DX180's technicalities are very much worthy of its price tag. It manages to separate individual performers and yet keeps the whole story uniform. This is where lesser dongles will struggle too, often sounding congested, especially on more revealing gear, like the 109 Pro's.

To see whether my opinion changes on earbuds, next I swapped to the Yincrow RW2000 earbud. Wild how revealing and technically incredible these are in an earbud form. What is the most noticeable difference to the 109 Pro is the lesser warmth and even sharper transients and upper midrange. So, the DX180 has a different role to play – keep the glare that may arise in the upper mids to a minimum or at least balance it well into the rest. Does it succeed? Indeed it does. It's a smooth but bright listen. No trouble handling the 's' sounds. This sort of brightness I am okay with.

As for the IEM's let's choose something different again – AüR Audio Aurora. A 2DD + 6BA hybrid that is very relaxed in the treble, but requires ample power to make that bass textured and full. The iBasso is up to the task yet again on the balanced output. This song gets a new take via the Aurora. His voice is the center of attention with bass and treble merely accompanying it. Wonderfully done.



For the purpose of comparison, the Venture Electronics Stack offers a significantly warmer take, that noticeably boosts bass. But while doing so it never muddies the lower midrange or feels overbearing. On top of that, it's a very revealing source too. It simply sounds right despite adding some colour to the low end. Better than the DX180? No, I'd actually say they play at the same level, while differing in their signatures.



Creep, Postmodern Jukebox feat. Haley Reinhart

Aurora is that sort of weird set that can sound congested and rather intimate on certain sources while it expands more freely on others. The DX180 gives her this intriguing balance of both worlds – it's still a smaller perceived soundstage but individual performers always have lots of blackness or empty space around them. This allows for a more focused listen too should you wish. Female vocal is just a little reserved since the upper midrange is tuned more calmly, but nonetheless Haley sounds very full and playful.

The RW2000 are very different to Aurora yet DX180 seems to suit both just fine. It manages to keep the RW2000's energy, yet never go overboard – at normal (70-80dB) listening volumes. Sure, higher up in volume it does get less controlled, but it's down to the RW2000's tuning. Haley is much more present and all minute details are peeled out sweetly.

The bassy 109 Pro – in comparison to the other two – is like a mix of both. And once more, the DX180's skillfully tuned neutrality is welcoming to that as well. There's a recurring theme forming. DX180 is a jack of all trades. A master of none? Perhaps, but in its price range there are no real substitutes that cover more ground as effectively.

On the VE Stack, the low end gets more grunt and perhaps she sounds slightly thicker and makes up a larger bubble of sound. Still, all performers are very nicely separated and nuanced.



Cannon in D Minor (Live), Two steps from Hell

109 Pro to start us off. Being open-backed we are expecing great things about the soundstage. This song really requires openness and precise placement to avoid sounding congested and simply unenjoyable. The DX180 manages to let the 109 Pro's breathe sufficiently well, but there is a bit of that unclear focus which then makes the song feel less epic. For a completely different take I then reached for the RW2000. Despite missing the low end to add a layer of heft, it replays the song with a different take, supported by the DX180. Treble is on the verge of splashiness but held at bay just enough. This would not be my first suggestion for this genre, but knowing it can be handled acceptably well is reassuring. Aurora to come last and show its lushness, especially after the RW2000. Yet again, the DX180 simply delivers the powers and untangles the data in a way so it does not affect the earphone's natural sound and lends a helping hand to make them sound their best. In the case of Aurora any additional warmth would completely make this song unlistenable, so remaining neutral is the best bet.

The VE Stack does do better in bass texture here. It's also the impression it leaves because of the slight boost it provides which either ends up working or not, primarily depending on the song. Then I'm reminded that the DX180 is very pocketable while this monstrosity is absolutely not – a win for the DX180.



Kuwait, Mazde

An interesting song for sure. One full of nuance and mystery. The elements that feel disorderly yet somehow form a whole in this captivating way. So, to extract the most, the source needs to possess a fair share of resolution, imaging, and layering capabilities. To keep things short and sweet, the DX180 yet again provides all the necessary ingredients for this recipe to come to life. No matter the transducer I used, they are all great in their own regard. Needing the low end, the RW2000 earbuds are the least pleasant here, but by no means an unpleasant listen.




How To Sum Up The iBasso DX180
I can't remember the last time I had so little trouble recommending any piece of gear. The DX180 makes life easier. This is what it's all about in this hobby of ours - forget your daily worries and allow music teleport you to a different, calmer world just for an hour or two. Dealing with lag, poor sound, awfully handling gear is not on the agenda for that hour or two. DX180 just likes to be at service. Thank you, iBasso, for improving our lives - if only for that hour or two.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

Instead of my usual lengthy reviews, this one will be quick & easy! To not keep you hanging for too long, I will keep this one brief, go through the basics, and freely express my thoughts through my usual graphics and scores while adding a word or two describing why it's rated or placed where it is. Without further ado ...




I am all for simplicity, at least in stuff that does not cost much. Piccolo is the simplest of simple. It comes preconfigured with the cable and M-sized tips already installed. So the time between opening the box and playing your first song is greatly reduced! Yoohooo! And since this one impresses with its grown-up sound, that makes it even more of a win.



This graph is an easy representation of the IEM's warmth/brightness in correlation to the technicalities. Piccolo comes in right around neutralish with a slight lean towards warmth, but it's counterbalanced by the lively treble thanks to its well-positioned ~12kHz peak. In the technical aspect it's not mind-blowing, primarily because the midrange always has this float to it - it never really offers a pin-point sharp image.



In the bass department it's a very well implemented bass shelf, but one that doesn't offer much rumble nor punch - the extreme movements are overdampened. It is, however, gorgeously textured.
Mids are never too squeezed or crowded, but their note precision is not right up to the standards. Vocals are smooth, natural, palpable, and non-shouty in both male and female guise.
Treble is impressively musical despite the usual single-large-peak-tune of the single DDs. The difference being that on the Piccolo they have moved that peak to an earlier ~12kHz instead of the usual 15kHz. That apparently has an effect on its undertones as well. It's an approach more manufacturers should try applying.



Soundstage is never too impressive, but never seems closed in either. Just okay.



Piccolo leans thicker, slower, and more musical. The thickness is particularly noticeable in the midrange. Slowness costs it in how it responds to quicker genres. It is a set aimed at musicality over technical prowess.



Individually, it excels in comfort, bass, and cohesion. No real major downsides can be found as this fun graphic shows. It always leans closer to the smiley face.



This simple-to-read graphic shows the Piccolo is just barely coming off-center towards 'laidback' instead of 'energetic' and towards 'basshead' instead of 'treblehead'. It can be manipulated into leaning either side of that center circle by a specific use of eartips, cables, or sources.


Quick Summary

It's a set that is well worth a multiple of its discounted price. It stays close to that neutrality and improves upon it by providing both a satisfactory bass response as well as a different take on the treble. It's a musical affair that many would enjoy.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Kiwi Ears KE4 from Linsoul in exchange for my honest thoughts in this review. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.
Link to the KE4 on Linsoul's website: https://www.linsoul.com/products/ki...KqYpEW3qK2eJ-EkHQcbLrDy0T2DNGU6u5qQkYhtOWiQ07


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, describe the main sound categories, and compare it to some sets that seem like an interesting comparison to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a sub-200€ hybrid, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer.

I have left the set to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the KE4. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB.



I was forced to swap out the cheap feeling cable that came with the IEMs. The stock eartips were interesting, and after tip rolling a bit, I felt no need to tip roll and just accepted their weird appearance.



Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level


Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I will do it a bit differently this time. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

The packaging and accessories are ridiculous and far from being worthy of the price tag. I am all for simplicity, but in this case it seems just as if they are testing our patience as consumers.






This. Is. Spartaaaaa(n)! Even the included case is not helping the case - haha! A lesson or two from Sivga's book could help. Their Que is a few levels better accessorized including the amazing case, all at one third the price. Also, why are there three small sized eartips?

Design is always subjective, but seeing these via pics I was very much looking forward to unboxing them. Faceplates are indeed nice, very nice even. The logo is just the right size and in correct colour not to jump out too much. But ... why is this feeling so cheap? Connecting the cable was actually scary. Then pulling it out again to swap it for something a bit better - Yongse Warrior, was even more stressful. Luckily, nothing has broken (yet).



The fit is perfect. I think this should be a universal mould to be used for all IEMs that can package their drivers in here. Of course, if it were better quality too, not this cheap plastic.




Graphics, Graphs & Scores

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay.



Here are my scores of the KE4 in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am primarily scoring sonic performance, regardless of the price, so cheaper (meaning sub 150€) sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going! I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. *PENDING A BIG UPDATE, THESE CATEGORIES DO NOT OFFER A FAIR DEPICTION OF THE OVERALL SCORE OF INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS - TOO KIND TO SOME SETS, TOO STRICT FOR OTHERS*



As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

SBT - Six Basic Traits

MBB - Magic Balance Boards

SMT - Soundstage Measurement Tool

QCP - Quarter Circle Playground

Sound Descriptions & Comparisons

*from here on, Head-fi did not allow me to swap to non-bold writing anymore for some reason ... lovely*

Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: This strikes a happy medium. It sacrifices a bit of both on its way to how it wants to be perceived. Quantity is well balanced by the rest of the spectrum, that's why it's not too much for my ears. If the upper range was not as present as well, this could indeed be a basshead set. Quality is right up there with the best I've experienced in this price range. Having 2DDs doubles the effective cone area and as a result this can move some air and rumble.

Rumble: Definitely among the stronger ones I have heard. It does not get too flabby or out of sorts either. Just a capable subbass. Very intoxicating on some songs, for sure.

Attack: This is why the overall bass enjoyment is slightly reduced. Midbass does not reach the level of its sibling called subbass. The attack is rounded and gives way to the subbass to shine instead. A very different take to something like the AFUL Explorer.

Decay: It's not afraid to stay there and let the note ring out however long it wishes to. This gets a bit unwanted in those quicker genres. The whole bass experience is built around the subbass.

Boominess: Just a tiny bit boomy in some instances, but I can excuse that due to just how prominent the bass is overall. This costs it a bit with stuff like bass guitars which lose some composure.

Bloatedness: None to report. The upper mids and particularly treble extension are such that even if some bloat were to creep in, those former frequencies would mask it.



Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani)

Timbre: No real issues here, besides the ones that arise in the bass due to this clear preference of subbass. This gives the bass instruments a bit more of a lazy feel to their presentation.

Forwardness: Not forward at all in either positioning nor prominence. I usually prefer a cleaner midrange and this perceived U-shape is not helping much. Still, looking at it from a different perspective, this can be a plus for quieter listening.

Clarity: Just a bit hazy or cloudy in certain scenarios when the song gets crowded. Not as much due to the low end being overzealous as is usually the case, but just a tad unclear in lower midrange, most likely due to relying only on a single BA while the other is too busy trying to squeeze out air.

Vocals: Both male and female vocals are clear of any huskiness or sibilance, but don't carry as much emotion, even in songs like All about you by Sophie Zelmani. It's not too far off in that regard, but those who are primarily vocal lovers won't be moved to tears, I feel. It's not a tuning issue, more an issue of vocalist's positioning (sounds a bit as if the user of the IEM were singing) and the driver choice perhaps.

Note weight: I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey, topic just to carry my point across. KE4 is very impressive in this regard. All sounds have ample body to them. It never feels like a bag of chips – looking full, then realizing upon opening it's mostly filled with air. This allows a smoother textural quality to the sound and it goes well with the treble air balancing out the whole presentation.



Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins)

Sharpness: No real sharpness – (most) manufacturers have by now figured out how and where to smooth out those risky peaks. Getting this right is therefore not only a question of erasing peaks, but keeping some peakiness in certain areas – depending on intended tuning and driver limitations – to keep the listening experience exciting while never fatiguing.

Sibilance: Another area that requires thoughtful approach. It requires skilled ears and various instruments as well as vocals to hone this one in to perfection. Choosing the safer option of attenuating a wider frequency spectrum is usually recommended, but look at how something like the Subtonic STORM tackles this – wildly different and totally unappealing to our eyes that prefer a smooth graph. Being recognized as one of if not The top dog to beat in this hobby of ours, you cannot deny that choice was intentional and very well thought out.

Naturalness: This is where I'm missing some of what I search for and cherish in my most favourable sets. Sure, it extends well enough, provides ample detail retrieval and manages to escape the traps of sharpness or sibilance, yet it's somehow not as effortless and well-implemented listen as all of the above would imply. I am not wise enough to put my finger on the exact problem, but it might be that my ears are not well suited for the chosen BAs.

Air: Impressive for a 2DD+2BA hybrid. Is it that sort of ethereal and dreamy air that people pay Elysian Annihilator sort of money for? No. It's a slightly pushed BA that does indeed extend but won't set your world on fire with its gorgeous violin overtones.


Technicalities

Soundstage: Not the largest in either direction. What's missing the most is height. It's a bit squished. Never too small to be annoying, but it's not a highlight.

Imaging: Sufficient to not be called out as a weakness, but merely average. I was expecting more for some reason, but a rather simple driver selection and a plastic shell won't win any awards here.

Detail retrieval: Much better than the two previous topics would led me to believe. Despite working with a rather small stage and imaging being a tad imprecise, the detail of single performers can be pretty well displayed. Focusing on one performer and following them along is enjoyable.

Cohesiveness: Another slight weakness. It does better than something like the EA500 LM where the DD felt as if it was torn into three parts with each of the parts playing its own best self of bass, mids, and treble respectively. Choosing correct drivers and implementing them well with a quality crossover region is where the magic happens. Sadly, on the KE4 the bass, mids and treble are still not a part of the same team – at least to my ears. Their qualities are too different.


Fun factor: Very fun with the right tracks. It can, however, turn into a bit of an annoying listen with other tracks, it is a fine line.


Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: I'd suggest a warmer source to help it with the reduced midbass/low mids while slightly cutting the wings off the treble extension.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: It plays well with subbass-first genres, while some other midbass-rich or treble-heavy genres are not its best showing.


Comparisons

In comparison to the AFUL Explorer these are the main differences: Explorer sounds much larger in all directions. It effortlessly extends wider, deeper and taller than the KE4. Weirdly, despite the reduced treble it is not perceived as much warmer to my ears. It might be the larger soundstage that better offsets that warmth. Low bass is much more pronounced and enjoyable on the KE4 if that is your thing. Overall, I prefer Explorer's bass with a better judged balance between sub- and midbass. Stuff like bass guitars and kick drums have a significant advantage on the Explorer. It makes them sound more correct and full. Stating the obvious, KE4 has a more extended treble, however, I prefer the overall balance and cohesiveness of the Explorer. Midrange seems less alienated and joins better on either side with their bass and treble crossover. Vocals on neither the Explorer or KE4 are my favourite, but KE4 does a better job – at least at low volumes. At higher volumes vocals on the Explorer gain some traction too and sound lively and free of muddiness. Unrelated to sound, Explorer's shells feels of much, much better quality. They are also a bit smaller, but very similar in shape – if one fits, the other will too.

One more comparison, the Rose Technics Star City 5 Pro (SC5P). A very different set that might not appeal to those that are looking for something along the lines of the KE4, but it would go well as a second set along the KE4. It's different in just about everything. Where do I start. Bass feels much more effortless but less present and not as thick as on the KE4. Since the KE4 lacks that ultimate clarity and note separation in the lows, I sometimes prefer SC5P's approach – bass guitars are especially more athletic. Due to just that, the SC5P also sounds cleaner all the way throughout the mids. It does lack the note weight and gets the sibilance area wrong. 'S' and 'sh' sounds fall way out of the rest of the mix, especially on male vocals. Brass too, it lacks finesse. Vocals and brass are therefore much better on the KE4 overall. The SC5P wins on overall cohesiveness. Sure, it's a brighter-leaning set, but it does its work in a more uniform fashion than the often disconnected KE4. Treble extension is not SC5P's strength and it shows even on stuff like the hihats and cymbals which are better rendered on the KE4. Despite being roughly one third the KE4's price, SC5P's shells feel way nicer and more durable, so does the stock cable when compared to KE4's stock cable.

How To Sum Up The Kiwi Ears KE4

So close, yet so far. This one might fall victim to a very competitive market today, especially in this mid-fi territory. Here customers start expecting a whole lot more than just a pleasant tuning. Enjoyable unboxing and somewhat decent accessories are the basics. Then, a high-quality feeling product. All of these are not KE4's strengths. It does, luckily, make up some of those shortcomings with an interesting and fresh tuning. It lacks some finesse and cohesion. I think I can suggest this one when it comes down in price to something closer to 100€. So close, yet so far.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful. And sorry once again for being unable to swap back to non-bold text for half of this review ... That's a first for me.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini from Linsoul in exchange for my honest thoughts. Even if I wanted to shill this to the moon and back, I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Here is the link to Linsoul's listing: https://www.linsoul.com/products/ki...5G3LjzlFNi4pDjNqhjLoyeFA5qUNPPAb1U5Q1Wnrmo1c9


Let's Get Going!

The Technical Stuff

Who could describe this thing's underpinnings better than Kiwi Ears themselves, so here are the ins and outs of what this small thing is hiding inside.



Packaging & Accessories

Accessories start and end at NONE. None at all. Great, I am all for simplicity. Still waiting for the day when manufacturers start offering IEMs without cables, tips, cases, swappable nozzles, foams etc, etc.

And the packaging is just as straight-forward too:




My Findings About The Allegro Mini

I admit, featuring a dongle is something a bit different for me, but there's no time to lose, let's go. Today's feature is the Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini dongle DAC/AMP. I have got a simple yet effective plan worked out on how to present this cute little item.

One of the critical aspects of dongles is battery drain and the fact they dongle and cause stress on your USB-C port of your phone/tablet/laptop. Battery drain really seems a non-issue on the Allegro Mini. But sure, it will increase consumption, but by a minuscule margin. The comically small size and lightweight structure of the Allegro Mini should in theory minimize the strain on your port, but I feel this design might be even riskier than the usual cable-connected dongles. This requires a whole lot more caution since there is no wiggle room and all movements are having a direct effect on the USB-C port. This is made worse by the fact the Allegro Mini has a small lip around the edge of the connector which makes it sit a couple of milimeters away from the phone or tablet's body and applying side pressure is all too easy. Also, the normal cables will peek even further than the edge of the phone, left very exposed and impractical. Some of this is remedied by using a 90° cable for your IEMs. Pulling this in and out of your pocket is not too difficult in itself, but I don't trust myself to do so, at least not on a regular basis. Getting it caught somewhere and pulling on something is almost inevitable. This is what cost it the score at the end. I just don't see this as a solution to the dongle 'problem'.




Here you can see the couple of milimeters on either side of the connection. Adding unwanted pressure sideways is too easy. I dare not disconnect and connect IEMs without pulling the dongle out of the port first.

Since I am sure by now that my most neutral sounding source is the iBasso DX180, I will compare the TONALITY with that one. Of course, I do not expect this grape-sized dongle to be able to compete with the 500USD DAP in any category. Then, I will reach for two IEMs, one is Kiwi Ears' own KE4 and the other my cheapest, 10USD, single DD, the Tripowin Piccolo to see how far a total of 34USD can get you nowadays – spoiler alert: pretty far! Diminishing returns is the term that comes to mind.

Tonal Character

Without further ado, here comes the tonal comparison with the DX180 after listening to all three IEMs on both.

Going through some of my favourite and well-known tracks I use in most reviews, the performance differences are clearly noticeable, but we're not here for those. Instead, I'm only interested in tonal colouration of the Allegro Mini. Changes are the low-priced dongle segment's usual warmth addition, more boominess, and slight reduction in treble forwardness to prevent any spiciness. The added boominess and warmth are welcome on the Tripowin Piccolo, while the reduced and less crisp treble are not. The KE4 does not respond well to either of these colourations, but isn't stressed either, so it will depend on the song.

Song Examples



House of the Rising Sun, alt-J & Tuka

This song has this mysterious vibe going on throughout the song. It requires the DAC to display that in a way larger than believable. This won't happen on the Allegro Mini, but just how much do we want for 24 bucks? Overall, it's sounding well enough. Then the bass comes in with its multiple drops and Allegro Mini does audibly replay even the lowest notes without too much stress. It just slightly struggles with texture and making the subbass feel like this great big comfortable sound, like your favourite pillow. This dongle does, however, have enough power to maintain control over the movement of the driver and not to completely fall apart and distort like wild. At low to mid volume no distortion can be noticed, while higher there is a bit of a stressed character and notes get crunchy and overflow one another, but we're talking unlistenable volumes already, at least for longer periods of time.

Piccolo is a set that has a very tasteful bass in its arsenal. While the Allegro Mini does not necessarily ruin that balance and bass mostly stays in line, it does not help improve it either. Lowest notes are fine for this simple single DD and small yet feisty dongle, so is the midbass control. But to put things back into perspective of someone that does not obsess over ridiculous details like we audiophiles do - at 34 bucks, this is insanely good.

KE4's bass gets amplified and since it's a good quality bass to start from, it's still mightily impressive off of this tiny little unit. In other technical aspects it does indeed fall flat against current ~100USD dongles which can actually get the technicalities up a notch or two.


Kuwait, Mazde

A special song that requires good atmosphere and resolution.

Starting off with the KE4 here. I am quickly reminded that it's a lower range source I am listening to because the clarity and layering are just not up to par with gear I'm more used to. Then, when I look at this from someone's perspective who's just joined the hobby perhaps and was told that he needs a dongle to raise the bar, I can see the appeal again. That is until I try to unplug the unit and struggle to do so in an effortless way – not happening.

Piccolo is so joyous here, just a sweet yet energetic listen, there is some chemistry between the two. This song is not too midbassy and that helps to get the overall balance into a bit more of a U-shape. Even the atmosphere is more enveloping than on the KE4. No real downsides to report, except some technicalities such as imaging which could be improved – a combined issue between the IEM and the dongle.


Lonely island, Amble

Piccolo's rendering of the guitar is sweer, but just slightly restrained with all notes smoothened a tad too much. His rich and heart-melting voice is perfectly placed and still allows the guitars to accompany him. I'd prefer a crisper guitar and better supported vocal, but again, 34USD.

KE4's guitar is just a tad slow and heartless too. His voice gels with the guitars just as well as on the Piccolo, but remains more supported and better positioned in imaging sense. Thus the impression the KE4 leaves turns out more cohesive and impressive. Honestly, not missing much from this experience for a casual listen with nothing out of ordinary.


To Sum Up This Little Cutie

No real issues with its sound were found. That's a positive! Especially at this price, right. And it looks and feels worthy of double its pricetag. However, and this is a big one, usability is less than ideal and needs further perfecting. Not one that I would recommend as an alternative to usual dongles, that, well, dongle.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the ROSESELSA RS9039 directly from Rose Technics in exchange for my honest thoughts. I am way too mindful of others' money to overly hype stuff that does not deserve it, so there's that.

Here is the link to their website: https://rosetechnics.com/products/r...O3krAvyNse7zzO_zbEMxMu&variant=47078043156785


The Technical Stuff

Who could describe this thing's underpinnings better than Rose Technics themselves, so here are the ins and outs of what this small thing is hiding inside.

That's all nice and fine, but how does it translate to the performance and actual use case, we'll see later.

It comes in a sweet case which I was not expecting:






My Findings About The RS9039

I admit, featuring a dongle is something a bit different for me, but there's no time to lose, let's go. Today's feature is the Roseselsa RS9039 dongle DAC/AMP. I have got a simple yet effective plan worked out on how to present this cute little item.

One of the critical aspects of dongles is battery drain and the fact they dongle and cause stress on your USB-C port of your phone/tablet/laptop. The small size and acceptable weight of the RS9039 minimizes the strain on your port, but some caution is still advised. Pulling this in and out of your pocket is not too difficult, but I don't trust myself to do so, at least not on a regular basis. Getting it caught somewhere and pulling on something is almost inevitable. About the battery drainage, I cannot say I have noticed anything too out of the ordinary, but clearly, this has no power on its own, so it depends on your host device to suck juice from - it is not a heavy drinker, I can confirm.

Since I am sure by now that my most neutral sounding source is the iBasso DX180, I will compare the TONALITY with that one. Only the tonality, because of course, it's only fair not to expect the pinky-sized dongle to be able to compete with the 500USD DAP in any category. Then, I will reach for three (all black, as luck might have it) pairs of IEMs, two of which I have recently reviewed, so I believe I am quite familiar with their sound overall – the tribrid Simgot EW300 HBB and the hybrid Rose Technics Star City 5 Pro. Third one is the impressive and wildly affordable single dynamic driver Tripowin Piccolo, just to see, how far less than 100USD in total (Piccolo currently retails at 9,99USD(!) while the RS9039 is about 75USD) can get you nowadays – spoiler alert: pretty far! Diminishing returns is the term that comes to mind.

Then, to spice it up I will throw at the dongle my full-sized HPs in the form of Meze 109 Pro.



Additionally, I will compare its capabilities to a 24USD Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini which is a TINY thing (can you even spot it on this table?), half the size of the already small Roseselsa.

Without further ado, here comes the tonal comparison with the DX180 after listening to all three IEMs on both.

Tonal Character

Going through some of my favourite and well-known tracks I use in most reviews, the differences are clearly noticeable. Star City 5 Pro gets a slight midbass boost on the RS9039 and just a tad attenuated in sibilance area. Very similar effect can be noticed on the EW300 HBB, while also showing a softer edge in the mid treble on the RS9039. On the Piccolo midrange gets pushed forward a little and some additional hiss is introduced. Simply put, it has no significant negatives compared to the DX180 tonality-wise. Most noticeably, it adds some midbass and smoothens mid treble. Some additional hiss is introduced, especially noticeable on my tablet, where something seems to be incompatible between the two. Alright, so how does all that affect it when going through some songs I consider myself well-versed on?


Song Examples

House of the Rising Sun, alt-J & Tuka

This song has this mysterious vibe going on throughout the song. That is maintained and nicely stretched out in dimensions on the Roseselsa. Then the bass comes in with its multiple drops. Even the lowest of low notes are grippy and tight. That shows this dongle does have some power to maintain control over the movement of the driver even in these most extreme movements. At low to mid volume no distortion can be noticed, while higher there is a bit of a stressed character, but we're talking unlistenable volumes already, at least for longer periods of time. However, even at 100+dB the low end was huge on the Rose Technics Star City 5 Pro – as if these two were made by the same company – oh wait, they are! This duo works very well, since the Star City 5 Pro can be leaning a bit brighter on most sources.

EW300 HBB fits the character of the RS9039 pretty well too. The main reason for that is the slight lack of midbass presence on the EW300 which is now aided. While it is a bit warmer as a result, it still misses the attack and punchiness. Roseselsa does not manage to fix that.

Piccolo is a set that has a very tasteful bass in its arsenal. While the Roseselsa does not necessarily ruin that balance, it does not help improve it either. Lowest notes are impressive for this simple single DD and small yet feisty dongle.


Kuwait, Mazde

A special song that requires good atmosphere and resolution.

Piccolo is so joyous here, just a sweet yet energetic listen, a special marriage between the two. This song is not too midbassy and that helps to get the overall balance into a bit more of a U-shape. No real downsides except some technicalities such as imaging which could be improved – more of an issue of the IEM. Let's hear if that is improved on the Star City 5 Pro.

First seconds of the song were all I needed to see this is improved upon the technical aspect of the previous pairing. We did lose some sweetness in exchange for better sound separation and imaging. It never sounds too busy and crowded. Very well done.

EW300 is like a mix of both worlds and it allows the dongle's strengths to come through. The bass is quite immense. You're not missing a single low note, that's for sure. The crispness is EW300's quality and all the Roseselsa has to do is not ruin it. It does not ruin it, on the contrary, it covers it in a silky dress to make it just that little more polished.


Lonely island, Amble

EW300 and Roseselsa render the guitar naturally but just slightly restrained. His rich and heart-melting voice is maybe only a bit too forward in this case. Let's swap to the other two to get a better idea if that's the IEM's 'fault' or dongle's 'fault'.

Piccolo's guitar playback is not my favourite from the get-go. It then gets even less enjoyable with the very forward vocal. Not too pleased with this song and my source&IEM combo. One more remains.

Star City 5 Pro's guitar is just a tad weighty and wooden too. His voice has an interesting forwardness but gels better with the guitars supporting him, thus the impression it leaves turns out a bit more cohesive and impressive. Either way, since all three sets struggle a tad here, I am afraid strings get a bit too polished and polite on the RS9039. Not that noticeable in usual arrangements, while this stripped down song shows that quite clearly.


And how does it do with the Meze 109 Pro?
Tonally, it's marvelous. The 109 Pro can be quite cold occasionally, but not on the RS9039. I have never liked the 109 Pro off of my other ESS-equipped sources. This goes to show the DAC chips themselves do not tell the whole story. Now, will the little Roseselsa and its 300mW run the 109 Pro to their best dynamic and resolving potential? Not quite. But listening casually is nice too, and for that the Roseselsa does a wonderful job even on these full-sized headphones.

A quick A/B vs the Kiwi Ears Allegro Mini shows the Roseselsa is a more grown up, better thought-out, smoother device. It shows more character, resolves better, allows the ambiance to hover around in a larger setting, and better controls the bass. The smaller and significantly cheaper Allegro Mini leaves a more neutral tonal impression. Vocals are less aggressive, which can either be a good or bad thing, depending largely on the performer and the recording. The form factor is wild and really cute, but it's actually even less friendly to use than the regular dongles, such as the Roseselsa RS9039. I will go into a little more detail on a short review on the Allegro Mini which follows soon.



One negative worth mentioning that I have noticed while A/Bing is that disconnecting the RS9039 from the phone or whathaveyou, makes the IEMs make this 'popping' sound in quite an uncomfortable way, but not dangerously loud. Still, I recommend disconnecting the IEMs or putting them out of your ears before disconnecting the dongle from the host unit.


Summing Up the Roseselsa RS9039

This is one for the dongle aficionados that are lacking a very small dongle which feels of significant quality and does well epsecially with those sets that need a bit of a push in that midbass area and maybe some finesse in the treble. This makes it a coloured source that would not suit all sets or tastes.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.


Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.


Disclaimer: I have received the Sivga Que free of charge from Linsoul in exchange for a review. They had no special requests and I am in no way incentivized to speak highly of this set. Should you be interested, here is a non-affiliated link to these IEMs on Linsoul's website:



How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a sub-100€ single DD, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer.

I have left the set to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Que. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. Stock accessories that came along on this affordably priced IEM are great and need no change necessarily, but I did try to improve the bass control and stage width, which I managed by adding a Juzear Pure cable and Acoustune AEX07 tips.




Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it

It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition

This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues

Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks

Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level


Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.


The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I will do it a bit differently this time. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!
Packaging, accessories, design & comfort
This set is such a perfect gift! Why? Because it's a joy to unbox, a joy to look at, and a joy to listen to. This is how the whole package is supposed to be done. See below.


Is this a good-looking box or what?



Extra blue M tips that come preinstalled are a nice touch! So is the gorgeous little case that feels like something a kilobuck set could come with.

This design won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it looks so high-end and feels it too. The fit is absolutely marvelous as well. So far so good, not a single real negative.




Graphics, Graphs & Scores

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay.



Here are my scores of the Que in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am primarily scoring sonic performance, regardless of the price, so cheaper (meaning sub 150€) sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going! I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. Eventually, I will have to make a table of all sets I have rated so far.



As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

SBT - Six Basic Traits


MBB - Magic Balance Boards


SMT - Soundstage Measurement Tool


QCP - Quarter Circle Playground



Sound Descriptions & Comparisons

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. Excuse me, I swear I'll get better with time.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just proclaim the bass as great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.


Bass
(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: This has got a healthy amount of bass but a very specific one at that. It's the midbassy kind that likes to invite itself into the low mids as well to really overstay its welcome, but it does so in a very mannered way. This is a quality bass, but one that won't be good for all genres. For example, electronica and metal might struggle.

Rumble: It's there but very reserved and just adds slight character instead of being the mainstage star. It does depend on source used, though. Neutral DX180 will deepen that hole, whereas the full bodied and warmer-leaning VE Stack is much happier to lend a helping hand to those rumbly notes. Some more low end wouldn't hurt its appeal, but as a guess, it might be a bit of a limitation of the used driver.

Attack: This won't impress anyone that wants that speedy and aggressive bass that feels like each slam wants to rip your head off, it's much more civilised and rounded around the edges. Not the worst offender of that roundedness, but still quite severe and very noticeable on trance, for example. In the grand scheme of things, this slightly mellowy approach does not bother me too much, but choosing your battles (genres) is a must.

Decay: Natural and one of the better ones I've heard in that regard, just the trait of the DD, I'd assume. Solid decay time, despite not really having the rumble and note onset as is usually the case for a strong and present bass shelf. It's probably all just a bit of an illusion due to that relaxed high treble too.

Boominess: Slight, but goes with the character of the Que and is well handled. Boominess is usually one of the worst offenders for sets that try to impress with technical prowess in my opinion while these moodier sets can get away with such missteps that I'd mostly throw into the negative category as a rule.

Bloatedness: Flows into the mids in a seductive way. Expect an alluring piano and bass guitar replay. This will affect female vocals the most and indeed, we'll mention those in one of the following segments.


Mids
(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Moondance by Anne Bison)

Timbre: Very full and delicious in the lower end and a tad shy and lacking in highs. Stuff like brass and strings are held back a bit which makes them fall flat occasionally. Piano is a great way to test timbre too. This is where songs with multiple runs up and down the piano's enviable frequency range might be in some trouble too. Knowing this and choosing songs accordingly still lends satisfying results.

Forwardness: Not forward at all. Bass is upfront both in volume as well as positioning. Main singer Haley Reinhart in song 'Creep', for example, is almost less emphasized than bass.

Clarity: Suffers slightly due to the chosen chocolate-y tonality. Nonetheless, high mids are just spicy enough to keep guitars quite natural, although not the last word in speed and incisiveness. If you're used to and prefer a clean, glass-like audio, this set couldn't be much further from that – okay, apart from some obvious candidates, Final E5000 for example. Still, it's not a lo-fi sounding set, there's sufficient detail and resolution to keep even those that prefer sailing in calmer waters engaged.

Vocals: Both male and female vocals are huskier, thicker and smokier than 'usual'. Their placement is This is, once more, a thing of preference. See where most of these descriptions are leading? It's not an all-arounder and it won't satisfy all listeners. Those that can connect with this more analoguish nature will thoroughly enjoy it.

Note weight: Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across. I think 'note volume' would be a better naming of what this quality tries to imply. Note volume is one of the greatest qualities of this set. Feed it quality power (not necessarily lots of it) and it awards with note weight akin to that of overear headphones.


Treble
(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins, Moondance by Anne Bison)

Sharpness: Only rarely and in not too critical a way. It is more a case of getting pulled into that chocolate-y texture and getting caught out by the hazelnut that was successfully hidden deep in there. Mild annoyance, sure, but it's a hazelnut and who doesn't like those covered in chocolate.

Sibilance: None. No need for lengthier description.

Naturalness: Very natural, but that small jazz club vibe with bassier instruments much more pronounced and showing just slight disregard of fellow musicians on higher-pitched instruments.

Air: What air? This is only airy thanks to big low-end which serves as an illusion of airiness. Treble air won't even be heard by a 5-year-old with their pristine ears.


Technicalities

Soundstage: Here I was left a bit disappointed, but some quick fixes helped open it up a little. Width was helped with the use of Acoustune AEX07 tips, whereas some better perceived height was achieved with a cable swap to Juzear Pure.

Imaging: It won't win any awards here. Not what this is meant for. Gamers, please run away. This is meant for an enjoyable music listen without much focused dissecting going on.

Detail retrieval: Again, this set is not too worried about this. That said, the well-textured bass allows for some interesting layering to occur. Elsewhere in the frequency range, I'd struggle to come up with a set I've heard that is as non-detailed.

Cohesiveness: Bass can occasionally feel like it's doing its own thing in some scenarios. For the most part, this is one of those proverbial DD sets with tremendous cohesiveness.


Fun factor: Not as much a party set as it is a groovy set. Slower rock, blues, acoustic or jazz are a must in one's playlist to consider this set. When the playlist is tailored for the set, it will please in its unique way and indeed be tremendously fun.


Comparisons
with Venture Electronics SIE and TINHiFi T5S. I'm using my most neutral source, the iBasso DX180.



In the song Ain't no love in the heart of the city by Robert Haglund, here's how these three compare:

What this song requires is a whole lot of grooviness and playfulness. Que has those, but slightly limited only to the lower octaves. He can appear a bit too muted and nasaly, especially compared to boomy bass – some of these bass notes strike a weird edge and can get a tad strange sounding.

SIE sounds exceptionally large in comparison. Instruments immediately take up much more room to breathe. Bass is even more pronounced than on Que, but it's more balanced by the treble. He sounds a bit more digitalized but thankfully loses that nasal timbre. It's a more satisfying listen, but less romantic and sweet, perhaps.

T5S needs quite a few clicks more (level 28 instead of 20 on the other two) on that volume wheel. It is much more balanced than the other two, and I for one, appreciate how the bass is not its main focus. This allows for a better sense of the other instruments and his voice isn't so burdened either. However, I think it's lacking quite a bit of that playfulness I mentioned this song needs. It gets a bit boring and uneventful soon.

Final result: SIE > Que > T5S


Second song, Moondance by Anne Bison, Paul Brochu & Jean-Bertrand Carbou

That quick showoff by the drummer has so much heft behind it on the Que. Since the bass is so playful in this track, I'm immediately liking this. Her voice is a bit blunted, though, so it's much like a small jazz club presentation I have mentioned before. Shame that the hihats and piano are not as lively as the bass.

Here SIE seems almost hollow in an A/B with Que. Funny because I know that's not how I usually perceive the SIE. Low-end is less textured but more athletic than that of the Que. That's joined by much crisper hihats and a more pleasant piano. Her voice lacks that presence region too.

T5S' drums are the least weighty but very quick and technically well handled. They remain as such throughout the song, while bass joins them and dances along. The separation of instruments is nearly flawless. Easy to choose one and follow along. Her voice is just slightly too shy for my preference, and leans too warm, which reduces those wonderful overtones I enjoy so much in female vocals.

A 180° turn vs the previous song: T5S > Que > SIE


Third song, Cadabra by Undercatt

I'm not going to judge the individual aspects here, but rather their willingness to party and how friendly they are to higher volume listeners.

Que can really keep up with higher volumes due to its creamy bass. That said, it does get quite piercing in those high mids, so it's not as comfortable of a listen for such genres and those moments when you want to shake your head like a lunatic. But is it enjoyable? Veeeeery much so.

SIE is sooo thick down there. Yes, I'm still talking about sound. It's a meaty and voluminous bass instead of the creamy one on Que. Those high mids are just a tad reduced too, so this is wildly good for this tune. Unless you'd like a more athletic and punchy bass. Can T5S provide us with that?

T5S is a bit too clinical overall. Especially after listening to those two food-like (meaty and creamy) sets right before. In isolation, this would be the most correct sounding, however, no doubt about that. Here it keeps the low mids out of the equation and focuses on subbass and midbass, which is obviously more electronica-friendly, at least in theory. Those high mids are on the verge of spiciness.

Result: Que > SIE > T5S

All three IEMs are a completely different thing. What you might find preferable is completely up to you, but I can see people with colourful playlists happily enjoy all three.



Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: A resolving but smooth one. iBasso DX180 does fine, but VE Stack does that very well. It's clean despite boosting the low-end. I can imagine it'd do good on R2R or tubes to fully embrace its analog nature.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: Stay away for metal and most electronica (even if it somehow won the three-way shootout), it's a yes for most jazz, blues and calm rock.


How To Sum Up The Sivga Que

This is a set that dares do it differently to most of what's on the market today. It is a slightly laidback set in character but it will surprise with its liveliness in correct settings. This is far from an all-arounder and I would not advise this to anyone that wants a single set to cover it all.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

This hobby is an escapist's dream. Escape from daily routine and distress that's causing you via something as sincere and everlasting as listening to music. I believe that the power of music is still not fully understood since it works in mysterious ways. Allow it to do its magic on you and let your worries dissolve in melody.

My preferences lie somewhere in the neutral camp with just an ever so slight bass boost, but I try to keep an open mind and truly appreciate any outliers that dare do it differently. Our ears vary, so do our brain and tastes. I am an advocate for respectful discourse, especially in topics that don't even have many objective undeniable truths. Audio is one of those.

My most listened genres are, in no particular order: jazz, singer/songwriter, slow-paced electronica, ambient, rock, metal, blues, trance, techno & pop.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

Disclaimer: I have received the Simgot EW300 HBB free of charge from Linsoul in exchange for a review. They had no special requests and I am in no way incentivized to speak highly of this set. Should you be interested, here is a non-affiliated link to these IEMs on Linsoul's website: https://www.linsoul.com/products/simgot-ew300?variant=45798828310745


How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a sub-100€ tribrid, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer.

I have left the set to burn-in for 100+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the EW300. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC (in short, called the 'VE Stack'). Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the accessories that came along on this affordably priced IEM since I understand some of those who are interested in this set might not have a million tips and cables at their disposal.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.

The Warmly Welcomed Changes I Have Incorporated

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I will do it a bit differently this time. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.


Let's Get Going!

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

Packaging isn't much to look at and it's a case of hoping at least the listening experience manages to excite you.





Okay, after seeing the IEMs I was much more intrigued. They are TINY and cute. But let's first delve into that accessories box.



Case is so woefully bland. Mediocre cable and a sparse selection of tips, but both ended up working just fine for me and I felt no need to swap either. What I did eventually end up swapping were the nozzles as well as trying those cute little foams. Both made a difference and, I'm happy to report, for the better! While I wasn't really missing anything from the red o-ring on silver nozzle ones that came preinstalled, these other ones - pink o-ring on a golden nozzle - made it a more intriguing tonal affair with one most noticeable difference that shows up on this graph, courtesy of aftersound, quite well.


That pinna area is very different. I did not notice that much additional warmth all the way to 800hz, though.

Fit and design are very subjective and individual's ear- and eye-dependent. I think these should fit just about anyone, even those with smaller ears. Design is a bit of a mixed bag where it's a very robust and manly black metal exterior that is then watered down by the heart logo on the right earpiece.





Graphics, Graphs & Scores

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay.



Here are my scores on the EW300 in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am primarily scoring sonic performance, regardless of the price, so cheaper (meaning sub 150€) sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going! I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. Eventually, I will have to make a table of all sets I have rated so far.



As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

SBT - Six Basic Traits

MBB - Magic Balance Boards

SMT - Soundstage Measurement Tool

QCP - Quarter Circle Playground

Sound Descriptions

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. Excuse me, I swear I'll get better with time.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into a few important aspects. It is impossible to just claim the bass is great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many.

Bass

(some songs I used: Soldier of fortune by Deep Purple, Summer by Emeli Sande, I'm in Love by Ayo, House of the Rising sun by alt-J&Tuka, Infinity by DJ Pastis&DJ Ninu&Wasi Distorsion, Kuwait by Mazde, Drum solo by Manu Katche, Hislerim by Serhat Durmus&Zerrin, Animamundi by The spy from Cairo)

Quantity vs quality: It strikes a healthy balance of quantity with the rest of the mix. Especially with the pink&gold nozzles I tried later on, those tilt the whole set a tad warmer. Much better in this regard than the EA500 LM which I tested before. Not a basshead set, but those looking for quality will be pleased at this price point. It ultimately lacks that warm enveloping texture of sets higher up the price ladder.

Rumble: Very respectable. This can be very different on different sources. Something like the FiiO BTR7 has way more of this perceived rumble, but sounds too pushed and strained, while it sounds so freeflowing on the VE Stack and similar but lesser in quantity as well as quality (a more grainy sort of bass) on the DX180. So, I could do with a bit more body, not necessarily any more dBs.

Attack: This won't impress anyone that wants that speedy and aggressive bass that feels like each slam wants to rip your head off, it's much more civilised and rounded around the edges. Not the worst offender of that roundedness, but still quite severe and very noticeable on trance, for example. Additional power is welcome.

Decay: Pretty natural. As far as I understand, DD is the one handling the bass and it would indeed feel that way. Decent rumble and solid decay time, while lacking some of the punch which would be better on the planar or let me say, that are my usual findings. For example, the recently tested TINHiFi P1 Max II kicked like a wild horse with some songs.

Boominess: None. Very well handled. This helps the overall sonics so much. Boominess is one of the worst offenders in my opinion. I only expect boomy from something like the Skullcandy. Impressive for the first 5 seconds which is critical, since tha's when non-audiophiles make their mind up whether they like the sound or not.

Bloatedness: Again, capably flows into the mids. Unlike the EA500 LM where bass was doing its own thing. Here the bass guitars will hapilly sit right in that risky crossover region and sing their best. Low-end timbre can be affected by this area being imperfect too.



Mids

(some songs I used: Creep by Haley Reinhart, Rosita by Coleman Hawkins&Ben Webster, Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Long after you are gone by Chris Jones, Writing's on the wall by Tom Ball, Dream on by Morgan James, Lonely island by Amble, Exhale the ash by Ulcerate, Free bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eyes don't lie by Tones and I, All about you by Sophie Zelmani)

Timbre: With most instruments throughout the range there are no abnormalities, just potential preferences on their forwardness and bitiness, but if I were to listen for it carefully, some planarness can be noticed in male vocals with that harshness. Not really an issue, just something that can be spotted.

Forwardness: Very forward. Still a Simgot in this regard, so for those looking for the mids to be a bit more shy and better hidden into the mix, this might be a bit of a negative. For me, it's perfect for most music except those that are packed with info and require a skillful separation and reduced pinna – something like heavy metal. Even that is very much improved with the included foam and those other, pink&gold nozzles.


Left are the preinstalled ones, right are the pink&gold ones. Both bring their own character. Sometimes I prefer ones, sometimes the other ones

Clarity: Very clear. No veil anywhere in their frequency response. I'm most likely to spot any veil on brass or piano. I listened to a fair few songs with those instruments and they're never sounding pillowy, shy, like they'd be behind a wall.

Vocals: Both male and female vocals are forward. Maybe not high enough on stage for my liking, but they are separated from the mix by their volume difference. This can be welcome or indeed a bit too much. Sometimes they get shouty or get that ringing quality of the planar – not as noticeable with the foam and pink&gold nozzles instead of the red&silver that come preinstalled.

Note weight: Sufficient, but not its strength. I'm most sensitive to how the piano is played back. Hearing a grand piano live you can tell just how much body each note carries and how rich it is in under- and overtones. Note weight is one of those risky topics and it quickly segregates the field in two camps, those that prefer a thicker, rounder note weight and hence a more analog approach, and those preferring all-BA sets because those usually have a quicker, less hefty character and a more digital sound. Mind, those are very very severe simplifications of this layered, 50-shade-of grey topic just to carry my point across.



Treble

(some songs I used: Vidda by Ole Edvard Antonsen, Want by The cure, All about you by Sophie Zelmani, Morning bird by Sade, Animali in Marcia by Gianluigi Trovesi, Ain't no love in the city by Robert Haglund, Barbados by Arne Domnerus, Oh Dear by Sophie Zelmani, Liberty by Kerenza Peacock&Timothy Ridout&Hum Watkins)

Sharpness: Amazingly, despite it's quite bright nature (much less so on the pink&gold nozzle!), it rarely turns sharp. Especially at normal listening volumes, up to maximum of 85dB. This is not a set for loud listeners, or at least I would not suggest listening to this loudly.

Sibilance: None to report about. Which is a true feat since it's got so much energy up top, yet they tackled this particular area very well. And it's not dead either. Possibly it's just technically easier to tame those particular tones on the planar/PZT than on DD or BA?

Naturalness: This has always been a case against Simgot, but they seem to be catching their stride. This is still a recognizably Simgot house sound while sounding much more musical than the ones I've heard or read about before. This is always a balancing act between trying to extract as much detail and resolution while remaining soulful and a treat to listen to. While it's still leaning more technical than musical, it's a great step forward for Simgot.

Air: Not much there. The significance of air is underrated I feel. You need to remember frequencies are intertwined in more ways than imaginable. One affects the other. Since there are three drivers in this tiny shell, I would have liked a tad more of that magic sprinkle up top.



Technicalities

Soundstage: Decent, but not impressive in any way. It does not sound congested, at least not due to the soundstage. Some midrange congestion can arise but that's as a function of tuning.

Imaging: Very acceptable. I particularly like the sense of space between elements. It won't win any awards, though. For gaming and such I don't think it would fare too well.

Detail retrieval: While it's good and resolving, the forwardness of guitars and vocals makes it a very tiring listen for those that focus on detail. It's good in the overall sense of being able to follow the macro audio image, whereas the absolute resolution in megapixels, so to say, is not that great.

Cohesiveness: I need to applaud Simgot for realizing and fixing their mistakes. I have not heard lots of their stuff, but this is going in the right direction after quite a few of their releases were met by less than ideal feedback. This now sounds as a unit that has its parts working towards the same goal. Like a well-oiled football team.

Fun factor: Actually impressively fun! I was not expecting it to be such a decent all-arounder while having ample bass for my liking and carrying the treble energy in a smooth enough fashion.



Q: What kind of source to pair it with?
A: This prefers a warm-neutral source with plenty of juice. My VE Stack makes such a tasty meal with no additional ingredients needed.

Q: What genres are its strength/weakness?
A: It's strong on electronica and very good on most of my listened genres despite some planar roughness creeping in occasionally. It won't be too good for metalheads because of either its forward midrange or a bit slower and thicker low mids on the pink&gold nozzle.


How To Sum Up The EW300 HBB

This is one of those sets that has no real downsides and thus qualifies as an easy recommendation. Add to that the very reasonable price for the variety of drivers and the included nozzles as well as the funny little foams that actually work and you've got a winner for those who like to tinker as well. It is a neutral-brightish set with ample bass but a slight lack in midbass punch. Take that as you will. At this price, it's well worth a try and if it doesn't work out just gift it and have someone's mind blown by this weird wired thing sounding so good.

September is upon us yet the hot and humid weather is not showing any signs of letting go yet here, and with that the evenings remain warm and long enough to throw a party, woohoo! And then we move on to house parties, so it's never too late to consider a suitable speaker for such events.

A Bit About Me

Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extra-terrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvellous and life is nothing but a journey.

Disclaimer: I have received this unit free of charge from Tronsmart in exchange for an article. This will not sway my thoughts and I will remain completely transparent as to how I feel about the item. If it’s good, it’s good, and if not …, I would struggle to hide my disappointment anyway plus I have not got the time to spend on unworthy items.

Let's Get Going!

Now, what are the key ingredients for cooking up a joyous party? People? That’d be a start, yeah. Drinks? Sure. Food? Can’t stay hungry. A pretty location? Preferrably. Have I forgotten anything? Oh snap, imagine a quiet ‘party’, let us take care of that too! Tronsmart has just the answer to make your next party a truly outstanding one that your friends will remember for a good little while.

I am talking about a very capable medium-sized, easily portable unit that is there to help you get the party up to another level from your usual smallish and gutless BT speakers. Tronsmart Bang Max is always ready to sing.

Let us start with the price just so we get a feel for what to expect and see whether our expectations are met. At the point of writing this, it retails for 189.99USD. You can find out more about the product directly on Tronsmart's website here: https://www.tronsmart.com/products/bang-max-portable-party-speaker#/47-plug-us

It is available for purchase via Amazon too: https://www.amazon.com/Tronsmart-Bang-Max-Waterproof-Customized/dp/B0CBP6RZ1Z

Unboxing & Accessories

How can you expect to receive your unit? It comes in a large box – obviously, and it is sufficiently protected against all the careless staff it might encounter on its way to you. You'd have to be awfully unlucky to have something happen to it. Mine came in perfect condition, just with those box edges slightly bent.

Accessories start and end at a user manual and a charger. Pulling it out from the box was less than fun due to having to grab by the polystyrene on both ends and pray the speaker remains firmly in there while you manoeuvre it out of the box. All went well after all.






Overall Feel

I have had a JBL Partybox 310 before and this unit honestly feels higher quality than that one did (all plasticky and flimsy – although VERY heavy), while costing about a third of the price. It is a plastic construction, but it's covered in this speaker mesh as you can imagine. All touch points are high quality and seem really robust and able to withstand abuse rather well which is a must for an outdoor party speaker. When the party gets going, there will always be some that love to feel like DJs and have absolutely no respect towards the speaker, so being robust is an absolute must to withstand both the wild crowd and, potentially, the weather turning bad (IPX6 is what Tronsmart guarantees).



I am very sensitive to button feedback and how their 'click' or 'turn' action feels. Bang Max gets high marks for that too – no slack or weird feedback on either of the buttons, they simply do as you wish. I love the nicely laid out buttons that allow for all the controls you'd expect plus a Tronsmart-specific SoundPulse. It all works as intended and that's an absolute must to be able to focus on DJ-ing instead of constantly worrying about your speaker misbehaving. Overall size of the unit and its weight (6kg) are very respectable. Easy to throw it in any car even if it's full of luggage or simply carry it by its handy and comfortable handle while going to the beach. Honestly, no negatives in this section.


See, even she can carry it like a Boss


Technical Details & Sound Performance

All the technical data is adequately covered in speaker's official material, hence I will instead be describing the aspects I deem most important for a portable party speaker in real use. Battery life, loudness, fun features, sound quality. So without further ado, let's go through these.

Battery seems to last forever from my brief testing thus far. However, as always, it will be dependent on the specific use case (per Tronsmart's specs: music: up to 24 hours (on 50% volume, LEDs OFF), karaoke: up to 10 hours (on 60% volume)). Having the LED light show turned on will obviously shorten the playtime, just like it will depend on the music played. Having the volume turned further up is going to cost it too. Let me put it this way, you will easily go through that usual late evening into early night party without worrying about the battery depleting. That means playing at a calmer 50-70% volume without the LEDs 6-9PM, then slowly upping the firepower and turning it to 100% volume as well as showing off the dancing LEDs (which have multiple settings ranging from calmer to crazier visual stimuli along with the rhythm) until the police show up. Just kidding, hopefully you do not upset the neighbours, but it may happen. Why? Because this rather unassuming looking and overall still rather small speaker can get quite loud (110dB SPL is what Tronsmart say) – what a great segway onto this next topic.



You've probably been there before. You turn up to a pool party or a barbecue full of attractive ladies/gentlemen with a BT speaker in your backpack thinking you're the man and you'll show them how it's done. You go ahead, pull out your secret 'weapon', turn that bad boy on, and start creeping up in volume on your phone step by step. Carefully does it, so you don't show all attributes from the start already. But, you keep on pressing that volume button and the background noise as well as the fact you're now stood outside, not surrounded by walls and windows either side of you like you were in your cosy little room, makes this poor little BT speaker faint into the background. Oh-oh! And before you know it, you're at 80% volume and only now do some curious heads start to turn towards where they hear music and, with a smile on their face, they come running in with song suggestions. They turn to you all excited and say »Yeah, John! Crank it up, that's my song!«. So you press the volume button three more times and the speaker starts distorting and barely gets any louder. Their happy faces soon turn back to disappointment. You feel bad, the party dies off and they go back to talking about mundane subjects. The speaker is having a horrible time too. Yikes … Let's avoid that horror story next time by bringing an actual party speaker to that next party. Bang Max is here to assist (with its 130W of rated power output). This little fella can get respectably loud while remaining its composure. No real distortion to speak of, but the bass won't be able to keep up with the mids and treble after about 80%. Still, even when you're done turning up the volume and people are dancing, there's that other party trick left to impress – LED lightshow! Wooohooo! »Wow, John, that's an awesome speaker!«, says that same girl that was left wanting more previously.


Look at those six speakers in this small unit

Upon first listen I was impressed with just how cohesive this speaker can sound indoors. First thing that struck me was a skillfully done bass shelf. Tronsmart has some smart guys doing their tuning. They understood they are limited on the low bass by the overall design and weight limitations, so instead they focused on midbass which is, in my opinion, a more important aspect of such tiny speakers – subbass gets lost outdoors anyway, so why waste precious wattage trying to feed the sub 40hz. Vocals are clearly presented and never get too weighty or shouty. And here again, bass supports the whole presentation in a capable manner – no boominess, no lack of pace, no abnormal texturing, just a sweet experience. Mids are never really in the forefront of such speakers, however I was left positively surprised by the size of the audio image, thanks to two relatively widely separated midrange drivers far left and right below the tweeters, and was not thinking how this is just another V-shaped mess of a sound signature to impress the teenagers. Tuning is pleasantly balanced. Treble is handled by two tweeters left and right, so it can present a stereo image, but clearly not the widest one. Cymbals, hihats, what-have-you all sound just a tad artificial, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Treble keeps up with the bass and mids and avoids sibilance, shout or any seriously annoying peaks to make you squint, skip track, and/or think what the heck was that.



On top of that you've got customizable EQ to play with should you wish. I have only used it in SoundPulse which does a bit of magic to make it livelier.



Accessible through the app


Then I took it outdoors to a small gathering. You know that is not going to be a quiet environment with many men heatedly discussing various weird topics. Still, I chose to put on some electronica and 40% volume was ideal for that optimal background music without the need to shout. When we had enough beer and night fell, it was time to turn up the volume and let the LEDs do their dance which are very well implemented and offer three different modes controllable via the app. Awesome fun guaranteed. There is an option to go wild and connect multiple units to play simultaneously. That would really fill out a larger space while still not breaking the bank nor being too difficult to set up.


Can you imagine how a hundred of these would sound!


How To Summarize The Bang Max

In summary, this speaker ticks just about all the boxes as a portable party speaker at this price. All the quintessential traits are here and ready to show what they're made of. Since summer is in its closing stages, I am looking forward to the house parties that follow, and that one impressed lady might to come to me instead of that dude John from our story earlier on.

I have no problem recommending this one to anyone that's looking for something similar to liven their parties and use it as an indoor speaker in the meantime too.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.

Having had the possibility to try so many different sets in a relatively short time I felt obliged to go ahead and express my gratitude by trying to help some lost souls out there, just as I was when I first stumbled upon this weird hobby about wired earphones – so yesteryear! … I thought. Possibilities are seemingly endless and only by getting to meet the right people did I manage to jump onboard the train heading the 'right' direction without getting off-track thousands of times along the way. Make sure to understand the helping person's preferences and you too can find your footing and hit the ground running in no time.

Quick Intermezzo About Me

I won't bore you for too long with personal trivia, however my quick & short background resume goes as follows. Currently I am 27 years old and more in awe of sheer power of music by the day. I have always been moved by music just that slight bit more than average, I'd say. My spending started with a roughly 200€ Bose bluetooth speaker back in my first grade of highschool. What an extraterrestrial thing that was in early 2010s. And it keeps on playing to this day – a true testament of quality. Also sounded fantastic back then, nowadays … yeah, not so much. Lots of BT speakers, TWS, car audio speakers, IEMs, etc., later bring me to this day when I truly consider myself an audiophile. What brings me the most joy beside listening to music is singing, so I am currently participating in a choir and challenging myself with solo vocal covers (check the links in my signature to hear my projects). Unsure where all this leads, but the journey itself is marvelous and life is nothing but a journey.

Disclaimer: I have received the Rose Technics Star City 5 Pro free of charge from Rose Technics in exchange for a review. They had no special requests and I am in no way incentivized to speak highly of this set. Should you be interested, here is a non-affiliated link to these IEMs on their website: https://rosetechnics.com/products/star-city-5-pro-hifi-hybrid-wired-headphones-1dd-2ba-iem
And their AliExpress link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007517029680.html



How My Reviews Are Structured

I will start off by mentioning the packaging, accessories, design & comfort, then continue by placing the showcased IEM in my special trademarked graphs & graphics, give it a score on certain qualities, and describe the main sound categories to reach the final star score. Those that are seriously considering a sub-100€ hybrid, please do not hesitate to ask for any specifics you want me to answer.

I have left the set to burn-in for 50+ hours and listened to songs of varied genres to better convey what one can expect from the Star City 5 Pro. As sources I have been using my FiiO BTR7, Venture Electronics Megatron, iBasso DX180, and Venture Electronics RA2B-FE + Prime DAC. Certainly no lack of power and quite a different taste on all. Listening was (mostly) done at a volume ranging between 75-85dB. I am using the accessories on this affordably priced IEM since I understand some of those who are interested in this set might not have a million tips and cables at their disposal.

Here is the quick and rough description of how I understand various star ratings:

Do not even think about it
It has too many drawbacks and gets demolished by competition
This item has the potential but feels a bit too bland and has multiple issues
Wonderful item with rare and mostly subjective drawbacks
Eargasmic performance with all the aspects covered at an incredibly high level

Keep in mind these ratings are certainly affected by the item's price in the overall assessment too. Sometimes that will result in slightly higher score than based solely on my scoring of bass, mids, and treble, while other times it results in a slight penalty if I deem the item a tad overpriced.

In layman's terms - anything rated below 4 stars overall does not get a space in my regular rotation and is either stored and revisited some time later again just to see if my thoughts have changed, or it gets gifted.

Let's Get Going!

Packaging, Accessories, Design & Comfort

This tiny set comes in a huge box in comparison to its size. Just like taking your jet ski with you to the seaside with an 18-wheeler instead of a small trailer. The unboxing experience is decent, nothing to note that's seriously off especially at this low price.

They are very shy and tried to hide from me in their caves.



Tip selection is a bit sad, but these are actually pretty decent and I felt no need for endless tip swapping. The tiny dongle is a nice little extra that shows Rose Technics truly care and realize not many new phones come with 3.5mm out anymore.

Shells are as tiny as they get before you reach the smallest of small in the shape of Sennheiser's IE-series. Despite being small they feel hefty in hands and display quality. These will fit 97% of ears.



Graphics, Graphs & Scores

This trademarked graph I came up with does not come with a thick user manual. All you need to know is that sets further left are warmer than sets further right, and sets higher up are better technically than sets lower down. Those little yellow lines on both axis represent where sets with average technicalities and neutral overall balance lay.



Here are my scores on the Star City 5 Pro in individual categories. All three subcategories of each of the frequency spectrums can be rated 1-5. Keep in mind that I am primarily scoring sonic performance, regardless of the price, so cheaper (meaning sub 150€) sets getting a 3 in any given subcategory is already good going! I had to approach this in a simplistic manner so to keep it easy to understand and compare sets. Eventually, I will have to make a table of all sets I have rated so far.



As mentioned a little earlier, I have worked on trying to cut down on wordiness and all excess gibberish and rather improve upon my nikbr trademarked graphics to truly be able to compare IEMs visually since that offers an easier-to-comprehend, more interactive and simply more appealing experience.

These truly cover most topics in a pretty straight-forward manner. I have described each of these in a bit more detail in my previous reviews. If anything remains unclear, here I am at your service.

SBT - Six Basic Traits

This proves none of the six basic traits are awfully incomplete on the Star City.

MBB - Magic Balance Boards

A quick showing of which side of all balancing boards the set gravitates towards.

SMT - Soundstage Measurement Tool

Width and depth are average, while height is not too impressive.

QCP - Quarter Circle Playground

The red dot is where I would place a neutral, uncoloured set. Star City leans energetic and more trebleheady than bassheady.


Sound Descriptions

These were meant to be very concise, but I got carried away and wrote way too much again. But I let my mind wander and it took me to some interesting topics along the way too. Feel free to read and share your opinion.

Instead of going through a million songs and describing what I hear in real-time, I will do it a bit differently this time. I'll describe individual aspects briefly in whole.

Should you have any specific questions regarding any genres/songs in particular, feel free to contact me.

I am still catching my stride on how to describe the sound aspects in a clearer way. It is a slow but enjoyable learning curve. I am attempting to make my reviews as ballast-free as possible. The graphics were the step in the right direction, I feel. Capturing the essence of sound characteristics in a less wordy way is next on the list. We all have our own busy schedules and I understand reading a review for 15+ minutes is in (nearly) no-one's interest.

The obvious categories will be subcategorized into five important aspects. It is impossible to just claim the bass is great or not, there are levels to this hobby and since you're reading this review, you've obviously fallen deeper into this rabbit hole than many. I will go ahead and use my previously tested AFUL Explorer that sports the same driver configuration in some topics to put things into perspective.




Bass

Quantity vs quality: This has got some bass for sure, but in busier tracks it gets pushed aside by the rest of the spectrum. While it definitely will not please any bassheads looking primarily for quantity, it won't be too offensive to those wishing for a well done bass, frankly. We always have to put our thoughts into perspective and since this is a hybrid setup of 1 DD and 2 BAs, akin to that found in the AFUL Explorer, I'm drawn to that comparison whether I like it or not.

Rumble: Respectable. It does not carry as much substance as some might like. If the song isn't too crowded, the rumble feels respectably ample and satisfying. That changes when the song gets going and adds more information in the midrange and treble. While it does reach deep, it's not as robust and supported as it is on the Explorer. My Bass test using the FiiO BTR7 wired to my phone (phone volume 100%, BTR7 volume 25/60), shows that not much goes on under 30Hz.

Attack: Drum Solo (Live) by Manu Katche is the track to use. And honestly while I don't really like the whole presentation overall, it's a very capable sounding DD. It can move. Because of it's clearer mids and less substantial bass shelf, the kick drums are more enjoyable here than on the Explorer.

Decay: Decay is natural, but not textured enough. It always seems to lack a bit of staying power to draw the listener in. Explorer on the other hand sounds rich throughout the whole length of the note.

Boominess: There is none. I am very susceptible to boominess and prefer a lower bass shelf if that means the set avoids boominess. Bass is well controlled overall. It does not have too much midbass in the first place.

Bloatedness: Bass uncontrollably overflowing into low mids is a very common thing, especially in lower priced hybrids where crossovers are not as well implemented. This is not an issue here. DD hands over its duties to BAs in a clean, unnoticeable way. Low mids are attenuated too. No bloatedness to report about.



Mids


Timbre: Getting this right is crucial in overall acceptance of any set. Hybrids have gotten better recently at blending the crossover between DD and BA units for those not to sound to strange whenever a single instrument crosses that line. Plenty of instruments can play low enough or have their undertones in bass area, so carefully chosen units that can cooperate in a uniform fashion are a must. Star City 5 Pro has a tendency to sharpen all midrange and treble-heavy instruments. Things like cymbals, violins, guitars, etc. will sound very bitey and forward here. This is not as much a timbral issue, however. Timbrally I have no real complaints.

Forwardness: I am a huge sucker for very present mids and all else should work in unison with the mids, not the other way around. That is why my preferred singature is a tasteful W-shape. Getting the mids to carry the song while bass and treble stay in their lanes, so to speak, is not easy. Today's market also calls for more and more bass. V-shapes are not getting out of fashion any time soon. This sounds very neutral bright and as such has forward high mids and low treble. That means female vocals and higher pitched instrumentation will stand out. Just how good or bad that is depends on your music choice and preference.

Clarity: This is a clean sounding set. Bass stays in its lane and allows lots of room for the rest of the mix. Space between instruments/performers is plentiful (on the right source – VE Stack in my case does the job well). Despite sounding bright to help achieve an illusion of cleanliness, it isn't too fatiguing at normal volumes.

Vocals: This brings us right back to the bright nature of this set. While female vocals can sometimes struggle with sibilance, male vocals are a bit veiled occasionally and lack that soothing chest voice size of sound. Nonetheless, neither male nor female vocals are not its strength per se, but it does all very inoffensively. Unless you are really sensitive to sibilance. In the great scheme of this set's tuning the slight sibilance does not stress me out too much.

Note weight: A quality that can make quite a big difference and is not visible on graphs. It is not necessarily limited just to midrange, but since the majority of instruments are hiding here, this is where I have placed this subcategory. Sets that graph equally can vary wildly on this exact quality. Piano is one instrument that quickly displays just how alive and present those notes are. Star City 5 Pro is not too good in this regard, piano sounds thin and very brittle. Compared to Explorer where the notes are rich, full, and substantial.



Treble


Quantity vs quality: I love treble, always have, but I'd be the first to choose an L-shape over a W-shape if the additional treble is not done to perfection on the latter. Sadly, Star City 5 Pro falls into the category of sets with plentiful treble but not a tremendously well done treble at that.

Sibilance: This set's achilles heel. It is not a big issue on instrumental/electronic/male vocal songs, but it comes to say hello in female vocal tracks. Especially with high soaring sopranos. It's not too offensive, but definitely could be done better.

Crispness: Very crispy indeed! Like those perfectly done french fries. This is achieved by correctly handling that 8-12kHz range where lots of sets drop off a cliff to then come back with a sharp peak at around 15kHz – never really understood why, it rarely ends up working well, at least to my ears. It looks promising on graph with a sweet 12kHz peak similar to that of the Tripowin Piccolo, but this is a BA handling the 12kHz peak unlike Piccolo. This is why it does not reach the same sweetness of Piccolo. Crispness has to be supported with additional air on top of it, but Star City 5 Pro has none of that.

Air: Not much to write home about. It falls off a cliff after 12kHz. Possibly it's better this way, because this set would be wildly bright should it have air on top too.



Technicalities


Soundstage: A very touchy subject with no objective truths, highly affected by source, and incredibly different from one pair of ears to another. Skipping the effect of our pinna, as IEMs do, is both a blessing and a curse. One has to figure out for themselves what tricks their brain into placing objects furthest away from their actual point source. I'm starting to get a grasp on which qualities make sets present a large soundstage to my ears. Star City 5 Pro does not impress here, but it doesn't disappoint either. It does have some depth and an okay width. Spot on average.

Imaging: Potentially the most crucial technical aspect in IEMs. And this is the reason why I feel soundstage might be just a bit overhyped. The outer edges of where the sound is coming from are not as important to me as their localization and size of the image. Give me a more intimate soundstage with better presented individual sounds over a huge soundstage with more diffused imaging any day of the week. Star City 5 Pro does okay unless the song is filled with high pitched instruments which intertwine and cause a mess. Something like Dream On by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox images nicely. Just don't feed it heavy metal, that takes it out of its comfort zone.

Detail retrieval: Usually, brighter sets are better at tricking us ito thinking they are indeed more detailed too. It takes a while to really figure out whether it's an illusion or actual resolution. Star City 5 Pro is fine here, but leans more towards it being an illusion than actual transparency of the drivers.

Cohesiveness: Such an important and often overlooked quality. We focus on bass, mids, treble, etc., but do they work together as a team or is it a bunch of talented individuals pulling to their sides? Star City 5 Pro's treble sounds a bit disconnected, but not too atrociously so. I'd say there are maybe 2 players in the team of 11 that just do their thing and could care less about what their coach has to say.

Fun factor: This sounds very fun on certain electronica. It's got bass and highs so it's very difficult not to nod your head along to the music. But when song becomes too lively in high mids that sharpness quickly dissipates all the fun.



What kind of source to pair it with? This requires a warm-neutral source with plenty of juice.

What genres are its strength/weakness? It's strong on electronica and calmer acoustic recording preferrably with female vocals. Anything that needs those mids and treble to really stay in unison will struggle here.



How to Sum Up the Rose Technics Star City 5 Pro

This one is going to appeal to those whose playlists are mostly genre-specific and who are not afraid of a brighter leaning sets. It is a well done neutral bright tuning that is a nice counterweight to all the warm-neutral sets that seem to be the craze lately. Pair their respectable sound with a small and comfortable shell and an affordable price tag and you get a very decent little package.

Thanks for reading and stay wonderful.