ROSE TECHNICS CERAMICS: Affordable Entry-level TWS Set
TWS became one of the major accompaniment devices for smartphones and tablets as it became apparent for the wireless audio connectivity of this evolving digital age for listening to music, watching movies and receiving calls. Not all TWS are created equal as they are still limited in terms of audio quality and stable connection and having these devices are considered more of convenience to use and they can't match the sheer tonal and technical performance of the wired ones.
As an amateur audio product reviewer, I did some previous reviews on TWS earbuds and this will be my fourth one and it also happens that this is my review product from ROSE TECHNICS which is now known as ROSELSEA.
What we have here is the ROSE TECHNICS CERAMICS, it's their latest TWS earbuds product. This set is equipped with a 10mm DLC-coated diaphragm dynamic driver inside that promises a better sonic performance like deep and punchy bass, rich and detailed midrange and bright and clear treble. Aside from its dynamic driver, it is also have a 5.3 bluetooth module chip that ensure better device connectivity that bypass congested channels for less interference issues and connection reliability, lessens power consumption, better optimisation of data transmission to lessened latency issues, and a small lithium-polymer battery that powers up to 7 hours of continuous playback.
The dynamic driver along with other components were encapsulated in an irregular round-shaped ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) plastic shell chassis which is known for its rigidity and strength with scratch-resistance surface finish. It has a touch-sensitive faceplate for basic controls and the overall design of its shell is said to have a water-resistant rating of IPX5 which is capable of protecting from low-level pressure of water like condensation, spraying and splashing.
As for touch control guides, here are some control taps to command:
| COMMAND | NUMBER OF TAPS/PRESS | CHANNEL PART |
| Volume Up | 1 tap | Right |
| Volume Down | 1 tap | Left |
| Previous Track | Press and hold for 2 seconds. | Left |
| Next Track | Press and hold for 2 seconds. | Right |
| Play/Pause | 2 taps | Left or Right |
| Voice Assistant | 3 taps | Right |
| Answer/End Calls | 2 taps | Left or Right |
| Reject Calls | Press and hold for 2 seconds. | Left or Right |
| Game Mode | 4 taps | Left or Right |
| Sound Effects Switching | 3 taps | Left |
On its charging dock case, it also has a Li-Po battery pack that can give another 28 hours of listening time duration and it has quick charging support to replenish the ear buds’ battery at full power capacity from 0-100% in just 10 minutes which really saves time and better power efficiency. At its bottom part, there's a USB port used for charging and also, there's a button to reset connection.
There is a small LED light indicator to determine the current status of remaining battery power and charging level.
| BATTERY LEVEL | COLOUR | INDICATIONS |
| 20% | Orange | Flashes for 5 seconds |
| 20% - 70% | White | Stays on 5 seconds |
| 70% - 100% | Green | Stays on 5 seconds |
| CHARGING EARBUDS & CHARGING DOCK STATUS | INDICATOR LIGHT STATUS |
| CHARGING CASE CHARGING EARBUD | Pulsating white light |
| EARBUDS FULLY CHARGED | Off |
| CHARGE CASE CHARGING | Orange light stays on |
| CHARGING CASE FULLY CHARGE | Green light stays on |
The ROSE TECHNICS CERAMICS is compatible with all devices with built-in Bluetooth modules like smartphones, tablets and laptops. On smartphones and tablets, it has connectivity support on Android, iOS and iPadOS and if you are an Android user, you can download the ROSE TECHNICS own app, ROSELINK in the Google Play Store for ease of operation via software. I provided its Google Play Store app link below.
ROSELINK APP: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cn.ikaile.ruoshui.client
As for tonality, the CERAMICS is relatively a coloured sounding as it has a U to V-shaped sound signature as it offers three types of tonal profile modes, HIFI mode, POP mode and Rock Mode.
LOWS/BASS:
The low frequencies of this set is pretty elevated as it has an authority, slam and tactility that make this one more prominent across the frequency range spectrum.
This one also has good sub bass presence as it truly delivers a rumbly and reverberating response that were generated from sub bass-focused instruments like synthesisers, drum machines and low tuned bass guitar. The mid bass section is well-bodied, rounded with robustness to add more depth, volume and texture on some bass-clef instruments like bass guitars, double basses, bass trumpets and bass kick drums, and also some male vocals like bass and bass-baritones.
On both rock mode and pop mode, bass guitars sound more weighty and earthy while double basses have heavier and a tad dull sounding. Bass trumpets sound fuller with even more darker timbre and bass kick drums sound full and boomy. Both bass and bass-baritones have a deep boomy resonance on their voices that gives more volume on vocal density and a darker tone on their timbre. But in these setting modes, bass bleeding is apparently more pronounced as there are some instances of veiling and dampening on other frequency range sections.
It is noted that on HIFI mode, the sub-bass presence is evidently more clearer to be perceived but its mid bass texture appears to be reduced but it gives a cleaner bass response while retaining its haptics and incisiveness. Both bass guitars and double basses will sound more resonant and rasping, bass trumpets lose some of their warmth and fullness and bass kick drums . Deep male vocals lose some of their dynamic intensity as their vocal texture lacks depth and less dark tone.
MIDRANGE:
It seems that the midrange presentation of this one is quite recessed in all tuning setting modes especially on POP mode and HIFI MODE apparently in which it is even more noticeable. In ROCK mode setting, the vocals and instruments sound even more full due to its tuning's inherent warmness and lushness that adds more colouration on male vocals and brass instruments. Then on HIFI mode, the midrange appears to be a bit leaner but it has some transparency, clarity and energy compared to the ROCK and POP modes, and some female vocals and string instruments will benefit from this kind of tuning.
POP MODE
On male vocals, baritone vocals have a warm and smooth sound while tenors have brassy and dazzling voices, and then countertenors have tender and mild character. Meanwhile on female vocals, contraltos have rich and plushiness on their vocals, mezzo-sopranos have smouldering and some velvety sound on their voices and sopranos have sanity and creamy sound on them.
As for instruments, percussives, brasses and some strings will sound a bit more organic and engaging in this setting mode. On percussives like snares, tom-toms, field drums and kettledrums will sound hard, resonant, sonorous and warm respectively, while brasses like trumpets, trombones and horns sound rounded, taut and full correspondingly. As for strings, cellos have these warm and full sound on every strumming on its strings while violins have calm and sonorous on every motion of its bowstring and guitars sound meaty and buttery.
ROCK MODE
This setting mode has more warmth and texture but there's a caveat, it sounds a bit veiled that it loses some of its clarity and resolution. On male vocals, baritones will sound more warmer and wool-like which is quite unnatural in for its intended tonal colour, tenors lose some of its spiciness and dazzling characteristics as they sound a tad richer and countertenors sound too warm and velvety. The contralto vocals will be more benefited on this tuning as it has rich and even more husky sound from and the rest of female vocal types suffer some loss of its bright and energetic sound on them especially on sopranos.
On instruments, strings like guitars, violins and cellos, either they sound too warm, austere and thick sounding respectively while on woodwinds, piccolos sound too dull, same with concert flutes that doesn't have an airy and brilliant sound, and saxophones have more sombre and melancholic sound. Brass instruments sound more organic on this one but you will notice some slight tonal colour exaggeration on some instruments like trumpets sounds a bit rounded and too sonorous in my liking but on other instruments like trombones and horns, correspondingly, they sound full and mellow as it was their natural timbre.
HIFI MODE
Probably the most balanced sounding among the three settings as it has sufficient energy and clarity but it somehow lessens the warmness and texture on the midrange presentation. These tuning will give more liveliness on vocals like tenor, countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, and also on some classes of instruments like strings and woodwinds. On male vocals, tenors will have their dazzling and metallic vocals while countertenors sound more emotive and tender. Female vocals like mezzo-sopranos have its fiery and sweet vocals and sopranos have their shimmering and silvery sound on their voices.
As for instruments, on strings, guitars have bright and crisp sound on every strumming and plucking on their strings, violins have lively and vibrant sound on every motion on its bowstrings and cellos have clear and vibrant sound on them. Then on woodwinds, piccolos have bright and clearness of their sound, concert flutes have brilliant sound and clarinets sound expressive and lively.
HIGHS/TREBLE:
While both POP and HIFI Modes have noticeable more emphasis on the upper-mids up to presence treble as they sound bright and shimmering, the ROCK mode appears to have a tad darker and smoother presentation to the point they sound too veiled in my liking. The varying degree of accentuated sub-parts on the treble region on both POP mode and HIFI mode have also some apparent differences as the former has a more “balanced” approach as it has a sufficient clarity and definition on vocals and attack of both percussive and rhythm instruments while the latter has a sharper definition that gives more intensity on female vocals and instrumental attacks.
On the brilliance section of the treble region, the HIFI mode probably has more airy extension and intense sparkling among the three tuning options while the POP mode has a more more balanced presentation with sufficient amount of sparkle and moderate level of treble air.
POP MODE
Instruments:
Cymbals - metallic sounding.
Hi-hats - short buzzing sound.
Glockenspiels - brilliant sounding.
Celestas - sweet and wafting sound.
ROCK MODE
Instruments:
Cymbals - undulating and soughing sound.
Hi-hats - shortened warm and resonant sounding.
Glockenspiels - veiled and too soft sounding.
Celestas - too mellow and soft sounding.
HIFI MODE
Instruments:
Cymbals - bright and piercing sound.
Hi-hats - short sizzling sound.
Glockenspiels - shimmering and a tad shrill sounding.
Celestas - glistening sound
SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:
This TWS is capable of conveying a moderately roomy head stage across my aural perception as it has above-average width, good height reach and immersive depth on its sound/speaker stage. The stereo imaging presentation is rather a typical 2-dimensional stereo panning with a two layered soundscape with just a decent separation on vocals and instruments on it.
The dynamic driver on this set is pretty coherent on its performance as it is capable of executing fast transient response without any distortion issues as it is indeed using a good quality dynamic driver with DLC-coated diaphragm. This set is fairly resolving on both macro-dynamics and micro-detail retrieval as it has more cohesive compression volume on its dynamics while capable of extracting information of nuances and details on an audio track on the latter resolution aspect especially on HIFI mode setting.
PEER COMPARISONS:
TANCHJIM MINO
- This one has a slimmer form factor and its overall design appears to be inspired from Apple AirPods.It also has a touch sensitivity in its faceplate to do some basic commands via tapping.
- The MINO is quite accessorised with inclusions although it doesn't have a protective case for its charging dock like the CERAMICS.
- It also has its own app for firmware update and software controls for the TWS.
- Like CERAMICS, it doesn't have support for advanced bluetooth codecs like APT-X, APT-X HD and LDAC.
- This one has a more refined in tuning in stock setting as it has U-shaped sound profile, it has cleaner bass presentation, less recessed but a tad leaner midrange which is comparable to CERAMICS’ HIFI mode and smoother and less offensive sounding treble response.
- It has similar technical performance with CERAMICS from sound/speaker stage, stereo imaging and resolution capabilities.
In summary of this review and my final conclusion, this set is quite a compelling one for an entry-level TWS as it can deliver a decent tonal capabilities with three tuning profiles to choose from according to your preferred tonal signature, a long playback time, utilising an HD microphone and stable connectivity. While a limited bluetooth codec support might be a deal breaker to some users who are already familiar with the sound quality that does advanced bluetooth codec could deliver in overall listening experience, but in my opinion, this TWS is pretty solid for its asking price that both consumer and audio enthusiasts could both enjoy on this budget-friendly TWS set.
The ROSE TECHNICS CERAMIC is still available at LINSOUL, check out the non-affiliated link below that I've provided.
LINK:
SPECIFICATIONS:
| MODEL | ROSE TECHNICS CERAMICS |
| AUDIO FORMAT SUPPORTED | AAC, MSBC, SBC |
| PLAYTIME | 35 Hours |
| CHARGING TIME | 40 Minutes |
| NOISE CONTROL | ENC |
| INTERFACE TYPE | USB TYPE-C |
| BLUETOOTH VERSION | 5.3 |
| DRIVER UNIT DIAMETER | 10mm |
| IMPEDANCE | 32Ohms |
| FREQUENCY RESPONSE RANGE | 20Hz - 20000Hz |
PROS:
● It has solid build quality for a TWS made of thermoplastic.
● Good touch sensitivity on its faceplate panel.
● It offers excellent fitting and comfort, it also has good passive noise isolation.
● Better connectivity with less latency issues.
● The playback duration is excellent.
● Fast charging support on its charging dock.
● It offers three tuning profiles; Rock mode, Pop Mode and HiFi mode.
● Choices of ear tips for preferred ear-size compatibility.
● Punchy and authoritative bass response (POP Mode)
● Clear and energetic midrange (HIFI Mode)
● Bright and airy treble extension (HIFI Mode)
● Above-average perceived sound/speaker stage size.
CONS:
● No support on advanced bluetooth audio codec modes like LDAC, APT-X, APT-X HD and Snapdragon wireless lossless sound.
● Quite confusing touch control commands.
● A bit bloated bass response. (ROCK Mode)
● Veiled and low resolution quality. (ROCK Mode)
● Some instances of sibilance and also shrill and piercing sound. (HI-FI Mode)
● Some oddities on its timbre of certain instruments.
TESTING TRACKS: ( * = 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 LINSOUL 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 for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.
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