7HZ LEGATO: The Bass Bringer Beast
Legato, also referred to as a Slur, is a type of musical technique in which interconnected notes will have a smooth and fluidity curve. It is an exact opposite of the Staccato which plays the notes to have shortened, crisp and abruptly detached on its duration.
It seems that 7Hz's naming convention on their product based on musical techniques is quite fitting on this model. This is actually my first product review on 7Hz and we in the audio community knows what their reputation in the ever-expanding audiosphere. 7Hz was established in 2012 by the team of audio engineers and passionate audio enthusiasts whose objective is to deliver some products with good quality drivers and a well-thought and innovative application of its circuitry and components. Their 7Hz Timeless was the main driving force on last year's Battle of the Planars and it happens that I've tested this unit and I actually like its technical capabilities with decent tonality even though I'm quite sceptical of that particular type of driver on an IEM form factor.
This product is called 7Hz Legato, it has a high-quality CNC-fabricated, aviation-grade light aluminium alloy shell chassis with a brush-finished on its faceplate. The overall shape design of 7Hz Legato is quite ergonomic in how it gives a snug and comfortable fitting on my lug holes that it gives me a decent passive noise isolation from the outside surroundings.
Inside of its shells, there's a dual-driver set up that was implemented, one 12mm composite dynamic driver with strong neodymium magnets that function as woofers and another one is a smaller 6mm dynamic driver with the same composite material that acts as a supporting tweeter. The larger dynamic driver will deliver an intense bass with good impact, grit and deep rumbling low end while the in tandem smaller dynamic will deliver a crisp and clear response on midrange and treble. According to their release ad about this set, it has a unique crossover which were specifically developed with premium tantalum capacitors from Japan, the purpose of this uncommon audio technology is simply to produce the best sound quality from its dual dynamic drivers due to better current flow within its audio-grade capacitors. There are 4 vent holes on its shells that act as an outlet for excess air pressure generated from its dual drivers to have a less distortion on its sound output.
It uses a proven and more stable 2-pin connector for 0.78mm receptacles and its cable is made of high purity OCC silver-plated copper with 3.5mm termination plug. Therefore, the stock cable of 7Hz Legato is of a decent quality and can withstand accidental pulls and drops.
The product packaging of 7Hz Legato is actually impressive for its price for its well-presented and very organised. The contents were packed in a medium-size, rectangular box for an IEM with a printed brand, model name and the pictures of Legato at the front while at the back are the explosive view of the Legato with its internals with basic specification infos of the product and manufacturer's address.
The following contents inside of the box are:
■ a pair of 7Hz Legato IEMs.
■ 4-core high purity OCC silver-plated copper wiring cable with 3.5mm termination plug.
■ a large reddish-brown coloured wood-printed zippered IEM case.
■ 8 pieces of spare nozzle filters with two different design bores.
■ 5 pairs of balanced bore ear tips of different standard sizes.
■ 3 pairs of blue-coloured, narrow-bored ear tips of different standard sizes.
■ Instructor manual.
On power scaling and amplification rating, 7Hz Legato is an easy to drive set. With 30-40% volume level from my sources like my LG phones, Legato has a good amplitude scaling as it delivers a more dynamic and even full-range sounding already.
Regarding its tonality, it definitely has a warm V-shaped signature which is quite refreshing from the tides of a lean, U-shaped, Harman-tuning IEMs in the entry-level segment. There's an elevation on bass, some peaks on treble region and a recessed midrange.
LOWS/BASS:
Boomy, authoritative, vigorous and dominating, that's how I describe the bass quality of Legato. It has a quantity that really delivers a heavy note weight especially on bass-focus tracks. The overall bass make up of this set reminds me of some speakers of our Aiwa Home Audio Stereo Component which gives me that evocative feel when I was a highschooler back then in the late 90s.
It does have deep rumble on its sub bass as I felt it from drum machines and synthesisers from old school hip-hop, classic rock, electronica and synth-pop. Mid bass has a good presence that it has substantial note weight to give a guttural, more powerful and darker tone on bass-baritones vocals like Peter Steele of Type O Negative and Barry White. Bass drum kicks does have thunderous and full sound on them (John Bonham's bass kicks on When The Levee Breaks) and bass guitars with its growl and roar does have that resonant and mighty sound on them (Patricia Morrison's bass line on The Sisters of Mercy's Lucretia My Reflection).
This set is definitely tuned for über-bassheads who love bombastic and menacing low frequencies but at the expense of a bit veiled midrange and even affects the quality of treble.
MIDRANGE:
Due to dominant bass, it takes a back seat on the overall frequency range spectrum. Midrange is definitely recessed on this one, however it has that warmth due to the excess low end that makes it smoother and rounded sounding. The male vocals and the lower female, specifically contralto does benefit the warm midrange to have that depth and consistency.
On male vocals like baritones, it has the warm, authority and richer sound especially on those steely dramatic-types like Louis Armstrong and Jimmy Hendrix. Countertenors does rather have a bit rounded but still chesty and agile enough in its fluctuations on its falsetto voice as I listen to Andreas Scholl. With tenor singers, it exhibits a tad smoother and warmer rather than a brassy and dazzling sound as I usually expected that it delivers less emotional drive especially Placido Domingo and lyrical types like Justin Timberlake. When it comes to female vocals, Contraltos fares better on this one as it has its heaviness and "chocolatey" especially on Toni Braxton and Tracy Chapman. On both mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, they sound a bit less euphonic and less energetic on how I listen to some tracks from Andrea Corr, Alison Krauss and Diana Damrau but it sounds pleasant albeit too smooth in my liking.
On instruments, strings like acoustic guitars do have a more midrangey to buttery sound from them and the violins sounds a bit muted and austere in my liking as I want a more lustrous and lively sound. As for woodwinds, it sounds more mellow than airy on flutes and fife while saxophones have this sombre and a tad paleness sound in them. Meanwhile, on brass instruments, trombones seem to have power and fuller sound on them and trumpets have a dark and rounded sound to give that intensity. Regarding percussion, toms have that deep and heavy sound on them, snares seem to have a clattering and hard sound and then pianos have more rounded and warmer sound as I feel that it is quite lacking in brightness.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
As I mentioned a while ago about the overbearing bass response of Legato, it seems that they are on smoother response though my treble headed side sense its lack of sparkle, less shimmering and a bit subdued in my liking. With those characteristics it sounds very pleasant that I can certainly recommend this set to treble-sensitive folks out there. Notably, it seems that upper mids and presence treble regions are somewhat a bit scooped that will affect the quality of brightness and details and of all these things regarding its tuning, there's a silver lining which there's no hint of harshness or sibilance.
Cymbals sound a bit less glistening, less snappy and it doesn't sizzle so much that it only gives a modest airy extension. But on hi-hats, it was depicted accurately with its typical characteristic which are its shortened dull and dry sound.
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & TECHNICALITIES:
I'll be straight right away on this one with no pretensions, this is definitely not a very technical set. It only has an average to above-average sound/speaker stage width, a decent height reach and somehow a good depth distance between front to back.
The imaging presentation is rather two-dimensional, typical stereo panning between channels. It is rather mushy and hazy to pinpoint the exact location of vocals and instruments and it doesn't separate well along with its not so defined layering aspect as they quite struggle on more complex tracks from multi-instrumental genres like jazz, ska and orchestra.
There's a decent cohesion of its dual driver performance as the large DD woofer can only deliver a moderate speed on its transients as it gives a boomy nature of the 7Hz Legato while the smaller DD performs more quicker to deliver such tonal precision on other frequencies for the overall envelopment of the sound quality.
As for resolution capabilities, 7Hz Legato focuses more on macro-dynamics as you will notice its solid fundamentals of its notes while resolving on micro-details isn't that impressive as they are a bit blunted on definition to extract some nuances and subtleties on audio track data. The tonal colour of this set is on the warmer side of natural tone.
PEER COMPARISONS:
QKZ X HBB KHAN
■ This is a collaboration project between QKZ and Hawaiian Bad Boy. Like the Legato, QKZ KHAN is a dual dynamic driver IEM and it is encapsulated in a composite shell which is actually very similar to some KZ and CCA previous models. The QDC-type connector actually cheapens the overall physical aesthetic design. The inclusion of this set is rather spartan compared to Legato but the pricing of KHAN is cheaper.
■ Tuning-wise, they have very similar sound profile curves which is a warm, V-shaped sound signature. They both have powerful bass responses but KHAN has a lesser quality compared to the Legato. Both have recessed midrange and on treble, KHAN has a less airy and even less shimmer which give an inadequate and subdued details.
■ Comparing these sets on one another when it comes to technical performance. Both of them perform dismally in this category. Coherency on drivers is where the KHAN excels but Legato has a bit better on resolution capability.
KZ DQ6S
■ Another collaboration project with HBB (Hawaiian Bad Boy), this set doesn't only have two dynamic drivers but three dynamic drivers in total. It was encapsulated in a composite shell composed of polycarbonate plastic and magnesium zinc alloy. like the KHAN, it uses a QDC-type bi-pin connector. Like most KZ products, the product packaging has only basic included accessories.
■ Since this is based on HBB preferred tuning target, this is a warm V-shaped sound signature. Compared to Legato, the bass quality of this set is leaning towards being punchy rather than boomy. Same recession on mids but on the treble, it is less refined as it has some instances of sibilance on sibilant-laden tracks and it is even less airy compared to the Legato.
■ They have similar technical performance but Legato once again fares better on resolution capability as it has a bit better on detail retrieval.
As I end my review on this product, 7Hz specifically knows what type of listeners they are aiming for this set. They definitely distance themselves from their competitors that have something in common, usually on the same page of target curve tuning which are usually Harman and derivative as they truly know some sentiments of audio enthusiasts.
This type of tuning is actually not on my alley when it comes to my preferred sound profile but nostalgic moments are definitely a strong emotional driver. The overall sound quality of Legato actually reminds me of our old Aiwa speakers from the home stereo audio component system that we had during the mid-90s on how I actually listen to music with my favourite tracks.
7Hz Legato is definitely a good and decent product that can easily be recommended to all types of listener whether to an experienced audio enthusiast or a mere casual listener.
BASS FOR BASS GOD! SUB BASS FOR SUBWOOFERS!
SPECIFICATION:
MODEL: 7HZ LEGATO
IMPEDANCE: 26Ω
SENSITIVITY: 108dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 10Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (2) DYNAMIC DRIVERS
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 **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
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 *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
P.S.
I am not affiliated to 7Hz 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.
Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to LINSOUL especially to MS. KAREENA TANG for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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