QOA GIMLET: Tonally Tangy and Balanced One

Gimlet is a cocktail drink made up of mixed lime cordial and a gin. This drink is usually served straight up by bartenders. (I have some few stints as an assistant bartender before)

It seems that this sister brand of Kinera has a fixation on naming their products based on cocktail drinks with their models like Vesper, Adonis, Margarita, Mojito and Pink Lady. QoA or Queen of Audio has been establishing themselves with some of their products gains more attraction from audio enthusiasts and audio professionals due its aesthetics and specific tuning.

What I have here right now is their model, QoA Gimlet as I mentioned it on introduction. This set has a single dynamic driver set-up and its transducers has a 10mm LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm on its dynamic driver. The sturdy and firm properties of LCP delivers more detail, less distortion and faster transient speed on its sonic performance. These drivers were encapsulated in a solid metal alloy with smooth coating with a circular gold with a company logo on its face plate. It has some vent holes in cavity base part of the shell to serve as an outlet for excess air generated from dynamic drivers to alleviate some pressure for long listening sessions.

It uses a standard 2-pin connector as its standard interlocking mechanism for its detachable system. QoA included a 4-core 4N OFC silver-plated copper cable with gold accents on its termination plug, ear hook guide and metal chin slider.

When it comes to wearing and comfort, the QoA Gimlet is a bit hefty but it rests well into my lugholes without any discomfort and ear fatigue. It isolates some external noises from the outside surroundings as I was able to listen to some audio tracks in such clearness.

Like its sister company, Kinera, QoA inherits some aspects when it comes to product packaging and its presentation that its sister is usually known for. It has a square-shaped packaging box along with its decent quantity of inclusions inside.

Here are the following accessories included inside from the box:

■ a pair of QoA Gimlet.

■ a white-coloured 4-core OFC SPC cable.

■ 3 pairs of bass ear tips of different standard sizes.

■ 3 pairs of balanced ear tips of different standard sizes.

■ Faux-leather zippered IEM case.

■ Some paperwork like instruction manual, contact card and a postcard that bears the picture of the owner. (quite a pretty lady)

QoA Gimlet is quite power efficient when it comes to amplification. A source with decent power output will be able to scale this set in a very dynamic way with a good full-range sound from it

Regarding its tonality, QoA Gimlet has an interesting tonal profile which is warmish, mild U-shaped sound with sufficient elevation on low frequency, a linear midrange and accentuated treble response.

LOWS/BASS:

Punchy and tactile though it has this noticeable softness on its impact. For sure that this set is more focused towards mid bass than the sub bass but I still can perceive its rumble and depth from it.

As I mentioned the sub bass quality of this one, its reverberations will appear if it is needed from the tracks filled with sub bass instruments like low-toned bass guitars and synthesisers. Mid bass region is more pronounced as it gives more texture on its note weight albeit a tad mellow for an unspecified reason (probably try to minimise its possible bass bleeding). Bass guitars sound broad and mellow as I listen to Les Claypool's slapping. The bass drum kicks are full and pounding sounding though in some fast double bass kicks from thrash and death metal tracks, it sounds a bit soft and hollow in my liking. On bass-baritone vocals, it has a wool-like characteristic but it has rather an inadequate depth on its tone to give a gravelly and thick sound especially when I listen to Peter Steele and Andrew Eldritch. There is noticeable slight bass bleed but I still consider it as well-controlled.

MIDRANGE:

That slight bass bleed thus affects the midrange quality of the QoA Gimlet as it sounds less neutral and transparent but it gives that lushness and more organic timbre on vocals and most instruments due to added warmth into it. It has a tad recessed on its presentation but still retains that depth and detail.

Both male and female vocals especially on baritones, contraltos and even some low mezzo-sopranos have those warm, lush and rich timbres which those particular vocals are an exact tonality that are depicted in a corporeal manner. Tenors, countertenors  and sopranos are portrayed in a good way as they sound energetic although it needs some refinement on improving some female vocal-type particularly on the quality of coloratura soprano.

On instruments, brasses like trombones and trumpets have a substantial, rounded and penetrating from them while woodwinds instruments have an interesting observation as concert flutes has a warm and mellow sound but somehow it has a lack of airiness and silvery sound that I usually hear on its tonal register. Strings like acoustic guitars, mandolins and violins have a sustaining presence on its notations and chords to have a buttery, lustrous and full sound from them. Percussives like snares, field drums and toms have a clear, hard and dry sounding respectively. On pianos, they sound more on a balanced side as it has a warm and at the same time with vividness to give that zestful and dynamic sound.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

This set has sufficient brightness as discerningly hear that emphasis on upper mids to give some intensity on vocals and instruments to have that sense of detail and clarity. It also has some attenuated slope between the presence segment to the brilliance part of the treble to give that smooth sound to reduce harshness and a possibility of sibilance.

This set has a sufficient amount of air which is quite commendable for a single dynamic driver as it gives shimmer and crisp on cymbals, triangles and hi-hats.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Of all things that QoA Gimlet has to offer on technical aspect, the overall dimensions of its sound/speaker stage really pays me attention as it has an above average to wide on both lateral spans, good height reach and distance of depth to give me a roomy head stage within my aural sphere.  And I almost forgot to mention that this set is actually responsive to ear tip bore variances.

As for imaging, it has a typical two-channel stereo panning presentation as I was able to perceive the placement of instruments and vocals but not in a pinpoint manner. It does have decent separation between vocals and elements and the layering somehow arranged into two stacks which able to perform an acceptable playback on some complex tracks like jazz and progressive rock but on multi-instrumental orchestral ensemble, it has rather a diverse one, sometimes decent or at times a bit imprecise.

Coherency of its drivers are satisfactory as it performs a moderate transient speed and with gradual decay without any phasing issues or distortion. As for resolution capability, it has a good macro-dynamics to give a more exposure but on a tad of viscosity on presentation while micro-dynamics have a decent detail retrieval as it was able to contrast and extract some good amount of nuances and niceties from the sonic background of audio tracks.

PEER COMPARISONS:

TINHIFI C3

● Like QoA Gimlet, it has a single dynamic driver on each channel with the same material diaphragm but it has added PU (Polyurethane) for better rigidity. C3 has a lighter shell chassis as it is made of acrylic resin and when it comes product packaging, it is more basic and rather adequate on its inclusion.

● As for tonality, C3 takes a more U-shaped sound signature with leaner note weight. A punchy and a tighter bass response, a more neutral and linear midrange and a similar treble quality. They also have a similar technical performance although Gimlet has a better lateral width on its sound/speaker stage while C3 has a more solid note on macro-dynamics.

TRIPOWIN CENCIBEL

● Here is another set with single dynamic but different material on its diaphragm and the shell chassis are made of resin shell. The product presentation and inclusions of accesories are pretty much like.

● Tonality-wise, Cencible has a bright U-shaped sound signature as it has more tighter bass, a recessed yet more energetic midrange which is beneficial on some female voices and a brighter treble response which also has instances of being strident and prone to sibilance. On technical capabilities, it has a smaller sound/speaker stage compared to QoA Gimlet and is less capable of rendering separation and layering.

SIMGOT EA500

● Like Gimlet, it has all-metal alloy build shell chassis and also a single dynamic driver albeit its diaphragms are made of DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon). It has an interesting feature which is a removable tuning nozzle to change its sonic profiles. The product packaging is quite similar to Gimlet and even the quantity of accessories included.

● With its removable tuning filters. It offers two distinctive U-shape sound signatures, a typical Harman which is a leaner one with more sub-bass focus, leaner midrange and tad attenuated upper mids and an in-house U-shape sound signature which is a modified Harman with more balanced sub-bass and midbass texture, a brighter and energetic midrange and more accentuated upper mids which might cause some sibilance on sibilance-laden tracks. Technicalities are similar but Gimlet has a tad wider staging but EA500 is more consistent on layering and separation and more solid macro-dynamics and sharper definition in micro-detail retrieval.

As I end my review here, it seems that like its sister companies, QoA did a great job on delivering a product as an alternative to other competitors with its competitive pricing, well-thought product presentation and an organic tuning and an adequate and competent technical performance. QoA Gimlet is one of the few products that I've reviewed deserves attention and exposure, And buying them just for musical enjoyment is enough to satisfy our tonal cravings for a long listening leisure.

QoA Gimlet is currently available on LINSOUL, you can check it out at the unaffiliated link below.

★★QOA GIMLET - LINSOUL★★

And also, you can check out the QoA Gimlet on QoA's Official Aliexpress Store, there's a link below.

★★QOA GIMLET - ALIEXPRESS★★

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: QOA GIMLET

IMPEDANCE: 32Ω

SENSITIVITY: 108dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M

PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5MM

DRIVER UNIT(S):  1 DYNAMIC DRIVER

PROS:

△ A smooth, solid shell chassis for rigidity.

△ Two colour options to choose from, either white or green.

△ Good quality stock cable.

△ Sufficient amount of inclusions

△ Warm and organic tonality to give that analogue-ish vibe.

△ A U-shaped sound signature that will be versatile to all most known music genre

△ Striking balanced bass response.

△ Lush and textured midrange.

△ Above-average to wide sound/speaker stage.

CONS:

▽ A bit inadequate on depth and less solid bass, occasional bass bleed in some bass-laden tracks.

▽ A tad recessed on midrange presentation.

▽ Layering capability is a bit inconsistent on defining its specific tonal arrangement within its sonic canvass on either dynamic or frequency layering. 

▽ a smidge of mushy quality on macro-dynamics.

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*

Type O Negative - Black No.1 *

Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **

P.S.

I am not affiliated to LINSOUL or QUEEN OF 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.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KAREENA TANG sending this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

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