I\OAudio SOGNO In-Ear Monitors

[VSG]

IEM newcomer I\OAudio is back with the SOGNO, a hybrid driver set using a novel 2 DD/6 BA configuration with one of the dynamic drivers aiding two BA drivers in the treble. It goes for a Harman-style tonality and aims to compete favorably from a value proposition by offering a premium accessory set and nice looking shells/faceplates too.

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[Onasi]

Ooof, this is not great timing on their part. The Zero Blue 2 is going to absolutely murder this… frankly, I think it will murder a lot of things in the market. Soon, from the standpoint of just sound quality and tuning there will be no sane reason to go anywhere above 100 bucks. Well, apart from silly priced TOTLs. But that is its own market altogether.

 

[VSG]

Ooof, this is not great timing on their part. The Zero Blue 2 is going to absolutely murder this… frankly, I think it will murder a lot of things in the market. Soon, from the standpoint of just sound quality and tuning there will be no sane reason to go anywhere above 100 bucks. Well, apart from silly priced TOTLs. But that is its own market altogether.

Not sure about murder, but yeah if anyone really wants a Harman-tuned set and has not bought one before (not sure how many are left) then that is probably the way to go when it releases shortly- especially with the smaller + shorter nozzle.

 

[Onasi]

@VSG
It’s me being an overdramatic ponce, yeah, but I do believe it will be another Dusk/Aria/OG Zero moment of essentially redefining the market and price-point expectation again. Not complaining, good IEMs were never more affordable. Wish something like that happened in the full sized headphones space, but we’re still spinning the wheels. Oh well, at least planars have come down in price.

 

[VSG]

@VSG
It’s me being an overdramatic ponce, yeah, but I do believe it will be another Dusk/Aria/OG Zero moment of essentially redefining the market and price-point expectation again. Not complaining, good IEMs were never more affordable. Wish something like that happened in the full sized headphones space, but we’re still spinning the wheels. Oh well, at least planars have come down in price.

Sure, but on my end I am seeing it as the original set with slight tuning/driver tweaks in a smaller shell. Not worth a full review, and I am even debating if a quick look is worth it. Let's see.

 

[Onasi]

@VSG
You don’t think it will measure significantly different enough from the OG model? If so - fair, might not be worth it. Though notes on comfort might be worthwhile - that was a pet peeve for many and if the revision? sequel? alleviates it it’ll be quite a big deal by itself.

But on the topic of the review - I noticed that the main issue is seemingly the mids. I wonder if that can be EQd to a better place and this MIGHT give the Sogno a leg up - the drivers are seemingly competent, so if one is willing to go the EQ route the world is (potentially) your oyster.

 

[VSG]

@VSG
You don’t think it will measure significantly different enough from the OG model? If so - fair, might not be worth it. Though notes on comfort might be worthwhile - that was a pet peeve for many and if the revision? sequel? alleviates it it’ll be quite a big deal by itself.

But on the topic of the review - I noticed that the main issue is seemingly the mids. I wonder if that can be EQd to a better place and this MIGHT give the Sogno a leg up - the drivers are seemingly competent, so if one is willing to go the EQ route the world is (potentially) your oyster.

Keep in mind that I've tried the ZERO Blue 2 in Shenzhen and have seen measurements too.

For the SOGNO, EQ can certainly help. The other issue is the BA drivers used don't seem that good compared to others from the likes of Sonion and Knowles, which is part of why this can offer a more premium accessory set. The end result is the treble comes off worse than the measurements indicate, and there's not too much you can fix with EQ here.

 

[Onasi]

The other issue is the BA drivers used don't seem that good compared to others from the likes of Sonion and Knowles, which is part of why this can offer a more premium accessory set.

Ah, so they traded the driver quality for bling, essentially. I know, I know, it’s not exactly like this, but this sucks. I’d prefer most of the price going to actual technical ability of any device. Unfortunate. Shit treble is a dealbreaker overall, I would say. I can deal with a bit brighter and sparklier, but dampened trebs make everything flat quite often.

 

[VSG]

Ah, so they traded the driver quality for bling, essentially. I know, I know, it’s not exactly like this, but this sucks. I’d prefer most of the price going to actual technical ability of any device. Unfortunate. Shit treble is a dealbreaker overall, I would say. I can deal with a bit brighter and sparklier, but dampened trebs make everything flat quite often.

It's definitely not shit, but the difference is kinda obvious when you compare against the VOLARE that measures very similar but uses the Sonion EST drivers there.

 

[Onasi]

@VSG
It either rapes my eardrums like the OG HD800 or it’s shit, accept no substitutes.
But yeah, thanks for the breakdown.

 

[Airisom]

Hmmm yet another IEM with BAs. Shame.

 

[VSG]

Hmmm yet another IEM with BAs. Shame.

and two DDs too. Either way, don't shame the driver type as there are some fantastic all-BA sets that really can trick you into thinking they have DD bass.

 

[Airisom]

DDs do a great job with the lows and mids. Very lively and natural sounding. But BAs just sound off and stage small to me in all areas (lows mids and highs). But hey a lot of people love them. And the design they opted for on this one is pretty interesting with a 5way crossover. Pretty much bang on with the Harman tuning too.

The fact that they're getting 126db out of 12ohm is also pretty impressive with all of those drivers, but just beware of amps with a high output impedance. Having a low damping factor affects these low impedance IEMs in a bad way.