[Rockwell75]

Softears RS10

Very grateful to @Charlyro222 for the opportunity to hear these.

I've spent some time with this IEM off & on since receiving it late last week.

Quick summary:

+ It's a beautiful pair of IEMs
+ Fit is great
+ Clarity & layering are above average
+ Extension is decent up top
+ Nice & technical

+/- Vocals are passable if a little uninspiring
+/- Mids are forward & clear if a little thin

- Overloaded upper mids that are fatiguing for me
- Near total lack of mid-bass-- to echo something @SBranson said yesterday it feels like a portion of the FR is missing.
- Sub-bass emphasis that sounds a little off to me given the lack of mid-bass
- Not a really an inspiring tuning for me-- no real wow factor
- Slippery dippery nozzles that I hard time finding tips for

I am aware of some saying the Shanling M8 isn't the best pairup so I have also demoed the RS10 on my Macbook & N3Pro and my impressions are pretty consistent across all 3 sources-- unfortunately I don't have anything more powerful than the Shanling M8.

My immediate thought upon hearing them was that they sound like a more refined version of the same sort of tuning found in IEMs like the Moondrop S8 & Blessing 2 Dusk. While I did find it quite fatiguing up top I wouldn't say it veered into shoutiness and it certainly was never wince inducing to me like the Dusk was. Like the Dusk, the RS10 seems to need a crap ton of cranks on the volume knob to get loud.

I think fundamentally these have convinced me that I just don't jive with Harman tuning so in the ultimate sense I'm probably not the best person to judge these. I understand a lot of people love them so I might venture to say that if you ARE into Harman tuning these may very well be worth a look. For my money the Oriolus Reborn is a much more inspired & engaging take on a similar tuning and as far as "reference" IEMs go the Campfire Holocene gets a lot more right for me than these do. As with all things in this hobby YMMV.

 

[claud W]

Wildcatsare1,
62, is when you still consider yourself middle aged. I remember when you were still into headphones primarily. You had medical complications. That will age you, as you said. I guess that your hearing is better than mine. Welcome to the old duffers club.

 

[Charlyro222]

Softears RS10

Very grateful to @Charlyro222 for the opportunity to hear these.

I've spent some time with this IEM off & on since receiving it late last week.

Quick summary:

+ It's a beautiful pair of IEMs
+ Fit is great
+ Clarity & layering are above average
+ Extension is decent up top
+ Nice & technical

+/- Vocals are passable if a little uninspiring
+/- Mids are forward & clear if a little thin

- Overloaded upper mids that are fatiguing for me
- Near total lack of mid-bass-- to echo something @SBranson said yesterday it feels like a portion of the FR is missing.
- Sub-bass emphasis that sounds a little off to me given the lack of mid-bass
- Not a really an inspiring tuning for me-- no real wow factor
- Slippery dippery nozzles that I hard time finding tips for

I am aware of some saying the Shanling M8 isn't the best pairup so I have also demoed the RS10 on my Macbook & N3Pro and my impressions are pretty consistent across all 3 sources-- unfortunately I don't have anything more powerful than the Shanling M8.

My immediate thought upon hearing them was that they sound like a more refined version of the same sort of tuning found in IEMs like the Moondrop S8 & Blessing 2 Dusk. While I did find it quite fatiguing up top I wouldn't say it veered into shoutiness and it certainly was never wince inducing to me like the Dusk was. Like the Dusk, the RS10 seems to need a crap ton of cranks on the volume knob to get loud.

I think fundamentally these have convinced me that I just don't jive with Harman tuning so in the ultimate sense I'm probably not the best person to judge these. I understand a lot of people love them so I might venture to say that if you ARE into Harman tuning these may very well be worth a look. For my money the Oriolus Reborn is a much more inspired & engaging take on a similar tuning and as far as "reference" IEMs go the Campfire Holocene gets a lot more right for me than these do. As with all things in this hobby YMMV.

I Think to get their best you need something like ibasso 220/300 max, Ifi Diablo or similar power.

 

[Rockwell75]

Hey @Rockwell75, any chance you'd hearing the IE900? I'm looking to buy a small form factor IEM and I'm torn between it and Dorado.

No I have not. My sense from reading descriptions & impressions is that the IE900 has a harman type tuning so my guess is that 1) it will be night & day from the Dorado and 2) it probably won't be my thing. Dorado is a mid-bassy IEM-- probably the best one out there imho-- but if you're not into that it may not suit your needs.

 

[claud W]

Excellent, the Athena is fast, very transparent, but it seems to smooth out any stridency in the Isa, Which does not make absolute sense to me.

Isa and Athena cooking on my break in stack. Should be ready sometime Thursday when Eletech Iliad arrives.

 

[Mehran]

No I have not. My sense from reading descriptions & impressions is that the IE900 has a harman type tuning so my guess is that 1) it will be night & day from the Dorado and 2) it probably won't be my thing. Dorado is a mid-bassy IEM-- probably the best one out there imho-- but if you're not into that it may not suit your needs.

Thanks , I already pulled the trigger on Dorado, as I suspected the same thing.

 

[claud W]

Rock,
What cable are you using on your Dorado these days?

 

[Rockwell75]

Rock,
What cable are you using on your Dorado these days?

Prudence

 

[Damz87]

No I have not. My sense from reading descriptions & impressions is that the IE900 has a harman type tuning so my guess is that 1) it will be night & day from the Dorado and 2) it probably won't be my thing. Dorado is a mid-bassy IEM-- probably the best one out there imho-- but if you're not into that it may not suit your needs.

It definitely doesn’t have a Harman tuning. The upper mids are too recessed to be considered Harman. It’s got more of a U-shaped sig. plenty of mid bass too. Never know, you might like it.

 

[Rockwell75]

It definitely doesn’t have a Harman tuning. The upper mids are too recessed to be considered Harman. It’s got more of a U-shaped sig. plenty of mid bass too. Never know, you might like it.

I'm dying to hear it but it's too much $$ for me to take a blind. Hopefully an opportunity to hear it will come my way

Edit: BTW how are you doing? I've heard from some sources that the situation in Aus right now isn't the best.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Isa and Athena cooking on my break in stack. Should be ready sometime Thursday when Eletech Iliad arrives.

I love the Iliadvwith the Isa, looking forward to reading your thoughts!

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Softears RS10

Very grateful to @Charlyro222 for the opportunity to hear these.

I've spent some time with this IEM off & on since receiving it late last week.

Quick summary:

+ It's a beautiful pair of IEMs
+ Fit is great
+ Clarity & layering are above average
+ Extension is decent up top
+ Nice & technical

+/- Vocals are passable if a little uninspiring
+/- Mids are forward & clear if a little thin

- Overloaded upper mids that are fatiguing for me
- Near total lack of mid-bass-- to echo something @SBranson said yesterday it feels like a portion of the FR is missing.
- Sub-bass emphasis that sounds a little off to me given the lack of mid-bass
- Not a really an inspiring tuning for me-- no real wow factor
- Slippery dippery nozzles that I hard time finding tips for

I am aware of some saying the Shanling M8 isn't the best pairup so I have also demoed the RS10 on my Macbook & N3Pro and my impressions are pretty consistent across all 3 sources-- unfortunately I don't have anything more powerful than the Shanling M8.

My immediate thought upon hearing them was that they sound like a more refined version of the same sort of tuning found in IEMs like the Moondrop S8 & Blessing 2 Dusk. While I did find it quite fatiguing up top I wouldn't say it veered into shoutiness and it certainly was never wince inducing to me like the Dusk was. Like the Dusk, the RS10 seems to need a crap ton of cranks on the volume knob to get loud.

I think fundamentally these have convinced me that I just don't jive with Harman tuning so in the ultimate sense I'm probably not the best person to judge these. I understand a lot of people love them so I might venture to say that if you ARE into Harman tuning these may very well be worth a look. For my money the Oriolus Reborn is a much more inspired & engaging take on a similar tuning and as far as "reference" IEMs go the Campfire Holocene gets a lot more right for me than these do. As with all things in this hobby YMMV.

Now that your are reviewing, adding something like a Topping A90 (or better, but to get better is a lot more money, it's a great amp) so you have a high power, neutral source for testing IEMs.

 

[iFi audio]

Rs10 is a power hungry, give a try with iFi Diablo, you will get its best sound

Do you mean Softears RS10?

Donda

Google tells us that DONDA is "a creative content company founded by American rapper and fashion designer Kanye West."

Can't have enough of Kanye and his marketing

 

[Rockwell75]

Now that your are reviewing, adding something like a Topping A90 (or better, but to get better is a lot more money, it's a great amp) so you have a high power, neutral source for testing IEMs.

Possibly but honestly if a pair of IEMs is underpowered by the most powerful portable source on the market then that should raise an eyebrow I would think.

Edit: Just to be clear I never claimed the RS10 was underpowered-- my beef with it is mainly that the FR is not my personal ideal.

 

[iFi audio]

Possibly but honestly if a pair of IEMs is underpowered by the most powerful portable source on the market then that should raise an eyebrow I would think.

There's something there for sure