COLORFLY SILVER REFERENCE: A Likely Reference Sound For Musicality

COLORFLY is one of the oldest audio companies from China as it was established around 2005 as an independent sub-brand of a Colorful Technology which is a Shenzhen-based technology solution for specialised on computers particularly on graphic cards, motherboards, power supplies and other related computer technology services. And this independent audio company solely focuses on the side of audio technology as their main forte to provide high quality audio to its customer and some of their products have become benchmark in the audio industry like the C4 which is one of the first digital audio players from a Chinese audio company. I actually learned about this audio brand from a well-respected Singaporean audio enthusiast and audio professional named Larry Fulton also known as KopiOkaya as he introduced it to me around 2018 or 2019 in some interaction on Facebook.

So this article will be an exciting one as this is my first ever COLORFLY product review and what I have here is their latest IEM model in 2025, The COLORFLY Silver Reference. This set employs multi-driver set-up of the same transducer technology albeit with varying size and different materials on its diaphragm.

The Silver Reference IEM employs an array of dynamic drivers of different sizes, two are in a coaxial structure and the other one serves a tweeter. The coaxial dual drivers are composed of a 10mm dynamic driver with bio-cellulose also known as paper-cone diaphragm and a 6mm dynamic titanium-coated diaphragm in a dual neodymium magnet structure and each of their respective properties have a excellent tensile strength due to their stiffness, density and flexibility as both diaphragms delivers a consistent speed response  as they move in opposite direction to deliver a deep and slamming bass, then a full, smooth and natural sounding midrange and it's also to balanced out with the high frequency by dampening as it lessens any harshness and distortion that was generated by other dynamic driver, which is a 10mm carbon composite tweeter dynamic driver that handles the treble section for better detail and clarity.

The three dynamics drivers were then housed in a CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell chassis which has an experimental design aligns with avant-garde style of design that makes it more unique looking. These shells seem to have undergone an anodising process and sandblasting process to have that burnished texture. The design on its internal acoustic chamber allows the excessive air pressure that were generated from the triple dynamic drivers to be discharged to the well-placed vent holes for less ear fatigue. This model uses a reliable 0.78mm bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism for its detachable cable for ease to attach and unfasten process.

The design of shell is rather unusual as you might think that its form might be an issue in terms of fitting and comfort but to my surprise, I can wear it into my lugholes properly although I encounter that would be an issue to some small-eared individuals as they might be a bit uncomfortable the lower periphery of its resin shell chassis that protrudes in the anti-tragus part of the ear as I really felt those pressure points to my medium-size ears. For sure, it offers a good passive noise isolation that is able to obstruct some unwanted external noises from the outside surroundings unless you pair it with proper ear tips.

Regarding its stock cable, it has a bit lean structure but it is flexible and also resistant from entanglement. Its material composition is made of silver-plated oxygen-free copper wires that ensures a seamless transmission of pure audio signal and greatly decreases distortion and crosstalk issues and on its termination end, it has a gold-plated 4.4mm balanced plug.

The product packaging of the COLORFLY Silver Reference is filled with a substantial amount of accessories and they are presented in an organised manner inside. It was packed in a medium-size black-coloured rectangular box with a product picture of the IEM model along with brand and model name prints on the front and some information like FR graph, specifications and company address at the back.

These are the following contents included inside of its packaging box:

• Pair of Colorfly Silver Reference transducer earpieces.
• Stock cable
• PU-leather storage case
• Ear tips case
• 3 pairs of balanced bore silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• 3 pairs of bass silicone silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• Paperwork like instruction manual and warranty card.

Since it has a 4.4mm termination plug on its stock cable, I used to test this set on my portable headphone DAC/Amps and DAPs. And this one is sensitive enough that I was able to listen on a medium volume level at a low gain mode, and with that said power gain mode it already delivers a very dynamic and a full range sound.

When it comes to its general sound profile, the COLORFLY Silver Reference has a mild U-shaped sound signature with a warmish-balanced type of sound with a hint of a tad brightness on its overall sound profile.

LOWS/BASS:

The Silver Reference has a full and balanced bass quality as it has a sub bass presence and a textured mid bass. The sub bass part can be clearly felt with reverberation and rumble that were generated by electronic, percussive and string instruments like synthesisers, drum machines, bass guitars and double-basses.

On the mid bass section, it has a well-bodied texture that ensures a fullness and deep tone on bass-clef instruments and low octave male vocals. Bass guitars have a resonant and sonorous sound while double-basses have a more weighty and sombre sound  and then, bass kick drums have a full and pounding sound. Male vocals like bass and bass-baritone have dark timbre deep resonance vocals on them as they sound dense and dusky.

Overall, it delivers a deep punchy and hard hitting bass response that fervid bass heads should look upon as it has some sense of authority while it seems decently-controlled as it has a slight mid bass bleed on the midrange.

MIDRANGE:

It appears that the midrange presentation on this one is presented in a mildly recessed but it has a warmth that adds more note density for rich and well-textured sound on male vocals and a more natural sounding on instruments. It also provides an energy for female vocals to have a stronger, emotive, and airy sound, and also adds some crisp and vibrancy on some instruments, particularly on woodwinds and strings.

On vocals, male vocals have a mellow and lush sound as baritones have smooth and warm vocals, tenors have brassy and ringing voices and countertenors have a bit more coppery and a bit evocative. On female vocals, this is the strongest points of this set on it able to captures an almost realistic tonal characteristics like a deep, rich and smokey sound of a contraltos, the fiery and expressive sound of mezzo-sopranos and silky and silvery sound of the sopranos.

The instruments as I mentioned a while ago have just about that natural timbre on them as I will describe some of them. About the brasses, trombones have a full and tense sound while the trumpets have that metallic brilliance on them, and then horns have a resounding and a bit intense brilliance on their sounds. Meanwhile on the strings, guitars sound a bit warm with a tad crispness and brightness, violins have a sensuous and vibrant sound from its bow strings, and cellos have that mellow, lyrical and stately sound from them. On the woodwinds, concert flutes sound mellow, rich and clear, while piccolos have brilliant, intense and penetrating sound, and then clarinets have dramatic and lively sounds and saxophones have a mild, pale and reedy sound. And on the last ones with the percussion instruments,  snares have some hard and bright sound, tom-toms have a warm and resonant sound on every stroke, field drums sound full and sonorous, and kettledrums sound deep, velvety and rumbly. Pianos have a balanced tone as it sounds rich, full and vibrant.

HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble quality is tilting a bit on the brighter side but retains mostly of its smoothness as it delivers a lustre and vivid response with a good airy extension. It seems that it has noticeable accentuation in the upper-mids and presence sections as it emphasises the clarity and definition of articulation on vocals and the sharpness of attack on instruments While sibilance was kept under control and I don't encounter any stridency but due to its slightly  energetic tuning, it has some instances on a bit intense and piercing sound that might be a bit too much for treble-sensitive folk out there, but certainly that it has a good treble quality.

The brilliance section has a substantial amount of air that extends its range which is quite impressive for a dynamic driver along with an intense sparkle for some instruments with a treble notation. Cymbals have a bright and brilliant sound, hi-hats have its shortened warm, resonant and sizzle sound, celestas sound silvery, glockenspiels have brilliant but a bit jingling sound on them.

SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

The Silver Reference possesses an excellent technical performance for an all-DD IEM as it is capable of projecting a roomy head stage with wide lateral span from left to right, good height reach and good stage depth in a well-layered atmospheric stereo imaging as it envelops within my aural sphere. For a multi-dynamic driver configuration, it has an excellent separation that I was able to locate the exact placements of musical elements in a sonic background – like if you listen to some bassy tracks there is a sense of spacing between bass guitars, bass kick drums and to some extent, bass trumpets on some jazz and symphony orchestral recordings on how they set apart.

The cohesive performance of the three dynamic drivers is quite impressive on how each driver is pretty responsive to deliver a fast transient response for an accurate sound reproduction for each respective frequency part as I don't hear any odd lingering effect or sluggishness. Pertaining to its resolution capability when it comes to detailing, it has a solid macro-dynamics as it was able to highlight the varying degree of loudness or volume level from chorale lines and instrumental section to have that impact and engagement on its overall dynamics while on its micro-dynamics, it is sharp enough to highlight the finer details, nuances and gains from playback track like vocals ends , reverb tails and musical notation textures.

PEER COMPARISONS:

LETSHUOER DZ4

• It was priced similarly with the SILVER REFERENCE at the time of its release in 2023.
• It has three 6mm micro-dynamic drivers with a passive radiator driver, and all of these drivers are encapsulated in a 3D-printed resin shell chassis.
• Like all LETSHUOER’s sets, this one is also well-packed with accessories.
• This one has a mild U-shaped sound profile with a tonality akin to a  balanced-neutral tuning that has a more rumbly and sufficient punch on its bass, an almost linear, slightly warmth and less energetic midrange, and smooth but less airy treble presentation.
• On its overall technical performances, this one projects a rather intimate soundstage in a quite atmospheric stereo presentation, and its resolution capabilities aren't that well-detailed particularly on its micro-dynamics aspect.

7HZ FIVE

• It is in the same price category with the SILVER REFERENCE as it was priced over US$100.
• It has five 6mm micro dynamic drivers encased in a composite shell chassis  and this one is a bit finicky on power output requirement.
• This one is also pretty fully-packed with accessories, including those custom ear-tips that 7HZ provided.
• This one is veering towards a more V-shaped sound profile as it has more impactful and punchier bass that really slams but at expenses of bass smudge, a recessed but it has a warm and energetic midrange presentation and a bright treble which is more susceptible to piercing and sibilance sounds.
• On its technical aspects, it has an average-size soundstage presented in a well-layered concave-like stereo presentation and  its resolution capabilities are somehow decent, solid macro-dynamics but a bit blunted definition on micro-details.

BINARY DYNAQUATTRO

• Probably the most priciest set in this peer comparison section as it was priced at over US$200.
• It has 3 dynamic drivers of varying sizes and 1 passive radiator driver inside of its composite shell chassis.
• It has a plenty of inclusions inside of its packaging box, including a more premium stock cable which is quite thicker and a pelican-like storage case.
• This one has a U-shaped with balanced-warmish tonality on it, it has a tactile, tighter  and rumbly response with enough warmth and energy on its midrange along with a tad bright and a moderately airy treble quality on it.
• Technicalities-wise, this one projects a fairly roomy soundstage in a holographic-like stereo imaging presentation with enough detail on its  resolution capabilities.

Bonus:

CCA TRIO

• This set was released last year and this one is quite cheap and affordable.
• It has three 8mm dynamic drivers and it was encapsulated in a composite shell chassis and it uses a QDC-type bi-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism.
• Since this is a CCA product, expect a meagre amount of inclusions inside of its small packaging box.
• Since it has tuning switches it offers different tonality of a U-shaped, from warm to bright tuning, and with a warm setting mode, it has a bit of a boomy bass response, a warm and rich midrange and bit bright treble with some shrill on it.
• It has an average-size soundstage presentation in a rather typical two-dimensional stereo-imaging with less-layered soundscape although it has resolution capability as it has sharp definition on retrieving micro-details from an audio track.

As I put my conclusion on this product assessment, this one reflects the philosophy of Colorfly as an innovative and audacious audio company as they are placed in a higher tier level in the audio market to signify their status as one of the pioneers of the Chinese Hi-Fi scene. And this IEM earphone also shows the creativity and fine craftsmanship on how they build it by using some of high quality materials to construct the transducers themselves and a well-planned layout of its acoustic design.

The overall shell design has a radical avant-garde design that makes its identity statement but its shape profile might be an issue when it comes to ergonomic fitting to some ear sizes. The tuning itself is well-done if you are into a coloured tonality to have that pleasant fun and engaging type of sound profile along with an excellent for an all-dynamic driver IEM set-up. This set might be  a good addition to your portable audio collection after all if you just want to have casual listening to enjoy some of your favourite tracks being impressed by its musical tonality and technical performance.

COLORFLY SILVER REFERENCE is now available on ARDEREAL AUDIO, There’s a non-affiliate link below.

LINK:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005009138447211.html?

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: EARACOUSTIC AUDIO SPA HI END MAX

IMPEDANCE: 16Ω

SENSITIVITY: 107dB

FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz

CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m

PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR

PLUG TYPE: 4.4mm

DRIVER UNIT(S):  3 DYNAMIC DRIVER(S)

PROS:

● A pretty robust and solidly-built aluminium alloy shell chassis.

● It has three new types of dynamic drivers and each of them are quite capable of excellent performance particularly on its rapid transient response with no distortion at all.

● The shell's design has an avant-garde and neo-futurism aesthetic that makes it look sophisticated and modern.

● Two types of new stock ear tips to choose depends on your fitting preference.

● Good quality storage case.

● Easy to drive that it can be paired to devices even with standard gain output.

● It has a warmish-balanced type of sound profile with tad bright tonality.

● A bass response that is quite well-balanced as it has a reverberating, punchy and impactful bass responsem

● Warm,full and energetic midrange.

● Some male vocals sound smooth and velvet, while some female vocals have a tender and sweet sound.   

● It delivers melodious yet natural sounding vocals and instruments.

● Lustrous, sparkling  and moderately airy treble response.

● Competent technical performance.

● It has quite detailed resolution capabilities.

CONS:

● Absolutely not for listeners who want a neutral tuning.

● That avant-garde inspired irregular shape is also its main flaw due to its overall design as its fitting is rather problematic as its lower part edges will cause some unwanted pressure points that can't be worn for a long listening session due to discomfort.

● Unlikely will not recommend this one to small-eared individuals.

● Stock cable doesn't have a modular termination plug feature.

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 COLORFLY 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  ARDEREAL AUDIO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.