Rhapsodio Zombie
Disclaimer
I would like to thank Sammy from Rhapsodio for making the Zombie available for this tour and @flinkenick for organising it. No incentive was given for a favourable review.
Rhapsodio Zombie
- Drivers: 1DD (full range), 4xBA mid, 4xBA high
- Frequency response: 20 ~ 20,000 Hz
- Sensitivity: 126dB/mV
- Impedance: 6 ohm
- Price: US$1,800
Links:
https://www.rhapsodiostore.com
https://www.facebook.com/rhapsodiohk/
Preamble
Soon after I joined Head-fi I came across the small Hong Kong-based company Rhapsodio and for some reason it stuck with me. My guess is that this was probably because of Sammy's drive and slightly crazy (in the good way) character. I am a sucker for the eccentric. It was however only recently that I was able to review one of his creations: the deliciously energetic, single dynamic driver Saturn (
Link). My inner bass-head thoroughly approved and I started wondering about what Sammy could do at the higher end... with more divers... all kinds of drivers... It was then that I realised I was pining to hear Sammy's recent hybrid masterpiece: The Zombie. Lo and behold, no sooner had I expressed my desire on the forums and an email popped up in my inbox from Nic, asking me if I was interested in reviewing them. Of course! Of course!
Build quality and fit
The build quality of the Zombie is simply gorgeous. They are quite big and heavy, but that is also something that inspires confidence and these will stand up to intensive use and even some
abuse. I love that because I use my gear a lot and (if it is my own) will not baby it. Especially at this price point I feel gear needs to be built to last and the Zombie certainly feel like they will be capable of surviving the apocalypse. However, they are not the easiest to find a secure fit with. It took me quite some time before I found that they worked best for me with Final tips instead to the stock tips included, something I had found with the Saturn as well. The Final tips are difficult to get on though, because the stems are quite wide. Still, after I found the right tip and size, they were very comfortable even after long, five-hour listening sessions. It is very similar to my experience with the Saturn. Fiddly at first, but excellent once you are use to it.
One thing though kept unnerving me a bit and that was the driver flex when putting them in. It is unmistakable and very prominent. Happily it does not cause any issues beyond putting them in and occasionally pulling up my ear afterwards to equalise the pressure. Once in, I have had no issues when moving around.
Source
All listening was done with my AK70 from SE out (stock cable) and balanced out (aftermarket cables).
Presentation
Soon after I started listening I came up with the title "Live Wire" and not just because of the pun to the living dead. The Zombie are to me very much like a live wire. They look innocent enough and you might start off listening to some light music that will sound warm with a very nicely done V-shape, but feed them music with a little bit of energy and they will provide enough power to fire up Victor Frankenstein's wildest fantasies. The Zombie sound
alive, there is no getting around that. They have an analogue quality to them, and with that I mean that the Zombie have something rough around the edges and it is simply brilliant! Feed them the Rolling Stones' album 'Blue & Lonesome' and the Zombie will take you down into a smoke-filled bar with the Stones performing right in front of you. The only drawback is that all this energy can become a bit fatiguing after very long listening sessions. Then again, I experienced it only after 5 hours or more, and it is very much relative to the other IEMs I have used. In that context the Zombie offer a really unique listening experience and I love them dearly for it.
Normally with IEMs this bass-oriented I would say that the bass is the star of the show, but that is not necessarily the case with the Zombie. Don't get me wrong, the bass is star-quality and absolutely delicious, but something else keeps attracting my attention in admiration. I think this is due to the hybrid design. The Zombie's DD is full range, but certainly with emphasis on the low end, resulting in a warm signature with a very impactful bass. However, it seems to me that the BA drivers are there to ensure detail is not lost in all that warmth and as a consequence I am constantly struck by the amount of detail that comes through. It is not perfect and the different driver types are not always entirely coherent, although such instances are a rare occurrence and not something I found problematic, but in general it is really impressive and such incredible fun to listen to. It also adds to the Zombie's versatility and they will do most types of music really well.
The Zombie's stage is quite big and holographic, although with more width than depth, and while I would certainly not say they provide a consistent 'out-of-the-head' experience, I did have a few instances where it felt as such.
Bass
"That bass! That bass! My Kingdom for
that BASS!" Let's just call it the 'other' star of the show; the Zombie's bass is almost paradoxical. The sub-bass goes deep and hits hard like it is supposed to be this incredibly tight and precise bass, but there is equally so much meatiness to the mid-bass that it ends up hitting like a dump truck. It hits hard all the time and this comes through most clearly with drums. If you like your drums, the Zombie will have you covered! In fact, I think that impact and sub-bass growl are particular strengths of the Zombie. From Massive Attack's 'Angel' to Muse's 'Supermassive Black Hole' to Disturbed's 'Mine', the Zombie growl and hit hard enough to make you feel it. It is deep and dark and that is also where I think the Zombie do not have the most natural sounding bass. For that it is simply too dark. Where the double bass in Caro Emerald's acoustic version of 'I Know That He's Mine' gets away with it and sounds insanely good, slightly further up the frequency range the cello sounds too dark.
The Zombie's bass, while it is well controlled, is also not the fastest. Whenever I switch from BA IEMs to the Zombie there are always a few minutes where it feels like a process of waking up the great big lumbering undead, which in the typical style of a post-apocalyptic zombie, will smack you around the head like a ton of bricks as soon as they get the chance. Yeah... I like it. I like it a lot!
Mids
The Zombie are definitely V-shaped (with emphasis on the bass-side of the V) and as such the mids are pushed back, but not too far. This means that, in a pinch, the Zombie will be able to do classical music, as long as you don't mind the bass section overpowering pretty much the entire rest of the orchestra. I gave it a go because it is quite informative about mid-range performance and felt the mids sounded more natural than I had expected based on the bass. It does however require quite attentive listening, as the Zombie do not have the clearest mids and combined with the V-shape it effectively hides some of the qualities that are there ...but not all the qualities because there are still the vocals.
The vocals of the Zombie have really been a wonderfully pleasant surprise. I knew from the Saturn that Sammy could tune a warm V-shape to still have clear vocals, but the Zombie exceeded expectation by quite a margin. Vocals are outstandingly clear and sound wonderfully natural, both male and female vocals, which is quite a feat considering the bass. The double bass that pushed itself forward in Caro Emerald's 'I Know That He's Mine' still could not touch that crystal clear voice, and it is a great example of how I think the hybrid design works it magic.
Treble
Being a V-shape, the treble clearly has a lift, although not anywhere near as high as the bass. It is enough to compensate for the warmth of the bass and improve clarity and detail retrieval, which as mentioned previously is surprisingly good, and it adds a well-placed bit of sparkle, but is not pushing too far. There is a hint of an edge to the treble that I found in some cases caused the high notes on a piano to sound a bit sharp, but again, not offensively so. Most of all this treble is balanced really well against the might of the bass to ensure cymbals have enough presence to add energy and excitement. Similarly, the treble adds a wonderful crunch to electric guitars and completes a signature that gave me the biggest smile when listening to Aerosmith's 'Love in an Elevator' and The Rolling Stones' 'Commit a Crime'.
Despite the 4 BA drivers for highs, I get the impression that Sammy used a sensible amount of restraint with the treble by not using prominent spikes to force more mid-range clarity, as that would probably have resulted in loosing some of the analogue (rough around the edges) sound that I have loved so much. It is an interesting thought, and I think I might have a way to test my little hypothesis here.
Aftermarket cables
Sammy is of course a man who knows his cables, Rhaposodio also offer their own aftermarket cables, and as I found with the Saturn this also extends to their stock cables. With the Zombie the stock cable is a very good quality copper cable. It is not the most supple cable and the Y-split is a little on the heavy side, but I did not see any real reason to replace it. Still, being a typical audiophile and a bit of a cablephile, I wanted to roll some cables anyway just to see if I would find any interesting changes.
-Effect Audio Ares II-
One of the most popular copper cables available and for good reason; it is quite affordable for an aftermarket cable and atypically for a copper cable, adds clarity and a little brightness without loosing the more organic sound that is typical of a copper cable. I felt this was the ideal candidate to test my previous hypothesis.
With Ares II the Zombie do indeed gain some mid-range clarity and the overall sound feels slightly more balanced. The emphasis in the bass shifts ever so slightly from the sub-bass to the mid-bass, giving a more natural tone at the cost of tiny bit of the visceral impact. Treble is also a hint sweeter, although there is still an edge to the piano notes. Overall I would say it is a slightly more polite version of the Zombie, a bit brighter and more easy-going, but only relative to the stock cable (still plenty of energy!). I do really like the result and think it is a great pairing and a technical improvement in terms of detail, clarity and tonality. Does it loose some of that analogue quality of the Zombie? I do think so, but less than I expected.
-PlusSound Exo Silver + Gold-
My go-to cable for the Saturn, the Exo is step up in price and an extremely comfortable cable. It is silver that has added to it a small percentage of gold to counter some of the typical drawbacks of a silver cable (ie. it is smoother in the highs). I can't help but comment on how comfortable this cable paired with the Zombie and in combination with the sound, felt at times like I was not wearing IEMs at all.
The Exo significantly reduces the mid-bass, adds lots of air and extends the stage quite a bit. The result is a brighter sound than with Ares II, while the Exo maintains the impact of the stock cable. I think this pairing is an excellent choice if the stock Zombie are too dark, but you still want to maintain the visceral impact of the bass. Despite it moving further away from the analogue sound of the stock Zombie, I actually preferred this pairing over Ares II because of the airiness and huge stage, while still maintaining an impactful and exciting signature. It sounded more like a cheerful Zombie, or like someone put up a 'no smoking' sign in the bar where the Stones were performing.
-Effect Audio Lionheart-
My most expensive cable and my absolute favourite because it is a very natural sounding cable with extraordinary harmony. I did not really know what to expect from the pairing, synergy can be quite unpredictable, but it quickly became my favourite pairing with the Zombie.
Lionheart combines many of the advantages of Ares II and the Exo in that it creates a more natural tonality, adds clarity, but also maintains the impactful bass. The bass becomes more dynamic and ebbs and flows more organically, layering improves and I feel that the drivers work together a bit more coherently. The Exo still has the air and stage dimensions, which I love, but Lionheart stays much closer to the stock sound of the Zombie. It maintains the growl and impact, and the more analogue feeling, while still taking off some of the rough edges. This, to my ears, is a technical improvement of the Zombie without too much change to their character.
Comparisons
-Rhapsodio Saturn-
Although at US$380 considerably lower in price than the Zombie, I still wanted to include a brief comparison because I myself was wondering if the Saturn might be like "baby Zombies".
In a way the Saturn are indeed like baby Zombies. They are energetic, fun and have a wonderful bass, but the emphasis with the Saturn is more towards the mid-bass and they come across warmer and more natural than the Zombie. Unsurprisingly, the Zombie outperform the Saturn easily with much better extension at both ends and more detail coming through. They have more sparkle and energy, which does mean the Saturn are less prone to causing fatigue, but at the same time do not provide the same level of excitement. I have the Saturn paired with the Exo cable and it reduces the mid-bass to more closely resemble the signature of the Zombie. Paired like that I would certainly consider the Saturn to be like baby Zombies and an alternative to consider if your budget does not reach far enough for the Zombie.
-Empire Ears Phantom-
The Zombie and the Phantom are like chalk and cheese. Although priced the same, they offer completely different propositions. I have also not spent as much time with the Phantom as I would have liked for this comparison and for that reason I will keep it simple, but it is nonetheless helpful to illustrate the specific qualities of the Zombie.
The Phantom are exceedingly natural in their tone and are, for my preferences, pretty much perfectly balanced. Not necessarily "neutral" in a reference sense, they are anything but flat, but they balance instruments and vocals in such a way that they are exceptionally natural and coherent in their presentation. The Zombie by comparison throw balance out of the window and exchange it unapologetically for pure fun and excitement. The emphasis is far more towards the bass, mids have less importance and the only balance that is there is from the treble preventing the bass from becoming overbearing. Switching between the two also always requires a few minutes to acclimatise to the respective signatures. They are however wonderfully complimentary and the Zombie have worked their way into the top position on my wish list because I really like the idea of ending up with a "Beauty and the Beast" pair of TOTL IEMs.
Conclusions
One of my Head-fi friends predicted that he was "fairly certain" I would really like the Zombie and Collin my friend, you were right, so very very right. The Rhapsodio Zombie offer boundless energy and fun, they sound alive and although rough around the edges have a really interesting and unique character. I love it! At this price range I feel increasingly that IEMs need to bring something special that sets them apart and makes me want to pick them up for a specific reason. The reason for picking up the Zombie is abundantly clear: excitement. Beware though, the Zombie are a bit like Marmite and will not appeal to everyone. For those who do like this sort of sound I feel the Zombie are very much worth considering.