

*USD149 / EUR 139 | 1DD | 2-pin*

Hey everyone,

just recently I bought the **QoA x 7th Acoustics Ryusei (collab between Kinera’s subbrand QoA and boutique brand 7thAcoustics)** out of curiosity and of which I read that its vocals were supposed to sound great. Lately I heard already many IEMs with a relatively safe tuning and usually those are more to my preference as I am a little bit treble sensitive. Buying the **Ryusei** was a gamble but I wanted something new and I was already prepared to sell the set or just pass it on to one of my friends.

Well, the set arrived and something went a bit different than expected this time.

**Pricing, build quality, fit & comfort**

The **Ryusei** is a USD149 (EUR139) set with a single dynamic driver. It comes with a nice, thick cable terminated either in 4.4mm or 3.5mm, several ear tips and a small carrying case. The shells look beautiful to my eyes. A little bit shimmery, glittery with nice colours.  
Unfortunately, the fabric-sleeved cable is more microphonic than the typical PVC-coated cables.

Fit and comfort are excellent on the **Ryusei**. The medium sized shells fit like a glove immediately in my medium sized ear and they seal very well.

Build quality of the resin shells is flawless. No seams or edges which could hurt the ears and I did not experience any issues even after several hours wearing them. The size is around medium but I would caution smaller ears to try before you buy. Furthermore, the shell carries a small wing which might cause discomfort to some.  
  
Review equipment used  
Questyle Sigma Pro  
Ear tips used: wide bore size ML  
Streamed on Qobuz

**Sound signature**

The very first moment when I plugged the set into my ears and started a track from **Qobuz** I heard immediately that this set has energy. But not in a bad way. At least mostly. I kept listening. One track after the next. Yes, listening on high volume was not immediately a good idea. The treble energy was slightly too much on some tracks on higher volume.

The excitement didn’t die. I kept listening for hours and hours.

Over days this set grew on me even more. Now I know I can listen without issues until slightly over mid volume, sometimes even higher depending on the track and getting rewarded with a transparent, detailed sound which not only lets vocals shine but has more qualities like the great bass and well extended treble.

To better understand where the Ryusei lands, here are a couple of short comparisons.  
  
**Aful Explorer**. Much more relaxed, warmer leaning. To understand how much low-end impact the Ryusei actually has, the comparison with the Explorer as an anker point makes sense. Ryusei has a bigger bass shelf than the Explorer with a better sub-bass extension and a harder hitting mid-bass. On the other hand vocals and treble carry as well more energy and sound much more forward than on the Explorer. If the sweet spot is the Explorer for you, then the Ryusei is most likely too energetic but if you feel you have headroom for more treble, clarity and bass paired with a more engaging listen, Ryusei could be a good candidate.

The **Juzear Defiant** is for many the jump into a more audiophile and exciting tuning with good bass and treble.  
Compared to the Ryusei the Defiant has a very similar bass shelf with less vocal and treble energy. If you liked the Defiant and want to continue in that direction with more forward vocals and better details, the Ryusei makes sense and is worth the additional USD60.  
  
The **Meze Alba**, priced at around USD159, is as well a single dynamic driver IEM.  
Alba has less bass, ear gain and treble which makes it the more balanced set but doesn’t sound as exciting and engaging as Ryusei. The advantage the Alba has on almost all sets is its form factor. Its shells are small and fit probably for most smaller ears while Ryusei’s size is more in the direction of the Defiant.     
  
Since the Ryusei really impressed me, I wanted to know what a USD900 single dynamic drive flagship could buy when compared to a USD149 set  
The **Astru** is Meze’s flagship which was released earlier this year.  
The Astru has an impactful bass once you get the right seal, a well textured mid range and a slightly forward vocal performance with well extended and detailed treble. Astru gives instruments, such as the guitar strings on **R.E.M.’s** *“Drive”* the more correct timbre and vocals have more texture and body. Overall the Astru has the more natural interpretation of music without sounding boring. Everything is well separated and yet I find the Ryusei’s energy more special and almost more enjoyable than the Astru’s performance. Astru is imo the better technical performer with a more accurate instrument placing and is the more accurate one in many ways.     
  
**Bass**

The bass was almost the biggest surprise on Ryusei. It has real impact, slam and rumble. The mid bass and sub bass are mostly well controlled and of very good quality. An excellent counterweight to the treble and vocals but never overbearing them. The mid-bass punch on **Erykah Badu’s** *“Crossfade”* has great impact and quality.  
So does the mid and sub-bass on **Billie Eilish’s** *“My strange addiction*”. Excellent and very enjoyable.  
On very bass-heavy tracks, the low end fills out the presentation nicely and helps balance the energetic vocals and treble. That makes the Ryusei much more than just a vocal-focused set. It is surprisingly versatile and fun.  


**Midrange & Vocals**

The vocals sound great on the Ryusei. Already on lower volume you get an idea that the vocals are forward but tastefully done. Clear and very well extended but not shouty unless I cranked up the volume much over mid volume. And without sibilance. Many tracks felt “unveiled” when compared to other sets which are more relaxed sounding and for sure after a while my ears just got used to the clear presentation.  
Occasionally though Ryusei was slightly too bright with certain recordings on higher volume.  
**Maggie Reilly** sounds incredibly clear on **Mike Oldfields** *“To France”* and her voice is so well extended but can cross the border to be too much on higher volume.  
**Billie Eilish’s** vocals on *“Bad Guy”* come across as airier and better resolving as it would sound with many other sets around this price point. Ryusei “injects” more energy into the vocals without letting them sound overly exaggerated or artificial. Yet, they are pushed over natural levels.  

But where there is light, there is also shade. The lower mids are slightly too thin for my liking. That is apparent when listening to male vocals. They are not fully accurate and could use more body / “chest”.  
A slightly more elevated lower mid range would have given eg piano keys, guitar strings, trumpets and sax are more convincing size as they have the tendency to sound very accentuated and detailed but lack that extra bit of texture to be more life-like and accurate. That becomes apparent on jazz tracks like “*Mr. P.C.”* by **John Coltrane** or on **Supertramp’s** “*Crime Of The Century”*. The guitar on **R.E.M’s** ***“****Drive”* sounds very detailed, guitar strings have a very clear tonality and are very enjoyable with almost 3D-like character. The presentation is energetic and exciting but a bit too bright overall to be natural.

**Treble**

This is a single dynamic driver and yes, everyone knows that the tuning matters more than driver count. Yet it surprises me how well the treble is done. No graininess but just very well extended and engaging. Natural? Hell no. But so tastefully done.

The details on this set are awesome. They pop but are not piercing or harsh. Again, unless I stay at higher mid volume at most. Details are presented with great clarity which keep me wanting to hear more. Certainly, it can get spicy on poorly recorded tracks and at the aforementioned higher listening volume. But that is more the exception than the normal. Details of the orchestral strings of the violin and viola sound exceptional for a set at this price point on **R.E.M.’s** *“Drive”*. The contrast between the drums and the strings is captivating.  
Overall the detailed and energetic treble comes across as very open and almost transparent with plenty of sparkle up top.

**Technical performance**

The mix remains very well separated with very little detail loss when the track gets very busy with plenty of bass.

Staging and imaging are good to my ears. On **Erykah Badu’s** “*I just play a part”* the different vocals appear to come from almost behind me. Worth giving this track a try to hear voices travel from left to right and hear how well everything can be separated. Perceived sound stage is reasonably large with good instrument placement. Ryusei is very well resolving and details are served on a plate. 

**Measurements**

For our graph sniffers I include my own measurements, too.

It pretty much aligns with my observations. Elevated bass followed by pushed back upper mids. The ear gain is pushed and so is the treble. The ear gain and 8k/12k energy looked a bit scary to me on the graph but are in my reality an exciting and engaging experience.

**Summary**

Overall, the **QoA x 7th Acoustics Ryusei** is a very exciting sounding set. It surprised me that a forward sounding set in this price bracket can be tuned so well. In my opinion it sounds much more expensive than it is actually. If someone had told me this set costs twice as much I would have probably believed them. Again an excellent example that price does not correlate with sound quality.

As mentioned, the lower mids are on the thinner side, so in case male vocals are the most important to you, this set might not be for you. Neither if you expect extreme bass performance. The bass is clearly elevated with great coherent impact and quality but not bass head level. But neither is it for people who don’t like bass.

If you are like me, valuing the overall presentation more than single attributes and want something more energetic, this set is worth considering. I would add a word of caution for very treble sensitive listeners though as it remains a fact that this set has vocal and treble energy above the ordinary. But who always wants the ordinary?

Let me know how you like this set.

Here are now the specs and box content details.

Thanks for reading.

  
**Specification:**

Model: QoA x 7th Acoustics Ryusei

Driver: Single Nano Gold Plated Dynamic Driver

Impedance: 30Ω

Frequency Response: 20Hz–20kHz

Socket: 0.78mm 2-Pin

Cable: Litz Coaxial Structure, 27AWG SPC + OCC + Graphene

Termination: 3.5mm / 4.4mm

Length: Approximately 1.2m

Connector: 0.78mm 2-pin

Plug: 3.5mm Single Ended or 4.4mm Balanced

Material: : Litz Coaxial Structure, 27AWG SPC + OCC + Graphene

 

**What's in the box:**

QoA x 7th Acoustics Ryusei In-Ear Monitors × 1 Pair

Litz Coaxial Structure Cable x 1

Final Audio Type E Eartips × 5 Pairs

White Normal Bore Eartips × 3 Pairs

Premium Carrying Case × 1

 

QoA x 7th Acoustics Ryusei Review: Energetic, not safe and not sorry