kimvictor
Headphoneus Supremus
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- Jun 19, 2012
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Disclaimer: The unit reviewed has been provided by the manufacturer to the reviewer, free of cost. However, I assure you that T-PEOS had no input into the review.
I love products with interesting names: Musical Fidelity Merlin(Merlin from the Knights of the Round Table), Wavelet Design Opus1, and most of JH Audio’s new CIEMs to name a few. Rasiel, correctly spelled Raziel, is an archangel in Judaism that is the keeper of the secrets. Quite frankly, I don’t see how this relates to the IEM itself, but hell with it. It’s not like JH Audio’s naming makes sense either.
As a Korean, it’s nice to see something from Korea pop up here and there. I’ve never been a big fan of Korean IEMs (except for Hidition CIEMs) as their bass is usually grossly bloated to match the compressed K-Pop Koreans are so fond of. I just never digged that kind of sound. So I was hesitant when T-PEOS contacted me about their “vacuum tube” IEMs. “Holy crap. T-PEOS had boosted bass even before calling their IEMs vacuum like, so what now?” Anyhow, I was curious, and the shiny T-PEOS Rasiel arrived about a month ago, and I feel fairly comfortable sharing my views on the Rasiel.
The version I received in the version for the Korean market and is produced under the name TGD. For the international versions, T-PEOS logo will be printed. I do, however, wish that they fixed the poor English on the box. Killing sound? What does that even mean? Eh, it doesn’t matter. I doubt most of us buy IEMs based off of what the box says.
The first impression of the Rasiel was a wow. The design is undoubtedly inspired by FAD IEMs, which are beautifully crafted. While I admit that I’ve never been a fan of FAD sound, I can’t help but to admit that FAD makes some of the most beautifully crafted IEMs. Now, with this rather different design with all metal housing, you might wonder how the fit is. The fit, thankfully, is great. While weighty, the IEMs fit tightly in my ears, and are comfortable for at least a few hours. They also stay in rather well. Because of the weight though, I wouldn’t recommend running in them. The build is respectable as well.
Rasiel's design is definitely on the good side.
The cables are braided and are fairly flexible. It’s also on the thicker side, which can be good or bad. Cable noise is present, although not as bothersome as that of other IEMs with similar cable. You might also have noticed the in line mic, along with the control button. The control button and the mic should be universal for both Android and iPhones alike. However, the button control only has one button, for play control, and volume control can only be done on the DAP itself. The isolation is also fairly decent. I suspect about 12-16db.
The cable, as visible, are braided. It also has an angled 3.5mm termination and a small remote.
The sound itself, at first, was a mix of emotions. Writing for CYMBACAVUM, my experience with IEMs have been mostly with high end CIEMs. In fact, just this year alone, I’ve had the XBA-Z5, UERM, and Jomo 6R go through my hands. On the other hand, being a student, my personal purchases composed of cheaper OTG IEMs for use with my phone. I’m quite used to how cheap IEMs sound. That is, usually bassy. The Rasiel wasn’t an exception. It felt like someone had put a woofer in the earphones, and that’s kind of what the Rasiel is about. In fact, in the brochure James, VP of T-PEOS, sent me, the drivers were called “woofer-dynamic” drivers. The mids were present, but bit muffled, and the treble, while slightly boosted compared to the lower mids, still veiled behind the bass.
In a sense, it felt like someone matched a really warm tube amp with a V-shaped IEM. In a sense, the slight veil reminded me of vintage vinyl. So I suppose T-PEOS’s claim about the vacuum sound is somewhat correct. The bass, I suspect, is boosted by 20-25db, compared to the UERM(or the HD800), or 5-10db boosted compared to average consumer IEMs. Bassheads will surely rejoice hearing this. I won’t hide anything. The Rasiel, in its original tuning, is meant for bass enthusiasts. For the amount of bass it has, the mids and treble are quite acceptable. The treble is also boosted, so those fond of electronic music will find the Rasiel fairly suitable. However, compared to actual IEMs aimed at tight bass, the Rasiel lacks tightness, and has a tendency to spread out the impact(or the punch), meaning it has a longer decay than most other IEMs I’ve heard. The treble reminded me a bit of Z5, partially because I suspect that Rasiel also has a 10k peak. While some audiophiles shriek at a treble peak, I personally believe that the 10k peak adds to the airiness of the IEM, and have no issue with it. Afterall, the peak is at the upper end of the shrill spectrum, and the IEMs themselves don’t sound that shrill.
The staging is decent, as expected of $40 IEMs, and so is the detail. The clarity, as mentioned, suffers quite a bit from the bass boost, so that’s a negative.
But for me, who doesn’t like too much deviation from neutral sound (although I do enjoy a wide range of sound), the Rasiel had me craving something more. This is quite normal for a entry level IEM, and I knew the exact remedy to it: EQ. All android smartphones and iPhones are capable of a software EQ, which, in this digital age, sounds pretty damn close to physical EQ. Turn on the bass reduction, or if you wish to do it manually, turn down the lowest frequency by at least 5db, and gradually reduce the upper bass frequencies. And Voila! Something that actually sounds like nice vacuum tubes. The mids finally shine through, and presents what vacuum tube should sound like: smooth, rich, and mellow. The mids are quite satisfying, and the treble is finally more present, lifting the veil a bit. Don’t get me wrong. The EQ doesn’t make the Rasiel sound flat in any way. But that’s not what the Rasiel was meant to be. It was meant to present a pleasant, smooth sound. The clarity also greatly improves with the lifted veil. As exaggerated as it sounds, the EQ corrects everything Rasiel did wrong.
With the EQ, the Rasiel is a winner for me. Sure the bass isn’t as tight and T-PEOS tried to compensate for the veil with a rather big peak, but with the EQ, the Rasiel truly captures the warm and mellow sound of the vacuum tube. The Rasiel will be released under T-PEOS to the international market, at a price of around $40.
As the Rasiel was clearly not designed for high-end audio use, the review was done using the LG G3. However, I would like to claim that using an amp definitely benefits the Rasiel. The sound becomes tighter and less sluggish with good amping. However, the Rasiel is easily driven out of a smartphone. With sensitivity of 110db and impedance of 10ohms, the Rasiel is fairly sensitive, and following the 8x rule, source with OI less than 2ohm is recommended, although Rasiel doesn't seem to be effected too much by output impedance. The UERM and EXS X10 was used as references in this review.
I love products with interesting names: Musical Fidelity Merlin(Merlin from the Knights of the Round Table), Wavelet Design Opus1, and most of JH Audio’s new CIEMs to name a few. Rasiel, correctly spelled Raziel, is an archangel in Judaism that is the keeper of the secrets. Quite frankly, I don’t see how this relates to the IEM itself, but hell with it. It’s not like JH Audio’s naming makes sense either.
As a Korean, it’s nice to see something from Korea pop up here and there. I’ve never been a big fan of Korean IEMs (except for Hidition CIEMs) as their bass is usually grossly bloated to match the compressed K-Pop Koreans are so fond of. I just never digged that kind of sound. So I was hesitant when T-PEOS contacted me about their “vacuum tube” IEMs. “Holy crap. T-PEOS had boosted bass even before calling their IEMs vacuum like, so what now?” Anyhow, I was curious, and the shiny T-PEOS Rasiel arrived about a month ago, and I feel fairly comfortable sharing my views on the Rasiel.
The version I received in the version for the Korean market and is produced under the name TGD. For the international versions, T-PEOS logo will be printed. I do, however, wish that they fixed the poor English on the box. Killing sound? What does that even mean? Eh, it doesn’t matter. I doubt most of us buy IEMs based off of what the box says.
The first impression of the Rasiel was a wow. The design is undoubtedly inspired by FAD IEMs, which are beautifully crafted. While I admit that I’ve never been a fan of FAD sound, I can’t help but to admit that FAD makes some of the most beautifully crafted IEMs. Now, with this rather different design with all metal housing, you might wonder how the fit is. The fit, thankfully, is great. While weighty, the IEMs fit tightly in my ears, and are comfortable for at least a few hours. They also stay in rather well. Because of the weight though, I wouldn’t recommend running in them. The build is respectable as well.
Rasiel's design is definitely on the good side.
The cables are braided and are fairly flexible. It’s also on the thicker side, which can be good or bad. Cable noise is present, although not as bothersome as that of other IEMs with similar cable. You might also have noticed the in line mic, along with the control button. The control button and the mic should be universal for both Android and iPhones alike. However, the button control only has one button, for play control, and volume control can only be done on the DAP itself. The isolation is also fairly decent. I suspect about 12-16db.
The cable, as visible, are braided. It also has an angled 3.5mm termination and a small remote.
The sound itself, at first, was a mix of emotions. Writing for CYMBACAVUM, my experience with IEMs have been mostly with high end CIEMs. In fact, just this year alone, I’ve had the XBA-Z5, UERM, and Jomo 6R go through my hands. On the other hand, being a student, my personal purchases composed of cheaper OTG IEMs for use with my phone. I’m quite used to how cheap IEMs sound. That is, usually bassy. The Rasiel wasn’t an exception. It felt like someone had put a woofer in the earphones, and that’s kind of what the Rasiel is about. In fact, in the brochure James, VP of T-PEOS, sent me, the drivers were called “woofer-dynamic” drivers. The mids were present, but bit muffled, and the treble, while slightly boosted compared to the lower mids, still veiled behind the bass.
In a sense, it felt like someone matched a really warm tube amp with a V-shaped IEM. In a sense, the slight veil reminded me of vintage vinyl. So I suppose T-PEOS’s claim about the vacuum sound is somewhat correct. The bass, I suspect, is boosted by 20-25db, compared to the UERM(or the HD800), or 5-10db boosted compared to average consumer IEMs. Bassheads will surely rejoice hearing this. I won’t hide anything. The Rasiel, in its original tuning, is meant for bass enthusiasts. For the amount of bass it has, the mids and treble are quite acceptable. The treble is also boosted, so those fond of electronic music will find the Rasiel fairly suitable. However, compared to actual IEMs aimed at tight bass, the Rasiel lacks tightness, and has a tendency to spread out the impact(or the punch), meaning it has a longer decay than most other IEMs I’ve heard. The treble reminded me a bit of Z5, partially because I suspect that Rasiel also has a 10k peak. While some audiophiles shriek at a treble peak, I personally believe that the 10k peak adds to the airiness of the IEM, and have no issue with it. Afterall, the peak is at the upper end of the shrill spectrum, and the IEMs themselves don’t sound that shrill.
The staging is decent, as expected of $40 IEMs, and so is the detail. The clarity, as mentioned, suffers quite a bit from the bass boost, so that’s a negative.
But for me, who doesn’t like too much deviation from neutral sound (although I do enjoy a wide range of sound), the Rasiel had me craving something more. This is quite normal for a entry level IEM, and I knew the exact remedy to it: EQ. All android smartphones and iPhones are capable of a software EQ, which, in this digital age, sounds pretty damn close to physical EQ. Turn on the bass reduction, or if you wish to do it manually, turn down the lowest frequency by at least 5db, and gradually reduce the upper bass frequencies. And Voila! Something that actually sounds like nice vacuum tubes. The mids finally shine through, and presents what vacuum tube should sound like: smooth, rich, and mellow. The mids are quite satisfying, and the treble is finally more present, lifting the veil a bit. Don’t get me wrong. The EQ doesn’t make the Rasiel sound flat in any way. But that’s not what the Rasiel was meant to be. It was meant to present a pleasant, smooth sound. The clarity also greatly improves with the lifted veil. As exaggerated as it sounds, the EQ corrects everything Rasiel did wrong.
With the EQ, the Rasiel is a winner for me. Sure the bass isn’t as tight and T-PEOS tried to compensate for the veil with a rather big peak, but with the EQ, the Rasiel truly captures the warm and mellow sound of the vacuum tube. The Rasiel will be released under T-PEOS to the international market, at a price of around $40.
As the Rasiel was clearly not designed for high-end audio use, the review was done using the LG G3. However, I would like to claim that using an amp definitely benefits the Rasiel. The sound becomes tighter and less sluggish with good amping. However, the Rasiel is easily driven out of a smartphone. With sensitivity of 110db and impedance of 10ohms, the Rasiel is fairly sensitive, and following the 8x rule, source with OI less than 2ohm is recommended, although Rasiel doesn't seem to be effected too much by output impedance. The UERM and EXS X10 was used as references in this review.
For those who has been follow me, you would know that I've owned quite a range of IEMs. But the more and more I listen to IEMs, the more and more I'm convinced that good sound is good sound. You can analyze the sound as much as you want, but at some point, you just say "this is pretty good" and be happy with it. Of course, I don't do that for my reviews, but for personal enjoyment, I found this approach much easier. Just a food for thought.
Also, I'll be more active on head-fi over the summer, so if you want a review done, or want advice on anything, feel free to shoot me a message. I go back and forth from CYMBACAVUM to here, depending on the product, but I'm willing to review just about anything on head-fi. Afterall, head-fi is the home of portable audio nuts.
Also, I'll be more active on head-fi over the summer, so if you want a review done, or want advice on anything, feel free to shoot me a message. I go back and forth from CYMBACAVUM to here, depending on the product, but I'm willing to review just about anything on head-fi. Afterall, head-fi is the home of portable audio nuts.
