Canalworks CW-L05QD ($1250)
Overall, the L05QD is very clearly an analytical IEM- lovers of a musical sound stay far, far away. On the flip side, though, you gain crystal clear clarity. The NT6 and NT6 Pros were at the same shop, and the L05QD clearly bested the korean pair in this regard. It felt like a super clear, uber transparent window into the music. Effortless.
After my audition, the shop assistant came and talked to me. How did you like it? The clarity is insane, but it's a bit too analytical for my tastes, I replied. That's why I was grinning, he quipped, apparently this sells really well in Japan, but here... Well, let's just say it's a bit overdone for local tastes.
Update: After some discussions with shotgunshane, I went to try the LQ05 again. Again I felt the clearly lacking subbass, and the lack of warmth seemed to lead to a pinched image, in fact, the clarity on the LQ05 seems to come from basically only a crystal clear presentation of all the resonant parts of the sound. I heard everything, but I couldn't feel much else- the enveloping part of the sound- that upper-bass and lower-mid- seems very much missing here. I also heard the same punchy midbass that continued to even sound a bit sharp. The mids were again super clear. Compared to the other CIEMs I had on hand, the Viento R had the tamest treble, followed by Legend R, NT6 Pro, LQ05, and then finally NT6. The LQ05's treble was my favourite though- it was detailed, had great tone, and superb clarity. A joy to listen to- just magical.
Canalworks CW-L05QD Score: 9.4
Summary
So far, I'm really not impressed with what I'm hearing from Unique Melody/ Rooth. Next I'll try their Unique Melody range, but I'm not optimistic. As for the Canalworks, both IEMs I've tried so far have been absolutely elite in at least one aspect of the sound. They both also sound extremely different from one another. Credit where credit's due, they seem to know what they're going for and manage to hit it out of the park. I'm looking forward to try their new flagship, the CW-L71.