The Kiwi ears Singolo
Redcarmoose Labs April 17th, 2024
A clean tune
What does that mean? It simply means it is an IEM which has been tuned free from nonsense. A stature belonging to both even and correctness……..maybe even completeness. As such this sounds easy, but like riding a bike for the first time, a zig can result in a zag and you can fall-over. As such Kiwi ears has collaborated with the luminary known as Crinacle in order to utilize his tuning ideas and expertise. The results, while not perfect, are a NOOB’s dream. Yep, this Singolo does quite a few things right. This idea of correctness has some leeway in composition, yet this even tailored tune walks a specific line…….where others may fail by not adding enough bass, or thinking they are correct by making a smooth treble, yet still missing something? The masses take and the resulting group opinions can start to become a waterfall of sorts. Yep, everyone has a computer nowadays and they utilize it to voice their take on a specific IEM………where the proof comes out in the wash, so to speak.
Kiwi ears:
I have reviewed a number of Kiwi ear IEMs as of late. My only real off-tune was the Kiwi ears Forteza.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwi-ears-forteza.26755/reviews#review-32736
Sadly (and this isn’t just my take) the Forteza was tuned to have this wild arraignment of two 10mm DDs and 1BA. In which one DD was lows, one DD was mids and a single BA for the highs. This in fact looks good on paper, yet the end tuning results were a mess, with that single BA shooting out inside the mix to proclaim this wild forwardness and brash steeliness. Released around the first of the year, it was in-fact my very last Kiwi ears review, gaining all of 3 out of 5 stars.
For as much as the Kiwi ears Forteza does wrong, the Singolo does it right. Yep, and you may think this is all subjective, that maybe it’s just me? Well, keep in mind Hybrids are my favorite methodology to make IEMs………and I absolutely loved the Kiwi ears Quintet. Really though you have to hand it to Kiwi ears for thinking out of the box. Yep, they are renowned for never making the same IEM twice, except for the Orchestra and Orchestra Lite. Yet this Singolo is remarkable, simply due to homing in on the cohesiveness of a single DD, and being in many ways the opposite of the Kiwi ears Quintet. Where the Quintet was four different methodologies of drives. And it kind-a did sound complicated like it had a 10mm DD, 2 BAs, 1 Planar and 1 Piezoelectric running…..because it did. Yet they somehow balanced the whole adventure. To me the Quintet is one of the very best values out there, becoming a high-detail-monster, all for the admission price of only $219.00.
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/kiwiears-quintet.26582/reviews#review-31155
And finally I must talk about the Melody. This was Kiwi ear's idea of what a Planar should be. Again another incredible IEM. I mean in many ways you could purchase the Singolo, the Quintet and the Kiwi ears Melody and have a lot of bases covered. Meaning each IEM is well tuned yet has its very own intrinsic sound personality due to driver types. Where each IEM is special, and has personality, yet at the same time offers a slightly different way to experience your music.........while each still being correct.
Just to get this out there, of all the planar IEMs I’ve tried, the Melody goes in the top 4 ever. This being my 218th review, I have heard my fair share of gear, yet the Singolo was still a welcome surprise. In fact at this point I am slightly jaded, where I see I’m getting another collaboration and in the price-point the Singolo lands and I say, well OK.
Yet Crinacle is my favorite collaborator……….it is just you really start to wonder if you have been there already, and done that already. Well, I can say the Singolo was a welcome surprise. More mature than the Zero 2, and more complete than the Zero MK1, better bass (and more note weight) than the 7Hz x Crinacle: Salnotes Dioko. What can I say? Truly this Kiwi ears Singolo is one IEM that even Crinacle has ended-up topping himself.
This is the best I have heard from Crinacle!
$79.00
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-x-crinacle-singolo
Now you’re probably wondering how it is different from a few IEMs out there, and I will get to comparisons. But first I’m going to talk about ear-tips.
Ear-tips:
The Singolo is one of the most ear-tip dependent IEMs I have ever heard. And I decided early on to not try and figure out why, because the why is irrelevant, it is what it is…….so lets learn about ear-tips.
Left to right:
Top row: The silicone long wide bores, and the TANGZU Divinus Velvet silicone
Second row: My favorite silicone purple wide-bore ear-tips, then the Singolo wide bores
My ear-tip generalizations:
So if you are like me you have long standing (ear-tip) preferences from years of experience. You see, part of this IEM game is to learn about yourself, and which components work-out to provide the very best results.
Learning:
In doing so, you still must try and keep an open mind, as new brands of ear-tips are always emerging. But to simplify stuff here, I have a favorite set of ear-tips. In the pictures they are the ones with purple centers. As such they are very shallow-donut, getting the nozzle-end close to your ear-drum, yet also holding the nozzle end near the edge, so that the dispersion of sonics gets the widest stage, never adding too much bass to mess with the pace. I have used these tips for close to 70 different IEMs in use through-out my reviews. Though they are not perfect. As getting the IEM so close physically to the ear, can have issues with the outside of the ear pushing back, creating a lack of air-tight fitment. I also kind a feel due to the outer length being short, it in itself can at times shorten the amount of outer surface area (material contact) with your ear tissue, which in turn can limit fit freedom of movement while an air-tight fitment is still achieved.
2nd most used:
That is where the wide-bore silicone (longer) ear-tips come in handy. They will have a longer length which will make-up for any shortness of the nozzle. So the results are having the IEM sit farther out from your ear, yet still correct as the length is correct and positioning is perfect, with most shorter nozzle IEMs. Thus you don’t hear the outside fighting with the IEM in position to lose air-tight fitment.
This was the ear-tip used almost exclusively with the Kiwi ears Singolo.
TANGZU Divinus Velvet silicone ear tips:
It must be stated that in many ways the Divinus Velvet is special. Contrary to what you may guess, one test is to try the ear-tips with no music playing first. This way you can judge the ambient outside noise coming in around the tip-placement. The Divinus have a strange way of making the treble airy, and the best way to compare is obviously changing mid-song with your standard favorite ear-tips. What can I say, much of this has to do with what kind of bedsheets you’re used to. Get a new style of material and it may take a while before your mind lets you perceive the realities in store. But if you note the Divinus Velvet's back portion sound tube opening, it is the smallest circumference in the group. See the small circle? This actually expends out along the nozzle wall to become of a regular size.
While not quite as long as the (above) silicone long wide-bore, they have a nice sound and are my second most used ear-tips with the Singolo. Second most used as they don’t have the mid-length girth like my preferred wide-bore longer tips do, so they feel slightly less secure. As it turns-out (always) the middle structure and pressure pushing outward is key to liking ear-tips and gaining fitment. If the tip in question (regardless of personal size) doesn’t exert quite enough back-pressure from side-wall material and make-up, the resulting air-tight fitment can be marginal…….as (the problem) found with both pairs of included ear-tips.
Included tips:
Laughably the included tips showed their wall-thinness in the pictures, unexpectedly. This is the reality of how they are. Upon first opening the Singolo box, it was refreshing to find two sets of wide-bore ear-tips, yet with further usage, it was determined the build quality was just not substantial enough. I mean sure they will work for the NOOB, only there is a chance that even that owner can substitute the included tip for a different wide-bore.
Left to right:
Top row: The silicone long wide bores, and the TANGZU Divinus Velvet silicone
Second row: My favorite silicone purple wide-bore ear-tips, then the Singolo wide bores
The affecting components:
Ear-tips, cable choices, DAP character choices and EQ all go to dial-in the desired tone. Obviously IEM DIP-switches also add to the change of tone when included with a design.
As such these concepts are on-going and present repeatable results for the enthusiast. The concept of stage resulting from a wider nozzle (ear-tip) end. The bass curtailment is found with a wider nozzle ear-tip, or the opposite………..of deeper bass response with a narrower stage found from narrow opening bore ear-tip. The cable choices, while often questioned by half of Head-fi, also go to add their distinct personalities of bass pace, or stage displacement. The make-up and design construction of cables can change the stage perception and even imaging, which just by its nature can be accented by the ear-tips.
Such changes start obviously with the source file, of it being an older recording, or new, with new stage broadening effects and resolution. But along with the file we find amplifier technology (which can just be their innate properties) bringing the tonality and stage into different proportions. As such…….my reviews of ear-tips become only my singular experience, along with amplification and cables, bringing about a style of synergy in the end, that combined with individual ear-canal anatomy and neurological preferences, becomes of only a suggestion at best. Yet there is Head-fi. Yep, a place where many subjective ideas become quantified into a style of objective reality by many people singularly finding parallel ideas to take place. That is one important reason Head-Fi is hear, to share success stories.
IEM Comparisons:
Here I do side-by-sides to locate the quality differences between a few similarly priced IEMs.
Left to right
Top row: Kiwi ears Singolo, TANGZU FUDU
Bottom row: The 7Hz SONUS and the SIMGOT EA500 LM Edition
The test subjects:
1) Kiwi ears Singolo: 1DD-11mm LCP: $79.00 (comes in black or blue) 4 grams each:
2) TANGZU FUDU: 1 DD-10mm x 2BA: $89.00 4 grams each:
3) The 7Hz SONUS: 1DD-11.3mm x 1BA: $59.99 (choice of black, red or grey) 5 grams each:
4) Simgot EA500 LM Edition: 1DD-10mm Lithium Magnesium: $89.99 11 grams each:
Before I get started, to reiterate themes from a prior comparison, the FUDU was the odd-man-out.......being it needed an audiophile DAP or Dongle to come alive, yet other than that, each of these four choices was cream-of-the-crop as far as sound per dollar goes………being roughly the same price, each is special at what they offer in comparison to the crowded marketplace.
And really before we even get started (it must be said) that a choice of any of the four would be a win for the purchaser. People may question why I chose these three to compare to todays Singolo........... and the answer to that is they came out recently, and go to show the state of the art of under $100.00 IEM construction.
In fact while at times I will choose a more expensive IEM to try and highlight deficiencies in a product, none of that nonsense is needed here. The Kiwi ears Singolo is a perfect example of how to tune an IEM for broad likability. Yes, the Singolo has its own character, yet that character is likable, especially something to come to if you have been burned by too much treble heat or too much lumbering bass tones.........ruining pace. In fact the Singolo is a style of honesty and during these side-by-sides went one step farther to remind me of the sophisticated, and together, yet soft (polite) inviting tune that was the hallmark of the Zero MK1 and Zero MK2. I will do my very best to differentiate between the four. Using the Sony WM1A, SIMGOT LC7 cable in 4.4mm, and the longer wide-bore ear-tips to reduce any dissimilarities from how they are driven.
The FUDU:
Starting with the FUDU, this is why there is nothing else like doing these side-besides to try and ascertain a style of reality. Right off the FUDU seems easier to drive? That may end up trouble for the Singolo later in the review as typically the FUDU is hard to drive to maximum qualities. Still the FUDU contrasts are of splendor and offer bigger differences between the treble and bass. In fact the FUDU bass is clearer and of more substantial texture…….simply holding that Hybrid separation, especially in contrast to the actual BAs in FUDU action. While sure, I can go forward and say the Singolo is more coherent, that trait means very little at this point in time. I need to do more IEM changes to now concentrate on stage differences. Really the FUDU stage is bigger holding more detail and what comes with that is possible off-timbre, but to tell you the truth at this point I really don’t hear any……making the FUDU simply the better IEM, holding those extra details that comes with owning extra drivers and the separation that comes forth. I mean, sure the FUDU is famous for this style of bass, in that it is big, detailed to a point and separated…….we maybe (some of us) could have already guessed this…..but the difficulty in driving factor of the Singolo……that was a surprise, I will test it with a phone later in this review. In ending this comparison I can’t help but include the extended nozzle length which the FUDU holds, going deeper and more inline with a regular fit, with a larger selection of ear-tips. I mean I feel bad to use the word sleepy for the Singolo, but that is the very best descriptor when comparing the FUDU to it? Later in the music section we will learn of the Singolo’s good points, yet in this trial, the FUDU comes out ahead.
The 7Hz SONUS:
Here is the very definition of doing a lot with a little. I’m a little scared at this point with how our first test went? While the Singolo bass is pretty much even with the SONUS, it is holding longer fall-off and even more note weight up the line. As such the BA the SONUS sports is holding more separation into lesser perceived reverberations, though standing out in the mix, opposed to the singularity presented by the Singolo.
Here it is learned both the SONUS and Singolo have lesser bass thrusters than the FUDU, making them like closer brothers.
I mean it is almost not fair...........the levels of textures put out by the FUDU in action? Where once again another IEM besides the Singolo is also feeling bigger and better in relation to nozzle length. Where literally everything is closer to home with the Singolo. The vocals are not dislocated into any extra relief inside the stage. While sure there may be a hint of off-timbre that becomes the natural outcome with BA use, I can’t help but hear the tones finding more vividness and contrast when born?
While maybe they lack the realness of the Singolo, they are better heard and become slightly more audiophile. Sorry, I regularly like Hybrids the best, anyway…….for these exact reasons found.
Singolo IEM tested by Crinacle himself
Simgot EA500 LM Edition:
Well, this should be a fun one, as now we are back to a DD, in this fiasco. Well the total first thing noted (maybe as expected) is the bass with the EA is lots like the FUDU.
Yet the vocals now are more pushed-out than the Singolo finding a place somewhere between our BA performers, while not quite as vivid as the 7Hz SONUS or FUDU, holding a more natural timbre………of course you knew that was coming.
So the question is which is better, the EA at $10.99 more or the Singolo?
The most different thing the EA does, besides bass, is it adds a 5kHz peak, which the Singolo does alternatively instead offering a smooth large scale rise from 3 to 4Khz.
Where in reality this Singolo slope starts even at 1kHz then smoothly travels up peaking at 3kHz to 4kHz before continuing further into 6kHz. When you combine the Singolo upper mids with the 68dB bass then you can see this easy going nature.
Where the EA is also there is more mid-bass found at 200Hz being 63dB where the Singolo is at 60 dB. Though I feel the most difference comes from the heard at 5kHz with the EA making a noted 72dB peak.
As such the extra energy from the EA500 LM takes notice and helps delineate aspects found in that critical part of the treble. Where these differences besides technicalities, go to make each IEM response very different. The EA 500 is more vivid and contrasty, the Singolo coming off more relaxed and tame.
What this does (combined with the 2.8 kHz peak) it goes to push EA vocals forward giving an almost style of BA separation and contrast to the EA sound.
What the results of all this mean to you my reader is that the Singolo can be found to be more relaxed and maybe even more cohesive in comparison to the EA500 LM.
The Singolo listen ends less fatiguing, and simply allows higher volume levels. Yes the stage is slightly less filled out with the Singolo, holding fewer levels of itemization.
Yet also somehow I was brought into my memories of the two 7Hz Zero’s both MK1 and MK2, going and showcasing a softer, smoother even organic display of Singolo character.
All this to the point I heard the EA500 LM taking on an overall metallic stance, that while proving better in overall technicalities (by far) those technicalities were flashy and almost to a point garish.
Where the Singolo simply was set back, and offered a humble yet even more true rendition of the tones, leaving the sparkles and fanfare to the showboat EA500 LM to do all the time.
Conclusion:
Singolo and EA500 LM conclusion:
Wow, I really didn’t expect this style of altercation. Where sure the EA500 LM is basking in making stuff both more real-life and synthetic both at the same time. Real-life due to simply better imaging and faster transients, yet pushed into existence, where the Singolo was more true to timbre, yet offering a slower and more lazy, yet real rendition of tones. The Singolo was the more mature, older and wiser player, the EA the most brash and hostile provoker of the trebles. As such the treble EA peaks delineate a very different atmosphere, where it is the bar at closing when they have tuned-on every light in the house………..where the Singolo is those few moments after total closing when they energy of the night has died down……..and it is time to go home.
$79.00
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kiwi-ears-x-crinacle-singolo
Kiwi ears Singolo:
Driver: 11mm dynamic driver
Frequency response range: 20Hz-20KHz
Impedance: 32 ohms
Cable Interface: 3.5mm
Plug Type: Detachable 0.78mm 2Pin
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank Kareena from Linsoul for the love and the Kiwi ears Singolo review sample.
Disclaimer:
These are one person's ideas and concepts, your results may vary.
Disclaimer:
The Kiwi ears Singolo has been had burn-in for 168 hours.
Linsoul website: https://www.linsoul.com/
Linsoul Aliexpress Store: https://ddaudio.aliexpress.com/store/2894006
Linsoul USA Amazon Store link: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A267P2DT104U3C
Equipment Used:
Sony WM1Z Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm and 3.5mm
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm and 3.5mm
Samsung Phone 3.5mm
HiBy R3 II 3.5mm/4.4mm output and 3.1 USB Type-C output
GO bar Dongle 4.4mm/3.5mm
Wait, you really want to read some more?
OK.
Construction:
What is KARS?
Kiwi Acoustic Resonance System. Basically it's a venting system which allows air into and out of the Singolo also at the same time adding resonances just like the round hole in an acoustic guitar.
As such the 3D printed body utilizes an exact chamber of convoluted tubing which is both connected to the outside and after a number of turns is also connected to the driver membrane area, so that there is no driver flex due to pressure build-up when attached to your ear. The nozzle ends are a metal alloy construction with a lip that holds ear-tips well. I get the impression after studying the Singolo that there is actually a separate chamber which takes up the whole underside of the faceplate. This has not been listed, but the top of the driver sound-tube enters the underside of the faceplate which is hollow. The top of the driver additionally has a sound tube which is a nozzle tube for the IEM sound to travel out of into the nozzle tip. So as of this year we are actually seeing many IEMs which make use of a part resin and resonance chamber combined pressure relief tubing. If you look you can see the start of the KARS system tubing originating from the underside of the driver which is open also to this resonance chamber. As such, what is different from IEMs in the past is very little air-space.
As this is 80% a solid IEM in construction. As such there are good and bad ramifications to an invention, being that in case of a fall, the entire shell can crack with nothing left to repair. The good part is better control of tolerances and more finite control over construction, with less human handywork, being the Singolo is almost entirely 3D printed. In fact what this bass tuning does is offer a smooth and slightly non-paced result. The bass attacks have a rumble, yet inside of that rumble there is a slow swagger of personality, which is not exactly perfect, but lovable. I like to call it a birthmark.
Where my best analogy for this style of bass is Cindy Crawford, that I for all-time will designate this bass as Cindy Crawford bass. Why? It is far from perfect, yet it is its lack of technicalities, which give it a sense of originality. Sure maybe the KARS system is performing this sonic act? Maybe it’s simply the 11mm driver size?
Whatever it is, it is the slight lack of strict detail………….is what we get………..yet full-on musicality are the results here. There is a lumbering of sorts………a twist, which is not holding an edge, it is of a softer and more polite demeanor. This KARS bass tone walks the pace through, and takes it homebound in moving swaying style……….becoming one-of-a-kind in bass tone.
Cable:
While there are no exact specifications as to the cable make-up, the included cable is nice, and a departure from what style of cable that have typically been included with Kiwi ears IEMs. This is noted by the L shaped plug, the 0.78mm 2Pins and the creation of their almost 7Hz design? Actually really strange to find, like 7Hz got in and switched cables on us?
Weighing in at 11 grams the cable is not only ergonomic, it is light-weight. Seemingly going wherever you want, I can almost not imagine a better out and about cable to go with a Dongle or phone output? I hope to see more of this style of cable from other manufacturers in the future, as it is just nice. Note the small L and R demarcations prevalent.
Standard phone use:
One of the biggest changes in IEM design since 2016 has been the basic attitude towards finding bass from a regular phone. I say this because really that has been a contrast to where many IEMs from the 2016 era always had the possibility of sounding thin and sterile from a phone. Well not anymore, and while probably the greatest feature in phone use IS the fact that we can tap into that KARS system bass response. With standard phone use the Singolo doesn’t have that drivability issue of the FUDU in the bass department. Nope, and while yes, the Singolo is hard to drive, we encounter such rebelliousness with having to max out our phone volume, yet are greeted with little or no distortion and a fluid big stage.
I can totally see folks getting the Singolo and being smitten with regular phone use. Second to the bass, it is the lovely midrange separation and textured imaging that make phone use a win-win. Now my testing method here wasn’t just to grab a phone, but I did a cable test with a full-fledged DAP before moving the 3.5mm over to the phone to gain contrast in results.
HiBy R3 II use:
With a blacker background we find enhanced imaging and increased stage from regular phone use. In fact the cost of the HiBy is way less than a regular phone nowadays, which makes it a no-brainer purchase here.
The size, and battery life, and simple user interface…………. combined with a Swiss-army knife of options make the R3 II a must have if you ask me. The M signature response of the HiBy simply explodes the Singolo into musicality………I’m sorry but if you could see me moving my head to this sway and groove, you would understand.
Nowadays the price of equipment is secondary……...in contrast to exactly what you end-up choosing. Meaning its not how much you spend (to a point) it is just how much musicality you luck into with a new purchase.
So much of our little hobby has grown in sound quality for a value price, when the price of everything else in the world has skyrocketed. Just give me my Singolo and the HiBy R3 II and leave me alone……….I’m listening here. Oh, I almost forgot the SIMGOT LC7 is another add that fully actualizes the Singolo......adding a thickness simply from more wires in action. A medium budget cable which has perfect ear-hooks just like the included cable, though what it does besides more wires is has a modular plug enabling the 4.4mm output of the HiBy R3 II!
The HiBy R3 II with the GO bar Dongle:
While the battery drain of the GO bar is not a treat you want to use for super long listening times. The results of playback due to HiBy 3.1 TypeC USB means you have access to laptop and GO bar power level output results while out on the road. When you get to your location, simply ditch the HiBy and simply plug the GO bar into a laptop for (the identical) next level audiophile experience. Yep, this takes the cake with simply more (GO bar) constructed imaging and a slightly smoother style, a more sophisticated level of playback, only second to my WM1A or WM1Z. And if you're wondering if the Singolo scales up, yes it does. I could go on…….but this is not a review of the GO bar.
Music:
All music tests were done with the (4.4mm plug option) LC7 cable, the Sony WM1A with MrWalkman’s firmware, and the slightly longer wide-bore silicone ear-tips.
Ghost
Phantomime
Phantom Of The Opera (Iron Maiden cover)
48 kHz - 24 bit
Here is a song that is well recorded and showcases pace, timbre and stage. I was never a fan of the original song, but this version shows an ample amount of excitement. The opening showcases both guitar and a bass track which mirrors. While sure the guitar finds itself composed of multiple tracks into formation on the far right and stage left, the bass is dialed into where it should be, right in the center. Probably the most important start off is at 00:00 where there is a bass accent fully formed and clear, holding none of any style of lumbering or lack of pace. In fact the very first thing we key into is just how natural and real sounding our bass guitar work played out. Just the fact that the bass is more compressed here at the start and the wide guitar reverberations take precedence. I mean you want that click-clack of the bass to become centered as the tones are in center focus here. At 00:26 we realize that whoever covers this song it will always be Maiden sounding at the core……as that is who wrote it.
At 00:35 there is the introduction of balance, I mean a balance of so many separated and delineated entities taking each section of the stage as its own. In fact just the clarity found here is both a testament to the Singolo’s ability and the recording quality. But dealing with forward chord statements…….power chord statements no less………we are reassured as to the upper midrange tuning finding a welcome home, while still not critically blasting those tones into finite forwardness…….they are our friends……..we have made total peace with the power chords...........both in tone and placement into the stage. At 00:38 we hear the backing chorus basically doing a regular additive, adding dimension and polish.
At 01:03 the main vocals arrive.
Tobias Forge has introduced us to an exquisite use of a cover, that while still sounding like Maiden, there seems to be extra creative room for
Tobias Forge to make the song his very own. Basically to me a song that is (still questionably) better than the original. Here we find the Progressive Rock elements that were always in the background of NWOHM........only concentrated on in this Phantom OF The Opera Maiden song. Yep, this could be considered Progressive Rock, still walking that line with the added power chords of Metal………perfect. At 01:28 the Hammond B3 keys go into action to almost Jon Lord-ify the number. I mean what would this song be if they left the Deep Purple vibe out? Nothing……….that is where it would sit. Only at this point, just like the backing chorus, the B3 sounding organ is an embellishment and doesn’t come near taking center stage. At 01:54 we arrive at delight taking in the fast studio pan effect (reverb) put onto Tobias’s vocals. And to reiterate on that reverb, the reverbs here, especially with the guitar are natural and nice, holding a realism with fall-off and note weight, better than any Hybrids with BA noise makers, ever thought of doing. The notes of reverberation are simply longer and drawn-out to their conclusion. That is the Singolo in a nut-shell………provocative reverbs. That and believe it or not correctness both of tone and pace.
At 02:58 an epic lead takes place…….and we are given it all, nothing left out, at least in excitement of emotion anyway. Then more layers of guitar lead…..this is Tobias making a song for the concerts he plays………to keep the vibe of Metal alive and be true to it. And at 03:20 we somehow come face to face with the use of a Wah Pedal. Probably the pedal was in effect throughout, but has now identified itself as its very own instrument for the playing. Yep, seemingly walking out-front and taking control of the song. It is in these virtuoso instances that we find the soul of the moment, swept far away from our daily lives into the world of Rock.
At 04:05 we are greeted with a bass note, and actually this instance shows us the bass personality at hand, that while clean and correct, the bass is not in any way overboard, too much or too little. It is humble, yet correct and at this point (even polite)………..I realize I am at terms with the Singolo sound in total.
Finally we are (starting to be) brought to a style of climax, a climax inside a song that sounds almost like a climax all the way though. Just like the start of the song, there are the same instruments. There is a specific use of repeating themes which brings about a familiarity, yet at this point we are in the middle of a style of wind-up……..yep. The pace of the song seems to be brought into a speedier pace. It’s at 04:44 when all the listeners are now in sync, yep everyone knows the song, even if it was the first time they heard it. Eye contact is made with your partner and air-guitars take creation. You know that imaginary string instrument that somehow shows-up out of no-where.
Everyone rides onward into the power of the power chord, with slight smiles just in the corner of their mouth. This is, and will always (forever) be known as Rocking Out. At 05:02 the lead starts again, and because everyone knows it, the fingers go into action, playing each note….imaginary of course. Though at 05:20 a surprise happens……yep the leads are so good we are spellbound to listen…….they get respect and no more tomfoolery takes place. We stop as the real guitars are in the room……they require concentration……..and honor. At 05:29 another guitar approaches from the right…….a second guitar lead to join in……now they are tag teaming one, then another, then another……….it doesn’t ever get better than this. Finally, finally at 06:24 they are in unison, and filling the stage. Still we are not even finished, it is that over-the-top Progressive Rock Over-The-Top-ness. The excessiveness that too much is never too much…..ever.
Hans Zimmer
Inception OST
Old Souls
44.1 kHz - 16 bit
There is delicateness to the beginning piano notes, that at 00:23 they hold an ambiance of reverb and the Singolo nails it. At 00:54 the bass drop occurs. That while even at this exact price point I have heard a bigger stage, more contrast by other IEMs produce a feeling of detail and get the next level of emotional involvement. Yet that is not the goal of the Singolo performance…….no here we are partaking of a purer performance, holding note-weight and timbre……reverberations and fall-offs. Maybe the name of this is organic? Yet there is an honesty which is un-arguable and consistent where it could be said that more stage gets you more immersion, and I will agree…….except this style of playback is also emotional, but not due to overall size, but more sincerity of life? Like if you needed exact background music while at work and didn’t need the flash, but still wanted a purity when that set of chords went and grabbed your thoughts. You in-fact would not question them, not the timbre, not the decays abound, nor the treble would ever creep into your workspace. Because we all know of the music genres that are distracting, that emit an energy that is too much for concentration to occur. Yet with the Ghost song we found enough detail and correctness, a finite pace that rocked-us-out. Yet here is the same, only the song chose the pace, one of a sleepier and romantic idea of a song. And that is two examples of both sides of the coin, a coin that is illustrating the profound easygoing yet well-rounded demeanor the Singolo can’t help but parley 100% of the time.
Package:
Conclusion:
The Singolo walks that line, a line of both moderation and poise, of sophistication and temperament…….to become many different sounds by a changing of tips, yet all the ear-tips sound correct, only changing bass effectiveness and stage, midrange imaging and treble placement. Of course the widest and more shallow spread the stage out the farthest, yet the physicality of the nozzle didn’t allow me such freedom in use. So I chose the longer wide-bore silicones……and life went on. I mean this tuning is so (in a way) careful and soft. Soft due to the upper midrange Pinna Gain always being controlled. Even if you have heard as many IEMs as I, there is a place where you shake your head at just how careful this line is that they walked. That while impressive with bass, this still could be considered a vocal IEM, especially for those out there that are sensitive to forward vocals. And while sure, there are better technical IEMs for the same price, the technicalities take a back seat and are replaced by realism, not from wide-spread imaging but by correctness of tuning, that and timbre and ample reverberations. As such the Singolo plays great off a phone, that while maxed out in phone volume, we still have great bass sculpturing and that slightly bouncy roll and sway that makes the KARS system something we will hear again implemented. That for the NOOB the Singolo is really the ticket, as long as you can still find fitment with aftermarket ear-tips. And for the seasoned veteran in this game of acquisitions, the Kiwi ears Singolo brings an unstoppable character that is neither boring or too garish. To me, I kept getting déjà vu reminding me of the 7Hz Zero MK1 and even more MK2. And if you have read even a few of my reviews here, I hold those IEMs at the top of how to tune an IEM. It is through this midrange imaging that they stole my heart, and the Singolo is continuing that specific legacy into the future.
