SORA Audio Sunlit
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SORA Audio Sunlit: Illuminating Your Audiophile Journey
DISCLAIMER: The SORA Audio Sunlit was sent to us free of charge by the super cool team at SORA Audio for review purposes. We at Aural Cafe are really excited about this being our second review of SORA Audio products. We are deeply humbled and would like to thank the SORA Audio team for this opportunity and their kind support to Aural Cafe.
Introduction: -
Today at Aural Cafe, we will be reviewing a single Dynamic Driver-based IEM for a change. SORA Sunlit, from the house of SORA Audio, is handcrafted with love in Hong Kong and features a custom 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver.
Sora Audio is a Hong Kong-based young in-ear monitor brand that made its global debut with the launch of SORA Audio Rise in August 2021 at the Hong Kong HKAV show. We at Aural Cafe had the honour to review Rise which our followers and fellow audiophiles can find here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ibasso-3t-154.27275/reviews#review-34495. SORA is derived from the Japanese dialect which stands for 'Sky'. In ancient Japanese culture, the SORA represented freedom, vastness and infinity thereby giving us a peek into SORA Audio tuning philosophy. SORA Audio was founded by an avid audiophile Chester who has been curious about in-ear monitor designs since his university days studying product design. Chester's journey in the audio abyss began at university, where he dived deep into 3D modelling to design earphone shells and structures. This unique approach means that every SORA Audio model, both current and future, is Chester's original creation. One won't find identical designs on the market as each model is developed from scratch, reflecting Chester's innovative vision.
The tale doesn’t end here as Chester's expertise goes beyond design. With several years of experience in various roles within the audio industry - from sales and distribution to marketing - he's gained invaluable insights into sound signatures and customer needs. Chester's approach combines his passion for music with his acoustic knowledge. This same wealth of knowledge is poured into every SORA Audio product, to create a diverse, exciting and innovative audio brand. SORA Audio believes that an excellent pair of in-ear monitors requires meticulous attention at every stage of design and Production so that it not only sounds amazing but also is comfortable during long listening hours. Every piece of SORA Audio IEM is handmade and in fact, the face plate of each IEM set coming from the house of SORA Audio is unique and artistic in itself. SORA Audio is currently focusing mainly on Asian audiophiles as a result of which each pair of in-ear monitors is carefully tuned to deliver sound characteristics that best satisfy the preferences of Hong Kong, Korean and Asian audiophiles. SORA Audio aims to continuously innovate and improve, with the ambition of making SORA Audio a globally renowned earphone brand. We at Aural Cafe fully align with SORA Audio's minimalistic approach and believe that an excellent pair of in-ear monitors requires a high level of precision and only through this commitment to R&D and quality control can SORA Audio stand out in this ever-evolving super-competitive IEM world.
SORA Audio Sunlit was launched in March 2024 featuring a custom 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver. These days when most hi-fi brands are launching in-ear monitors literally every month, SORA Sunlit was launched around three years after their debut IEM SORA Rise. We at Aural Cafe deeply value hi-fi brands which come up with few but solid launches and Sunlit is just the second offering from SORA Audio in around four years. We at Aural Cafe are really excited to review it. Through Sunlit, SORA Audio aims to present an in-ear monitor that is capable of delivering powerful bass, along with a refined, full-bodied, and naturally warm tonal character. What makes SORA Sunlit distinct from other IEMs is its artful fusion of resin and wooden chambers. The Sunlit features a distinctive dual-chamber design, with a 3D-printed resin front cavity coupled to a precision-crafted wooden rear chamber to harness the unique acoustic properties of wood, using the wooden chamber to reflect and tune the driver's output, instilling natural warm tonal character to the overall sound tonality. Just like wood which is commonly used in speaker boxes because of its natural acoustic properties, which help to minimise distortion and produce a richer, clearer sound by effectively managing vibrations and sound waves, the team at SORA Audio through Sunlit rear wooden chamber also aims at enhancing the overall soundstage depth and layering while culminating a refined, full-bodied, natural and musical audio performance. The story of the unique acoustic structure of Sunlit doesn’t end here as Sunlit features a unique and carefully engineered front-to-rear chamber ratio of nearly 50:50. This unique design allows the diaphragm to move more smoothly and efficiently within the driver, ensuring seamless sound propagation along with significantly enhanced dynamic response. After extensive tuning iterations, the team at SORA Audio has been able to precisely implement this unique 50:50 chamber balance to deliver a high-fidelity sound quality featuring expansive dynamics, powerful transients, and precise detailing.
The SORA Audio team has also taken care of the overall wearing comfort of an audiophile as the Sunlit incorporates a pressure-relief ear canal structure design, effectively dissipating the pressure buildup within the ear canal when the earphone is sealed. This unique feature is implemented to not only significantly enhance wearing comfort, but also mitigate ear fatigue caused by prolonged use, protecting the user's hearing health. Additionally, this design also ensures the driver's optimal performance in the sealed environment, allowing the flow of air inside the chamber to deliver elastic dynamics along with a high-fidelity sound experience. We at Aural Cafe give cardinal importance to the overall comfort quotient and user hearing health and we are truly delighted to see the kind of importance the team at SORA Audio gives to the comfort quotient as well to the audiophile hearing health.
It comes only in a universal version and retails for 5980 HK$ (about 769 US$).
Specifications: -
Unboxing Experience, Design & Build: -
In line with SORA Audio's brand philosophy SORA Audio Sunlit exhibits a minimalistic, vibrant and earthy unboxing experience from the very go. As you can see from our unboxing video ( ) the SORA Audio Sunlit arrives in a rectangular-shaped black colour cardboard box whose top is covered by a wooden brown colour sleeve. The wooden brown colour sleeve is cleverly selected by the SORA Audio team to highlight the implementation of wooden chambers on Sunlit vis-a-vis giving us a hint about Sunlit's unique faceplate design language at first glance. Sunlit is printed in white right at the top center of the sleeve in English and Chinese dialects, while the brand name SORA along with the brand logo can be seen on the left and right sides of the sleeve in white colour fonts. The back part of the sleeve features the SORA Audio Instagram QR code at the right corner along with the specifications of Sunlit written in both Chinese and English dialects. On removing the sleeve one can see the brand logo which seems to be inspired by a vibrant rising sun. Being embossed on the top of the black cardboard box. On opening the box one directly comes across the Sunlit IEMs and the stock cable is wrapped elegantly with the help of a special kind of paper which even has thin wooden bits inside it. While we at Aural Cafe will take care of the sound quality of the Sunlit in the sound impressions part, when it comes to looks, Sunlit's faceplate reflected a very artistic and earthy look resting cleanly inside a foam cutout placed on the top of the wooden box while the stock cable is placed just beside the wooden box on the round foam cutout. There were no surprises this time, just like Rise, Sunlit also came along with SORA’s customary Brand Logo badge, this time in a bold combination of black and gold which is placed just below the IEMs. On removing the top flap, we can come across the set of silicone ear tips being placed at the bottom of the box along with the lid of the wooden box. While reviewing SORA Rise, we were badly missing the carry case as we didn’t want the beautiful faceplate of the Rise to be affected, which seems to be manifested as the Sunlit comes with a beautiful square-shaped wooden box. The engraved SORA Audio brand logo on the lid of the wooden carry case ends up adding a bit of artistic touch to the minimalistic wooden carry case. The Sunlit comes equipped with a bespoke tuned cable featuring high-purity long-crystal oxygen-free copper (LC-OFC) wires. The outer PVC sheath of the stock cable is soft in nature while the six-strand braided design results in a flexible and resilient cable that reduces microphonics while enhancing resistance to twisting. As per SORA Audio, Sunlit stock cable featuring a six-strand braided design has undergone an independent tuning process and has been specifically tailored to complement the Sunlit's uniquely warm and musical signature, allowing the driver to fully express its capabilities and deliver a refined, balanced, and richly layered high-quality listening experience. During our usage, we at Aural Cafe didn’t experience any microphonics and felt that the cable goes really well with the musical tonality of Sunlit. Just like Rise, Sunlit comes with three pairs of generic silicone ear tips in S, M, and L sizes along with a small pouch of Silica gel to absorb any unnecessary moisture. All in all the unboxing experience was quite functional, unique, vibrant and complete as the SORA Sunlit came with a useful square-shaped solid wooden box, unlike the SORA Rise which came without a carry case.
When it comes to the design language of Sunlit shells, the SORA Audio team has done an amazing job here as shells of the IEM are a piece of ART in itself. The Sunlit shells feature a distinctive dual-chamber design, with a 3D-printed resin front cavity coupled to a precision-crafted wooden rear chamber. The Sunlit faceplate features an exquisite 'artisanal inlay' design, where various types of premium wood materials are meticulously inlaid into the earphone's faceplate, showcasing a unique visual depth and layering. Each faceplate is precision-machined on high-accuracy CNC equipment, then painstakingly assembled, refined, and polished by hand, a process that takes up to 5 days to complete per set of faceplates. This distinctive inlay craftsmanship exemplifies SORA Audio's pursuit of ultimate detail, while imbuing the Sunlit with exceptional artistic value, making it a prized audiophile collector's item for both visual and auditory appreciation. We at Aural Cafe were really wooed by the artistic faceplate of the Sunlit. SORA brand logo which seems to be influenced by the rising Sun is again reflected right in the centre of the faceplate shining warmly and positively. We also came across the much-necessary vent hole uniquely placed on the corner of the faceplate. The resin chamber of the Sunlit is semi-translucent in nature which would let a curious audiophile see the single DD chamber and adds a fun factor to the overall elegant design of the IEMs' shells. We would like to add here that we give supreme importance to the overall comfort quotient, and we were really impressed by the lightweight, compact and ergonomic design of the IEM. We would also like to add here that the lightweight, ergonomic shell of Sunlit provides superior passive isolation and thereby becomes quite useful while commuting through noisy routes.
Sound Analysis: -
We would like to state here that the sound impressions are based on our usage of SORA Sunlit after a brand-suggested burn-in period of around 100 hours along with a solid neutral hi-fi source, stock narrow bore silicone ear tips and stock cable. The effect of portable and desktop sources, aftermarket ear tips and cables on sound impressions has been dealt with separately in the Source matching and Drivability section so we would request every audiophile to go through that section for sure.
Conclusion: -
Sunlit is a beautiful blend of Art and Science. The team at SORA Audio seems to work really hard to precisely tune the Sunlit. The natural warm tonal character of the wooden chamber Sunlit is smoothly blended with the reference signature of the full range 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver to achieve the unique tonality of the Sunlit. The Sunlit performs well both in Physical and Technical abilities. The beautiful wooden faceplate of Sunlit is a work of art and makes Sunlit a collector's IEM for both visual and auditory appreciation. The design of the Lightweight Sunlit Shell is simple yet functional and provides a decent amount of passive isolation. When it comes to technical abilities, we at Aural Cafe especially loved the sound tonality and the weighted notes of the Sunlit along with its deep lows. SORA Sunlit is one such IEM that is ageless due to its unique tonality and precise tuning. Sunlit is like an old wine whose values will keep on increasing with time due to its unique artistic faceplate and its precise sound tuning. We at Aural Cafe would definitely love a harder-hitting mid-bass taking price into consideration but if you are an art connoisseur and an audiophile at the same time and out there in the market in search of a solid-tuned musical IEM that also performs well on the technical front then SORA Audio's Sunlit can be a solid option to take into consideration.
Non-Affiliated Link: -
- https://ect.com.hk/en/product/sunlit
- https://sg.e1personalaudio.com/products/sora-sunlit?_pos=1&_sid=83448f450&_ss=r
DISCLAIMER: The SORA Audio Sunlit was sent to us free of charge by the super cool team at SORA Audio for review purposes. We at Aural Cafe are really excited about this being our second review of SORA Audio products. We are deeply humbled and would like to thank the SORA Audio team for this opportunity and their kind support to Aural Cafe.
Introduction: -
Today at Aural Cafe, we will be reviewing a single Dynamic Driver-based IEM for a change. SORA Sunlit, from the house of SORA Audio, is handcrafted with love in Hong Kong and features a custom 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver.
Sora Audio is a Hong Kong-based young in-ear monitor brand that made its global debut with the launch of SORA Audio Rise in August 2021 at the Hong Kong HKAV show. We at Aural Cafe had the honour to review Rise which our followers and fellow audiophiles can find here - https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/ibasso-3t-154.27275/reviews#review-34495. SORA is derived from the Japanese dialect which stands for 'Sky'. In ancient Japanese culture, the SORA represented freedom, vastness and infinity thereby giving us a peek into SORA Audio tuning philosophy. SORA Audio was founded by an avid audiophile Chester who has been curious about in-ear monitor designs since his university days studying product design. Chester's journey in the audio abyss began at university, where he dived deep into 3D modelling to design earphone shells and structures. This unique approach means that every SORA Audio model, both current and future, is Chester's original creation. One won't find identical designs on the market as each model is developed from scratch, reflecting Chester's innovative vision.
The tale doesn’t end here as Chester's expertise goes beyond design. With several years of experience in various roles within the audio industry - from sales and distribution to marketing - he's gained invaluable insights into sound signatures and customer needs. Chester's approach combines his passion for music with his acoustic knowledge. This same wealth of knowledge is poured into every SORA Audio product, to create a diverse, exciting and innovative audio brand. SORA Audio believes that an excellent pair of in-ear monitors requires meticulous attention at every stage of design and Production so that it not only sounds amazing but also is comfortable during long listening hours. Every piece of SORA Audio IEM is handmade and in fact, the face plate of each IEM set coming from the house of SORA Audio is unique and artistic in itself. SORA Audio is currently focusing mainly on Asian audiophiles as a result of which each pair of in-ear monitors is carefully tuned to deliver sound characteristics that best satisfy the preferences of Hong Kong, Korean and Asian audiophiles. SORA Audio aims to continuously innovate and improve, with the ambition of making SORA Audio a globally renowned earphone brand. We at Aural Cafe fully align with SORA Audio's minimalistic approach and believe that an excellent pair of in-ear monitors requires a high level of precision and only through this commitment to R&D and quality control can SORA Audio stand out in this ever-evolving super-competitive IEM world.
SORA Audio Sunlit was launched in March 2024 featuring a custom 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver. These days when most hi-fi brands are launching in-ear monitors literally every month, SORA Sunlit was launched around three years after their debut IEM SORA Rise. We at Aural Cafe deeply value hi-fi brands which come up with few but solid launches and Sunlit is just the second offering from SORA Audio in around four years. We at Aural Cafe are really excited to review it. Through Sunlit, SORA Audio aims to present an in-ear monitor that is capable of delivering powerful bass, along with a refined, full-bodied, and naturally warm tonal character. What makes SORA Sunlit distinct from other IEMs is its artful fusion of resin and wooden chambers. The Sunlit features a distinctive dual-chamber design, with a 3D-printed resin front cavity coupled to a precision-crafted wooden rear chamber to harness the unique acoustic properties of wood, using the wooden chamber to reflect and tune the driver's output, instilling natural warm tonal character to the overall sound tonality. Just like wood which is commonly used in speaker boxes because of its natural acoustic properties, which help to minimise distortion and produce a richer, clearer sound by effectively managing vibrations and sound waves, the team at SORA Audio through Sunlit rear wooden chamber also aims at enhancing the overall soundstage depth and layering while culminating a refined, full-bodied, natural and musical audio performance. The story of the unique acoustic structure of Sunlit doesn’t end here as Sunlit features a unique and carefully engineered front-to-rear chamber ratio of nearly 50:50. This unique design allows the diaphragm to move more smoothly and efficiently within the driver, ensuring seamless sound propagation along with significantly enhanced dynamic response. After extensive tuning iterations, the team at SORA Audio has been able to precisely implement this unique 50:50 chamber balance to deliver a high-fidelity sound quality featuring expansive dynamics, powerful transients, and precise detailing.
The SORA Audio team has also taken care of the overall wearing comfort of an audiophile as the Sunlit incorporates a pressure-relief ear canal structure design, effectively dissipating the pressure buildup within the ear canal when the earphone is sealed. This unique feature is implemented to not only significantly enhance wearing comfort, but also mitigate ear fatigue caused by prolonged use, protecting the user's hearing health. Additionally, this design also ensures the driver's optimal performance in the sealed environment, allowing the flow of air inside the chamber to deliver elastic dynamics along with a high-fidelity sound experience. We at Aural Cafe give cardinal importance to the overall comfort quotient and user hearing health and we are truly delighted to see the kind of importance the team at SORA Audio gives to the comfort quotient as well to the audiophile hearing health.
It comes only in a universal version and retails for 5980 HK$ (about 769 US$).
Specifications: -
- Driver Type/Count: 10mm Carbon Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Impedance: 16 Ω @ 1 kHz ± 10%
- Freq Response: 20Hz-20Khz
- Connector: 0.78 2 Pin
- Wire Core: LC-OFC Wire Core
- Cable Braiding and Length: Six-braided hand-woven 1.2m ± 0.1m
Unboxing Experience, Design & Build: -
In line with SORA Audio's brand philosophy SORA Audio Sunlit exhibits a minimalistic, vibrant and earthy unboxing experience from the very go. As you can see from our unboxing video ( ) the SORA Audio Sunlit arrives in a rectangular-shaped black colour cardboard box whose top is covered by a wooden brown colour sleeve. The wooden brown colour sleeve is cleverly selected by the SORA Audio team to highlight the implementation of wooden chambers on Sunlit vis-a-vis giving us a hint about Sunlit's unique faceplate design language at first glance. Sunlit is printed in white right at the top center of the sleeve in English and Chinese dialects, while the brand name SORA along with the brand logo can be seen on the left and right sides of the sleeve in white colour fonts. The back part of the sleeve features the SORA Audio Instagram QR code at the right corner along with the specifications of Sunlit written in both Chinese and English dialects. On removing the sleeve one can see the brand logo which seems to be inspired by a vibrant rising sun. Being embossed on the top of the black cardboard box. On opening the box one directly comes across the Sunlit IEMs and the stock cable is wrapped elegantly with the help of a special kind of paper which even has thin wooden bits inside it. While we at Aural Cafe will take care of the sound quality of the Sunlit in the sound impressions part, when it comes to looks, Sunlit's faceplate reflected a very artistic and earthy look resting cleanly inside a foam cutout placed on the top of the wooden box while the stock cable is placed just beside the wooden box on the round foam cutout. There were no surprises this time, just like Rise, Sunlit also came along with SORA’s customary Brand Logo badge, this time in a bold combination of black and gold which is placed just below the IEMs. On removing the top flap, we can come across the set of silicone ear tips being placed at the bottom of the box along with the lid of the wooden box. While reviewing SORA Rise, we were badly missing the carry case as we didn’t want the beautiful faceplate of the Rise to be affected, which seems to be manifested as the Sunlit comes with a beautiful square-shaped wooden box. The engraved SORA Audio brand logo on the lid of the wooden carry case ends up adding a bit of artistic touch to the minimalistic wooden carry case. The Sunlit comes equipped with a bespoke tuned cable featuring high-purity long-crystal oxygen-free copper (LC-OFC) wires. The outer PVC sheath of the stock cable is soft in nature while the six-strand braided design results in a flexible and resilient cable that reduces microphonics while enhancing resistance to twisting. As per SORA Audio, Sunlit stock cable featuring a six-strand braided design has undergone an independent tuning process and has been specifically tailored to complement the Sunlit's uniquely warm and musical signature, allowing the driver to fully express its capabilities and deliver a refined, balanced, and richly layered high-quality listening experience. During our usage, we at Aural Cafe didn’t experience any microphonics and felt that the cable goes really well with the musical tonality of Sunlit. Just like Rise, Sunlit comes with three pairs of generic silicone ear tips in S, M, and L sizes along with a small pouch of Silica gel to absorb any unnecessary moisture. All in all the unboxing experience was quite functional, unique, vibrant and complete as the SORA Sunlit came with a useful square-shaped solid wooden box, unlike the SORA Rise which came without a carry case.
When it comes to the design language of Sunlit shells, the SORA Audio team has done an amazing job here as shells of the IEM are a piece of ART in itself. The Sunlit shells feature a distinctive dual-chamber design, with a 3D-printed resin front cavity coupled to a precision-crafted wooden rear chamber. The Sunlit faceplate features an exquisite 'artisanal inlay' design, where various types of premium wood materials are meticulously inlaid into the earphone's faceplate, showcasing a unique visual depth and layering. Each faceplate is precision-machined on high-accuracy CNC equipment, then painstakingly assembled, refined, and polished by hand, a process that takes up to 5 days to complete per set of faceplates. This distinctive inlay craftsmanship exemplifies SORA Audio's pursuit of ultimate detail, while imbuing the Sunlit with exceptional artistic value, making it a prized audiophile collector's item for both visual and auditory appreciation. We at Aural Cafe were really wooed by the artistic faceplate of the Sunlit. SORA brand logo which seems to be influenced by the rising Sun is again reflected right in the centre of the faceplate shining warmly and positively. We also came across the much-necessary vent hole uniquely placed on the corner of the faceplate. The resin chamber of the Sunlit is semi-translucent in nature which would let a curious audiophile see the single DD chamber and adds a fun factor to the overall elegant design of the IEMs' shells. We would like to add here that we give supreme importance to the overall comfort quotient, and we were really impressed by the lightweight, compact and ergonomic design of the IEM. We would also like to add here that the lightweight, ergonomic shell of Sunlit provides superior passive isolation and thereby becomes quite useful while commuting through noisy routes.
Sound Analysis: -
We would like to state here that the sound impressions are based on our usage of SORA Sunlit after a brand-suggested burn-in period of around 100 hours along with a solid neutral hi-fi source, stock narrow bore silicone ear tips and stock cable. The effect of portable and desktop sources, aftermarket ear tips and cables on sound impressions has been dealt with separately in the Source matching and Drivability section so we would request every audiophile to go through that section for sure.
- Tonality: - After listening to various genres of soundtracks across different setups for weeks on SORA Sunlit, we at Aural Cafe feel that SORA Audio Sunlit embraces a sweet warm musical tonality. The overall tonality despite being warm and musical, stays natural along with a high level of clarity across the different spectrums of frequency. The Sunlit features a single 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver which has been previously seen in lots of IEMs across different price ranges. We at Aural Cafe had the honour to test many IEMs with carbon diaphragm Dynamic Drivers. What is common between most of these carbon-based DD IEMs is their neutral tonality, whereas Sunlit is completely different as it showcases a 'delicate warm tonality'. The tuning seems to be done with lots of precision as the team at SORA Audio has just added the right punch of warmness without compromising on overall clarity which gives Sunlit an identity of its own. We especially loved the thoughtful and conscious implementation of the Dynamic Driver along with a wooden chamber which is the main reason behind the full-bodied lows and right tonal thickness and weight. The vocals are crazy sweet with lots of feel and rawness at the same time which will make one feel as if one is listening to an IEM along with a tube amp. There is top-level clarity across the frequency due to which micro details show up effortlessly. The transient response is quite accurate while the timbre of the instruments is truly natural and life-like. The precisely tuned Sunlit shows no mercy towards badly recorded soundtracks so one needs to have a good bank of high-quality soundtracks to enjoy the Sunlit at its best. Due to full-bodied, delicate warmth and top-level clarity SORA Audio Sunlit can handle different genres of soundtracks with absolute ease but when it comes to Aural Cafe, we just loved listening to instrumental, electronic and popular pop numbers on SORA Sunlit and thoroughly enjoyed listening to 'Kaminanda Yessence' by Kaminanda and 'Desh Yeh Mera Rangrez Yeh Babu' by Indian Ocean. We also enjoyed listening to instrumental Songs on Sunlit and loved listening to 'Nocturne, B. 49: Lento con gran espressione' originally composed by F. Chopin for the movie Pianist.
- Lows: - The lows on Sunlit are smoothly warm, full-bodied and go decently deep all thanks to the full range 10 mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver. But then it's not only about the DD but the magic is how the DD has been implemented. The lows on Sunlit are superior in a way that although being full-bodied and warm the lows just add a hint of musicality without overwhelming the clarity of Midrange. The team at SORA Audio has thoughtfully implemented the single DD with the help of a smartly delineated near 50:50 cavity balance ratio between the resin front and wooden rear which allows the carbon diaphragm to move fluidly and efficiently within the driver a reason which the lows on Sunlit has elastic and engaging dynamics along with low level of distortion which is an experience in itself. When it comes to Sub-bass the Sub-bass on Sunlit goes surprisingly deep and has solid rumble and resonance along with solid layering. While listening to 'Heartless' by Weekend we enjoyed the sub-bass layering which stays smooth and fluid and goes effortlessly deep while staying natural and clean at the same time. When it comes to midbass the mid-bass on Sunlit, it is full-bodied, tight along with a decent punch. We at Aural Cafe would definitely love a touch more punch on mid-bass but overall, we just enjoyed listening to 'SOLO' by Clean Bandit feat Demi Lovato due to the mid-bass speed and dynamics of Sunlit. We at Aural Cafe thoroughly enjoyed the deep and layered lows of Sunlit while listening to 'Lost in the Fire' by the Weekend and Gesaffelstein.
- Mids: - The best way to describe the Mids on Sunlit is Musically Reference. When it comes to positioning, the mids on Sunlit is precisely balanced with right at the centre without being forward or recessed. The wooden chamber seems to be doing its work in a very effortless way by adding a dash of warmth and soul to the clean mids of Sunlit resulting in unique sweet vocals and musical life-like timbre. When it comes to the timbre of the musical instruments without compromising on the clarity. When it comes to lower-mids the lower-mids on Sunlit have a solid body and balance which we really enjoyed while listening to 'Hotel California' by the Eagles. The upper-mids on SORA Sunlit are smooth and vibrant along with raw texture which we generally experience while listening to IEMs and headphones in a tube setup. We at Aural Cafe would definitely love a touch more energy on upper-mids but then it is also a matter of personal preference. Both the male and female vocals showcase top-level note weight along with soulful texture but the male vocals take the lead in terms of texture which we thoroughly enjoyed while listening to 'Comfortably Numb' by Pink Floyd. We also enjoyed listening to 'White Flag' by Dido on Sunlit due to the natural life-like texture of the vocals. All in all, Mids stay spacious along with a top level of clarity on Sunlit. The timbre of the instruments on Sunlit is real, life-like and one of the best we at Aural Cafe have come across while taking price into consideration.
- Highs: - The Highs on Sunlit is effortlessly spacious and is tuned in a very refined and balanced way. The treble is decently extended and airy which blends smoothly with the overall musical tonality of the IEMs. The mid-treble on the Sunlit showcases solid balance while being organic without any sharpness which helps a lot while listening to instrumental songs such as 'Cornfield Chase' composed by Hans Zimmer for the movie Interstellar. The upper treble on Sunlit is full and refined without any hint of shoutiness which aids a lot during long listening hours. The upper treble has just the right energy and body which makes Sunlit a solid offering in this price range. Micro details are retrieved by the Sunlit in a very effortless manner. We at Aural Cafe believe that the team at SORA Audio tuned the Sunlit highs with a unique blend of 'Musical+Reference' focus with precise control and thus doesn’t try to add extra energy which will be surely adored by mature audiophiles. When it comes to us, we just loved listening to 'Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd and 'Teri Dewaani' by Kailash Kher Kailasa on Sunlit.
- Soundstage & Imaging: - The soundstage on SORA Sunlit is truly spacious and open yet engaging in nature. It seems that the proprietary Ear Canal Pressure relief structure implemented inside Sunlit is showcasing its worth as the driver performs excellently despite being in a closed environment, achieving high fidelity and accurately reproducing the quality and detail of the original sound. The Soundstage on Sunlit is decently wide along with excellent depth. Being in this hobby for more than Nine years we have come across with number of IEMs that show beautiful soundstage width but lack depth as a result we especially enjoyed the soundstage depth of the Sunlit which goes really deep and is an experience in itself. The layering is really nice and fun to experience while streaming 'Timmy Turner (Sexroom and Paniek Bootleg)' from the deep-house genre on the Soundcloud app. When it comes to the overall technical ability of Sunlit there is lots of air all across the frequencies with excellent separation between instruments which we really enjoyed while listening to 'Sultans of Swing' composed by Dire Straits. The SORA Sunlit easily differentiate between the bad and well-mastered soundtracks. The imaging ability of the Rise is solid, taking the price into consideration which we thoroughly experienced and enjoyed while listening to 'Money' composed by the Pink Floyd. Overall, we at Aural Cafe distinctively enjoyed the soundstage depth of Sunlit.
- Synergy: - We at Aural Cafe like to suggest at least 50 hours of burn-in period to get the best out of them. Being a single DD IEM the burn-in really aids after which the lows of Sunlit became a bit more dynamic and elastic. The lower-mids also open up and become a lot more stable after the burn-in period. When it comes to driveability we are happy to communicate that SORA Audio Sunlit is easy to drive and can be driven with the help of a dongle, but would definitely suggest using it with a hi-fi source if you want to enjoy the dynamic lows of Sunlit at its best. As we truly believe in source matching, we tried Sunlit with several DAPs, cables and ear tips to get the best out of Sunlit. We tested Sunlit with warm, balanced as well as neutral sources and there were no surprises this time as Sunlit's delicate warm tonality blended well with clean and powerful neutral sources such as Dethonray DTR1+ Limited edition in our case. When it comes to portable dongles which are so much in trend, we matched Sunlit with several solid dongles such as iFi Audio GO Link Max, Kinera Celest CD-20, and Aune Yuki and felt that Sunlit performs at its optimum level with Celest CD-20. When it comes to cables, we would like to convey that the stock high-quality copper cable goes really well with the delicate warm tonality of Sunlit and also ends up a dash of warmth and body to the overall sound frequency of the Sunlit. We also tried Sunlit with many after-market brands of cables such as PW Audio, Rhapsodio and Linksmith. Well, it doesn’t make sense to match the IEM with super expensive cable but we would like to convey that Sunlit matched at its best with Rhapsodio's TOTL cable “Evolution SPC” which ends up adding a decent amount of energy and air to the overall sound frequency of the Sunlit and thereby like to suggest that one can match Sunlit with a decent SPC cable if they are into a bit more energetic sounding IEMs. When it comes to ear tips the stock narrow bore silicone ear tips perform decent but are really of low quality considering the price of the Sunlit. When it comes to ear tips it matched well with the after-market ear tips such as Spinfit W1 which ends up escalating the highs of Sunlit. The Symbio ear tips add up to improving the passive isolation which really improved the overall clarity and helps a lot while listening to music while commuting through noisy places while the E-Pro Propeller ear tips ended up improving the overall soundstage of Sunlit.
Conclusion: -
Sunlit is a beautiful blend of Art and Science. The team at SORA Audio seems to work really hard to precisely tune the Sunlit. The natural warm tonal character of the wooden chamber Sunlit is smoothly blended with the reference signature of the full range 10mm carbon diaphragm Dynamic Driver to achieve the unique tonality of the Sunlit. The Sunlit performs well both in Physical and Technical abilities. The beautiful wooden faceplate of Sunlit is a work of art and makes Sunlit a collector's IEM for both visual and auditory appreciation. The design of the Lightweight Sunlit Shell is simple yet functional and provides a decent amount of passive isolation. When it comes to technical abilities, we at Aural Cafe especially loved the sound tonality and the weighted notes of the Sunlit along with its deep lows. SORA Sunlit is one such IEM that is ageless due to its unique tonality and precise tuning. Sunlit is like an old wine whose values will keep on increasing with time due to its unique artistic faceplate and its precise sound tuning. We at Aural Cafe would definitely love a harder-hitting mid-bass taking price into consideration but if you are an art connoisseur and an audiophile at the same time and out there in the market in search of a solid-tuned musical IEM that also performs well on the technical front then SORA Audio's Sunlit can be a solid option to take into consideration.
Non-Affiliated Link: -
- https://ect.com.hk/en/product/sunlit
- https://sg.e1personalaudio.com/products/sora-sunlit?_pos=1&_sid=83448f450&_ss=r
