SoftEars RS10 Impressions
I won't devote too much writing to the background of this IEM, but SoftEars is basically the partner to Moondrop (or something along those lines). They have their own lineup, and the RS10 is their 10BA halo model that clocks in at $2000. As far as I understand it, the RS10 is intended to be a neutral-reference monitor. I don't use my IEMs in a professional capacity, though, so I'll just be taking a more subjective stab at what I think of it.
The first thing that strikes my ears when I hear the RS10 is
grit. For the uninitiated, while dynamic drivers tend to have an elongated, smooth taper to decay, BAs tend to decay a lot quicker. This presents itself (to my ears at least) with successive, abrupt tapers in decay and a slight raspiness to notes. Some listeners might associate this quality with detail. But there’s no way around it; the RS10 is excessively gritty to my ears. This is especially true within the context of the RS10’s upper-midrange which sports an aggressive rise that tracks very closely to the Harman 2019 IEM target. To quote someone else who’s heard the RS10: “The signature probably doesn’t work with your library though. It'd make K-Pop sound horrible”. Well, I can confirm that it’s not
horrible, but it’s certainly somewhat off-putting. Now,
perhaps this might favor music that has been mastered better - I also find it more palpable when it comes to the flat lower-mids of the RS10 - but I fundamentally dislike grain to my sound, so moving on.
Bass on the RS10 is interesting. It’s largely sub-bass focused and certainly clean, but the intangibles of the RS10’s bass are what stand out to me. I want to say it’s articulated with a little more wetness, perhaps softness, contrasted to what is otherwise a fairly dry and crisp sound signature moving upwards. It does come across as a minor coherency issue despite it being a desirable characteristic (akin to what IEMs like the 64A U12t and Dunu SA6 exhibit) to have from a BA low-end. Perhaps it’s just my imagination, though, and a result of the more segmented shelf.
We’ve already talked about my issues with the RS10’s midrange, and likewise, I don’t think the treble response is as refined as it could be. In general, the most obvious point of comparison would be the Moondrop S8 because the RS10 is touted as being an “improved” S8. I disagree at least in terms of their treble responses, hence the quotations. The RS10 has more mid-treble (think ~8kHz) than the Moondrop S8, yet it's neither as extended (the RS10 takes an audible nosedive after 15kHz), nor has it been done as tastefully as the S8. To the point of the latter, there’s more of a Moondrop Blessing 2 thing going on where - again - there’s too much
grit to even stuff like shakers, which is a funny thing to say. I mean, it's certainly less abrasive than the B2's treble, but I unquestionably prefer the more airy, slightly less sparkly S8's treble to this.
Despite my tonality issues with the RS10, there can be no doubt that it is a strong technical performer, likely eclipsing even the aforementioned Moondrop S8. This is especially apparent in terms of raw micro-detail where the RS10 is seemingly able to better convey textural nuance to trailing consonances and vocals. Admittedly, though, I don’t find the RS10 particularly engaging for dynamics. Comparison with other heavy-hitters establishes that the RS10 falls on the shorter end of the stick; for example, I find that the Symphonium Helios sports both better macro and micro-dynamics in A/B. Music just sounds more
vibrant on the Helios. Imaging on the RS10 is also somewhat of a paradox. While the RS10 doesn’t have the most open staging, there
is a certain appeal wherein everything on the stage sounds like it’s within an arm’s reach. In essence, things sound big and upfront, yet seemingly not congested.
The bottom line? I think the RS10 is definitely a good IEM; however, I would be remiss to start pulling the punches when we’re talking TOTL prices. This holds especially true when the Moondrop S8 - at roughly a third of the cost - is easily trading blows. The way I see it, then, the RS10 is a slightly more detailed Moondrop S8, but without some of the tasteful refinement that the S8 sports. Now, if you're after that gritty-reference sound then this might be the best rendition of that I've heard so far, but it's still overpriced and a long shot off what I would consider worthy of the "best-in-the-world" status this type of pricing should command.
Score: 6/10
All critical listening was done off the 4.4mm jack of my iBasso DX300 and with Azla SednaEarfits. It's worth putting it out there that the RS10 takes a considerable amount of power to drive. It's also a fairly large IEM (sticks out a bit) and I found that the pressure-relief wasn't really that great despite the placeholder BA for relieving listener stress that is advertised. Or at least I can more easily "pop" my ears to alleviate pressure with my CIEMs and they're just as isolating.
