Today I received my pair of Arpegear Hane and wanted to share my experience with you all. I am still listening with it as I am typing right now.
Arpegear Hane presents itself as a really beautiful and refined object. The 3D printed feathers motive seems more deep and reliefed than what it probably is thanks to the convex transparent lacquer finish. The colour of the feathers is iridescent as it is green-blue when faced upfront, but it becomes violet if you incline it. Very beautiful. I purchased an after market orange cable for these IEMS that I think matches very well with the colour of the shell.
After some tests I found that my optimal setup, regarding switches, is:
Switch 1 (light bass boost) OFF
Switch 2 (bass boost) ON
Switch 3 (treble attenuation) ON
Switch 4 (treble boost) OFF
In this configuration I found it to sound the most natural and effortless, being that classical music or excellently produced folk music. Being a classical guitarist I can say that guitar is just spot on. Voices are natural, cymbals have a natural, shiny and beautiful decay all without sounding weak or dim. Soundstage reconstruction is very good, separated and almost balanced: bass (the region of the bass notes) is a little bit forward, not a deal breaker, it’s still one of the best things I ever heard. The kick of the drums is perfect, it’s just the bass that is a little bit forward. I tried to adjust this with the switches, but this was the best setup I found: when switch 2 (that is responsible for getting bass a little bit too much upfront) is not on, the treble region arises and becomes unnatural and scratchy. All in all, a very beautiful sounding IEM, very elegant and refined in sound, very classy. I like it a lot. With this setup it still sounds better, more natural and even cleaner than Moondrop Chu II tuned to Harman with Autoeq or Truthear Zero Red tuned to Harman with Autoeq. Both of these models tuned to Harman show some minor problems in the treble region that Arpegear Hane doesn’t have. The other differences are the kick of the drums which are a little bit weaker on Hane, but more similar to a real kick (so I don’t complain; also, they are still fun and engaging and the kick pumps a little more than what a real kick would do even if a little less than standard Harman) and the bass which is a little forward, but this one is a nitpick and not a deal breaker.
I am using a JCally JM20 (reviewed before by amirm) powered from my iPhone to listen with my Hane. With Jcally JM20 with the switch configuration said before the volume I use is around 3/4 for an engaging listening, 4/5 for a loud listening, 2/3 for a relaxed listening. Jcally runs a little bit warm. I couldn’t reach max volume as it would be too loud for me and it would hurt. Already at 4/5 it’s very loud for me and I don’t listen at that volume, but that’s just as far as I could go without starting to hurt.
All in all a very beautiful experience, warmly recommended. I am very happy with my purchase. If you are an iPhone user like me and wanted to ditch your bluetooth amp with PEQ for something even more portable on the go, these Hane might be your cup of tea and solve your problem. They at least solved mine.
89/100 highly recommended, fun, enjoyable, natural and realistic. Very good.