Intro
Ranko Acoustics is a well known brand in the cables, connectors’s market. They’re established in the market back in 1992, back then they’re producing high end cables and connectors, and last year, they entered the IEM market with their flagship model RIE-1000. Fast forward to July last month, they released another model which is RIE-880 (Single Dynamic Driver), which is what this review is all about.
Packaging
I did an unboxing video of RIE-880 and uploaded it to Youtube, You may check it out from the link below. The overall experience is very pleasant.
The only complaint I had with the accessories are, the storage case is a little small and personally I think that the included eartips can be better, although they do sound good with the RIE-880.
Here’s the link to the video. (Subscribe and like. T.I.A :))
Build/Comfort
RIE-880’s shell is a 3D printed resin, the faceplate is hand painted according to Ranko. Rest assured that when it comes to cables and connectors, you can clearly see that the craftsmanship is excellent. The stock cable’s build quality is the best by far among many other IEM’s stock cables. The jack and the connector outright look premium.
The resin shell fits very nicely in my ears. I did not notice any discomforts throughout the period i’m listening to it. The noise isolation is very good as well once a good seal is achieved. M sized stock tips work well for me.
Source
Cayin N3 Pro (Tube Mode - Triode Mode) -> RIE- 880 (Stock Tips)
Cayin N3 Pro (Solid State) -> RIE - 880 (Stock Tips)
Sound
Upon putting RIE-880 into my ears out of the box, I had a very pleasant experience listening to them. That is before RIE-880 being put through the burn in session. The mids are stunning out of the box, maybe it’s not for anyone, but i like this kind of signature, it is intimate and detailed. One thing to note is that RIE-880 does benefit from burn in, and the change in sound is very evident even though just severals hours into it, i can’t resist to listen to it and so i just put it on and listen to a few tracks, bass aren’t loose and the top end definitely tamed down a little. At the time of writing, RIE-880 has gone through more than 80 hours of burn in time.
Bass
Bass on RIE-800 is clean,tight and punchy to my ears paired with the sources I mentioned above. Sub bass is a little weak but it is more than enough for you to enjoy EDM genre, i don’t really listen to EDM but i just fired up a few for the sake of doing this review, Skrillex’s Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,Skrillex’s Kyoto(ft Sirah),you can’t really feel the rumble but you can definitely hear it, and to me personally, it is more than enough to enjoy this kind of genre, no where near basshead level. Good amount of texture, doesn’t feel bloated or muddy at all. Very clean bass presentation. The bass doesn’t bleed into the mids. In busy tracks like Slipknot’s Spit It Out, the bass and mids remain well layered and no muddyness can be heard here.
Mids
Personally, i think this is the strongest forte of RIE-880, the mids are delicate, smooth and no harshness can be heard. The details in the frequency range are also impressive, male and female vocals both sounded very pleasant. In Teresa Teng’s 你怎么说, her vocal does not sound thin nor harsh, it is smooth and well textured, very pleasing to the ears. However, when you turn up the volume, at 50/100 medium gain on my Cayin N3 Pro for example, slight harshness can be heard, however, I believe most of the people don’t listen at such level for a prolonged period, i just do this for the sake of this review. My normal listening level will be at 25 to 30+/100 depending on my mood. Perhaps it’s not harsh, the proper word to describe
Male’s vocal do not have the same texture as female’s. It lacked a little texture from what I can hear from Fei Yu Qing’s Thousand Miles Away, his vocal sounded a little thin, just slightly.
Treble
The treble part is done quite well in my opinion. Not harsh nor sibilant at all. It is crisp and airy. I would describe it as a little edgy as to my ears, there’s a slight boost on the 3k region which at times can sound a little harsh on high volume, but only slightly, so it’s not that harsh unless you are very treble sensitive. Overall the treble rendition is good to my taste.
Soundstage/Imaging
RIE-880’s soundstage is average, it doesn’t feel narrow nor is it too wide. This is very evident in live recorded tracks such as Toto’s Africa (Live). The soundstage rendered by RIE-880 feels like I am being placed with the band together instead of me listening from the front stage. Separation is above average to my ears. Every instrument can be heard clearly and making it easy to identify the positioning of the instruments. On some busy track like TK Ling’s Unravel (n-buna from Yorushika Remix), kick drum, percussion, guitar picking, and some cello can be heard clearly without feeling muddy.
Tip Rolling (Based on what i heard, no measurements done)
Audiosense S400
Noticeably narrower soundstage
More intimate mids
Tame down a lil on the 3k region
No changes on the highs perceivable to my ears
Thinner bass
Symbio W Peel
Very crisp mids
Noticeable wider soundstage
Tight and fast bass
Less edgy on the highs compared to stock tips
Spinfit CP145
Made the RIE880 sounded darker
Bass is elevated
Top end loses some air and sparkle
Vocal sounded a little recessed
Soundstage is similar as stock tips
JVC Spiral Dots
Noticeably wider soundstage compared to stock tips
Vocal sounded a little distant
Quite v shaped to my ears
Not a good pairing
Foam Tips
Tame the bass
Trimmed the high a little
No perceivable change in soundstage and details compared to stock tips
Best noise isolation
Sony Hybrid Tips
Wider soundstage compared to stock tips
Slightly warmer than stock tips
Better seal at the same size (M)
No perceivable changes on the high and low
Personally I like RIE-880 with Sony’s hybrid tips as they kinda make it sound a little warm compared to the stock tips. Again, this is based on my preference and yours might vary, if you do have/planning to get the RIE-880, try tip rolling as they’re quite tip sensitive as well. Took me several days to settle on which I like the most.
Final Thoughts
As of today, there are a lot of single dynamic driver IEM out there in the market. I have heard Aria and if i were to compare Aria and RIE-880, although both of them are different in terms of price point, but they share the same driver config, Aria is way too bored to my taste and this is not to say that it’s bad, it’s just not my preference, whereas for RIE-880, it is dynamic and the mids and details that are captivating and pleasant to listen to. I am by no means an elite/pro reviewer, i try my best to put things into perspective and hopefully i'm able to help you in deciding whether to get this IEM or not.
One thing to note is that RIE-880 does require an Amp to really shine, you will be fine if you have a mid range or high end DAP. It can also be driven off via most of the recent dongle, however, you will not get the most out of it for sure. Without amping it, the bass is noticeably loose and at times can be muddy at certain tracks.
If you’re in search of a good sounding single dynamic driver iem, do give this a try and make sure you have proper gears in order to get the best out of it.
*Once again, a big thanks for YanFang from Ranko Acoustics for providing this unit in exchange for my review and feedback for RIE-880.
If you are interested in purchasing the RIE-880, you may head to their Ali Express store at the link below:
Comments