I was going to say, that looks like rope
No offense Mike!RAZ's TOTL review and rambles thread, on life support
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No offense Mike!
Craftsman1511
100+ Head-Fier
I agree! The Aeneid is also more analogue sounding than the Iliad and more neutral. The Iliad has great imaging and texture, the Aeneid does however takes a step further with the imaging precision and separation.
It was a blind purchase but a worthwhile one.
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
My approach to photography is sheer quantity over quality bro no offense takenI was going to say, that looks like rope
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
SoftEars RS10... the new 2000$ king of the reference hill
My original plan was to cover all three @Softears IEMs in a single post, where I cover the direction and tuning of each one, and I mean.. I really did mean to do that, but then the RS10 happened.
As a small spoiler alert, I like the RSV, especially in that it provides exceptional value, and I mostly think the Cerberus is a'ight but misses the mark on a few counts
The RS10 however... after my first listen the very first thing that I did was ping @doctorjuggles for a cable for it because it was 100% entering my daily/weekly IEM rotation - I've been listening to it a few times a week, and none of those listens have been with a review purpose, but a rather unadultered, almost childish enjoyment
When it comes to spending 2000$ and under on IEMs, it's pretty much A12t all the way for me, with a maybe for the MEST 2 and the Andromeda 2020. Sure there's plenty of other decent stuff in that range, but these three just punch so much above their price point that it feels like choosing between a 3000$ set of IEMs and something average at 1000. The RS10 joins that category, and not only does it join it, it heads it up as my new No1 2000-ish USD recommendation
The RS10 is above all, exceptionally well balanced. From bass to treble to technical ability, the quality and quantity of frequencies feels like it is just right - I know you can basically say that about a whole bunch of IEMs, but the RS10 somehow manages to take it to such refinement that it dazzles. The tuning is simply put, outrageous.
Fundamentally, the RS10 is a reference monitor - it is designed to be that. The sound is somewhat reminiscent of how 64Audio approaches IEMs, and in terms of FR/brightness I'd put it as something like
(darkest) A12t - A18S - SoftEars RS10 - A18t (brightest)
It has a healthy subbass lift/priority, a mostly clear and ever-so-slightly forward midrange, and a very natural and well extended, linear treble response.
The lows of the RS10 are a definitely quality over quantity, and provide a somewhat soft, smooth and organic response. I haven't really been listening to anything with DD woofer in it lately, and the Mason FuSang and A18S both have a pretty tight, hard and dry approach to the bass, so the RS10 has been a very pleasant change of pace - I actually see a fair bit of similarities between its bass and that of the A12t in that they both have that subbass focus for clarity, but the RS10 is a little more neutral in that respect.
My only complaint about the bass would be that it is potentially a little too far into the "audiophile" territory for my personal preference - it sounds almost how an open back headphone would in the lows, and avoids that sharp attack that BAs tend to produce giving you a sense of a "diffused" bass response. Whatever it lacks in midbass quantity, it more than makes up in raw quality however.
I personally believe that most of those who try the RS10 will be most impressed by its approach to the bass, but for me, the midrange steals the show.
The RS10 has a clear midrange, with a hint of forwardness at times, which is mostly expressed as airiness than it is as brightness. The reason why I mentioned the forwardness is mostly the clarity of the midrange, but realistically vocals don't have any real priority in terms of size or placement compared to instruments. The RS10 is a monitor that IMHO aims to show you everything happening in a track and give equal (or once again, balanced) attention to it all.
I absolutely love that there's no lower midrange scoop either, and the clarity is achieved through dynamics and separation and not the classic upper-midrange oriented tuning.
Of the three Softears, I'd put the RS10 as the least forward, and the Cerberus as the most forward.
Like most BA-executed mids, the RS10 lacks a little texture/analogue feel, but to a large extent that is as a result of its more reference, clarity-oriented tuning than it is a limitation. It also handles anything you throw at it with ease, from classical, to jazz, to the 90s rap that is often times much too sibilant on brighter monitors
This naturally leads me to the treble response - as I mentioned earlier, well-extended and very linear. I believe the magic in the RS10's tuning mainly comes from the treble, as it doesn't have any scoops, it remains adequately forward, detailed and ever-so-slightly bright, but it is SO inoffensive. Softears have managed to incorporate all the benefits of a highly resolving treble response without so much as hint of sibilance along the way, which is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
On speed vs. sparkle, I'd put the RS10's treble response on the slightly dry side, keeping up with just about any performance, but lacking the sparkle to call a lot of attention to itself.
The technical ability of the RS10 is very similar to that of the A12t. Highly refined, amongst the absolute best monitors on the market, but somehow lacking "dazzle" - on first listen everything sounded just right, and I was impressed, but I had no idea what it was that impressed me.
The staging is on the wide side, with a really effortless and spherical feel to it. Excellent, top-tier detail retrieval, product of both tuning and dynamics. Great separation as a result.
Verdict? Highly, highly recommended. As much as I've ever been able to recommend any 2000$ (2099) monitor. In this specific case this was a free sample (and a big thank you to @Softears), but if I had to send it back I'd 100% put down the money to own this. To avoid any accusation of bias, while I appreciate a lot of things about the RSV, and some about the Cerberus, if it came down to my own cash, the only one I'd happily pay full price for is the RS10.
While it admittedly matches my preferences very well, I believe that once audio shows resume and more people get to demo the RS10, its popularity and reputation within the community will spike. It's just a monitor that is too well tuned, with too good a balance to pass up.
My original plan was to cover all three @Softears IEMs in a single post, where I cover the direction and tuning of each one, and I mean.. I really did mean to do that, but then the RS10 happened.
As a small spoiler alert, I like the RSV, especially in that it provides exceptional value, and I mostly think the Cerberus is a'ight but misses the mark on a few counts
The RS10 however... after my first listen the very first thing that I did was ping @doctorjuggles for a cable for it because it was 100% entering my daily/weekly IEM rotation - I've been listening to it a few times a week, and none of those listens have been with a review purpose, but a rather unadultered, almost childish enjoyment
When it comes to spending 2000$ and under on IEMs, it's pretty much A12t all the way for me, with a maybe for the MEST 2 and the Andromeda 2020. Sure there's plenty of other decent stuff in that range, but these three just punch so much above their price point that it feels like choosing between a 3000$ set of IEMs and something average at 1000. The RS10 joins that category, and not only does it join it, it heads it up as my new No1 2000-ish USD recommendation
The RS10 is above all, exceptionally well balanced. From bass to treble to technical ability, the quality and quantity of frequencies feels like it is just right - I know you can basically say that about a whole bunch of IEMs, but the RS10 somehow manages to take it to such refinement that it dazzles. The tuning is simply put, outrageous.
Fundamentally, the RS10 is a reference monitor - it is designed to be that. The sound is somewhat reminiscent of how 64Audio approaches IEMs, and in terms of FR/brightness I'd put it as something like
(darkest) A12t - A18S - SoftEars RS10 - A18t (brightest)
It has a healthy subbass lift/priority, a mostly clear and ever-so-slightly forward midrange, and a very natural and well extended, linear treble response.
The lows of the RS10 are a definitely quality over quantity, and provide a somewhat soft, smooth and organic response. I haven't really been listening to anything with DD woofer in it lately, and the Mason FuSang and A18S both have a pretty tight, hard and dry approach to the bass, so the RS10 has been a very pleasant change of pace - I actually see a fair bit of similarities between its bass and that of the A12t in that they both have that subbass focus for clarity, but the RS10 is a little more neutral in that respect.
My only complaint about the bass would be that it is potentially a little too far into the "audiophile" territory for my personal preference - it sounds almost how an open back headphone would in the lows, and avoids that sharp attack that BAs tend to produce giving you a sense of a "diffused" bass response. Whatever it lacks in midbass quantity, it more than makes up in raw quality however.
I personally believe that most of those who try the RS10 will be most impressed by its approach to the bass, but for me, the midrange steals the show.
The RS10 has a clear midrange, with a hint of forwardness at times, which is mostly expressed as airiness than it is as brightness. The reason why I mentioned the forwardness is mostly the clarity of the midrange, but realistically vocals don't have any real priority in terms of size or placement compared to instruments. The RS10 is a monitor that IMHO aims to show you everything happening in a track and give equal (or once again, balanced) attention to it all.
I absolutely love that there's no lower midrange scoop either, and the clarity is achieved through dynamics and separation and not the classic upper-midrange oriented tuning.
Of the three Softears, I'd put the RS10 as the least forward, and the Cerberus as the most forward.
Like most BA-executed mids, the RS10 lacks a little texture/analogue feel, but to a large extent that is as a result of its more reference, clarity-oriented tuning than it is a limitation. It also handles anything you throw at it with ease, from classical, to jazz, to the 90s rap that is often times much too sibilant on brighter monitors
This naturally leads me to the treble response - as I mentioned earlier, well-extended and very linear. I believe the magic in the RS10's tuning mainly comes from the treble, as it doesn't have any scoops, it remains adequately forward, detailed and ever-so-slightly bright, but it is SO inoffensive. Softears have managed to incorporate all the benefits of a highly resolving treble response without so much as hint of sibilance along the way, which is nothing short of jaw-dropping.
On speed vs. sparkle, I'd put the RS10's treble response on the slightly dry side, keeping up with just about any performance, but lacking the sparkle to call a lot of attention to itself.
The technical ability of the RS10 is very similar to that of the A12t. Highly refined, amongst the absolute best monitors on the market, but somehow lacking "dazzle" - on first listen everything sounded just right, and I was impressed, but I had no idea what it was that impressed me.
The staging is on the wide side, with a really effortless and spherical feel to it. Excellent, top-tier detail retrieval, product of both tuning and dynamics. Great separation as a result.
Verdict? Highly, highly recommended. As much as I've ever been able to recommend any 2000$ (2099) monitor. In this specific case this was a free sample (and a big thank you to @Softears), but if I had to send it back I'd 100% put down the money to own this. To avoid any accusation of bias, while I appreciate a lot of things about the RSV, and some about the Cerberus, if it came down to my own cash, the only one I'd happily pay full price for is the RS10.
While it admittedly matches my preferences very well, I believe that once audio shows resume and more people get to demo the RS10, its popularity and reputation within the community will spike. It's just a monitor that is too well tuned, with too good a balance to pass up.
proedros
Headphoneus Supremus
if you ever drop to Athens , Greece let me know - not sure though if it's a good idea trying all those 3-6K toys of yours
currently at around 6500-7000 hours with my Zeus XR and still in total love with it
btw all you EDM fans , have you ever checked the glorious blissful sounds of prog house between 2000-2005 ?
cds like this should be a ****in' blast on those TOTL iems of yours
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mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Will do! The miss and I might go to Santorini for a weekend in July, if we end up passing through Athens I'll bring you a bunch of stuff to demo
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Order for N6II Ti placed! FOTM here we go
Kinda been feeling like building up a small/medium DAP collection, the PAW6000 has really awakened some interest in me
Kinda been feeling like building up a small/medium DAP collection, the PAW6000 has really awakened some interest in me
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
Part 2/3 of the Softears lineup review, the Cerberus
Disclaimer: I love how they've named their co-flagship waaaaaaay too much to provide any sort of honest or unbiased opinion... Whoever the genius is that came up with the name "Cerberus" for a tribrid, I salute you good sir
Aight kidding aside - I don't love the Cerberus, mostly for mustard-y reasons. I'm going to do my best to evaluate it from an objective POV, by sticking to genres where forward upper mids don't slaughter all enjoyment, and more of those high quality audiophile recordings where revealing monitors shine
The Cerberus' tuning direction confuses me somewhat. I feel like it was designed to be a more fun, very engaging experience, but in the process of achieving that, it somewhat under-shot and ended up being a somewhat thin, sterile and overly forward, Odin-like experience. I'd personally describe the FR as a W, that is missing the first "\" - Kinda like that Nordic "N" - a very neutral, somewhat tight, subbass-focused woofer, lower midrange scoop, followed by a bunch of upper mids and treble
The bass response of the Cerberus is to me the one fundamental tuning flaw. It's just missing way too much midbass to be able to really compensate for the upper midrange and treble presence and give some thickness and texture to the monitor as a whole. The bass that is there is good in quality, enjoys a healthy texture, and is consistent with the midrange and treble in that it is quite tight and quick. Oddly enough though, in terms of sheer quality, I personally feel like the bass of the RS10 is superior in terms of tuning, texture, and impact quality while being produced by BAs (as opposed to the Cerberus' DD).
The midrange of the Cerberus is one that I am particularly struggling with because of the sheer forwardness. I've said this time and time again, I just can not and do not click with overly forward mids, which the Cerberus has a lot of. Male vocals lack sufficient body for my taste, instruments lack sufficient weight, while female vocals are way oversized. Granted, at no point does it actually get overly shouty, but there's just way too much going on in that vocal range, and the result is quite unpleasant to my ears
The treble response of the Cerberus is very impressive. It is quite forward, quite bright, but extremely well controlled delivering exceptional speed and extension as well as gobs of detail, while avoiding sibilance and harshness at all times. It's genuinely one of the better treble responses I've heard, and it's extremely unfortunate that it is married to a midrange this forward or else the Cerberus could've been a monitor I enjoy thoroughly.
One of the albums that I found that sounds outrageous on the Cerberus is Jamiroquai's Rock Dust Light Star, since his voice is unaffacted by the upper midrange peak, giving instruments plenty of space to perform, and allowing the estat drivers to show what they're capable of. In the meantime, the tight and focused bass response is able to keep up effortlessly. The general speed of the monitor as well as the large, expansive stage also make it sound especially good with rock, The White Stripes' Rag and Bone sounds absolutely unreal
On technical ability, as long as there are no upper mids to take over the performance, I find the Cerberus to be very flashy - there's nothing subtle about how large and expansive its stage is, or just how much detail it is able to deliver. Separation is excellent as long as there's no oversized vocal in the middle of the performance once again.
On coherence, I'd say the Cerberus fares especially well for a tribrid. All three frequency regions and driver types follow that same fast, tight and somewhat thin sound. It flows effortlessly, and at no point can I feel there's any discrepancy between them
Verdict? My initial impression of the Cerberus is one of "what could've been" - a sandwich with excellent bread, just the right quantity of the right ingredients, spoiled by a fat layer of mustard.
That being said, if you enjoy a forward midrange, I imagine I'd recommend it quite highly - and that being said , if you enjoy an especially forward midrange you absolutely should not be paying attention to my reviews and impressions
Disclaimer: I love how they've named their co-flagship waaaaaaay too much to provide any sort of honest or unbiased opinion... Whoever the genius is that came up with the name "Cerberus" for a tribrid, I salute you good sir
Aight kidding aside - I don't love the Cerberus, mostly for mustard-y reasons. I'm going to do my best to evaluate it from an objective POV, by sticking to genres where forward upper mids don't slaughter all enjoyment, and more of those high quality audiophile recordings where revealing monitors shine
The Cerberus' tuning direction confuses me somewhat. I feel like it was designed to be a more fun, very engaging experience, but in the process of achieving that, it somewhat under-shot and ended up being a somewhat thin, sterile and overly forward, Odin-like experience. I'd personally describe the FR as a W, that is missing the first "\" - Kinda like that Nordic "N" - a very neutral, somewhat tight, subbass-focused woofer, lower midrange scoop, followed by a bunch of upper mids and treble
The bass response of the Cerberus is to me the one fundamental tuning flaw. It's just missing way too much midbass to be able to really compensate for the upper midrange and treble presence and give some thickness and texture to the monitor as a whole. The bass that is there is good in quality, enjoys a healthy texture, and is consistent with the midrange and treble in that it is quite tight and quick. Oddly enough though, in terms of sheer quality, I personally feel like the bass of the RS10 is superior in terms of tuning, texture, and impact quality while being produced by BAs (as opposed to the Cerberus' DD).
The midrange of the Cerberus is one that I am particularly struggling with because of the sheer forwardness. I've said this time and time again, I just can not and do not click with overly forward mids, which the Cerberus has a lot of. Male vocals lack sufficient body for my taste, instruments lack sufficient weight, while female vocals are way oversized. Granted, at no point does it actually get overly shouty, but there's just way too much going on in that vocal range, and the result is quite unpleasant to my ears
The treble response of the Cerberus is very impressive. It is quite forward, quite bright, but extremely well controlled delivering exceptional speed and extension as well as gobs of detail, while avoiding sibilance and harshness at all times. It's genuinely one of the better treble responses I've heard, and it's extremely unfortunate that it is married to a midrange this forward or else the Cerberus could've been a monitor I enjoy thoroughly.
One of the albums that I found that sounds outrageous on the Cerberus is Jamiroquai's Rock Dust Light Star, since his voice is unaffacted by the upper midrange peak, giving instruments plenty of space to perform, and allowing the estat drivers to show what they're capable of. In the meantime, the tight and focused bass response is able to keep up effortlessly. The general speed of the monitor as well as the large, expansive stage also make it sound especially good with rock, The White Stripes' Rag and Bone sounds absolutely unreal
On technical ability, as long as there are no upper mids to take over the performance, I find the Cerberus to be very flashy - there's nothing subtle about how large and expansive its stage is, or just how much detail it is able to deliver. Separation is excellent as long as there's no oversized vocal in the middle of the performance once again.
On coherence, I'd say the Cerberus fares especially well for a tribrid. All three frequency regions and driver types follow that same fast, tight and somewhat thin sound. It flows effortlessly, and at no point can I feel there's any discrepancy between them
Verdict? My initial impression of the Cerberus is one of "what could've been" - a sandwich with excellent bread, just the right quantity of the right ingredients, spoiled by a fat layer of mustard.
That being said, if you enjoy a forward midrange, I imagine I'd recommend it quite highly - and that being said
, if you enjoy an especially forward midrange you absolutely should not be paying attention to my reviews and impressions
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proedros
Headphoneus Supremus
Will do! The miss and I might go to Santorini for a weekend in July, if we end up passing through Athens I'll bring you a bunch of stuff to demo
Santorini is top destination for couples , the magic sunset etc but too crowded for my taste
if you manage to stay in Athens , i have a great place to eat like a King while paying like a peasant
ps: not sure if the bold part is a good thing or not hahahaha
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nce-2016-on-dollar-strength-fed?sref=kPIaWmpY
The real reason everyone's dropping GPS' left and right
The real reason everyone's dropping GPS' left and right
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OOTL?https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...nce-2016-on-dollar-strength-fed?sref=kPIaWmpY
The real reason everyone's dropping GPS' left and right
normie610
Headphoneus Supremus
Michael, out of curiosity, do you still listen to your headphone gear? Or you’re fully back into IEMs now?
mvvRAZ
Headphoneus Supremus
I'm back to the office full time, and it's pretty busy so I can't get in any headphone time
the MHA150 and 1266TC are just collecting dust the poor things. I sold the Diana Phi for the time being, and will be using that $ for some DAPs and reacquiring the Thummim
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Casual flex not listing your Abyss TCs in your bio
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