QoA Pink Lady

Disclaimer
QOA Pink Lady has been provided to me by HiFiGo as part of their review tour. I am in no way related to them or working for them. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources. One can purchase QOA Mojito from HiFiGo using the following link.

Introduction

QoA was established in 2019 as a sister company of Kinera. It continues Kinera's technology and R&D experience and incorporates its own innovative ideas in product positioning.

Design

The earpices are made of acrylic shells with a prominent log of QOA on the faceplate. The unit that I have is of transparent Purple color. The connectors are 0.78 mm 2-pin and the cable has a good feel to it.

The major design flaw that I see that there is no lip on the nozzle that holds the eartips. As a result, I had stuck eartips in my ears through the review period.



Sound Analysis

The Best feature will come first:

Bass: You will get awesome bass I the QOA Pink Lady. There is a bleed present but not that prominent. You will fee the rumbles if you play your favorite Bass tracks. The bass has good quantity present.

Mids: The mids are Okay-ish. Not too good, not too bad. One can say that the mids are relaxed and laid back in nature. Although the vocals are good.

Highs: The treble is good and has an extension to it. And at the same time, it is smooth. The makes the overall impression lean towards the Bass presentation.

Soundstage

The sound stage is decent. Nothing exciting going on here. The more dynamic tracks feel congested on the Pink lady. I think cable change is required here.

Disclaimer
QOA Pink Lady has been provided to me by HiFiGo as part of their review tour. I am in no way related to them or working for them. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources. One can purchase QOA Mojito from HiFiGo using the following link.

Also, The following review is based on my experience with IEMs of similar hardware configuration and price range.

Introduction
The entry level product from QOA (Queen Of Audio) - Pink Lady is pleasant musical surprise. QoA was established in 2019 as a sister company of Kinera. It continues Kinera's technology and R&D experience and incorporates its own innovative ideas in product positioning.

The Pink Lady has a semi-transparent cover with a purple tint and engraved logo in golden with chrome finish is nothing less than a small piece of jewelry. With the smooth touch of resin coating, these earphones have a classy and elegant feel to it. Along with the purple it is also available in black shade.

These come with 1 Copper+SPC Cable, that adds premium feel to the product along with a good quality brown leather box for easy carry these items with care and protection.


Product Specification:

• Triple Driver Hybrid setups, having one 10mm DD and Dual BA driver unit.
• Impedance: 16 ohms.
• Sensitivity: 112 +/- 1 dB.
• Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
• Copper+SPC Cable with 0.78mm Two-pin interface and 3.5mm termination plug.

Review

Sources:
For this review the unit has been paired to Chord Mojo, Hiby-R3, Xduoo XD-05(Burson V5i) and LG V30+ without any additional amplification. Stock Cable and eartips have been used during listening experience.

Fit:
The Fit of QOA Pink Lady is very comfortable as IEM itself is very light weight that one can wear it comfortably even for long sessions without any fatigue. They are very well designed, although nozzle could be bit large for some people. The stock cable feels light and sturdy and adds further quality to the product.

Lows:
QOA (Queen Of Audio) – Pink Lady is a killer IEM in terms of Bass, don’t get me wrong here but long usage definitely can result in hearing damage. When it comes to bass response it a total beast and treat to bass heads. It has a very relaxing signature with good rumble, although one can definitely feel bleeding of bass in mids resulting into bit muffled sound; but to all the bass heads out there that should not matter much. The V-shaped relaxing sound signature is where the Pink Lady outshines.

I have tested this more on bass-oriented tracks and it didn’t fail even for a single time to give me a wow factor by initiating an instant groove from its punchy bass response and sets up an instant dance mood where in no time I feel my hands up in the air. The hip hop and gangsta music sounded outstanding over it.

Listening to “Bass Rani” album by Nucleya was such an awesome experience - what a rumble on all the bass drops, it was entirely fun listening to each track. Although there were occasions when bass got overwhelming and muddy, but guys that sub bass rumble was amazing!! I enjoyed each and every bass drop with same fervor.

Similar experience was there while listening to “KVSH -Tokiyo drift remix” – The Presentation of bass response was outstanding and the feel one has while anticipating for the drop was damn amazing. Again, it didn’t lose the wow factor; not even for a single drop.

Mids:
The mids tuning is somehow on warm side, but yes, a lot of bass bleeding effect can be observed in lower mid-range which too sounds well in some tracks generating a feel of presence in the full-bodied sound. Vocals are vivid and intense while the upper mid-range has nice detail and sounds very good specially the female vocals although male vocals do have a nice texture to them.

The entire mid presentation is laid back and produces a relaxing sound signature, purely musical in nature. Same thing can be observed while listening to “Sting - Shape Of My Heart” that gave a nice feel of presence factor in bass guitar and decent sound stage creating an enjoyable presentation.

Highs:
Highs on QOA Pink Lady are on a bit bright side and slightly more distinct than the mids; yet they feels quite smooth. Treble is not very much detailed yet sounds fuller and pairs well with the overall sound signature of the IEM.

Soundstage/Imaging:
The Pink lady has a decent soundstage. Even the depth feels quite dominating on it and at times can be more empowering than the width. The imaging is fairly decent until too heavy soundtrack is thrown at it making it bit muffled and congested.

Same can be observed while listening to “R3HAB x Mike Williams – Lullaby” the soundstage and female vocals were quite good, and again followed by a lovely drop!!

Also, at same time it felt bit congested while listening to “PLAY - Alan Walker, K-391, Tungevaag, Mangoo” where it sounded bit muddy and lost all the magic.



Final Verdict:
QOA Pink Lady is a bass heavy IEM, yet it shines in case of imaging and separation. The overall signature is warm and musical. The overall presentation is relaxing. And the IEM is having very premium feel along with nice accessories.

In nutshell, it is an IEM designed for all the bassheads and casual listeners out there who are treble sensitive and yet enjoy highs. And to all audiophiles out there, save your ears and stay away from it, just kidding, do try it out and you’ll definitely appreciate the bass response and depth it gives at this price range.

Disclaimer:

QOA Pink Lady has been provided to me by HiFiGo as part of their review tour. I am in no way related to them or working for them. All impressions of sound are subjective to my own listening and my sources.



Technical Specifications.

• Triple Driver Hybrid setups, having one 10mm DD and Dual BA driver unit.
• Impedance: 16 ohms.
• Sensitivity: 112 +/- 1 dB.
• Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
• Copper+SPC Cable with 0.78mm Two-pin interface and 3.5mm termination plug.

Sound Impression:
I'd refrain from categorizing this part, simply because I was so underwhelmed by them, I do not deem them worthy of getting a much detailed review than this.

Simply said, I did not like this pair. Deep and strong overwhelming bass, scooped out mids resulting in a V sound, and distant highs. The sound was all about the bass. A very narrow soundstage did not help improving the experience. Everything sounded just...wrong! The sound was very much in your head, unnaturally cramped, full of bass, suppressed vocals and instruments. TBH, Bass was the only aspect that pleased me.



Fit:
Yeah, fit was good. But again, no lips on nozzle. Eartips slid out and remained stuck inside my ears. Bummer again.



Comparison:

Vs. BGVP Artmagic DH3: Both are around the same price segment. The DH3 has better controlled bass, a more transparent and crisp midrange and highs. A wider soundstage, better separation, the sound never once felt cramped. Just another league altogether. Quite a night and day difference between the Pink Lady and DH3, never expected that TBH.

Disclaimer:

The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Purchase Link: https://hifigo.com/collections/qoa/...-hybrid-3-driver-in-ear-monitor-hifi-earphone

Note: Please note that my opinions and ratings are based on price, category, market competition and personal expectations and are subjective in nature.

Introduction: QOA (Queen of Audio) is a new Chinese brand, however they are a sister brand of the popular brand Kinera. Pink Lady (from hereon as PL) has a 3-driver setup consisting of two BAs and one 10mm DD. The PL comes with a 3.5mm cable, some silicon tips, foam tips and a hard case.

Build Quality and comfort: The PL earpieces are made up of acrylic shell with the QOA logo on the faceplate. The earpieces are transparent purple. The connectors are 2pin 0.78mm and the cable is pretty well built. The finishing on the PL looks good, however has a major flaw as there’s no lip on the nozzle to hold eartips. Hence, at times the eartips tend to come off and stuck inside ears. Apart from that, the PL is quite lightweight and comfortable.
Score: 3/5

Lows: The lows on the PL is quite prominent and has good quantity but tend to bleed into the rest of the frequencies. The bass has decent punch because of the DD and makes them fun sounding, well only to the bass heads.
Score: 3.2/5

Mids: The mids are decent but nothing special. It feels slightly laidback and is often obstructed by the bass.
Score: 3/5

Highs: The highs are decent for the price and are slightly more pronounced than the mids. This makes the sound signature V shaped.
Score: 3/5

Soundstage, Imaging, Separation: The PL has good soundstage width and even better the depth. This is one area where the PL does good. The imaging is fairly decent too. There’s decent separation as long as the tracks are not heavily instrumented. For heavily instrumented tracks, the imaging and separation takes a hit and the sound becomes slightly congested.
Score: 3/5

Overall Sound: The sound signature of the PL is V shaped in nature with quite some bass. Due to some unknown reasons they sounded slightly veiled to me. But that adds to the relaxed nature of the PL. They can be listened on for hours without any fatigue.

Source and drivability: The PL is easily drivable by any source and there’s hardly any change in its sound signature with change of source.

Overall rating: 3/5

Queen of Audio Pink Lady Review – Bassy Mess!


Disclaimer:

Queen of Audio Pink Lady IEM has been sent to me for review purpose by HiFiGo. I am in no way related to them nor working for them. Shared opinion is based on my listening and my sources. You can purchase Pink Lady from HiFiGo from the link provided below.

https://hifigo.com/collections/qoa/...-hybrid-3-driver-in-ear-monitor-hifi-earphone

About:



Queen of Audio, a Chinese brand, is a sister company of much popular Chinese IEM manufacturer, Kinera. Queen of Audio’s lineup consist of Vesper, Pink Lady, and Mojito. Today’s product of review is Pink Lady, a 3-driver - two BA and one 10mm dynamic driver universal monitor, which can be purchased for $119 from the link given above.

Fit, Build & Design:



Pink Lady, as with the name, comes only in a pink shade. It is made of solidly built semi-custom acrylic shell. Faceplate shows off QoA logo, in a quite stylish way. It uses 2-pin, 0.78mm connectors and they are placed in a slightly recessed housing. Design and finish are very good, with faceplate and shell seamlessly put together. Fit is very good with its semi-custom shell design, providing decent levels of isolation. Nozzle has no lip, and hence eartips stay in ears sometimes whenever IEMs are taken out. Provided cable is of decent quality and is tangle prone. Cable is of 8-core copper and SPC hybrid variety, with black shielding around it.

Sources Used:

I have used my only DAP, Cayin N6ii w/A01 module for this review purpose.



Sound Analysis:

In a nutshell, Pink Lady doesn’t impress me with its sound quality, with a particular frequency messing up with everything else.

Bass. Bass comes in a ton load with Pink Lady. Too much in quantity, and minimal quality. Bass is damn slow and lack of control in sub-bass region means it overshadows other regions so much that overall sound feels muffled, uninteresting. Mids lack clarity due to this and placement is too backwards, that only upper-mids sound somewhat clear. Only upper-mids have decent tonality. Instruments sound muffled, lack that natural timbre. Soundstage is pretty decent with good depth than width. Depth representation is somewhat a silver-lining for this poorly tuned IEM. Instrument separation and imaging is decent. Treble is rolled off apart from being overwhelmed by that bass bleed. Treble lacks extension.



Overall, I find Pink Lady’s sonic performance is inconsistent, with bass shadowing every frequency range. I didn’t try doing all that tip rolling stuff as I was totally not at all impressed with what had been dished out in the form of Pink Lady’s tuning.

Verdict

Pink Lady is poorly tuned and messy product from Queen of Audio. Too much bass bleed. Muffled sound. Hard to pick an area where it performs good sonically. Perhaps, decent soundstage depth, may be, for its price. But that isn’t enough to save this. I don’t have any IEM in the similar price range to compare, but had ikko OH10 once, and I feel it far superior than this in all respects. Agreed it costs 70$ more, but it’s worth to save a little more and getting it instead or any other IEM from Moondrop or Thieaudio in this price range.

Disclaimer: The unit has been sent to me from Hifigo as a part of a review circle. I am not working or affiliated to Hifigo and I am not being paid or influenced otherwise to say anything positive or negative about this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.



Build and Fit:
A remarkably beautiful IEM by design, the entire chassis is made out of plastic, hence lightweight. I do wish the pattern extended all the way down to the shell. Overall, the build seems to be good for the price but long-term durability may be questionable. However, the fit is perfect for my ears and I don’t see anyone having a problem with its fit. The cable is thick and very flexible, but is prone to tangling.
The big problem with the fit is that there is no lip on the nozzle of the IEMs so on taking the iems out of my ears, I am left with the tips stuck in my ears! This is a common problem faced by other users as well! This is unacceptable in any IEM of any price range!
Amping:
At 16Ω and 112±2 dB sensitivity this is driven off anything, no dedicated amplifier needed.


Lows:

There seems to be an overwhelming amount of subbass in this IEM. Its extension is very deep although not pleasant to have being shoved in your ear for long. It bleeds through anything and everything in the mix. I must address that the texture variances in this region is brought out well however the bass is slow for sure.
There is also a noticeably big hump in the midbass which makes the sound even more bloated and “one-note” and fatiguing after some time. Overall, there is a lack of finesse and a massive bloat in the low end which is definitely going to be a deal breaker for many.


Mids:

The midrange is just okay. It is not as forward as the bass however the lower mids are masked by the bass bleed which results in lower mids that have little juice and body. In the vocal department, the vocals are distant for both male and female with not a lot of detail and texture, except baritone vocals which sound good. Instruments like saxophone and other Brass instruments lack body and sounds thin. Pianos have a more or less natural tonality and doesn’t sound thin. The region of Upper midrange however is tuned nicely, it is fairly natural sounding without any unnatural harshness.




Treble:
The tonality in the treble region is what I would call a bit south of correct, but without any sibilance or harshness. The overpowering bass gives the treble a darker tonality. The timbre of instruments in this range is good for the price range. However, the response in the air and brilliance region is subdued which leads to a closed off sound with lack of airiness. Resolution in the treble region is quite good for the price range, it seems to capture the micro details despite the bass bleed masking the overall region. Overall, the treble region is smoothed out noticeably and would have been a far more enjoyable experience if it weren’t for the bass bloat masking the region.




Soundstage and Imaging:
Starting with the soundstage, the width and height are nothing special, they’re pretty average for something in this price bracket. Same goes for the imaging. However, the soundstage depth is actually very good! The depth and layering are more pronounced than an average IEM of this price bracket. The depth and separation are brought about rather effortlessly even in songs that aren’t recorded or mastered brilliantly.


Conclusion:

It is obvious that Pink Lady struggles with many genres and it isn’t a pleasurable listening experience because of its overpowering bass. The sad fact is that it is not a pleasurable experience for genres that CAN take advantage of the massive bass either because the top end is smoothed out and recessed. Definitely not the best IEM in this price bracket by any means.

Hifigo purchase link (not affiliated) : https://hifigo.com/products/qoa-pin...tor-hifi-earphone?_pos=3&_sid=06c967040&_ss=r

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Queen of Audio Pink Lady is a warm sounding, earphone with mainstream tuning and a potential basshead appeal.


INTRODUCTION

Queen of Audio is a young company. It was established in 2018 by two audio queens, the sisters Sophie and Youco. It is a spinoff of Kinera and the company mainly utilizes Kinera’s technical team. Emphasis is laid on fashionable, yet simple and therefore effective designs.

Traditionally, Pink Lady has been a gin-based cocktail with quite a long history. When reviewing this earphone, I wished I had a few of them as it was a very labourious job characterized by toilsome effort. You will soon find out, why.


SPECIFICATIONS

Triple Driver: 10 mm DD and Dual BA driver unit
Impedance: 16 ohm
Sensitivity: 112 +/- 1 dB
Frequency Response Range: 20 Hz – 20k Hz
Cable: copper+SPC Cable with 0.78mm Two-pin interface and 3.5mm termination plug
Tested at: $119
Company website: http://www.qoa-audio.com/
Product link: hifigo


PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

The Pink Lady comes with:

The Earpieces
One 8-Core Hybrid Cable with 3.5mm Termination Plug
Three Pairs of Black Silicone Ear tips
Three Pairs of White Silicone Ear tips
One Pair of Foam tips
One Zippered Carry Case
User Guide



The earpieces are made of resin, reminiscent of KZ models, and the shells are rather bulky. They stick quite a bit out of my ears but are reasonably comfortable. The nozzles lack a lip, which causes a lot of havoc with the tips getting stuck in my ears. Isolation is quite good. Haptic and build are ok but behind, for example, the $70 TRN-VX. The 8-core cable is a copper and silver-plated copper hybrid and it is well shielded. It is nicely supple and comes with a chin slider. In the box are also two sets of silicone tips and a pair of foam tips, none of which worked for me. The roomy round pleather case may actually be real leather and it is positively distinct from the usual fare. The design and accessories required a couple of additional sections…and a few real Pink Ladies.


THE ART OF TIP ROLLING

The Queen of Audio Pink Lady, in combination with my ear canals, is very tip sensitive. In fact, super sensitive so that I had a very hard timing finding the right tips. The included white wide-bores on the short nozzles created a super U-shape with overly recessed mids and a really pounding rubbery bass (“early KZ multis”), the black narrow-bore stock tips were good but they did not stay on the nozzles and remained in my ears every time I pulled the shells out. Azla SednaEarfits produced yet another very unpleasant mid-bass hump that pounded mercilessly against my ear drums, and the Spinfit CP-145 slowed down the bass (in my perception) and muffled the midrange. JVC Spiral Dots and SKZ Starline tips created a really dull sound.

Now what?

I pulled some super old narrow-bore tips out of my drawers, the ones that came with the early KZ single DD earphones such as the EDR1. They were similar in design and sound to the black stock tips – but they actually stayed on the nozzle for most of the time. These also dialled the bass back quite a bit, which brought the vocals forward, and this also made the upper midrange more audible. Overall, the nozzles are a design flaw, created a lot of havoc, and it took me a lot of time to get the right sounds out of the Pink Lady.


EQUIPMENT USED

This should not be its own section but the problematic tip question created a lot of additional testing work.

Sources: iPhone SE (2016), Macbook Air/iTunes.

Decoding/amplification: ifi Nano BL & hip dac, Earstudio HUD100.


TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

My tonal preference and testing practice

My test tracks explained


The Pink Lady is a warm sounding earphone characterized by an L- to U-shaped tuning depending on the tips used: a solid but somewhat rubbery bass, recessed mids, and a polite upper end. This tuning appeals to the new hobbyist and the mainstream listener rather than to the expert.


Measured with narrow-bore tips.


The low end is well extended but not overly tight or fast. Depending on the tips used, the varying degree of perceived mid-bass hump and the slow bass kick (“early KZ multis”) resulted in varying degrees of fatigue. Surprisingly, the KZ tips I used cleaned this up to some extent. Reducing bass quantity improved the overall sound quality. The KZ tips provided for a leaner, more controlled bass – and – most of all, this brought the vocals towards the front where they belong to. However, that bass control was only perceived as the speed hadn’t changed – but the human ear hears the whole frequency spectrum in context. Please note that the bass is still not the fastest or tightest and that it still pounds upleasantly against my eardrums even with the most favourable tips, just less so.

The lower midrange is recessed to varying degrees – again depending on tips – but is reasonably intimate by itself with the KZ tips. Male vocals get a bit of a push from the upper bass and are reasonably dense. In fact, their reproduction is quite good but can get somewhat overwhelmed and muffled by the low end. The perception of the upper midrange is controlled by the bass quantity (yes, you read it above) as our ears hear the whole frequency spectrum in context. It is never piercing or fatiguing but also does not add any sheen. Nevertheless, the coherence between low end and midrange is poor.

Treble is well behaved and could offer a bit more – both in quantity and resolution…but don’t look at the right side of the graph, it is the bass that gives you this treble perception.

The tuning does not allow for the most vivid presentation, dynamics could be better. Clarity is only soso as the bouncy, rubbery bass – even when toned down – affects the midrange. Soundstage is not very wide – compromised by the overwhelming bass – but has an average depth. The other technicalities such as spatial cues, separation/layering are also only average. I would expect quite a bit more at this price.


CONCLUDING REMARKS

Here you have it: sometimes reviewing can be a pain and the “free samples” can be entirely undesirable. But beggars can’t be choosers and reviewers often have to eat what’s on the plate….or rather drink what’s in the glass. I have to admit that I rather prefer a dark ale over a sticky, sweet Pink Lady.

The Pink Lady received very positive reviews on Head-Fi and elsewhere – but very little criticism. And I find this disgraceful. It shows that you have to read as many reviews as possible – but also read them with critical eyes.

To me, the Pink Lady remains an easy to drive earphone with a very common L-/U-shaped tuning dominated by a slow, excavating low end. The newbie may be delighted by the sound but the advanced listener may have heard such signature many times before – and sensitive ears may be deterred by the bass. The same generic appeal accounts for its design. At its price, the Pink Lady does not stick out of the crowd other than through its nice and unusually feminine colour (but “male” size). It may appeal to people, who want to make a fashion statement on top of enjoying music.

Until next time…keep on listening!



You find an INDEX of all our earphone reviews HERE.


DISCLAIMER

The Queen of Audio Pink Lady was provided unsolicited by hifigo. Thank you very much.

Buy it at HifiGo.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

About my measurements.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

QOA PINK LADY REVIEW

SOUND: 8/10
CONSTRUCTION&DESIGN: 8.5/10
PACKAGING&ACCESSORIES: 8/10
VALUE: 8/10

Click to expand...

QUEEN OF AUDIO (QOA) is a recent Chinese company that was founded in 2018 by two sisters, Sophie and Yunco, who are passionate about the esthetical aspect of the earphones as well as a sound offering high price-to-performance value.

This company is connected to Kinera by having in their team Steve Tong, a founder of this company. This means they got good experienced audio engineers in their team too.

QOA do stand apart from other Chinese company because of how they name their IEM models, like Mojito or Pink Lady, being a cocktail name. The care they give to earphones esthetic too is a refreshing take on universal customs in-ear.

Priced at 120$, the Pink Lady is a hybrid IEM using 1 dynamic driver and 2 balanced armature. The look is gorgeous, now let’s see if the LADY is more than just a looker and can deliver a sound quality worthing our attention.

The QOA Pink Lady can be bought from authorized seller HIFIGO STORE.


SPECS


>Triple Driver Hybrid setups, having one 10mm DD and Dual BA driver unit.
>Impedance: 16 ohms.
>Sensitivity: 112 +/- 1 dB.
>Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20kHz.
>Copper+SPC Cable with 0.78mm Two-pin interface and 3.5mm termination plug.

PACKAGING&ACCESSORIES







The LADY came in a little box, with minimalist packaging and accessories. You have a nice looking faux-leather carrying case. A generous amount of silicone ear tips of different shapes (6xsilicone and 1xmemory foams). And a cable of great quality.

CONSTRUCTION&DESIGN









In hand, the LADY is quite light, which surprised me because I was thinking the housing was made of resin plastic, but in fact, it’s just normal light plastic which offers less durability to shock damage. This housing is made of 2 pieces of plastic, and backplate use 3D printer technology to achieve a ”jewelry like look”. The nozzle is rather short and has 2 holes with tubes that are connected to 2 BA and the 10mm dynamic drivers. To my eyes, the Pink Lady has a purple color, which is very beautiful, and all body is translucid apart from the back faceplate, so you can admire the well-done driver’s implementation. The 2pin connection is embedded in housing, so it can never break.

The design is similar to most universal custom in-ear and reminds me a lot of the Kinera H3 but without a solid resin plastic body. The shape is very organic and body is very soft, and even if nozzle is short I do not have a fitting issue with the LADY. People with small ears might need longer ear tips for a better fit. My main issue about nozzle is that their no ear tips holder on it, but as its thick, it will tend to make a secure fit most of the time.





CABLE construction is very nice, it’s an 8cores copper and silver-plated cable that is very soft and flexible and does not create microphonic. It feels sturdy and does not justify cable upgrade as it drives perfectly the Pink Lady. The pre-shape ear hook is comfortable, not too tight. The jack is quite of excellent quality too, with thick metal construction and gold plated 3.5mm connector.

DRIVEABILITY

These are very easy to drive, at 16ohm of impedance with a high sensitivity of 112db, the LADY can be drive properly by anything and do not benefit from powerful amping. Anything can drive them even your phone.

ISOLATION

Sound canceling is good but not extreme, due to light plastic as well as side venting holes, you can hear some outside noise when you listen at very low volume. If you use the memory foams tips, noise cancelation is improved a little. For sound leakage, we have some minimal ones.

SOUND



The overall sound signature of the LADY is a balanced W shape one where the lower treble is more prominent and energic and bass is warmer and punchy while mids are transparent with a hint of dryness. The transition between dynamic and balanced armature drivers is really well done, to the point it sounds more like a triple BA than hybrid iem. Tonal balance being excellent, the LADY would be a very neutral sounding IEMif it wasn’t for extra mid-bass punch and extra highs bite.

SOUNDSTAGE offers a peculiar spatiality where you have more deepness than wideness and not a lot of tallness. What unique it’s the fact that deepness go in back and front, making you feel in the middle of a tunnel, as said, not a very wide one, but hearing instrument playing slightly in my back is very rare with IEM and the only aspect of headroom I will compare to open-back headphones. Still, I would consider the presentation rather intimate, due to the lack of air and wide space between instruments.

IMAGING is all about Y-axes layering, which is densely extracted. You have minimal left-right placement, so everything sounds centered and not particularly holographic.

BASS is slightly boosted in the mid-range region but very lean in sub-bass. Control is excellent even if you got slight warmth due to extra mid-bass weight, this comes from sub-bass and do not really bleed on lower mids which is kept very clean. Sub-bass is dry in timbre and has minimal rumble, but when a track has big sub-bass slam, it will keep its control. The transient response of the dynamic driver is very versatile, and can deal with a slow bass hit as well as fast thump without losing control. In ‘’Peaks of light’’ from AMETSUB, a lot of IEM struggle to articulate sub bassline which is heavily boosted and lot of IEM even distort at high volume showing limitation of transient response, with the LADY even volume cranked at a killing level it handles the sub-bass and offers minimal rumble to extend thickness, as well it impressively keep the kick clean enough to offer thigh attack, bass stay in the center while you have an analytical treble that craves lot of micro-details around you. For IDM, Drum&Bass, electronic, pop, rock, the bass of LADY is very impressive in accuracy and control and offers a versatile presentation. Though I would not call the presentation naturally extended as it still lacks proper extension down to 20hz, the LADY bass has just minimal boominess, which is problematic for an acoustic bass that will have a boxy feel, but electric bass and even synth bass is well done, as well, cello sound good enough too, full-bodied and thick as it does not have to extend as low as contrabass.

MID range is quite forward but just a step back from the lower treble, it’s clean from bass bleed but the lower mids are on the dry side and slightly more recessed than above 1khz range. We do recognize the brightish balanced armature timbre, which gives a hint of coldness to the overall midrange. When looking inside the IEM housing, I see that it’s written KINERA on the balanced armature, and indeed, timbre reminds me a little the Kinera H3. An instrument like saxophone can sound thin and lack airy transparency, but the piano has a crisp attack and violin good grip. Tonality is well balanced and we do not feel the mids is out of place as it can happen with badly tuned hybrid IEM. Female vocal sound fuller and more realist than male vocal which sounds little boxy due to lack of high bass foundation. Upper mids can add some aggressivity to vocal or snare but not to the point of creating pathological sibilance. Overall mid-range is a little intimate in its presentation, very centered and to my ears would have benefited from extra air and space. At this price range, I consider the mids well balanced, highly resolve and especially impressive in attack speed.

TREBLE is crisp, fast and crunchy with good energy and extra snappy attack. It’s rather smooth on top even if we have a good amount of micro details, which sometimes sound a little unbalanced and coming out of nowhere. This is the crisp part of treble, with good brilliance but not a lot of decay, again, showing a lack of extension above 10khz. The attack is fast and edgy, making hit-hat super agile as well as violin precise and accurate. Tonality is gently bright, never harsh or splashy. I do not consider treble timbre to sound particularly natural but it’s not artificial too, again, little cold but with a good tonal transition. The LADY isn’t neither analytical or trebly, but more about micro-resolution accuracy.

COMPARISONS



VS IKKO OH1 (140$)

The OH1 is more U shape, with notably more boosted sub-bass than the LADY as well as a more extended bass response. OH1 has slam and very well articulated sub-bass, but it’s slower and less thigh than the LADY. MIDS are more recessed with OH1 as well as brighter, creating more sibilance than the smoother LADY. TREBLE feel less balanced and neutral with OH1, especially in the lower treble which is thinner and slightly more artificial than fuller response of the LADY. OH1 upper highs are more sparkly and deliver higher amount of micro details. Another notable difference is the soundstage, which is notably bigger and airier with the OH1, though imaging is about on par but with wider space between mids and highs instruments.
All in all, the OH1 is a fun, bassy and airy IEM that has a less mature and balanced tuning than more neutral and intimate sounding PINK LADY.

VS MOONDROP STARFIELD (110$)

Both these IEM are very well balanced and near neutral, but the STARFIELD has a more natural tonality and fuller bass response. SOUNDSTAGE is notably wider and taller but less deep than the LADY. IMAGING has better transparency and layering with the STARFIELD as well as a more spacious presentation. BASS extends easily down to 20HZ with the STARFIELD, with full body and smooth transparency, making the LADY sound dry and boxy especially in sub-region. Mid-bass is slightly more punchy with the LADY, as well as faster so unlike the STARFIELD it does not warm lower mids. MID RANGE is fuller and has more presence with the STARFIELD, vocal are more natural, emotional and musical, as well transparency is better, the LADY has an edgier definition, but more intimate vocal and dry tonality. TREBLE of the STARFIELD is even more relaxed than the LADY, it’s thicker too and less snappy in the attack, as well it digs less micro details but feels overall more balanced with rest of the spectrum.

All in all, the STARFIELD sound more natural and balanced with a bigger soundstage, better bass response, lusher mids and smoother tonality.

CONCLUSION





To me, the LADY is the perfect example of a special kind of IEM we call ‘’jack of all trades, master of none’’, this is due to its well-balanced sound that pushes everything forward: bass, whole mid-range and treble up to 10khz. This makes the LADY very versatile, as much for IDM or beat-driven music than POP, Indie and some classical like chamber orchestra. Transient response is impressively fast and cohesive with all 3 drivers making the sound more similar to a good triple BA than hybrid or single DD. The LADY does have a serious drawback that interferes with its otherwise excellent technicalities and it’s the soundstage, this makes the imaging very intimate and can lead to congestion in busy tracks, strangely the imaging is decent anyhow.

At 120$, the LADY have plenty of competition, but stands apart of the crown because of how cohesive is the whole sound which avoids to have an artificial tonality often found with IEM using a balanced armature. If you found the IKKO OH1 to have too much bass and lack in mid-range department, the QOA PINK LADY could be a good bet as it’s more neutral with more mids presence.



For more honest reviews, go to my official website HERE

QOA Pink Lady Review: Affordable with posture

It's always exciting to see new brands busting into the portable audio market - and here's another one, called QOA (Queen Of Audio). There are lots of new IEM brands being established on a regular basis, though this one is quite different - or maybe I should say it stands out from the crowd. QOA is a sister brand from Kinera that aims for a different path and style in sound - and I mean "actual" sisters. Sophie and Youko are the two sisters that founded the brand, which possibly makes QOA be one of not many IEM brands established by females. Let's take a closer look at the IEM itself as well as the sound.

Packaging

Pink Lady comes in a decently sized package with a simple and neat design. FYI, a light rendering image of a cocktail in front of the packaging symbolizes this IEM - since Pink Lady is the name of a cocktail. Specifications and other details could be found on the back. It's also interesting enough to point out the phrase "Not only for men" on the side of the box, living up to its name.

The provided accessories are very nice. Other than the earpieces, it includes a stock cable, 3 pairs of black eartips, 3 pairs of white eartips, 1 pair of foam tips, a leather case, a cable tie, and some paperwork. The case is sturdy and big enough to store thick cables or an extra earphone.

Earpieces

Pink Lady sports a hybrid setup, housing a large 10mm dynamic driver with 2 balanced armatures. Colors are available in either opaque black or transparent purple. Its ergonomic shape makes the earpieces snug into the ears without any troubling edges or bumps. The insertion depth tips a little over to the lighter side, but it has no problem for providing a secure fit - in fact, this would be rather appreciable as less pressure is applied to the ears.

These detachable earpieces are terminated in non-recessed 0.78mm 2pin sockets. Although there is a vent on the top of each earpiece, the sound barely leaks out and provides a tight seal. The nozzles are divided into two spouts for each driver for a cleaner sound. The diameter of the nozzles is around T400, making it compatible for most aftermarket eartips (JVC, Spinfit, etc.)

Cable / Eartips matching

The 8-braided stock cable also has a hybrid combination of copper and silver-plated copper. The outer skin is covered with black shieldings and applied with black components to match the looks. The cable is very soft, light, and well-built. The sound itself works out very nicely with Pink Lady's intended sound signature and also quite good in quality. Note that the 2pins on the cable are made for non-recessed earpieces (just as Pink Lady) and wouldn't be compatible with other IEMs with recessed 2pin sockets, although they have the same 0.78mm diameters.

Sound impressions: Lows

I've tested it with iBasso DX200 and JVC Spiral Dots + eartips. Pink Lady aims for a mildly w-shaped signature. Ultra lows have a wide extension to the bottom end and make a steady approach with thick density and weight to it. Though at the end of the day, the quantity is actually very neutral and not excessive at all. No loosening up, no bloated reverbs, but tightly controlled. Along with that, the ultra lows have nice clarity and speed, making the bass response very prominent without getting the sound muddy.

Now moving on to the upper lows. The ultra lows follow the same path as the ultra lows with just a little more quantity and reverbs. I quite enjoy how Pink Lady presents the strike and decay - despite the snappy and speedy strike, the bass manages to thoroughly express the bass energy and weight. It's quite a dignified, rich-textured bass that is hard to find from this price range. The grooves on these are full-bodied and elastic, giving large dynamics without lagging behind from the beat. Loving the overall atmosphere I'm getting from the bass.

Sound impressions: Mids

The dynamic driver and balanced armatures show a very seamless synergy on the mids. Having a mild step forward from the lows, it sets the organic, smooth dynamic driver sound as the base with a touch of BA driver crispness throughout the upper mids to enrich the tone and texture. I'd like to point out that QOA did a delicate job of highlighting the mids in a "natural way" - the mids are placed closer to the ears but don't particularly break apart from the lows (or bulged out) and show a steady flow along with keeping precise imaging.

This still may seem insufficient for vocal lovers, but hear me out because that's not the end. Vocals are very concentrated with thick density and depth, making it the most prominent element from Pink Lady. Therefore, the lower mids (mainly male vocals) provide a large and firm sound while upper mids provide a relatively thinner body with extra brightness and crisp, making the female vocals to really shine with their charms. Mids are overall steady and consistent in presentation without spikes, dips, or sibilances. The tone brightness is a little darker from neutral and the temperature tips over to warm, but then again, the crispiness from the upper mids and so on works as a refresher.

Sound impressions: Highs, etc.

Highs are reduced in quantity and takes a small step back, yet they're surprisingly sensitive and precise on catching treble details. I'd say it's beautifully articulated while expressing all the small and thin layers. In fact, it's not just about being able to catch the smallest sound, but also the ability to present the texture particles correctly. In that sense, layering is another part that I have high regard for Pink Lady.

Besides, have I mentioned about Pink Lady having a super clean background? Its dark, condensed background allows treble to pop-out easier with less quantity. The IEM gives a rather soft and smooth nature to the treble, focusing more on providing pretty, pleasureful tingles. However, these tingly trebles are in fact very detailed and provide finesse, making its presence strong and clear, just like the other frequencies. This should be an ideal characteristic for those who dig a fatigue-free signature along with treble details, but not its intensity.

The staging is also something to be appreciated. The sound phases in a large, plentiful, and dynamic scale with a considerably wide headroom for the price. The majority of the sound weighs on the bottom, but the tingly treble coming from the upper side sets the balance.

Verdicts

Both names for the product and brand may have tricked you to believe this IEM to have a soft, flat, or thin sound signature, yet Pink Lady has a powerful, large, and prominent lows and mids. Not to forget mentioning its soothing, feminine upper frequencies that live up to our guesses.

QOA started off strong with this first product, not just decent for the price but highly recommendable for any of those who are seeking for sub $100 IEMs. Pink Lady would especially be a great choice for those who are into large, quality bass or those willing to experience rich texture details throughout the sound.

We are Project A3, a new review team composed of audio enthusiasts originating from various nations and stemming from various backgrounds. We aim to bring reviews that will highlight not just the sonic aspects but the build and aesthetic aspects as well, leveraging our various fields of expertise.
Our first review is of the QoA Pink Lady, an eye-catching hybrid design from a new company. Enjoy.





Company and Item Intro:
QOA is a new brand based in China. I was contacted by their rep. a month ago asking me if I would be interested in reviewing and according to their representative, the name, QOA stands for "Queen of Audio", established by 2 sisters from the industry, a rather rare case as so far I’ve seen most of the audio brands run by and composed of primarily by men. Their debut model the curiously named pink lady came from the cocktail of the same name and the unit is a $119 1DD 2BA IEM that is one of the increasingly popular configurations at this price class.





Specifications:
10mm DD + 2 Balanced Armatures
16Ohms
112+/-1 dB sensitivity
20hz-20khz Freq. Response
3.5mm &. 78mm 2-pin connectors
1.2m Copper+Silver cable

Gear Used & Central Track List:
Hiby R6 | ifi xDSD | FiiO Q1 Mk. II | Zorloo ZuperDAC | xDuoo XD-05




Unboxing:
The QOA pink lady arrived as a sample, therefore I do not have the retail packaging to evaluate. What was delivered to me along with the unit, however, was a small round carrying case with some sort of synthetic leather material in a rather attractive tan brown color.



Fit:
The Pink Lady sports a rather large shell with a rather short nozzle, this leads to possible fitting issues with those who have deep or small ears as the shell can prevent good isolation with the stock tips. Multi flange or foam tips may help resolve fitment issues. This is slightly curious due to the fact that the configuration doesn't need to take up space, but there could legitimate reasons behind such a choice. Regardless I advise those to try, if possible to test fit these before purchasing.





Sound Signature:
The overall signature of the Pink Lady is slightly warm, with a particular mild boost in the lower-midrange to midrange, robust bass, and a polite treble that lends itself towards an overall pleasant listening experience that doesn't have a strong bias towards being either very lush or very analytical. It is notable that this kind of tuning isn't as common with this configuration, as usually hybrids like these have some sort of V or to a lesser extent a W profiled tuning. It's somewhat refreshing to see a different profile being achieved by this configuration.

Bass:
The Pink Lady has a robust bass response that is able to keep up with modern tracks and genres ranging from house music to hip hop without blasting it to the point that it's the only thing you can hear. Both sub-bass and mid-bass are reasonably textured and the sub-bass provides good heft and rumble that help give music a sense of buildup and depth. The midbass, on the other hand, has good slam that transitions smoothly up the range to help bolster the lower end vocal register and provide good weight as well as to provide an additional percussive feel to the sound. There isn't a sense of overt loss of control even with the slightly elevated bass response which makes the bass neither flabby nor contributing to a sense of crampedness in the audio field.





Mids:
In my mind the best attribute of the Pink Lady. The midrange frequencies are closest to what is usually described as the forefront of the signature. The slightly warm tuning means almost the entire vocal range has a mild emphasis that leads to a clear and powerful delivery of vocals and melodies. This emphasis also provides a textural aspect that allows for a sense of emotion and depth to come through from the music. This aspect makes up for the somewhat middling technical performance, as the Pink Lady seems much more suited for non-analytical listening sessions. It's not an outright flaw however as during the review period I found that listening to the Pink Lady, the smooth midrange evoked a laid back listening experience that was pleasant especially on tiresome days.

Treble:
The most reserved part of the Pink Lady tuning, the Treble is best described as polite, present enough so that the requisite high register notes and percussives are heard, but not so that they would have any semblance of real prominence. This leads to a duality, wherein those who suffer from sensitivity to treble or those wary of uncomfortable piercing or shrill notes are will find this very pleasant, but those who are looking for sparkle, a sense of airiness, or the impression of clarity especially in treble performance will find it lacking. But it still isn't something I'd find lacking and there is enough of it overall that I would consider this a stylistic decision rather than an actual error. This, however, does give me pause as it leads me to wonder where the 2 balanced armatures were aimed at, seeing as while the technical qualities discussed below aren't lacking, that combined with the polite treble means they aren't necessarily pulling their weight in those aspects. It's like placed in the extra prominence of the midrange which is somewhat unusual but can still be appreciated.





Soundstage & Separation:
The Pink Lady scored around the average in staging and separation and resolution. The mild boost in lower mids meant that the overall soundstage leans towards intimacy without exceptional it in either x, y or z, axis and performing slightly below the median and the polite treble tuning means there isn't a lot of air or sparkle to lift the staging and add a sense of space, however, the spatial staging was still performed to the point of being able to distinguish directionality of recordings so there seem to be no polarity issues to speak of. In terms of separation the Pink Lady performed slightly better with the tuning balance meaning that there isn't a dominating sound that muddles the other instruments or voices. Most recordings allow each instrument and each range to have its own space in the mix without much jockeying around for dominance thus having decent resolution without being a top analytical performer.





Comparison (QoA Pink Lady - Kinera Idun - iBasso IT01):
The primary comparison points for the Pink Lady are the lovely Ibasso it01 and the Kinera Idun. First off with the Kinera Idun, I would consider it equally able but proficient in different aspects. The Idun simply cannot match the Pink Lady in terms of warmth and weight as the Idun lacks the lower mid-range boost that sparks the best qualities of the Idun, meanwhile the Idun is more capable in technical reproduction and treble with more sparkle, air and clarity lending a more delicate sound as well as being more suited for those looking for analytical qualities. It is fair to say that the Idun fits the mold of a usual 1DD 2BA hybrid over the Pink Lady. In the aspect of the fit the Idun also has an edge as the smaller shell with a slightly longer nozzle provides a more comfortable fit all around for a variety of ear shapes and sizes.

The iBasso it01 on the other hand complements it on the other end of the spectrum. Known for providing remarkable bass quality and quantity at its price range, along with the value of the cable and accessories as well as having a more conventional shell design that should have the least fitting issues among the three units. The Pink Lady doesn't have the same bass tuning to match or keep up with the it01 however it's more even tuning provides a nice middle ground between the two comparison units having more warmth than the Idun but not as bass laden as the it01. Overall the Pink Lady positions itself perfectly for those who were considering this price bracket but felt either of the two other popular options mentioned here were leaning too much towards either tuning.






Aesthetic Intro:
Speaking of QoA it was slightly difficult for me to really criticize the Pink Lady, as they had invited me to be the artistic consultant for this model and also the logo designer for this brand. However, when it comes to the aesthetic aspect, I believe there is always room for improvement, especially when it comes to design, especially because limitations and budget constraints are always obstructing our thoughts and ideas. So let's have a look at what I think in terms of aesthetic qualities.

Color:
The unit I have on hand is the purple unit which in my opinion the team did a great job of mixing the color on spot. By on spot I mean, there are hips of color results in the purple tone and the hardest thing is you have to mix the color accurately to meet the aesthetic standard. Even if you have the Pantone or the CMYK code, you still have to rely on your eyes when it comes to production. The purple hue that they mixed is sublime, without being too feminine or too dark which is a positive aspect, especially on the marketing side. The color between the faceplate and the bottom shell contact well enough, while not the most accurate, but still acceptable. However, it's not 100% color-matched, it still looks consistent without having a mismatched appearance.





Craftsmanship:
I would say the final sample is almost flawless. Joints between the bottom shell and the faceplate is smooth, with no sharp edges, glossy coated finishing, on the whole unit, is even. Faceplate doesn't have any bubbles, scratches even under torchlight. Faceplate edges is well polished as well. The only flaw that I noticed is the lip on the nozzle (see photo below). The design of the nozzle lip was too shallow, so that means if the clear coat has been coated too thick around the nozzle, the lip would somehow become useless, as it is almost on the same thickness with the nozzle after coating. Some silicone tips would have issues with falling off easily, such as the AET07. However, with tips like Symbio, AZLA, JVC I don't see it as a serious flaw. If this doesn't bother you then the craftsmanship is close to perfect.





Design Details:
With these kinds of IEM, unless you are molding, custom made acrylic art or CNC process to build your own design, it doesn't have much to say. It only comes down to picking the right material, doing some mixing and matching with the bottom shell. The mica type of faceplate material is nothing new. Nothing really pops out as nothing is risky nor lose. It's forgivable for a new brand playing safe for their debut IEM when it comes to budget control. The placement of the logo is pretty balanced on both sides; however, it could be better with the alignment (see photo below). The left piece of the logo should be tilted a bit to the right, now in the photo, you can see both logos are in the same direction. The size of the logo is a reasonable ratio to the faceplate as well.





Silhouette:
This is the part the could use the most improvement. The shape of the IEM is somewhat bulky, the outline of the faceplate is what it makes the IEM look a bit clumsy. Also, the size of the IEM is kinda big for a 1 DD 2BA combination. By changing the shape this might affect the inner construction of the IEM, but speaking on the artistic side this shape definitely needs some modification.

Cable:
The black cable is again a conservative choice especially when it contains sliver wire in it. A very straightforward method on covering up the oxidation if it occurs so that you won't have to see it turn green and I know that that is unpleasant. The braid itself is even and dense, Nothing much to expect from the plug and splitter design at this price point unless they manufacture their own design. One thing I would like to suggest is the heat-shrink tube for the wire would look more cohesive if it was black rather than clear. (see below).





Packaging:
The packaging at this price point is average, includes what you normally need for the accessories. However, the case is quite impressive, having a faux leather material and relatively sturdy build adding a bit of fashionable taste to it. I think if QoA creates their own zipper tab like what Campfire Audio does. It should look even more premium with the case. The downside of the package comes to the printing itself. The ink was kinda faded, colors are unfortunately not vividly presented. However, they decided to add a sleeve onto it which somehow did the trick. So I would say it's more on the average side overall.

Aesthetic Conclusion:
Overall the QOA pink lady did a fairly neat job on the aesthetic aspect despite the tiny flaws on the craftsmanship and the shape of the IEM. although we couldn't see anything that is mind-blowing, a reasonable and safe move for a new brand is always the right thing to do.

Aesthetic Ratings
Colour : 4.5 / 5
Craftsmanship : 4.5 / 5
Design details : 3 / 5
Silhouette : 2.5 / 5
Cable : 3.5 / 5
Packaging : 3 / 5

Sound Conclusion:
The Pink Lady overall is a capable performer presenting an attractive package that falls on the warm side. Providing a solid option for those looking for something to a relaxing listen to that is both flexible in its stylistic pairings as well as capable enough even in those that are not it's forte. Even though the tuning decisions were somewhat curious and went against any preconceived notions when it comes to 1DD 2BA hybrids it is an interesting change of pace and especially for those with larger or deeper ears where it's size can even be a boost. it stands to try and carve itself an interesting niche in the ever-growing and ever crowding market for IEMs. The Pink Lady has the looks to stand out from the crowd and can reasonably back up its appearance with the requisite performance as long as the buyer knows the caveats.