QoA Margarita : A Real Delight!
Summary:
Launched in June'2022, Margarita is the Flagship IEM from the brand Queen of Audio (QoA). They are tri-brids with 2 Sonion EST + 1 BA + 7mm Dynamic Driver, and come with a promise of good sound performances. Based on our impressions, we can confidently say that they have achieved much of what they had promised and more.
Introduction:
Let's quickly dive into the details without making the introduction very lengthy. The Margarita is tri-brids with 2 Sonion EST + 1 BA + 7mm Dynamic Driver. They come with modular 6N High Purity Silvered Coated Copper Cable and interchangeable plugs ( 2.5mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm).
The QoA Margarita is priced at $549.
Design & Build:
The shells look very ergonomic & premium and are 3D printed based on their research to ensure a good and comfortable fit. the face-plates are hand-painted and look awesome.
It is described as the following on the website:
In order to provide more comfortable fitting on our IEM shell, we have adopted ergonomics and computerized calculations in the design process & demo shells. After tenths of nozzles length & IEM chamber measurement changes, we have finalised this precision 3D printed IEM shell that could fit our requirements to provide most comfort and acoustic superiority performance.
Margarita miraculously blends the striking Tequila taste, bitter lime & salted cocktail glass together to fulfil taste. QOA sound engineer picks 1 DD + 1 BA + 2 EST drivers for the combination, utilizing DD bass capability & EST silk like trebles, and adding the BA for connection between these 2 frequency range, thus blending the overall frequency distribution, resulting in a seducing listening experience.
Specifications:
The QoA Margarita comes at $549 price tag and the specifications are as below:
https://qoa-audio.com/product/qoa-margarita/
and
https://www.linsoul.com/products/kinera-margarita?variant=42924679266521
The Box & Accessories:
The Accessories:
The Margarita package now includes…
- One pair of QoA Margarita in-ear monitors.
- One Modular 6N high purity silvered coated copper.
- Modular Adapter 4.4mm, 3.5mm, 2.5mm
- Seven pairs Custom ear tips.
- Two pairs of Foam tips.
- PU Case with inner velvet protection.
- User Manual
Upgrade Cable:
Now in addition to all of these, there's an upgrade cable named "RUM" by QoA which also came. It has the following properties:
- Material : 6N OCC with silver plated
- Braid way: 4 core cross braided
- Diameter: 1.8mm / core
- Strands: 140 strands of 0.06mm OCC with silver plated, total 560 strands
- Cable skin material: PVC
- Interface: 0.78 2pin / MMCX
- Plug: 4 pin detachable plugs, 2.5mm balanced / 4.4mm balanced / 3.5mm plug
- Plug internal connection: 6N OCC + OCC with silver plated mix conductor
- External metal part: Aluminum alloy anode
- Cable length: 1.2m
- Cable structure: Litz structure
While I'm not much of a cable guy myself, but I like a good looking balanced cable that ensures better conductivity and this is exactly what this upgrade cable does.
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT THE SOUND....
Items Used for this Review:
DAC/AMP & Dongles: @Questyle M15 Dongle DAC/AMP,
@iFi audio Go Bar,
@MOONDROP DAWN
Portable Players / Sources : @Questyle QP2R, Cayin N8ii, Cayin N6ii with R2R motherboard, Lotoo Paw Gold Touch, A&K SP1000M
Streaming Source: QOBUZ
Ear Tips:
I've tried tip-rolling with a variety of tips such as:
@Final Audio E series red & black ones, JVC Spiral dots, Spiral Dots+,
@SpinFit Eartip CP500, CP155. Out of all of these I have found the
Azla Sednafit to be the best fit for my ears in terms of overall fit, isolation & comfort.
Tracks Used:
The tracks I have used can be found from the below playlist that I have used and generally use for most reviews...
Pairing Performance with different sources:
Dongle DAC/AMPs:
Margarita had the best pairing with
@Questyle M15 and Cayin RU6 dongles.
But, it had paired well with
@MOONDROP DAWN and the
@iFi audio Go Bar also.
Portable Players:
Obviously the Margarita had the best pairing with the LPGT & specially Cayin N8ii since that comes with Class-A amplification and a new DAC which is super resolving and not to forget the Nutubes! But those are $3500+ range also and out of reach for most people!
But it performs well with each and every player including
@Shanling M3X and M7.
Margarita Sound Impressions in Short:
The BASS:
The Margarita has a good overall bass performance. The little nuances and details of the sub-bass region is clearly audible and the mid-bass comes with good amount of body & texture. In fact, I'm quite surprised at the refined bass experience this has been able to pull off. Not that kind of hard slamming in the mid-bass but more of the details. tracks like: "Hotel California
(Live on MTV 1994) – Eagles" and "Fluid
- Yosi Horikawa" you will likely get immersed into the bass finesse.
The MIDS:
The midrange of the Margarita is quite open and clear with ample amount of details. There's no bass bleed and the midrange is definitely not thin, neither feels recessed. Vocals are very immersive and both male and female vocals come with good texture and feel very real. Instruments felt very natural and real with high accuracy and the separation between them is also great. In tracks like: "
Anchor - Trace Bundy", "
A dog named Freedom – Kinky Friedman" and "
Ruby Tuesday – Franco Battiato" it’s really easy to get lost into the music as it comes with ample detailed transients, texture, excellent vocals and details.
The TREBLE:
The Treble is quite energetic & airy coming from the ESTs of the Margarita but doesn't at any point feel peaky or uncomfortable. It has the right amount of details and texture also and the overall treble performance is therefore very enjoyable.
Treble in tracks like: "
Paradise Circus – Massive Attack", "
Mambo for Roy – Roy Hargrove” and "
Saints and Angels – Sharon Shannon" feel very immersive and enjoyable from the treble perspective.
The SOUNDSTAGE:
The Staging capabilities of the Margarita is surprisingly good. In fact, it might be amongst the best in the price range. It comes with the right amount of width, height, depth and is well defined and just as much as the track requires. Tracks like: “
The Secret Drawer – Bela Fleck and the Flecktones” or “
She Don’t know – Melody Gardot” or “
Bohemian Rhapsody (live aid) – Queen” sound amazing & enjoyable. This is amongst the strongest trait of this IEM.
Imaging & Timbre:
The Imaging & instrument separation performance on the Margarita is stellar and sense of location is spot on with high accuracy. The Timbre also feels very life-like and real. Tracks like: “
Rotterdam (Or Anywhere) - The Beautiful South “or “
Hello Again - Howard Carpendale & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra” just shine through.
Comparisons:
I didn't have any IEM in similar range at my disposal while doing this review hence I had to consider a slightly higher priced at $620 - the Tinhifi P2 Plus Commemorative Edition.
Margarita vs P2 Plus:
Please note that the only thing these 2 IEMs have in common is the price range being close. The Margarita is a Tri-brid whereas the P2 Plus is a Planar driver based IEM.
Hence, there are some inherent differences owing to different architecture.
Bass: Owing to the refined bass performance of the Margarita, it gets the preference as the P2 Plus bass performance is not as good and lacks the finesse clearly.
Mids: The midrange of the P2 Plus is amongst it's strengths, but having said that - the Margarita just sounds more clear and enjoyable mainly owing to the better separation and more details retrieval.
Treble: This is where the Margarita really excels and the overall experience is very enjoyable. mind it that the P2 Plus is also not lacking behind in treble performance, but just not as good as the Margarita.
Soundstage, Imaging and Separation: The staging on the P2 Plus is quite wide and above average. The staging on the Margarita just feel more balanced and the separation and imaging is on a separate level compared to the P2 plus.
After completing the comparison, I one day came across DUNU SA6 for a few hours and was able to try it and compare with the Margarita. In fact, I was amongst friends and I let other people try them both and they shared their opinions also.
While both SA6 and Margarita come at exactly the same price of $549, the DUNU SA6 is amongst the best tuned for the price and quite an allrounder.
Having said that, the Margarita we found not far behind and in fact we found the bass & treble a tad bit more enjoyable on the Margarita.
But, that was for a very short period and only few people including me shared their personal experiences. The source used in this case was the portable player from
@Questyle - The QP2R.
Conclusion:
The Margarita is quite a performer and I was delighted by the level of refined sound performance this has been able to pull off. A BIG surprise coming from the house of QoA (Queen of Audio) which is closely related to Kinera, and this Margarita goes far beyond any Kinera performance I have come across. The RUM cable was a welcome delight which helped to get the best out of the IEM and I have used it throughout the review.
Given the above facts, people looking to buy within the $500 - 600 range should definitely consider getting this as this hits way beyond it's price and becomes an easy recommendation therefore.
