neilmanalo
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Classy Wood Design? Mid-centric Sound signature?? Where were you all my life! Count me in!
Introducing SERA by Vibro Labs
- Thread starter Luke Pighetti
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iamnotramon
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Luke Pighetti
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SERA drawing is tomorrow morning, sign up if you haven't already!
Raison
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Can't help but say I am looking forward to the drawing. But I'm getting my Sera regardless I win or not
Luke Pighetti
Sponsor: Vibro Labs
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The winners are @Binsterrrrr and @Montyburns! Congratulations to you both. I have PMd you both with instructions on how to claim your SERAs.
To the rest of you, thank you for participating, and remember SERA is on launch pricing until December 10th!
To the rest of you, thank you for participating, and remember SERA is on launch pricing until December 10th!
Rats! Congrats!
Congratulations! Have fun guys and don't forget to write down your impressions on them
Thank you Vibro Labs for this opportunity to try out these products. Looking forward to it 
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Hello all! As some may know, Luke recently loaned me a demo pair of the new SERA to get my honest feedback on them. I have preivously spent a good deal of time with both the ARIA and the MAYA (and I've got a custom MAYA as one of my daily drivers), so I hope I can provide a little bit of insight into this new model and potentially set some minds at ease. I've spent the several days with them plugged into my head pretty exclusively, and I'm ready to share my first impressions.
To begin, SERA is a great entry into "high-end" IEMs. The bass is natural and the tone is accurate. Mids are forward, front, and center. Highs are a bit rolled off, with a very small, intimate soundstage. They're a great IEM if you like a warm, mid-forward, and intimate sound.
If you desire treble detail and large soundstages, you'll probably want to upgrade to MAYA fairly quickly. MAYA is basically an ideal neutral, it has a bigger soundstage and brings the highs out that the SERA is missing a bit of. It's a big improvement. Maya is a clear step up from the Sera. That said, SERA is very, very nice, especially for the price.
SERA, ARIA, and MAYA all share a very similar house sound and "feel". They are all accurate at producing believable tone and timbre, and all three share the same great bass that is strong and present, but also quick and never overpowering. In my opinion, SERA and ARIA represent the two entry sound signatures, while MAYA is clearly the flagship model. Since all three models share the same great lower end, I'm going to focus on what sets the model apart.
As noted, SERA is definitely mid-focused and has a small, intimate soundstage. As you listen, you feel like you're sitting in the front row of a small coffee house with your favorite band 3 feet in front of you. There's really not a lot of width, depth, or height, but positioning is spot on in this smaller space.
The ARIA, meanwhile, takes an opposite approach. The mids, especially the lower mids, are relaxed to the point of feeling a bit scooped to me. The highs have energy and are extended, but not to the point of thinness or sibilance. This gives the overall shape of the sound signature a bit of a "U" feel, and this tuning has had its fair share of controversy (with people who love it and people who hate it). ARIA has a bigger (wider and taller, but not necessarily much deeper) soundstage when compared to the SERA. Although it's priced as an upgraded model, I personally really see the SERA and the ARIA as being the two entry-points into Vibro Labs' offerings, rather than the ARIA being a direct upgrade from the SERA.
The MAYA, as just mentioned, is clearly the best of the three. Take the fantastic mids of the SERA, throw in the treble extension of the ARIA, take the same great bass they both share, mix them all together, and then turn it up to 11, and you are left with the MAYA. There's a slight warmth in the bass, but otherwise the rest of the sound spectrum is fairly even across all frequencies. There's absolutely fantastic treble energy and extension up top, which allows for a bit better microdetail retrieval and larger soundstages than either the SERA or ARIA. SERA, ARIA, and MAYA all share the same DNA and are clearly related, but MAYA is definitely my personal choice.
That's enough for now about the comparisons between the three models. Time to talk in a little bit more detail about SERA specifically. The SERA is a 3-driver, dual bore, wire-up (looped over your ear) design. The shell is the same universal shell you'll get in the universal ARIA and MAYA. Unlike ARIA or MAYA, at this time there is no custom-fit option for the SERA. This shell is 3D printed and is transparent smoke in color. SERA has a Purpleheart wooden faceplate that looks a lot better in person than it does in the photographs I've seen.
At this point, I'd like to address a few of the comments I saw on the original (though now-canceled) Massdrop launch. The Purpleheart faceplate actually looks quite good in natural sunlight. You can see all of the detail and activity in the grain, and you can tell that each faceplate is from a real piece of wood and is thus going to be unique. I really don't think the pictures do the wood justice, and they look a lot more natural and a lot less like they were an unfortunate 3D-printed mistake (as one comment implied) when you actually hold them in your hands. The same goes for the 3D-printed universal shell. It doesn't look like mucuous at all (as stated in another comment), and the example that I have on this demo unit is actually quite clear, uniform, and aboslutely free of bubbles or other defects. It's a transparent smoke gray, and there's no coloration or heavy distortion. I think the pictures on the Vibro Labs site do the SERA more justice than the pictures that were on the Massdrop launch, but I think that they definitely look even better in person.
As far as value goes, the launch price is a phenomenal value, especially if you are planning on taking advantage of Luke's generous upgrade policy down the line. While I do enjoy the way SERA sounds, I think that for most people it'll be a stepping stone on the eventual journey to MAYA. And there's nothing wrong with taking that path OR with choosing to stick with SERA as they are. In its price class (even at the $400 regular price), I think that SERA is a strong performer. SERA compares very favorably to another 3-driver audiophile mainstay, the Shure SE535. I'd say that the SERA has a slightly more intimate soundstage than the SE535, but the mids are more forward and the bass is certainly more present and powerful in the SERA than in the 535. Both have similar treble roll-off, though I'd say that the SERA has just a touch less of it. If you generally like the SE535 but feel like it's missing a little something, SERA is your answer. The Noble 3 has a bit more bass and a lot more treble, but the SERA has much better mids and is overall a lot less grainy. The Alclair Reference has a touch less bass and a touch more treble, while the Alclair Tour is slightly wider in soundstage and has just a bit more subbass and a touch less in the mids. My point is, in the same price range and driver-configuration as the SERA, SERA compares quite favorably. If you want a mid-focused sound signature with a touch of warmth and an intimate soundstage, SERA fits the bill quite nicely.
I have been pushing SERA quite hard across a variety of genres and using different sources (portable, phone, DAP, desktop, etc). In general, I haven't found SERA to be at all sibilant or shouty. This is very good for me, as I'm almost deathly adverse to sibilance. It simply ruins the listening experience for me. This is likely due to the relatively rolled off treble, but in this case it's very appreciated. I have had no trouble listening to SERA for extended listening periods without fatigue. In fact, it's even less fatiguing than my custom MAYA, which I already listen to for hours on end on a regular basis. I have also not felt or heard any changes in sound signature due to output impednace swings. I've tried sources with everything from sub-1-Ohm to 30 Ohm and I'm not hearing too much of a tonal shift, which is actually quite impressive. They sound just as great out of my phone as they do out of my high-end desktop sources. I also have not noticed any weird hissing. They generally have a very black background regardless of source, and they don't seem picky. I will also admit that they're pretty easy to drive, and they sound great even when you're blasting the volume on your favorite song a lot higher than you really should be (I will certainly to doing just that). As far as genres go, SERA is great at classic rock, acoustical, smaller group work, and anything where a small, intimate setting is conducive to the music. If you're only going to be listening to symphonies, dramatic soundtracks, or overarching orchestral works, SERA might not be the best fit. But for solo male and solo female vocals, you're going to love them.
In summary, I am really liking SERA. Are they the best IEM ever made? No. Would they replace my MAYA? No to that, too. Are the a great deal? Yes, especially at the launch price, provided you like sound signature and like an intimate soundstage presentation. I think that SERA is great at what it does, and as long as you don't expect them to be something they're not, most people will like them, too. They're a great entry into the Vibro Labs product line, and I think they're perfect for somebody who is just getting into the hobby, especially with Luke's upgrade program. I would wholeheartedly recommend the SERA as somebody's first "audiophile" IEMs. If you're a collector like me, you'll also likely want to pick up a pair because what they do, they do WELL. If you've already got a few IEMs and you're looking for something to take it up a notch, I'd likely point you to the MAYA as I feel like it's just technically better at what it does. If you've already got an ARIA or a MAYA and you're happy with them, you're probably going to be happier sticking with what you have than moving on to SERA. For what they are and how they're priced, SERA is a solid pick and is something that I'd wholeheartedly recommend.
Edit: added the product and this review here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/vibro-labs-sera-triple-armature-in-ear-monitors/reviews/17454
To begin, SERA is a great entry into "high-end" IEMs. The bass is natural and the tone is accurate. Mids are forward, front, and center. Highs are a bit rolled off, with a very small, intimate soundstage. They're a great IEM if you like a warm, mid-forward, and intimate sound.
If you desire treble detail and large soundstages, you'll probably want to upgrade to MAYA fairly quickly. MAYA is basically an ideal neutral, it has a bigger soundstage and brings the highs out that the SERA is missing a bit of. It's a big improvement. Maya is a clear step up from the Sera. That said, SERA is very, very nice, especially for the price.
SERA, ARIA, and MAYA all share a very similar house sound and "feel". They are all accurate at producing believable tone and timbre, and all three share the same great bass that is strong and present, but also quick and never overpowering. In my opinion, SERA and ARIA represent the two entry sound signatures, while MAYA is clearly the flagship model. Since all three models share the same great lower end, I'm going to focus on what sets the model apart.
As noted, SERA is definitely mid-focused and has a small, intimate soundstage. As you listen, you feel like you're sitting in the front row of a small coffee house with your favorite band 3 feet in front of you. There's really not a lot of width, depth, or height, but positioning is spot on in this smaller space.
The ARIA, meanwhile, takes an opposite approach. The mids, especially the lower mids, are relaxed to the point of feeling a bit scooped to me. The highs have energy and are extended, but not to the point of thinness or sibilance. This gives the overall shape of the sound signature a bit of a "U" feel, and this tuning has had its fair share of controversy (with people who love it and people who hate it). ARIA has a bigger (wider and taller, but not necessarily much deeper) soundstage when compared to the SERA. Although it's priced as an upgraded model, I personally really see the SERA and the ARIA as being the two entry-points into Vibro Labs' offerings, rather than the ARIA being a direct upgrade from the SERA.
The MAYA, as just mentioned, is clearly the best of the three. Take the fantastic mids of the SERA, throw in the treble extension of the ARIA, take the same great bass they both share, mix them all together, and then turn it up to 11, and you are left with the MAYA. There's a slight warmth in the bass, but otherwise the rest of the sound spectrum is fairly even across all frequencies. There's absolutely fantastic treble energy and extension up top, which allows for a bit better microdetail retrieval and larger soundstages than either the SERA or ARIA. SERA, ARIA, and MAYA all share the same DNA and are clearly related, but MAYA is definitely my personal choice.
That's enough for now about the comparisons between the three models. Time to talk in a little bit more detail about SERA specifically. The SERA is a 3-driver, dual bore, wire-up (looped over your ear) design. The shell is the same universal shell you'll get in the universal ARIA and MAYA. Unlike ARIA or MAYA, at this time there is no custom-fit option for the SERA. This shell is 3D printed and is transparent smoke in color. SERA has a Purpleheart wooden faceplate that looks a lot better in person than it does in the photographs I've seen.
At this point, I'd like to address a few of the comments I saw on the original (though now-canceled) Massdrop launch. The Purpleheart faceplate actually looks quite good in natural sunlight. You can see all of the detail and activity in the grain, and you can tell that each faceplate is from a real piece of wood and is thus going to be unique. I really don't think the pictures do the wood justice, and they look a lot more natural and a lot less like they were an unfortunate 3D-printed mistake (as one comment implied) when you actually hold them in your hands. The same goes for the 3D-printed universal shell. It doesn't look like mucuous at all (as stated in another comment), and the example that I have on this demo unit is actually quite clear, uniform, and aboslutely free of bubbles or other defects. It's a transparent smoke gray, and there's no coloration or heavy distortion. I think the pictures on the Vibro Labs site do the SERA more justice than the pictures that were on the Massdrop launch, but I think that they definitely look even better in person.
As far as value goes, the launch price is a phenomenal value, especially if you are planning on taking advantage of Luke's generous upgrade policy down the line. While I do enjoy the way SERA sounds, I think that for most people it'll be a stepping stone on the eventual journey to MAYA. And there's nothing wrong with taking that path OR with choosing to stick with SERA as they are. In its price class (even at the $400 regular price), I think that SERA is a strong performer. SERA compares very favorably to another 3-driver audiophile mainstay, the Shure SE535. I'd say that the SERA has a slightly more intimate soundstage than the SE535, but the mids are more forward and the bass is certainly more present and powerful in the SERA than in the 535. Both have similar treble roll-off, though I'd say that the SERA has just a touch less of it. If you generally like the SE535 but feel like it's missing a little something, SERA is your answer. The Noble 3 has a bit more bass and a lot more treble, but the SERA has much better mids and is overall a lot less grainy. The Alclair Reference has a touch less bass and a touch more treble, while the Alclair Tour is slightly wider in soundstage and has just a bit more subbass and a touch less in the mids. My point is, in the same price range and driver-configuration as the SERA, SERA compares quite favorably. If you want a mid-focused sound signature with a touch of warmth and an intimate soundstage, SERA fits the bill quite nicely.
I have been pushing SERA quite hard across a variety of genres and using different sources (portable, phone, DAP, desktop, etc). In general, I haven't found SERA to be at all sibilant or shouty. This is very good for me, as I'm almost deathly adverse to sibilance. It simply ruins the listening experience for me. This is likely due to the relatively rolled off treble, but in this case it's very appreciated. I have had no trouble listening to SERA for extended listening periods without fatigue. In fact, it's even less fatiguing than my custom MAYA, which I already listen to for hours on end on a regular basis. I have also not felt or heard any changes in sound signature due to output impednace swings. I've tried sources with everything from sub-1-Ohm to 30 Ohm and I'm not hearing too much of a tonal shift, which is actually quite impressive. They sound just as great out of my phone as they do out of my high-end desktop sources. I also have not noticed any weird hissing. They generally have a very black background regardless of source, and they don't seem picky. I will also admit that they're pretty easy to drive, and they sound great even when you're blasting the volume on your favorite song a lot higher than you really should be (I will certainly to doing just that). As far as genres go, SERA is great at classic rock, acoustical, smaller group work, and anything where a small, intimate setting is conducive to the music. If you're only going to be listening to symphonies, dramatic soundtracks, or overarching orchestral works, SERA might not be the best fit. But for solo male and solo female vocals, you're going to love them.
In summary, I am really liking SERA. Are they the best IEM ever made? No. Would they replace my MAYA? No to that, too. Are the a great deal? Yes, especially at the launch price, provided you like sound signature and like an intimate soundstage presentation. I think that SERA is great at what it does, and as long as you don't expect them to be something they're not, most people will like them, too. They're a great entry into the Vibro Labs product line, and I think they're perfect for somebody who is just getting into the hobby, especially with Luke's upgrade program. I would wholeheartedly recommend the SERA as somebody's first "audiophile" IEMs. If you're a collector like me, you'll also likely want to pick up a pair because what they do, they do WELL. If you've already got a few IEMs and you're looking for something to take it up a notch, I'd likely point you to the MAYA as I feel like it's just technically better at what it does. If you've already got an ARIA or a MAYA and you're happy with them, you're probably going to be happier sticking with what you have than moving on to SERA. For what they are and how they're priced, SERA is a solid pick and is something that I'd wholeheartedly recommend.
Edit: added the product and this review here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/vibro-labs-sera-triple-armature-in-ear-monitors/reviews/17454
Raison
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Great review! Now I just gotta wait for my unit to ship and listen for myself.
FenW
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Would you mind describing the bass a bit more? I have no experience with Vibro products so I'm not quite sure how it's like.
Would the subbass be more prominent? How about the midbass? How much does it bleed into the mids?
You speak of a small soundstage, does this enable the subbass to envelope you in a way that does wonders for acoustic and orchestra?
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Hello! Sure thing.
The bass is pretty similar across the entire range of Vibro Labs products. The bass is pretty accurate as far as balanced-armature bass goes. While it doesn't move as much air as a dynamic driver and doesn't have that giant, impactful thud, it is still very satisfying. There's a good amount of subbass, slightly elevated midbass (which makes it easy to tell the different bass frequencies apart, rather than just feeling that there's an omnipresent "bass" note), and it doesn't bleed into the mids. Actually, I find this across all three of these IEMs. The decay isn't as long as a dynamic driver, but it's also not the artificially-short decay found in a lot of drivers. I think Luke did a great job choosing this driver. There's a quickness to the attack and full body to the bass.
Yes, the smaller soundstage is very conducive to an envelopment from the bass, but the mids are really the star of the show here. The bass isn't the main focus, but it does really help enhance the overall sound signature. If you're looking for a "basshead" type sound, I will admit that none of the Vibro Labs IEMs will likely satisfy you completely. But if you like a touch of added warmth in the bass, you're covered.
I was curious about them but after reading the review I believe it would be a too warm pairing with my Cayin i5. Would you say that the Maya would would be a better choice for me when I like a more energetic, crisper and detailed sound signature?
Or shall I -especially at that price- give the Sera a try?
Or shall I -especially at that price- give the Sera a try?
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