See Audio Bravery

SeeAudio's Project Bravery Review

Intro

I’m sure SeeAudio is no stranger in the Chi-Fi scene. With a very well received response from Yume, they’re debuting another IEM which is the Bravery. It is a pure balanced armature IEM which consists of 4 BAs. Without wasting any more time, let’s proceed with the review.

Packaging

Nothing much to discuss here as I received this unit without the retail packaging. A SeeAudio branded metal carrying case, S,M,L Azla’s Xelastec Eartips, Hakugei’s cable and the Bravery itself.

Build/Comfort

The shell size is a little big, but it is not heavy to the point where it will cause discomfort. 8/10 for build and comfort. The bundled Hakugei cable, namely Little Harmony, is quite good in my opinion. Soft, and doesn’t tangle. Did a little search on aliexpress and the specification of the cable, it is a 9 layer ultra pure single crystal copper.

Specifications

• Driver Configuration: Quad BA.
• Driver Arrangement: 2 BA Low+ 1 BA Mid+ 1 BA Highs.
• Impedance: 18ohm.
• Frequency response range: 20Hz-20kHz.
• Sensitivity: 110dB/mW.
• THD+N: <1%.
• 2-pin 0.78mm connectors.

Source

Tidal -> E1DA9038s -> Bravery (VE’s SLQ Balanced Cable)
Foobar2k -> Cayin N3 Pro Dac Mode (Solid State) -> Bravery


*Unfortunately, i am not able to get a good fit with the bundled eartips, M is too big for me and S is just too small and I can't get a proper seal. This review is done using stock Hakugei cable and Audiosense’s S400 M sized eartips.


Sound

The overall tonality sounds very organic and smooth to my ears. No harshness can be heard nor any sibilance. Bravery has the U shaped signature to my ears. In my opinion, this is quite a safe tuning that should please the majority of the audience out there. I do hope the bass extension can be better. Being a pure BA setup, it doesn’t bear the typical BA timbre, everything sounded very natural and organic, smooth and easy to listen to.




Bass

Bravery’s bass to my ears is fast and clean. It is impressive for a pure balanced armature setup. However I am very used to the dynamic driver’s bass response thus I feel it is a little lacking in terms of extension, but that’s just me. Sub bass is adequate but don’t expect to feel/hear the sub bass that you’re used to from a dynamic driver. Mid bass is average to my ears, i’ve heard better bass response from a pure BA setup and Bravery is not it.

Mids

Bearing the u shaped signature, the vocal is not recessed as the typical v shaped signature. I would say it’s on the safer side of things. You don’t hear recessed vocal nor intimate, it is just right, not too far off nor in your face. Bass doesn’t bleed into this spectrum and both male and female vocals sounded just right to my ears, in the sense that it is well textured and feels very smooth, not harsh even for a high pitched artist.

Treble

While the treble of Bravery is detailed and has a good amount of energy and sparkle on the top end, I do wish that it gives a little more air in the top end, but overall it is very well tuned. Not harsh, not sibilant at all, however on a busy track like Duality by Slipknot, it sounded a little congested on the chorus where everything seemed to just feel mashed together, not sure if that’s the way to describe it but to me, it’ll be better if there’s a little more air to kinda open things up.

Soundstage/Imaging

Soundstage is average to my ears. Not too wide or narrow and this also probably is due to the lack of air, average depth. Imaging is impressive though. Every instrument note can be heard clearly and pin-point with accuracy, left to right transition or rather HRTF feels a little lacking in terms of the 3D effect compared to those IEM/open backed headphones that offer above average soundstage.

Driveability

Bravery is very easy to drive. It can be driven off a smartphone itself and you will get comfortable listening volume out of it, but of course, the source does matter if you wanna get the most out of it. A good mid range DAP and portable dac such as HipDac will be good enough for it.


Final Thoughts

Is this the best pure BA setup that I've heard? Not really. This is not to say that Bravery is bad, to me personally, at the price point that Bravery is asking for, there are several choices available such as AudioSense’s T800 or their recently launched DT600. I have heard the DT600 and personally I will pick DT600 over Bravery anyday. I prefer my music to sound musical rather than too technical, but then again, this is a matter of preference and my preference is not Bravery, so don’t be confused by it and think that Bravery is bad. It’s a good set that offers plenty of details, sweet mid range accompanied by a premium set of accessories.

If you are interested in getting one, you may head to Hifi-Go’s store to grab 'em.

* Do take into consideration that what i heard may differ from what you will actually hear as there are a lot of factors to consider such as the source, eartips, differences in terms of ear structure in which the nozzle delivers sound via ear tips through ear canal.

Bravery, the latest project by See Audio is a multi-BA IEM featuring a quad-BA configuration on each side. See Audio finalized the frequency curve(tuning) and design of the Bravery with the help of community polling on their social media channel, So it won’t be wrong to call Bravery a community project. See Audio has partnered with big names such as Hakugei for the cable of Bravery, Azla Sednafit for the ear tips included with the set. Bravery will be releasing soon, It is available on pre-order with HiFiGo, See Audio’s official online partner for 279$. I was lucky enough to be a part of a review tour of See Audio Bravery being organized in my country by the brand. So before wasting any more time, let’s begin with our review today.

About See Audio:-

See Audio entered into the international market last year with their debutant set, the See Audio Yume that garnered them a lot of praises. They are a well-established brand in Mainland China and have multiple successful products there. Bravery is their fourth pair after Yume, after the debutant Yume, the multi-BA flagship Neo, and the BA+EST hybrid flagship Kaguya. I personally had explored the Yume and loved it. Let’s see how good their latest project is.

Disclaimer:-

I received a review sample unit from See Audio tour that doesn’t include the retail packaging and accessories. All I got was the pair along with its cable and carry case. I will be forwarding the unit to the next reviewer after my review is done. All impressions in this review are completely my own based on my own experience with the pair over the past week.

If you want to purchase, you can purchase Bravery from HiFiGo from the link below. (Link isn’t affiliated).
https://hifigo.com/products/seeaudio-bravery

Design & Build Quality:-

Talk about beautifully crafted in-ears, I get only two brands on my mind, Kinera and See Audio. All products from them including Yume, Kaguya, Neo, and the latest Bravery feature eye-catchy beautiful looks. The pair here is made up of solid resin material that has a semi-transparent nature on the inner side of the shell. In proper lit situations, you can see the internal driver arrangement of Bravery with ease. The pair has a designer face cover with a unique pattern on each earpiece. The right earpiece has a lotus bravery logo printed on the face panel and the left one has See Audio’s logo printed on the face panel. Two pin-connectors are located at the top of the earpieces, there’s also an air vent accompanying the 2-pin slot. In terms of design and build quality, I can say Bravery is a well-built product.



Now coming to another star of the show, the stock cable here. As I stated earlier, See Audio partnered with Hakugei, a premium IEM upgrade cable brand based in China. They have specially designed a cable for Bravery that matches its synergy. It is a high-quality cable that has a supreme build with a durable fabric sheathing throughout its length. It has a metallic casing around the connectors and termination plug. The cable has a 3.5mm termination.

Fit & Noise Isolation:-

See Audio ships Azla Sednafit Xelastec silicone ear tips as standard with the Bravery. I used my own Azla Sedna fit Xelastec pair with the Bravery, the fit was phenomenally good. The pair is lightweight. It sits firmly into my ears covering my entire ear canal. Isolation from the environmental noises is also very good with Bravery for me.

Driving the See Audio Bravery:-

Bravery can be powered easily without any trouble. It runs well off a regular smartphone(used my Samsung Note 9). But as always using a high-resolution music player or DAC/AMP is recommended for the best experience. For the purpose of this review, I used my Shanling M3X music player and xDuoo XD05 Bal portable DAC/AMP both of which provide Bravery ample juice to open up properly.


Sound Quality:-

I remember I loved the tonality of See Audio Yume when I tried it. Bravery keeps up with it with its natural and perfect tonality. Even with its all-BA configuration Bravery doesn’t suffer with slow or dull BA Timbre, in fact, it maintains a natural tonality throughout its frequency range. Vocals, Instruments everything sound so natural and pleasing that makes it an instant favorite for me. It has a smooth U-shaped sound signature that presents our music with great detail and clarity. If we talk about the lower end, the pair shows a fast and punchy response. Bravery produces rich, detailed vocals and instruments. Love it with pop and acoustic artists, an amazing set for these genres. At the top end, Bravery again performs quite well, showing good spark and energy while maintaining its smoothness and non-fatiguing presentation.

Lower End/Bass:-

Bravery has a quick and punchy lower end with a well-textured response in both mid-bass slams and sub-bass rumble. The lower end here is not over-emphasized or overpowering, rather has a complementing presentation. Bravery brings out good details in the lower end with good clarity. Nitpicking here in the lower end, but I would have liked slightly more depth here in the bass slams. Good take here is how it maintains control in the lower end.

Mids/Vocals, Acoustic Instruments:-

Bravery has a slightly recessed mid-frequency response, but If you like to listen to rich, natural vocals and instruments, be assured you are in for a good time with the Bravery. The pair maintains amazing clarity and a natural tone for both male and female vocals, they are neither upfront that might make them go shouty in a minute, nor they are too laid-back that might make the vocalist sound distant. In fact, Bravery maintains a good balance and position of the vocalist right in front of us at the center stage. As I stated earlier, Bravery shines best with acoustic music, I simply loved the smooth, detailed presentation for acoustic guitars, pianos, and more. Best thing here, the presentation is too smooth and natural that you are gonna fall in love with the Bravery.

Treble/Instruments, & More:-

Bravery maintains its detailed, and textured response in the treble region. It shows a good sense of sparkle and energy in the output. It isn’t bright or harsh at all, in fact, has a smooth, non-fatiguing, and clean response here. While the extensions in the treble frequencies are great, Bravery lacks some air in the region. For some complex genres such as heavy metal, I find it sounding slightly congested in the top end.

Soundstage & Imaging:-

The width and height of the soundstage with Bravery are quite good. Depth could’ve been slightly better here. Imaging and placement of instruments are excellent with the pair, one can easily place the singer and instruments on the sound field.

Final Words:-

See Audio Bravery is an excellent set if you are looking for a smooth, relaxed-sounding IEM. I personally loved it with acoustic and vocal genres as the tonality and presentation of Bravery is simply excellent for those genres. For me, Bravery sets a new reference point for tonality and timbre for the 300$ price segment.

General Information​

Introduction: See Audio has several IEM models from the entry Yume to flagship Kaguya which are marketed across different markets. Since I am a user of the Yume, this time I've also got my hands on the most recent Bravery which imo is quite another successful product. As I've seen there are also other reviewers sharing it's technical specifications, it's not gonna repeat into detail here, I shall go straight into my personal thinking & experience with the Bravery.

Aesthetics:
This is what intrigued me into the product at the first place, Black is the colour of my hair... not Nina Simone, but black on black is a universally attractive combination, the bravery gold logo with a little hint of zen, smoky shell which is very light & fits well in my ear, plus a fabric cable which usually only sold at higher prices(it's very soft), to the blackish 2pin connectors, splitter and plug, I didn't even think of trying on my own other cables during these few days of use. this is quite a handsome package in my eyes.

Sound:
Better use point form first

• Warm & full bodied signature
• Punchy bass which is not flat nor thin at all, but in fact lacks the further faint extension as a good quality DD does
• Bass imaging already better than many BA units
• relatively U shaped tuning, vocals not sticking deep into your ears, allows more comfortable prolonged listening
• pure BA combination but no peaking nor spiky trebles, its rather polished and extends comfortably on the high end
• vocal thickness sound like dynamic drivers & even better than some
• it may sound just a little too much on the lower end, depends on the kinds of music you're listening

Conclusion:
There's one thing about the trend in IEM tuning especially in recent 2 years: Clarity, resolution(2 things actually), many many companies especially Chifi brands will emphasize on the technicality race, and emphasizes on brightness, ultra high resolution, micro detail. In order to achieve this, many IEMs in return will sound very clean, very penetrating and bright, whether they are pure BA, hybrid or even pure DD. (While respectful people like you are reading this , you may recall your listening experience these 2 years to see whether my decription is correct or not. )

At the same time, musical atmosphere & emotion might not always be able to deliver in such bright & clean listening environment, for example when I want to listen on John Coltrane or Jazz trumpets. For me personally, I own around 10 pairs of IEM from Chifi to USA brands, to switch up my mood & listening experience. The Bravery is like a step up from the Yume , which supplements the comparatively short in treble extension and vocal thickness, but somehow maintains the brand's signature tune(as I know from these models). I think its fair to well worth the price tag now, the next step up for higher budget will be the UM MEST mini imho.

See Audio Bravery Review

Tl;dr : 4 BA setup, 279USD. Warm U-shape with great tonality. Bass is extended linearly, midrange is smooth and warm, and treble is extended with a balance of smoothness and definition. An all-rounder with my music library. Excellent value for your money with stock tips and cables coming from Azla and Hakugei. I love it!

A bit of background and disclaimer:

See Audio sent this Bravery as a tour unit to review and evaluate, rest assured they won’t influence my review. I hope my criticisms can be used to improve See Audio’s future releases and current ones, and guide some curious consumers. You can buy the Bravery @ HiFIGO!

I'm also new on reviewing so please tell me your inputs about it! I'm happy to listen and learn from you guys!

Packaging:

· The Bravery only came to me with the metal case with all of the necessary things inside, since this is a tour unit before prerelease, I can forgive it. The metal case is the same as what they have bundled with the Yume: the same textured metal case. It also contains the 3 pairs of Azla Xelastec tips, SML. Adding to that value is also the cable which was made by Hakugei, so I personally think it’s a solid value @ 279 retail price, and imagine more than that with its proper packaging.

Build:

· The shape of the shell is almost custom-like, as expected of most of these resin IEMs. The looks consists of a dark transparent body, and two unique swirling black and white faceplate patterns for both L and R with the logos of See Audio in the center of it. The resin seems to be semi filled from the nozzle part, which is made of metal and with some bubbles but not a problem for me look wise.
The cable consists of protruded 2 pin, splitter/cinch and jack metal wares in a dark blue-ish finish and two nylon braided cables that swirls into a 3.5mm termination. The cable transmits minimal to no microphonics. The cable does not tangle easily and the nylon does not itch my ears so it’s fairly comfortable. My problems with the cable are the nylon will wear out on frequent usage and a preformed earhook would’ve been nice.

Fit and isolation:

· They fit my ears excellent with a near custom like fit and isolation thanks to the stock Azla Xelastec M tips. The setup blocks noise nearly damn well and with my case, doesn’t require an further tiprolling because the stock tips fits me like a glove.

Sound:

A bit of background for the source, I used my Meizu DAC and Zishan U1 (on my phone and laptop) and my Huawei Y9 Pro 2019 for the testing.
You could drive this well with a smartphone and gets loud easily but improvements are noticeable on amp usage but not really drastic that I would require them all the time.
My library consists of MP3 and FLAC albums on 16/44khz and few 24/96khz ones and also streaming on Spotify since I prefer its convenience. Here is my lastfm account to see what I listen to: https://www.last.fm/user/varia_ble

- Bass: This range is definitely lifted but in amounts that I would call “perfect”, no bloat and no head-aching thumps either. Sub bass is visceral but not too much and mid bass with the right punches and kicks thrown; the transitions between the sub and the mid-bass is linear. Bass guitars and growling synths are textured perfectly and 808 kicks sound like an 808 kick almost coming from a dynamic driver which got me super surprised considering that it’s an all-BA setup. It’s really impressive, and I love it.

- Mids: Smooth and with a warm tilt. The midrange on these hits my sweet spot for the right tonal balance, not too warm and gooey, and not too cold and thin. Female and male voices are presented in equal terms, but it is 2 steps behind from all the elements sometimes, by which you could really feel the U-shape signature coming together. Luckily with that vocal performance, the upper midrange is properly controlled and extends without any harshness.

- Treble: Well extended and smooth! This was also surprising because I don’t feel the “BA timbre” or a sense of metallic tinge in its treble performance. The lower treble to upper treble is linearly extended without sibilance or pierce. A cymbal sounds natural and Sssses are contained, air is sufficient. They tuned it with the balance of smoothness and definition which is a plus for me.

- Soundstage, Imaging and Separation: The soundstaging is average; I’d say it feels like a 20ft by 20ft room with the performers just cramped in front of you. It might be due to the bass performance but I’d take that drawback for some mid-bass because it fits within the context of the signature.

Imaging is good, spatial cues are presented well and its movement but can be limited by the soundstage.

Separation is excellent, layered well with the various timbre of the musical elements separated nicely.

Comparison:

- See Audio Yume: Yume is a Harman-neutral while the Bravery is a U-shaped signature. Yume is 170USD VS Bravery at 270USD.

Bass goes to Bravery with more bass heft, texture and speeds while the Yume lacks behind with its sub-bass focused tune yet fails to texture and perform well despite having a dynamic driver for this range.

Mids goes to Bravery with a needed warm tilt and smoothness that I personally like. Yume on the other hand, is a bit dry in its tonality and can be thin sometimes but Yume has a much better vocal performance than the Bravery.

Treble goes for Bravery with an actual extention that isn’t limited to the lower treble since the Yume’s biggest issue is its lack of air. Bravery extends and defines more than its lower priced sister.

Thoughts:

I’m going to be honest, this was the most surprising and the best IEM I’ve ever tried! This hits the boxes that I was yearning for an IEM. Great OOTB package and easy drivability with a tuning that is pleasant and an all rounded listen for my library. It also surprised me with the bass response, because I was expecting limp bass but no! It impressed me even further with its DD like BA bass that got someone like me, a Dynamic Driver lover a pleasant surprise.

The Bravery is almost an endgame for me, almost because of issues such as the soundstage performance, the cable and other various things, but honestly I’ll probably stop buying other IEMs and call it a pause game. It’s an IEM that I REALLY enjoyed a lot with my music, especially DJ Screw’s All Screwed Up: Volume II compilation, handling the screwed and skewed beats with such musicality that I almost forgot I was testing it! I hope you enjoy the music as much as I had with these pairs.


Thanks for reading!

Introduction:
Bravery is the newly launched Quad BA configuration IEM from See Audio. Featuring two Knowles BA drivers for the lower end, one Sonion BA driver for mid-range, and one Knowles BA driver for the high-frequency response. The Bravery is a collaboration project with Hakugei and Azla Sednafit.Hakugei for the cable and Azla Sednafit for the eartips.




Specifications:

• Driver Spac: Quad BA
• Distortion Rate: <1% (1KHz)
• Sensitivity: 110dB ±1dB SPL/mW(1KHz)
• Channel QC: ±0.5dB (±1dB Full Range)
• Impedance: 18ohm (1KHz)
• FR Rang: 20Hz-20kHz
• Cable Type: 6n OCC
• Cable Length: 1.2M ±5%
• Plug Type: 3.5mm
• Interface: 0.78mm 2pin

Build:
The housing of the Bravery is pretty standard.The appearance is homogeneous to an typical IEM.It's entirely made out of transparent plastic nonetheless doesn't feel cheap at all.The cable that comes with it is a fabric braided 6N OCC cable and is exceptionally good. I didn't find any microphonics in the cable.Overall the built is fairly acceptable.

Rating - 4.1/5



Comfort & Isolation:
First of all the IEM is bulky despite it is reasonably lightweight.Though it doesn't create any discomfort or fatigue for me but again those who have small ear is recommended to trial them before purchase.The noise isolation is adequately good. Surprisingly no driver flex issue here.

Rating - 4/5

Sound Quality​

Lows:
Despite being BA driver it goes comparatively deep.The sub-bass is less pronounced than the midbass in the mix.However I would say there is ample amount of sub-bass.Actually it's pretty usual for a BA configuration set.The bass is punchy and tight with faster attack but lacks in texture.It's well separated from the mids.
In conclusion it's typical BA bass not comparable with dynamic driver bass.But if you like BA bass then it's not a big deal.

Rating - 4/5

Mids:
The midrange is superly done here.It's clean, clear and well textured. It has a bit of warmth in the vocal and sounds fairly natural.The tuning is slightly v-shaped I believe, that's why the vocal feels a tad recessed in some tracks other than it is quite linear (mids).I never noticed any harshness/shoutyness in the vocal yet it's smooth in presentation.The Bravery has rather good detail retrieval.Balancing between male and female vocal is also good.

Rating - 4.2/5

Highs:
Treble is one of highlight of the Bravery IMO. The treble extension is really commendable.It is sparkly,airy and well refined.Also it is energetic as well as smooth.There is no sharpness or peak and never hurt my ear.It is extremely enjoyable and doesn't create any fatigue even listening it for a long time.

Rating - 4.2/5

Imaging/Separation/Soundstage:
In this segment it's damn good.The imaging is so accurate.I can locate every instrument placement easily. Separation between the vocal and every instrument is just good. Bravery offers a above average soundstage.It feels quite spacious and a step ahead comparing ‘inside your head’ experience.

Rating - 4.5/5

Final Verdict:
If you're looking for an IEM that has good technicalities and perform reasonably well in all aspects this is for you.Besides it's quite easy to drive.It's a really well-tuned all-rounder kinda set.If it meets your preferences then it's a no brainer for 279$.

Disclaimer: The unit was provided by See Audio as a part of a review tour but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Build & Fit
The Bravery is the culmination of two simultaneous collaborations. One with Azla for the Azla Sednafit XELASTIC tips and the other with Hakugei, for the stock cable. The brands mentioned above have substantial pedigree, so there is a lot at stake with this IEM. I personally do not like XELASTIC tips, they may be sonically very good but their sticky nature is a no go for me. It gets dirty real quick (in one insert only) and it is unhygienic, and a chore to clean and maintain. The XELASTIC uses body heat to soften up and conform to the ear canal shape. That means the tips settle down for the perfect fit only after some time. If you are in a situation which needs you to quickly insert and re-insert, it is not practical. But it is good to see the tips added in retail version (3 pairs), as their performance cannot be refuted. The 6N OCC Hakugei cable is wonderful to use; it is supple and elegant looking, it is a premium product. But weirdly, the cable does not have memory guides which is a drawback as this IEM is 2 pin. So you have to manually check the polarity every time you take the cable off. Coming to the IEMs, the shells are on the bigger side so people with smaller ears should ideally audition it once before buying. Once the tips settle in, it is comfortable for my medium sized ears. You can tip roll to
adjust to your preference.



Amp Needs
At 18 ohm, 110dB/mW you do not need a dedicated amplifier but a high quality source is recommended as the Bravery is resolving and scales noticeably with better sources.



Sound Quality
To understand the importance of Bravery's tuning and what makes it special, one needs to understand the present scenario of the audio industry. Almost all IEMs and Headphones from the East and the West have boosted upper midrange, right in the ear gain region.
While it is true that there should be sufficient ear gain, in 9 out of 10 cases it is overdone. This is a double edged sword. On one hand it adds "energy" and a certain "shine" to the sound, forcing details out to the front. But simultaneously it destroys the timbre and overall tonality
and also making it fatiguing in the long run. Most of us have been conditioned to seek for this boost (including me). Without going into too much technical & graphical detail, the upper midrange of the Bravery is the star of the show. It is NOT boosted to the moon, it is laid back and pleasant. This results in a tuning that is very organic and lifelike, no sign of fatigue and overall all kinds of music sound more life-like. People used to boosted upper midrange will probably find the Bravery to sound a bit "muffled" on the first go but that thought changes pretty soon after getting adjusted to the sound. There is no going back after that. Every mainstream IEM will sound compressed and terribly shouty, screechy and unnatural. The same happened to me with Bravery; impressed by the realistic timbre I found it hard to listen to my other IEMs without wincing a few times. The tonal balance leads towards the "low and slow" side of things. Compared to other IEMs, the Bravery is slower partly due to the thick and punchy low end and the impactful midbass. The tuning in the low end makes the decays linger on a little longer, but the transients are hard hitting. While there is ample subbass, the clean impactful midbass is what adds to the "big & dynamic" sound. Midrange is lush, thick and natural sounding. Its "distance" may be slightly pushed back (very slightly!) but the timbre is so organic. Female vocals not only have the right amount of that "angelic" nature to them but also the body to them that is almost always lacking in other IEMs (due to the boosted upper midrange). It is important to note that the presentation of the upper midrange is NOT too laid back making the sound dull and un-engaging. It is just done the right way, which is almost never seen in the Harman dominated tunings that sell today. The top end carries on the natural tone from the midrange and is buttery smooth, which rolls off naturally. I never felt that the Bravery was too transparent, which is a good thing as it works with almost all genres and makes all of it sound pleasurable. It makes poor recordings palatable and listenable without smoothening out too much. This being an all BA, does not have the traditional dreaded "BA Timbre". When it come to soundstage and imaging, the Bravery is just good. Its performance here will not be segment shattering. The soundstage depth seems to be slightly hindered but that is probably due to the overall tuning and not due to the drivers themselves. However, the instrument separation and layering is very good, having sufficient air between the instruments. Nothing appears muddled or congested.




Conclusion
Bravery is a very unique IEM in this segment, reason enough being its tuning. I have heard a couple of IEMs in the past that aimed towards this kind of sound, namely the KBear Believe and Tin Hifi P2. But both of them have glaring drawbacks in comparison to the Bravery. Bravery seems to be an evolved and upgraded form of them. It has a mature tuning that is more concerned about aural pleasure. I know audio is heavily subjective, but dare I say this is the right way of tuning.

Seeaudio is new to the scene but its evident that brains behind See are experts in field and engineering. Now Seeaudio - Bravery is on my hands. Received from the brand itself for my point of view. I'll express what I hear in concise statements as I am usually writing realtime with what I hear.

Transparent case with granite-like faceplate. Somewhat large case with a single venting hole. Fabric covered strong looking braided cable with necessary safety measures. (This is Little Harmony of Hakugei)

Unamped OOTB Seeaudio Bravery

First listenings are done at LG G7 power input condition. OOTB (out of the box) and unamped is pretty good. Layering is the first thing that struck my attention. Seperation is like what I expect from an iem tagged between 200 and 300$. More than sufficent air between instruments. Stage is not very large. Probably high 3d imaging when amped. Tonality is rich even tough the forward nature it has. I can tell if it is a tumba or snare or darbuka (amping will be enriching it further..)Not suprise; can go deep even when unamped and carrying a forward nature even unamped.

Bass pack a punch unlike many silky smooth iems I audiotioned. But not bleeding. Or mid bass thumping. Doesn't lose control while rumbling. But can't say the same for low powered listening. Used ipod 5th for this purpose. Bravey is a basscentric iem with low background resolution now. Resolution at basses are high (when powered). Mids are clear with a slight emphasis on upper mids. (ipod 5 and its outdated dac&lower power told me otherwise) Treble is like amped HM (Heart Mirror) good. Cymbals or crashes always showing their place in the drumkit. And decays are fast. (Not this good when un powered. Just between ok and good now)

Unamped Conclusions___

Bravery is a good iem worth the price. And will get much better if amped and tip rolled (to a narrow bore). Full of dynamics and enthausism (when properly powered). Much better than same sound signatured Legacy 4 IMO.

Amped OOTB Seeaudio Bravery

Now time of amping. Used ipod 5 (for lineout capacity) > Fiio L3 lod cable > x2 Burson V5i rolled Dethonray ha-2 @ H gain

Result: At least x2 bodied and full of clarity. Nearer your face now but many technical parameters improved first notably as clarity and layering. Now tonality is improved too and with help of its empowered layering capacity, monitor-like usage began slightly. While the overall result at prog. music improved, modern electronic recordings (for eg Degiheugi - Some Beat in my Head) - especially European fusion electronica is heavenly now.

Amped Conclusions__

Its clear that this iem prefers to be amped, unlocking its full capacity. Bravery, Xelastec Tips, Hakugei Cable and amp result in satisfying moments.

SeeAudio Bravery is SeeAudio's latest sub-$300usd IEM. It is rocking a 4BA configuration with BA drivers from Knowles and Sonion and it retails for $279usd (Pre-order starts at $249usd). In terms of unboxing experience, I can't speak too much of as the review unit I got was a pre-release unit with no box (SeeAudio has confirmed with me that this tuning is FINAL). However, what I can do is speak on what I got. My review unit comes with 3 sets of Azla XELASTEC tips (S, M, L), a 3.5mm 2pin Hakugei cable (6N OCC - Little Harmony), and a rounded tin case that looks just like the case that came with Yume.

Overall, very satisfied with the accessory set as Azla XELASTEC tips and Hakugei cables are included as stock accessories. If you were to buy them separately, a set of 3 Azla XELASTEC tips will run you around $20usd while Hakugei Little Harmony cable costs around $55usd. That is $75usd worth of what would normally be "3rd party accessories" included as stock. Kudos SeeAudio for doing this.

With the "unboxing" out of the way, let's start the review.

*Disclaimer: This review is done using stock tips (Azla XELASTEC) and stock cable.

PROS :​

• The tonal balance here is great IMO. I would describe the tuning here to be "mild U-shaped". Meaning, bass and upper mids are slightly elevated while mids are slightly recessed. To put it simply, SeeAudio Bravery sounds mellow, relaxed, laidback, and smooth.
• In terms of bass, it is deep, textured, detailed, punchy, and smooth. What surprises me the most here about Bravery's bass is how deep it can go despite being a full BA set. It is also not dry sounding like most BA sets I've tried, which is a plus as I usually find BA bass to be dry and boring. Not to mention, the bass here is also fast with quick transient speed and decay, making its bass here punchy and authoritative.
• In terms of mids, I would describe the mids here to be slightly warm, smooth, relaxed, well-textured, and slightly recessed. Detail is also well articulated here, where it has great detail retrieval (both macro and micro), but is never overly accented or "in your face". In other words, it won't try to overemphasize certain microdetails and present them upfront to you. Instead, microdetails that are meant to be "hidden" stay "hidden", where you have to pay a bit more attention in order to grasp the microdetails. In comparison to some other iems that love to overemphasize and push microdetails forward, Bravery is much smoother and less harsh in comparison, whilst still being detailed nonetheless.
• Vocals, on the other hand, sounds crisp and detailed whilst still maintaining its smooth and natural sound signature. The crisp and detailed vocal presentation is mostly thanks to Azla XELASTEC tips. I tried changing the tips out for Final E tips and without surprise, the crisp and detailed vocal delivery is gone.
• Timbre on the Bravery is very good for a full BA set. It is natural sounding and does not scream "plasticky BA timbre" at all. Ironically, the timbre here is even better than some 1DD IEMs that I've tried. So no complaints here.
• In terms of treble, again, it is smooth, textured, with a bit of added sparkle. It is also quite detailed. Just like the mids, details are well-articulated and well presented. I find the treble here to be almost perfect for my taste, albeit slightly lacking in terms of air qualities, but I can live with that.
• In terms of soundstage, it is slightly wider than both depth and height. I highly suspect that the "wider" stage is mostly because of Azla XELASTEC tips. Thanks to XELASTEC's tackiness, it makes the Bravery sit a bit further away from my ears than others eartips might. After changing the eartips out to something else ( in my case, Final E tips), the soundstage width is noticeably narrower. Nonetheless, soundstage on the Bravery is great. Good soundstage width, depth, and height, with width being a bit better.
• Imaging is above average with good instrument separation and layering. At sub-$300usd, it is very good.
• As mentioned above, transient speed / decay is fast and snappy. Handles busy tracks like a champ without coming off as aggressive or harsh.
• The accessory set is exceptional. Azla XELASTEC tips and Hakugei Little Harmony cable are included as stock accessories. If you were to buy them separately, a set of 3 Azla XELASTEC tips will run you around $20usd while Hakugei Little Harmony cable costs around $55usd. That is $75usd worth of what would normally be "3rd party accessories" included as stock. Kudos SeeAudio for doing this .
• However, expensive cables/tips that do not synergize well with the IEM itself mean nothing in the end. I am happy to say that XELASTEC and Hakugei Little Harmony synergize really well with Bravery. Another kudos to SeeAudio for doing their homework.
• It is also very easy to drive. Have no issues driving Bravery with my phone.
• Great value. SeeAudio Bravery is the full BA IEM to beat at the sub-$300usd price point IMO.

CONS :​

• Azla XELASTEC tackiness might take some time to get used to. You also need to size down. I normally use M size tips but have to use S size for Azla XELASTEC.
• Soundstage depth could be a bit better with slightly better layering.
• Might be a bit too relaxed or mellowed sounding for those looking for a more energetic and aggressive listening session.
• Treble could use a bit more air.

IN CONCLUSION:​

SeeAudio Bravery is the full BA IEM to beat at the sub-$300usd price point, at least IMO. I feel the tuning here is just made for me (I love U-shaped sounding IEM). It is detailed, well-tuned with great tonal balance, has great technicalities for the price, great accessories, and last but not least, it is so smooth and balanced I could listen to Bravery all day without much fatigue.

This review unit is provided by See Audio as part of their SeeAudio Bravery review tour. I am not at all compensated by them and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Interested in picking up the Bravery? Pre-order will start at 13/8 - 23/8 with a discounted price of $249usd (retail is $279usd). You can pre-order the Bravery on Hifigo's website with the link below (non-affiliated):

• https://hifigo.com/products/seeaudi...wDbcjUf8JMDP21Lj8ceOsdrt6FZpOVU1K1H2-UwroqREY

Hello mates and welcome to my IEM review here in Head-fi, I have a new product from See Audio, The See Audio Bravery as I am part of a reviewing tour of See Audio Bravery in Asia.



The See Audio Bravery is actually a collaborative effort between See Audio and the audio community by choosing a design faceplate and tuning based on the vote rates from the collective order of audio enthusiasts.




The See Audio Bravery is an all Balanced Armature setup IEM, It has a four (4) balanced armatures consist of a pair of woofer BA from Knowles and a mix of tweeter BAs from Sonion for mids and upper mids and Knowles for treble . It has also got an audio frequency circuit dividers inside for better detail retrieval and coherent sound characteristics of bass, mids and treble. The pricing of this particular will be around at US$279 and it will be available in online stores.



As I received this unit as a review tour unit. It doesn't have a packaging box at all but the IEMs are inside of a circular metal container along with eartips of three (3) different sizes and cable. The retailer version will have a beautiful drawn illustration of Rinko in the box and some add-on accesories like a Rinko IEM stand if you pre-order it.



The included stock eartips for Bravery is actually a premium Azla Sedna clear eartips which are quite tacky that provides better insertion and fitting in the outer ear canal.



Another one surprising feature of Bravery is its thick 6N OCC black clothed braided cable in 2-pin connector from a premium cable manufacturer, Hakugei. See Audio managed to partner up with them and Hakugei provided them with a custom cable specifically based on See Audio's specification.



The shell of See Audio Bravery is made of high quality medical grade premium resin with a smoky and opaque black marble faceplate. The left side part of the shell has an engraved golden stylized See Audio logo similar to Eye of Ra and the right part has simple geometric design of a lotus flower. Its UIEM contour shell really fits snuggly in my medium size log holes and offer better sound isolation that blocks some external noise from the surrounding despite that I classify the size of this set as large ones. There is a vent hole in at bottom of 2-pin connector



The scalability of See Audio Bravery is quite impressive as they are easy to drive from most media player sources such as DAPs, Smartphones at Laptops as it has an impedance rating of 18 ohms but scaling them up on audiophile-grade Hi-fi DAC/amps is even more better as it sound more fuller on its dynamic range and immersive reach on its audio spectrum.



The tonality of this one as I describe is actually give me some confusion and dilemma on past few days on where should I put this one on my sound signature category so I decided to classify them as "warmish-neutral". It can be also classify as a slightly U-shape too, as it is a well-balanced sounding with good amount of bass, more linear yet weighty note on mids and a little bit smoothen with decent amount on airiness on treble region.

I will do a description and explain that characteristics on its each audio spectrum.

Lows/Bass:

As I expected from BA bass as I believe that it can't match the natural and impactul aspect of the bass quality dynamic drivers, but in this case of this particular set, It is quite astonishing as it delivers a quality bass that I really want. Punchy, authoritative and precise thumping. Its has good transient speed and decay. I feel some adequate amount of rumble in the sub bass region. It has a well-textured midbass as I can able to perceive its sustaining and consistent robustness. The impactful bass kicks that I want and the resonant and growl of bass guitar is well-executed and satisfactory well-done.

Mids:

The quality of mids is clean, has some warmth and an almost flawless organic tonality as I discerningly hear a well-textured vocal clarity on both genders that deliver crisp and detailed resolution. It is also well-segmented and separated from other musical instruments. When I say a well-textured mids, it is in between the lean and thicker weight note that it doesn't sound either lifeless nor bloated as it really affects the coherency but its remain sound well-rendered and abundant. percussive , rhythm and wind instruments sounds natural on this one too as you will hear cruchiness, shimmer and articulate resonances of the guitar, the sweet tone and mellow sound of a piano and impactful snare strikes. The timbre each vocals and instruments sound vibrant and natural.


Highs/Treble:

I can say that it has smooth, refinely textured treble (it is somehow perceive as linear and neutral to my ears.) And yet it can deliver a good amount of sparkle and detail retrieval as it still has shimmer to sum it up on the airiness reach of brilliance treble but somehow it has only an average extension in some instances. There is some peak on upper mids but the good news is that it doesn't have that annoying sibilance and the reason of the elevated uppermids is to add energy and crispiness on the presence part of treble. The cymbals and chimes sounds natural but as I said that it has an average extension. It has a faster decay on the shimmer of crashes that might be lacking on some trebleheads.

Soundstage and Imaging:

I describe the See Audio Bravery has an above average on width but it has good reach on depth. You will feel a sense of spaciousness on each layer and row as I can locate the precise location of the placement of each instruments and position of singer. I rate the score on spatial cues capability as an excellent one.

To sum up my conclusion of this review. Once again See Audio delivers another great set that will surely receive a positive response whoever planning to purchase this set in the future. I am confident that it will surely disrupt the $300 IEM price segment as it delivers one of the best balanced tonality, coherent and possess with good technicalities set in the recent release of some IEMs in the already saturated audio market that can traded blows on other well known competitors in this price range.





SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: See Audio Bravery
IMPEDANCE: 18Ω
SENSITIVITY: 110dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20H-20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78MM 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm /2.5mm/4.4mm
DRIVER UNITS: 4 Balanced Armature Drivers ( Knowles and Sonion).
DISTORTION RATE: < 1% (1KHz)

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - One **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
X-Japan - X *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *

For more See Audio infos, visit their FB page:
https://m.facebook.com/Seeaudio2020/

Interested on purchasing it? Check out at hifigo and click the link below:

https://hifigo.com/products/seeaudi...TQo-QNrAWmPprdUvYfshkRds-uWwjkFwHdUmiAJUT7zNk

P.S.
I am not affliated to See Audio nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.