TONALITY: 7.8/10
TECHNICALITIES: 8.8/10
TIMBRE: 7.8/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 7.5/10
IMAGING: 8.5/10
MUSICALITY (subjective): 8.2/10
CONSTRUCTION: 9/10
ACCESSORIES: 10/10
SOUND VALUE: 8.5/10
INTRO
Rose Technics is an IEM company based in China that create IEMs for near 10 years. They specialize in hybrid earphones and make their come back lately with the release of QT9 MK3, a 5 drivers hybrid IEM which I review and enjoy.
Today I will review their flagship hybrid IEM call QTX, which consist of 7 drivers hybrid IEM.
Priced 340$ (or 440$ for deluxe bundle), the QTX use a 10mm LCP diaphragm with tesla magnet dynamic driver plus 6 knowles balance armature.
They describe their sound ideal as ‘’ smooth and dense vocal reproduction, lively string instruments, and a rich atmospheric ambiance.’’
The QT-X being the flagship IEM from this company, we should expect even greater technical performance than the excellent QT9 MK3 which cost 185$ right now.
Now the Roses enter higher end market, let see if both the performance and musical appeal are up or above their asking price.
CONSTRUCTION&ACCESSORIES
The QT-X have a prime construction quality made of high grade resin plastic that feel thick and sturdy, it's smooth too with a ergonomic design that is thinked for deep fit due to ear canal like shape which is long , yet the metal nozzle is rather small, thinked for short bore eartips, as included in package.
Shallow fit to is possible, but IEM will be more proeminent, yet still comfortable since I use it both way.
Isolation can go excellent, up to -26db with deep fit, which i comfirm since even bikers on the street can't distract me from my sacred music with those.
Then we have a 2pin connector, not recessed but protuberant, at it's side their a venting hole, this is wise placement since it can't be block by deep fitting.
The glossy sparkly colorful purple color is really beautiful, not too exuberant yet very eye catchy too. The overall craftmanship of QT-X scream quality and is on par of what we can't truely expect for this price range.
The cable included in Delux version is excellent, it might not look thast fancy like this but what's inside is what count and this Blue Rose Pro cable is a 4 cores single crystal copper and single crystal silver. i've try plenty of cables with QT-X and this one is excellent and deliver clean dynamic bodied sound that don't mess up tonal balance nor negatively affect resolution or attack control, it's a Pro cable that don't color anything yet unlock lively musicality of your IEMs.
The packaging experience is luxurious and sober, this deluxe version include a rather surprising dongle, the RS9039 which is a quite capable and powerful (300mW) dac-amp using the latest saber ES9039 dac. Then we have a good amount of eartips thinked for deep fit, which are short wide bore and memory foams models. Then we have a nice quality carrying case, with enough space for the IEM and cable and even an extra cable and ear tips. All in all, this is excellent accessories, construction and packaging design.
SOUND IMPRESSIONS
The tonality of QT-X can be summarized as bright, energetic and well balanced W shape, it’s both a technical and headbanger set without going basshead route. This is something I notice with Rose IEMs: they offer energetic punchy low end with super speedy and controlled attack, the tesla DD used is no joke and here it complements well other high end balanced armature both in textured timbre and macro dynamic intensity.
This is all but a boring set, yet not a ‘’treble head only’’ niche one, while bright, we aren’t in shouty or trebly fest.
But for warmer and more laid back tuning, we already have the QT9 MK2 in Rose catalog, so here it’s the logical upgrade to a bassier and more V shape QT9 MK3, another IEM that impresses me with both its technical performance and speedy textured bass response.
So as said, while not basshead level big thunderous low end delivery,
these QT-X will certainly impress bass quality lover, we are into bass-fi territory with expeditious transient free of sustain bleed and super hard and tight punching with clean sub bass that has plenty of texture and fast release that avoid muddyness of all type.
The mid bass is thicker than sub bass which rumble in a lean way, don’t feel compressed nor boosted in resonance, bass lines are quick in delivery with nice bite to it, both kick and bass line can cohabitate without mixing each other sustain-release.
I’m rarely satisfy with mid bass, and i can say this for a lot of legit basshead IEM too where point of impact is missed and slip into sub bass, feel thin in proper impact weight or too sloppy and slow, here we have the speed, the round and textured acoustic kick drum having both presence definition and thumpy physicality, this make QT-X as good for jazz than rock because of good layering of bassline and kick as well as speedy control for drummer virtuoso and proper punch for metal head.
Unlike other IEM with bright bass, the QT-X don’t go thin or dry nor compress all the natural resonance release which has good headroom without embracing the whole stage or bleeding on mid range.
The magic of multi drivers is well used here and bass stay clear and clean in the back of multi staged mids and treble that are more upfront.
Bass loving without guilty pleasure, how not to be impressed by this? This is really among best bass quality i've heard in sub-100$ price range, to get both the dynamic weight and presence texture for proper definition of kick and bass line is truely captivating, yet the tesla magnet is no joke in term of transient push, which is super speedy and well controled, permiting excellent layering within an energic macro dynamic.
The mid range is bright, forwards, edgy, clear and focused in the middle stage in a slightly compressed way. This isn’t lush laid back mids yet it doesn’t go plain thin due to a notch of balanced armature euphony mixing with otherwise very textured timbre. This tends to polish definition edges without stealing definition of presence envelope.
The vocals are clear and highly intelligible, their lower mids for even fullness that don’t put forward texture grain too much, timbre is brightened a bit but realist, transparency is medium, like seeing through a textured fog as sound layers.
I’m not the biggest fan of the female vocal here which I find a bit too loud and upfront, it tends to overshadow other mid range instruments a bit which isn’t that great for 7 drivers IEM.
The good news is that male vocals are better, presence is wider and fuller, but sibilance might be more noticeable too if the recording doesn't manage it well enough.
When it comes to win instruments like saxophone, it’s similar to vocal, higher range will sound more shouty and upfront with compressed presence but textured and realist tone, baritone will sound fuller and more natural.
Then for piano, it’s a bit more recessed and light in note weight in lower range then louder and sharper in higher range, this shows the dominance of higher harmonic when it comes to certain instruments. It seems the QT-X tuner listens a lot to rock due to male vocal and thumpy textured bass that favor this music style.
After the bass, the treble is another highlight of the QT-X since for hybrid with BAs we have good amount of sparkle and brilliance as well as air on top.
We have great lower treble energy too that add attack bite to instrument like violin, electric guitar yet can make saxophone or high pitched female vocal a bit aggressive in loudness.
For violin, it benefit fast playin due to textured presence and fast agile attack of knowles balanced armature, sens of transparency is preserve too so orchestra will have good macro layering too. Timbre wise, it’s on the bright slightly dry side but very realist and not metallic sounding like with cheaper ba, violin has non colored tone, texture is clean and crisp without unpleasant noise artefact, it’s noth thicken with euphony or lower mids warmth, so for more romantic playin it might lack a bit of lushness, but i find it more problematic for vocals an winds instruments than strings instruments.
All those BA’s are for good use with the QT-X and don’t goes overtone or euphonic, it’s very generous in micro details and enter the analytical territory when it come to complex percussions with multiple tone and timbre like in Nok Cultural Ensemble which mix electronic beat with live instrument and tribal tabla and percussions, suddenly i can’t pick up each of them in a very well layered macro resolution. To get this treble performance under 400$ is quite a tour de force in it’s on hybrid IEM right.
I need to underline the fact QT-X use high end knowles BA, this mean timbre texture is rich and realist, attack is speedy and controled with a clean release unlike more noisy or euphonic budget BAs.
If you like fast snappy highs that doesn't sound thin nor extend too long in release to avoid boosted splashyness, the QT-X treble will impress you with it's vivid yet cohesive balance that don't stole the show of mids and bass even if it's most energic part of spectrum with lower treble region being more fiercefull and lively.
The soundstage isn't the biggest, it's rather closed on listener, it's taller than wider but have good sens of depth still. It surround you in an holographic way, it doesn't feel like frontal speakers sound, more like intimate surround system with 2 woofer in front and one tweeter each side.
The imaging is excellent, from bass line to vocal, saxo or piano to percussions, the separation is effortless in layering yet not widest in lateral spacing. Positioning is accurate yet compressed in term of spatiality openess.
SIDE NOTE
The included dongle is quite impressive because I was expecting a very entry level one and we get a capable dac-amp using latest sabre ES9039q2m DAC, promising high resolution and good performance.
This is stated as 300mW@32ohm, but this isn't most powerful dongle i heard in term of dynamic and I don't feel it drive properly planar IEMs which sound a bit too lean and can have bass distortion pass certain loudness level, which will not happen with a 1W dac-amp for ex, so this isn't driver fault but lack of current swing fault.
For sensitive IEMs like QT-X, the rendering is clean but i don't think it's balanced output has low enough impedance for purest sound reproduction.
Sound wise, this is a bright neutral tonality, with textured timbre, good micro details retreival and high sens of transparency. Dynamic is lean, this isn't thick sounding musicality, bass punch is in fact tamed and get extra texture, which go dryer. Vocals and mids presence is upfront and clear, but not very wide nor lush, it's not a colored sounding dongle. Macro dynamic isn't the most open and multi staged, sound layers are close to each other which mean you don't get holographic magnification of sound experience. This is focused and highly resolved musicality, it's colder than warmer and treble is sharp but not spiky or unbalanced, we can dig in highs and find tremedous amount of sound info, this dongle isn't limite in resolution.
All in all, it's a very good dongle, a logical upgrade to something like Fiio KA3 that use a bighter and noisier ES9038q2m, this one is more organic in balance and more realist and smoothen in timbre. This is a 100$ priced dongle performing good for it's price so unless you already have a good dongle this inclusion will be very valuable.
VS Letshuoer DT03
The DT03 use dual sabre ES9219C which is more entry level DAC-AMP chip without independant amping section, yet since it use 2 chip, final output should be 4vrms and while it's stated to deliver 200mW@32ohm and RS9039 300mW@32ohm, it's evident that DT03 is more powerfull whatever the specs are legitimate or not.
I can't pass 50% volume aat high gain with hard to drive planar IEM while i need to go 80% with RS9039, with all IEM I try it do the same, and this translate is more dynamic swing and livelier holographic layering and more open spatiality.
The DT03 have a volume control that work perfectly and a low and high gain switch. The dongle size is a bit bigger, about 15% bigger. Both 3.5mm and 4.4mm jack are gold plated with RS9039 while it's just the 4.4mm jack that is gold plated with DT03.
Sound wise, these are very different.
DT03 is warmer, bassier and lusher sounding, instrument and vocal have more substance but are less transparent and textured in presence. Resolution is inferior and background is less clean.
RS9039 is leaner, and more neutral, it's brighter, more transparent and crisp. Bass is more textured but less dynamic, less round and impactfull. Overall musicality is colder, more analytical. Vocal are more prompt of sibilance accent, spatiality is more intimate and closed.
Attack has cleaner and less euphonic sustain-release, it make percussions more define and snappier.
DT03 is less technical sounding, more musical and laid back, RS9039 is superior in clarity, imaging, attack definition, yet less holographic and 3D, and dryier-thinner in timbre as well as leaner in dynamic rendering.
EXTRA NOTES
You can wear QT-X deep or shallow fit. Deep fit permit cleaner crisper sound, but soundstage is more ''in-your-head''. With shallow fit, spatiality is wider though not as clean, we have notch of warmth in bass sustain release which make it thicker, rounder in punch but not as textured.
The QT-X are easy to drive and don't like source with too much gain since it can create euphony and negatively impact resolution as if both DD and BAs get over excited and create more harmonic distortion. This is very typical of hybrid IEMs with BAs.
The QT-X are sensitive to cable, unlike single DD unless high in sensitivity, these IEM benefit from the stock cable which is excellent, cable that add loudness gain isn't suggested since it will do like source with high impedance and color with euphony the transient sustaint-release.
COMPARISONS
VS SOUND RHYME SR9 (1DD+8bas=300$)
The QTX is brighter, more W shaped, more technical and crisp sounding.
The bass is more textured, speedier, cleaner and more controlled in mid bass punch, less thick and rumbly, less warm and dominant than the more bassy SR9.
Mids are more compressed in presence and centered with QTX, yet clearer and edgier in definition, it’s more speedy and controlled in attack, less prompt to macro muddyness and can deal way better with busy track in terms of macro layering readability. SR9 has lusher darker mids, vocals are more pleasant and colorful, timbre has more substance but less texture details and transparency, it’s smoother too.
Treble is notably more vivid, snappy and crisp with QTX, level of micro details is higher, separation of percussions is clearer and sharper, their less hazy euphony on top and cleaner air around the instrument. Balance is more spiky, less fully rounded and smoothed with QTX.
Soundstage is wider and taller with SR9, while deeper but more compressed with QTX.
Imaging is a notch superior with QTX due to crisper layering and higher clarity, as well, their less bass bleed that darken background which permit more precise positioning even if in smaller spatiality.
All in all, technical performance sur go to QTX and this is most likely due to superior drivers from tesla DD that is super speedy and controlled to sonion and knowles BA that offer less euphonic transient and more resolved clarity which benefit imaging readability. Tonality wise, SR9 is more relaxed and mid centric, vocals are lusher and more enjoyable, everything sounds thicker too and overall bass is more fun (and guilty pleasure).
VS ORIVETI OH700VB (1DD+6BAs=700$)
The OH700VB is more U shape, bassier and warmer with notably more boosted and thicker, rumblier sub bass. It makes QTX sound even more W shaped and crisp, cleaner and more technical too.
VB bass is juicier and less textured and hard punching in mid bass, it offers bigger wider slam and adds more resonance warmth, kick drum is less well defined and not as speedy, we have creamier sloppier sustain-release too with VB. Instruments like cello sound less dry and thin while electric bass has more textured presence and grunt with QTX. Bass quality goes to QTX, while lushness, slam weight and fun appeal goes to VB.
Mids are notably brighter and more forwards in upper mids presence with QTX, it’s clearer with more compressed and centered vocal and instrument, VB timbre is less textured and more colored, vocals are less shouty and more laid back with wider more buttery presence. No doubt I prefer the vocals of VB.
The treble is more vividly detailed with QTX, it's more snappy for percussions, it deals better with busy track but it can go more splashy and trebly since it’s more aggressively bright than more laid back and darker and less crisp OH700VB.
Soundstage is notably wider and taller with VB, while we have a greater sense of depth with QTX.
Imaging is superior with QTX, separation is cleaner, layering more transparent and more textured definition permit better readability of sound info.
All in all, QTX is superior in technical performance with it’s speedier more textured bass, clearer mids and more detailed treble but the smoother bassier musical appeal of OH700VB is more even to me due to lushest vocal, more buttery timbre and less fatiguing upper mids.
CONCLUSION
The Rose QT-X take me by surprise in term of sound performance prowess, and I can't get enough of it's speedy textured punchy bass even if I wouldn't say no for a bit more boost.
It's one of those rare IEM I can see both treble head and bass quality lover enjoy.
The QT-X deliver a very competitive technical performance for it's asking price (340$), the clarity is excellent as well as macro layering is effortless and holographic.
In term of musicality, I don't think those are the best choice for mid centric lover nor those seeking warm or dark laid back signature, this is engaging and energic musicality which is bright and want to rock your socks off with it's punchy and urgent sound delivery.
This W shaped balance isn't too extreme or spiky, it's overall well rounded and avoid overly sharp treble boost that could make micro details or percussions feel detached from the rest of spectrum, and being able to achieve a 7 drivers cohesion with such dynamic authority is very impressive.
I've try alot of 500-1000$ IEMs, and the QT-X can handle most of them easily in term of technical performance, then for tonal balance it will be more subjective, again I wouldn't suggest those to people that are very sensitive to upper mids gain, which can make vocal and saxophone a bit too agressive in intensity.
For all the other, these are very highly recommended and among the best sound value in 300$ price range.
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PS: I want to thanks Rose for sending me this review sample. As always, those are my independant minded subjective impressions and I have no incencitive to write positive review. The Qt-X will not take part of my 300 IEMs collection.
You can order the QT-X for 340$ (normal) or 440$ (deluxe) here:
https://rosetechnics.com/products/qtx-hifi-hybrid-wired-headphones-1dd-6ba-iem-ess-9039q2m
