Intro
I’m sure SeeAudio is no stranger in the Chi-Fi scene. With a very well received response from Yume, they’re debuting another IEM which is the Bravery. It is a pure balanced armature IEM which consists of 4 BAs. Without wasting any more time, let’s proceed with the review.
Packaging
Nothing much to discuss here as I received this unit without the retail packaging. A SeeAudio branded metal carrying case, S,M,L Azla’s Xelastec Eartips, Hakugei’s cable and the Bravery itself.
Build/Comfort
The shell size is a little big, but it is not heavy to the point where it will cause discomfort. 8/10 for build and comfort. The bundled Hakugei cable, namely Little Harmony, is quite good in my opinion. Soft, and doesn’t tangle. Did a little search on aliexpress and the specification of the cable, it is a 9 layer ultra pure single crystal copper.
Specifications
Driver Configuration: Quad BA.
Driver Arrangement: 2 BA Low+ 1 BA Mid+ 1 BA Highs.
Impedance: 18ohm.
Frequency response range: 20Hz-20kHz.
Sensitivity: 110dB/mW.
THD+N: <1%.
2-pin 0.78mm connectors.
Source
Tidal -> E1DA9038s -> Bravery (VE’s SLQ Balanced Cable)
Foobar2k -> Cayin N3 Pro Dac Mode (Solid State) -> Bravery
*Unfortunately, i am not able to get a good fit with the bundled eartips, M is too big for me and S is just too small and I can't get a proper seal. This review is done using stock Hakugei cable and Audiosense’s S400 M sized eartips.
Sound
The overall tonality sounds very organic and smooth to my ears. No harshness can be heard nor any sibilance. Bravery has the U shaped signature to my ears. In my opinion, this is quite a safe tuning that should please the majority of the audience out there. I do hope the bass extension can be better. Being a pure BA setup, it doesn’t bear the typical BA timbre, everything sounded very natural and organic, smooth and easy to listen to.
Bass
Bravery’s bass to my ears is fast and clean. It is impressive for a pure balanced armature setup. However I am very used to the dynamic driver’s bass response thus I feel it is a little lacking in terms of extension, but that’s just me. Sub bass is adequate but don’t expect to feel/hear the sub bass that you’re used to from a dynamic driver. Mid bass is average to my ears, i’ve heard better bass response from a pure BA setup and Bravery is not it.
Mids
Bearing the u shaped signature, the vocal is not recessed as the typical v shaped signature. I would say it’s on the safer side of things. You don’t hear recessed vocal nor intimate, it is just right, not too far off nor in your face. Bass doesn’t bleed into this spectrum and both male and female vocals sounded just right to my ears, in the sense that it is well textured and feels very smooth, not harsh even for a high pitched artist.
Treble
While the treble of Bravery is detailed and has a good amount of energy and sparkle on the top end, I do wish that it gives a little more air in the top end, but overall it is very well tuned. Not harsh, not sibilant at all, however on a busy track like Duality by Slipknot, it sounded a little congested on the chorus where everything seemed to just feel mashed together, not sure if that’s the way to describe it but to me, it’ll be better if there’s a little more air to kinda open things up.
Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is average to my ears. Not too wide or narrow and this also probably is due to the lack of air, average depth. Imaging is impressive though. Every instrument note can be heard clearly and pin-point with accuracy, left to right transition or rather HRTF feels a little lacking in terms of the 3D effect compared to those IEM/open backed headphones that offer above average soundstage.
Driveability
Bravery is very easy to drive. It can be driven off a smartphone itself and you will get comfortable listening volume out of it, but of course, the source does matter if you wanna get the most out of it. A good mid range DAP and portable dac such as HipDac will be good enough for it.
Final Thoughts
Is this the best pure BA setup that I've heard? Not really. This is not to say that Bravery is bad, to me personally, at the price point that Bravery is asking for, there are several choices available such as AudioSense’s T800 or their recently launched DT600. I have heard the DT600 and personally I will pick DT600 over Bravery anyday. I prefer my music to sound musical rather than too technical, but then again, this is a matter of preference and my preference is not Bravery, so don’t be confused by it and think that Bravery is bad. It’s a good set that offers plenty of details, sweet mid range accompanied by a premium set of accessories.
If you are interested in getting one, you may head to Hifi-Go’s store to grab 'em.
* Do take into consideration that what i heard may differ from what you will actually hear as there are a lot of factors to consider such as the source, eartips, differences in terms of ear structure in which the nozzle delivers sound via ear tips through ear canal.
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