Hillaudio Quro - DLC Dynamic Driver Hifi In-ear Monitor (MMCX)

PROS :​

• I am just going to tell it to you straight. If you don’t like bass, you can skip this review. This isn't for you. But if you do, PLUS you are a fan of the Rockspace Obsidian, stick around as you might be in for a treat .
• I would describe the sound signature here as being dark-V shaped. These do need amping though, so do keep that in mind.
• After amping, the bass here is THICC, punchy, and warm with good sub-bass extension. It also has pretty good detail retrieval and texture when powered well. The bass here goes DEEEEP. I've had the time of my life listening to genres like Synthwave and Hip Hop with the Hillaudio Quro. Despite having a lot of bass, it manages to stay well-controlled and not bleed into the mids too much, but that is after amping, of course. Before amping, the bass here is wobbly, loose, uncontrolled, and bleeds like crazy.
• The midrange is thick, smooth laidback, with sweet vocals. Without amping, vocals sound out of breath and mids get muddied up by the bass bleed. After amping, you can hear the vocalist gain presence, presenting in a sweet and intimate manner. Mids do lose a bit of definition and clarity, but that is a sacrifice that has to be made in order to get such a thick, sweet, and intimate sounding midrange/vocal presentation.
• The treble here, as expected, is dark sounding. However, do not mistake it as being "rolled-off" as that isn't the case here. In fact, I think what surprises me most is how well extended the treble here is despite being dark sounding. The treble here, albeit dark, is decently macro-detailed, well-articulated, and with decent air qualities.
• Timbre is thick and warm. A bit too thick to be considered natural IMO but nonetheless, pretty good.
• Soundstage here is pretty good all around. With having a bit more depth and height than width. Before amping, soundstage is pretty flat with not much depth and height. After amping, depth and height get better. Soundstage opens up to somewhat like a studio room side.
• The same goes for imaging. Before amping, imaging is a bit blurry, with transient notes and attack a muddied out and blunted. After amping, imaging gets better with crispier clearer transients.
• Build quality and fit is great. IEM is made out of metal and the SPC cable that I got in set B looks good.

CONS :​

• Requires amping.
• Dark sound signature isn't for all. Lacks tonal balance.
• Technicalities (soundstage, detail, imaging) are pretty bad before amping. Gets a lot better when amped.
• Unboxing experience could be better (I mean, it came with no box, just a small case).
• The stock SPC cable feels crunchy when touched, otherwise looks good.
• MMCX.

HILLAUDIO QURO ($21USD) VS ROCKSPACE OBSIDIAN ($10USD):​

• Both require amping to shine, with Obsidian needing a bit more power (in terms of volume).
• Quro has better bass with thicker, deeper, tighter bass. Better imaging, bigger soundstage, better vocal presence with crispier vocals, and treble is also better in every way. Better extension, better articulation, better detail.
• Obsidian is smoother, more laidback sounding, smaller soundstage, not as technical, not as detailed.

IN CONCLUSION:​