Sound Rhyme SR7

Sound Rhyme
Who is Sound Rhyme? Well they are a fairly new manufacture, at least a new one that has come to light in the last 8 months. You know, the latest big IEM thing..........with many local members getting into the brand and discovering products from the line.

Sound Rhyme as of September 18th offers:
$749.00 Sound Rhyme DTE900 4EST+ 4BA + 1DD
$369.00 Sound Rhyme SR7 1DD+6BA Hybrid
$749.00 Sound Rhyme SR8 14BA
$59.00 Sound Rhyme SR1 Bass 9.2mm (single full-range DD)
$459.00 Sound Rhyme DTE500 2EST+ 2BA + 1 Dynamic Driver Hybrid
$149.00 Sound Rhyme SR5 4BA + 1 Dynamic Driver Hybrid

Sound Rhyme:
So you know the deal, a new manufacturer comes along and gains a following, yet all this just happened, and is happening as we speak. Sound Rhyme is the brand of the moment!

@AmericanSpirit
He started a Head-Fi Sound Rhyme thread back in early February of 2023 beginning with the $149.00 4BA/1DD SR5. He called it an “undiscovered hidden gem”….this business moves fast, as now you can choose from six Sound Rhyme IEMs. Anyway, this is the very first Sound Rhyme I have been introduced to, and I have to say the company is doing a number of things right. From what I can tell, this SR7 is a good example of bringing a few new ideas to the hobby, resulting in more sound for your dollar spent. I know that statement sounds like hyperbole, but I will get into the hows and whys.

Sure there are all kinds of IEMs coming out at this point in time, yet new companies still figure out ways to get ahead. This Sound Rhyme company is giving you more as a vista to get ahead of the pack, extras in order to get noticed apart from the other manufactures. Even the overall shell look shows-up dynamically different and original?

SR7 key features:
2 x Knowles Balanced Armature 33518
4 x Sonion Balanced Armature 26U
1 x 9.2mm dynamic driver
2 tuning switches, 4 kinds of tuning mode
Choose 3.5mm or 4.4mm plugs (When ordering)
Two IEM cases, one a 128 gram aluminum screw-down “chamber” and one the regular case for accessories
ENVISIONTEC 3D equipment made 3D printed resin shell
8 strand, Silver Plated Oxigen Free Copper HI/Fi cable

Specifications:
Model: SR7
Driver: 1DD+6BA
1 x 9.2mm dynamic driver
4 x Sonion Balanced Armature 26U
2 x Knowles Balanced Armature 33518

2 tuning switches, 4 kinds of tuning mode

3-way crossover
Impedance: 12ohm
Frequency Range: 10Hz-31.5kHz
Connector:2pin 0.78mm
Cable: 8 strands silver-plated cable



Build:
You are greeted with flush 0.78 2Pin connectors, and upon closer inspection the nozzles are formed from metal with a very well made screen of wire sitting perfectly flush and uniform from edge to edge. There is a single air-vent shown next to the DIP-switches. And with all this.......still the most amazing addition is the semi-custom overall shape. At least this was my biggest thing to notice? Reason being is the size sits probably 3/4 of the way to what would be considered large, but due to the form (as they are not that wide) they almost feel like medium inside your ears? The low weight of 5 grams each goes ahead to bring the greatest of fitments. And while I got a good fit with the included ear-hooked cable, my slightly different Penon OSG aftermarket cable (without ear-hooks) fit fine. As far as faceplate design, I really didn’t think it was that thrilling from pictures, but in real-life it’s quite the looker. Hard to explain......and I’ve never seen a faceplate construction like it; hand painted with extra attention to detail! The back part of the IEM shows-up semi-transparent grey-blue, so you can see the drivers.




DIP-switches:
Your Sound Rhyme SR7 will come with both switches in the up position. This arrangement provides the biggest stage, and I tried it just this way (as it was burning-in) for my first 4 days of listening, as the unit was burning-in continuously. I tried the Han Sound OCC ZENTOO aftermarket cable, and the Penon OSG aftermarket cable, as well as the included cable. Really after 124 hours of burn-in the sound came together and became integrated. DD bass was smoother, and became clearer with the 6 BAs? All three cables were 4.4mm and I always used my Sony WM1A with MrWalkmans firmware added. Surprisingly I landed on the included cable and used it for the rest of the review with my regular wide-bore silicone ear-tips. I found the Sony WM1A to be the perfect DAP to use, accessing its expanded midrange tonality.

All-up: Soundstage
This must be manufacturer preferred as it offers the widest stage? I just went with it, getting to know the SR7. Probably all-up was showing-off technicalities? Later going to the POP setting (all-down) was the total opposite, and the switches really do something here to control tone. I will continue this talk of the all-up settings later.

All-down: Pop Music
Tell me, how do you even know the benefits of both-up until you try the opposite? LOL Both down gives you a more controlled bass, and more conservative take on playback. To me it also left focus to hear the vocals, due to the bass recession. But so far I have no issues with either style of playback, though really my heart calls out for the all-up position, the most bombastic style of replay. Still when I say bombastic, it’s a careful style of bombastic, if that even makes sense? But here Pop playback is careful and controlled, even and well presented, while still showcasing a trimmed-up stage and flamboyance. I picture Japanese Girls listening to CANDY CANDY with this setting and being totally smitten with replay. Careful, smooth and controlled, slightly ironed-out, and easily digestible CANDY.

One-up/two-down: Heavy Bass
By the way since I’m tweaking these DIP-switches all over the place, I wanted to clue you in on a little secret to doing the switches. You use one of those plastic tooth-picks that has a floss-brush at the other end. This way has a slight spring action, plus the pick side is soft and never creates scratches. Super, super easy, once I discovered this, there was no other way to do the switches…..they almost switched themselves. Funny as I was expecting a lot of bass, but this setting is good too. Probably one I won’t be using, but nothing wrong with it, the reason I say this is that vocals are still really well maintained. So to summarize progress, we are given real tunable switches that do noticeable changes, yet the changes are all very acceptable, and nothing sounds too out of whack.

One-down/two-up: Clear Vocal
My gosh, they were not kidding when they described what is in-action here. Absolutely beautiful here. Man, this is great…..and I know I said I would revert back to both-up settings for the rest of the review, but this is truly something else. I’m listening to a vocal track and it is really emphasized into vocal placement? I know that is the setting, but I had no idea this setting would really work as good as it is doing? The reason it’s so good is because these are warmish and bass effective IEMs to start with, so what we are getting now is an incredible balancing act here. And I want to point out, no way is it too much or too intense of vocal range, where there is too much pinna gain….. really it is still smooth and comes-off almost simply offering more detail, due to how the bass was repositioned. Often what can happen with vocal enhanced IEMs is you end up with too forward of mids........but not here. What "Clear Vocal" does is open the stage and gifts us clarity, due to the new bass stance.

The other note I want to point out was before burn-in and personal sonic acclimation there was a tinge of BA timbre, and in this setting you would think that metallic timbre would become noticeable.....but it's gone? Maybe due to the Sonion branded BAs and Knowles branded BAs. This is absolutely a setting I could live with and leave on……..permanently. I don’t want to say this, because it sounds dumb, but I will anyway……..the SR7 may be the very best actualization of switches I have come across?

Cable:
Well, I have a history of regularly bagging the included cables provided. Really it’s backwards, as I should give them a chance. But if there is any sense to this madness.......how do you even know if the included cable is good without trying other cables? You at least have to try and unlock some possible potential, if it's there.

The cable that is provided is the one I’m using for the whole review. Yes, the added OSG cable provided a slight difference and I did see value in using it, so I don’t want to discourage the cable believers out there. But truthfully the included cable is even better than it looks. Silver plated 8 strand, and it has great ergonomics, no stethoscope effects or anything. All metal hardware except the chin-cinch which is a clear bead. Another funny thing I noticed is the 2Pin holders have microscopic + and - symbols on them. There is no branding on the cable, but it is medium thickness and 100% pliable…….really an all-out joy to use sonically. Somehow I’m thinking they searched and found the totally correct cable for the SR7?




Package:
Note screw-down case, regular case, two pairs of foam ear-tips and three pairs of silicone ear-tips. Cable and IEMs.

The SR7 comes inside of this gorgeous 128 gram screw down case milled out of solid aluminum. Inside you will find two layers of foam (plus a foam liner under the lid). The top layer is the size of the IEMs, the second bottom layer the size made for the nozzles.

Drivability:
There was a time (not too long ago) when we were in a hit or miss situation as far as using a phone for audiophile listening. Those days are long gone with many newer IEM set-ups. I used a 3.5mm cable to access the standard 3.5mm output from an old Samsung phone. Incredible really, as the SR7 is perfectly balanced and has a nice middle warmth along with a big stage, really way bigger than expected in this union? So need an IEM for out-and-about……the SR7 is a perfect choice, especially with the major sound occlusion provided by the deep-seated semi-custom form! Ditch the Dongle, ditch any extra amps……you really don’t need them here….simply out of a phone you are fine. Yet if you do want the next level….of course a Dongle or DAP will take you there. Probably the great separation and stage (plus authority) is what (or at least part of why) this phone use works out so well…………..recommended.

Soundstage:
Even though the soundstage is big here, there needs to be a careful understanding of how exactly it works. Soundstage is incredibly dependent on source files. Get the SR7 a compressed stage from your older un-listened music file and become amazed how it doesn’t throw a big party between your ears. Nope, with that said, the size of the SR7 stage also has the ability to somehow go ahead and show subtle differences between modern well-recorded and sonically expanded stages. Also just because there is a setting that is used to maximize stage, that doesn’t mean the 3 other sound profile settings are offering up a lesser stage in the end. Yet frequency in playback between each of the four sound settings does affect playback stage………..with the both up setting somehow getting stage from the lows and the highs. Thus more bass frequency and more volumes of bass size into the stage.

With the above stated the soundstage sounds ultimately natural, and still natural at each setting. Why, because somehow it’s always connected here. But as an example in (both up) the stage still keeps relevance to just how much soundstage is in the song. These abilities are formed with every direction the stage takes place in. The soundstage is wide, deep and probably holds the least in the abilities in height, yet that is well done too. But the stage is primarily wide and deep. This depth allows for wonderful itemizations of spacial elements. Also often a soundstage can be synthetically enhanced through bright trebles, yet none of that is going on. The treble seems correct and natural in the end, and really one of the strong points here.

Treble:
Faint sparkles showcase an adequate but not any form of enhanced imaging or technicalities held with-in the stage. Meaning the treble is average yet bigger in relation to the price point, just big in imaging size and layers. Every once in a while there is an extra filigree (of cymbals) showing those 2 Knowles 33518 BAs are doing their thing, yet not super expanded out into the stage, at least not farther out from the rest of the stage, which is nicely large.

Midrange:
Such effective 4 Sonion 26U midrange BAs offer-up the size and clarity that comes with added driver mechanisms, big smooth extensions of midrange action holding (just like the treble)100% perfect timbre. At the same time tuned slightly reserved as far as vividness. What vividness is arrived at is through pure size. Just like a big truck in public is more noticeable simply due to size, but not paint job. Meaning there is grandeur here but a smoother integrated style. With that said vocals are not the brightest I've ever heard, and not super bright even while using the vocal setting.....yet these are still very much vocal centric. A full midrange allows for fully present and lush vocal textures, while placed into a noticeable midrange focus. Such a dialed-in midrange comes off neither pushed or pulled, but densely natural. Such a note-weight is encountered across the board, but limited in decays and note fall-offs.

Bass:
A single 9.2mm woofer goes ahead to become carefully subdued and faster upon use of the vocal setting, yet upon fully actualizing the bass (with the bass switch) it is nothing short of very big. While still offering pace and rhythm, there can be (a guilty pleasure style of) bass bleed found with bass setting use. Meaning despite the bass sloppiness, somehow musicality shows through? With the switch pulled down a more careful and controlled bass experience can be arrived at, also hearing the bass take a slightly back seat demeanor, but not 100%, meaning the whole message the SR7 is conveying centers around a warm and smooth style of playback balance.

Music:
My favorite part of the review:



Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski
Grand Turismo OST
Academy Race
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
Anyone listening to this OST should start-out by listening to the first song first.....this example is not the first song. Reason being that they introduce the theme at the start, then come-up with variations on that theme later. In just 10 seconds you will know why I switched the DIP-switches back to up/up....for stage! I want to hear it all, I want a home theater experience here. Any issues with my early testing are a thing of the past. Using the included cable we encounter pace and clarity in the bass department. In fact it’s the bass that will first emotionally move you in this song. Let me explain some IEM build theory for you. So if you were wondering what usually is the main difference from the Sound Rhyme SR7 and a different $100.00 IEM this explanation will suffice.....plus it will help explain this particular song. Often IEMs with less drivers simply put out less sound, the sound is not as big or as contrasty. So that $100.00 IEM, even though (maybe) technically good, and balanced……can only do so much. It will earn respect for being even, complete and correct……but it will lose points in size of replay normally. This is my realization after testing multitudes of IEMs in many price brackets over the years. This is what we are provided with here, SR7 size. Seven drivers, six of which are name brand Sonion/Knowles and they are providing the dynamic size here……a big size, but more than that this size is also filled-in with details. Now if those were not enough the 9.2mm DD does the rest. Now all that is fine, except we need something to play, we need something to actualize this experience. Meaning most of the time a single guitar in a room (as a recording) is not going to do it. While it may be technically correct and harmonically pure, it is not offering the stage of a well recorded orchestra or what an orchestrated OST can do! Sure there is alternative value to both (big stage and small stage) styles of music. There is nothing wrong with the simplicity of a single guitar and singer. If you have ever listened to a high-end stereo demonstration, often simplistic song files will be chosen by the demonstrator. Such an example of only a drum track may show a style of perfection in playback. This is simply because it’s easy to playback. There is a single source recorded (even with multiple microphones) and the drivers have to make sense of only one instrument. Here is the opposite, in that we have an amalgamation of elements…..a mix of challenging fast pace and multiple sonic events, all going on at once. Such songs showcase the SR7 for what it is, missing some of the details and being ever-so-slightly confused in playback, except getting the musicality delivered as well as the layers on events inside the stage!

In the past I have spent considerable length of time listening to Classical Music to which modern Soundtracks take elements of. But as a listener I have become bored with Classical, and consequently find OSTs much more fun; this song demonstrates the included ideas that get me going! This song starts out with an introduction of cellos but quickly progresses into bass at even 00:10 seconds. Violins also frame this opening out to the sides. It’s the quickness and correctness of this bass element that first gets our attention, yet both the naturalness and size (of it all) cause quite a stir here at Redcarmoose Labs. At just 00:17 seconds the first bass-drop takes place as a component of drums. Even here at the start we can very much start to understand the Hybrid methodology in action……the deep bass, the fastness of the treble additives being separated, and slightly disjointed in form. Each driver is doing its part to make the music both contrasty and complete…..that and as talked about earlier…….size! Probably my first learning experience with this particular IEM had to do with understanding its reaction to file quality. The SR7 will surprise you in offering a bigger stage than what was first encountered, but it is up to you to feed the SR7 correctly in order to realize this particular feature. Simply, I judged the soundstage abilities way too fast at the start. And truly that is probably the most rewarding thing about doing IEM reviews, when the IEM in question seems to surprise later-on with newly found abilities?

At 00:57 I can hear violins out in the distance continuing to introduce our main theme. And that is the magic of this particular music piece, that in a way it’s simple, yet the variations of theme playback seem almost endless? With 7 total drivers you can guess the SR7 is taking this all apart and offering it up for inspection. At 01:16 an ethereal chorus arrives, and I have chills. At 01:24 we can fully hear the bass alongside the chorus, yet it is very much in Hybrid fashion, giving us the full-experience and sending home once more why Hybrids are my very most favorite way to go. At 01:39 there are some higher pitched percussion elements, yet nothing is overly intense, but just on the border. And that single quality very much demonstrates what we have, being a big stage, deep lows and a very digestible and smooth midrange and treble, yet still getting us the contrasts and imaging we need to feel like we are getting 100%.

There is a single main question that I ask myself here. Could I live with this single SR7 IEM and have it be my only ear-phone? And at this young point, so early in the review, I have to say yes, yes I could easily live with this particular IEM, and not want anything else, it is that good……not perfect, but really, really good.

Probably the main attribute here takes place with how the bass is done, the quality is at first of course...........here in the music, they way it was mixed, how it was presented, but the next level takes place in how there is a visceral/fast and organic and deeply emotional aspect in SR7 bass replay……and additionally, that is probably why people went mad in the theater over this OST? But my humble Sony WM1A with the included SR7 cable and SR7 ear-phone brought this to life, and for that I’m grateful!



Lorne Balfe and Andrew Kawczynski
Grand Turismo OST
Follow Your Line
44.1 kHz - 24 bit
At 00:12 the music showcases a composite arraignment. Such layers of musical elements are the forte of the SR7. Here Lorne Balfe once again uses the whole stage yet inside of that stage we are gifted with layers of how each and every musical element interacts. At the start at 00:04 we are hearing the musical effect of a dramatic race engine as it performs the Doppler Effect as it passes.

Definition:
Compared to the emitted frequency, the received frequency is higher during the approach, identical at the instant of passing by, and lower during the recession.

At 00:13 the theme of the song starts right off, not wasting any time. This composite it seems has room for so many wonderful elements. Such is the landscape of the modern movie OST, utilizing the full (multi-track) ability of the modern recording studio, as in contrast to movies from the 1980s or 1930s. All the while a careful and sincere bass floats inside the mix, fully delineated and separate in placement. Such upper synthesizer chords are also doing a wonderful syncopated metronome starting at 00:13. Such sandwiching of chorus, bass elements as well as upper trebly noise additives make the mood here. We can hear the echoing of the chorus, yet the decay would be better with subtracting the BA devices. The BA double-edged sword, as we have to take the good with the bad, as BAs have faster take-offs, but also decay. This is just what we get……as a fully dissected and layered presentation…….with minimal echoes. This could also in-a-way be a style of Bach church music……lol…with a stretch of imagination. At 02:09 the music once again introduces its main, main musical theme…..almost like clockwork. At 02:20 the violins enter once again to show us a climax to the song, and while very “by-the-book”…………this type of music serves a purpose, as to be an accompaniment to the movie visuals.

Grand Turismo conclusion:
While not perfect, this album showed its share of quick and cheesy thrills, just the music was an event by itself and a testament to both the SR7 skills and modern musical recording developments. Does this single album delineate the SR7? It kinda does, in that we were given very technical bass replay, and way better than first thought when the SR7 arrived. Secondly we hear the attempt of BA reproduction to kind of offer a wide spectrum of playback tone and transients. While fast and well separated…..the SR7 is really trying to be all things in that we failed to hear any metallic BA timbre, a good thing, yet still there was no argument that at times we were introduced to slightly steely tones. Still, and I must repeat, still this is a value buy, in that there is a lot of entertainment here for the asking price. Also the SR7 seems to walk that perfect line of smoothness and crispness, that’s hard to do for a manufacturer. A quick change of the switches (to vocal setting) could enable a listener to hear the OST with a lower bass presence, except a big part of the fun is basking in the exquisite bass tone and technicalities!



DCD
Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
Windfall
88.2 kHz - 24 bit
Here hopefully we can be introduced to a new side of the SR7? While this music is often related to soundtracks, it is still very different. At 00:00 we are quickly introduced to a downbeat….at drop that could just as easily end a song, as start one. When in fact after subsequent further listening this bass is the rhythm and pace provided…..and continuously used to drive us onward. Yet we are introduced to a basic rudimentary down-up, down-up in bass notes. Such movements are contrasted by keys here. At 00:24 we are given what sounds like a flute, only it’s a sample of a flute, as much of their instrumentation are samples in fact. Such sounds walk that path of digital reverbs and as such show a complex decay (reverberation) structure. This sound I have years long relationship with, having this album both on vinyl, CD (import and domestic) and HiRes……and the timbre sounds pretty much correct. And in so many ways the SR7 does this style of music intrinsically well. The controlled yet slightly bombastic bass, the fast attack and decays of the 6 BAs in action…..very much a digital, yet organic style of ear event. This music has its character always in digital reverbs and how they are introduced with the music. It seems the longer DCD progressed, the more elaborate their instrumentation and studio effects became. Often saving Lisa Gerrard’s vocals till later, maybe for dramatic effect? As in this example…….in that her voice (with this album) is very carefully used, in what could be heard as sparingly perfect? And I have to ask myself how an album that only has Lisa Gerrard’s vocals as an additive to the second-half could be my favorite? That answer is much like the SR7 response, in that it’s not what you introduce to music that’s always the magic, it is what you take away from the sound that is of true benefits.

A rush of wind and we are at the 01:09 area in the song. At 01:12 a new addition comes sonically as trebly percussive effects making us take notice. Here the separation (from the bass) takes on additional value……..Hybrid value once more. These effects travel from right to left, encased in digital reverberations. And it is in these times of subtraction that the stage unfolds itself for the SR7, seemingly areas of distance show once more that it isn’t always how complex you make the music, that simplicity contains genius. Finally we are given more information to identify our embellishments, the treble details are part of layered keys that also hold the pitter-pat of subtle piano notes. What sounded like percussion at the start revealed itself to not be true percussion. Of course that is what the piano is, a mixture of both a string instrument and percussive properties……only the confusion starts when such character becomes further effect laden abstracted. At 01:47 the wind sound is back with us…….at 02:00 a more real piano comes in. Finally the message is complete, the statement is whole. And no, no vocals were used in the song, none at all.

Song conclusion:
Here this song's simplicity gives way to a clearer perception of both the good and bad points of the SR7. As great layering took place there was an absence of finite imaging. This blurriness was and is still musical, while not as defined as 7 drivers would have you believe…..there was still an overall ambiance that seemed to go well with his style of music…..the bigness and separation at hand. Of course the big bass was still kept in check on the high setting, being (ever so) slightly on the uncontrollable side, and again more musical than factual.



DCD
Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun
Dawn Of The Iconoclast
88.2 kHz - 24 bit
Once again a beat starts us off at the 00:00 mark. Such lows somehow are both big but still contain definition, and are in no way a stupid thud. Though the quality of the bass often lends itself to hearing longer decays than possibly natural……yet still part of the program here. Because we can hear the attack of the bass, hear the middle and hear a different resonance to the end, but it is almost like layers of bass? When in fact it is layers of reverberation at hand, it is just the overall character of the bass driver enhances this. We are gifted with a fanfare of horns…..not real horns of course (samples of horns) very few sonic elements are real in this fantasy world. This introduced sense of grandeur and excitement is the telltale sign of our vocalist arriving. Yep, she made it.

Her vocals are not in English, but a channeling of accent tongues seemingly coming from another world, maybe not for our understanding? Maybe they are an ancient language, long forgotten? It’s important to note that this is an example of how the SR7 can be many things, but not all of them at once. Hence the switches which will enable the ear-phone to be specialized, if that’s your goal. As stated earlier the different variations are all enjoyable, fun and pleasant, it’s just if you wanted to hear Lisa Gerrard, with both switches up, she is slightly less forward. And that brings us to the most important question of the review………Is the SR7 complete in any one setting? I would have to say it is. That means that even though Lisa Gerrard’s voice is more stand-out-ish with the vocal setting of one down and two up, I’m perfectly fine hearing her in the both-up setting, and not needing to make a change. With that said I have obviously heard her more forward in stance than with the two-up setting.

Here’s the kicker:
Different from what I would normally do, I thought it would be fun to go into the vocal setting once more for the second half of the DCD Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun album. And sure enough, I was given a more forward stance of Lisa Gerrard’s vocals. The bass was subdued which opened up such pathways. I mean you don’t have to do this, as both ways to experience the SR7 are fine, and it may not be so genre dependent, as it could be tonal preferences in the end?



DUNU SA6, Sound Rhyme SR7 and to the right DUNU VULKAN

Comparisons:
Here I have chosen two other IEMs to find how the SR7 relates. Strangely, I have chosen two DUNU brand IEMs. One, because I have a long history with the SA6 and VULKAN, and Two, because many know about how good they are. And…….finally three, because I love them both, yet I love the VULKAN more.

DUNU SA6 IEM: $549.00
2 Sonion AcuPass Vented Dual BA Woofers
2 Knowles Custom BA Midrange units
2 Knowles Custom Dual BA Tweeter units

DUNU VULKAN IEM: $379.00
8 mm DD Structural Foam Cell Dome with Soft Independent Surround
8 mm DD Nano-crystalline Titanium-Coated Diaphragm
2 Knowles Mid-High Driver BA units
2 Knowles Dual Super-tweeter BA units

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/dunu-vulkan.25887/reviews
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/dunu-studio-sa6.24665/reviews#review-24391

The SA6 came out in September of 2020, it seems like yesterday, but truth to be told, it was a while ago, especially in IEM years. Since that time there have been buckets of improvements to our little hobby. Yet back then and for a few years the SA6 was the darling of reviewers and listeners alike. Really in so many ways it’s complete.......still I wish it was more thorough in bass response. Also soundstage (while good) isn’t the best, also just like the SR7 it suffers a tiny bit in imaging clarity.

SA6 v SR7
First-off I wanted to explain that I’m not picking on the SA6, except that the differences here can’t be taken any other way. Meaning the SR7 is such a clear and concise improvement, it’s not a factor of sound preferences. It’s just that this is a fast moving industry and the newer values obtained are real and solid. The stage of the SA6 once more shows its smaller size, but inside of that the SA6 holds an off tone, a color showing the BA elements. While sure the 9.2DD inside the SR7 is less controlled than 2 vented Sonion sub-BAs, its stage is bigger, but more than that….the SR7 bass is simply more visceral and real. While both IEMs in question show a balanced and relatively smooth treble, the SR7 is both more contrasty, vivid and most of all real in replay. In spite of its lack of finite imaging, it’s just better because that imaging is bigger and more involving……sorry to say! In many ways this comparison is not fair, as times have moved on…..it is what it is.



VULKAN v SR7
So the VULKAN is priced only $10.00 more. And I will stand firm that no-matter what the VULKAN is incredible for what it is. There were days when I would put away everything and give the VULKAN its time alone. Strangely musical despite breaking many of the rules in audio, it was this musicality that had me coming back for more and more. With the SA6 I used the same cable and ear-tips as the SR7, but now due to MMCX I used the included VULKAN cable in 4.4mm.

Well, the magic....the DUNU Magic hasn’t left, and I don’t expect it to any time soon? The VULKAN is a classic, to me anyway. And it turns out to be the perfect comparison subject. Why? Well first off the bass is way more controlled. Yep, sitting back wearing a sports coat and talking in a sophisticated manner, never out of control and never blurry or out of line. When DUNU placed two very different 8mm DDs inside they were showcasing their R&D, bringing a sample of the IEM art that was both rare and exotic. Then when you figure in price-to-sound-value…….well this IEM goes off the charts in a hurry. No wonder it is often recommended by me and a slew of other listeners. There is a personality to this bass which is more detailed inside the stage showcasing a separation, but more than that, an individualization of the style the bass instrument is to begin with. While the VULKAN is lightly lower in bass authority it can do tricks too, meaning there is less bass so it sits back easier to control in the end. The VULKAN bass has less physicality, but is spread out to the distance of the stage, hence still big. Now the thing is there is also this pace issue with the VULKAN bass, that in itself makes both bass replays birds of a feather. It's just both wide, yet sitting slightly further back in VULKAN replay……but still emphasized to the max. The VULKAN bass is less visceral, which starts to travel up and blend with the rest of the midrange and treble. Meaning those too are slightly less forward and of coming from father back both in vividness and stance. Yet this slight sleepiness is maybe resulting from a style of quietness of background. Because there is more separation, more itemization than the SR7, and 2X more separation than the SA6. Things are less confused than both the SR7 and SA6. Where there is still a slowness and awkward split-second behind feeling to the VUKKAN bass timing which I like, where the SR7 is more straightforward and regular to what you know. While the stage isn’t quite the same between the two IEMs, where the VULKAN is sitting back almost like a pair of speakers in presentation, that in-fact I can see the speakers out in-front in my mind's eye. The SR7 is more forward which in-turn adds to involvement and entertainment…..and this continues all the way up to the treble area where the VULKAN shows a slightly reserved sculpturing, the SR7 more active and spread out. The VULKAN is slightly more reserved and easy going in comparison. Though strangely this darkness in the vividness of the VULKAN doesn’t make it any less of an IEM, just different. It’s like the SR7 would be my 5 o’clock to 10 o’clock IEM and the VULKAN would take over from 10 o’clock till 2AM.



SR7 Conclusion:
To tell you the truth, the SR7 was slightly more real than the VULKAN, more correct in technicalities and where the VULKAN left items out, those vary items were filled in with the SR7. And the thing is with my talk of listening times during the night, you may think the SR7 is aggressive and forward? You normally can’t get this vibrance with an IEM with-out a little robust fall-out especially at $369.00……….and that’s what we have. Images of layers are projected (big) forward and back and from side to side, yet this all takes place in a slightly uncontrolled blurry manner. While the stage is enormous, way bigger than first guessed, it is not fully filled in with all the details as more expensive IEMs can show. This all boils down to two major attributes that make the Sound Rhyme SR7 totally special in my book. One) Timbre, that is one thing that may be improving with this new wave of IEMs, because I’m starting to really take amazement at the perfect timbre recently. Two) Musicality, the musicality is so strong with this one, that all other attributes can get overlooked. It’s that physicality in size of the musical note, that realism that transcends critical imaging.

With the above said, the human psyche being what it is, goes to the extreme with these attributes. When in reality the SR7 is truly a very careful and balanced player. Never too harsh up top, or too heavy in one attribute of playback…….a gentleman carrying poise and reserve. The SR7 brings much of the same tone to phone playback if you so choose. And despite any drawbacks listed, will scale up with your best equipment to a remarkable level………..levels before completely untouched for this kind of money. There are 4 sound modes that can dial the SR7 into whatever genre you have of choice, or any personal internal sound preference. While extras included may be limited, that aluminum case is the cat’s meow! Even though it’s only 5 grams in weight, the medical grade 3D printed construction provides many twists and curvy shell facets…….yet there is no denying it leans on the side of big in size. The nozzle ends are a work of art, and hold my preferred ear-tips on with-out fail. So much so that I never have to pay much attention to how they are placed each time before a listening session. The cable is both sonically and visually a work of art, and hard to surpass unless you want to spend an equal amount to what the IEM itself costs. Visually this SR7 looks 100 times better in person, up close and personal……..the opposite of those on-line dating sites. LOL

A swarm of bees:
This is my best way to describe the effect of multiple BAs, a swarm of bees. And while more BAs added to a set-up offers often bigger more engaging entertainment, they can show a downside. Such examples as the SR7 with a full 12 BAs in action means 12 small almost microscopic metal reeds are vibrating all at one time. Such effects even can emit an extra level of buzz despite the 3 band crossover and sound tube dampeners. Yet in this very SR7 application, the tuning lowers pretty much all of the metallic sheen often encountered with BAs, resulting in great overall tone and musicality with a slight blurry congestion. Does the DUNU SA6 suffer from this? You bet, the buzz also covers up finite separation and details. Does the VULKAN suffer this, no somehow the BAs in the VULKAN emit a clearer yet duller displacement of sound response. So it ends with a give and a take, where adding the energy of 6 BAs adds a level of stage size and immersion, yet generates a style of distortion which hinders our pin-point imaging. We are left with big layers of response except busy music like the Grand Turismo OST will show less detail inside of those big images and offer less detail than expected from 6BAs.



With all that said……..

Still:
This new Sound Rhyme SR7 addition to our little hobby (still) shows progression, a step into simply better sound value for the money. You come home and are looking for musical escape, and that my friends is what the SR7 is best at, a distraction though colorful correct sound replay, something that is not easy to accomplish at the going price of $369.00. It plays every genre I used, is easy to power and fits like a million, what else are you looking for? But most of all the SR7 somehow never got boring, never needed me to look for something better skilled or better tuned? And sure you can spend more money, heck you can easily double your money spent on a fancy new EST driver IEM……..or simply spend only $101.00 more and get the DTE500 from Sound Rhyme. But EST drivers are not always perfect either. When I heard this nice faint cymbal placement, way out to the side, and even though I knew it was BA created, I thought to myself, ESTs don’t reproduce cymbals exactly this way. This way was ever so slightly metallic, except the SR7 has such good tone that the cymbal was both separated and itemized in the most special of ways………holding what I thought was perfect timbre and enough detail to make me smitten with the SR7. Truly the SR7 is worthy of a full-five star score!

$369.00
https://penonaudio.com/sound-rhyme-sr7.html

Disclaimer:
I want to thank Penon/ISN Audio for the love and for the Sound Rhyme SR7 Universal IEM review sample.

Disclaimer:
These are one person's ideas and concepts, your results may vary.

Equipment Used:
Sony WM1A Walkman DAP MrWalkman Firmware 4.4mm
Sony TA-ZH1ES DAC/AMP Firmware 1.03
Electra Glide Audio Reference Glide-Reference Standard "Fatboy" Power Cord
Sony Walkman Cradle BCR-NWH10
AudioQuest Carbon USB
Samsung Phone 3.5mm

TONALITIES (switch 1 up or 1 down): 8.5/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.2/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8.5/10
ACCESSORIES: 9/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.2/10

INTRO

Soundrhyme seem to be a rather new IEM company from China, but it doesn't mean they aren't busy. Quite the opposite since they have already launched 5 IEMs, from entry level single dynamic driver SR1 to TOTL multi BA SR8. Their most praise earphones is the SR5 which tend to proove they excell in hybrid drivers configuration.

Today I will review their mid tier model, the SR7.

Priced 369$, the SR7 is an hybrid IEM using 1 x 9.2mm dynamic driver+ 4 x Sonion Balanced Armature 26U + 2 x Knowles Balanced Armature 33518. As well it have 2 tuning switch offering 4 different sound flavors.

After being so underwhelmed by their SR1 that I don't even make a review of them, let see if the SR7 offer a sound experience that stand apart in sub-500$ IEM market.

CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES



The SR7 are real looker, which was a very welcome surprise. The construction is made of medical grade resin plastic and feel very sturdy as if molded in one piece. The shape is ergonomic but a bit chunky, its not an issue due to elongated front shape and small enough size of the nozzle, which is made of metal.
Their the tuning switch and a venting hole at its side. The venting hole do leak some low decibel noise but overall isolation is quite good. The 2 pin connect is fully embeded and cover with resin plastic, promising long durability.



The included cable is of very good quality too. It's a 8 strand silver plated cable that feel very sturdy. I choose the 4.4mm balanced plug, which is nice. You can either choose this cable or the 3.5m single ended version.




I'm not really caring about packaging presentation, and this is what look the box of SR7. Some people find the letter format to have an 80's look that feel cheap. I don't but it's a minimalist box presentation that sure don't feel premium until we open this box.



Not only the cable is of prime quality that put to shame even kilobucks IEMs, but we have 2 carrying case of great quality including one made of metal that have screwable top. Other one is false leather, with plenty of space to fit IEMs and cable.
Then we have 3 size of silicone ear tips and 2 pair of memory foams tips. This is great value accessories that I would evaluate between 50$ and 70$ of value. I prefer this than fancy packaging with poor quality cable and carrying case.
All in all, very satisfy by both construction and accessories.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS



Let's begin by saying i was very sceptikal about Soundrhyme, for 2 reasons: i feel the hype was a bit hysterical about SR5 then i get SR1 and was so underwhelmed and puzzled by how bad they sound that I don't even review them.
Then I fall on the graph of SR7 shared on Chifi Love facebook group and go: wait, this seem this tonal balance is similar to Penon Globe which i love alot but have 2bas vs 6bas for the SR7! It's not another harman target tuned IEM hourray!

Then i get them.

And at very first listen it was a crush, musicality wise. And perhaps confirm my quest for tonal balance preference should explore more this kind of warm bassy mid centric tuning, where pinna gain isn't thinked for deaf people. Some prefer midrange meat less boosted presence, while other need this timbre density, I try to be in the middle and it seem it's harder to achieve with single DD or planar than hybrid when it come to proper layered of low, mid and highs.…

And this is why the SR7 hit the sweet spot for me. It's technicaly capable enough, warmish way and can go near basshead L shape to smooth neutral.

And it never ever sound thin. Never sound dry. Never sound harsh, so it's a laid back listen non dull way. Thanks to this wonderfull 1dd+6bas implementation. So, well, the SR5 hype might not be hysterical finaly, even if I haven't heard them: Soundrhyme seem to offer a diversify tonality palete for different type of listener.

Then let say I wasn't exactly meant to love those in another way: I'm not a fan of tuning switch. But again the SR7 surprise me here, they play with exact bass and lower mid range sweet spot so you can get 2 different IEM that sound good. Ok, their 4 tuning choice but 2 of them are so subtle that one switch would have been enough. Bassy and neutral. Call it a day.

Yet their 4 choices: Pop Music (1-2down), Heavy Bass (1up2down), Clear vocal (1down-2up), wide soundstage (1-2up). Simply put: 1 play with DD bass impedance and 2 play with BAs, but in a more subtle way than DD where you get a consequent bass boost (4db or so).




So, when the 1 switch is Up you get full bass joy and when switch 2 is Up its full treble joy. When 2 is down, it's where i'm really not sure things are OK, BA seem tamed and not acting normaly, but for the dynamic driver the impedance damping work better.

For this review I will focus on Wide Soundstage and Clear vocal tuning switch, which are the more coherent and good sounding choice. Simply put, putting switch 2 down tame the dynamic of upper treble section between 4-10khz, so it seem smoother and more distant, tend to push upper mids focus a bit more



BASS

Switch UP add quite an extra amount of boost and will even be perceive as basshead by some, but we are in warm and balanced territory, very well done way with just the right amount of natural lower mid range warmth transition that benefit low harmonic of vocal or cello, thickening timbre, making it lusher too. Vocal tend to feel wider and fuller too so this isn't a bad bass boost at all and surely main tuning focus of SR7.
So let's underline that depending of mids and treble boost, the bass will be perceive 2 times more or less boosted, for ex if pinna gain and upper mids are 10db and you got a 5db mid-sub bass boost, it will sound bright neutral and not very bassy, here pinna gain is low, about 5db bass boost...so the bass dominate the frequency when we got boom in bassy music, it's around 6db boost and more about extra sub bass completing mid bass boost of Switch Down.
We are in chunky bass territory with a vibrant rumble sustain that doesn't trigger lot of resonance, it's meaty and flexible withint it's own juicy impact.
The bass impact is heavy. Both sub bass and mid bass is boosted, so the slam is round, or thump is warm when its acoustic kick drum. If the SR7 wasn't an hybrid, this will sound muddy, but bass layering is articulated well enough to avoid that, but it's not a clean or transparent bass, in that regard your better to lower the switch, which offer more texture too and better separation with mids.
Unlike IEM with just sub bass boost, its not lacking in punch definition but its more tactile and physical thant perfectly define and textured. The bass do stole air in instrument separation mid range wise, warming it up with background rumble blur when big bass hit.

Switch down make the bass near neutral and flat but we still have slight mid bass boost and again, it's not thin sounding nor lacking in impact but the rumble cut shorter and we have slight sub bass roll off. Kick drum this time is quite well define and textured, with a round punch to it which is very addictive, its fast and thight too, don't warm the mids which open up more. Bass line are a bit more distant than kick, but the presence is textured, its the physicality and deep extension that isn't really highlight, but kick and bass line are well layered still, it just need a bit more critical listening effort to perceive it properly.

MIDS

Switch down + Switch 2 UP mids are very good, clean, holographic and well layered, though a bit centered and intimate in presence. Both male and female vocal are lush sounding and full bodied, with well carved presence that doesn't feel recessed, nor too push fowards, so slightly lean but not lacking in dynamic. Timbre is natural though a bit more textured and less warm than both switch UP. Nonetheless, those aren't bright mids and they are smooth sounding, free of sibilance, with a bit softed attack edge that add euphonic joy to them. I really love the vocal which are creamy and highly musical to my ears, when female vocal are breathy in nature, we get the full density of it with this velvety timbre that is cuddly for they ears. This is an anti-harman target mid range approach, opposite of shouty and certainly not overly boosted in presence.
Piano is very well done too, with good note weight and 3D note presentation due to its meaty timbre that feel tonaly right but isn't edgy in definition nor very long in natural decay, so the attack is fast and gently blurred in sustain, not in a way that affect sound perception, its just not clinical or analytical at all.

Even less so boosted in presence grain when both Switch UP, which offer just a hint thicker and darker mid range were bass mix up more freely with the macro musicality. It tend to make vocal a bit bigger in meaty presence too. Violin still have good attack lead and bite, so it's not to warm but gain in low pitch density. With this bassier tuning the mid range lack a bit of deepness and crispness and transform the SR7 into a big single Dynamic driver musicality, warm way, but multi layered way too.

TREBLE

Then for the treble, i will go 1down2up and 2switch down.

Let's begin by saying that even if SR7 have 6 balanced armature, it doesn't mean it can deliver sparkle and brilliance properly. I havent heard any BA deliver this in my whole life, only EST and DD can deliver this natural snap+decay and sparkly brilliance. But this is a very cohesive treble response which is very surprising for the number of BA it use, their no spike or timbre texture balance issue, it's smooth and full sounding, weighty, not thin at all. A hint dryish but with hint of warmth to it, so not cold nor dull.
Well, not dull when switch 2 is up since when it's down the treble feel more distant and colder in fact, but cleaner too as if resonance was less blurry, more damped, darker especially upper treble wise.
You do have some percussions snap time to time but nothing intense or impressive in term of energic bit. My main issue with the treble is the lack of air and sens of openess as well as nothing lack of brilliance sparkle. Violin attack feel polished in bite while acoustic guitar have perhaps a bit too much low harmonic focus, so it's bodied in resonance but don't expeal the sparkle and decay it should. Saxophone will sound excellent as well as high pitch soprano female vocal will sound non fatiguing.
This isn't treble head highs that will trigger wow effect in term of micro details rendering, it's really benifiting the macro resolution by making it it warmly rounded as a whole.
In busy complex track, this lack of treble edge and bite will tend to darken the rendering, making us struggle to find all instrument and percussions in the soundscape.
All in all, the treble technical performance is a bit underwhelming.


Overall soundstage isn't mind blowing but quite wide and tall, so it offer an immersive spatiality when you'r put close to center stage, it's an intimate sound experience not an airy, clean or deep one and even less so hall-like one.

This mean the imaging is rather average, unless with simply music track the lack of clean resolution and slight bass blur affect proper positioning. As well, vocal are wide and thick in presence, so it darken clarity of other mid or high range instrument. Add to that the softed percussions and you can conclude it's the opposite of a monitor like IEM.

SIDE NOTES:

At 12ohm (unstated sensitivity) the SR7 are very easy to dribe and even a phone would be enough. Still, due to their warmish nature they can benefit clean source like Questyle QP2R or bright detailed and textured sounding source like Hidizs S9pro. I feel high gain can affect the balanced armature by adding harmonic distortion but haven't do intense A-B testing to confirm this, still i prefer how SR7 sound with Moondrop Dawn 4.4 and Questly M15 at Low gain.
Ear tips choice is important when it come to hybrid with so much BAs and i suggest wide bore like Penon blue eartips or KBear KB07, this permit a more open and well layered sound experience.

COMPARISONS

VS HIDIZS MS5 (1DD+4BAs)

MS5 is more U shape and brighter, bass is cleaner but less chunky and well rounded in impact. Tone is dryier, timbre thinner, mids are more sibilant and artificial sounding as well as more distant and lacking in fullness. Mids are more transparent and texture is more boosted as well as presence. It's more open and deep too. Treble is dryer, thinner, more prompt to harshness and don't sound very cohesive since it put too much focus on percussion and fake sens of air but again it does sound more airy and open than SR7 which have darker treble overall, but still better balanced. Sound layering is more holographic and rich than flatter MS5.
Soundstage is taller and wider with the SR7 but way deeper with MS5. Imaging is crisper and more resolved with MS5, so better in separation and sharper in accuracy.

All in all, while on par in term of technicalities, MS5 tonality feel wonky in balance and don't offer extra bass tuning choice, so SR7 is an easy choice since bassy or warm neutral tuning choice are both better balanced and more musical. MS5 just sound more technical, in a negative way.

VS PENON GLOBE (1DD+2BAs)

This is a surprising comparisons since I was expecting underwhelming technical performance with similar tonal balance, which isn't exactly the case here because the Globe is more U shape and hint less mid centric than SR7, which can go notably warmer with bass boost switch too…
So the bass is biggest difference, Globe have a cleaner and less punchy and chunky bass, with more sub resonance and deeper extension but not as vibrant and sustain rumble energy. Their less bass bleed too compared to SR7 bass version, so the mids have more BA timbre but in a good way, it's this great Sonion BA with hint creamy presence, so overal mids while a bit thinner are more open and transparent, but lighter in note weight and a hint less smoothed in upper mids.
Then the treble seem fuller in sound layers with SR7, thicker and more creamy, less edgy and airy, less snappy too but less thin. Globe have more treble air but not as rich and colorfull highs, it's cleaner, the snap is crisper, but it doesn't pick up everything in the mix and add fake air to the sound that is lacking with SR7 which is more mid centric and thicker in multiple sound layers and warmed sound info.
Soundstage is similar in wideness, a hint less tall but notably deeper with Globe that have more receissed center stage.
Imaging being cleaner and timbre being more transparent, it permit to make Globe sound more define in instrument separation, bass is better separated too, vocal aren't glued to other mids instrument so overall spatial cue is sharper than darker SR7.

All in all, SR7 is more mid centric but even without bass boost warmth, it's not as open and crisp sounding as more U shape Globe, which make them even more impressive since its an hybrid with 2BAs, not 6 like the SR7. But this is the explaination here, more BAs can mean more euphonic resonance and blur, that benefit timbre and mids fullness but not resolution clarity. So here the Globe is the technical beast.

CONCLUSION


I truely love the Soundrhyme SR7 but it's mostly about it's tonal balance and natural timbre as well as the fact we have 2 soundsignature: a bassy one that deliver high amount of guilty pleasure and warm neutral that is more mature and lean in balance, yet deliver appealing mid range and overall smooth and cohesive treble.
Sure, i find switch 2 a bit underwhelming in term of treble tweak and at they end would prefer a one switch IEM so my mind don't have doubt about second switch choice, but this is nit picking.

The real critic I have here is that putting more BA's doesn't equal in cleaner sound nor achieve greater sens of imaging than using 2 well implemented and tubed BA like in the Penon Globe or Fan2. It tend in fact to offer a more meaty sound layering, affecting sens of proper clean silence in instrument separation.

Nonetheless, this dense and rich holographic musicality is highly appealing and captivating as well as unique, something important for an IEM collector.

All in all, Soundrhyme SR7 is an extremely musical sounding earphone with 2 soundsignature that both deliver natural timbre and enough fun, basshead or neutral way.

If your a bass, vocal and mids lover enjoying diversify music style , the extremely versatile SR7 will cover all those very well and don't induce hearing fatigue due to it's smooth, non shouty, trebly or harsh tonality.

Recommended.

------------------------------------------



PS: I want to thanks Penon for sending me this review sample. I have no affiliated program with them nor any official sponsoring, but do enjoy this store and the IEMs choice they have. As always, their nothing more important to me than integrity and freedom of mind, and this subjective sound impressions follow this untouchable value.


You can order the Soundrhyme SR7 for 369$ here:https://penonaudio.com/sound-rhyme-sr7.html

SOUND RHYME SR7 - I CANT DECIDE HOW MUCH TO CHILL
"PROBABLY FIRST TIME EVER I COULD NOT PICK A CLEAR CHOICE IN THE TUNING SWITCH CONFIG THAT WAS MY FAVOURITE THEY ARE ALL EXCELLENT"

Now let's get into it: The Techy Stuff
1DD + 6BA
1x 9.2mm Dynamic Driver ?
4x SONION 2600 series Balanced Armatures for the mids.
2x Knowles 33518 Balanced Armatures for the Highs
2 Tuning Switches with 4 Kinds of Tunings ( Sort Of )
3 Way Crossover
Impedance shows 12ohm on website 17ohm on the box?
The shell is a ENVISIONTEC 3D Printed shell using German Tech.
Cable is 8 Strand Silver Plated Copper Cable that you get a choice of 3.5mm SE or 4.4 Pentaconn Balanced Option 0.78 2 pin termination.

More information can be found here and non-affiliated link: https://penonaudio.com/sound-rhyme-sr7.html

Purchased from Penon Directly w a discount . THANK YOU!
Subjective Part of my Audio Review -

(TDM - me) was able to obtain a transcript of the actual conversation with the engineer and a test Audiophile Guineapig and it went like this:

Audiophile GP; " Make me something crazy musical with killer vocals ok"….
Engineer; " Try this sample I put 2 Knowles BA in for the mids to give you some great vocals"….
Audiophile GP; " Sounds nice, but the bass is overpowering the mids and highs"….
Engineer; " let me try this…. Ok we reduced the bass by -8db"….
Audiophile GP; " Noice very balanced almost there still wishing for more organic mids"….
Engineer; "Here you go try this version I added 2 more BA and switch to some very highly regarded Sonion 2600 series for a total of 4!"….
Audiophile; Taking a quick listen "Yeah man that’s what I was talking about JUST WOW!'….
- Bean Counter Steps In; " EXCUSE ME THAT’S GOING TO COST TOO MUCH LETS GO FOR BELLSING BA!, NOBAODY CAN HEAR THE DIIFERENCE!'….
At this point the Audiophile walked over to bean counter and said; " Listen I don’t condone physical violence but the Sonion BA are staying! Make this work at a affordable price or I will tell your mom you don’t eat you veggies at lunch!"….
Back on point ….
Audiophile GP; "Sweet vocals my man; but when I crank it up the highs make me want to turn it down can you do something?"….
Engineer; "Ok re-tuned it where I made the BA Highs a lot more relaxed you should be able to play it louder."….
Audiophile; "Wow that’s better but"….
Engineer; "BUT WHAT!"….
Audiophile; "Sorry but I kind of miss that big bottom end now that I can dial it to 11 , EDM sounds a bit ….weak."
Engineer; "Came up with a great idea nobody has thought of before, Going to put a few switches on the side to attenuate the bass for the Vocal tuning and when you flick the switch BIG BOOTY BASS as you asked for!"….
Audiophile; " Dude you are a genius that’s amazing two completely different tuning's! One for sweet Vocals and the Other for Big Booty Bass and Vocals you really outdid yourself on this one!"…
Audiophile GP; "What's the other switch do I flicked it but didn't really hear a difference?"…
Engineer; "I had a extra spot so I told the Bean Counter It adds value for the pricing to make him happy …. also attenuate the highs a tad so its not fluff but it is mostly just for show."
Audiophile GP; " Outstanding! Excuse me while I just take these for a 8 hours zone out session… My brother from another mother I LOVE YOU! And these IEM's"….
Engineer; " Ok my … Dude RIGHT ON! ROCK ON!"
Audiophile GP; " What are you calling these ones?"….
Engineer; " THE SR7 - Stands for Sound Rhyme and has 7 Drivers on each side!"….
Audiophile; " OK that really makes some other companies just throw out some weird ZXYZ name."
Engineer; "WE ARE SOUND RHYME AND ARE PLAYERS!"

Disclaimer: (Some of this I translated and may or may have not got the exact wording correct and improvised a bit because I could not read Chinese but I am pretty sure it went like that)

I share my impressions as I hear them with my ears.
As all our ears are different shapes & size so what I hear as bright or bass heavy -you might hear as dull and Vise-Versa; just something to be mindful of.

What makes my ears happy as a sound signature is a slightly more aggressive L shape. I love my Bass Sub and Mid Bass slam, love it all actually; and in balanced quantity. With the Bass, I prefer a faster decay the faster the better so as to not bleed into the mids., I am treble sensitive and prefer a slightly darker warmer replay with good treble extension.

I prefer the fast speedy bass of the Beryllium Coated Driver of my Xenns Mangird UP with a Beryllium Coated Driver. Of course, there are exceptions in the market - as I also find the bass of the Bio Diaphragm used in the Yanyin Canon special - has some special sauce like an 8" subwoofer that feels like a 12" Has the slam and some serious sub-bass! And the super cool Copper Alloy Shell IKKO Obsidian OH10 does some magic to the bass.

My music Library is widely varied from; Metallica, Great White, Cowboy Junkies, Pink Floyd, Adelle, Melisa Ethridge, Fleetwood Mac, Five for Fighting, Manskin, Poncho Sanchez, Jimmy Smith, Chopin, The Crystal Method just to name a few. When not listening to my test tracks the majority is Jazz or Alternative Rock especially Female Rock. Lorde, Halsey, Alanis Morrisette, Evanescence. All depends on my mood.

Sources: E1DA SG3, Shanling UP5, Geshelli JNOG J2 with AKM4493 chip. Truthear SHIO (Dual Cirrus Logic 43198 DAC Chips) ifi ZENDACII and iFi ZENCAN
DAP/TRASPORT: From Lenovo Laptop with Tidal, Hiby R6iii ( ES9038Q2M ), Samsung S22 Ultra with DSD Files.
Amps: LoxjiP20 & XDUOO MT-604 tube hybrid amps and Topping A90D Amp 4.4 Pentagon Balanced Out - Unless stated
Tips Used for the Hola were the JVC FX10 SPIRAL DOTS Tips I found for Best Result and subjective: Short Wide Bore are recommended to maximize stage my preference at the expense of perceived bass enhancement with narrow bore tips.

iFi Stack with the Burr Brown DA not a good pairing. I found it too warm and preferred the A90D/ Geshelli J2 combo worlds better. Strait off the Hiby R6iii also fantastic.

My Format has changed with community feedback. So now I will list the music tracks I used & why with my musical impressions of the playback using that track. I hope this will give you some context for my library and give you some contexts to compare using the same tracks.

SOME STANDOUT TRACK IMPRESSIONS:
Let's Begin: Most Impressions done with Bass Switch ON and Treble Switch ON unless noted.

#1 "Arsonist Lullaby" by Hozier

• No base bleed and just excellent bass notes, male vocals are outstanding.

#2 "Poem Of Chinese Drum" Yim Hok-Man

• OKAY this track is over 10 minutes long just solid drumming. I hear well the subtleties of the attack and the decay were so nice you can hear the drumskins resonate and trail off very musically done this is a very good dynamic driver. I listen to all 10 minutes multiple times and at high volumes it certainly tickles your ear hairs.

#3 "All My Friends Are Here" by Joe Satriani

• The SR7 is not a resolution monster. Because of the relaxed highs instruments don't lack the tonality but what you're missing is some of the sharpness or crispness that you would get in an IEM that have more high frequency energy if you're looking for that kind of tuning the SR7 might disappoint.
• The ascending a major also sounded a bit monotone not that it didn't scale it correctly it I've just heard better presentations of this track and again here because of the relaxed highs electric guitar riffs lack a bit of energy.

#4 "I Need A Man To Love" by Janice Joplin

• In the up up position it had perfect female vocals and the extra base made it even more fun on this track I didn't find it made female vocals too thick it was a great listen.

#5 "Marvin Gaye " by Charlie Puth and Meghan Trainor

• Both the male and female vocals sounded perfect so much fun base doesn't wash out the vocals again and it's just a really fun and bassy track good one to showcase how the SR7 can do outstanding vocals and still keep the bass in the mix.

#6 "All My Friends Are Here" by Joe Satriani
The Mixing of this multi layered track gives you a good sense of a IEM's ability to present stage depth and Micro Dynamics again.
The replay was excellent great layering of instruments, guitar sounded bang on. Well done PENON

#7 "Medellin" by Madonna

• Vinyl the only word to describe the playback BASS OMG and vocals!

#8 "I want It All" by Queen

• I will say on this track that the stage that the SR7 can belt out is nothing short of amazing. Ohh and you can also get the volume to about 13!

#9 "Check It Out" by Nicki Manaj

• Another track I was kind of gravitating to with the up up position just because the sub base has so much great extension and fast musical mid bass here on this track the vocals by Nikki were perfect spot on but also the male and female vocals throw in some crazy stage and what's really even more amazing is the vocals can keep up with the base it was a wow presentation!

#10 "Thriller" by Michael Jackson

• The pan from right to left stage is so cool nice rumble Michaels vocals had a certain edge and it sounded perfect it's actually very balanced and so incredibly smooth

#11 "Give" by Nils Lofgren

• The guitar and vocals what a combo of OMG replay and such wicked fun.

#12 "Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove (LIVE)" by Dead Can Dance

The stage is massive clearly impresses with the 10th's ability to convey a real sense of the live recording and the size of the venue, quite excellent.

#13 "Nie Pokonasz Milosci (Remastered)" by Hania Rani

• Not all roses of course on the SR7 with the up up position the piano sounded great on the down up position I thought the piano was missing some note weight and dynamics in the overall song I certainly preferred it more with the up-up position.

#14 "J.S Bach Cello Suite No1 in G major" by Tina Gau

• So here again with the Jekyll Hyde personality of the SR7 with cello if you put it in the up up position it sounded very nice instruments that play in the lower octaves play really well in this position but in the down up position again I found that was missing some note weight

#15 "Vivaldi Double Cello Concerto Mvt#1" by Tina Guo

• A real standout track for multi-layers instrument separation. Here I find some of the shortcomings of the SR7 with the relaxed treble is that you find some instruments won't be stand out perfect tonality and the timber because they're missing some of that energy that you would get if you had more in the upper mid and highs.

#16 "Chemical Mentalist" by The Crystal Method

• EDM SLAM No sibilance or harshness present just massive amounts of fun that makes you turn it up very- very loud.

OK that was jus some tracks that gave me a good sense of what the SR7 was all about.


OVERALL SOUND IMPRESSIONS:
Upon first listen I found with the up up position in my first listen and initial thoughts that the bass was a bit boomy and it would bleed into the vocals enough to affect it quite a bit. So ongoing 20+ hours later and even more so now as I keep listening to the SR7 at 80+ hours that impression has mitigated almost entirely the bass actually starts playing lower and it seemed that the BA's have caught up enough to make that a non-issue. There is still on occasion a few tracks where it is quite base heavy and you have female vocals that you do find that the vocals are a tad thick but you listen to a track right after that and it will sound perfect so I think this is really track dependent and probably genre specific as well as source dependent on a more resolving less warm replay.

OK let's talk switches so firstly there are two switches on the side the first switch affects the base when the unit gets shipped mine came with the up up position that means that it has the full bass and the full treble.

DD + UD Position I found the treble does not change much and maybe I should have spent more time critically listening to the SR7 in this form, after seeing the changes when I graphed the SR7, I decided to leave the switch to the UP position permanently.

UU- 80+ Hours
OK in my journey with the SR7 I put on wide-bore tips with the JVC spiral dots and left them there, because they're my favorite tip and I know what they do to stage. Now the cables this was an interesting one. Where sometimes IEM's are completely unaffected by cables, I found the SR7 was a different case. I tried one afternoon with the PENON vocal cable as I love what this cable does to certain IEM's but it was definitely not the right pairing for this one.

What I found was it did do was added too much of a good thing and it muddied up the bottom end bass made it bloated and just brought the vocals to forward where it sounded too unbalanced. After I switched out to the stock cable I found things cleaned up a whole lot and in the end I ended up just using a SPC cable for the rest of the entire impressions and I think that's a great combination. The Stock cable was a good choice.

Now with the extra base and mid base because it adds quite a bit into there as well with the up up position I find that the stage also is affected compared to the down up position where it was better. Base heavy tracks put out some serious bass at the expense of some resolution and details that get rolled over.

The UU position adds quite a bit of note weight to the overall presentation but there was only a few tracks I ever found where female vocals added or changed the tonality but not really enough to throw out the experience on most tracks.
Overall with this setting I was just enamored with the quality of the base and kind of wowed that the SR7 could keep up vocal wise when belting out some serious low frequencies simultaneously it's quite a interesting presentation and when I haven't heard before. This Sound Rhyme did it so well.

DU-80+ Hours
OK the DOWN UP position here mid base is still excellent and I just love the energy and the speed I love this kind of base glide and it is definitely my favorite.

You could say that this is by far the most vocal forward setting and you would be correct you get a great sense of height and depth and width in the staging with this setting so if you prioritize vocals and stage then this would be the setting for you.

Bass heads might not prefer this setting because well it's more of a balanced one and still very vocal forward it has great organic base but here on this position the vocals are definitely taking center stage.

Final Thoughts:
The SR7 with the relaxed treble just allows you to play this IEM loud - crazy loud, loud as you want, louder than you would normally if you had one with more treble it's definitely non fatiguing and for that is dangerous and addictive.

The Sound Rhyme's tuning won't be for everyone and doesn’t play all kinds of libraries, classical, instrumental and highly detailed music wont be the the Sr7's strong suite. EDM, Rock, Reggae and Vocals and big bass you will love it.

I found the SR7 took a little while for it to actually burn in. For those of you that don't believe it well it's OK just stick it on a burning rack please for at least 20 hours before you give your final impressions please.

With the base switch on The Sound Rhyme SR7 goes from a hyper vocal centric IEM to a seriously bassy vocal centric IEM.

Compared to: PENON FAN2, I really wanted to compare it against the FAN2 another vocal goddess! , because it's one of my all-time favorites IEM's. Some of the things that I thought that the SR7 did differently than the F2 was of course with the up up position the bass overall sub bass especially is in a great deal more quantity that the fan two only dreams of doing. Where the fan two is very vocal centric as well the mid base and the base is considerably tamer compared against the SR7. So if you ever loved the vocals and the vocal forwardness of the F2 too but thought maybe I want a little bit or a whole lot more bass here is the SR7.

Something to note is in the Down Up position the bass between the two is very comparable but what the SR7 adds is so much more information in the mids. Vocals seem more effortless and natural, not as forced if that makes sense.

Also what I found was that the vocals are just as forward with the SR7 as they are with the F2 but with the four Sonion balanced armatures I found it brought an extra level of depth and smoothness that the fan 2 didn't quite get.
Lastly the F2 is more top end energetic so for loud listening and longer chill our sessions the SR7 has the F2 beat. Both are great and kind-of complement each other especially if you like vocal centric sound signatures. I feel blessed to have both and can pick up one or the other depending on my mood.

IN CONCLUSION:
I really have enjoyed the SR7 I think it's unique I don't have another IEM that does quite what this one does in such a special way you could sit and enjoy your favorite vocals with the base switch off and just get lost in the music. I loved the Bass switch off tuning just as much as with it ON. The tuning is so well done.
The SR7 will be in my daily rotation.

Yeah with the bass switch on all I can say is that I'm kind of shocked that this IEM can really just do that kind of tuning and pull it off. Where you still get this lush warm crazy vocal forward presentation while getting simultaneously slammed with sub bass and a great amount of fast speedy mid bass that just adds a musicality and dynamic replay that is worth hearing.

I can honestly say I've never experienced another IEM like the SR7 that also tuning switches or swappable nozzles - where I couldn't decide what tuning I like best most times you flick the switches and listen and flick the switches some more and flick the switches some more and do some more listening and in the end you come to a conclusion where yeah for sure this is your preferred tuning and you leave it there.

Not This Sound Rhyme! I love this one in all positions, feel grateful that I can truly enjoy the different tunings. The switches were implemented nicely, bring real value to my listening experience and for once not a gimmick.

Really great value in today's very competitive market and will appeal to those who enjoy a relaxed treble, a fatigue free replay and a IEM with quality solid low end without sacrificing your love for vocals.
Did I mention the Big Booty Bass!

WELL DONE SOUND RHYME - I LOVE YOU SR7

Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
My Video review is here: TO BE DONE LATER

My QuBuz Playlist:
Listen to the playlist Test Tracks by tonedeafmonk.audioreviews@gmail.com on Qobuz https://open.qobuz.com/playlist/14733715

My SQUIG:
https://tonedeafmonk.squig.link/

My YouTube Chan:
https://www.youtube.com/@tonedeafmonk

My Discord:
https://discord.gg/hhyg5PKK5X