Pros: - Appealing harman-neutralish sound signature
- Decent fit and isolation
- Gratifying lows and treble extension
- Exceptional and natural tone and timbre
- Versatile set. Handles most genres with ease
- Very well tuned
- Mids have good position. Not too forward, yet not recessed
- Very comfortable wear
Cons: - Not the most revealing set I've heard
- Average technicalities (I was expecting more)
- Cable is on the thin side (subjective)
- Not the quickest performance drivers I've tested (subjective)
Midnight is the latest installment from See Audio. A brand that I always anticipate on their releases. I loved their Bravery and when this was announced, I had high expectations. It is Yume's improved variant, tuned by Crinacle.
Let me tell you a short story.
This unit was supposed to be a tour unit. It is my co-reviewer's personal unit, namely Eiji Romero. As it was my turn to review Midnight, an unfortunate event happened. As I have it with me on stage while performing, I accidentally broke its shell. On the left unit. A lot happens on stage, and it was a pure accident that the cable got tangled on my arms and it hit somewhere really hard. My friend was furious of course, and didn't talk to me for almost a month. I took full responsibility for replacing it, and this unit became my own. With a broken Midnight, I saved up money and paid around 30$ for its repair. On this part, I would like to vouch for the excellent work of INM audio by Matthew Marcelo. If you're a Filipino resident, and in need of IEM repair or reshelling, INM audio is the way to go.
Fortunately the drivers are still intact and only the shell was damaged. I just felt it would be a shame for it to go to waste. For what it's worth, this is my first See Audio IEM, and I'm quite satisfied and happy to have it added to my collection. Moving on…
DISCLAIMER:
My opinions here are completely my own. I am NOT in any way influenced by any form of incentive. This is purely my honest, subjective impressions and experience with the gear on hand. I cannot stress more that you should take this as a grain of salt for we have different perception to sound and what we hear. I always try my best to stick with the stock accessories that come with the gear by default. You are free to try other methods such as tip rolling or cable rolling. Below are worth noting before concluding on what I say here:
My reviews are more on how music sounds in my ears. The technical stuff like frequency graphs and the physics behind the tech and drivers used, I leave to other reviewers.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Configuration: 1DD + 2BA
Impedance: 32ohms
Sensitivity: 106db
Freq response: 20hz - 20khz
PACKAGING:
This is my first IEM that has a "waifu" design. The box is rather large for the inclusions. Presentation is nice and good. Packaging includes the following.
Now let us dive into how Midnight sounds..
LOWS:
The lows here fall right in my alley. Mid bass is very humble yet offers a clean and quick sound. Sub bass is readily present if a track calls for it. Never felt bloated and overemphasized. Tracks from Stevie Wonder, Alan parsons, Doobie brothers sounded as neutral as it can. Kavinsky and Daft Punk tracks gave good sub-extension, and never lingered long to sound muddy. Based on the FR graph, I did expect a large amount of lows here but surprisingly, Midnight presented lows in a mature manner. I did test the original Yume and Midnight surpassed its predecessor here. Drum kicks sounded pretty punchy and bass guitars often are presented with grit and good attack.
Conclusively, the lows of Midnight appealed to me nicely. It didn't feel too much against my preference. It gave just the right amount of lows to me and quick enough to satisfy me on busy tracks.
MIDS:
Midrange, is very nicely done. It is not as forward as I want my mids to be, but it was not recessed to turn me off. Vocals, both male and female, are very natural and engaging. Eva Cassidy sounded very captivating and heartfelt in Fields of Gold. Just pure euphoria. Instruments such as rhodes, pianos, organs and especially synths sounded very lively, had good energy and were realistic. Same can be said to guitars, both acoustic and electric. Upper midrange never possessed any hint of sibilance or hotness. Drum snares are naturally presented and do not possess that unnatural BA timbre. Several tracks from Fleetwood Mac, especially guitars, sounded almost too perfect.
Conclusively, even though I prefer my mids a bit forward than the usual, Midnight did not leave me hanging in terms of midrange. Vocals, instruments, percussions were all presented naturally, realistically and with good density and weight. If you are a midcentric like me, Midnight's midrange is reason enough to grab this set.
TREBLES:
Trebles exhibit good clarity, transparency, and openness. A trait that can be considered a strength of Midnight. Cymbal strikes have grit and bite. Yet sibilance free nature. Never felt fatiguing to listen as well. Brass sections have that desirable shoutiness and impact from the likes of Earth wind and fire and Tower of power. I started in this hobby as treble sensitive but I go along, I have started a desire for a certain clarity in the trebles. Midnight nailed it. The extension is really commendable. A lot of micro details are audible due to this extension. Bells from orchestral tracks give an airy character which is really really a joy to listen to. Shouty tracks like Believe by Cher, Code Cool by Patricia Barber are tracks that are mixed brightly. Trebles were presented very nicely here and not even a hint of sibilance or even borderline is present. New new Orleans by Christian Scott, has a hot and shouty trumpet, but never did it feel piercing to my ears. Live albums also passed sibilance with flying colors as live albums tend to be more shouty and hot than studio tracks.
Conclusively the trebles here is one of the best treble reproduction I have experienced in an IEM. I must say the best among my drivers. The control here is superb and very impressive.
FIT & ISOLATION
Comfortability of wear is exceptional here. This was proven as I take Midnight with me all the time on my gigs. And for 3 hours every night, on my ears, did not give any discomfort and pain. Isolation is also very decent as it shuts off outside noise effectively. I did not find the need to tip roll, as the stock tips provided good fitting and I have no qualms on nozzle angle. It hugged my ears perfectly and I did not need to find right angles for optimum sound. In terms of comfortability, my T3plus is on par with Midnight, followed by the Idun Golden by Kinera.
TECHNICALITIES:
Okay now, I have my own hierarchy when it comes to technicalities. Below is how I have it according to my liking.
Separation here is decent but I think my Bqeyz Autumn offers a better job here than Midnight. Separation is very constructive for me as a musician hence, it is the first thing I look for in a gear I'm reviewing. Still, Midnight exhibits very decent separation and layering of instruments is quite good and nice. Instruments have a sense of individual space nonetheless. Change the World by Eric Clapton was presented rather well and the layering of instruments is very audible and noticeable.
Imaging is also very capable. Following instruments on their panning are very easy to follow and it is safe to say it's accurate and pinpoint most of the time.
Speed is somewhat quick and snappy but I have heard faster transients than this. Nonetheless, Midnight can cope up with some of my busy tracks from Dirty Loops. Didn't feel sluggish and slow thus kept me satisfied at all times.
Resolution is average. My Idun Golden reveals more elements by a small margin compared to Midnight. This is one more aspect that is constructive for me. Midnight performed well still but it could have been better.
Soundstage is somewhat, hmmmm similar to Bravery. If not a bit wider. We are talking IEMs here so to start with, the soundstage is not spectacular here. Midnight still gives an average head space, but did not take me to a WOW factor kind of level.
COMPARISONS:
To my ears, Midnight has a neutral character and for the sake of comparison, I would like to share my thoughts on how Midnight compares to Idun Golden.
In a nutshell, this is what I can say between the two. I don't do many comparisons, as for me, IEMs have their own character and nature. Both leaning to mature listening, with a price difference of 30$. Idun retails at 170$ while Midnight at 200$.
SOURCES AND GEARS:
Here are some tracks I usually listen to when reviewing:
That’s the way of the World by EWF
Africa by TOTO
The Girl in the Other Room by Diana Kral
Balmorhea album All is wild, All is Silent
Sila by Sud
Smooth Escape by D’Sound
Never too Much by Luther Vandross
P.Y.T by Michael Jackson
Ain’t no Sunshine by Eva Cassidy
Shoot to Thrill by AC/DC
Another one bites the Dust by Queen
Good times bad times by Edie Brickell
Alice in Wonderland by Bill Evans
Ain’t it Fun by Paramore
Redefine by Incubus
Far Away by Nickelback
Lovesong by Adele
Lingus by Snarky Puppy
Harvest for the World by Vanessa Williams
Love Bites by Def Leppard
No Such Thing by John Mayer
As by Stevie Wonder
Whip Appeal by Babyface
Ain’t Nobody by Chaka Khan
Futures by Prep
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
Every Summertime by NIKI
SADE tracks
AC/DC tracks
Queen tracks
And many more… I always listen to High resolution format, being the least quality 16bit/44khz FLACS be it offline or online.
VERDICT:
Everything was done right here. Period. With Crin's input and See Audio's R&D, there is nothing to complain here. Leaning towards mature listeners rather than the consumer market, Midnight is a very versatile set. Everything sounded right, has adequate speed, natural tonality and timbre, capable technicalities and comfortability at its best. I love Midnight as I loved Bravery. Both have different approach in sound, Bravery is richer and lush, while Midnight is mature and humble.
I will keep this short and straight forward. You have 200$? Get Midnight. You won't regret it.
Catch you on the next one!!!
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