lexus91
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2013
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So finally get to hear Cypherus golden reference earbuds for some period of time. I decided to write some of my impressions.
First of all IMO clearly the golden reference is not made as a mass production product mindset. (please correct me if i am wrong Herry Wijaya) As it is clearly seen that practicality and ergonomics is actually usable at the very best. The cable is heavy and stiff which makes fitting is horrendous. It is not something you can wear anywhere. For me the Cypherus golden reference earbuds is a piece of art. More like an experimental product to push an earbuds to its limit. I am not very good at reviewing but since it sounds so good i decided to write a fairly extensive review.
My first 30 seconds listening to it was just mind blowing. first what hits me is the lows, it was amazing. when Mr Rudiwidjaja Hartono told me it was "headphone" bass I didn't expected it to be this good. And the overall sound tonality and balance was just right.
At first I was planning to compare this earbuds with VE Zen V1. But listening to it for sometimes I decided that its not possible since IMO this is not even a fair comparison.
I am not saying the Zen is a bad earbuds, its an amazing earbuds. Its just the golden reference sounds way beyond anything i ever heard and expected from an earbud. its just for my taste zen sounded too warm, and imo the overall tonality and balance is just not right.
So then I decided to compare this buds against Dita The Truth, since IMO the Truth has the most natural sounding and balanced sound for me. And I came into a conclusion that the golden reference comes very close to dita's natural sound and tonality. everything sounds just right with some bump on the lower end which makes the golden reference (despite its reference name) a very exciting sounding earbuds. Compared to dita it is slightly warmer. The sound stage is very good and accurate.
The Low : It is not an exaggeration to call the low as "headphone" like, since its out of earbuds league. It hits deep and low. it has great impact and speed. The texture is very good. I feel that dita still has better texture and reach lower, but the golden reference impact is amazing. (I don't remember LCD 3's bass but i heard that the bass of the golden reference is LCD 3 alike)
The Mids : When it first come, it has full foam on it. But its a tad too dark for me so I changed it to donut foam. It made the overall sounds open up by fair amount and turns the mids to be so airy. Its not bad, but compared to dita it lacks the fullness. But i prefer it this way. Mids is placed slightly more forward compared to dita's. Very nice and smooth but not as refined as dita's. Still one of the very best if not the best amongst earbuds that I have ever hear.
The Highs: Loved it. smooth and detailed, sparkly with no sibilance. I'm not treble maniac so can't comment much about this aspects but they do sounds very very nice.
I would say that the golden reference has a very close tonality and balance to dita. While dita is more laidback and relaxing. the golden reference is more engaging and energetic, yet smooth sounding and not forceful at all. It has amazing musicality, everything comes out so effortless and makes listening to it is a very pleasant experience. Even when I;m trying to make a/b comparison i keep finding myself listening to the whole song instead of parts of song since how enjoyable this earbuds really is.
A very big thanks to Mr Herry Wijaya to allow me experiencing such a great sonic experience.
TLDR: Usable ergonomics at the very best. Not Practical BUT : Sounds amazing. Natural - warmish sounding, amazing tonal balance. Amazing Bass. Very smooth and refined as an earbuds. Amazing musicality.
