See Audio Yume: Exceptionally Ravishing

Greetings mates, Welcome to my another IEM review and we do some deep dive and comprehensive assessment of this particular pair set from new audio company from China, See Audio. I have some  scant infos about this new audio company like they have some connection with QDC but based on the appearance and quality of their product, they indeed aiming at Chifi midrange segment.

Let's just cut out the chase and here it is their product, The See Audio Yume. The See Audio Yume is a hybrid driver set-up, a single Dynamic Driver and Two (2) balanced armature Knowles driver. This is currently price at around US $165 - 170 in online stores.

The unboxing experience that I've feel is quite gratifying as this is one of the best appealing looking packaging box in IEM product and it is indeed smashing.

The blue coloured packaging box itself is humongous for the  pair of IEMs and its included accessories inside but it has a beautifully drawn anime character art as their mascot (her name is Rinko for audio enthusiasts who were interested in this anime waifu thing.) at the front and some graphs infos and specification at the rear.

The contents inside of the box are the pair of IEMs, extra eartips (both silicone and memory foams) of different sizes, a circular shape metal case, an ample high quality 4-core litz cable and some paperworks like warranty card and basic instruction manuals..and I almost forgot to mention those stickers with a print of their cute anime product mascot.

The shell of See Audio Yume is incredibly astounding and praiseworthy for its aesthetic choice. It is a medium-size smoky opaque black one, made of high quality resin with greenish glitter in the the front shell with stylized SeeAudio logo that looks like an Eye of Ra and 'see' on the left shell and 'yume' with right shell at the bottom in vertical way. There is a single vent hole on it for acoustic chamber purposes for "breathing" on diaphragm on the dynamic driver. It has those stabilizing fins that really sits well in my outer ear as it really give me the best possible fitting and sound isolation for blocking some external noises from the surrounding which I gave a perfect score of this one.

The scalability on See Audio Yume is very flexible one as it has a 32 ohms impedance and a decent sensitivity rating which can be driven sufficiently from most media player sources such as DAPs,  smartphones, tablets and laptops. But a high quality Hi-fi DAC/amp will show the full potential of these gorgeous set even more as it will sound more fuller and loads of dynamics.

The tonality of See Audio Yume for me is  more on a balanced-"neutral" sound. I can even classify them as an audiophiliac reference tuning due to some mids and treble emphasis on their audio spectrum.This is actually one of my preferred sound signature and most of my current IEMs in my collection are in these kind of tuning.

Lets get it on its sound quality on this set:

LOWS/BASS

As it has a newer dynamic driver technology, we expect a more robust dynamic sounding lows but it is quite an opposite, The bass quality is tight, precise and lightly impactful as it has decent reach of sub bass that I hear some faint of rumbling on it. The midbass has less textured density as the sound of the bass guitar lacks that growl and intensity of resonance especially on some plucking techniques that I'm familiar with as I find it aspirated and a little bit hollowed, And the bass kicks doesn't have that authoritative impact and pounding which this set sounds too soft and mellow. The silver lining on this is that it has fast with transient decays that a bass bleeding on other audio frequency is almost non-existent which is good one for critical listening. I categorised this kind of  bass as "neutral bass" and Bassheads looking for bass quantity will certainly avoid this one.

MIDS

This is unequivocally the best part of Yume as it really hit my soft spot as a lover on anything else midcentric tuning. The mids is clean, has a well-defined texture and transparency. I just really amaze how the vocals on these set performs superbly. Both vocals of both gender sounds forwards and brim with details as I hear it similarly from good midcentric IEMs that I've currently have. The sounds of rhythm and percussion instruments sounds natural and vivacious as they are go along with the vocals harmoniously on the track (Even some black metal tracks sounds "clean" despite of they are recorded in lo-fi.) The acoustic and lead guitar shows its crisp, crunchiness and scintillating nature in every plucking on its string. Rhythm guitar sounds precisely and emotional as I feel its characteristic via chord progression even the complex ones. The piano tone sounds rich and vibrant for every note hammering hit to feel its resonance. Snare hits very pinpoint and has a good impact if it was mingle along with cymbals, they could create a good groove on it. This set will deliver  the attributes of a well-refined mids that midcentrics are looking for.

HIGHS/TREBLE

The treble quality of this set has that sparkle, gleam and lively as I hear it. I certainly feel those peaks in that upper mids and presence sector but they are harmoniously mix well in the side of frequecy spectrum. It has a tidy extension and enough airiness on it though I still anticipating for more sizzle on it. The cymbals sounds decent and organic but I wish more shimmer just to the liveliness and energetic. Sibilance is absent or almost non-existent as hissing consonants are well-tamed. I can classify this kind of treble as a "safe treble" as you could hear comfortably without any harshness that causes ear fatigue in a long listening session. This could probably recommended to treble-sensitives who still want to hear a good treble quality.

SOUNDSTAGE and IMAGING

The soundstage of Yume is on average width and depth.Think that you are in a small to medium size bar venue that is enough for under 50 people. Its still has decent sense of space on it. Imaging is actually best part of this set as it really performs tremendously. The positioning and placement of its instruments are accurately discerning into my ears, as I try to do sweeping test on stereo panning to determine its spatial indications. Separation is distinctly commendable of this one that there is a noticeable gap between instruments and vocals. Layering has a substantial overlaying on distinction of instrument on each row. This is indeed has a good holographic presentation in my hearing senses.

As I conclude my review here, The See Audio Yume really outperform my expectations as it really hit hard my Achilles heel (Midcentric IEMs are my own version of Kryptonite).This is not a perfect set but its supposed flaws were outweighed by the good characteristics like tonality and structural value. This set emerges as one of the top contenders in under $200 in 2021 to please the audio enthusiasts alike as it offers superbly tune and high quality product at decent price. But the question is how does it categorize itself? Is this a fun sounding or dry and analytical one? For me it has possessed some good attributes on both sides, enjoyable to listen it with an aspect of technical performance.

PROS:

- Gorgeous looking high-quality resin shell.

- Well-done natural tuning. (Maybe an audiophiliac reference tuning too.)

- Sufficient treble quality.

- Superb clarity and detail on vocals

- One of the best on tonality and transparent sounding with its price range.

- One of the best fitting UIEM under US$200.

- Has include a soft and tangled resistant high quality Litz stock cable.

- Adequate accessories and freebies include inside on the packaging box.

CONS:

- Definitely not for bassheads

- Average width dimension on soundstage.

- Wishing for more airiness on presence part of treble.

SPECIFICATIONS:

MODEL：See Audio Yume

SENSITIVITY：106dB

CABLE LENGTH：1.2mm

IMPEDANCE：32Ω

CONNECTOR：3.5mm

FREQUENCY RANGE RESPONSE: 20Hz - 20 kHz

TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION：0.2%

DRIVER CONFIGURATON: 1 DDs and 2 BAs

Some Tracks Tested:( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *

Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks *'*

Santana - Europa *

Wagakki Band - Sakura Rising *'*

Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*

Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'

Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'

Pearl Jam - Daughter **

Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *

Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*

Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *

Camouflage - The Great Commandment *

Spice Girls - Goodbye *

Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *

The Selecter - On My Radio *

Metallica - Motorbreath **

Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *

TLC - Unpretty *

X-Japan - Blue Blood*

Mozart - Lacrimosa *

Handel- Sarabande *

Paula Cole - When The Cowboys Gone *

Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere *'*

Dissection - Night's Blood *

Kalapana - The Hurt *

P.S.

I am not affliated to See Audio nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

If you are interested for more infos, Visit See Audio's facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/seeaudio2020

Shopee Link:

https://shopee.ph/product/64655310/5273378758?smtt=0.68155269-1621938731.9