Rhapsodio Solar
Note: The custom in-ear in this review was provided at a discounted rate.
Rhapsodio is an up and coming manufacturer of both custom in-ears and custom-like universals. The owner and primary voice of customer service, Sammy, is a very friendly and passionate audiophile, who is quick to respond to inquiries and questions, particularly over Facebook messenger, which seems to be the communication method of choice. While not necessarily a new company (Sammy and team have 3+ years in business), it wasn’t until the introduction of the Solar, that word of Rhapsodio really started to take off on Head-Fi. Based in Hong Kong, they have been hard at work revamping the lineup and bringing new and different models to light, such as the Rti2- incorporating dual dynamics into a hybrid design, along with the aforementioned Solar- which contains 10 balanced armatures. Most recently they’ve even introduced a new single dynamic flagship, in the form of the Galaxy, an UltraMag II generation 10.3mm dynamic housed in an all metal, ergonomic enclosure.
Design, Build & Accessories
The Solar comes in both custom form and the custom-like universal form. The universal differentiates itself from the full custom with a metal nozzle and mesh screen that covers the opening. The model used for this review was the full custom version.
Universal Example (courtesy Rhapsodio)
Manufacturer Specs:
- 4-way passive crossover design
- 10 balanced armature drivers (2 tweeters, 2 high, 4 mid, 2 bass)
- Frequency response: 20 ~ 20,000 Hz
- Impedance: 26ohm
- Bundles with Pandora Sound SPC/OCC CM Cable
- 1-year international warranty
Rhapsodio offers many finish option for both their custom and universal offerings. There are multiple base colors that can be chosen, along with faceplate finishes like wood, carbon fiber, metal and gold flake. The website’s product page shows just a few of the more popular options. A further endless array of options can be seen on the photo section of their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/rhapsodiohk
Goldflake Custom (Courtesy Rhapsodio)
The custom version comes standard with the Pandora cable. The Pandora is made from silver plated copper, contains four conductors and is finished in a round style braid. The conductor’s outer sleeve finish is very peculiar. It almost feels like its part leather- you detect what feel like little fibers, just like the backside of a leather strap, when you run your fingers across its surface. It’s a rather strange sensation but I found I really enjoyed the uniqueness of this custom cable. The Pandora is also finished with a memory section for over the ear wear. The memory section does not contain a wire but is more of a preformed section to prevent the cable from flopping off the ear. Also included was a cable snap to keep the cable in a wound position when storing. Both aesthetics and usability are very good.
Rhapsodio supplied the Solar in their newest case design. The case is designed for storage, rather than carrying around in your back pack, much less your trousers. To say the new case is robust and sturdy would be an understatement. While being absurdly over-sized (it looks as if it could store a brick), it contains a Nerf factory of protective foam- this is the ‘Fort Knox’ of protection.
Sound
The overall signature is bass forward with a very full lower midrange. Bass texturing is brought to the forefront. Bombastic and powerful, the bass absolutely slams with impact. Vocals are very full bodied with great heft and emotion- romantic and thunderous are descriptors I’d heavily associate with the Solar. Treble is weighty with some sparkle but laid back for an easy going, long term listen. In fact, I would dub Solar as the bass lovers’ audiophile in-ear.
Comparisons
Solar vs Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor (discontinued; replaced by UERR $999)
...a tabernacle of indulgence
Next to the UERM, the Solar is practically a bass monster. The difference is rather stark. Solar is a thunderstorm of power and authority next to the leaner, seemingly more polite bass of the UERM. The UERM bass has always held very good texture for me but Solar pushes bass texture to the forefront, and it really takes a moment for the brain to adjust to the UERM when coming directly from the Solar. The one trait in bass they both share is a slight tilt towards mid bass over sub bass, however with the boost Solar has, there is plenty of sub bass rumble as well. While the UERM bass is about precision over presence, Solar’s bass is very much in control and doesn’t sound boomy or loose, even at such great quantity.
The lush lower midrange of the Solar is thicker, richer and more forward than the lower midrange of the UERM. Both are slightly laid back in the middle to upper midrange around 2k, but Solar bounces back a bit sooner after 3k. The lower midrange prominence and previously described dip, give Solar a slightly recessed vocal compared to the more linear UERM, but it also gives Solar a nice forward projection- giving it the ability for a slightly more out of head presentation. Midrange resolution is the UERM specialty and Solar certainly holds its own. When it comes to resolution, Solar doesn’t shy away from pushing small details to the forefront. Like everything else about the Solar, details are easily heard, bold in presence and projection. The UERM is more nuanced, almost delicate in comparison.
The light airiness and crispness of the UERM treble is again in stark contrast to the weightier, smoother treble of Solar. The Solar cannot be construed as airy- whereas distortion guitars soar to weightless heights with the UERM, the Solar is more about the grit, the grim and the undulating rhythm of drop D tuning. If some feel the UERM can be a bit on the analytical side, then Solar is built for long term, fatigue free treble listening.
If the UERM is an outside, open air venue, Solar is a tabernacle of indulgence where the whiskey flows and inhibitions are abandoned. While the UERM is much wider, Solar is not only much deeper but also has more forward projection and sounds a bit taller in direct comparison. The Solar’s depth helps to give a more precise instrument placement but the UERM has more air between instruments for more separation and space. The sonic images are about as different as they come.
Solar vs Empire Ears Zeus (pre revision $2099)
...powerful and thunderous
Bass is the Solar specialty. It is both powerful and thunderous, and impact as well as rumble can be quite vociferous. Texture is really top notch as well,l and overall bass balance is slightly tilted towards mid and upper bass. Zeus, however, seems to take the Solar’s specialty and ups the ante. Albeit much less in quantity, texture and rumble are simply excellent, with an overall tighter and more sub bass oriented bass presentation. The result is an even more nuanced, yet delightfully indulgent performance.
Zeus places the vocalist not just front and center, but almost as if you are next to the microphone, or possibly you are the microphone. In You Outta Know, Alanis is exceptionally clear and the depth of her anger is easily felt with Zeus. In comparison, Solar puts noticeably more distance between you and Alanis, and while she remains very clear, the sense of anger is nowhere near as palpable. It’s the equivalent difference in watching a performance and being subjugated to it.
Solar note thickness and weight is obviously greater than on Zeus, and lower midrange notes are a good bit fuller, richer and easily lusher as well. Male vocals are full bodied and bursting at the seams with power. Consequently, the Zeus midrange is overall more resolving by letting the listener more easily hear low level details.
Treble sparkle seems to be fairly similar between the two. Neither should be considered bright or airy but both possess a clean, weighty and articulate treble. The biggest difference will be in perception, due to the differences in note thickness and weight from bass through midrange. Being that the Solar is thicker and bassier, its treble presence seems a little more laid back next to Zeus. This again gives Zeus an upper hand in treble resolution, as it isn’t competing as heavily against the lower and middle ranges, and allows the listener to more easily hear low level detail.
The Solar is not particularly wide but doesn’t sound closed in either, a similar trait shared by Zeus as well. Solar has excellent depth compared to most TOTL offerings and height seems proportional to its width, however this is where Zeus really begins to stretch it legs and take things to a much higher level. Zeus depth and the layers within this depth are simply unmatched. While the Solar’s image is pretty precise within the stage, especially when listening for placement from front to back, separation just isn’t quite on the same level as Zeus. This is mainly due to the enhanced bass that seems to fill any sense of space and air between instruments, whereas Zeus seems to have a void of blackness between instruments. These elements of the Zeus performance help to push its overall sense of resolution and detailing to the next seemingly unattainable level.
Solar vs Perfect Seal AR6 ($950)
...a ruthless villain
The AR6 bass sounds incredibly linear up all the way through the midrange, in that no part of the bass response sounds louder than another- rumble and impact are on equal footing and extension reaches into the lowest registers. While the Solar has great rumble, it has a tilt towards mid bass impact. Both rumble and impact are bigger and bolder than the AR6 and extends just as deep. When listening to rap and hip hop, the Solar really begins to stretch its legs. The Solar hits with power and authority; it makes you move to the aggression and attitude in 100 Miles and Runnin’ and Straight Outta Compton. The AR6 is no slouch in this genre but the Solar takes the Spinal Tap route and turns it up a notch to 11. When it comes to bass, the Solar is A Ruthless Villain.
The AR6 has a very linear midrange with a slight peak in the upper midrange. Vocals are exceptionally clear and resolving. The AR6 really seems to excel in female vocals, bringing to life the emotion and energy in the upper midrange vocal registers. In contrast, the Solar lends itself to male vocals, due to its lusher lower midrange. Male vocals are delivered with more power, authority and evocative connection. If a song is about the emotional loss of a friend or loved one, the Solar can really make those words weigh heavy on the heart. On Solar, Brooks & Dunn’s Believe is an emotional roller coaster of grief and hope. At the moments of loss, Solar broods and wallows in the emotion; in the moments of hope and belief, Solar envelopes with the tingling of inspiration and hope. Solar lets you connect directly into the heart of Ronnie Dunn.
The AR6 treble has greater presence for a brighter and airier presentation. In comparison, the AR6 treble sounds thinner next to the weightier and thicker treble of the Solar. The AR6 treble is perhaps just a hair under a neutral presentation yet with plenty of sparkle, whereas the Solar treble is a good bit more laid back and easier going. Even though laid back in treble, it still has excellent tonality and articulation.
Solar vs 64 Audio U10 ($1399)
...denser, meatier and harder hitting
The U10 and Solar are both bassy signatures but where Solar’s bass is slightly tilted towards mid bass, the U10 bass is heavily tilted to deep bass. While I consider the U10 bassy, the Solar takes it the next level over the U10. Solar bass comes across as denser, meatier and harder hitting compared to the U10’s bass which is bouncier and feels lighter and airier in nature. The U10 creates more rumble, due to lessor mid bass presence, but bass textures are thrust more to the forefront with Solar’s bass presentation.
Both the U10 and Solar have full bodied lower midranges that make for intimate and engaging male vocals, although upon direct comparison, the Solar has a more evocative and romanticized presentation. Due to Solar’s greater mid bass, however, vocals are a little further back in the mix than the U10’s. Again the Solar’s midrange seems denser against the airier midrange of the U10. Typically an airier midrange is in reference to a brighter midrange with greater upper midrange emphasis, and while the U10 does have a larger peak from the upper midrange into the lower treble, it also seems to be impacted by the Adele model breathing more air in to the notes. While distortion guitars soar with more air in the U10, it can also exacerbate sibilance in tracks, whereas the heavier sounding Solar remains smoother, mitigating occurrences of sibilance.
The U10 has an obvious greater overall emphasis on treble. U10 treble notes are noticeably thinner next to the weightier treble of the Solar. While switching back and forth, Solar seems a good bit darker in contrast to the more U shaped U10. This is most obvious in the opening segment of David Lee Roth’s Just Like Paradise, which has a light, airy upper register that just makes me want to take the top down and cruise. The U10 does a better job recreating this airy ambiance with its brighter and sparklier upper end.
To some degree, the outside, open air venue versus the tabernacle of indulgence comparison of the UERM also applies here, albeit the U10 is not open sounding as the UERM. The U10 does a better job of placement from left to right and Solar has greater depth with more precise placement from front to back. The Adele module in the U10 just makes everything seem somehow lighter than air; a show in the clouds, especially against the heavier and darker backdrop of the Solar tabernacle.
Conclusion
Rhapsodio’s Solar certainly lives up to its status as a TOTL offering, and its technical prowess, on top of a bass forward signature, make it an intriguing model for bass-first loving audiophiles. While Solar doesn’t come cheap, the finishing options and custom-made stock cable make it a worthy accessorized high end custom in-ear.
Anyhow, it's clear that Solar has too much bass quantity for your taste. I also have the AR6 and while it has a very different signature, I can fully understand that it ended up at 5 stars in your earlier review. But 'only' 4 stars as a final verdict for the Solar? Ah well, maybe I'm more basshead (something for me to think about) than I thought I was
Cheers!