OBravo Cupid Review: Low price, high fidelity
Let us be real, many budget audiophiles have been left out from experiencing OBravo products due to the high price, as they are some unreachable thing. Former OBravo products were expensive for most cases and sounded great too, but not many of us are capable of spending that much cash in music and audio. However, OBravo has now presented their latest yet first product that would live up to the demands, as well as fill up that missing spot from the product family - an entry model named Cupid retailing for $299. I feel extra picky and certainly have high expectations since their usual tough pricing and this one being the very first entry model. Now, let us take a deep look at its performance and sound characteristics.
Packaging
Cupid comes in with a clean, compact packaging. Other than the earpieces and some paperwork, the included accessories are 3 pairs of silicone tips, 3 pairs of Comply foam tips, a pair of soft earpiece sleeves, a 4 braid OCC Litz SPC cable with gold-plated brass 2.5mm jack, and additional adapters depending on the packaging deals.
The Prime version is added with a Pentaconn 3.5mm adapter while the Ultimate version is added with both 3.5mm and 4.4mm adapters. This is quite a nice deal, especially the quality adapters and the earpiece sleeves. Though a real pity is that the packaging does not include any pouch or case to store the earphones. The earpiece sleeves would do a fair job protecting from scratches, but nothing other than that.
Earpieces - Design / Spec
Not a small amount of people recognize Cupid as a planar IEM, but not exactly. Cupid utilizes OBravo's patented 8mm planar driver as a tweeter along with a 6mm neodymium dynamic driver, which is technically considered as a Planar+DD hybrid setup. The outer metal shells are smoothly polished with a black gold coating on top. The earpiece is originally designed to be worn over-ear, yet it is still able to comfortably wear it straight-down as well.
One thing to be aware is that Cupid (or any other OBravo products) uses a unique connection standard called "OB-MMCX" which is not compatible with ordinary MMCX sockets, such as from Shure or Westone. So why are they using this standard? Because the connectors wouldn't spin around unlike ordinary MMCX. Having the connectors spin would slowly deteriorate the contact area, eventually losing the sound connection. Another reason is that although MMCX is inherently stronger than 2pins from breaking, their OB-MMCX connectors are even more durable - so less shaking or breakage.
The OB-MMCX connectors
Though in fact, these connectors are technically the exact same thing, except the OB-MMCX having an extra stem on top of the socket structure. Because of that, you are most likely able to connect your usual MMCX connectors with Cupid if you polish/cut-out a small portion from Cupid's MMCX connector at the top - though that would clearly be considered as modding and would void any warranties, so I would not recommend. My thoughts are, that we already have more than enough variant in connection standards which none of them are really close to being perfect (or perhaps the recent Pentaconn Ear standards). It would have been better for them to rather use ordinary MMCX sockets yet with reinforced structures that protect the female sockets even firmly.
Matching cable and eartips
Now I must say that these are *very* eartip-sensitive. Thankfully the stock whirlwind eartips match very well with Cupid (in fact the best so far), matching with other eartips could completely make these sound like a potato. Nope, not even wide-bore eartips like Spiral Dots or AET07 would not outdo the stock whirlwind eartips. Cupid works out nicely with the stock cable and I believe is less sensitive as eartips, though unfortunately was not able to test out other cables due to oBravo's unique Ob-MMCX connectors.
There is not much I could further talk about the cables, unfortunately. None of my cables are compatible with Cupid's OB-MMCX sockets and my only short experience with trying different cables was back in the days when I visited OBravo's exhibition booth. I was able to briefly test out Cupid with higher-grade cables from Rhapsodio (pure copper) and IYARA (hybrid), but all I could remember was that Cupid definitely sounds a lot better than the stock one. Cupid is moderately sensitive, but did not seem to be so tricky as the eartips and worked out fairly well with different kinds of cables. Though I would not say it is necessary to go for an upgrade cable as the stock cable is also made with pretty high-quality components and has no problem delivering its intended sound signature and quality.
Sound Impression - Lows
Cupid sports a fairly even sound with slight emphases throughout the range, creating a mild w-shaped signature. The first part that catches my attention is the bass. With well-established body and size, lows are dense and meaty. It is thick in both density and color, showing a bold and dark presentation that stands out without overdoing in bass quantity. The bass quantity itself is similar to other slightly v-shaped IEMs, roughly having 25% more emphasized from flat. Ultra lows show quite a surprising performance which dives very deep but in a very clear and clean manner. This is also the part where having a planar driver kicks in as a special strength point. The bass reproduction feels wide to its nature, not "widen" by adding extra reverbs to the body.
This leads Cupid to have a clear, settled-down bass that creates a vast, spatial stage. Lows deliver its heavy weightiness without stuffing up the headroom with bass, allowing the upper frequencies to be presented completely unbothered - not to forget mentioning that the bass always remains in the basement of the headroom and keeps a stable position. The bass is tightly controlled with an analytical stance but never leaves the bass being hollowed or thinned. Plus, since the mids and highs are kept delicate, the bass quietly stands out from the music.
Sound Impression - Mids
Among the IEMs that produce good mids, you may have found some of them have vocals that are clearly bulged out or the density concentrated to the front of the imaging, which is of course, not necessarily a bad thing. Although it does allow the vocals to be presented super close to the ears, that limits the staging from achieving higher naturality. At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference - some prefer such presentation while some prefer the "planar way" of presentation (you already know what I am talking about if you have experience with planar drivers).
In the case of Cupid, its rich densities are well spread throughout the mids, creating a rather even and flat surface - Again, what I called flat here, is that the density on the mid-range is evenly presented, not the overall sound signature is flat. This creates a well-organized, close-to-reference type of staging which means that the sound is closer to accurate. But again, this is all a matter of taste since some may find such a presentation to be rather plain and relaxed. This "planar way" of staging creates a headphone-like mids that are large and positionally accurate.
Anywho, mids on Cupid take a small step forward from the lows or keep a similar position depending on different tracks, posing a delicate, prominent tone. Cupid mainly presents the vocals neutral and unexaggerated, but not with the fun left out. Both male and female vocals turn out equally nice. There is a slight boost in coloration and brightness on the upper mids, taken under control by a narrow margin. I would not stress about it as Cupid does a fine job maintaining the tonality consistent and such cases barely happen on a majority of tracks.
The atmosphere feels airy, transparent, and slightly shiny without getting actually bright, harsh, or fatiguing. This airy, mildly-opened up atmosphere continues throughout the mid-range and continues its posture without causing any spikes or sibilance as it progresses to the treble. It is worth mentioning that matching a wrong eartip would cause sibilance as well as degrading the staging (and I failed to find any other eartips that work with Cupid other than the stock whirlwind tips), so I recommend sticking with the originals.
Sound Impression - Highs, etc.
Highs are organic and continue the airy atmosphere developed from the mids. It forms a fairly smooth and soft texture while maintaining a proper amount of crisp to the bite, allowing the sound to be edgy enough but not harsh or bright. The quantity is slightly reduced than the lows or mids, serving more as a supplement for the music than being the main player. The brightness is also controlled and does not cause any fatigue despite the opened-up headroom.
Verdicts
If you used to have a fierce look against their products for the tough price, Cupid would make a very good opportunity to change your stance into a positive one. Before testing these, my best guess for the sound was to be mediocre at its max, but Cupid completely jumped over my skepticism and now I am very pleased to OBravo for creating these. If bold, delicate instrumental details paired with sweet, headphone-style vocals sound like your type of taste, Cupid would likely be your best choice among its price range. Already into planar sounds? You know what the answers would be.
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Thanks to OBravo Audio for providing Cupid in exchange for an honest impression/feedback.
I am not affiliated with OBravo Audio and none of my words were modded or asked to be changed.
I am not affiliated with OBravo Audio and none of my words were modded or asked to be changed.
You either get 4/10 or 9/10 sound.
Get the basic version, goes for £169 and is outstanding value.