So I received my Rose North Forest almost a week ago from Penon and I’ve been testing songs on them for maybe a couple hours or so.
Overall, I think they’re...meh. Just meh. Something is definitely off with its tonality and I’m not too fond of it.
I think they’re fairly bassy, at least according to what I’ve been listening to lately. They definitely have *lots* of mid-bass, which I really don’t like (sub-bass emphasis> mid-bass emphasis). I feel like the mid-bass bleeds into the toned-down lower mids. Sub-bass isn’t really all that great and doesn’t have that nice rumble that I sometimes enjoy. Overall, I don’t care for the bass much and it’s not my cup of tea. Now for the midrange...
The midrange is okay with songs that aren’t too demanding of it. While listening to something soft and demanding of a good lower-midrange, such as Somebody’s Baby by Jon Foreman, vocals felt subdued and very muffled, like the lower mids were smothered in a pillow. The upper midrange though, I’d argue is quite strident and prone to harshness at mid-to-high volumes. Vocals on Good Riddance by Green Day sounded thin and bordering harsh on multiple occasions. In terms of instrument presentation, they just aren’t good, not for something so recently hyped. Electric guitars, such as in Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters feel absolutely abrasive at slightly higher volumes. Any lower of a volume, and everything feels distant and pathetic. The midrange on these is horrid. I can only listen to a few songs without wincing or turning the volume all the way down.
As for the treble, it’s really nothing special at all. In fact, it’s splashy and abrasive as well. The Rose North Forest has a problem with an over-emphasized upper-midrange and lower-treble. I hate these kinds of spikes, since I’m moderately sensitive to anything around 5-8k Hz. These are certainly not for the treble sensitive. Upper-treble seems decent though. It extends decently and feels somewhat natural. That’s all I have to say about it though. I’ve heard much better at this price range.
Soundstage and layering are kinda bad... it feels compressed and small, with not much in terms of depth. It does have good width though, for what it’s worth. I don’t see how these could ever sound “holographic” to anyone.
Also, if anyone asks for my source(s), I’ve tried these on my iPhone X > AAW Accessport DAC, my MacBook Pro, my iPod Nano 3G, and my old iPhone 6s with very little in terms of quality. I’ve also done quite a bit of tip rolling (i.e. Starline, foams, wide and narrow bore eartips, etc, etc.). I can’t seem to make these sound decent.
Sorry for the long and harsh review. I feel like IEMs should be criticized honestly without any sugar coating, especially the ones that get hyped early on. My poor wallet cries still, but there are so many more Chi-if IEMs to explore! Onward!
So, I finally got these. Never before did a pair of IEM of mine need so much tip rolling. Now trying them with the foam of the T2.
