PlusSound Allegro Impressions from an NA Tour 2 Participant
First and foremost
I don’t consider myself a reviewer in the same class as Twister6, Deezel177, Marcus or others out there who I follow and respect greatly, but just someone who enjoys audio *hence my handle" and has been around the block a few times with Home and Personal audio, and likes to share information so hence my comment of this being a “write up”. And please note what I write below is "My Opinion" which together with a buck might get you a cup of coffee, having said this please read on if you like
Thank You's to Christian and Sebastien who made this all possible!
Pros:
Wide and holographic Soundstage with the proper cable
Clarity and detail regardless of source material
Fit and Finish
Does NOT require lots of power to drive properly, and responds well to more power.
Responds well to tuning via cable and tips
Cons:
Responding well to tuning via cables and tips means lots of trial and error to get to best sound which some may not want to do.
(NOTE: your normal go to’s might not be the best choice)
Size in ear (might not fit all ear types, large backside)
Shorter Sound Tubes with larger overall size might not be comfortable for all users
Thanks to Christian at PlusSound and Sebastian Chu for arranging this tour for the Allegro IEM
Typical of Christian’s work with PlusSound cables and his attention to detail of how subtle changes in materials and formats make a huge change in sound it is no wonder the Allegro’s are no different, and the sound quality is what you expect from a company that has established itself as a premier sound provider.
I went into this tour not knowing what to expect, for a first time entry into the higher end IEM market, and was VERY pleasantly surprised that there is no need to wait for version 2 of the Allegro to get great sound.
Unboxing Experience
The unboxing experience was as premium of an experience one would expect from a company having been around for 10+ years In this industry
Included is PlusSound’s zippered leather case and leather IEM stand insert that not only holds the IEM but allows the cable to be attached and wound tangle free and stood up to be displayed.
A wide choice of tips is provided but more on that below
Additionally tools and accessories worthy of a TOTL IEM are included (Microfiber cloth, cleaning brush, and a leather cable strap )
For the tour also included on top of the standard Copper+ EXO PlusSound cable, testers were PlusSound’s Silver+ and Hybrid+ cables along with the new Bluetooth C wireless adapter using PlusSound’s Copper cabling
Exterior and Build
The Allegro’s utilize beautifully CNC machined aluminum alloy bodies, with a copper Anodized mutli-angled front, and a diamond like faceted black anodized back, making these very attractive. They feel solid in hand are not to heavy and comfortable in my ears (YMMV)
The vertical vent slot for the dual dynamic drivers blends away with the overall look, and I had to really look for the vent, expecting the usual hole or port. Nicely done.
The Allegros are an IEM on the larger size, as it is hiding inside the 12 drivers (Twin 10mm Dynamic Drivers for the bass, 6 Balanced Armature Drivers for the Mids and 4 Electrostatic Drivers for the Highs/Super Highs) and the PlusSound silver wiring connecting them all internally
The result is a very clear and crisp sound with no odd artifacts or to my ears no odd harmonics.
Sound
The Allegro’s have a very wide soundstage that with the standard Copper+ cable is wider to me than deep but still provides a nice amount of depth and height. It has a very holographic sound stage with lots of layering. Instruments and performers seem to be in their own space on stage, and depending on cable choice you can tune that also. Clarity of voices and instruments are excellent and all seem to work together nicely with no perceived gaps.
To that end, EVERYTHING about the sound can be tuned and the Allegro’s respond to the smallest changes, which is both good and well challenging.
For the Cables, the normal Copper+ give the Allegro’s a warmer tone, with a slightly laid back midrange and clear and accurate highs, but for some this might be overly warm, especially if using an amp/dac combo that can be set to Class A. It has a nice Analog sound to it using the Copper+ regardless of Class A or Class AB amplification being used
Using the Silver+, things brighten up quite a bit, and the bass overall moves more towards the upper bass range, but still has sub bass rumble, but a little less than the Copper+
The sound was a little faster paced and brighter with the Silver+
While using the Silver+ the highs were never sibilant or piercing to me, this combination was a little fatiguing, being a little high mid forward and felt to me IMO a little less balanced. I can see for sources that require this kind of pace it might be a good match. To be cliché it was more digital in its sound signature
My favorite of the 3 cables was the Hybrid+ which kept much of the warmth and analog tone and low bass impact of the Copper+ and seemed to balance the faster brighter highs of the Silver+. The mids were a little less forward, and the overall balance and clarity to me was perfect
Changing from Class A amplification to Class AB allowed additional fine tuning of the source material and allowed the Allegro’s to really show its stuff regardless of which cable was being used.
My favorite cable from PlusSound is their X8 Palladium Platted Hybrid (PPH, an combination of Palladium Platted OCC Copper and OCC Silver), and I was able to pair this cable with the Allegro’s and was not disappointed, and its no wonder I probably leaned towards the Hybrid+’s sound signature. With the PPH cable the soundstage was even wider and the depth also increased but while it was close (really close) I do have to give the Hybrid+ a nod for being slightly more accurate in the highs but the PPH to me was just a little more musical.
But either cable would be a fine addition to the Allegro’s for most IMO.
Ear Tips
Be warned the Allegro’s are probably the most sensitive to tip type and size of ANY IEM I’ve used to date including some extended time with the Triallii, and some auditioning I’ve done with the latest TOTL / Near TOTL IEM’s like the Noble Kublai Khan and the EE Odin. (Unfortunately I did not have these on hand at the same time as the Allegro so don’t think its fair to do a head to head comparison from memory, just commenting on these IEM’s were a little less sensitive to tip selection)
While I normally don’t use silicon tips, the provided silicon tips for my smaller ear canals were the most comfortable, but also felt the least stable (just felt that way, the Allegro’s never fell out or broke the seal for diminished bass). The silicon tips also had the effect of making the bass sound less accurate and the highs suffered some veiling. The Allegro’s became to me VERY mid forward, almost to the point of sound like FM broadcast
I normally like foam eartips for their isolation and comfort, as well as assist with bass, but not sure if the smaller bore on the supplied Comply Foam tips or they just absorbed up the sound, but the Comply Foam tips just completely killed the bass for me, and well were not that comfortable
The provided Hybrid Symbio tips to me were the worst
Not comfortable at all, and just really for me killed the accuracy and soundstage
Luckily I always keep a selection of foam, hybrid and silicon ear tips for testing.
To cut to the chase for me, the best sound came from the Azla Crystal tips which is silicon like polymer ear tip that molds to your ear and has a very solid rigid and large bore/core. Even over their usually higher rated Xlastic Ear tips. Was NOT expecting this at all.
These really did allow the Allegro’s to shine, and going through all the cables, time and time again this is the tips I kept coming back to, but this is all to my ears and IMO, so please try your favorites as YMMV.
Testing Environment
Might be good to mention at this point since I’ve mentioned moving from Class A to Class AB amp, my testing was done on several sources
The Cayin N8ii, the Lotoo PAW 6000, both standalone and also going through a Cayin C9 amp, placing both DAP’s into Pre-Out mode taking the amplification circuit out of mix.
With the N8ii and C9 I tried both Class A and AB amplification, as well as Solid State and Tubes mode.
The greater power from the C9 didn’t affect the Allergo’s as much as I thought it might. Also on both the C9 and N8ii, High Gain to Low gain (for the C9) and High Gain to Med Gain didn’t change the sound as much as tip tunning did. For the N8ii P/P+ did make a difference but for me P+ was not as pleasant to listen to then P was
For most of my critical listening, I used the N8ii in Tubes/P/Med Gain and found the Allegro’s to respond quite nicely to these settings, providing a nice balance of analog type sound to digital speed and warmth to clarity/accuracy.
Source files were a mix of 16 and 24 Bit FLAC files and high variable bit rate (VBR) MP3 files.
Also some higher end streaming HD/HD+ files from Amazon Music going through the computer into the C9 or from the N8ii direct.
Jazz (Classic and Modern) Classic to 80’s rock, Classical music were the genres used
TWS-C Wireless
I also tested the provided PlusSound Wireless C adapter, and found it easy to use and pair and close to the sound of direct wired connections. With PlusSounds ability to spec cable choices this too will allow a buyer to tune the Allegro’s to be what they want in an wireless format.
Summary
If your looking for an IEM that has clarity and excellent staging, are easy to drive, responds favorably to any and all HW you throw at it, and allow you have a blank canvas from which you can experiment with changes to your hearts content (and do not mind doing so) these will be a great addition to your collection.
I’d place the Allegro’s on par with any of the higher end IEM’s I’ve auditioned recently.
Would I but these? Well let’s say they are on my “to buy next” list now.
IF you’ve made it this far in my impression write up, Thank You
And please remember what I wrote above is IMO and YMMV
Adding onto my earlier write up. (and writing this while enjoying my personal Allegro's)
With a little commissions disposable income that came my way, went on a "toy" spending spree and picked up a personal set of Allegro's, the Cayin N7, and from that purchase the Cayin RU7 USB-C 1bit DAC dongle, as well as purchased several Eletech Cables I enjoyed listening to at Can Jam So CA , and pitted them against newly acquired Noble Audio Kublai Khans that displaced my till then CIEM JH audio Jolenes, and wanted to add some impressions using these HW and cable sources as well as some extended time with the Allegro's.
Bottom Line, they still do NOT disappoint, and have become my daily drivers.
As always want to state I'm just someone who enjoys audio, and all bellow is IMO, and YMMV
As expected, my personal purchase after being on the tour there was NO difference in build quality, sound (quality and timbre) and want to add through the purchase process Christian as always is pleasure to work with! For anyone thinking what is sent out on tours or to reviewers might be "plants" or "special builds" you can rest assured this is NOT the case with the Allegro's from Plussound. The unboxing experience, build quality was actually better with my purchase than it was with the "Tour" product.
I know burn in, cable rolling and now tip rolling is the source of religion wars here on Head-fi so will lead with this is just my personal opinions and preferences, but I always take a quick listen to get a baseline, then run at least 100 hours of burn in before listening again and compare notes I've made, and time and time again I hear differences.
But as respected person(s) on Head-fi have all written, and I whole heartedly agree with, Burn-in is a preference and taste, and that it's probably a 1%-2% change in sound quality, but ALL of us are here are reading Head-fi or are on Head-fi looking for that small change that the average joe does not care about, so how or if you do burn in is your choice, just as spending 4 digits for a cable, or 5 digits for an amp is your choice also, that many outside of this hobby won't understand and will dismiss as "snake oil" but we here on Head-Fi are reading and seeking. But again this is IMO..,
Back to the Allegro's
Cable Rolling
Burned in, I began cable rolling again using the Plussound PPH X8 as the baseline (my personal favorite on many of the IEM's I own, and a cable I know how it changes the sound and stage) started with the Plussound Hybrid + again, and found no changes from my previous review. Still give a nod to the PPH as it just seems to give me more of that digital accuracy but analog in tone sound signature I enjoy. Its close, but the PPH just carries a little edge in depth and stage width as well as warmth, but the Hybrid+ held a small (almost unnoticeable except on specific tracks) advantage in height. both had similar air and space around the instruments. The vocals though (male or female) were just a little smoother with the PPH.
Next up was the Eletech Socrates 8. Great cable for its price, and for its much lowertech build of materials, is a cable that hits WAY above its price range and build.
It gave the Allegro's a nice warmth, nice and smooth midrange, and decent lows/mid lows. Where it lost out to the PPH was the sub bass, and a little bit on the extension of the highs, but it by no mean was congested or lacking in highs, just A/B'ing I can hear the difference, but by no means a slouch of a cable. I would NOT be disappointed if this were the only cable I used on the Allegro's. I think 60% of this sound sig goes to the Soc 8 but the rest goes to the flexibility of the Allegro's (as this cable just did not sound to great on the Kublai Khan's). But against the PPH, no contest, the sound sig of the PPH kept the Allegro's where I wanted them. While good, it was going up against a great sound the PPH offered.
Next was the Eletech Ode To Laura (OTL), one of Eletech's flagship cables, but with a twist is a an advanced Copper build using different types of Copper and different strand sizes to make up the 22AWG cable size. The OTL is not your typical copper cable, it does much to warm an IEM like copper should (and the reason I purchased it to warm up the Kublai Khan's) but this cable does a excellent job with clearing and extending the highs, and preserve mid presence.
The OTL worked great with the Allegro's and again I'd say the flexibility of the Allegro's makes this combo work. For someone wanting a real Analog sound with lots of warmth and good to excellent highs, this combo works. I have to say I've cable rolled to and from the OTL from the PPH for some tracks, but the nod still goes to the PPH.
The OTL has found its home on the Kublai Khan's where it is helping that IEM to be better than Out of the Box was.
Last up was a borrowed from a fellow Head-fier, Effect Audio Cleopatra II, one of their latest releases, and a cable I wanted to try out.
Having used and owned a Cleo 1, and Leo 2 thought I knew what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised what this cable does. Not your typical "silver" sound sig, much more like mixed material build cables from EA in sound, very broad and open sounding. The Allegro's seemed to be a little brighter, but with no hit to bass/midbass, but this cable does lean more towards an faster attack digital sound, and while accurate and never heading towards unpleasant sibilance sounding highs, they did start to boarder fatiguing for me, so again here the nod to the PPH being smoother sounding yet very accurate to my ears.
The net results from this testing is the Allergo will become what you want it to be and cable rolliing will help you fine tune to the sound sig you are looking for.
For me, my personal choice, its still the Plussound PPH X8 for rock, Jazz or Classical.
Allegro vs. Kublai Khan and JH Audio Jolene (and follow on's to both from the respective manufacturers)
Ok not the best match ups in many eyes, but this is probably in due part to the sound signature I chase, and try to improve on
I've constantly have chased an improvement of one part of an IEM or over the ear headphones that I own vs. what is on the market
While not a bass head, I do enjoy a good bass presence, but I also like very clear and accurate highs which over the years has led to cable rolling to tune, as well as moving to another IEM to give me what I perceive I've missed with my current daily driver.
I've went away from and have come back to several JH Audio models, as they have a great bass presence but at some times at the expense of being overly dark in sound/too heavy in bass signature. The Jolene's were a great balance of bass/mids to high's with is use of DD drivers for sub bass, bass and low mids/mids, and using BA's for mid highs and highs. It was not the typical darker JH House Sound. tuning with cable gave me what I wanted, and well being a CIEM just was more comfortable for cross country and cross Pacific flights. Moving from a Looto Paw Gold Touch to a Cayin N8ii also gave me the range of changes to do additional tuning with the Jolenes that made them my daily drivers for a little over a year. But then I made the mistake of listening to several newer IEM's at Can Jam So CA and well upgraditis strikes, Log story short moved to Noble's Kublai Khan for its VERY clear highs and mids, and decent bass, with the change in high accuracy and clarity swaying me to them as my daily drivers, since this is what I perceived the Jolene's to be missing.
The Kublai Khan's though needed help with the bass (even with the bone conduction driver), and hence the Eletech OTL cable change.
Then came the chance to be on the Allergo Tour, and sorry for the long lead in above, but what the Allegro brings to the table is the best of both IEM's listed above.
The much stronger bass/mid bass presence of the Jolene's, with a great sub bass presence. The Allegro's also offered the great mids and highs of the Kublai Khan's.
Essentially for me it took the best of both and gave it to me in one IEM.
The Allegro's don't trade anything away from the lows that the Jolene's gave me, and definitely offered the extended clear and accurate highs that the Kublai Khans offered me that the Jolene's sometime missed.
I've had VERY limited time with the JH Audio Sharona's which corrected the highs for JH Audio, but I miss the impact the DD drivers gave as the Sharona is an all BA IEM. While not lacking in bass being a typical JH Audio design, something is just pleasing to me with DD drivers for bass.
Similarly I've had really limited time with the Noble Audio Ronin, which is also seems to correct the bass of the Kublai Khan while keeping the highs via electrostatic drivers.
not being able to do extended A/Bing on both and maybe its lack of time or brain burn in, but the Allegro's again just kept coming out ahead.
Again all the above is IMO, and is based on the sound sig I'm chasing so Your Milage May Vary (YMMV)
I may have said this before but the Allegro's offer a great blank canvas from which you can tune to your desired signature with cables and tips (and trust me this is one IEM that is very tip sensitive, your normal "go to" tip may not be what you end with).
Cayin N8ii Vs. N7 Vs. RU7 (or Delta Sigma vs 1bit Resistor DAC)
Just wanted touch on this quickly, as my previous write up concentrated on using the Cayin N8ii.
Cayin has released a line of 1Bit-DAC PCM to all DSD conversion players.
These devices have changed the game and sound for many. For me they offer sound rivaling their TOTL N8ii at lower price points and for the RU7 really changes that add on USB-DAC/AMP market
This is NOT the appropriate place to talk about another manufacturer (doing some write up to post in the appropriate Cayin Forums now)
The N8ii is still the DAP I reach for and the Allegro's respond and make this DAP sound its best, bar none,
The Allegro's really respond and excel when I put the N7 with its 1Bit DAC in LO/Pre-Out mode where I decouple the amp section of the N7 and run it through a Cayin C9 amp n Class A / Tubes mode.
The Allegro's appreciate that extra power (though they do not need it) and tuning this combo gives it, and why I keep the N7 for now as a desktop setup with the C9
Just me speaking but I can see Cayin next offering a follow up to the N8ii as either a N8 or N9 which combines the NuTube tube amp section with the N7's 1 Bit all to DSD section, Maybe its just wishful thinking on my part, but to me that is the next DAP I want and hope they will offer. With the Allegro's it will be close to end game for me.
Again the Allegro's here enable these devices to be their best. Cannot say the same for the other IEM's I own which are pickier as to source and power.
Tip Rolling
As noted in my previous write up, these IEM's are VERY sensitive to tip changes.
Since my write up, I've gone out and purchased Spinfit's W1, CP145, and Azla's Sendafit Max.
Baseline is the Azla Crystal for me.
Spinfit W1. Great fit, and they used 2 different medical grade silicon to accommodate larger multidriver IEM's.
they are considered a med bore tip. Comfortable and easy to insert into the ear and onto the Allegro's which have a very wide nozzle.
Compared to the Azla Crystal, there is a slight loss of high clarity, and soundstage. While easier to insert into my ear, not what I wanted for the Allegro's. Not the same changes on other IEM's I own, just not right match for me on the Allegro's
Spinfit CP145. Easiest to get onto the Allegro's nozzles, good fit into my ear canal. Slightly smaller bore than the W1's and the reason I think they affect the highs more than the W1's. again not the tip for me for the Allegro's
Nice to have on hand but not the tip I am reaching for, for my other IEM's also
Azla Sednafit Max
Many on these forums on Head-fi are singing the praises of this tip. They are VERY comfortable made out of a softer Silicon and offer a was guard in the bore. A wide bore tip along the lines of Azla's Xlastic and Crystal.
Many talk about how it improves bass and are the tips I use on the Kublai Khan's (along with the OTL cable bring the bass where it needs to be for me)
for the Allegro's easy to fit onto the nozzles, adds the benefit of adding a wax guard, but it doesn't increase bass appreciably for me which is good. However A/Bing some tracks I use for reference where acoustic and electric guitars are used together there is a noticable difference in highs and mid highs, with the advantage going to the Crytal ear tips over the Max. Again this combo for me works on the Kublai Khan's but not the Allegro's
While I still read tip reviews to see the changes in the industry, and trips to the orient give me access to many new tips, for now staying with the Azla Crystal's for the Allegro and can still whole heartedly recommend these for the Allegro's
Again if you have made it this far in my write up, THANK YOU.
Also thank you again to Sebastian for coordinating this tour as it would have been hard to demo's the Allegro's otherwise, and without the tour I would NOT be enjoying them now, and VERY huge THANK YOU to Christian at Plussound for taking the risk and bringing these IEM's to market while making NO compromises. Well done to both of you!
And as always and mentioned in this write up these are my opinions, which with a $1 might get you a cup of coffee, and your milage may vary from what I've found and written!
