RHAPSODIO SUPREME MK3:
A lot has changed for my preferences and gear setups since I first fell in love with the Rhapsodio Supreme MK2 ~3 years ago, but when I found out that I had the opportunity to have an extended listen with it outside of CanJam, I knew I had to see what else Sammy has cooked up.
First off, Sv3 is more revealing, technically proficient, and dynamic than the Sv2. At first, this can come across as a touch bright, or a bit too illuminating in the upper registries, but just like most Rhapsodios,
synergy is everything. Granted, my portable DAP-game is MIA (lol @ L&P W2), but once I gave the Sv3 some serious power through my tube desktop rig with the Rockna stack + Woo Audio WA23 Luna, that
gorgeous timbre and sensual midrange came to life tenfold. Staging is sophisticatedly and eloquently placed, with convincing instrument imaging and impressive microdynamics. My biggest issue with the previous Rhapsodio magnetostatic IEMs were that they were just not dynamic enough---they had impressive speed but were lacking in impact. And while Sv3 will not satisfy a basshead, it has a clean, tight punch to its transients that work well for its organic tonality.
As I am spiraling deeper and deeper into trying to maximize the most I can out of the Susvara, I can almost confidently say that the Sv3 (when synergized well) can compete with Susvara for timbre and beautiful portrayal of vocals and instruments. Acoustic guitars are goosebumps-inducingly realistic, with just the perfect blend of speed, texture, and decay. I think Sammy is really onto something with the magnetostatic driver for IEMs-it has planar beat on timbre and realism, albeit at the expense of some macrodynamics and sensitivity to source. Just like how I love to use the Susvara for genres I don't generally listen to such as classical, piano, orchestra, and vocal-centric tracks, the Supreme MK3 entices me the exact same way from the portable world. It simply provokes an emotional attachment to the music.
The damn shame is that again, it will require finding that
right DAP/chain, likely one with tons of power and that can add technical warmth to offset Sv3s rather finicky, quirky, even at times
metallic default tonal signature. I've had this issue with the Rhap v2, where it was a bright, fatiguing IEM off the HiBy R8, but significantly different IEM off a warmer iBasso DAP (my favorite midrange of all-time).
And the same with Rhapsodio Infinity MK2. But again, a lot has changed in the last 3 years and I think the understanding that synergy is everything in this hobby has grown, so I look forward to hearing if others also unlock the beauty that Supreme can offer. Kudos Sammy-expensive AF (especially when you have to find a TOTL cable for it), but Supreme V2/V3 really do stand in a league of their own for timbre, midrange, and texture IMHO.