drewdawg999
Active Member
Been listening to these for a little while as I've been drawn to the darkside, on a soul searching quest for a cheap basshead IEM. This ain't no audiophile thing, no they are not neutral with bass boost. They're an all out bass attack meant to rattle your skull with rumbling sub-bass and roundhouse punching mid-bass. Initially in stock form, the sheer quantity of bass, especially the boomy mid-bass can drown out the mids, so vocals are of less than stellar quality without EQ. But this squig.link site with the AutoEQ is a godsend. I was able to EQ the $12 Rosefinch to resemble the $450 Kiwi x HBB Punch, the basshead set I really want but can't afford. Some mid-bass reduction along with subtle gains in the midrange and veils have been lifted, clarity is all of a sudden very good, and I can actually listen to rock and jazz, in addition to EDM and Hip-hop, and bassy pop and dance.
I have cracked the code to great basshead sound on the cheap. I am stuck with the desktop system though using my laptop as a source, since I don't have a portable solution with PEQ. I should probably look into that, but I'm a homebody anyways. When I need to be on-the-go with my DAP, then that gives me a chance to use the Zero 2, which sounds good without EQ and is easy to drive. But at home, out of my THX 789, the Rosefinch is just killing it. I'm upgrading the cable though, this stock one has bad memory problems and is totally cheep. I'm hoping it's such low quality to affect the sound, I have a pure silver one on the way, didn't get taken for too much on those (a $20 Nicehck, more than the cost of the Rosefinch). I hope it sounds better with the aftermarket cable but it's sure to feel nicer anyways.
What is this seductive, thick, luscious bass juice emitted from these little confections? And now that mids and vocals are clear and opened up with EQ, that allows Steely Dan, Led Zeppelin, Grateful Dead, Miles Davis, and much more to enter the picture. I was resigned to use the Rosefinch for Hip-hop and EDM only, as a mere specialist. But now I can rock the RAWK, and it feels so good. To have so much bottom, it provides the most solid of foundations for everything else. I'm happy music wise, excruciatingly so, so I wanted to pass along this little nugget. If you have the Zero 2, or Zero Red with Bass+ adapter, and it's just not enough bass for you, then give the Rosefinch a try. You really can't get much more bass than this. Only Fatfreq would dare go above a 15dB bass shelf, but I EQ'd to the Maestro Mini as well and got desirable results. I really love the Punch tuning though. I'm sure the actual Punch will sound better since it uses better quality drivers in a hybrid configuration, including electrostats and a balanced armatures. But I got the next best thing with such incredible value, I'm laughing on the inside and digging my stale old collection all over again, giddy as all get up.