One sentence review: A good bass-leaning all rounder with a tasteful FR and OK technicalities, even so hard to recommend as a new purchase in today’s market.

I bought this set with my own money, after years of it living in my cart (at least three 11.11 sales).

I was attracted to it for several reasons:

• One of the very few available reviews referred to it as analogue / a revisit to the tape deck days.
• It relies on DDs for its sound.
  • Fun fact: I was going to guess graphene for the low-end driver based on the sound of the sub-bass. I was correct! A slightly smaller titanium film driver apparently deals with higher frequencies. (10mm and 8mm)
• The over-the-top design and packaging
• How little coverage it has. I’ve always been delighted by “discoveries” and by owning unicorns for which there are no pre-established comparison/upgrade/sidegrade path laid out.

I decided to commit to the gaudy aesthetic. The black might look a little sleeker, but get lost with other ordinary IEM picks on my desk. I went for yellow (so much for any of the few MMCX cables I have to hand matching the theme with it!

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Included accessories/packaging:




I’ll segue from the cable mention to what is included, and the overall quality of it. I don’t usually care for too much to be included, I live in a small house so the box has to be got rid of in fairly short order in most cases - and as someone who has accrued carry cases and other accessories already, I’d prefer costs be diverted to the sound and build if the IEM itself.

This set is a bit of an exception. A bit like Paulthings’ MIXXTAPE, there’s a lot of nostalgic glee to be found in the included accessories when they fit a strong novelty theme. This set comes with some stickers cards with designs relating to each colorway, a pin, and a hard case emblazoned with a tape cassette. (I would not recommend using it for the IEMs due to a lack of padding inside, more on how that would not pair well with their finish later. There is a foam block that can go into the har case, but who disconnects their cables just so they can pop the IEMs into presentation blocks?)

The cable looks nice enough and has a button on it (I was unable to test this on Apple/Android). However the cable, which has a majority woven finish and is fairly narrow, might be one of the worst for self-tangling, and resistance to untangling. Even with no stylish matches for the shell, I had to swap the cable before long.

The included tips are Sony look-alikes, I didn’t use them but I tested it out with similar narrow-bore silicone tips.


(Neither the cable or not tips shown are included/original)

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Build quality/notes

The shells aren’t heavy despite feeling solid. The caps are metal but the main body of the IEM, continuing into the nozzle, is plastic.

A nice attention to detail is how the screen in the nozzles with the lines of its lateral grate matching the overall look rather than being default off-the-shelf picks.

An issue with construction which will be returned to at the end, because buyers should be aware of what support they will get if there are any issues, is the paint. This is followed up in the “customer service” section.

Something not at all obvious is that the set has significant exterior venting. I have had IEMs where the venting is a big part of the design language (FiiO FD5 as one example) but when the nozzle is covered, you can hear little/no sound escaping from the “vented” side. While the DB Monroe doesn’t draw special attention to its venting (or it gets lost in the “greebling”) it has some of the most notable sound leaking out of any set where I’ve covered the nozzle and put the cap to my ear. I do think this plays a role in sound later.

Channel matching was really good. The included graph was by my good friend @MMag05 and makes it officially the available graph to my knowledge.

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What worked for me:

I was actually ready to discount the set fairly quickly to begin with, but as always, tip rolling is key.
Using a set of SPinfit CP145 in a small size, everything changed. I also found small Final E tips to work. For my ear anatomy, either of these:

• Reduced some higher peaks
• Controlled the bass
• Made sure the mids were not suppressed

The Final E tips rounded edges down to an analog sound, probably more than this tuning has room for. The SpinFits allowed for greater depth and stage. The slightly wider bore alone makes sense of this. I find the bass has even more prominent immersion/resonance with the Spinfits though. They’re the tips that saved this set for me, and then lifted it a good deal beyond just OK. Thanks to my friend @ctjacks336 for the tips!

With either tip, isolation with the Monroes was fantastic for my ears. It’s very rare that I feel a shell sinks to “flush” with my ear like these seem to. I had no issues with pressure, but as mentioned it’s a very well vented set.

Photos of just how good of a fit it turned out to be for me:


My preferences:

It’s worth knowing what my “library” resembles to see if any of these opinions are relevant to what you like to listen to. I can’t really nail down what my taste covers, it’s easier for me to list what I know is excluded from my listening:

• K/J-Pop: I have a lot of female vocal music, but no vocaloid music or songs produced in this style
• Metal: The metal I have probably overlaps better with hard rock than the majority of metal, because it doesn’t include the usual 8000RPM drums, fully distorted/screamed vocals, and shredding on guitar. I have Nightwish, Pantera, Judas Priest, Motorhead and some others. I enjoy Neue Deutsche Haerte in general, and some Ewigheim with is more gothic.
• Rap: I do have some bass-heavy spoken-word type hip-hop (Buck 65, Aesop Rock) but very little from the 90s/00s and nothing at all from the recent waves of rap genres
• R&B: I’m trying to think of a category for things like Drake and the Weeknd etc. Basically no radio hits from the last couple decades is probably the easiest description. Is that called Top 40?
• Modern country: I have plenty of folk and singer/songwriter music, and music that shares timbre/instruments with older country music - but nothing from modern “country”.

A good sign when writing a review of a set is if the set has been free-playing while getting thoughts going, with few to no skips. So far on shuffle I’ve listened to Weyes Blood, Jordi Savall, Tom Waits, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Buck 65, and Linkin Park, Massive Attack, Lyla Foye and Dead Pirates… and it’s all been very enjoyable. (This stayed true even as I added to and reworked this review).

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Lows:

Mid over sub, but not pointedly so, fairly even. In my experience that’s a good thing - isolated sub bass leads to an indistinct underlying warmth everything sits on without any real punch. Too much isolated mid bass gives an unnatural bounciness. When about even, you get atmospheric rumbles as well as a decisive start, stop, and impact to the bass.

With tracks like Strange Behaviour by Roots Manuva, I’m satisfied with the blend of punch and rumble. With acoustic instruments like the drum at the start of Tinariwen’s Imidiwan Winakalin, the swell is true to a stretched skin being struck. In Tupelo by Nick Cave and the bad seeds, the bass guitar has menace and reverb. In White Bread by Buck 65, the repeating low notes give a center-of-the-head glow, while actual percussion hits further out. In tracks like Vehemence by Purity Ring and Alone by Alan Walker, the low end is providing the immersive atmosphere that it’s required to. When a sub-bass dependent track like most songs by Lorne comes on, I’m not left feeling that the low end was only traced or described, I can both feel and hear it, there is weight. In Lying from You by Linkin Park, I often used this track to see if a driver can give a significant “felt” dive at 7 seconds, and also the double hit during singing (around 2:55) without masking the vocals or being too subdued itself. I also like that double hit to be clean / have some texture, not just showing up as a blob. DB Monroe passes.

I would say the driver has about a medium speed to it, decay is slow enough for natural timbre, but has clear punctuation, not dragging too long for there to be a firm contrast of impact starting and stopping. I’m not sure if there’s any crossover inside, but like the Serial using multiple DDs, I think there’s an advantage to one driver providing a more incisive hit, while the other provides some lingering warmth for natural timbre.

Mids:

This is one of the main things tip rolling changed. With the Spinfits and deep insertion, mids are not recessed. Upper mids have more emphasis than lower, but I do not think this leads to any “shout”.

Female vocals/deeper: Weyes Blood: A Lot’s Gonna Change her voice is smooth, not husky. Intimate but not necessarily forward from the rest of the music. Saint Savior: Animal, I: her voice is crisp (this album can have too many “mouth noises” on the wrong sets unfortunately), smooth, and not recessed. (Woodwinds and strings have great timbre too.)

Female vocals/higher: Caroline Polacheck: Hey Big Eyes / Parachute: Even higher pitched sections from Parachute never become nasal or piercing, I find them smooth and emphasized enough to be very emotional.

Male vocals/deeper: Johnny Cash is resonant and clear in his largely acoustic songs, but Lemmy is a little lost in the wash in Evil Eye by Motorhead - despite parts of his singing still having a lot of texture to them. I don’t listen to Motorhead often enough to rule out that the album could just be mastered this way.

Male vocals/higher: Marvine Gaye in the album What’s Going On, and You’ve Got Everything Now by The Smiths: no lock of detail, neither forward nor recessed.

I find rhythm guitars in punk rock and heavy rock are something I’m particular about. When I’m listening to The Offspring, older Green Day, Stahlmann, Rammstein etc with driving guitars they have to both have meat/weight and bite/detail. Those requirements aren’t easily balanced.
Der Schmied by Stahlmann is a good test track for this, and the rhythm guitars are definitely crunchy and dense at the same time.


Highs:

I think the venting of the shell helps with this. The set graphs dark, and perhaps it is, at least in the sense that the Penon Serial is meant to be “dark” – but I never feel I’m missing any treble necessary for good cymbals, stage and general small noises that treble can rescue from being lost. However it’s not a set that *emphasizes* treble. From recent experiences, I would turn to the Simgot EN1000 or better still the Night Oblivion Butastur to scratch an itch of being able to hear all the treble there is to hear without fatigue. Different price ranges completely, they’re just the sets I know hit treble well, I haven’t tried any lower priced sets I can compare for treble.

The 7kHz spike is usually something unwelcome to me in a darker/warmer set. Usually a spike around 8kHz (beyond the usual artificial coupler resonance) brings some snap and contrast back in, but if it’s isolated, then to my ears it sounds rather obviously isolated, and too stark of an emphasis to come out of nowhere in the mix. My take is that to counteract a raised low end, you have to raise a ramp somewhere on the higher end, not an obelisk. However, it hasn’t been overdone in this set, having a moderate upper mids gain already tempers that. That also saves it from being an overt V-shape where a pocketful of pixie-dust “sparkle” is sprinkled on top to fight the mud.
For this signature, frankly I wouldn’t want any more than is there.

In Moonchild by King Crimson: Cymbals/bells all very convincing. In Der Schmied by Stahlmann which was already used earlier to reference rhythm guitars, the cymbals just about cut through during the chorus, without sounding grainy/distorted/rattley.

In something like Caroline Shut Up by Caroline Polachek, the synths reach some very high pitches, and they’re all present and adding to the mix. For reference I can hear up to 18KHz. It’s important to mention that as what we can hear varies and would significantly affect our opinions on treble extension. You may hear further, or less, but now you know what you’re adjusting for.

Stage/imaging:

The most subjective part of an already highly subjective write-up. There are no issues with L/R imaging, sounds come from decently far outside my head towards the sides. While the sub-bass can feel a little lower-and-behind me, I would say things don’t move forward or behind much. Things do not feel flat, things do not feel closed in or intimate, but I wouldn’t expect this set to be topping lists for competitive FPS or for tricking someone into thinking they’re on a stage or in a studio. No weaknesses for ordinary enjoyment of music and the intended panning of tracks.


Customer service:

I purchased my set from ShenzhenAudio on AliExpress, one of the few shops to stock DB IEMs.
Having taken a gamble on this set, which will be the case for anyone buying DB sets until there are more reviews and graphs available, being taken care of was an important factor.

The paint on my set started chipping off in under a month, when they were only listened to about once or twice a week at that point, and stored in a soft case. Even my Starfield’s didn’t chip after longer use, so this seemed like a weakness in the finish at least for that batch.

When I first contacted ShenzhenAudio things went the usual way of “that’s what you get for ordering from AliExpress” as far as an offer of a $5 refund, or me shipping the item to China.

HOWEVER, after I talked with them further (and communication was prompt, I had replies nightly) they changed their response to one I think was completely satisfactory - either a half refund, or a refund after shipping the set to a CONUS address.

It’s a shame it took prompting, but I am glad with their final decision.

This is all very important to note considering DB also have a Luna and Sunna set that are exponentially more expensive than this one, with even less information available. No one wants to lose their investment on a lemon, if taking a chance on a company.

Conclusion:

One of the only descriptions I had been able to find had these as leaning into an analogue tuning, and at least with the most successful tip pairing (the Spinfits) I’m not sure I agree. They have the right kind of warmth in the lower mids for that vibe, but so do many sets, and they don’t have me thinking of a tape deck. With other tips (like the Final E) some lo-fi fuzzy could be introduced I suppose.

So it seems I only have more or less good things to say about the sound. That is true. They are a set that once put on, have no trouble staying on. They can disappear and let me listen to music.

Do I recommend them? That depends. They do very little wrong, if at all. But there are two considerations:

• Cost: Their cost has barely lowered if at all over the years - and in the same years, the $20-$50 has reality exploded with sets that “do very little wrong” and $50-100 sets that “leave little to improve”, usually with at least one “woah factor” trait thrown in. The most direct comparison in my opinion would be the HBBxQKZ which shares some tuning traits and is muchcheaper. The HBB is even bassier, but for my ear only had one compromise (completely acceptable at the price) which was a slightly metallic timbre for upper mids. To its credit, the DB Monroe does not have a timbre issue.
  • In fact, it just occurs to me that this would only marginally improve on the good old BLON BL03. The DBs would have a tad more control in the bass.
• Place in your rotation/collection: Admittedly this comes from a very privileged setup of having multiple sets with different strengths that can be changed between. I certainly didn’t always have that and recognize that many folks don’t. In my case, although these are easy listening for many genres for many hours without regrets, they don’t often elicit a “woah” during that time. If I wanted all-rounders with an even better low end and mids, I already own the Penon Serial*. If I wanted more energy and an even more open sound I already own the Simgot EN1000. However those are both pricier sets. If your budget was $100, you could do worse than the DB Monroe. I do believe that in today’s market they compete with $60-70 sets more accurately. If you can lose some sub-bass comfortably, then the EA500 is a set that *would* give a few more “woah” moments.
  
  
• They are a fun set, and their timbre is good - so for a fun set with good timbre that could be a mostly all rounder depending on library, I could imagine recommending them with a slight discount.

Which takes us back to the one sentence review: A good bass-leaning all rounder with a tasteful FR and OK technicalities, even so, hard to recommend as a new purchase in today’s market.

\* A note I can’t leave out: Although the Serial is still a top 2 set for me, and Penon has taken good care of me as a customer personally on multiple occasions - they try to influence how reviews are written and to remove anything less than glowing reviews of their products, so I can’t recommend a product of theirs without adding this disclaimer. This is based on communication with friends who Penon contacted after giving them a discount, asking them to then frame their reviews in certain ways. This is not speculation. If this review disappears it's probably just confirmation that sponsors have the last say on censorship here on Head-Fi and this mild caveat was noticed.

[Note: Photos to follow at some point. A quick scroll up and down will fill you in on what they look like. I'm finishing this write-up as part of a "mental health day", and if photos are all I'm lacking by now, I'm happy to publish without and add later.]

Understanding my rating
5 : Surpassed all expectations, and continued to engage and excite long after first impressions. I would not be disappointed if I could only every listen to this item for the rest of my life.
4: Fantastic but with at least one Achilles heel, or the thrill died down, or the factors that make it engaging also limit its versatility.
3: Doing little enough wrong, and enough right, that I could use these cheerfully as daily drivers until I have possession of a 4 or 5 again.
2: Too many sacrifices of what I like, if I had to use them daily I’d be constantly aware of what I was missing/ would prefer.
1: I would rather listen to buds bought at CVS; general consumer products are doing less wrong and more right than this item. Personal example: Penon Fan without wide bore tips

It is based on personal opinion and enjoyment, I'm not sure how else a useful review could be written.

Disclaimer

BQEYZ gave me a discount in exchange for an honest review, so I did not pay full price. I know all reviewers say they will be unbiased, but if it’s any consolation the last set I bought at a reviewer’s discount I still gave 2 stars. I intend to be honest, and imagine I have paid full price. On my budget can make me very critical very fast.

Non-sound notes

My sources

• iPhone 7 plus with stock lightning to 3.5mm dongle adapter, stock music player and Amazon Prime music
• Hiby R3 Pro (CS43131) using both balanced and single-ended outputs (no impact on sound, as expected for a substantially sized DD), also BT streamed to this from the iPhone.
• Cables: a variety, no impact on sound

Fit

• In my case very bad driver flex on the right side, at least 5 seconds to clear after inserting. Paired with fit, this is the main reason I reached for the Autumn so occasionally.
• Very hard to get a stable fit in my ear, which was counterintuitive based on photos, and still puzzles me looking at them in my hand. The banana shape should only be an issue with a short nozzle, and the nozzle isn't especially short. I had to use tips with a longer profile, none of the included tips offered me the chance of a secure seal.
• In the end what seemed to have the most transparent effect while bridging the gap the best were some plain smoky silicone tips with more of a pointed bullet than rounded dome shape - the same ones I use with my Blon 03 to make a more dependable seal.
• I'd like to go into tip-rolling more as for most sets it gives a lot of choice, but I had a very limited choice of what provided a seal, and wasn't able to experiment broadly.

Accessories

• Although none of them ended up working out for me, BQEYZ did provide a good range of silicone tips, and they're of good quality. I can see the bore size/material synergizing well with the set, but fit was nixed for me.
• The cable has a coloration that reminds me of graphene cables, although I'm sure if it were that would have been mentioned. It's elegant, supple, absolutely non issues with its build. It's a great cable, I'd have been glad to have bought it separately.
• The included pouch is spacious and has webbing for whatever it is you like to "web" (in my case as an avid tip roller I'll usually have 2-3 pairs of tips tucked away there.

Cost

The (full) cost is a little prohibitive, especially for a brand that it still gaining traction and reputation. I imagine a certain amount of the cost is justified by the research and development that went into the tuning filter implementation. It requires carrying the magnet and other filters around, but they barely take up space in a case you probably already keep with you for tip-rolling or protecting your IEMs. Screw thread systems like the LZ A7 use are sensible, but you wouldn’t want to change configuration any more than once a day. With BQEYZ’s system, if you decided you want the treble filter in the morning, and then mood/library selection changes in the afternoon lean you towards a smoother warmer lilt, in under a minute your IEMs have undergone a substantial difference in tuning.

Segue into filter tech

This isn’t like the little crossover switches which experience has taught us tend to make negligible differences. At the time of writing the price of the Autumn hovers at around $199 on AliExpress. As I would consider them a spiritual successor and improvement of the NF Audio NM2+, and I always praised those as good value, the price makes sense to me. It does bring it close to an increasingly competitive $200-300 bracket. At a time when the Olina is bringing the performance from the top of that range into the $100 bracket, a single DD really needs to stand out. I believe the case for the BQEYZ Autumn’s value has to come down to the fact that it offers something different to the typical Harman tuning, and on top of that offers multiple tunings at once. If it is able to replace a $120 bright neutral, $120 warm neutral, and then even a low performing bass IEM in your collection, it could already be saving money.

It’s considerably impressive that (from graphs I’ve found so far), the system really does exclusively affect the lower bass frequencies. Most alterations that affect bass inversely affect the upper mids. The difference made is very isolated. Everything is relative for our ears, so by sheer relativity, the treble tuning does sound more trebly - because the same treble that was already prevalent is now head high and clear of any other frequency possibly taking the limelight.

The treble filter surprised me. I may have enjoyed that configuration the most, or at least tied as a complement to the neutral tuning. This is as someone whose daily driver at the time of penning this review is the Penon Serial - sub-bass heavy and analog in its tuning. I think for me this flavor had the most unique to offer, the “neutral” and “bass” variations were much more similar to other fairly mainstream tunings. I currently have the Lotoo LE M1 and one of the things I treasure it for as a stark contrast to my other favorites is its flatness, and the sheer breadth and needlepoint vividness a tuning like that can provide (don’t get me started on how I could have checked out of the hobby with the Dark Magician if I hadn’t had fit issues).
Rumble isn’t there, but bass doesn’t feel castrated, it's still very well outlined if not tactile, present in a different way. I found this tuning very engaging and emotional. Like an NF Audio NM2+ without the hollow in the lower mids. And I loved the NM2+.

General sound notes
These were taken during listening, the following section shows specifically where these opinions were derived from (which tracks/parts of tracks).

I would say technicalities are excellent, astounding for a single DD even, and that tuning is a slight notch lower at “very good”.
There is a 5k peak that is nowhere near as obvious as might be expected from a graph. Beginning with neutral filters, the sound truly is very balanced.
The clarity of the set is manifest in sparse openings to tracks. At first, the way things sound seems to suggest that when the rest of the ensemble join in, or the bass drop happens, that things will be left lean. Because there is silence around the sparseness. It is always a pleasant surprise to see how well the Autumn can fill that space when something arrives to thicken the mix. Compared to other bright/clear sets like the NF Audio NM2+, there is not a sense of hollowness or thinness to the lower midrange. When warmth comes, it enters naturally, and like a warm gust that gets between the leaves, not a veil or bloatedness.
Timbre is excellent across the board, with the exception that the upper registers of vocals, and jangling guitars, can gain a slightly metallic sharpness at times - perhaps once again the 5k lift.
Imaging is above average, stage is above average, and separation is tremendous, once again astounding for a single DD.
The tuning is very versatile, neither too bright nor too warm nor too emphasized at one end. It can truly hop between genres and shine, and that’s without playing with the filters. If the Autumn came locked to the neutral setting, they would be a great set of IEMs.
In my opinion it’s not a set to push volume limits on in a search for immersion. It has peaks, and will not take too much of that compared to a darker, flatter set. On the other hand it is satisfying at lower levels than some other IEMs due to the detail and balanced tuning. Music is engaging and true to the original intentions.

Bass - More mid-bass than sub-bass, any rumble is only very slight, although sub-bass is capable of carrying detail and slight character beyond simply being present. Transition to lower mids is a delayed descent giving the set one of its main strengths - a clean but slightly warmed low end. The bass is clean and fast. The tactility/force of mid-bass is decent. More texture to mid-bass than sub-bass. Melodies carried purely within sub-bass risk being too subdued. Even with the bass filters, bass cannot be considered an emphasis. Bass-heads and EDM fans would likely be dissatisfied, but it is at a completely satisfactory level for a realistic, if not natural dynamic portrayal.


Mids - The 5k peak had me slightly cautious of female vocals. However even vocals that just take a little push to tip into more piercing tones (easy example: Hatsune Miku, used just for testing) were inoffensive. Female vocals can become a tad more strident than they out to be, but not sharp or shouty. This will be very tip/insertion dependent, I recommend reading my “fit” paragraph for more details.
The mids are clear, and do not sound recessed overall. Male vocals and lower mids do get pushed back a little in the mix when the bass filter is used. Excellent timbre makes the mids extra enjoyable. Smooth, not grainy. Electric guitars have a very satisfying bite and crunch, but could use a tad more heft/note-weight for heavy rhythm guitar sections. Synth notes can be soft or searing depending on the artists’ intention, sounding well in either case. Clarinet and other reed instruments have good body to them.

Treble - Extension is great, meanwhile nothing I heard was sibilant or harsh to my ears. Hi-hats are accurate and detailed, ride cymbals can sound a little 2-dimensional but the trade-off is that they are not remotely splashy. Admittedly treble is not my forte, but I think it’s safe to say the treble is doing a lot right, and nothing wrong to my ears.

Soundstage is more than a little above average, but not top tier. I won’t accidentally think I’ve forgotten to put IEMs in and I’m listening from speakers, (there are one or two sets with enough stage to successfully pull that trick on me!) It’s certainly satisfying and not lacking. Vocals tend to take a closer place on the stage, in my opinion with positive effect.

Imaging is also above average. It is behind the Oxygen, but not by a huge amount. You will certainly be pinpointing better than a simple L/R/center Update: Actually rather good. The vocals in UNKLE’s Sick Lullaby really crept up around and behind my shoulder while typing a different section.

Neutral Filter

CREAM Sunshine of your love (60s rock)
During the first seconds of listening, you’d be worried that the sound will be on the bare/cold/analytical side of neutral. It’s crisp and detailed in a way the I’m familiar with but usually from bright-neutral tunings. But this track is an excellent of excellent performance where you’d expect a cavity of some kind. I find many bright-neutral tunings are unkind to rock bands of the 60s and 70s. There needs to be a certain low end warmth to carry a tubey glow, and not leave the upper mid bite hanging like a sharp outcrop. Sure enough, the guitars have a delicious warmth but no lack of detail or bloat.

CYN Believer (Pop)
Surrounding synths at the start, and when the bass enters (0:08) it is very smooth (yet textured). The vocals are a little shouty in the upper mids, due to the 5k peak in the tuning I’ll assume. It makes them a tad too strident on that end of the spectrum, but it’s more a preference in presentation than something I expect would be painful or uncomfortable to any ears. It’s clear from my time online that there are swathes of people who like this treatment of female vocals. Bass decay is relatively fast, part of the incredibly clean sound.

KATE AND ANN MCGARRIGLE Talk to me of Mendocino (Singer songwriter)
Timbre is on point, the set is a strong recommendation for fans of folk and singer-songwriter on acoustic instruments. I wouldn’t mind a little more note-weight to the piano. I was curious if the 5k peak would be quite clear on these women’s voices, but I would say not, there was no undue stridency.
At the start there are recording artifacts. Due to the good resolution and well extended treble, it’s worth noting that this is a set that will show up those kinds of details too. They weren’t obnoxious, simply true to source.

MR BUNGLE Pink Cigarette (Circuscore?)
I wanted to see how some deeper male vocals would be handled. Having listened mostly to female vocals up until this point, I expected vocals to be a little more forward. When the male voice is delivering deeper notes, they do come across as a slightly lower volume than higher notes later on - but it’s barely noticeable, I wouldn’t say male vocals were at all “recessed” (besides female vocals, everything has a very even presence and position). Every instrument sounded true to live and detailed, and one never masked another. In my opinion the Autumn layers very well, far better than I can understand a single DD achieving.

PURITY RING Peacefall (Electronic w/ vocals)
Not much to be added that hasn’t been mentioned before, besides comments on the bass. Mid-bass has a sufficient impact, fairly fast decay. It has sufficient texture, but not as much as other earphones I’ve heard. Compared to some of my favorite tunings, there is a slight sub-bass roll-off. As expected with this track, the chorus is very immersive, with its layers panning a little between left and right.

BUCK 65 463 (Remix Version) (Alternative hip hop)
This track is a bit of a test of how spoken-word delivery and a hard beat will sound. This particular track though is my choice because of the overdriven guitars that come in at 2:47 . If there is sufficient lower mid-range in the tuning, I find that guitar incredibly satisfying, heavy, crunchy, unstoppable. For lack of better words I think of it like a “neon freight train”.
During verses, I would say presentation is a little thin. It does provide clean space around each element, I feel there should be a more prevalent warm pulse throughout however. When it comes to the 2:47 overdriven guitar - the crunch is there, but the note weight is lacking. It should feel like a heavy object moving through.

Added comment: Riverbed Prt 5 and Killed by a Horse also by Buck 65 went on to show how fantastic timbre/detail/layering are. This was a very specific track where they fell short.

FAUN Feuer (Folk)
Lacking in dynamics, which is something this track delivers in spades with the right support - although in this case the bass filter helped to bring back a fuller feel.

SUSUMU HIRASAWA Parade (Anime OST)
Amongst other things, this is to be an example of a song that gets quite busy/layers that want to mask each other at certain points. The Autumn didn’t struggle at all. With this and The Girl in Byakkoya I did hope for more of an emotional swell to the vocals, but the tuning errs on the side of neutral over euphoric. Which is to its credit as a neutral set, there was certainly nothing lacking in the vocals.

APHEX TWIN Mt St Michel + St Michaels Mount (Alternative Electronic)
Speed is easily up to par. Bass once more demonstrated as being fast and not super impactful, but with a more accurate decay than BA. Mid-bass pulse of warmth throughout other noises were completely untouched, coming from different directions with good texture. No one part of the FR was remotely troubled by developments in the others. Good detail to the bass synth, and the sporadic percussion in the treble area was never sharp.

VULFPECK Walkies (Funk)
0:27 jazzy snynth comes in far left and a little behind on stage, great depth and character to the pulsing bass that starts at 0:44. Bass tends to lose clear direction compared to other frequencies on many sets, on the Autumn the panning is very clear and nuanced.

THE BAND The Shape I’m In (from The Last Waltz)
2:48 - Cymbals starting here are very well defined, they cut through clearly and you can hear the full wave of each strike, but not piercing. Just very strong, clear, and detailed. Not a splash. A win for treble as far as I can tell.

LINKIN PARK Lying from you (Alt metal) There is a very specific test I use this track for. Underneath the verse, for example beneath the words “everything is what I want it to be” from the first verse (exact moment 0:26-0:28) there is a bu-booom sound produced either low in mid-bass or in sub-bass that for many many sets is simple a bass buzz with a start and a finish, no texture. On certain sets (UM 3DT, Penon Serial) there is actually a lot more nuance/detail to the short and long note, taking on a more tom/timpani swell of tone. On the Autumn that nuance is about 75% there to being fully presented. Most don’t at all, so that’s a strong pro, and helps to verify for me that bass has very good texture on the Autumns, even if not class-leading.

Treble filter highlights

JORDI SAVALL Borin Cocek (Serbie) (Folk)
Completely acoustic folk music is a real treat with the "treble" filter. Rich in texture, chirpy and bubbly, excellent sense of all the materials in the instruments that lead to each sound. Subtle basslines present and again with detail to make the source instrument more than identifiable. Excellent imaging.

JORDI SAVALL Tarantela D'Apres Lucas Ruiz De Ribayaz (Ca. 1650) (Folk)
Another perfect matching. Floating lightly but without missing tactility and texture. Note weight not lacking. Simply beautiful, I was moved by this.

CORY WONG Lilypad
I was taken off guard when the track started, with treble filters in. I hugely enjoyed the 4 string bass in this track - which in other tunings can be a little too bombastic/rubbery. Excellent separation and horn accents. This was a good example of how the treble filter isn't just strong on the predictable classical/acoustic/folk. It's still a full and versatile tuning, and sometimes what it cleans away from the low end lets some real gold shine brighter.

NIGHTWISH Amaranth (and tracks from Imaginaerum) (Symphonic metal)
The way Nightwish mix, combined with the naturally sharp bite of guitars in metal tracks, means that I'll always throw a track or two of theirs at a set to see if it will handle it too harshly. I was expecting the netural filter to handle their work fine, but the treble filter to bristle with glass daggers. Was there a lot of energy? Oh yes, lots. A distracting level. But I wouldn't have called it all-out abrasive, or even sibilant. Another sign of versatality. In many ways analytical levels of detail, a high degree of brightness, but not to the extent of ruining any music. Like I said, I had expected this to be a bit much for the neutral filters.

Bass filter

To be honest I don't have any notes that stand out - it was fairly similar to the neutral setting just with slightly more recessed lower mids, and of course a tad more bass. To my ears a worse rendition of the netural mode for most applications.

Conclusion

My rating does not factor my massive fit issues. The trouble I had is not because these are ridiculously designed 8 inch cubes, it's because all ears are different. I don't think it's an overt design error that affects all users. For all I know these fit 95% just fine, so the rating is based off sound alone. I'd need more feedback from others to see if it is poorly designed for the majority, or just a personal miss.

My 4 star rating is for IEMs that don't enchant me every listen, or tick every single one of my boxes, but are well enough tuned that I could happily listen to them daily, while every now and again trying something else to get that final delight. This is easily a "complementary" set to a more musical/laid back/smoother/bassy IEM, and I think the Neutral and Treble tunings are both very respectable.

My budget allows only one IEM (I've recently considered surrendering that limit for two more affordable models) to remain in my ownership. At the time of writing, I prefer the Penon Serial and Yanyin Aladdin, so I will be transparent that I don't intend to keep these even though I respect them. If I were keeping a more netural tuning to rotate I like the flat tuning of the Lotoo LE M1, but I'm not keeping that either. So it's not a strike against these that I don't plan to keep them, just a sign that I consider them a 4 rather than a 5.

I am tempted to give a 3.5 due to the 5k sharpness, but I can partly put that down to taste more than poor choice, and the technicalities of the set allow for a small tuning compromise.

TD:LR; Warm, low contrast, soft, non-fatiguing, comfortable fit, however not competitive.
Not recommended. Hearkens back to previous generation single BA type performance.

My rating system:

5 : Surpassed all expectations, and continued to engage and excite long after first impressions. I would not be disappointed if I could only every listen to this item for the rest of my life. Personal example: YanYin Aladdin
4 : Fantastic but with at least one Achilles heel, or the thrill died down, or the factors that make it engaging also limit its versatility. Personal example: NF Audio NM2+
3 : Doing little enough wrong, and enough right, that I could use these cheerfully as daily drivers until I have possession of a 4 or 5 again. Personal example: HBB x Tripowin Mele
2 : Too many sacrifices of what I like, if I had to use them daily I’d be constantly aware of what I was missing/ would prefer. Personal example: Penon Fan with wide bore tips
1 : I would rather listen to buds bought at CVS; general consumer products are doing less wrong and more right than this item. Personal example: Penon Fan without wide bore tips

You’ll see that personal enjoyment is more or less the gauge. This is a subjective review. There is no point in writing a review in one direction then ending in another by adding “but some people might like every flaw I just listed”. I believe if we all review honestly according to our subjective tastes, a realistic impression of the item will start to extrapolate itself, and sets with clear merits and clear shortcomings will be apparent regardless of preference. For example I see reviews on AliX saying these are phenomenal and tonally accurate - if that's your take on it, please write your review! Mine can not be too helpful on its own.



Context:

My source: Apple lightning dongle, default music playing app. 320kbps MP3 usually, some ALAC.

My habits: Most often just listening on shuffle. I tend to listen while driving, doing the dishes, or working at my desk, those are the only three opportunities I really get.
With this review, iPhone volume was at 50% all the time, occasionally bumping to 60% to see if it helped with dynamics (it often did).

Music tastes: Eclectic and very broad. The only way I think I could describe it would be by listing all the artists, which would be obnoxious. Feel free to ask if listen to a particular artist often.

Disclaimer: When I purchased these I contacted GS Audio for a reviewer’s discount, which they provided. After tax and shipping, I still paid close to $80 for these, which for me is a lot to spend on a venture. So the discount does not affect my opinion, these were still a personal investment, and I am quite clearly not buttering up my take on them.
Because I pledged to write a review, this is my first published review. I have been meaning to collect thoughts on a different IEM, but I wanted to be true to my word to GS Audio - I have owed them this review since they provided the discount. As a teacher and a parent to two young children, this Thanskgiving break has been my first opportunity to make a move on this since receiving these this summer.


As you probably know by now, GS Audio is a company that has been producing the IEMS of some big names in audio, to their specifications. Even as a solitary consumer you can ask them to customize your IEM in all sorts of ways. If you want the sound of a particular model with the design of another, open up a chat with them. They are exceedingly kind and gracious to talk with. Their comments on AliExpress show they are mature and grateful in their treatment of even critical reviews (FiiO and others could learn from that), as they see it as helping customers to make an educated pick from their numerous offerings and configurations.

This particular model is somewhat of an enigma. The GD3A has been hailed as an incredible all-rounder with a sound-quality and enjoyment factor far exceeding its asking price. This is supposedly the “reference” variant. As per my title, that’s where some confusion enters in. In many cases “reference” variants are an euphemism for “We chopped of the sub-bass, stifled the mid-bass, and doubled the pinna gain, we’ll flip a coin for whether or not to over-represent the treble for added “detail”.

While I’m glad these do not follow that low-effort formula for what a studio reference sound should include, what was actually done is not favorable to my tastes, and not remotely in line with studio reference. Quite to the contrary, it favors a lack of detail, and a warm tonality. Entirely relaxing rather than overly stimulating.



Notes:

I listened to tens of songs critically, taking notes. I’ve extrapolated these main characteristics so I should only need to go into more detail on tracks that were exemplary, catastrophic, or showed a rare nuance, or to represent another genre even if my response was the same.

Common notes:

• Vocals - can risk sounding distant or muted (worst case scenario: a blocked-nose delivery). There’s a flatness to vocals. Sometimes the sounds from singers would make more sense if they were humming than singing.
• Percussion - this came up in my notes again and again. Very limited slam/punch, no matter what the intended crescendo percussion is rarely able to contribute a dramatic effect. Something is not quite right about snare-level accents to beats, perhaps because they fit in the frequency region everything seems to be strained through (see more re: dynamics). Cymbals are not addressed in a descriptive way. They’re there. A constant ride cymbal might remind me of a long strand of tinsel hung across a wall, for uniform sparkly fuzz. Kick drums move no air into the ear.
• Stage/imaging - the L/R channel differention that any stereo recording has and uses to dramatic effect is present and works. Do not expect to be able to picture the shape/layout/size of a venue/studio in your minds eye from that information alone.
• I’m not sure if “dynamics” is quite the right term here. But there seems to somehow be a compressed distance between he highest emphasis and the lowest emphasis. If I was describing something visual, I would use the phrase "low contrast". Everything is channeled through a hazy warm conduit, and in doing so anything remotely busy leads to masking, or sounds obscuring one another. Separate elements do not have their own space.
• A warm, muted, hazy, “humming” treatment of the majority of mids. There are some instruments/synthesizers/and rare tracks where this is actually a good match. Guitars/strings/horns are missing necessary bite/jangle - a deficiency in brightness once more.
• I often noted that the start of a song was fine - usually when only one voice or instrument was used as introduction - with performance dropping as soon as layers were added.
• Bass is too soft and has no texture, what I assume people mean by “one note bass”
• There is never any risk of sibilance or shoutiness.
• Isolation is good, provided the shape works well for your ears (it did for mine).
• In my experience true of all IEMs, but they are tip dependent. Given all the issues above, I recommend the best way make sure they are not magnified is to avoid tips that are too long or narrow bored.

Particular examples:

Hellwalker from Doom OST (Mick Gordon) - sub-bass does make an appearance right at the start, with quantity in line with “reference” levels. As guitars join from the sides they are missing just about all of their characteristic timbre. Highs/digital sounds sprinkled in should have their own space and pull sound into more of a 3D cavity by having floating frequencies at a new high level in the mix… they are safely layered at top of the shallow dynamic range, no differentiating sparkle.
No punch at all in drums, impossible to use them for dramatic effect.

Little Wing, All Along the Watchtower, and Crosstown Traffic all by Jimi Hendrix - these all sounded surprisingly good. I’m wondering if the original recordings border on abrasive if they still manage to retain their “edge” through these unlike most of the other tracks I sampled. Drums still lackluster. The hummy warmth actually equates to a bit of a tube amp feel, which is great for Jimi.

The Red Telephone by Love - one of the better listens. Mellow. Buzzy/twangy guitar sounds golden, when strings come in they shine the right amount of light onto the track. Drum timbre still drab. Warmth and low detail seem appropriate to the track, somewhat of an analog vibe. Could the guitars use a little more brightness? Yes.

Electricity by Motörhead - guitar wall promising tonality to start, but then vocals combine to make a grainy and subdued wall of noise instead.

Nobody died by St Savior - fine until 2:46 when drum joins in, not just the usual “drum sounds weak”, but it genuinely makes the entire track claustrophobic at that point on. Again, as though there’s a narrow “flat warm” bandwidth everything is being pushed through.

Won’t get fooled again by The Who - organ off to a good start, then guitar is untextured, drums are damp… vocals no issue actually.

A sky for shoeing horses under by Why? - off to a good start until the drums come in sounding like 808 samples. Vocals actually fine, and gravelly guitar in left side has the right feel and presence.

A most peculiar man by Simon and Garfunkel - nice listen. The track is devoid of most of the elements that have proved problematic. Delivered gently, vocals appropriately intimate.

Cory and the Wongnotes intro theme by Cory Wong and the Wongnotes - chubby trumpets, bass guitar nowhere near as audible, yet alone commanding, as it ought to be.

Waltz #1 by Elliott Smith - Piano needs more weight/reverb, plucked strings need brightness, lead and backing vocals need more separation. Tonality suits the track fine.

Alone by Alan Walker - no stridency at all to the vocals, some would see that as a plus. Warm but a little hazy. Usual complaints with bass impact, quantity not the issue. Should be a lot of air in this production.

Dizzy miss Lizzy by The Beatles - Guitar lick from start actually seems to twang at the eardrums the right amount - but then John sings at half the right volume level. Ride cymbal is just white noise. Apologies to Ringo.

The color of love by The Smashing Pumpkins - off to a good start. Tuning seems to suit the warm synthetic sound. Billie is not veiled. Besides needing more space and separation between vocals, and the poorly described drums, this could pass.

Cemetery gates by The Smiths - wish Morrissey vocals were a tad more prominent, but this mix works. The usual Smiths curse of a thinner sound is avoided. At higher volume level, although missing some sparkle and jangle, this sounded lovely.

Anvil by Lorn - not enough treble for a floating separation of upper notes, all lumped with analog mids. Sub bass sounds appropriate on entry.

The trees they grow high by The John Renbourn Group - female vocals fuzzier than they ought to be, I’m familiar with this singer’s voice. Otherwise pleasant.

Rose of my head by Johnny Cash - besides Johnny’s voice having a raspiness to it, tonality is fine.

Diferencias sobre la guaracha by Jordi Savall (and family?) - mellow. Non drum percussion sounds right. Live performance details lost but not a problem for the track. Strings fine, neither moving nor dulled.



Conclusion

An IEM I didn't like, from a company I do. If I was not listening critically, I would probably find this IEM to be “fine”. I’d probably be listening to music without thinking about it, nothing would be harsh, but nothing would be jumping out at me as impressive either. If it was my first IEM I might even be impressed compared to bundled earphones, TWS, etc.
My given ranking stands however, as every tier of IEMs is seeing remarkable shifts in value. At around $80, this has to play ball with a used ER2XR (US) or a new Mele, ISN D02, Moondrop Aria, and actually I’d imagine dozens sets that come very well recommended up to that price point. I don’t think it can.