JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T: A Floaty and Melodic Performer

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”

~~Cassius Clay Jr. a.k.a. Muhammad Ali, American Former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion.

JUZEAR in which previously known as JUNEAR AUDIO is one of the few audio brands that I usually encountered when I scrolling randomly on Aliexpress and Taobao to look some interesting IEMs and other audio products. If my memory serves right, JUNEAR released a hybrid driver set before and its driver set-up consisting of planar magnetic driver and balanced armature drivers which are quite an interesting implementation.

After that particular model that I've mentioned a while ago, JUZEAR also released the Flame and 41T which are probably the predecessors models of the set that will be featured here in this review article and all of them are also of a hybrid driver configuration. What I have here right now is JUZEAR's latest midrange set, The JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T and like its preceding models, it also has a multiple hybrid driver set-up.

On its internal part with its multi-driver configuration, it has a single dynamic driver and 6 balanced armature drivers. The dynamic driver is a 10mm with a polyurethane diaphragm coated with composite carbon which is known to have excellent mechanical and thermal properties that can be applied on such driver technologies in which can deliver a slamming, more dynamic and snappier bass. The balanced armature drivers which handles the rest of the frequency range, from midrange up to the ultra-high frequency are composed of two (2) Knowles ED series (mostly likely ED-29689) and four (4) custom ones (probably some modified Bellsing 31736) which give a smooth, rich and detailed sound. The drivers were connected with acoustic tubes that ensured seamless transmission for smooth , clean and clear sonic waves which also provided a good passive crossover for better separation on its frequencies.

The drivers along with some of its internal components are encapsulated in a 3D-moulded medical-grade resin shell in a UIEM-type pattern form. The shells are on a large size profile with an abalone colourway with some Polynesian-inspired designs etched on its faceplate. It has a brass nozzle and it implements a 0.78mm bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism for its detachable cable.

As for fitting and comfort, this set is quite comfortable to wear as it rests well into my lugholes for a long listening session and it gives me excellent passive noise isolation. There are some reports that this set tends to have some driver flex on some users but I didn't experience any of them in my ears even on the balanced bore stock ear tips.

The stock cable that was included here is a thick four-core high purity 18 AWG 6N silver-plated copper wiring with a straight gold-plated 3.5mm single-ended termination plug on its end, but you can choose a 4.4mm balanced one upon ordering. The cable seems to be very flexible, firmly braided and doesn't encounter any microphonics at all.

The JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T is fully-packed with some quality accessories included in its packaging box. Here are the following contents we can find inside:

• Pair of JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T IEM transducers.
• Stock cable
• Hardbound nylon storage case
• Three (3) pairs of opaque white balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes
• Three (3) pairs of grey coloured balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Two (2) pairs of memory foam ear tips
• Paperwork like instruction manual, warranty card and Q.C. stub.
• Cleaning cloth

For a multi-driver configuration that this set has, it is moderately sensitive that it can be driven by some devices with decent power output. If properly amplified, this one will have a full range sound with some good dynamics on it.

To determine its tonal feature, it appears that JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T has a “warmish-neutral” sound profile as it has a well-balanced and almost linear presentation in all frequencies.

(FR graph was provided by baskingshark, credits to him on his effort)

LOWS/BASS:

The first thing I noticed about the bass presentation of this set is that it sounds quite balanced and that both sub bass and mid bass parts are equally presented. Sub bass has a good rumbling on its end while the mid bass has a sufficient  texture to deliver a sufficient punchy and tactual bass response.

The sub bass rumble and reverberation are clearly perceived as they were generated from sub bass-focused like low tuned double bass and bass guitars, synthesisers and drum machines from some tracks of certain genres like classical, synth-pop and old school hip-hop. The mid bass has an adequate texture for better note weight definition for bass-clef instruments and deep male vocals. Bass guitars and double bass have enough weight with rasping and  resonant sound from them while bass kick drums have its full and pounding sound every stroke. On some male vocals particularly on bass and bass-baritone, they have a sufficient volume and depth for their distinctive dark, rumbling and resonating deep tone voices.

MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of this set is quite almost linear but it has some enough warmth to give a texture and a tad richness on vocals and instruments to sound quite organic with some ample clarity and detailed sound in this certain section of its frequency range.

On the majority of male vocal types, baritones have a smooth, plush and warm sound on their vocals, while tenors have a robust, ringing and brassy sound in their voices, and then, countertenors have an emotive, graceful and tender sound on their voices. As for female vocals, Contraltos have a rich, lush and an ample depth on their vocals, mezzo-sopranos seem to have fiery and velvety voices on them and sopranos  have silky and gleaming sound on their vocals.

On instruments, nearly all of them sound natural in most tracks that I've tested to determine tonal colour of each instrument, but I noticed some odd timbre in some types of instruments particularly in brass, strings and woodwinds. About string instruments, acoustic guitars have an ample crisp and lingering sound, cellos have a warm and lustrous sound although sometimes it sounds a bit too mellow in my liking and violins have lively and vibrant but in some instances, they sound a bit austere. Brasses like trumpets, trombones and horns, they sound sonorous, dramatic and velvety respectively but sometimes they sound either distant and a tad muffled. On woodwinds, piccolos sound clear and light, concert flutes have rich and graceful sound, clarinets have mellow and rich sound, and then saxophones have mild and sonorous sound, although in some occasional cases, they sound either hollow, weak and screechy. As for percussion instruments, snares have precise and clear sound, tom-toms have warm and resonant sound, field drums sound full and sonorous  and kettledrums have a rounded and substantial sound. Meanwhile, pianos have an even and balanced tone as it has a sweet, mellow and clear sound on them.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this one is smoother and well-balanced. It has a proper accentuated upper-mids and presence treble section just to have a sufficient clarity and definition on vocals and instruments with any sign of harshness or stridency.

It has a good air extension and a good intensity on its sparkle for a substantial amount of harmonics. Cymbals have glistening and brilliant sound, hi-hats have shortened soughing tone on their distinctive chicky sound, celestas  are brimming with a velvety sound and glockenspiels have a shimmering sound.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

The overall sound/speaker stage of this one is quite roomy as it has a wide lateral span, good height reach and immersive depth in both front and rear within my aural perception.

On stereo imaging, it projects a 3D-like atmospheric sound field in a multi-layered sections of tonal dynamics and frequencies of instruments and vocals with a good separation on each part where I can accurately locate its specific placement. Playing complex multi-instrumental tracks like orchestra and jazz genres will not be an issue of this set.

The multi-driver set-up of the BUTTERFLY 61T has very cohesive performance that harmoniously works well across its intended frequency range. The dynamic driver of the one is quite responsive and delivers a sufficiently fast transient speed while the balanced armature drivers conveys a detail and clear sonic qualities without any distortion although in some cases, it gives off a bit too energetic and buzzing sound.

Resolution capabilities of this set is quite resolving in both macro-dynamics and micro-dynamics as it has a more solid note density and compression on the former and a sharp definition on micro-detail retrieval that extracts nuances and details from an audio track.

PEER COMPARISONS:

LETSHUOER CADENZA 4

• Like the BUTTERFLY 61T, this set also has a hybrid driver configuration.
• It has a beryllium-coated diaphragm dynamic driver on bass frequency and uses a combination of Knowles and Sonion balanced armature drivers for the rest of the remaining frequency range.
• It uses a composite shell chassis as its encasement.
• This set is also pretty well-accessorised and it has a modular termination plug feature on its stock cable.
• It has a balanced-neutral sound signature as it has rumbly and tighter bass response, less warmer yet retains some balanced and neutral midrange and similar smooth treble response with less airy extension compared to BUTTERFLY 61T.
• On technical capabilities, while it has a less wider sound/speaker stage compared to the BUTTERFLY 61T but it has more correct and natural tonal tonality in terms of timbre and colouration.

KIWI EARS QUINTET

• The QUINTET offers four types of drivers consisting of dynamic driver, balanced armatures, piezoelectric driver and flat panel driver a.k.a. micro planar driver.
• It was encapsulated in a composite shell structure made of acrylic resin in its cavity base and a metal alloy faceplate.
• Unlike the BUTTERFLY 61T, this one is rather meagre in regards to inclusions and product packaging itself.
• KIWI QUINTET has a mild U-shaped sound signature which makes it a bit more coloured as it has more elevation on bass and treble frequencies.
• While it has more incisive and precise bass response, a linear and transparent midrange and a tad brighter treble response but it has less texture in its mid bass, a crisper and energetic sound on some strings and female vocals and some occurrences of sibilance on sibilant-laden tracks.
• On technical performance, while it has a wide lateral span similar to the BUTTERFLY 61T, but it has less depth that makes it less enveloping and too flat in my liking. I also noticed that it has less impressive layering capability too.

As I conclude this product review, the JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T is quite an impressive set on its own right given that there are some things that need some improvements like an inconsistent tonal, timbre quality, lack of modular features on its premium-grade stock cable and some reported driver flex from other users that causes occlusion effect on their ears. To whom will I recommend this IEM? If you are a type of listener who isn't a fan of typical Harman-ish type of tuning and loves technical performance above all else then this set is a match in heaven for you.

The JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T is currently available exclusively on HIFIGO, check out the unaffiliated link that I've provided below.

LINK: https://hifigo.com/products/juzear-butterfly-61t

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: JUZEAR BUTTERFLY 61T

IMPEDANCE: 46Ω

SENSITIVITY: 115dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (5) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS

PROS:

● A well built shell structure made of high quality medical resin material.

● That abalone colour scheme with some Polynesian-inspired design is quite appealing. (subjective)

● Its UIEM-type shell profile offers some of the best fitting and comfort for better passive noise isolation 

● The homogeneity performance of its hybrid driver configuration.

● Using a proven Knowles full range BA driver

● Full-packed with accessories.

● Premium quality stock cable.

● An easy to drive one.

● A warmish-neutral tonal profile for listeners that prefers less colouration on their tonal preference.

● A punchy and tactile bass response.

● Well-balanced, sufficiently warm yet detailed midrange presentation.

● Quite a vocal versatile.

● Smooth and even treble response sufficiently sparkling treble.

● Excellent in all technical aspects.

CONS:

● Wishing to have a modular termination plug feature on its premium stock cable 

● Some reported driver flex from other users although I didn't experience in my usage

● Some oddities and inconsistent timbre and tonality on some instruments.

● Fitting might be an issue to some ears particularly on smaller ones due the proportion size of its shells and large nozzles.

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 **

Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *

Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to JUZEAR 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 Ms. Alice Xie of HIFIGO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.