KEFINE - Quatio

kefine quatio are a good allrounder. great build quality and accessories for the price point as well otherwise ew300 are the cheaper allrounder i'd go for "do not give me the depth and personality in music i am looking for" based on this statement hexa's i'd probably avoid for you as they're quite neutral, sounds like you want a more engaging signature

That was a long yet a very enjoyable read. I also really enjoyed viewing your tons of really nice photos. I have only two of your seven IEMs -- The Quatio and the Unicrom. My favorite eartips for the Quatio are the SednaEarfit Light even though the Tang Sancai Balanced eartips also are very good. I feel that the SednaEarfit Light eartips tightened up the bass a bit versus the Tang Sancai Balanced eartips even though I do use the Tang Sancai Balanced eartips on many other IEMs. I really like the Tang Sancai Wide Bore eartips with the Unicrom since these wide bore eartips slightly lowers the sub bass such that the sub bass has a similar intensity as the mid bass for a more natural bass sound. The Unicrom's overall sound signature is very similar to the Truthear Hola. Both of these IEMs have a relaxing overall sound signature since both the Hola and the Unicrom have a slightly relaxed scope for the rise in the simulated pinna gain and since both have a peak which is at 4 kHz instead of 3 kHz. It is so easy for me to relax and chill when listening to the Unicrom, just as I used to do three years ago when I listened to the Hola in the evenings. It is also really slick that you tested each IEM with six different yet popular eartips.

Completely agree with the review findings. I would recommend this over the EW300 any day of the week. And a good cheaper alternative to the AFUL Explorer if its out of your price range. That said, i still think the Delci AE is the best in the price range for a more warm sounding IEM. Especially with the Gold nozzle. Despite having plenty of other better IEM's, i still keep the Fudu in my rotation. It has a certain charm to the tonality and timbre that i really enjoy. I think the only really weak side of it, as you correctly pointed out, is the bass performance. It is slow, and more complex tracks it will struggle with technicalities. But if you dont know what you dont know, then you wont notice it as a problem. And there are plenty of more expensive IEM's with worse bass performance, so i cant fault it too much. And i think most people will likely consider the bass performance to be above average. Given the typical bass performance on mainstream wireless IEM's.

"Soundstage" is purely subjective, and completely based on your ears and your brain. You only have one ear drum. All of the interpretations of height, width, and depth, are estimations by your brain, based upon delays, tone shift, doppler effect, etc. etc. hitting your outer ear, having the sound wave augmented, and then finally making its way into your ear drum, where those are "processed" by your brain, and through your brains understanding of learning through early life, you can pinpoint the location. When you insert an IEM in your ear, NONE of that is happening. You are basically bypassing all of what your brain knows, understands, and interprets as "spatial sound stage", and ignores it. So, your brain does what it does, and tries to make the best sense of it. And takes the delays in the drivers topology, timing, frequency response, and whatever modalities or resonance it might have in your ear, and tries to interpret that as positional audio. And sometimes, its not always right. For example, the EW300's dont work in my ears at ALL. They sound like shit, like they have bad ANC enabled, and im missing half the frequencies, and have no depth, or nuance whatsoever. Most recently, the Kefine Quatio, a set that i really enjoy, gives me a wear sensation that sound is coming from behind and down on certain tones. Yet other IEMs i have, like my MP145's, give me this massive room sensation where the perceived soundstage is almost too big. So, keep in mind that anytime anyone is talking about "soundstage" in an IEM, they should really be calling it "Personal Brain Stage", because it is completely individual, and always anecdotal. Sure, there are some constants that can be applied in the areas of psycho acoustics, and certain basic inferences that can be made with 3D mics, but in general...your ear will hear everything differently than everyone else. Its not a "meme" like some ignorant reviewers like to call it, but it is unique to the listener, and cant really be given a broad one size fits most approach to how people will hear it.

Great review man! Also loved the Quatio. Clean, cohesive and bassy is a nice combo.

What are you using to feed your in ear mix? While I was never personally a fan of the 215s (had them years ago and never really liked them) they should still offer clear enough sound for IEM use for live playing. I’d start by checking EQ on whatever in ear mixer send yall are using. If someone in the band is using a different IEM see if they’ll let you listen to theirs to compare to your 215s to see if it’s more the mix eq or your iems. I don’t think it’s an isolation issue. I use stock tips with my iems (Kefine Quatio) and I have plenty of isolation even with a drum shield around the set reflecting everything back at me.

I have defiants and the quatio. Both sound great to my ears with the quatio having an edge. The quatio shell is pretty big though just fyi. If you plan to eq either way, the hexa is probably the safe pick. Explorers are solid but the treble is so recessed you may not be able to eq it back in. Pure is a warmer hexa with more bass and less treble. The shells are bigger though.

If you can stretch just a bit, the Kefine Quatio sounds better than the Defiant to my ears with a similar sound signature. Also, a better tip assortment minus the cheap foam tips included with the Defiant. The Quatio also has 3 nozzles that would give you some flexibility with the treble signature if it's too harsh or you want more. If that's too much, the Explorers are commonly referred to as an easy listening IEM with solid bass. Sure the upper treble has less energy, but it is less fatiguing for people with treble sensitivity. On the note of Defiants, I bought a pair from amazon as well as hifigo and neither had any issues I could find with venting or the DD. It's still early in their life though. I've heard that people with issues have had good success dealing with Hifigo if there was an issue. Just make sure if you use amazon, that hifigo is the seller.

- 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: *𝐀𝐬 𝐚l𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫! *𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐛𝐢𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞. *𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫. *This time, the unit to be reviewed was kindly delivered by Kefine through Mr. Collin in exchange for my honest opinion/review. *𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, "𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭!" 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. ____________ - 𝐆𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐝: • FiiO K11R2R (NOS), HIDIZS S8 PRO Robin, EPZ TP35, AKLIAM PD1, DUNU DTC800, TempoTec V3 Blaze, (WAV, FLAC files and Tidal) • Motorola Edge 60 Pro (UAPP), (Tidal) • Notebook (Windows), (MusicBee), (Tidal) • 4.4 bal. Cable, and High Gain as Always!™ ____________ - 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞: $129.00 USD ____________ - 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐬: • Drivers Config: 2DD (8mm+10mm) + 2BA - Hybrid crossover, physical + electronic. • Sensitivity: 107db • Impedance: 32Ω • Frequency Response Range: 20Hz-20KHz ____________ - 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: The unboxing is simplistic, like other Kefine sets. The IEM is built like a tank; the shells are a bit large for my small ears and awkward ear canals, but with a little time adjusting and finding the perfect eartip, I achieved a good fit and good isolation. Regarding the design, simple, black, and easy to go unnoticed, I loved it! A great cable with modular ends, 3.5mm and 4.4mm bal. Kefine also sent an alternative cable, which is a DSP with a ucb-c connection and a mic with all the controls. Three tuning nozzles (black, silver, and gold) The case is simply fantastic, very well made, all in textured leather, and also comes with 13 pairs of eartips, yes, 13 PAIRS. ____________ - 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: Musicality above technicality, slightly warm and lush, a certainly colorful sound. The Kefine Quatio has a tuning that I believe will please most people. Great bass both in quantity and quality, as well as the mids, and the treble is on the safer side (at least with the silver or black nozzle), a proper all-rounder as I expected. *This analysis was done mostly using the silver (balanced) nozzle, it is the most cohesive for me, the three nozzles are different enough to be appreciated. ____________ 𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐬: Starting with the bass, both the subs and mids have authority and a great texture. I found them very "organic." The implementation of one DD reserved for ultra-low frequencies and the other for full-range frequencies worked very well. The subs and mids are well-resolved and distinct, with good texture and quantity; they're simply engaging. I would like them to be a little more "tight and fast", but that is already my preference and not a con for the Quatio. ____________ - 𝐌𝐢𝐝𝐬/ 𝐕𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐬: The mids and vocals come across very naturally and spaciously, coming from the little bleeding that happens from the bass to this midrange region. This only made the mids and vocals have more weight and be more melodic and musical. They have presence, are very well resolved, with a very good resolution and clarity. They can track and keep the instruments well separated and distinct. Good enough to carry my metal playlist without any major issues. ____________ - 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐞: Perhaps here in the highs I could say that this is where the Quatio's weak point is, they are not bad, but they could definitely be a little more extended and have more air in this region and already responding, with the golden nozzle which is the one that has the function of increasing the tremble, with this nozzle I suffered a little with sibilance in some tracks. Still, I think they're very good, just understand that they might be too smooth for some, but on the other hand, they never cause fatigue even during long listening sessions. Remember, musicality over technicality. It's impossible to please everyone. ____________ - 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: The Kefine Quatio's technical capabilities are solid for a $120 IEM. It's good in terms of detail, layering, and imaging are very well executed, with very decent instrumental separation. The soundstage is more intimate, not holographic, but immersive. ___________ - 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭: First planar, one hit, first and second single DDs, two more hits, and now the first hybrid, guess what? Another hit. With properly implemented drivers and very well-executed tuning, Kefine didn't try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they decided to bring a reference tuning, a serious all-rounder to the market. And honestly, in this price range, I can't think of anything better than the Quatio. Well, Defiant, another highly regarded (a little over, ok very over HYPED) hybrid that costs $20 less than the Quatio. No one asked, but I'll give my opinion. I have the Defiant here on my desk too. If you're undecided between these two, please save more $20 for the Quatio. You won't regret it!

This review, first things first would not have been possible if people in the audio community where I live in would not have sent in their units, and a special vote of thanks to u/reluctant_engineer to have me gain better insight technically. This IEM roundup consists of 7 iems, across various price points and vivid sound signatures, while some are technically decked out and some retaining their rudimentary accessories; this piece of mine proves that often, less is more and I would like you to find it out for yourself. Out of these, the Truthear Pure and Tanchjim Fission were sent to me as full sets- Truthear keeps their accessory game uniform but I was mildly disappointed with the quality of the stock cable, while Fission went over and under with their accessory game although I would like to urge Tanchjim to please stop with their long 2 pin design- it helps nobody but themselves and comes off as throwing a spanner in the dark with their style of 2 pins. That being said, cable overall feels very nice. Without further ado, I am going to bother you with walls of text. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ***Lows:*** **- Aful Explorer:** It has a beautiful grunt in the sub-bass and the way it delivers is akin to a child waiting for Santa Claus to fill their sock up by the fireplace; it has a very noticeable warmth in its approach towards the sub-bass, and it clearly shows in tracks like Daft Punk’s Get Lucky and Rush’s Limelight: drums have a very enjoyable tonality whilst delivering the rumble in a way which is both clearly, distinctly audible however on Limelight, I did feel that the toms towards the end of the track could have been presented with more impact and a slightly more vibrant tonality. The problems start when I tend to notice how the rest of the elements are doing on this set; guitars taste a bit too meaty and metallic in its timbre while cymbals retaining their sustain and not premature in its finishing lacks a fair bit of body. In a way, I could say that the Explorer can come off as a bit too hyper fixated in delivering the quantity of the sub-bass while balancing quality for the most part, it somewhat misses the mark by two shakes of a lamb’s tail. **- Truthear Pure:** Perfect, just downright perfect. The Pure, at least in the lows just laps around with such noteworthy efficiency, I had to sometimes check if the pricing on this set is right or not; because it impressed me that much. The way the sub-bass hugs the vocals and everything in the tracks with such cohesion, one might argue that Truthear might have priced this set wrong. The control this set has over the delivery is absolutely delicious- I can never say that this set felt bloomy even once, which was not the case with the Explorer. It is downright precise and the slam that the Pure has is something Nadal did throughout his career on the clay court- a spectacle to watch. Instruments like the bass are enjoyed in a monumental way on the Pure so much, I was left smiling the entire time. **- Tanchjim Fission (4.4 and DSP):** I will rather choose to speak on this straight to the point via the nozzles. The copper nozzle had it sounding lean compared to both Pure and Explorer and the Fission at moments, in my test tracks for the lows felt a bit too lifeless or rather, sterile in both rumble and slam. Notes of the bass felt less weighty, lacking body and character but still had an audible distinction which showed it did not have a gram of mud which is commendable, something that now I notice in the Explorer; the mud that is, it has a minute coat. In terms of tonality, the Fission did feel again a bit less natural specially across on snares and toms, while the double bass felt natural in drums despite lacking weight on a granular level. On the Steel nozzle, tonality definitely shifts towards sounding livelier, the sub-bass rumble propels itself towards identification and the stage here in relation takes a small dip. Mid-bass delivery is still fairly lean while the sub-bass rumble, even though not as delightful as the Pure, still somewhat is perceived to be better than the Explorer on this note but this observation is only with this nozzle. On the Titanium nozzle, the quantity of the sub-bass feels hard to put it into words because it directly affected the rest of the elements where the Fission suddenly dropped off its usual clinical candor to coming off as pretentious in its approach- the bass now sounds undesirably boomy which results in a worsening tonality in its approach to the vocals as it felt overpowering, while elements like cymbals felt clipped, and being robbed of its extension. To summarise, this is not the nozzle I would have if I had to use the Fission on a regular basis at least for the lows. **- Kefine Quatio:** On the silver nozzles, the bass does come off as plenty in terms of quantity although at certain moments across tracks, the Quatio felt like it was giving up quality to make the quantity feel acceptable. Instruments, due to the quantity do not feel as spaced out as it should have, vocals come off as laid back and compared to the Fission, is embossed with life although I would have appreciated some mellowness in tonality. On the gold nozzle, the entire presentation has a dramatic shift towards being intimate and in a way I appreciate. At least on this nozzle, the Quatio feels eerily close to the Pure in terms of both quality and quantity, however the difference between both is that, that the Quatio’s deliverance in quantity remains a bit too on the nose, tonality in this department has a monumental improvement, and vocals envelope the sub-bass in a way where I felt the vocals are meant for me and no one else; now instruments feel more spaced out but I would have appreciated if the sub-bass backed off a bit. On the black nozzle, I did not perceive a lot of differences with the silver, however the intimacy is let gone for a wider presence of instruments; while the sub-bass got even thicker yet disciplined, like the Explorer sans the mud that I had perceived for the most part; but there was a slight bleed when it came to the tracks getting busier across moments, hence once again it levels scores against the Explorer. **- Truthear Hexa:** Something that can be called “ancient” in the way releases of IEMs happen can still be pretty relevant in today’s landscape; the Truthear Hexa stands true on this regard. I was actually stunned to see how the Hexa still kept up pace with the rotation, specifically against the Fission that comes with such a grand kit in terms of changing the sound, that it feels completely unnecessary. Sub-bass, despite lacking in quantity clearly here makes it up with the quality; where sets like the Pure had me swept off the floor with the slam, the Hexa had me grounded in analysing the granular detail across the way notes on the bass were plucked; to enjoying how melodic the vocals came off as without a drop of pretention. The texture of the bass was something that was still relished by me after all this time, and this is where I would say that at least in this department; just because an IEM might be old in current standards does not mean it is irrelevant. If the Hexa despite sounding fairly lean against the likes of the Explorer and the Fission, I wonder if my beliefs in preferring tuning over drivers or the lofty details are further reinforced or will I be proven wrong. However, I must say that clarity is something which the Hexa subtly lacks, especially when compared with Pure and Fission, although it does beat the likes of Explorer and Quatio. **- Pula Unicrom:** I wished I did not have this IEM during my rotation. This set easily has the poorest showing amongst the rest of the competition in this department- it is hard once again for me to describe; the delivery of both sub and mid bass feels incoherently mushed despite having good amounts of detail and the tonality being intact. The sub-bass felt a bit too overpowered by the mid-bass in a way where I had a hard time identifying the rumble and the pluck of the bass across moments of the track, but what puzzles me is the way the unicrom still maintained a fair bit of detail and separation amongst the instruments intact. Vocals were perceived to be unbothered by the bass, but the highs could have easily used some more spotlight to narrow down the perception over the “bloat” the lows had on this set. **- Monster Ear Shadow X:** This is the actual surprise of the bunch, and this is my first iem from Monster Ear. First things first, on this set; the sub-bass has a tasty texture which accentuated by the rumble on an intimate level is cherished. The quality of the bass is commendable for an IEM priced at this range, and I must appreciate the weight and body the sub-bass has on this set. Separation however could have been improved and the Shadow X does come off as a bit too eager to deliver the happiness that I derived from this set which dampens the mood a bit. Mid-bass has a joyous cohesion with the vocals, once again showing a lot of body and fairly deep in terms of detail, although the plucking of the notes on the bass was a bit too upfront and I would have liked it to step back a bit. Tonality is a strong point on this set, although timbre in the lows is not its strong suit. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ***Mids:***  **- Aful Explorer:** This is the most problematic area for this set- it sounds awfully congested, lacking coherence in both details and instrument separation which is clearly showcased in tracks like Tool’s Pneuma and The Police’s Message in a Bottle. Although the Explorer has a lot of good going in its favour regarding tonality but it gives up a lot of ground towards handling separation as the tracks get busier- cymbals lose their individuality, vocals sound degradingly congested, stage takes a nosedive and the timbre once again turns metallic. Overall, not a good sight and there is not a lot where I can elaborate further on this. I so wished the Explorer at least kept the instrument separation somewhat intact but I just fail to understand how does this set that demonstrates so much capability in the lows regarding all the factors I mentioned above, crumble so fast like a house of cards especially when it came to this department. **- Truthear Pure:** This is a domain where once again, the Pure shines bright (not in the sound signature ha-ha). Everything going wrong with the Explorer is for the most part, right with the Pure. Cymbals in both tracks retain their shimmer and life, and despite this set having a delectable taste in the lows, the elements here still get enough spotlight to tango well. Vocals sound true to life, with a lot of healthy body; and timbre on the Pure is appreciated when Carey hits his stroke fill on the snare by the 4-minute mark which once again shows that the Pure clearly punches above its price point. Guitars sound detailed and separated tastefully well with every strum and all the elements overall meet the crossroads with a wonderful cohesion. **- Tanchjim Fission (4.4 and DSP):** On the gold nozzle, the presentation of this department feels like it could have used a healthy amount of liveliness because the Fission here comes off as extremely dry. Tonality here actually trumps Pure where it gets accurate instead of remaining natural, which is further felt when the cymbals kick in at their designated times. Guitars come off with a lot of energy, imaging goes head to head with Pure in remaining surgically precise, and overall; the Fission with this nozzle recovers a fair bit of lost ground. With the steel nozzle, details lose their ground in favour of widening the stage; vocals now sound perceivably warm while the rest of the elements retains an acceptable amount of space amongst them. Guitars trade timbre for details here. On the titanium nozzle, the Fission gets up to being energetic across the entire presentation; vocals get even warmer while gaining forefront in terms of position, timbre once again returns back to its former glory while details takes a backseat while letting the imaging make up for lost ground. Tonality is very Pure-esque in this regard while cymbals get a whole lot of shimmer and body to themselves and sounding distinctly clear from each other, but I still think Pure does a better job here overall. **- Kefine Quatio:** On the gold nozzle, there is a clear overemphasis on the mids and by so much that I just did not want to keep it in my ears with this configuration- details take a kamikaze dive, separation has mostly gone home drunk from a bar fight and imaging still remains consolable. Tonality too is not very enjoyable as it appears confused in choosing one side, and timbre gets mercurially metallic. On the silver nozzle, things take a crazy good turn and so this segment will be short, besides still lacking on clarity; everything wrong with the gold nozzle gets fixed without any complaints, although stage still could have been better. With the black nozzle, the Quatio gets confused- it cannot figure out what it should do with the elements that it has been provided with although tonally, this is the best configuration for the Quatio. Vocals feel full of life although it can be perceived as obscure while this set lets the cymbals take over at parts. I think, for this department; Quatio performs the best with silver. **- Truthear Hexa:** Here is where, the Hexa actually shows a slight age. While tonality and timbre for the most part actually remains very natural and lively, with zero falter towards anything abnormal; details is where it actually takes a hit; especially when the tracks proceed towards getting busier with cymbals and the Hexa has a slight overemphasis on the guitars after the vocals. However, imaging and stage still remain commendable. Pure has the Hexa objectively beat here, but this set still gives a hard time to the Fission and in my book, actually beats the Quatio. **- Pula Unicrom:** Stage is uncomfortably claustrophobic on this set but details and imaging still remain intact. Tonality in this department is where the Unicrom actually flexes its muscle- I thoroughly enjoyed the vivacious nature of it while timbre perceivably stayed non-metallic, again a commendable feat achieved by the Unicrom. Lows now feel toned down to let vocals take the centre stage of attraction and the Unicrom commendably has a strong showing here. **- Monster Ear Shadow X:** Vocals can be declared a casualty on this set- it is a bit too laid back while letting everything else overpower over it. Guitars are a force to be reckoned with on this set when it comes to energy, cymbals sound beautifully spaced out, imaging is surprisingly accurate, tonality is natural although it can get slightly wonky especially when it comes to cymbals. Timbre however leaves a lot of room to improve on this set while the lows can creep up on it on certain occasions. Separation overall could have used some more improvement and not just remain confined to cymbals. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ***Highs:*** **- Aful Explorer:** The explorer suffers once again here, versus the competition it actually faces. While it has a stupendous control over how it handles the oscillations in the notes and pitch, specially across the climaxes in tracks like Celine Dion’s All By Myself, Whitney Houston’s I’ll Always Love You and Adele’s Easy On Me; it still lacks a fair amount of air. However, in Whitney’s track; there was a perceivable pierce whenever her voice rose towards delivering the final stretches, not to mention tonality significantly suffered on this track versus the rest. Note by note consistently, the Explorer focuses too much on getting the rest of the elements right, as a result of which the vocals catastrophically suffer and can be perceived as blanketed, without a fair bit of sparkle and I would conclude it is actually a smooth set but not in a good way, such a shame. **- Truthear Pure:** This is where the Pure minutely struggles, but rest assured it is still a very strong showing. The extension and air of the vocals can spread out in a cosmic way, where especially on Whitney’s track; the Pure stupendously presents the vibrato- note by note, pitch by pitch spot on; although it still surprisingly comes off as restrained- it would not have hurt if it let itself out a whisker more. Tonality is just superb, timbre is fantastic here and everything feels spaced out evenly, where nothing overpowers the other- this set just continues to wow me through and through, and especially for the price; it is genuinely very hard to complain. Horns on the Pure sound sorcerous in strength, they sound so fabulous if I did not know the actual price on this set, I would have guessed it to be proper mid-fi. **- Tanchjim Fission (4.4 and DSP):** On the gold nozzle, the Fission would have had the best showing amongst the others in this roundup, had it not faltered hard on delivering the pitch on instruments like horns, where it feels ridiculously strained, but all is not gloom and doom. Vocals are at an all time best for the category- in weight, in life, and in tonality. There is an inexplicable lushness by which Adele delivers her oscillating notes and so does Celine, and the Fission reins the peaks without ever coming shouty by any means. On the steel nozzle, Fission gives up its clinical perception for some much needed warmth, where vocals actually continue to deliver the excellence; very lush and tonally marvellous. Horns appear to be smoothened out here, which stage once again narrows, giving a bit of way to handle the peaks and oscillations without a shred of pierce. On the titanium nozzle, the vivid presentation fizzles out while sounding unnaturally wide- tonality too takes a step down, and on this configuration, the fission finally gets piercing across the climaxes in the tracks, which is where I am left wondering why did Tanchjim actually get into this set of complications, while sets like the Pure do so much without having this much gadgetry involved. Even stage on this nozzle, shrinks down towards sounding warm which I once again, do not appreciate. **- Kefine Quatio:** On the black nozzle, the Quatio delivers a solid blow to the Explorer: the oscillations are handled with a prodigal proficiency while not being clinical; there is the very Pure-esque warmth which lets the shifts in the pitch be presented with such sweetness, while having a distinctly audible clarity and separation. Whitney’s virtuosic vibratos are handled like a boss by the Quatio on this track while the horns sound ridiculously smooth and tonally gorgeous. On the gold nozzle, the Quatio takes it a notch above with keeping everything intact yet widening the stage to have the elements spaced out even better, while with the silver nozzle, it is the best of both worlds; if I were to put it out bluntly. Here I am finally impressed with how well the Quatio performed. **- Truthear Hexa:** this set just manages to stay comically relevant- it just soars up so well, even when compared to the Fission which had a tremendous showing up here yet gets beaten. The Hexa loses the blanket the Pure has over itself, which is why it just slams through with the delivery on the peaks and oscillations of the track without an ounce of sibilance, unlike the Fission and to an extent the Quatio. Elements like horns sound so soft, yet so lush in tonality; and the timbre throughout the presentation is left intact. Instruments are amply spaced out with healthy sprinkles of detail and imaging is crisp like an ironed shirt. **- Pula Unicrom:** this set once again has me taken aback with an actually impressive presentation in terms of tonality and elements in the tracks are laid out well, with a distinctly audible nature. The oscillations throughout and specially in the climaxes are cut through by the Unicrom like a hot knife through butter: it is once again impressive to say the least, with how the Unicrom manages to deliver the highs with such quality while suffering setbacks in the midrange although the general warmth here could have been cut off for some width in the stage. The horns actually benefit from the warmth this set carries because of the tonality appearing to be slightly unbalanced. **- Monster Ear Shadow X:** this set actually loses a lot of light in its presentation where the entirety of its sound in this department is nothing to write home about. Horns actually sound shrill on this set, metallic in timbre; while vocals through the peaks and climaxes sound minutely fatiguing. Rest of the elements in these tracks sound better than the unicrom in terms of spacing while still maintaining the somewhat narrow pathway, and a tiny bit of air across the cymbals while extending would not have hurt this set as they appear to be sounding lifeless while letting the vocals dominate, and the Shadow X does manage to control the pierce in vocals well, although failing to rein in apart from that- overall, a disappointing showing. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ***Concluding Notes*** This whole roundup has been very interesting due to my choices in the sets being vividly diverse yet there is one clear winner in my book. Out of everything tested, the Truthear Pure clearly sits at the top for me as the sole objective winner in this tournament, with an incredibly enjoyable yet clinically precise lows; gorgeous spacious mids and to add the cherry on top, despite having a slight blanket over the weight on the highs, it still manages to beat the Tanchjim Fission which I find funny, as I expected the Fission to have me completely floored. I feel Tanchjim really missed its mark with the Fission and made it ridiculously complicated for something that actually is quite simple, which is what the Pure did. All that they needed to do was the bring the mid-bass up while fixing tonality on the vocals, and having the highs extend in a way that tapers off in the end without me having to notice it, and skip out on all of the tuning options and nozzles that it provided, which in the long run, actually soured my listening experience. It tried too hard and in this category, Pure proved that less is more. The Kefine Quatio is another culprit of this pretentiousness. Why? Because it could have taken a page out of the Tangzu Heyday’s book in how to be an all rounding planar and it had everything going well with the Delci. All the Quatio needed to do was to tighten up loose ends across the upper mids and highs, bring details up on an uniform note, bump up the highs while taking a small dip in the details and yet focus on the sub-bass while keeping mid-bass down; something where Kefine did right with the Delci and something that even sets priced much lower like the Tangzu Yu Xuanji manage to get a lot of it right. But still, it was less complicated than the Fission. The Truthear Hexa is actually the real curveball, and I do not need to elaborate much because I have done all of it in the impressions above and it is hilarious that a set this “old” still manages to go head to head with sets that are way more refined on the technical front, yet still edge them out by being simple, which the Pure improves upon it. But finally it does sound minutely dated. The Aful Explorer was a slippery slope. Its bass has impressive depth and energy, but it tends to mask the rest of the mix. The mids sounded claustrophobically congested which is worsened by wonky tonality across vocals and having the imaging not play in its favour which is what is being shared to a good extent by the Pula Unicrom but on a different tangent, with lively tonality that gets dragged down by a bit too overwhelming bass and an awfully cramped stage, while recovering some lost ground with details sprinkled across in bits and pieces. The Monster Ear Shadow X actually impressed me with its strong showing, where I had no expectations with this IEM, yet it managed to deliver some thick, meaty yet mostly clean lows, although a brush stroke’s worth of polish over the stage and details would have made the argument in its favour, stronger. The Pure, staying true to its roots makes Truthear proud in my book by being its best iem produced till date, while I expected the Fission to be a stunning set yet marred by being overcomplicated in its foundation. Kefine too, missed a good mark by fumbling across on certain points while it had the perfect chance to make the Quatio a monumental upgrade over the Delci. Aful needs to come up with something much stronger because the Explorer felt actually good yet got very dated in comparison with the Pure and my previous personal impressions regarding the explorer now stand adversely altered. Pula, while having the Unicrom be labelled by me as fairly decent still has room to improve and the Monster Ear Shadow X has me hopeful in its future offerings, because I believe this brand has the opportunity to produce some good competent sets. With this, I rank both the Pure and Hexa an **S**, the Fission a **A-**, the Quatio a **B**, the Explorer a **B-** with a heavy heart, Unicrom a **B** and the Monster Ear Shadow X a **B+.** All sets were uniformly tested with the Spinfit CP100+, Spinfit W1, Tangzu Sancai Balanced, TRI Clarion, Dunu S&S and Final E, and here are my best configurations: * Best eartip for Explorer: Sancai Balanced and W1 * Best eartip for Pure: CP100+ * Best eartip for Fission: TRI Clarion and Sancai Balanced * Best eartip for Quatio: Sancai Balanced * Best eartip for Hexa: CP100+ and Dunu S&S * Best eartip for Unicrom: W1 and Final E * Best eartip for Monster Ear Shadow X: TRI Clarion \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ All sets were tested with 4.4 termination on the FiiO KA17 and FiiO BTR17, high gain and non desktop mode. Here is the link to my test playlist on apple music: [https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/demo-setlist-for-audio-reviews/pl.u-BNA66X6Fe0dZmBa?ls](https://music.apple.com/in/playlist/demo-setlist-for-audio-reviews/pl.u-BNA66X6Fe0dZmBa?ls) Here is the link to my discord server of audio, should you be interested: [https://discord.gg/EV6k2rMT5K](https://discord.gg/EV6k2rMT5K) (The Indian Audio Community)

Simgot Supermix 4 was one of my biggest disappointments. S08 is decent, quatio for the most part is a good iem but I definitely see the point in the hexa being observed as flat and boring.

Best value? Given that I haven't tried the T10 (only the T10 Pro, which are fine), I cannot speak about them but many consider them the pinnacle of budget planars. Here's my (personal) value picks list from 0 to 150$ more or less (will also mention one planar for each bracket): 1. KZ ZVX Pro: it's just impossible to beat these, you can buy them for like 5$ at AliExpress with some coupons or welcome deals and you get all metal build, a well tuned set with decent technicalities for the price and something that, although not breaking the bank, will last long and you won't give a frick you somehow lose them since they cost like a cup of coffee. 2. Under 50: my favourite in terms of signature is the CCA Trio in the UUUU (or 1111) switches config, whereas the EW200 are what I would buy for a bit more resolution. The SGOR Luna and PRX are options as well, but they have some tonal quirks that may not appeal to you. 3. Under 100$: Juzear x Z Reviews Defiant for a versatile, punchy and tight set, Truthear HEXA for resolution, a neutral bright tonality and detail retrieval, Truthear PURE for a neutral/warm set with pretty thick lower end and non-fatiguing treble. Planars? Well, yeah, the F1 Pro for NiceHCK is very solid but it has a tinge of metallic timbre in the treble (other than that, it's SUPER solid). 4. Under 150$: Kefine Quatio for a thick and warm hybrid set with good technical chops, Tanchjim Fission for the best single DD experience and technicalities in this price range, along with an excellent neutral tuning (and some fine tuning thanks to the nozzle filters and bass screw). And then there are also many other sets that are worth a mention, such as the Wan'er S.G. II, the Kefine Klean, the Dunu Titan S2 and Kima 2, the Moondrop May, the AFUL Explorer... So many choices out there nowadays.

If you want a decent upgrade but nothing too big definitely give the Kefine Quatio a check, kinda similar sound, pretty nice value. If you want something on the notably bassy side, there is the ZiiGaat Arcadia. As for something more V-shape, the kiwi ears aether is an interesting, energetic alternative, but a notable different sounds style, balanced aswell, but different approach. And finally, if neutral with a bass boost is more your thing, the Kiwi Ears KE4 is also a pretty good idea (more natural, balanced sound but with a plus on bass). I honestly dont think there is anything particularly worth for a few extra bucks above $200 (sorry for the temptation but you might wanna just save up for something sub $400 like the Tea Pro).