Softears is simply one of my favourite brands to try out and hear their offerings, where I have had more hits than misses- with the Volume S, Twilight and RSV MK2 being their all time favourites; but when I got offered by one of my patrons to try out their new boxy offering, and a controversial “spiritual” successor to the Twilight in form and specs, the Edge, I simply said yes and spent a good chunk of my time, being surprised, blind sided and caught off guard by the Edge. Thank you to my good friend for making this review possible.

UNBOXING, ACCESSORIES, FIT AND COMFORT

This is the first time I have unboxed a product from Softears, and I must say this was different- none of the cringe waifu branding, no product advertisement even: straight up why they named it Edge, their brand philosophy in very minimal font in a square box of grey. Unlidding the box gives way to a translucent sheet of paper underneath which lies the shells of the Edge in foam padding. Under that is a circular case which had the cable, protective covers for the IEMs, cleaning tool and microfiber cloth; and for eartips- three pairs of Softears Ultra Clears, and three pairs of regular (generic) eartips. 

The stock cable is an abomination for the Edge, as it tangles easily, feels cheap, is not modular and the earhooks are so slim that if the Edge shells were not well balanced; this definitely would have caused so much fatigue to me but I am glad that although they weigh quite a bit, they don’t cause fatigue cause I had a 10/10 fit with these. 

Word to the wise, Softears got it too angular where the edges can definitely scrape on the eardrums, and they definitely could have been softer (or Softear, pun intended). The Edge has vents, which means no pressure buildup and those are some big vents, but I didn’t feel an awful lot of compromises on the isolation. Enough chit-chat, here’s the sound.

LOWS

Tipper : Mariscos

The Softears Edge has a wonderful start here. The opening intro has a perceived rippling effect which oozes a lot of polish and when the rest of the elements come in, the bass keeps on going with a wonderful level of separation from the rest, the beats are super strong with a lot of punch, fast attack & a decay that is not sluggish by any means. The drop has a superb, clean, precise execution where not once did the bass feel overpowering.

Rush : Limelight

If there is one way I could describe how the Edge performs on this track, COHERENT is what I would choose. Right from the beginning, both the drums and the bass know what to do and that makes me feel very nice about the Edge. Of course, the width on the perceived stage is a bit lacking but it has enough depth to beautifully capture the prodigally controlled aggression on Peart's drums, while across moments, Geddy's bass lines get so intense, I feared that it would spill over the drums but the Edge has ridiculous composure to reel it in like Nadal on a clay court. 

Daft Punk : Get Lucky

The Edge does a brilliant job on this track - be it the amount of control it needs to hold over the slam on the bass, the degree to which notes from the bass need to be enunciated in a way that doesn't diminish the track. The depth in the perceived stage is adequate, the warmth in tonality is restrained enough to not cloud over the rest of the sound, and vocals are planted in the center. But I must say again, I thoroughly enjoyed this track on the Edge.

MIDS

Tool : Lateralus

The Edge might come off a tad excessive when it comes to the intensifying drum intro as the guitar straddles through, but once all the elements join in, the Edge once again gets back in its track for keeping things auditorily fun. The Edge surprisingly manages to not humble Maynard's vocals in terms of weight and guitars have a shade of warmth that I appreciate with tons of energy. Instrument separation is fabulous and specially for an IEM which is this warm, imaging is precise while timbre remains fairly accurate. I was amazed when I heard the clarity sap through with the final rudiment of Carey and right before I could appreciate the texture of the wah-ing bass.

Queens of the Stone Age : First It Giveth

This is on a busy track with a lot of fast paced elements and the Softears Edge once again impresses me. Crisp, well separated, timbrally accurate snare hits, energetic, weighted guitars, planted vocals with adequate weight and the cymbals being audible. What I also like about the Edge is that despite this observation of such energy on the guitars, not once did the Edge feel fatiguing or shouty.

HIGHS

Dave Brubeck : Take Five

The Edge first gets the shimmery almost peppy textures on the cymbals and then the snare where the timbre is remarkable. Then once the horns come in, the Edge pulls my attention to how easily it was able to capture the faint drawing of the breath on them, as well as the pressing of the keys, while not making me forget that it is leading the act. Notes of the piano are nimble and tonally warm but not warm enough that they sound different from the actual key, but the best part comes in the drum solo where the Edge caught the potency of the kicks, the crisp snares and the toms resonant enough to almost sound like how it would sound live.

Patricia Barber : Icarus

This is another track that I really enjoyed listening to the Edge but there was a blemish in my excitement levels; this is a track that is sibilant from the get go and the Edge definitely exaggerates the sibilance which surprisingly manages to keep the cymbals from being fatiguing. Through the straight note sustain, the Edge exhibited no sign of pierce, while the piano, bass and guitars supplemented the lush texture of Patricia's voice, it was just the sibilance that had to diminish what was otherwise an excellent listen.

COMPARISONS

Softears Twilight

There is no clear winner here in my juvenile opinion. The Edge brings a ferocious, energetic warmth with punchy bass and tight control, though it can get a bit spicy if a track is inherently sibilant. The Twilight drops the aggressive bite entirely- it is a midrange masterclass that gives you a much smoother, completely fatigue-free listen that just naturally sounds correct. However, the Twilight’s bass is sloppy and might feel blob-like with minimal tightness, and the Edge takes it to the cleaners when it comes to detail retrieval. Also, fit on the Edge is miles better.

Symphonium Meteor

Both of these go for a warm, cohesive vibe, but they handle the low-end very differently. The Meteor commits hard to a thick mid-bass that can sometimes overpower the lower mids and crush the details that tracks might have, which is where the Edge rules dominantly, while the Edge comes off quite sibilant in tracks where the Meteor either won’t show it or just be quite resistant to its exposure. The Edge keeps its bass way more composed. It punches hard without muddying the mix and offers significantly better instrument separation with stellar imaging, though one loses the Meteor’s totally relaxed top end.

Xenns Top Pro

If the Edge is all about rich, ferocious warmth while balancing technicalities, the Top Pro is an alternate take. The Top Pro flexes a freakishly controlled sub-bass, a wider perceived stage, and imaging that goes head to head with the Edge where the stage’s width is not quite there. On the top end however, it’s a “choose your poison” situation- where the Edge exaggerates existing sibilance, the Top Pro can get straight-up fatiguing and sibilant during high-frequency climaxes.

Softears Studio 4

This one is basically the unapologetically fun daily driver versus the disciplined monitor. The Studio 4 offers a more nuanced, more cautious take on a neutral warm signature while the Edge trades that maturity away for pure engagement, throwing in a visceral bass slam and punch, kind of equal if not better vocals, but better stage and imaging, significantly better detail, and a much peppier treble.

Elysian Pilgrim

These two sit on pretty different ends of the spectrum. The Pilgrim goes for the same presentation with a fabulous imaging, and for the most part, decent vocals but definitely felt strained in higher pitched vocals, where on busier tracks it could sound claustrophobic, instrument separation takes a good hit. The Edge completely fixes that underwhelmed feeling with its ferocious warmth, deep bass punch, and thick note weight, but you do sacrifice the Pilgrim's stage width and have to deal with the Edge's sensitivity to sibilance.

Hisenior Mega5EST

Honestly, the Edge easily outclasses the Mega5EST in almost every way. The Mega5EST struggles with an excessive mid-bass thump that tucks instruments into a blanket and messes with technical isolation. The Edge, on the other hand, shows ridiculous composure, keeping everything crisp and well-separated. The Mega5EST's only real win is its impressive restraint against sibilance, whereas the Edge delivers a vastly more energetic and polished listen at the cost of highlighting sharp sibilance.

CONCLUDING NOTES

At $499, the Softears Edge is an unapologetic powerhouse. It doesn't try to be a perfectly neutral studio monitor, nor does it aim for the relaxed, fatigue-free realism of something like the Twilight. Instead, it brings a controlled yet violent shade of warmth, ridiculous bass composure, and high-octane energy to almost everything you throw at it, and hits you blindside with a spear of detail and instrument separation which I didn’t expect given the lows that it has. 

However, it is not free of flaws and the exaggerated sibilance which in my opinion is a by-product of an IEM being unforgiving in terms of handling tracks can be a deal breaker, for which eartip rolling and EQ is highly recommended. But, all things said and done, I thought I knew this IEM, but I didn’t- and safe to say, unlike Adam Copeland; I was least prepared for a positive sonic whiplash. (I think you know him). 

Will I buy it at retail ? Absolutely, yeah. 

Will I buy it used ? Absolutely, yeah.

SOURCES USED

Primarily used with the SMSL Raw MDA-1 desktop DAC amp, the Shanling M9 Plus stacked with the xDuoo XD05 Pro transportable DAC amp running RoHM DAC chips, via USB-C. 

The Softears Edge is an extremely easy to drive IEM, so it’s very source friendly.

EARTIPS USED (RANKED IN ORDER OF PERFORMANCE)

• Divinus Velvet standard: Absolutely excels in controlling bass quantity with quality, doesn’t affect perceived stage, makes the Edge sound the least sibilant where some might observe a miniscule loss in textures with instruments like cymbals. 
• AZLA Origin: everything that the above does, but to a lesser degree, still beats the next eartip. 
• Softears Ultra Clear: flattens the mid-bass considerably, which hampers vocal note weight, eliminates whatever little sibilance is observed, retains perceived stage width. 
• Final E: shrinks the stage, tightens up the midrange while not reducing the perceived bloat, presents upper mids with a concerning dip, vocal textures lost. 
• KBear Coffee: Just no.

TRACKS

• Rush: Limelight, Spirit of the Radio
• Daft Punk: Get Lucky, Instant Crush
• The Police: Message in a Bottle
• Alf Linder: Cantique de Noël, Cantate Domino
• Tipper: Mariscos, Cloaked
• Dave Brubeck: Time Out
• Tool: Pneuma, Schism
• Queens of the Stone Age: First It Giveth
• Pink Floyd: Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here, Time
• Tame Impala: The Less I Know the Better
• Animals as Leaders: The Woven Web
• Rage Against the Machine: Bombtrack, Bullet in the Head
• Avicii: Levels
• Periphery: Marigold
• TesseracT: Juno
• Kanye West: Stronger, Flashing Lights, Devil in a New Dress
• Altın Gün: Goca Dünya
• Timbaland: Give It to Me
• Adele: Easy On Me (Live), When We Were Young
• Celine Dion: All By Myself
• Pavarotti: Nessun Dorma
• Mdou Moctar: Tarhatazed
• Cigarettes After Sex: Cry
• Meshuggah: Bleed
• A. R. Rahman: Tere Bina
• Alice in Chains: Down in a Hole and Nutshell (Live)
• Allen Stone: Give You Blue
• Florence + the Machine: Never Let Me Go
• The Smashing Pumpkins: Luna

Here’s a YouTube video on the same.

Pros: 

• Truly breathtaking hand-polished stabilized maple wood shells with gold-milled faceplates.
• Class-leading, expansive soundstage width that creates an enveloping, out-of-head listening experience.
• Deep, borderline basshead sub-bass rumble with excellent air movement and dynamic slam.
• Organic, fatigue-free treble presentation with zero harshness or sibilance.
• Smooth, warm midrange that delivers natural vocal timbre and great layering.

Cons: 

• Stock oil-infused cable is overly thick, cumbersome, and lacks a chin slider.
• Included leather puck case is far too cramped to store the IEMs and stock cable easily.
• Organic wood shell finish raises slight durability concerns for users with excessively sweaty ears.

Welcome back, audiophiles! It’s me, your boy Joe, back again with another review! Today we are taking a look at a release from the boutique audio house Jomo Audio: the Jomo Audio Koyo (retailing for around $950 USD). Sitting right near kilobuck territory, my expectations for this set were sky-high out of the gate. Named after the vibrant Japanese autumn foliage, the Koyo packs a 5-driver tri-brid acoustic architecture inside a hand-polished stabilized maple wood housing. Let's see if this beauty has the sonic muscle to back up its breathtaking looks!

Disclaimer​

A huge shout-out and thanks to the Audio Geek India group for providing this review unit! As always, all thoughts, impressions, and opinions are entirely my own with zero biases whatsoever.

Pricing & Specifications​

• Price: ~$950 USD
• Driver Architecture (5-Driver Tri-Brid): 1x 10mm Custom Silk Diaphragm Dynamic Driver (Lows) + 3x Precision Balanced Armature Drivers (Mids/Highs) + 1x 6mm Nano Planar Magnetic Super Tweeter (Ultra-Highs)
• Impedance / Sensitivity: 12.5 Ω @ 1kHz / 113.8 dB @ 1kHz
• Connectors: 0.78mm 2-Pin (4.4mm Balanced stock termination)

Gear Used for Review & Drivability​

The Koyo is relatively efficient on paper and runs smoothly without requiring nuclear-grade power:

• HiBy R8 II
• Gustard X16 / H16 Desktop Stack
• Tanchjim Space 2 (Portable Dongle)
• Music Source: Apple Music Lossless

While it isn't strictly power-hungry, scaling up to desktop-class power like the Gustard stack stretches its soundstage dimensions even wider!

Design, Build, and Accessories​

• The Shells (Pure Artistry): The shells are the prettiest IEM shells I have ever seen, period. The waxed, stabilized natural maple hardwood paired with the precision-milled gold leaf brass faceplate and stainless steel skeleton frame is utterly breathtaking.
• Wood Maintenance & Sweaty Ears Concern: Jomo even includes dedicated wood conditioning oil in the package to keep the natural wood hydrated and pristine. My only minor concern is for users with sweaty ears during long sessions. I am not entirely sure how well the untreated organic wood porous structure handles long-term moisture and sweat exposure over years of use.
• The Stock Cable & Cable Rolling: The stock oil-infused OCC copper-silver blend cable is far too thick and bulky for my liking. Worse yet, it completely lacks a chin slider! Because I am not a fan of thick oil-infused cables in general, I did some cable rolling:
  • Effect Audio Dionysus: Looked stunning and added great refinement.
  • Verus Audio Lavender: A phenomenal aesthetic and sonic synergy that improved ergonomics drastically.
• The Carrying Case: The bundled leather case is simply too small. Trying to pack the chunky Koyo shells alongside that thick stock cable is an extreme squeeze. A roomier case would have gone a long way at $950

Sound Impressions​

Sonically, the Jomo Audio Koyo presents a versatile all-rounder sound signature crowned by one of the widest, most expansive soundstages I have ever heard in an in-ear monitor.

• Soundstage & Staging: Absolutely massive. The presentation feels like the music is playing from a generous distance around your head, creating a grand, concert-like atmosphere.
• Bass: The low-end reaches borderline basshead levels! The 10mm silk dynamic driver pushes impressive air movement with a deep, authoritative sub-bass rumble that keeps energetic tracks tactile.
• Mids: The midrange is clean, lush, and leans pleasantly towards warm. The organic acoustic damping of the wooden chamber works absolute magic here, rendering vocal timbre with rich, natural realism.
• Treble: Handled by the balanced armatures and planar super tweeter, the top end is remarkably smooth, organic, and cohesive. There are zero sharp peaks, sibilance, or fatiguing spikes anywhere in the upper register.

Song Impressions​

• "Dame Mais" by Tropkillaz, Rincon Sapiência & Clau: The bassline on this track is deep, powerful, and rumble-worthy. The Koyo tackles the low end with zero qualms and it hits deep and strong without bleeding into the lower mids. The midrange leans warm, which is right up my alley. The mixed male and female vocals are rendered with pristine separation, completely free of congestion.
• "Tłoki" (feat. Gibbs) by Kukon: The baseline here is super deep and rumbling, and the Koyo renders that subterranean weight effortlessly. Snares and hi-hats hit with clean precision without crossing into sharpness. The male vocals are presented cleanly with great body; while they don't jump "forward" in the mix, it feels true to the track's master rather than an IEM flaw.

Overall Impressions ​

Rating: 4.5 / 5
The Jomo Audio Koyo is a sonic and visual triumph. It combines heirloom-level wooden artistry with an expansive soundstage, borderline basshead low-end rumble, and a fatigue-free, natural tonality. It loses half a star purely because the bundled package feels incomplete for $950 as the stock cable is overly thick with no chin slider, and the leather case is far too cramped. But if you are willing to roll your own cable and case, the Koyo stands as one of the finest, most natural-sounding all-rounders in the sub-kilobuck tier!

Higher quality image on my blog.

Let's get this out of the way: the Ola II has the trademarks of Tanchjim design. The DSP cable is good but sometimes a bit unwieldly, while the shells themselves have the usual distinct clean and even clinical look. The fit is a bit peculiar due to the very universal shape and tiny size, to the point of being a potential deal breaker for those that will not be able to form a seal. Personally, they are wonderful and have the same comfort as bullet-style IEMs that disappear in the ear.

As of late, they have deviated from their usual white/clear medical look they've adopted after the Hana 2021. The Soda, Fission, and now Ola are all lookers and keep that same aesthetic appeal while having distinct colors and quirks that make them stand out a bit more. The Ola II is on the more plain side of things, but the dark matte grey is definitely a looker!

As for sound, the Ola II is different from Tanchjim's lineup, opting for a more V-shape tuning while still retaining the mid bass and vocal emphasis character from all of the other 1DD. In a way, it reminds of the One without DSP, but with added air from the BA driver while having slightly less low treble glare. Overall, it sounds competent but it does seem to be more of the same from Tanchjim without much to make it stand out. 

Full review will be coming out some time next week, with the usual detailed measurements.

​

Bought the NoEgo for $315 during the early bird discount period on Taobao. Retail price is $400. It's a dual DD IEM that barely requires power to listen at higher volumes (about 14% when using DDHifi TC44Pro on Windows). But the NoEgo took a week to create as it's made to order.

After listening to the NoEgo for a few hours, the sound signature reminded me of YU9 Que, balanced yet engaging. Punches well above its price tag based on the config and overall tuning.

Bass is well textured, deep and impactful although it favors a bit more on the midbass than sub. Midrange sounds full, natural and slightly forward. Treble sounds clear, smooth yet detailed especially for a dual DD. It's got good soundstage, separation and isn't fatiguing.

A big improvement over the Qveer Rhapsody due to better ergonomics and a lot less sibilance. Accessories ootb are good, got 4 sets of eartips, zip case & microfiber cloth. I found the IE45 tips most comfy. The cable comes with the 3 modular audio jacks but I requested Qveer to make it only 4.4mm for my convenience.

Few nitpicks: have the bass more balanced between mid and sub. The lack of the small cleaning brush tool and silical gel, especially for those living in humid countries.

Looking to add the moondrop silicones.

I thought the Hidizs My Lin sounded good using a cheapo USB DAC with the stock 3.5mm cable and stock tips. The Hidizs S8 DAC matched with their 4.4mm balanced cable and the Sea Anemone tips make everything sound absolutely amazing. I was considering buying a DAP, but I think I'll hold off for now.

TL;DR

The pure is an excellent iem. Period. It’s one of the best sounding iems I have tried irrespective of price, I think most people who are just chasing sound quality should stop here, the pure does so little wrong sonically it’s frankly absurd it costs so little.

• Sound Quality: 9/10
• Build Quality: 7/10
• Comfort: 7/10
• Value: 9.5/10 (retails for $90)

Context

I bought this iem with my own money, I generally prefer iems that are non sibilant with relaxed upper treble and upper mids and raised lower mids that add body to the sound (kinda the opposite of harman ie 2019).

Design, Build, & Comfort

• Aesthetics & Build: The iems are made of “medical grade” resin, build quality feels solid, the shell is a little translucent, you can see the acoustic tubes if you shine light through it. The faceplate has a removable screw to access the innards, so a decent amount of serviceability there. The faceplates have a ridged pattern that I like, the “truthear” text on the right ear piece used to be stark white before but it seems like truthear turned it grey on the newer units, I definitely prefer the more subtle text on my unit. These iems (along with a bunch of other chifi multi driver iems) seem to have an exposed nozzle for some reason, without any wax guard. I do not understand why brands dont just add a lip and a wax guard to protect the iems from dust and debris. I recommend using eartips with a built in wax guard such as kiwi ears flex/zisin or getting one of those acoustically transparent filters if you’re worried of stuff entering the nozzle.
• Fit, Comfort and Isolation: These iems are definitely on the larger side, with a chunky body, if you’re familiar with the truthear hexa, these are very similar but with a slightly slimmer nozzle but bulkier body. I have medium sized ears and these do stick out a lot, I cannot wear them super deep since the shell rubs against my concha and makes it uncomfortable, So I mostly used L size audiocular flexfit (spinfit cp145 clones) with these iems. Isolation on these are just average, nothing to write home about.
• Cable & Accessories: The cable is very good, its the same cable as the truthear hola/gate/zero blue 2 but it’s a light silvery colour instead. The cable is very lightweight, soft and supple however it does not match the iem’s aesthetic at all, I much prefer how the truthear hola cable looks on this instead. The iems come with a soft leather pouch (same as the truthear hexa and zeroes) which doesn't offer a lot of protection, and 3 sets of eartips, in narrow/wide bore and foam. I wish truthear had included the hola/gate short wide tips as those are basically black coffee tips and suit this iem much better both sonically and aesthetically.

The Sound

The Truthear Pure has a 1 DD + 3 BA driver config, tuned to be a warmer (and arguably more neutral) take on the beloved truthear hexa by listener from headphone show.

• Bass (20 hz to 300 hz): The pure adds a much needed mid bass boost over the hexa, as a result the mid bass quality is excellent, the mid bass has a surprising amount of tactility and snappiness to it while the hexa just sounds soft and dead, kick drums sound so much more alive compared to the hexa and pure seems to rumble harder in the subbass despite having a similar shelf. The pure does not have basshead levels of bass but what it does have is extremely well controlled and punchy bass that blends very well into it’s glorious mid range, it reminds me of hd 600’s mid bass, overall the pure fixes one of the biggest complaints I had with the hexa, it’s anemic bass. If you’re coming from harman esque iems the bass on this is gonna sound significantly less boomy and more punchy.
• Mids (300 hz to 6000 hz): The Truthear Pure straight up has some of the best mid range presentations I have heard in any iem (or headphone), it is so much more lush and true to life than the hexa that I’m surprised the hexa was even considered the benchmark neutral iem before, I think the notion that  hexa has a “neutral” midrange stems from the assumption that neutral has to be cold and “technical” which I don't think should be the case at all. Hexa’s midrange is a lot thinner and colder than what I would perceive as “neutral” or enjoyable, pure fixes this by adding significantly more body to the midrange (thereby making it more neutral) while still maintaining excellent midrange clarity throughout. The mild 3k dip makes the vocals relaxed with a ton of texture but I understand people wanting a couple of decibels more there. Since these follow newer targets that are more likely to be perceived as neutral by the average person (jm1), it’s gonna sound a lot less “exciting” and more thicker and full bodied to people coming from old meta tunings like harman ie 2019 and ief 2020 but I find it way more enjoyable. Pure also has some of the best bass to mid range transitions I’ve heard, the mid bass blends incredibly well with the lower mids albeit at the cost of a tiny bit of cozy bloom. Very very good midrange overall.
• Mid Treble (6000 hz to 10000 hz): Now both the hexa and pure suffer from pretty brutal length mode resonance issues at around 5k to 8k (treble peak that depends on the insertion depth / length of air column between iem and ear drum). It is possible to subdue the peak considerably by getting a deeper insertion but unfortunately I could not wear the iem super deep for extended periods of time due to the shell rubbing against my concha, so I had to resort to eq. However the pure balances this peak much better by having significantly more mid bass and denser mid range than the hexa, I find this peak much more offensive on the hexa due to this reason, partly due to me hearing it as wider than it appears. Hexa also has more mid treble in general which could make people perceive it as more “technical” and clearer.
• Upper Treble (10000 hz to 20000 hz): Upper treble bothers me far more than mid treble peaks and I do not hear any peaks at all on the pure or hexa, hexa does have a lot more air and sparkle tho. The pure is airy enough to be clear without the piercing overcooked upper treble that a lot iems have for the sake of “detail retrieval” and “resolution” but end up sounding wispy and sizzly.
• Subjective Technical Performance: The pure has excellent bass tactility, mid range texturing and separation. I could make out all the details in tracks and it captures the sense of stage reasonably well, no complaints here.

Comparisons

Compared to some other popular iems regarded as neutral by the community:

• Truthear Hexa: Pure has a more correct mid range and mid bass presentation and the peaks are less sore as stated before, If you want something bright the hexa is still solid provided you tone down the mid treble peak with eq. I just wish they updated the cable.
• OoopusX OP.22: Smoother mid treble but thinner, less neutral mid range, shell is even more uncomfortable than pure. Worse mid bass compared to the pure. But it’s also half the price, a very solid iem overall.
• Aful MagicOne: Worse bass dynamics overall with more shouty midrange, but it’s much more comfortable with superior isolation, better looking shell and cable.
• Truthear Zero Red (without impedance adaptor): The red is probably the iem that represents the old meta ief 2020 style of tuning the best, with it’s overall colder and thinner sounding lower midrange, shouty and more nasal 2k bump, the pure simply comes across as way more organic and richer sounding. Significantly closer to what I would consider a neutral midrange. Pure is also more comfortable than zero red (red nozzle is like 7 mm thick), with a better cable.

Compared to some popular budget coloured iems:

• Truthear Hola: Pure has significantly tighter and more impactful bass, warmer richer mids and most importantly, does not suffer from the sharp upper treble like hola
• Tanchjim Bunny DSP Default: Pure has much better subbass rumble, better mid bass tactility and smoother vocals, bunny also suffers from the typical single DD upper treble characteristics but it does have a smaller shell that fits more ears
• Aful Explorer: I prefer explorer’s sub bass and mid bass presentation here but prefer the Pure’s midrange. Explorer is by no means a neutral or natural sounding iem (it’s probably the most coloured sound here), darker recessed vocals due to an unnatural pinna dip and prominent mid treble, along with significant upper treble roll off. Much more comfortable shell.
• 7hz Salnotes Zero 2: This is one of the few budget single DDs that dont have a sharp upper treble peak for my ears, I actually prefer the zero 2’s treble presentation overall since I dont have to rely on eq to fix the mid treble peak but Pure just bodies it in midrange and bass performance.

 

Conclusion

The pure is lowkey where most people who care about sound quality should stop at imo. We finally get a well done “neutral” set under $100. Excellent bass response, glorious mid range and solid treble. If you could just eq down the resonance peak after a sine sweep, adjust the bloom and pinna gain to your liking this is pretty much as good as iems get irrespective of price. For $90 + $10 for a 5 band parametric eq dac you have achieved endgame iem.

Letshuoer Astralis is amazing colored set —it is the best IEM for metal music (especially early 2000s metal and dark alternative rock) for that price, it is colored in a way that will teleport you back to teenage years, such nostalgic expecrience. It brings a beautifully dark, highly emotional, and rich signature with stellar planar technicalities. Check out the images if you don’t want to read text here, or Check out the full video breakdown and PDF notes here: https://youtu.be/G6-zM_E-Ylw?si=S_VkEi9uUTCJiG3_

The Letshuoer Astralis is basically the difference between a Realistic Drawing vs. a Stylized Art Piece. A realistic drawing focuses on strict proportions, realistic lighting, and prioritize accuracy—it can feel a bit emotionless. The Astralis, on the other hand, is a heavily stylized drawing: the proportions might be tweaked, but it is immensely expressive, deeply emotional, and packed with artistic character. It transports you straight back to your teenage years listening to Evanescence, Deftones, and Soundgarden.

The Astralis typically retails around the $190.

Accessories, Build, and Comfort

The unboxing package is fantastic. The included cable is extremely soft, pliable, has swappable modular terminations, and zero memory-wire annoyance. The carrying case is solid (though a bit of a fingerprint magnet), and it even includes a dedicated USB-C DAC dongle in the box alongside a solid set of eartips. The physical shells fit comfortably in the ear for long listening sessions.

Sound Performance

The Astralis is a dark-tuned set, but unlike dynamic drivers that get muddy or dull when tuned dark, its planar magnetic driver keeps everything lightning-fast, ultra-detailed, and snappy.

Bass

The bass presentation features a boosted sub-bass with an incredible, deep rumble and long, satisfying decay. Because it uses a planar driver, the mid-bass punch is remarkably fast, snappy, and tactile. It hits hard with zero bleed into the lower midrange.

Mids

The lower midrange is rich, thick, and packed with planar texture, making rhythm guitars and male vocals sound rich and authoritative. Unlike many dark sets that completely bury female vocals, the Astralis places female vocals forward enough to remain clear, emotive, and expressive against the thick low end.

Treble

The treble is detailed and fast with zero planar timbre glare. Crucially, Letshuoer doesnt have the 8kHz peak that is usually associated with planar IEMs. The treble isn't harmonic-forward or sharp—it's laid-back in quantity, but all the micro-details are fully present.

Soundstage & Technicalities

Despite being a dark-tuned set, the soundstage is surprisingly wide, deep, and holographic. Its raw technical capability, snappiness, and micro-detail retrieval keep the overall sound energetic rather than sleepy.

Test Tracks

1. Sibilance / Harshness Test

• Zero Sibilance Across the Board: Tested across Fallujah – "Venom Upon the Blade", Baby Metal, and Knocked Loose. Because the treble harmonics are smooth and laid-back without that 8kHz planar peak, harshness, fatigue, and vocal sibilance are completely non-existent.

2. What it Does Well

• Dark All-Rounder Performance: It acts as a "dark all-rounder." It handles standard playlists (Paramore, Hayley Williams, Tame Impala) with a dark, rich twist over top, keeping the presentation smooth and lush.
• Modern Metalcore / Frantic Metal (Baby Metal, Knocked Loose, Polaris): Riffs and fast kick drums sound insanely fast and textured. While modern metalcore fans who want hyper-bright, forward guitar harmonics might prefer a more open set (like the Binary Acoustics 1900), the Astralis still delivers an A+ performance here.

3. What it Does Exceptionally Well

• Hip-Hop & Synth Wave: Deep, subterranean sub-bass rumble combined with fast planar decay makes hip-hop and synth-heavy tracks deeply satisfying.
• Early 2000s Metal, Grunge, & Dark Alt-Rock (Evanescence, Deftones, Soundgarden, Audioslave, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin): Unbeatable. The dark tuning matches the original recording and mixing style of late 90s/early 2000s rock perfectly. Listening to Evanescence's The Open Door album on this set is a transcendent experience.
• Dark Modern Metal (HEALTH, Vildhjarta): Heavy, low-tuned guitars and atmospheric dark electronic elements sound massive, heavy, and completely immersive.

Direct Comparisons

• vs. Xenns Mangird Tea Pro: The Tea Pro ($300ish) is a classic warm set with more forward treble harmonics, a grainier top-end, and a softer, slightly "poofy" mid-bass. The Astralis completely outclasses the Tea Pro in midbass snappiness and impact, sub-bass depth, and overall emotional engagement for rock and metal.
• vs. Binary Acoustics Chopin / 1900: The 1900 is more vocal-forward, open, and emphasizes treble harmonics much more—making it an S-tier choice specifically for modern metalcore. However, the 1900 suffers from soft, weak mid-bass. The Astralis offers drastically superior mid-bass impact, deeper sub-bass rumble, and a much richer tone for classic rock and metal.
• vs. Erand Resonance 5 / AFUL Performer 7: The Resonance 5 ($200) is like sparkling water—it's more neutral, open, and serves as a balanced baseline for all genres. The Astralis is far more emotional, dark, stylized, and textured in the lower mids. If you want safe neutrality, get the ER5; if you want raw soul and weight for metal, get the Astralis.

Rating

• Bright vs. Warm: One of the warmest, darkest sets in its price bracket.
• U-Shape vs. V-Shape: Highly stylized V/U curve with a rich low-end and smooth, non-fatiguing treble.
• Musical vs. Analytical: Heavily musical and emotional. It has top-tier planar technicalities, but you'll get lost in the rich tuning long before you start analyzing technical specs.
• Soundstage (Narrow vs. Wide): Remarkably wide and holographic for a dark signature.
• Casual vs. Advanced: Beginner-friendly and immediately satisfying—you put it in, play your favorite rock album, and instantly get hooked.
• All-Rounder vs. Niche: A "dark all-rounder." It handles all genres well, but excels specifically as a specialized masterclass for rock, metal, and hip-hop.
• Value: S-tier value at $200. With an included DAC dongle, modular cable, and unbeatable performance for rock and metal, it punches far above its price tag.

Final Thoughts

If you listen to metal, grunge, or dark alternative rock, the Letshuoer Astralis is an absolute must-own. It traded dry, flat neutrality for pure soul, rich lower-mids, and thunderous planar bass. It is easily my favorite set to put on when I just want to sit back, hit play on 2000s rock/metal, and indulge in the music.

Since i've been living in China for a while, I decided to take a stroll to Shenzhen International Audio Show (SIAS).

Went to CrinEar booth and was able to experience the Reference IEMs. Also tried the Daybreak and Monolith.

Reference by far were my favorite. Still a noob on how to describe how they sound. One of the best IEM I've heard so far.

And yes, I met Crin himself at his booth.

Apologies for bad quality selfie, looks a bit chopped.

TLDR: This IEM is made for sub bass lovers, analytical listeners and competitive gamers. Everything except the mids were good to excellent. Avoid if you like natural vocals/mids.

Introduction:

Letshouer has built a strong reputation in the audiophile community and most of the credits goes to their famous S series of planar magnetic IEMs. Today I am taking a close look at their latest IEM Letshuoer S12 Ultra from the S series.

While planar magnetic IEMs are considered excellent for technical performance, they tend to suffer from unnatural timbre. So let us see if we see the same in this new set or if they have cooked up something truly amazing this time around.

Note: This set has been loaned to me by u/Interesting_Play_270 (Reddit) / _deadsilver (Discord) for review. I would like to thank him for providing me with this wonderful opportunity. All thoughts and opinions are of my own and no foreign influence has affected me during writing of this review.

Test Gear:

Snowsky Melody (Low gain mode)(DAC) (Mostly used)

Cayin RU3 (Hyper + High gain mode) (DAC)

4.4mm balanced cable (stock)

Dunu S&S (Eartips)

Penon Liquer Orange (Eartips) (Mostly used)

FLAC/ALAC local source files played in bit perfect mode.

Design and Build:

The Shells of my unit comes with a matte brown (Mocha) finish which look better in real life as compared to images (subjective). The colour matched modular cables look excellent too. These don't attract fingerprints at all due to the above fact. The in hand feel of these are really solid and feel premium for the price. The modular cables with their screw on securing mechanism makes it very easy to replace the output on the go.

Accessories:

The packaging of the IEMs are as expected for the price. You get the standard paperworks on the top and the IEMs are kept in the foam cutouts with one set of eartips pre-attached and the accessories are provided in the cylindrical carry case that is in the space below the foams. Inside that you get the modular cables, 4.4mm output jack and 5 pairs of silicon eartips with different bore sizes. That's all. I don't think you can fit a DAC in this case. It is not exactly but fairly pocketable though as compared to something like the 7Hz Divine's carry case.

Note: I did not receive the DAC supplied in the box.

Fit and Comfort:

The shells themselves are medium to small in size and fairly lightweight for what driver they house and are really comfortable for me in my long listening sessions. Nozzles are shorter than Divines but it had no problem to hold on eartips. Keep in mind that my ears are fairly large to fit most IEMs comfortably. No issues here.

Specs:

14.8mm Planar Magnetic Driver

16 Ohms Impedance

101dB Sensitivity

Note that these need more power to drive than your standard single DD setups so pair it up with at least a CS43131 DAC with 210mW+ of output.

Sound:

1) Bass:

The bass on this set is really well done. In my testing it is apparent that this is a warm leaning set with good low end extension. The bass has a satisfying and well textured sub bass rumble complemented by decent mid bass impact when demanded by the track. Bass guitars feel lively and drums have sufficient kick.

It may come off as slightly boomy with longer decay (not DD levels) as compared to something like the 7Hz Divine which adds to the overall warm tonality. Although keep in mind that it is not bad by any means like on some cheap sets. On well mastered tracks with a prominent bass line, one can feel the texture and depth which is very enjoyable whereas the mid bass may feel less for genres like EDM or Hip Hop. Certainly not a basshead set.

2. Mids:

The mids come off as warm with some energy in the 1.5KHz - 2KHz which imparts a slightly metallic (planar?) timbre. This impacts both male as well as female vocals but more prominent with the latter. They felt a bit thin and lacked the fullness that makes vocals feel alive. This takes away the natural feel from them. Guitars are better sounding than the vocals on this set. The vocals themselves are a bit backward for my taste but you may like it (not EW300 level of backward though).

A bit of brightness is added to the female vocals from the 6Khz - 8KHz lift which can make certain tracks a bit shouty but for majority of tracks they sound ok. I would consider the mids section as a weak point for this set.

3. Treble:

The treble is well extended and quite resolving for the price point. Instruments such as hi hats and cymbals are prominent and enjoyable. They sound clean and are more on the analytical side. Sibilance on these sets are negligible for most modern/remastered releases that I have tested. Nothing to complain about it.

4. Technicalities:

a) Soundstage: The soundstage is wide for IEM standards and nothing feels congested. Vocals are placed slightly behind the head and instruments are placed correctly in the mix. Vertical staging is also well done on these providing a sense of surround sound experience.

b) Imaging: The imaging is accurate and you can easily differentiate between different instruments in the track.

5. Gaming:

a) Competitive titles: In CS2 the footsteps and gunshots were crisp and very accurate and I can tell if the enemy is above or below me as well. Distance was also pretty accurate.

b) Casual titles: Games with good quality OSTs sound good on these, especially ones which have a deep bass line. This added to the immersiveness but as I have said in the mids section, the metallic timbre can make sounds like sword clashes a bit sharp.

https://preview.redd.it/lj7z4bguiojh1.jpg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a6173cd89bc4ce36dd0eaff8de18f588f81f957e

https://preview.redd.it/jlxc2dguiojh1.jpg?width=1796&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75d9717c16a3ccc203d3a8287d25db4936669286

VS 7Hz Divine:

7Hz Divine is another new competitor in the market which is a collab from Crinacle who rarely disappoints.

Firstly, the shells on these are larger with a bigger nozzle so fit could be a concern for small ears.

Secondly, this set is a neutral bright tuned set and focuses on musicality in contrast to the S12 Ultra.

The bass on these have more emphasis on the mid bass with less extended and textured sub bass. The sub bass may be weaker in comparison but still complements the track well enough. The mid bass on these have stronger and tighter slam which I would still claim as near neutral or correct. It is still not basshead level of mid bass though. So both sets have their own strengths in this department.

The mids of the Divines are close to natural which is especially good for a planar set. Both the male and female vocals sound relatively forward, fuller and more musical with no observable planar timbre whatsoever. Upper mids have similar energy but Divines were a bit less shouty for me. Divine clearly wins in this department.

The treble on both sets are tuned differently. Divines come out as a more natural sounding and rolled off (air region) treble whereas S12 Ultra has a more extended, resolving yet non sibilant treble. So objectively speaking, S12 Ultra comes up as the winner here but your preference may vary.

Soundstage was wider on the S12 Ultra whereas the imaging felt a bit better on the Divines in my testing.

For competitive gaming, I would still prefer the Ultras for their better comfort and crispier sound. But for casual games, overall Divines felt better and natural.

My test tracks don't belong to some online playlist and I have also tested some random songs as well so I will not be putting up any test tracks in my review. You can still ask me in the comments if you want.

So that ends the review.

Wish the 1% of you who could read till the end a very nice day.

I recently got the Juzear Defiant and I’m still trying to understand whether what I’m hearing is just the tuning, my source, or possibly something with my unit.

My source is a Hidizs AP80 Pro Max, usually through 3.5 mm.

A few things I’ve noticed:

• The Defiant needs noticeably more volume than my FiiO JD1 to feel equally full. On the AP80, the JD1 feels fine around 35, while the Defiant usually needs around 40–45 with Gain OFF.
• With Gain ON, the Defiant sounds noticeably more energetic and less restrained to me.
• Bass quantity is clearly lower than on the JD1, especially on someone like Travis Scott tracks. I know the JD1 is bassier, but the difference surprised me.
• Pushing the Defiant further into my ears doesn’t really increase the bass, so I don’t think it’s simply a bad seal.
• I’ve tried different tips and also experimented a little with bass settings on the AP80. They help somewhat, but the JD1 still has significantly more bass quantity.

At the same time, the Defiant can sound absolutely amazing.

Purple Rain was honestly one of the best listening experiences I’ve had. Vocals were extremely clear, instruments sounded crisp, and the balance between everything felt almost perfect.

But with denser rock tracks, I’m having a very different experience.

On AC/DC’s Shoot to Thrill, for example, the guitars and drums feel quite prominent and the vocals can become difficult to understand. If I increase the volume, the vocals become easier to follow, but then the guitars/drums are also getting too loud for comfortable listening.

So I’m trying to figure out a few things:

• Does the Defiant normally need more volume than other easy-to-drive IEMs?
• Do other owners find it a little restrained at lower listening levels?
• Does anyone prefer using it with higher gain?
• How strong is the bass supposed to feel? Not compared with a basshead IEM, but does it still have obvious punch and sub-bass presence?
• Do male vocals sometimes get pushed behind guitars/drums on dense rock mixes?
• Is it normal for the Defiant to sound spectacular on some recordings but noticeably less balanced on others?
• Is there anything specific I should test to rule out channel imbalance or another QC issue?

I’m not expecting the Defiant to sound like the JD1. I’m mainly trying to establish what a healthy/normal Defiant is supposed to sound like before I decide whether this is just a matter of getting used to the tuning.

Would especially appreciate responses from people who actually own or have spent a decent amount of time with the Defiant.

This is not a review post, but a call-out post. As someone who regularly reviews audio gear, I recently reached out to Douk Audio to discuss a standard review collaboration, as they have just officially launched on Amazon India.

THE SHADY OFFER

As you can see in the first two attached emails, the company rep mentioned my metrics didn't quite meet their standard sample-shipping criteria, which is completely fine and understandable. However, they immediately followed up with an "alternative arrangement" and reading the further print on that pissed me off real bad.

They floated the offer that I buy the product directly on Amazon and promised a full refund via PayPal, specifically on the condition that I publish a full review and leave a guaranteed 5-star rating to help them "reduce Amazon advertising costs" which absolutely does not make sense to me in any way, shape or form.

MY RESPONSE

I have formally declined the offer, and you can read my exact reply in the third screenshot. This is a blatant violation of Amazon’s Terms of Service and classic astroturfing.

I would rather stop reviewing altogether than agree to deal with brands practicing such methods. The credibility as reviewers relies entirely on transparency and unbiased, honest evaluations and being accomplices in purchase-and-refund schemes for guaranteed ratings completely undermines the trust in this community, where reviewers entirely are considered with extreme skepticism, but all things said and done, I refuse to compromise my editorial integrity for this. I have been dropped by brands for being a bit too curt in my opinions, but that doesn’t matter to me, because I still am supported by my local audio communities and drooping down to such practices would be a cruel insult to their faith and support in me.

WHY SHOULD THIS MATTER

I wanted to put this out there as a warning to the community. If you see a sudden influx of glowing 5-star reviews for Douk Audio/Nobsound products on Amazon India (or Amazon global or any other retailers), please take them with a massive grain of salt. It is incredibly disappointing to see brands resort to buying ratings instead of letting the audio equipment speak for itself, and then belittle reviewers who might not be able to afford the products directly, but still try to help the brands and the community at such by being better providers and better purchasers.

(Note: The attached screenshots have personal contact details manually redacted.)

TL;DR
The Fiio Snowsky Retro Nano is probably the most feature rich DACs at it’s price point, it has everything I need from a bluetooth DAC for iems and sensitive headphones including a 10 band parametric eq, wired functionality, all the codecs I need, a phone mode and even a built in microphone etc... I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a cheap portable source for their iems.

• Sound Quality: 10/10 
• Build Quality: 6/10
• Value: 9.5/10 (retails for $60)

Context
I bought this DAC with my own money, I don’t really care or notice the difference between DACs and AMPs on most iems provided they are clean and transparent.

Design & Build

• Aesthetics: The retro nano has a vintage cassette player vibe, with it’s blue and purple cassette theme whose discs rotate when you play music. The dac comes with 2 included sticks that have a fun 90’s vibe. Overall I find the aesthetics fun but it’s very silly looking and might not match well with your gear.
• Build Quality: One of the weaker parts of this DAC, it’s made of cheap feeling plastic and the buttons are not super tactile feeling or reassuring. I think fiio could definitely improve on this aspect (a metal retro nano pro please!)
• Accessories: It comes with a very long lanyard that's hard to loop around the tiny hole located on the bottom left of the dac, also comes with a super stiff and short usb c to c cable. Fiio really needs to include softer cables since these will primarily be used with people’s phones. I have been using the fiio trust 10 cm usb c cable that feels a lot nicer.

Features:
The retro nano has 4 separate buttons and an on/off slider at the top.

From left to right there's the:

1. Mode button: Clicking it once cycles between the 7 different themes on the dac and double clicking it switches between PC mode, Phone mode and Bluetooth mode. Long pressing the mode button takes you to the settings screen.
2. Play/Pause button: Self explanatory, you can use this to play and pause audio. You could also configure this to take photos through your phone or wave up the voice assistant. 
3. Volume Up and Down buttons: Used to increase or decrease the hardware volume (separate from your phone or pc volume). There are 60 volume steps in both high gain and low gain modes.

The DAC has two ports: 3.5 mm & 4.4 mm and it’s powered by dual Cirrus Logic CS43131 DACs outputting 220mW + 220mW via its 4.4 mm balanced output and 100mW + 100mW via its 3.5mm single-ended output at 32 Ohms. More than enough power for 99% of iems.

The settings menu has:

1. A charging protection option to limit charging level and preserve battery health, gain options to switch between high gain a low gain
2. EQ toggle that already has a bunch of genre specific EQs and 3 custom eq options.
3. A dimmer option to adjust the brightness of the display
4. A display time out option to adjust after how long the screen turns off.
5. A power saving option
6. A mode switcher
7. DRE (Dynamic Range Enhancement) switch that you can turn off to get rid of the notorious cirrus hump.
8. A language selection menu.

The App:
The retro nano is compatible with fiio control app, it has options to choose between all the available codecs such as aptX adaptive, AAC, LDAC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD and SBC.

The app lets you configure what the volume buttons do, holding to switch tracks, double clicking to switch tracks or double click to switch eq.
You can configure the play/pause button to wake up the voice assistant or control camera to take photos.

The app also has excellent parametric eq with 10 available bands and even a built in auto eq algorithm that auto eq’s your iem to any selected target.

The audio menu has options to limit volume, adjust prompt volume, call volume and adjust channel balance.

Battery Life:
Battery life is one of the biggest cons of this device, only lasts me around 5.5 to 6 hours with LDAC and 20-25 steps of volume on low gain with iems. . Around 7 hours with AAC with the same settings, and 3 to 4 hours with my HD 600 at around 40 steps of volume (LDAC), however sub par battery life is a compromise I’m willing to make if it means user replaceable battery (takes a 3.7V 10440 lithium battery through a toolless battery door on the back).

Noise Floor & Hiss on Sensitive IEMs:
Some DACs have pretty significant noise floor with my single DD iems, particularly dongles with cx31993 dac and max 97220 amp setups but I’m happy to say I hear absolutely none with the retro nano. No complaints here.

Cons: 

1. Not the best battery life
2. Mediocre build quality
3. Buggy unpolished app
4. Buttons don’t feel reassuring

¡Hello Community!

Today I’m telling you about what my listening sessions with Punch Audio Martilo have been like, a set capable of moving a large amount of air for a thundering experience that will delight bass lovers.

Price: 289€-335$

Pros:

-Thundering experience, great power, texture and depth in the sub-bass.
-It is not a set that muddies the midrange, it sounds relatively clean.
-The highs have good extension.
-Acceptable amount of detail despite being a basshead set.
-Dynamic and fun presentation.
-The transients are smooth and coherent.

Cons:

-In chaotic mixes it can lose some clarity.
-The upper frequency range is not very airy.

Accessories:

-Two shells.
-One set of silicone eartips in SML sizes.
-One set of foam eartips in SML sizes.
-Modular cable with 0.78mm connection and 3.5mm/4.4mm terminations.
-Replacement filters for the nozzles.
-Storage and transport case.

Comfort, design and construction:

The faceplate goes for a very distinctive aesthetic, with a combination of dark and reddish tones that give it an aggressive appearance which I personally think fits the name of the product very well and, above all, its character. It is not a set that seeks to go unnoticed and I understand that it may appeal more or less depending on each person’s tastes, but I have to admit that the final result seems quite successful to me.

As for the construction, I think Punch Audio has done a good job. The shells are made of resin and have a uniform finish, without burrs, imperfections or joints that particularly draw attention. To the touch they convey a fairly good sense of solidity and, although we are not dealing with a metal body, at no point did I have the feeling that I was looking at a fragile or poorly made product.

As for ergonomics, here I have to make a small warning. These are large monitors and those with small ears should take this into account. In my case, I had no major problems achieving a stable fit, although I wouldn’t say that these are IEMs that completely disappear inside the ear. Their presence can be felt and it may be necessary to slightly search for the correct position so that the points of contact are properly distributed.

Once I found the appropriate eartip size, the fit seemed firm and secure to me. During my prolonged listening sessions I did not experience pain or particularly annoying pressure points, although I would not place them among the most comfortable monitors I have tried. The included eartips do their job correctly, providing a good seal from the first moment, although I consider it worthwhile to experiment with other options until finding the one that best adapts to our ear canal.

The cable seems like another one of the strong points to me. It is thick and robust, conveying a fairly good sense of quality to the touch. It is not the lightest cable I have used and it can feel somewhat bulky for those who prefer thin cables for situations involving more movement, but in my experience I had no major problems with tangles or pulls.

Technical aspects:

-2DD+2BA+1PM configuration.
-9 ohms impedance.
-100 dB sensitivity.
-Stated response 10hz-22khz.

Test configuration:

-Neutral source.
-Gain set to high.
-Stock silicone eartips.
-Stock 4.4mm cable.

Sound signature:

To focus this analysis of the Martilo on the prominence and dominance of its bass region, I think, would be to oversimplify the set’s proposal, although I have more than enough desire to praise this characteristic.

Its soul is quite simple to interpret: to offer a clearly warm and V-shaped response, where the lower region takes on enormous prominence, but while trying to preserve enough cleanliness, resolution and organization so that the set does not end up becoming a simple bass-producing machine.

Starting with the lower region, the sub-bass has simply spectacular extension. Its depth is easily palpable and appears with an authority that we rarely find in this segment. There is a very evident sensation of physical pressure, especially with electronic music, hip-hop or any recording where the lowest frequencies have enough prominence.

As a curious fact and something I did not expect, the sub-bass does not end up becoming a completely uncontrolled mass. I always perceived a fairly convincing sense of cleanliness and the notes maintain good definition. These monitors achieve precisely what I consider the most difficult thing with this type of tuning: offering an amount of bass that could seem excessive on paper without immediately giving us the feeling that everything else has been buried underneath it.

The mid-bass performs spectacularly under my criteria, although here we find an even more evident impact. The impact is forceful, physical and with a fairly convincing texture. The kick drum has an extraordinary presence with a body that can be especially addictive in certain genres. I do not consider it a dry or particularly fast bass, but neither do I find such a prolonged decay that it generates a constant sensation of slowness and poor transparency.

And this is where one of the main virtues of this Punch Audio model lies. The tuning does not try to hide the amount of bass; on the contrary, it turns it into the main argument, but it maintains enough control for the response to preserve a certain structure. It is a warm, large and enveloping bass, with a clearly superior physicality to what is usual, but one that does not need to completely sacrifice definition to achieve it.

Even so, I do not think it would be fair to present this behavior as perfect. In particularly dense recordings or those with a large accumulation of instruments in the lower region, the Martilo can convey a certain sense of congestion.

The transition into the midrange is carried out in a fairly progressive manner. The bleed coming from the bass exists, but it is sufficiently controlled so that the tonality does not end up becoming ridiculously muddy. The instruments show generous note weight and a certain warmth that fits perfectly with the overall philosophy of the set.

This is not a monitor that intends to offer particularly transparent or prominent mids. The instrumentation appears slightly behind the lower region and this makes the Martilo have a clearly more fun than analytical presentation. However, we also do not find any worrying loss of information. The resolution is sufficient to easily follow the different instrumental lines and the timbre maintains fairly convincing naturalness.

Male vocals enjoy considerable body. The combination between the mid-bass and the note weight generates a fairly full presentation, with good articulation and a sensation of physical presence that especially benefits deeper voices. They are not the protagonists of the scene, but neither are they completely buried behind the bass.

Female vocals, on the other hand, receive somewhat more clarity and openness. They retain good articulation and appear with enough presence so that the tonality does not end up becoming excessively dark. Even so, those looking for an especially vocal-focused IEM will probably find more appropriate options. The Martilo does not want to place vocals in the foreground; it wants them to form part of a large, energetic and enveloping presentation.

As for the highest frequencies, we probably find the area that most clearly reveals the philosophy of this set. Extension is correct and there is enough information to avoid a completely dull sensation, but the energy is quite restrained. The Martilo does not produce a sensation of artificial sparkle to increase the perception of detail and this has a very positive consequence: listening remains very comfortable even after several hours.

This decision also has its negative side. Lovers of more incisive tunings will probably miss some more air and presence in the upper region. Micro-information does not appear as easily as it does in other sets more oriented toward analysis and certain small details can remain slightly behind the main instrumentation.

Detail retrieval is therefore quite good considering the philosophy of the tuning. We are not dealing with a monitor that dissects every recording nor with a tool especially suited to discovering all the small details of a mix. However, the information appears in a sufficiently natural way and the overall cleanliness allows us to enjoy complex recordings without having to constantly make an analytical effort.

The overall dynamics also left me with good impressions. The transients retain enough speed so that the set does not end up sounding excessively heavy and the notes disappear with reasonable agility. This is especially important considering the amount of energy present in the lower region, because a slower response would have turned the Martilo into a much more difficult monitor to enjoy with certain genres.

Separation is another aspect that I find particularly interesting. Considering that we are dealing with a clearly basshead set, I expected a greater loss of organization, but the Martilo manages to maintain a fairly logical structure between the different sound planes. The different instrumental lines can be followed with ease and the stereo image maintains convincing precision.

The soundstage conveys fairly generous width. I would not say that it is an artificially huge stage, but there is a sensation of width and depth that complements the physical presentation of the bass very well. The result is a fairly enveloping stage, where certain elements can appear clearly differentiated in front of and behind the central position.

When the mix becomes especially complex, however, this is where some of its limitations appear. The Martilo can maintain a good level of organization in most situations, but recordings with an extreme amount of sound layers end up showing that we are not dealing with a monitor designed exclusively for technical dissection. Some elements lose a little of their separation and the stage can feel somewhat more compressed.

Single-player video games:

See how I analyze audio in this field

If during the music analysis I already commented that reducing the Martilo solely to its enormous amount of bass would be to oversimplify its proposal, in single-player video games this characteristic becomes precisely its greatest strength. The response of these monitors manages to build a large, physical and tremendously spectacular presentation, making action scenes take on a dimension that few sets manage to convey so easily.

In moments of greatest intensity, where explosions, collapses, gunshots or other large effects occupy the scene, the Martilo feels completely in its element. The extension of the sub-bass is simply spectacular and provides a sensation of depth and physical pressure that makes every explosion have a truly convincing impact. The mid-bass completes this experience with a forceful punch, making hits and impacts acquire extraordinary body. The Martilo makes you feel all of this really strongly.

Dialogues also receive a fairly convincing presentation. Male voices enjoy considerable body, while female voices provide somewhat more clarity and openness. They are not particularly prominent within the scene, but at no point did I have difficulty following conversations or understanding the narrative even when the action increased considerably in intensity.

Where I consider the Martilo to stand out once again is in environmental recreation. The scene conveys fairly generous width and the separation allows details such as wind, echoes, water or the movement of vegetation to be appreciated. The enormous sense of scale provided by the bass also works in its favor, making certain environments convey a truly convincing sense of space.

Technically, it continues to leave good impressions. The stereo image is precise and positioning makes it easy to interpret the surrounding space correctly. The separation between effects, music and dialogue maintains a satisfactory level even when many sound layers come together.

Multiplayer shooter video games:

See how I analyze audio in video games

If there is a scenario where the Punch Audio Martilo shows a different side from the one offered in music and single-player video games, it is precisely in competitive titles. Its enormous presence in the lower region, which previously was so spectacular, does not play as clearly in its favor here. We are not dealing with a bad IEM for competing in this type of game, but neither do I consider its tuning to be the most appropriate when we need to extract every last detail from the soundscape.

In Counter-Strike 2, footsteps, reloads and utilities appear correctly defined and the stereo image makes it fairly easy to interpret the direction of opponents. The problem appears when the bass becomes prominent, as it can take some attention away from certain secondary sounds. Distance is also fairly convincing, although other more balanced and brighter sets make it somewhat easier to read distant sounds.

In Apex Legends, where verticality and the enormous amount of simultaneous effects considerably complicate interpretation, the Martilo maintains fairly good organization. Abilities, gunshots and movements remain sufficiently separated during a good part of the match, although the amount of energy in the lower end can make the moments of greatest load somewhat more difficult to interpret. It does not become a serious problem, but it does require somewhat more attention.

In Call of Duty: Warzone it once again shows a fairly similar situation. Explosions, killstreaks and gunshots acquire considerable spectacularity thanks to that very physical bass, but precisely that energy can end up competing with footsteps, reloads or nearby movements. Fortunately, the good control prevents everything from turning into a completely muddy mass and the important information remains accessible.

Finally, Battlefield 6 is probably where its limitations become most apparent. The enormous amount of vehicles, explosions, gunshots and destruction puts the Martilo’s separation capabilities to the test and, although it manages to maintain a fairly reasonable order, I would not say that it is a competitive prodigy. The image remains precise and the positioning sufficiently convincing, but other IEMs with a response that is less loaded in the bass make this type of soundscape easier to read.

Final conclusion and personal evaluations:

Having reached this point, I think the Punch Audio Martilo is a monitor that is difficult to judge solely from a technical perspective. Its proposal is tremendously clear and without a split personality: to offer a warm, huge and physical response, where the bass takes on extraordinary prominence, but without completely giving up cleanliness, separation and resolution. And I consider that it achieves this with considerable competence.

What has surprised me the most is precisely its ability to control such a quantity of energy. The sub-bass is spectacular and the mid-bass provides a forceful and addictive punch, but I rarely had the sensation of being faced with a completely uncontrolled set. There is some congestion when the mix becomes especially dense, and the mids and highs do not seek prominence, but they form part of a coherent and tremendously enjoyable presentation.

It is a monitor that manages to convey scale, body and physicality with extraordinary ease, while its wide stage and good separation provide enough organization so that all that energy does not end up becoming tiring.

Ultimately, the Martilo seems to me to be a very particular proposal and, above all, a very fun one, and although its limitations appear when we seek maximum transparency or dissection, I consider that its ability to offer such an impact without completely losing control is, under my criteria, its greatest virtue.

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Disclaimer:

This set of monitors was sent by Linsoul. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to test one of their products at no cost and that no condition was imposed when preparing this analysis.

Despite this, my priority is to be as impartial as possible within the subjectivity involved in analyzing an audio product. My opinion belongs only to me and I develop it around the perception of my ears. If you have a different one, it is equally valid. Please feel free to share it.

My sources:

-Topping DX5 II for music and video games on the main PC.
-NiceHCK Octave while I work.
-FiiO BTA30 Pro + FiiO BTR13 for wireless LDAC listening at home.
-FiiO BTR13 + FiiO Airlink + Iphone 16 Pro Max for wireless listening outdoors.
-Apple Music.
-Local FLAC and MP3 files.
-Windows/MacOS/IOS/iPadOS/Android.