Kotori Audio Tungsten

rev92

Reviewer at Ear Fidelity
Kotori Audio Tungsten
Pros: Good build quality
Comfortable
Value
Cons: Not too universal when it comes to the sound

Kotori Audio Tungsten​

Kotori Audio Tungsten is an upgrade cable for IEMs with a very thin design, using an unknown conductor. It's priced at $89,90.


PriceConductorPlugConnector
$89,90Unknown2,5/3,5/4,4mm2pin/MMCX/Fitears/QDC
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Introduction​

Cables, cables, cables. So many to choose from. This time it’s one of the cheapest serious options from Kotori Audio, which is a company from Singapore. They are also making three other cables, “Carbon” starting at $69,90, and the one closing their offer the Epsilon which costs $299,90. The hero of this review, is their second cheapest model, the Tungsten.

Packaging & Build Quality​

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The box is looking pretty great, it’s black with a silver logo on the top. It’s simple and elegant.
Inside you’ll find the cable, which is specific, even for its price. It reminds me of the cables that are often used by artists, with their CIEMs on the stage. Thin, and all-coated, so it is more durable. And well, at that part it’s really good, maybe besides the AEC 4,4mm jack. It’s just too big for such a small cable, but there’s also one wonderful thing at this point. It’s the fact that this connector isn’t glued, so even if the cable would break, you can easily unscrew the connector and sold it once again. The same thing applies to the 2pin connectors. And when talking about them, they’re decent. Nothing too fancy in terms of design, but they’re doing their job correctly. If you would ask me, how do they hold the IEMs, I would say they’re just ok. The IEM won’t drop by itself, but it’s not really close to the safest cable in the world.
The cable by itself isn’t the softest one I’ve ever used, it’s really stiff as the earphone one. Maybe it’s not like the LittleDot Gyfu cable, but it’s still problematic in daily use. The outer sleeve is pretty smooth, it doesn’t cause the microphonic effect with any IEMs used. Also, the splitter used is of very good quality, it’s discrete but makes an excellent feeling in hand.
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Comfort​

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Well, that’s the part when this cable is even more specific. As I said before, it’s pretty stiff and very thin. It wasn’t really enjoyable to wear it as usual, but when I’ve tried to wear it on my neck I realized it must’ve been build to be used that way. It’s doesn’t bother me like all other cables being worn like that, because its so tiny that I don’t really feel it.
That’s the first-ever cable that made me do that, so I’m not the biggest fan there. I’m sure that Robert would appreciate that much more since he’s using every cable that way.
It’s also hard to place it in the case, if you won’t use the velcro that’s attached, it’ll go its way. Even after like three days of hanging freely with IEMs attached, it is still not straight, so you have to get used to its shape.

Sound​

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Well, that’s one of the cheapest upgrade cables you can get (I’m not counting 10-25$ cables as upgrade ones), so I wasn’t expecting much. And not gonna lie, I didn’t get much. But let’s start from the beginning. On the Kotori website we can read that:

“Tungsten exerts power, reinforcing the low-range with deeper and more impactful bass. Its dark tonality thickens the mid-region and creates a cool, laid-back sound expression.”

Well, I wouldn’t use such words to describe that cable. I’ve tried it with many IEMs, from Moondrop SSP, through Craft Ears Four and Six, to Unique Melody MEST. In every case, there was a difference comparing to the stock cable, or the ddHiFi BC120B Sky and Cross Lambda Neo. It didn’t really match the SSP, and it’s not enough for Crafts, they deserve more.
We also don’t know what cable is made of, because Kotori doesn’t share such info with us.
Overall, the Kotori Tungsten is a specific cable, for specific users and IEMs. I don’t have any bright IEMs around 200-300$, but I think that’s the budget and style where it would fit perfectly. If you’re tired of your bright or shouting IEMs, prefer to wear the cable on your neck, and so on, you should give it a try.
The fact that it doesn’t match my preferences, and it’s not made for any IEMs I have shouldn’t bother you at all. I think that there isn’t any lovely cable below the hundred bucks, and the true upgrades start at 120-140$. But okay, let’s start the sound description.

At first, with Craft Ears Four:

The bass became slower, muddier. If you’ve ever heard the CE4 you know how fast and powerful they can be, but with Tungsten they lost that, and started to be a little calmer, smoother, but not deeper or reinforced. Especially if we would compare the Tungsten to Cross Lambda Neo, which really reinforces that part of the sound. Tungsten is pretty good with bands like GSPD, but it goes a little too dense.

The midrange is delicately pulled in the shadow, especially the lower one. It’s yet again smoothed, and rounded, maybe even dimmed. The higher mids are almost not touched, there’s only a slight addition of smoothness, but that’s all. Compared to the BC120B Sky that excellently pushed Billie’s vocal in NDA to the front, the Tungsten let it remain in the rest of the sound. The same thing applies to GSPD mentioned before, in “Никому не говори! (Don’t Tell Anybody!)” the vocal of Dead Blonde also can hide, but with this combo, it’s placed right in the middle of the sound.

The treble is one more time smoothed. It stays at its place, isn’t pushed away or dragged into the face of the listener. Unfortunately, the CE4 also lost there their ability to show the shape of instruments, which I love in them.

The soundstage is delicately better compared to the stock cable, but that’s a really slight difference. It’s wider and deeper, but the holography didn’t change at all. Compared to the more expensive upgrade cables, well, it just loses. It doesn’t reproduce such a big soundstage as the rest cables mentioned in this review. That might be caused because of the size of the cable, so the eight-strand version can be much better at this point.

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With Craft Ears Six:

Six’s got a really nice cable at the start, which is Rhapsodio OCC MK2, so the Tungsten has a strong competitor in here, but in my opinion, its sound signature matches well with CE6, but it cuts their technical possibilities.

The bass went once again in a smoother playstyle, but it adds some juice to the sound. Lows are warmer, more musical, but they’re slower and denser. I like that with some calmer, more relaxing sessions, but whenever I’m looking for something faster, more you know, “audiophile”, then I’m just not satisfied.

The midrange is very safe in that combination. It’s not bringing anything special, it’s balancing between being smooth and textured, but yet again, we’re losing details compared to the stock Rhapsodio. Details, and shapes of course. Some voices are fantastic with this combo, like Kendrick Lamar. It’s way more enjoyable with the Tungsten. I wouldn’t say that it’s sweetened or anything like that, because that’s not the good way for his voice, but it’s thicker, and a little more powerful.

The treble is hmm… it’s hard to find a proper word for that. It’s for sure not a living campfire, it’s like the dying out one. You still can get burned, but you won’t burn at all. It’s not shining all the time, but it’s not darkened out yet. Again we’re losing details, but remember that the Tungsten is cheaper than the Rhapsodio, so we can focus more on its timbre, so that’s where it’s more sweetened than technical, so we’re pretty losing the Six’s target, but that’s you, who listen to them, right?

The soundstage acts exactly the same as with Craft Ears Four, but because Six’s have way better stock, I can say that Tungsten is even worse in every way.

Overall, Kotori Audio Tungsten is a decent option for some 200-300 bucks IEMs, but everything above would love to have something better than this. But that’s not the case of that cable, that’s the problem of all cheap upgrade cables. I think it would match great with Final Audio A4000, FiiO FH5 or Kinera Freya. If you find them too bright, and too fatiguing, listen to the Tungsten, it can change them into more pleasant earphones.

Summary​

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Kotori Audio Tungsten is a specific cable, for specific earphones. It’s a little dense, with a decent addition of smoothness at every part of the sound. If you’re looking for a cable for bright and harsh IEMs, give this cable a shot. It’s worth trying. On the other hand, if you don’t “believe” in cables, but the stock one isn’t comfortable for you, and you prefer to wear the cable on the neck, that’s another reason to give it a try.


Gear used during this review for the sake of comparison and as an accompanying equipment:
  • Headphones – Craft Ears Four Custom, Craft Ears Six, Spring 2, Unique Melody Mest (don’t do this)
  • Sources– Cayin N3 Pro, ddHiFi TC44B, Cayin N6ii A01

dragonx64

Head-Fier
Kotori Audio Cables: Carbon, Tungsten, Silicon
Pros: For Tungsten
- Brighter and more spacious highs
- Mids more emphasized with more punch in midbass
Cons: For Tungsten
- Bass gets less emphasis here
When I was just starting out my audio reviews, Kotori Audio was one of my first few followers and eventually they reached out to me to review their cables, Carbon, Tungsten and Silicon.

Disclaimer: These cables were graciously loaned to me by Kotori Audio. I have to return them the cables after reviewing them, and was told to give my honest opinion on them.

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INTRO
Kotori Audio is an up and coming audio cable company that originates from Singapore, like myself. As they are a new company, their main lineup consists of 3 audio cables, the Carbon, Tungsten and Silicon. They also carry some connectors in case you would like to DIY or fix your own audio cables such as 2 pin connectors and 4.4mm plugs.

QUICK SUMMARY
Common sound improvements:
- Across all cables, sound has more depth and each note carries more weight to it
- Music has better separation

Carbon (69.90 SGD)
  • Neoprene (Elastomer) Wrapped Polyolefin Insulation
  • 1.2M cable length
  • 28 AWG, 4-braid / 6-braid / 8-braid
  • AEC Connectors & Premium Kotori Audio Y-Splitter
Sound improvements:
- Mids and midbass has more impact and bite to it
- Highs sound better due to good separation
- Cleaner, deeper bass and improved bass presence improved also due to separation

Tungsten (89.90 SGD)
  • PVC Insulation
  • 1.2M cable length
  • 28 AWG, 4-braid / 8-braid
  • AEC Connectors & Premium Kotori Audio Y-Splitter
Sound improvements:
- Brighter and more spacious highs
- Mids more emphasized with more punch in midbass
- Bass gets less emphasis here

Silicon (169.90 SGD)
  • PFA Insulation
  • 1.2M cable length
  • 28 AWG, 6-braid / 8-braid
  • AEC Connectors & Premium Kotori Audio Y-Splitter
Sound improvements:
- Crisper and cleaner highs
- Mid and midbass has more impact, attack and presence
- Improved bass extension

Where to get them: Kotori Audio

If you like my reviews, follow my insta @resonant.reviews!

WHAT'S IN THE BOX


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The box has their logo and brand name stamped on the cover and insider you would find:
- Cable
- Instruction Manual

The packaged cable sits nicely in the box with soft padding around it, and the instruction manual thanks you for purchasing their product at the front and a very helpful guide at the back:

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It shows you the dos and don'ts of inserting the cable! I thought this was really handy especially since given the price point, they are probably targeting users who are rather new to this and might be unfamiliar with the proper ways of inserting and removing the cables. It also includes a QR code to their website should you want to take a look.

BUILD QUALITY
When I first received the cables and looked at it, I didn't think much of the design as it looked really simple. However after using it for a while, I've grown to appreciate the subtle sleek look that they were going for.

For all cables, you are able to select which connectors you want (0.78mm 2 pin, MMCX, Fitear and QDC/UE), and which plugs you prefer (2.5mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm).

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In general, Kotori Audio's cables look simple but feels really premium in your hands. They are generally supple and have a nice feel. The y-splitter is uniquely shaped like a slightly wider hexagon and has their logo subtly printed on it, feels really premium too! The connectors look simple yet nice and I have no issues with that.

Having owned other brandless chifi cables, this definitely is a step up in terms of build quality. I believe that the shielding used is of a different quality too as it feels really different from the ones I have. It comes in a matte finishing for all 3 cables to give it that clean look.

SOUND
For sound, I would talk about the improvements that the cable provides as I believe that it is more accurate that way.

Before going onto the details, the setup used in this review are as follows:
Earphone - ThieAudio Monarch
DAP - Cayin N6ii

1) Carbon
Outfitted in a simple black shielding with silver connectors, it didn't stand out much. However once I connected them to my Monarch, the improvement was definitely noticeable! I thoroughly enjoyed the improvements to the sound.

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Overall, the music sounded weightier, warmer and notes were thicker. The obvious improvement was in the midbass and mids, giving it much more impact. Drum snares had more attack to them and the kick drums sounded more "rounded". It didn't felt like the sound was hitting against the floor and dispersing out but rather punching through and you could hear that difference. This was the problem I had with the Monarch but I didn't expect the Carbon to rectify this issue.

Similarly in the highs, there is more weight to it but its presence is quite subtle. Initially I thought that the Carbon gave the highs more presence, but its actually due to better separation of frequencies on it that gave that impression.

As a result of better separation, bass tends to stand out more and sounds cleaner. There isn't much interference with the other frequencies compared to the stock cable. The bass reaches just slightly deeper on the Carbon versus the stock and with better separation, it's presence is better felt.

When listening to the music as a whole, the Carbon is more enjoyable for me because I'm always looking for details and the Carbon does this very well at a very competitive price point. Considering that both are similarly priced (69 USD for ThieAudio EST cable vs 52 USD (approx) for Kotori Audio Carbon cable), I would say that the Carbon is a good upgrade (or side grade?) from the stock cable. Personally, I feel that the Carbon rectifies most of the issues that I had with the Monarch and then pushes it even more.

2) Tungsten
Tungsten has this unique dark grey, non glossy shielding. It is also somewhat thinner than the Carbon and is really light.


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As for sound improvements, highs are clearly brighter, sound more crisp and feels more spacious.

Mids get the most improvement here, being more emphasised. Vocals tend to sound more forward and have more of a presence in this cable, sounding denser and more lifelike compared to the stock cable.

Midbass gets a bit of a boost too, with kickdrums having more punch in your ears. Listening to tracks with lots of drums and electric guitars are great pairing with the Monarch!

However, the bass isn't as prominent, being a bit shy and hiding in the background and you would have to listen closely to be able to clearly hear it. It's not that the cable removes the bass entirely, it just gives it less emphasis. With the more prominent midbass, it does sound like there's more bass but compared to how low the earphone can actually go, this actually dampens it slightly.

Separation levels are similar to the Carbon, giving it just enough separation for you to tell apart the different instruments clearly with little effort.

Overall, I really like how the Tungsten brings out the highs and the midbass in the Monarch, making it a lot more engaging than it already is.

3) Silicon
I have to be really honest here, I spent the most time on this because after briefly comparing the 3 cables when I first got them, I really like this a lot and just stuck with this for quite a while. This is the first time I've heard such a great improvement a cable can make on an earphone. It's like the Carbon and the Tungsten cables had a baby that had the best qualities of both parents. Or maybe it's the other way around, where the Carbon and Tungsten is a spin off of Silicon. Hmm...

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Having the best qualities of both the Carbon and Tungsten, highs definitely sound cleaner and more crisp, mids are quick with more presence and with a good amount of bite to it, and lows are definitely deeper. The Silicon is not as dark as compared to the Carbon, but more tamed in the highs compared to the Tungsten. I believe that Kotori Audio’s sound signature is to give the music more weight to it, as this trait was clear throughout all three cables.

I really like how clean the sound is from the Silicon and how much more weight I get in each note. Using the Silicon cable with my Monarch, each guitar note carries a lot more emphasis to it, kick drums definitely has more kick to it and the bass goes deep that it’s like having a mini-subwoofer in my ear.

However, microphonics on this cable is bad. If the cable rubs against each other, which happens as they tend to be coiled, or hit against my sling bag, I can definitely hear it and it's really annoying at times. If you are intending to use this without moving much then I would highly recommend you get this cable. Otherwise, maybe consider getting the one of the other 2 cables instead depending on your needs. I have since feedback to Kotori Audio regarding this and they are looking to resolve or minimize this in future iterations.

Despite that, I still think that the Silicon is an insanely good cable for its price as it makes the music sound cleaner and gives the note more weight.

CONCLUSION
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Overall, I am really impressed Kotori Audio's creations, all their cables are of very good build quality with impressive sound quality improvements but without the bulk. I am highly considering of getting one for myself as it’s a perfect pairing with the ThieAudio Monarch and gives it the ideal sound that I am looking for. Any of their cables are great bang for your buck so do highly consider them if you are looking to replace or get upgrade cables for your earphones! Great job Kotori Audio, keep up the good work and I look forward to future creations from you guys!

If you like my reviews, follow my insta @resonant.reviews!
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