ROSESELSA/ROSE TECHNICS HARUKANA YAMA (DISTANT MOUNTAIN): A So-called Alpine-inspired Headphone

ROSESELSA also known as ROSE TECHNICS is one of the latest audio companies that really stands out in the portable audio market as they have a diverse offerings from TWS up to the headphone amp dongles. And now we have the latest product from them and this is quite different from their usual vend.

This is ROSESELSA Distant Mountain also known as Harukana Yama (Harukana = faraway, far-off and Yama = Mountain or in some transliteration, Demon King of the Netherworld) an on-ear type of headphone that shares the same form factor with the highly acclaimed classics like Koss Portas, Sony MDRs and Sennheiser PX series. Its overall design takes some inspiration from vintage on-ear headphone style which will invoke some nostalgia factor to some folks reminiscing their audio enthusiasm in those eras.

UNBOXING AND INCLUSIONS:

The Distant Mountain is pretty well-packed with accessories for an on-ear headphone as it includes some inclusion that could be utilised. It was packed in a large flat square packaging box with some product  illustrations on the front and side part, while at the back, it had some printed product highlights with list of inclusions

The contents inside have their own

compartment.

The headphone itself takes the largest space on its internal box and it was firmly securely on the light card box attachment. It has a full foam earpad

Here are rest of the accessories.

A MMCX-connector detachable 2-core silver-plated cable with nylon-sheated insulator cable with 3.5mm termination plug.

An extra pair of donut foam earpads

A DSP Hi-Fi dongle with Conexant DAC chip inside

Bonus: A resin product mascot standee for holding the headphone.

The earpad foams are somehow of a decent quality although still a bit thin if it was compared to third party ones like from the Yaxis which offers better fitting and comfort as it rests well to the pinnas without adding some wear fatigue on the helix and tragus part from long listening sessions.

BUILD QUALITY:

The build quality of the Distant Mountain is quite well-constructed and materials that were used here are of good quality.  It has a stainless steel headband which gives a better tensile strength while having a good flexibility on it, and it was wrapped with lambskin leather to give that premium look. We can alter the head beam length via its bottom part with a satisfying and tactual fine level of adjustment according to your head size and to alleviate some tight cramp on the ears. But to be honest, even on the maximum level of loose adjustment, it still gives me that soreness due to compressed clamp fitting for a long usage

The ear cavity shells are made of CNC-

milled aluminium alloy that were anodised and buffed to give the glossy texture surface. Inside of those shells sports a 40mm dynamic driver with a composite diaphragm that underwent a topological process, and we all know the topology diaphragms are type of transducer membranes that were coated with nano-particles materials and as it was applied, it give those irregular geometric patterns it will offer a better control on handling those sound waves for less distortion while improving the clarity and detailed on its overall sound quality.

 

The stock cable has an in-mic console with a single button for receiving calls and basic media control for playback. The 3.5mm single-ended plug is still universally compatible with devices that still have this analogue connectivity feature.

Upon ordering, you can choose two colourway options; either a black one or brown one.

OVERALL TONAL PERFORMANCE:

Depending on the earpads that will be used on this headphone, the full earpads will give a warm U-shaped sound profile and while the donut earpads deliver a more V-shaped with a brighter sound profile.

FULL EARPADS

It has punchy and tactile bass response which will be enough to some bass-clef instruments and deep male vocals but it has some noticeable bass bleed that smudges towards the midrange. The midrange of this one has a warm, rich and weighty sound  on the vocals and instruments in which this type of tuning will be more suitable to male vocals and some instruments like brasses and percussions. But there are some caveats as this one will sound a bit veiled and dampened as it loses some crispness and energy as I noticed it on the female vocals and woodwinds. The treble response of this one is rather smooth and relaxed that some of its airy extension is rather modest and a bit dampened sparkle but there's a silver lining on this one as this will be more conducive to treble-sensitive folk who are very susceptive to upper-mids and presence peaks.

DONUT EARPADS

It has more rumbly sub bass presence while the mid bass texture was lessened a bit to give a bit cleaner and segregated bass response that gives more resonance and canorous on some deep male vocals and instruments particularly on string and some percussives. As for its midrange, apparently its overall presentation is noticeably more recessed and also quite hollowed, but unlike the Full Earpads mode, it sounds more gleaming and energetic as it gives the sense of openness, more gleaming and crispness which are more beneficial to female vocals and on instruments like woodwinds and strings but again there are some reservations about as it adds more sharper, fiery, spiciness, metallic and too coppery sound on the tonal colours on some vocals and instruments. The treble part sounds more bright with some improvements on its airy extension that we will notice a more intense glistening, more shimmering and a tad perceiving sounds on glockenspiels, celestas and cymbals respectively.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

On its perceived sound/speaker stage size, the full earpads will give that intimate head room that makes the width, depth and height sounds a bit narrower and congested that also affects other technical aspects like layering, separation and to some extent, resolution capability particularly on micro-dynamics as lessens the sharper definition on retrieving some micro-details, grains and nuances on note textures like reverb tails and vocal ends.

Meanwhile on the donut earpads mode, it somehow improves the width and height of its head stage as it has a moderate wideness on lateral span size and some added height ceiling on it. It also gives that concave-like stereo imaging presentation with decently layered soundscape with acceptable separation between vocals, instruments along with some of its section placement in which will be more helpful to enjoy some live recordings of symphonic orchestral pieces. It has a solid macro-dynamics as it is able to highlight the varying degree of loudness levels on both the choral passages and instrumental lines, while its micro-details seems to have a sharper definition on exhibiting some micro-details and subtleties  like notational attacks of instruments, reverb tails and vocal ends that were extracted from an audio track.

The driver coherency of this one is relatively very responsive on delivering fast transient response on bass section while having a clear and detailed sound on the midrange and treble regions without any sort of phasing issues or distortions.

As for its power requirement, while this headphone was rated to be a low impedance one, it still needs some sources with better output rating to utilize its overall sound performance. And so, the best devices that this set should be paired with are the headphone DAC/Amp dongles with proven DAC chips and high quality headphone amp module, DAPs ( at least on medium or high gain mode output and desktop DAC/Amp dongle.

PEER COMPARISONS:

KOSS PORTA KPH40

Aside from the DISTANT MOUNTAIN, this is the only on-ear headphone that I currently have until the arrival of the latter set.

• An entry-level headphone from a classic audio brand and like the DISTANT MOUNTAIN, it is also an on-ear type of earphone.
• It has a utilitarian and minimalist design as it has a slimmer profile and is lighter to wear which is better for long listening sessions and it doesn't give me a tight clamping that will be detrimental to my outer ears.
• The cable is rather fixed on this one and it has flat texture on it but it has a feature that we can interchange via detaching its splitter section in which is the half part of length of the cable.
• When it comes to its overall tonality, this one shares a similar tonal profile from its cousins which has its own charm especially if you are very familiar with Koss’ in-house tuning, a mild U-shaped sound with balanced-warmish tonality which sounds pretty analogue sounding but in a good way.
• It has more mid-bass texture to give more roundness and punchiness on the grooves on some bass instruments, a lush, rich and warmer yet clean midrange that makes the vocals and instruments sounds more natural and clear, smooth and pleasant treble response.
• Technical performance of this one is quite competent as it projects a fairly roomy head room on its sound/speaker stage and a good resolution capabilities.
• This set requires a bit more power output as it was rated to have 60 ohms on its power output.

SENNHEISER PX100II

I used to own this one as I bought it at a discount sale price around mid 2010s. One of the few Senny sets I have along with HD515 and HD25.

• An old entry-model from highly reputable German audio brand, Sennheiser.
• It has a slimmer profile with swivel ear pieces and foldable headband.
• The cable is rather fixed on this one as it also has a thinner texture of its overall build.
• It has a U-shaped sound with warmish-balanced tonality which is quite a tonal contrast to the midrangers and flagship sets that Senny's are known for its balanced-neutral sound signatures.
• This one has more mid-bass focused bass response as it sounds more punchy and impactful but it produces some bass bleed leakage that delivers a warmer and rich tones on the midrange presentation and a bit dark and relaxed treble response that it doesn't have an energetic and crisp due to its dampened and veiled presentation that somehow affects the resolution.
• The technical aspects of this one is rather modest from a fairly roomy head stage, less well-defined on layering and separation, and less resolving on its resolution capability.
• This set is actually pretty easy to drive. Some of my Nokia phones are able to amplify this set effortlessly at optimal performance.

As I conclude this product assessment, it shows that ROSESELSA shows its versatility as an audio company as it delivers a good headphone at reasonable price that will be satisfying to some audio enthusiasts due to its appealing looking and also tonal performance. Its overall design exudes vintage-feel that harkens back the good old days of portable analogue audio from the 80’s and ROSESELSA put some effort by using some good quality materials and components to construct this listening headpiece.

There are some polishing touches that this set needs particularly on its limited physical features like earpieces that can't do any swivel motion and also on some of its tuning aspects that still need some refinement. But overall, this headphone is still a comparatively good set that can be recommended to some audio enthusiasts looking for coloured and engaging tuning.

The ROSESELSA/ROSE TECHNIC DISTANT MOUNTAIN/HARUKANA YAMI is now available on HIFIGO, I just provided a non-affiliated link below if you are interested in purchasing this product.

LINK:

https://hifigo.com/products/roseselsa-distant-mountain

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: ROSESELSA DISTANT MOUNTAIN

IMPEDANCE: 32Ω

SENSITIVITY: 105dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz - 20kHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: MMCX-TYPE CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm

DRIVER UNIT(S): 40mm DYNAMIC  DRIVER 

PROS:

● The overall build quality is firm and solid.

● Stainless steel headband for long lasting durability along with lambskin leather wrapped to add a more classy look.

● That vintage-inspired will add more character to its overall design's aesthetics that veteran audio enthusiasts take some interest in.

●  a fine incremental adjustment level on its headband base.

● Detachable stock cable is built-in along with a single button on its control console.

● Two choices of ear pads to choose from.

● Inclusion of a single ported headphone amp dongle.

● A fun and engaging coloured sound profile.

● Punchy and fuller bass response. (full earpads)

● Warm and rich midrange for some male vocals. (full earpads)

● Rumbly and precise bass response. (donut earpads)

● Clear, energetic and transparent midrange (donut earpads)

● Bright treble response with sufficient airy extension. (donut earpads)

● Relatively competent in its overall technical performance. (donut earpads)

CONS:

● Tight clamping that will cause some discomfort like outer ear sores, not recommended for an hour long listening session.

● Hollowed and recessed midrange presentation. (donut earpads)

● Occasional metallic, piercing and squawky sound on the upper mids - presence treble section as it affects the tonal quality on some female vocals and instruments. (donut earpads)

● Veiled and dampened sound quality (full earpads)

● No swiveling part on the speaker housing earpieces.

● Somehow lessens the quality of its technical performance on the stock full earpads.

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 ROSESELSA nor receive any 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 TEAM HIFIGO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.