Rhapsodio Supreme MK3
Hey guys,
Since I bought my Rhapsodio Supreme MK3 last month, I have spent extensive time comparing it to other Summit-Fi IEMs, and I would like to share my impressions with you in case you are interested.
*Please note that I am not a professional reviewer, but rather an audiophile who loves music and rolling TOTL IEMs. Please bear with me if my sharing is not objective or professional enough.*
Background
To be honest, I had very limited knowledge of Rhapsodio before purchasing the Supreme MK3. I had never heard of any of their IEMs before and didn't know what to expect. What triggered me was the demo at the Tokyo Headphone Festival back in April. I had the chance to meet with the founder, Sammy, and try the Supreme MK3. After a brief audition, I decided to pull the trigger and add this golden little guy to my TOTL IEMs collection.
Overall impression
- To me, the Supreme MK3 is an ultra-resolving/analytical IEM, with detail presentation that is quite ahead of other IEMs in my collection. Originally, I would have considered the Viking Ragnar to be the analytical god, but the Supreme MK3 took it to another level. The sound is aggressive for sure, and I can find the precise details and separation I need, especially for classical music.
- Listening to the Supreme has a very unique feeling unlike other Summit-Fi IEMs. You can feel the different interpretation of the sound stages, and vocal placement is reasonably distant. It's almost like listening to headphones instead of IEMs. I would give credit to the brass shell.
- The overall tuning is relatively mid/high-focused, with a little bit of emphasis on the treble depending on the sources. The bass is fast and snappy, with good quality, but not enough for bass heads. I have tried pairing it with different DAPs, and I like pairing the Supreme with warm/analog-sounding DAPs, especially LP6, N8ii, and P6pro.
- The Supreme requires quite a lot of power to drive. To put it into perspective, my normal listening level on Traillii/Mentor, driven by P6Pro, is low gain 28, Phonix Limited is low gain 19, while the Supreme requires high gain 35. It also scales significantly with external amps. I tried P6pro line out to Little Dot LD Y3/Cayin 9, and both pairings yielded great results, with soundstage being further expanded and added extra sub-bass.
- Comfort is one of my few complaints about the Supreme. Given its full brass shell, the IEM itself is one of the heaviest that I have tried, even heavier compared to the Viking Ragnar. I spent quite some time tip rolling to settle on my ideal tips (Azla max tws) to get a reasonably comfortable listening experience with them, as they kept slipping out. The shape itself is comfortable, but the only issue is the weight.
Comparison
In my opinion, the Supreme definitely stands firm among the Summit-Fi league, especially for audiophiles who enjoy critical listening and want to hear every bit of fine details in the music.
- Compared to the IEMs I own/have owned, the Supreme has the biggest soundstage expansion: Traillii, Jewel, Mentor, Viking Ragnar, Phonix Limited, etc. The tuning is a little bit closer to the Viking Ragnar; both have excellent details, but the Supreme has a more aggressive treble and even better clarity. However, sometimes sibilance would be a problem in certain recordings, pairing with warm sounding DAP like P6Pro would fix.
- The Supreme is very complementary to my other collections. If I enjoy relaxed/non-fatiguing long listening sessions, I would choose Traillii. If I want to listen to ballads with a particular focus on vocals, I would choose Phonix LE. But for classical/critical listening sessions, I will always lean towards Supreme.
TLDR: I enjoy the Supreme quite a lot and would recommend it to all treble lovers who like analytical presentation. Whether the Supreme is worth the selling price, I will leave it up to you guys to decide
PS: I recently also bought the P-Zero, the flagship planar IEM from Simphonio in China. My initial impression is that it's another beast! I will share more about it and comparisons in the future
P6Pro + Cayin C9 (Pre-in mode)+ Orpheus Shielding IC + First Time Shielding + Supreme MK3