Closer Examination

In the absence of a first-party website, not much is known about the cable outside of what is on the box and the Linsoul shop link. These tell us Ovidius is using a silver-plated copper conductor that has then undergone cryogenic treatment at -196 °C. There is much to be said about such treatments, but I will refrain from doing so lest I get sidetracked by all other such cable-related phenomenon. Practically, we see a for oxidation resistance gold-plated 3.5 mm TRS plug for the source. It leads to an aluminium housing in a matte gunmetal gray finish with some rubber insulation to protect the cable at the crimping site. The conductor for the cable is no doubt highly conductive, and we have a braided cable out of four strands with what appears to be a PU insulation on each strand. It leads to the expected splitter and cable cinch, again designed similarly to the other connector housing and quite subtle. There are now two strands going to each channel, closer to which we see transparent plastic sheathing forming one of the stiffest memory wire shapings I have seen to date. It is even more resistant to re-shaping than the stock MOONDROP KATO cable and thus a real pain to work with when fitting the shells into the ears. Once done, it thankfully works out for me, but your mileage may vary, so you may want to consider a replacement cable anyway. Another reason aside from the top SE to balanced adapters is that the 0.78 mm 2-pin connector for the right channel was easier to dislodge from the IEM connectors than I'd like. It isn't a dealbreaker by any means since it still stuck in place in use, but all these small issues add up—that said, the connector housings match the IEMs in color, so if you have the red version, the cable will have red connector housings.


Here's a spoiler for you—the cable is really the only issue I have on this page. This means Ovidius got the physical design of the IEMs spot on as far as I am concerned. The build quality of the Ovidius RX-100 is quite good, as it is all CNC-machined aluminium alloy with a resolute black anodization for the housing. These are not typically shaped, even for IEMs, which we will talk about more soon. The face plate comes in three color options—red, silver, or gunmetal. I have the latter here, and regardless of what you go with, the patterned face plate remains the same.


Here's a closer look at the face plate to explain what I mean. Those with trypophobia may want to look away as all those holes cut into the aluminium alloy face plate might trigger it. The pattern is certainly inspired by the Terracotta warriors of yore, although the overlapping layers that made up the Qin armor of course could not practically make it here on these shells that get a hybrid convex and concave geometry as you go around the body. The body really surprised me—keep looking at the photos above and you will notice that the side of the shells touching the ears isn't a single curve as with pretty much all universal IEMs. See that ridge rise on the back? That will conform nicely inside the spiral of the concha where it meets the antihelix. This is a typical feature of custom IEMs, so seeing it here left me impressed.

The rest of the housing design shows the use of a single housing piece with the face plate on, and a precisely machined recess in the housing allows for the 0.78 mm 2-pin connectors to go through to the cable itself. There are no L/R markings on the shells, which is odd considering which is which isn't immediately obvious owing to the design. However, identifying them becomes second nature once you get used to it. There is a single air inlet on the back to pair with the filtered output, which can create more isolation but may impact pressure equalization if not accounted for in the overall design. The nozzle is a sound tube and does appear to have been added to the shell separately. It has an acoustic filter that prevents contaminants from entering the internal chamber, and there is a lightly beveled notch to better retain installed ear tips.


I have the size M tips installed here. These are easy enough to install, with the bore size appropriately larger than the nozzle diameter and the notch in the nozzle preventing it from coming out. As mentioned on the previous page, try these out with other tips you may have. While alright, these are not ground-breaking, and compared to the other accessories, it does feel like Ovidius cheapened out on the tips.


Once done with the tips, re-connect the cable by carefully pushing the 2-pin connectors back in place. The 3.5 mm TRS connector, or 2.5/4.4 mm TRRS if bold enough to use the adapters, then goes to the source of your choice, and you simply install the IEMs in your ears with the cable ideally going around the back of your ears and head to reduce microphonics. I know there are many who prefer to use IEMs throughout, but I like to use over-ear headphones when sitting down and IEMs/TWS earbuds on the go. I've paired the Ovidius RX-100 with the cleaner profile and handy EQ options of the Qudelix-5K as the source, which has in turn been paired to my phone and/or laptop for audio listening, but not frequency response testing.