Rose Technics QuietSea 

Intro

Hello everyone, today I am reviewing a collaboration iem between Ikki Audio and Rose Technics called the Rose Technics QuietSea (RQS as I’ll call it for review purposes). When I was asked to review this set, I jumped at it because both of these companies have my respect and admiration. Collaboration iems are good for the hobby in my opinion as they usually offer a bit more intrigue and anticipation. Especially when the collaboration is between two normally competing brands. This collaboration features two very intelligent and crafty people, the acoustic engineer of Rose Technics Mr. Xie and ex-Toky Audio Mr. GaoQiao. Two big players for these two brands for a union to create something that is very well developed. 

I’ve enjoyed both of these brands and the sets that they’ve brought to the public. I actually reviewed the Rose Technics QT-9 Mk2s (Review HERE) over a year ago and still regard it as one of the better hybrid iems in the price point. Both brands have brought to market some very well constructed and well-tuned iems. One of the legend sets in Ikko’s catalog is the Ikko OH10 which still is revered in the community. I could go on and on about the past achievements here, but I’d much rather take a good long look at the iem in front of me. Also, that’s why you are here. 

Roller Coaster ride to good

I have purposefully taken a bit longer to critically listen to this set as I have gone through almost a “roller coaster” of thoughts about it. So, I held off on my initial impressions to let the QuietSea burn-in and let the drivers settle a bit. I’ve gone from “Wow this set will be one of the best” to “That didn’t sound good” to “I am impressed!” and it has gone on like that for at least three weeks of my time with it. Thankfully, I’ve had enough time to determine that the QuietSea is certainly a nice set that will actually fare well against the mountain of solid options in the price point. With that said, let’s take a close look at the Rose Technics QuietSea… 

Wait…before I jump into this review, I want to thank HiFiGo for providing the QuietSea in exchange for a full review and feature at Mobileaudiophile.com. HiFiGo has been a place I’ve used for a very long time to find iems and audio devices that other stores simply don’t have. So, thank you to the great people who have helped me out and arranged the QuietSea for review! Without question this will not effect my review in any way which forces my words to be skewed. Of course I am very thankful and will always remain respectful to any company willing to provide a review sample, but I promise to give you… the buyer, my actual thoughts in hopes that they help you in a beneficial way.

Purchase Link at HiFiGo

Purchase Link at Amazon

QuietSea Pros

-Price to performance is very good

-Build Quality 

-Nice design

-Fantastic fabric cable for this price (best in class?) 

-Nice balance across the mix

-Resolving sound

-Quality bass

-Nice midrange for vocals & instruments

-Treble is well emphasized crisp

-Soundstage 

-Imaging / Separation 

QuietSea Cons

-Fit may be difficult for some folks

-Less mid bass slam than I’d like

-The Upper-mids/lower-treble can get slightly hot at times

-Warm/dark lovers will want to keep looking 

Gear used for testing 

–Ifi Go Blu

–Hidizs S9 Pro Plus 

–Moondrop Dawn 4.4 

–iBasso DX240 with Amp8 MK2 

–Shanling M6 Ultra

Packaging / Accessories 

The Rose Technics QuietSea (RQS) comes in a decently large sized black box and the first thing you notice is the QuietSea earphones looking all dapper. Next to the earphones is the carrying case. Inside the case is the cable and tips as well as an mmcx tool. The unboxing is nice enough, surely nothing that will blow your mind but a nice package. Certainly, good for the price. However, it isn’t the number of accessories but the quality of the accessories that I enjoy. 

Carrying Case

The case provided with the RQS is a small and slightly thin square case that opens with a zipper. The case is all fabric and provides enough room to store your earphones and cable. The size isn’t enormous but big enough to slip in a pocket and still be relatively comfortable. Again, it’s the quality that counts here. What a nice addition that Rose Technics & Ikko provide. The case is something you’d see at a higher price, I would think. Of course, I have zero ideas how much a case like these costs to add to the packaging. Anyways, it’s quality and I’m down with quality. It says a ton about what you as an audio brand value in your craft. You know that we like nice things and so you add nice things. Or at least as good as you can for the money. 

Eartips

The eartips provided with the RQS go against the glory I just bestowed upon the makers of this set. They only provide three sets of tips (S, M, L), but they are decent tips in my opinion. Now, I don’t think they were the best tips for me personally. Instead, I went with the KBear 07 tips. Still, they are a white, oval-shaped to fit the oval nozzle, semi-narrow bore, firm flange tip that would likely be great for this set, that’s if I could get a good seal. I had to go with the KBear 07 tips just for this purpose. Anyone that knows me will know that if it doesn’t fit… KBear 07. I also used the Dunu S&S tips and Final Audio E-tips as both of those also helped me with Fitment. I would’ve loved to see a selection of different tips, but the quality of the line set is good so… they get a pass. 

Cable

Now, this is where the first real surprise came. Folks, this cable is flat out awesome. I don’t know if it’s just me and my love for fat cables and awesome aesthetics, but the look of the cable is bonkers cool! The color match is perfect. The cable is a mmcx 3.5 single ended, four strand, 5N OCC beauty of a cable that always stays in control and looks flat out fly when hanging from your ears. I found no reason to swap cables for any 3.5 single ended use as it looks nice and sounds nice. This is huge because so often any set under $50 is almost a guarantee that the cable will need swapped out. 

Balanced listening 

The only time I did use a different cable was for any balanced sources. When I did listen on balanced, which was most of the time, I went with the Tripowin Noire modular gray cable. Again, the aesthetic is pleasing as the colors match and the sound is great together. 

Build / Design / Internals / Fit 

Build Quality 

The build of the RQS is built very well. Obviously very durable. You will understand that the second you put this set in your hands. It’s obvious. Built mostly out of a Zinc Alloy by way of 5-axis CNC machining as well as what appears to be resin. The build is very small, compact, and great for smaller ears. The Zinc Alloy is great for just putting this set in your pocket and not having to worry about scratching or breaking. The build is 100% solid from the nozzle to the mmcx connectors. Speaking of mmcx connectors; Rose Technics states that the QuietSea can be plugged and unplugged many more times than most due to the high-quality gold playing on the mmcx female chassis. Just sayin’, it’s nice to not have to always worry about mmcx connection failures. I will always be partial to 2-pin on budget sets. That thought flips with more expensive iems.

One other thing about the build which kind of crosses over into the fit is that the nozzles aren’t the longest. The nozzles are closer to a shallow nozzle than anything and so finding the right tips is a necessity. I do like the nozzle tip has a ridge for holding on those tips and the nozzle diameter is not very wide so these should fit most anyone’s ears while finding 3rd party tips should be a breeze. Also, the nozzles themselves are oval shaped which I’m sure helps in some way with the sound output. I should also quickly comment on the weight, as the RQS are actually fairly light even with their durable and dense construction. 

Design

The RQS shares some great design ideas of other Ikki Audio iems like the Ikko Opal OH2 and the Ikko Asgard OH5 in that we have the Zinc Alloy with the resin contrasting strip along the sides of the Shell body. The design is flat out sweet looking. It’s hard to appreciate a good design when you’ve seen that design before, but I love the look. Couple that with the great feel when in hand and you got yourself a winner. Rose Technics decided upon two colorways for the RQS in “silver” & “Gray”. Mine obviously is the silver version. The design is very modern looking, newfangled, and contemporary sleek and slick. Very Star Trek of them. I think they are great and for the price that Rose Technics & Ikko are asking I think this is beginning to look like a steal folks. 

Designed By Professionals With Years Of Experience:-
The RoseTechnics Quiet Sea is tuned by professional acoustic engineers with years of experience in the field. It is a joint work of Mr. Xie(acoustic engineer of Rose Technics) and Mr . GaoQiao(ex-Tokyo Audio). Together they have adjusted the tuning of the pair to create an effortless sound with dynamic resolution and rich tonality. The pair has been adjusted to deliver a quality sound for multiple genres of music.
Exclusive Designer Looks:-
RoseTechnics have designed the Quiet Sea with great accuracy. The pair has a CNC-machined zinc-alloy material chamber design. It is designed in collaboration with IKKO after studying over 700 ear samples to design a universal shape that is comfortable for the masses. The pair not only fits perfectly but also has an eye-catching look with its premium finish.

Rose Technics Promotional

Internals

Housed within the acoustic structure is a gold-plated brass dual-cavity Dynamic Driver. This driver is stated to have a Self-Developed Topology Diaphragm which through the deposition or the pattern in which Nano particle coating distributes & manipulates sound optimizes the micro-topology compared to a traditional moving coil diaphragm. Topology Diaphragms have been used before. Most notably (to myself) in Hifiman products. It’s a very cool technique and technology which uses certain different geometric patterns on the surface of the diaphragm to achieve the desired sound result. Also, Rose Technics & Ikko used a 3rd gen rare earth magnet materials within the RQS to achieve up to 1.5 tesla for better and easier driving. I haven’t learned the size of the DD but will update when I get that info. Basically, what’s housed inside the RQS is a quality driver with an innovative design. 

True Essence Of Music With Self-Developed Dynamic Driver Unit:-
RoseTechnics has designed a dual-chambered 10mm dynamic driver unit with a gold-plated brass chamber design. This driver adopts a self-developed Topology diaphragm that has significantly reduced split vibrations resulting in cleaner sound reproduction with ultra-low total harmonic distortion.
Strong Magnetic Architecture:-
RoseTechnics has designed this custom 10mm dynamic driver unit with a strong magnetic design. The driver parameters are constantly adjusted and optimized so that the pair has controlled airflow and produces a more accurate and lively sound. The pair achieves an astonishingly strong magnetic flux of over 1.5T which also helps in easy driveability of the pair. Enjoy your favourite melodies with low-power sources as well.

Rose Technics Promotional

Fit / Isolation 

As far as fit and isolation is concerned, the RQS fit me, well, okay. So long as I use KBear 07 tips or, shallow fit wide-bore tip or a long and very firm tip like the Final Audio E-tips. I stuck with the KBear 07 tips simply because I believe the semi-wide bore does help in the punchiness of the bass as well as the upper midrange comes through a bit more resolute. Isolation for me is also okay. Certainly not for use on a stage the RQS are great for just chilling and listening with me. Now, I have no idea how well this set will fit you but I’m sure you can find suitable tips to make it work. 

Drivability 

Mobile listening 

The Rose Technics QuietSea is rated at a 32ohm impedance and a sensitivity of 99dbs. Honestly, I really don’t think you’ll have any trouble driving this set. Yes, the sensitivity is only 99 db’s but I found the RQS gave me no issues driving with any device I used. Even the iPad could handle this set. Now, to get the most out of the RQS you will need to up the dose of power just a little to get to proper dynamics and openness. Using something like the IFi Go Blu was a breeze whether on 3.5 or 4.4. I also love the synergy of this mobile setup with the Go Blu’s (CS43131 dac chip) slightly more velvet sound. The Moondrop Dawn 4.4 sounded great too. However, of my dongles that I used the Hidizs S9 Pro Plus (ES9038Q2M dac chip) sounded by far the best. These two just sing together folks. Something with how that silky resolution of the S9 Pro Plus played off the more warm/neutral tonality of the RQS. It’s a nice pairing for sure. 

Daps

Listening with the Shanling M6 Ultra is simply a treat with the Rose Technics QuietSea attached to it. I loved the warmer atmosphere of the M6 Ultra tuning against the more neutral sounding RQS. The pair just worked. I found no need to go over low gain, though at times I’ll jack it up to medium. Certainly not needed. This is a pairing which seems to play off each other’s strengths to a degree. I did find that the QuietSea does scale to a certain point with more power, but it isn’t something that is a huge difference. I much more assume that the RQS is simply scaling to the auditory ability of the source. Not really a power issue. 

In the end

At the end of the day, just hook these up to a decently powered dongle-dac or even hook it up to your phone and I think you’d have a great listening session. The RQS really doesn’t demand much and seems to reach good dynamics even with lower powered source devices. Just plug ’em in and have a ball. 

Sound Impressions 

The Rose Technics QuietSea is one which took me on sort of a roller coaster ride and I’m not quite sure why. I loved them, and then I didn’t love them, and I did that routine for a couple days, okay for a week or two actually. I think since I was coming off of a warmer set that I had gotten used to at the time that my brain needed some adjustment. Who knows? Also, I usually cleanse my auditory palette with a flat or balanced sounding set like the Hisenior Mega5p. I didn’t do that. So maybe it was a bit of a shock. However, once I finally let the RQS sync in a little bit I began to really see just what Rose Technics & Ikko had accomplished with this budget category iem. So many very good qualities to the sound and a few subjective qualms or issues but nothing so egregious that I wouldn’t put the RQS in the running for top five under $50. It’s. A good set folks. Is it for everyone? No, it isn’t, this I’m sure. Is it going to be a set that many would enjoy? Abso’freakin’lutley! 

Between the 20’s (pint sized) 

I won’t beat around the bush folks, the Rose Technics QuietSea is truly a very nice sounding set. Without question. The RQS comes across more neutral than anything else with shades of warmth. There’s even a spritz of brightness which makes its way to my eardrums. The RQS comes across U-shaped to my ears with a nice balance across the mix. It’s crisp over smooth, glass-lined but not metallic. The sound is lean-lush, but more lean than lush with good density in its note body. For the most part. Perhaps the sound leans a bit toward the top end, but no one frequency really stands tall against any other. What we have is a quicker transient response, like fast-twitch muscle fiber that’s nimble and dexterous. It’s an resolute sound with clean lines, a black background, contoured note structure and good note definition. It may get a bit too bright at times, but those instances are few & far in between. I will say this, one thing I’ve learned, if you are going from a warm sound signature and jumping straight to this set… Just give it a bit before you judge. 

Each 3rd of the mix

The low end carries a bit more warmth and a solid quick-punch-density that doesn’t lack at all for quality. Truly, I think the caliber of this bass is very nice if you are into a low-end which can keep up with most any track and still have some fun with it. 

Now, this is not some ultra bassy set with head bangin’ fun in your future. No sir! Still, it’s a nice bass response. Not perfectly suited for EDM, or even gangster rap & hip hop if what you enjoy is warm and authoritative slam. Not that the RQS can’t sound good with those genres, just maybe not the typical preference. Again, there’s a clean and dense punch, but it’s not robust & booming. The midrange is forward, vocals are presented very well, and instruments aren’t left behind. Maybe the sound is a hint artificial and a bit too colored towards the top end of the mids, but I think it makes for a very clean and resolute sound. The treble has good emphasis and renders nice details in the mix with a vibrant display at the top end of the spectrum. Detail retrieval is nice, separation & Imaging are both great for a set at this price and the soundstage is actually of nice size. There are some issues present and I will allude to those in the coming sections of this review, mostly in the “downsides” portion. 

Bass Region 

Sub-bass

The sub-bass comes across moderately thick and deep with enough oomph and low-pitched growl to give some added haptic feel to my music. Without question this sub-bass will not shake the hairs on your head but it will show up when it’s called upon to do so. Now extension won’t blow your mind either and I don’t want you to get the wrong impression but there’s something to be said of a set that can rise to the occasion. 

“Paradigm” by The Head and Heart is a track which begins with a straight up vibrational reverberant bassline buzz. Basically, it’s a good track to listen for sub-bass meatiness. The RQS does not dissatisfy me at all! I’m telling you; this set will show up when absolutely necessary. Meaning, when brazenly bassy songs are playing the RQS will reciprocate with a response that is more than adequate, though not bulbous and ground rattling. Another track is “Heavy Is the Ocean” by Bush. Again, there is so much deep rumbling in this song and again, the RQS can reach relatively deep yet still stays well in control. It isn’t even close to sloppy. In fact, sloppy is a curse word to this set. 

Mid-bass 

The mid-bass holds the keys to the low-end with the most amount of emphasis, at least that’s what I think I’m hearing. It isn’t clear cut either. There is a nice balance in the bass region between the sub & mid-bass. The mid-bass is clean, textured, detailed, and not even hinting at being one-noted. This all sounds amazing, but many folks will likely want more beef here. However, I’m happy with the output. Of course, I don’t need the thickest bass drop all the time. So long as that bass drop has some density and is reasonably energetic. Take the track “2040” by Lil Baby & Lil Durk. Again, another track which starts out the gate with some boom and slam. Thankfully the RQS also booms and slams, pretty well actually. So, it has enough to show off when needed. 

I do detect some spill over into the midrange as the mid-bass more-less adds some organic color to the low-mids but not to the point that there is any muddiness. It’s quite the contrary. I actually feel the bass region does a good service with much needed warmth to slightly bolster that region. For stuff like bass guitars, I think I could use a bit more of that slower decaying fullness, only slightly more. Not that I’m missing much because there’s still plenty of grit and growl down low to accentuate most bass guitar tracks. 

Not bad at all

Kick drums such as those in “Billie Jean” by Weezer (Michael Jackson cover). The kick drums sound fast but they are still realistic enough to bring that hollow boom and I definitely hear a tacky note edge on attack. It sounds nice enough. Bass singers are maybe a bit too elated sounding, not as resonant as some sets. Listen to any Avi Kaplan track. Not that it sounds audaciously unrealistic or anything but just hair more beefy depth would’ve served bass voices well. 

Downsides to the Bass Region 

Most certainly there will be those who want more low-end emphasis. I’m not even talking about bassheads. Even those folks who are borderline Bass-Bois will likely want just a titch more gristle down low. I find the bass awesome… but that’s me, and I ain’t you. The bass isn’t the most atmospheric that I’ve ever heard either. Who ever said that faster transients are always a good thing? They are nice for complicated bass tracks but not always exactly what we want for a realistic and organic sounding bass region. So yes, there are downsides, but I think this is a preference thing. For what the RQS is, it’s great. I can appreciate it wholeheartedly and I think the folks at Rose Technics & Ikko did a great job. Again, I’m not everyone else. So, if this doesn’t sound like something you’d like, I understand if you stop reading now. 

Midrange

The midrange is very well placed in the mix in my opinion. It isn’t really recessed or in the background, but it also isn’t too far forward, to where it’s problematic. There’s a good distance there for me. The midrange as a whole is articulate sounding, above average details and comes with good resolution. The midrange has some crisp tendencies and does so on some contoured and at least “mildly dense” note body. It isn’t all crisp and knife edged though. There are some smooth undertones. As anything, a lot has to do with the track you are listening to. 

Lower-midrange 

Male vocals primarily hang around the lower-mids but that is certainly not always the case. However, in this review I’m looking to the lower-mids to cover male vocals. Like I said earlier, the bass does feather into the midrange. Not to a detriment but more so it helps this area. There’s some added warmth which comes across as a slightly richer note body and needed weight. Lean-lush is what makes the most sense to me. Without it I’m afraid the midrange would be a bit too artificial and one-sided. There’s a good mix. The sound is clean and form-fitting enough to help males sound compacted and rigid. Males sound adequately authoritative when needed and pretty darn clean if you ask me. 

“You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott is very clean sounding with this set to my ears. His voice is almost “up on a pedestal” and there’s some depth of field there to his voice as well. Nicely melodic and with nice energy too. Or “Jake’s Piano” by Zach Bryan which is another track that sounds very good. The RQS takes the inflection of a stout (yet wholesome) southern voice and sounds edgy and prominent in the mix. He sounds as eloquent as a southern singer songwriter can sound while still coming across masculine and bold. I realize that doesn’t really explain how he sounds but, just trust me. There are so many tracks like this I could point to in my notes. 

Males sound nice

Folks I find male vocals nice with the RQS. Obviously, it all comes down to what you want in a set of earphones. Some may want the more thickly weighted and warm sound to a male vocal, and I like that too. But, for what the RQS is tuned to be; I find I quickly align with this presentation and rendition of a male vocalist. They simply sound good. Not 100% authentically natural, but good. 

Upper-Midrange 

Females are a hint more forward than males, with a nice vibrance and even some shimmer. The treble certainly colors the sound in this region which some may find a hair artificial. Maybe a bit thinner than lush, maybe too structured and less emotional… maybe. However, if you can look past that and hear the musicality in this type of tuning then I think you’ll like what you hear. They may not be emotional, but females are certainly engaging, and instruments come across energetic and fun. 

Edgy, Bright? 

Females have some shimmer, but I don’t find them going overboard all too often. Still, out of full transparency, one of those slightly overboard songs is “Sensitive” by Megan Trainor. It can get a hair hot (actually a decent song to test for piercing glare in this region). Her voice is pretty sharp listening with the RQS. Granted I’ve heard other iems that are much worse. But, in blatantly sharp tracks the RQS may just be… a bit edgy bright. Electric guitar can come across with a bit of glare too. 

However, those are only small instances in obviously peaky tracks while the vast majority of the time the RQS keeps a nice timbre and tonality. For me personally, I mostly like a forward sounding female, with body to her voice, and a lusher vibrance. This is not exactly that. Yet still females sound well composed with good vitality. Which also shows that there are many tunings which can sound pretty great. I find this area fun and definitely sprightly and engaging. 

Upper-mids cont… 

Taylor Swift in “The 1” off her Foklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions (stop making fun of me) is a sweet acoustic track and boy does the RQS nail this song. Maybe a pinch brighter than natural, but very nicely done. It captures the delicate sounding sweetness of her voice. There’re subtle nuances in the softness that is picked up as well without adding any extra grain at the edges of notes or any additional artifacts floating around the sound field. She sounds very resolute. Details emerge rather easily too, like her breath in the mike and the piano has awesome secondary harmonics. The miniscule & inobtrusive guitar plucks in the left side of my head space sound clear and distinct. It sounds like I’m in the studio with her. 

I realize this doesn’t all sound like a ringing endorsement of the RQS’s ability to replicate a midrange performance, but I have really grown to enjoy this set. Is it perfect? No, obviously not. But it does give another variation and tuning style to add to a collection. Possibly. Also, there is so much that it does right in my opinion which makes up for some small instances of glare. 

Downsides to the Midrange 

I think you already know what the “downsides” are by now. The sound can be a bit piercing on piercing tracks. The sound isn’t the most organic or natural. Warm and smooth lovers are not going to appreciate the RQS. It’s not the most emotionally engaging set in the world. If by emotional we are referring to warm, smoothened, thick, weighted. However, it is a fun and engaging set with decent detail retrieval, resolution is great, Imaging in this area is great. I don’t hear sibilance at all, and I enjoy it. 

Treble Region 

The treble is enthusiastic enough, and vibrant enough, with plenty of resolution and controlled brightness while not ever really becoming too fatiguing over time. Listening with this set simply gives my music a nice flavor or flare. This is a fun treble. It isn’t a moist or wetted treble with structured and molded note definition but there is some bite. For the price it is nice. The treble adds a dynamic and uplifted tone to the entire mix which comes across as energetic and sprightly. Nothing bland about the upper parts of the mix and extension is above average, I think. I think treble heads may still be wanting a bit more. Still, I like the energy as it adds real vivaciousness to my music. 

Examples

Listening to Billy Strings in his track “Secrets” I was pretty impressed by the speed of the RQS’s driver and its ability to handle this rapid-fire track with good agility. The treble comes across very nicely and really lifts the entire song up and adds some dimensionality. Another track is “Bishop School” by Yusef Lateef. This track has a ton of treble activity and I do like the way the RQS handles it all. Good separation, decent imaging, and I can distinctly hear the flute play, bass, congas, drums, electric bass, electric guitar, percussion, trumpets, strings and piano play as well. Though, some are easier than others as the recording isn’t perfect. However, the treble is represented nicely on this one. 

All in all, the whole treble region is very clear and clean and transparent. There’re awesome spatial cues when looking at the sound as a whole and the treble region does well to play a big part in that. I still hear a slightly dry-ish display at times, but nothing I’d label as bad at all. There’s also enough levity and shimmer to add decent details and still also have decent body. 

Downsides to the Treble Region 

Certainly, one downside to this area of the mix would be for those who don’t want as much treble activity as this set has. There are definitely folks who enjoy a warmer and darker overall listen and the RQS is most definitely not that. Also, serious treble heads will want a bit more punch, bite, even better resolution and details. I think it’s great though. For the price the treble is actually very nice. I hear no sibilance, no annoying peaks that make me cringe and the treble adds great lift to the entire mix. 

Technicalities 

Soundstage 

The stage size is also a bright spot for me. I find the RQS shows off good width and above average from the other sets I’ve heard in the price point. I hear a nicely open sound, nothing boxed in or congested. The height is average. By the way, “average” to me is the same as saying “I hear nothing bad, but it isn’t a huge expanse of sound”… It’s average. Good and perfectly reasonable but not out of the ordinary good. I hope that makes sense, maybe help decipher my ridiculous babble. Anyways, the height is average and there is actually some depth of field too. There is a roundness to elements within the stage. For $49 I think this is good to hear. There is an element of 3D. Depending on the track and your source, the RQS is capable of a very nice stage. 

Separation / Imaging 

Separation is also pretty good. Not mind blowing but good enough to notice and remark about it. The only caveat is in tracks which have a tone of melodic commotion or congestion. The bonus with this set is the balance it has which helps tremendously to not have any one area of the frequency drowning out any other area of the mix. Also, this does sound like a good driver. I would assume by looking at the graph that we’d see some mud from the overlapping mid-bass, but we don’t. It doesn’t show up in my listening. This is a clean sound and so separation is also pretty clean. The same goes for imaging. I find placement of instruments is what it should be… Good. This is a fine-tuned set, and it performs folks. Rose Technics & Ikko made a good one. 

Detail Retrieval 

As far as detail retrieval, I feel the RQS is slightly above average. Not great but certainly not a “con”. I think it does a better than adequate job of bringing the small nuances and finite little subtleties to the surface. Macro-details are great, the sound has good resolution and micro-details (to me ears) are nice. Without question this set is not a detail monster. The RQS still retains some essence of musicality. There’s a good mix of musicality and analytical technical ability which is nice to hear. 

Is it worth the asking price? 

I think you all probably know what I’m going to say here. To be honest I rarely do reviews of sets I don’t enjoy. I’ll turn them away because it isn’t fun to write about stuff you don’t like. Plain and simple. I’ll conduct them reviews I don’t enjoy for tour units etc. but mostly I keep it to the sets I enjoy. However, that doesn’t mean I’ll say it’s worth the asking price. Asking price is a different ballgame. Still, this set, in my mind, is totally worth the price. In fact, it’s undersold if you ask me. 

The Why

To start the packaging and accessories are all very nice. The case is a great size, made well. The cable is one of the best you’ll ever purchase at this price, no doubt about it. Really a beautiful cable. The build is truly top notch under $50. The alloy and resin mix makes for a very durable and solid iem. Also, the look is stellar! What a good looking iem! It’s lite weight, small, easily wearable for long periods of time if needed. All that said, as with every set the real reason the RQS is worth every penny that Rose Technics & Hifigo is selling at is the sound. Folks the sound quality is very good and easily competes with any in the price point in my humble opinion. This set is fun yet balanced, energetic yet not overly fatiguing, it’s got a speedy and punchy bass, great mids and nice and snappy treble. The stage is good, Imaging is good, and the detail retrieval is better than many sets in the price point. This set is worth every penny friends. 

Ratings  (0-10)

Note: all ratings are based upon my subjective judgment. These ratings are garnered against either similarly priced sets or with similar driver implementations or styles with the unique parameters of my choosing. In the case of the Rose Technics QuietSea ratings below, that would be $35-$55 iems of any driver configuration.  Please remember that “ratings” don’t tell the whole story. This leaves out nuance and a number of other qualities which make an iem what it is. A “5” is exactly average and please take into consideration the “lot” of iems these ratings are gathered against. $35-$55 US is a decent sized scope of iems and so seeing a 9 should probably be pretty special. My ratings are never the same and each set of ratings tells a different story. Each time you read one of my ratings it will be unique to that review. Basically, I create a Rating that makes sense to me. 

Aesthetic 

-Build Quality:         9.5      One of the best builds in the price point.         

-Look:                        9.3      This set looks dope! 

-Accessories:            9.6       It’s hard to beat these accessories at this price 

–Overall:               9.5                                 

Sound Rating     

-Timbre:                   8.7      The timbre and tonality are very good.    

-Bass:                        8.8      Mature bass that is quality over quantity. 

-Midrange:               9.4      The mids are great on this set.       

-Treble:                     9.0      The treble is clean, snappy & extended. 

-Technicalities:        8.9      Overall, technicalities are very well done.                                                           

–Overall:                 9.0🔥🔥🔥

Ratings Summary:

If you ask me these ratings pretty much tell the story. There are a couple questionable calls on my part but mostly I think they check out. I chose to go with sets ranging from $35 to $55 with any driver configuration, and if you are paying attention, that is a lot of iems. What a demo to get stuck in! Let’s put it this way, there’s more than a few sets that the Rose Technics QuietSea will have a hard time beating out. Namely, the EPZ Q5 (Q5 Review), the BGVP P05 (P05 Review), the Simgot EW200 (EW200 Review), the Reecho SG-01 Ova (SG-01 Ova Review), and the Kiwi Ears Cadenza (Cadenza Review) to name only a few. Those all are flat out fantastic sets. But also, the QuietSea is pretty fantastic too, probably one of the best you can pick up at this price point if the tuning suits you. I certainly think it plays ball with the big boys of this target that I’m rating against. 

Ratings? 

Folks, ratings almost make no sense in this hobby. They are rendered obsolete in a year’s time and honestly, they simply don’t tell the whole story. However, I’ll play the game. Carry on… So, the first place that one could certainly argue against my rating is the “Bass” area. Well, actually you could argue any of them, but the Bass is one that would most likely generate people coming out of the woodwork to tell me I’m nuts. Still, I feel the bass is of high quality for the price. In the same breath bassheads would likely give this set closer to a “4.0” rather than a lofty “8.8”. Conversely, I could see folks wondering why I didn’t put the bass closer to the high 9’s. It’s good. However, I simply feel they are missing a bit of rumble and some oomph. I feel an “8.8” against the field is fair. 

I also think some people could argue a “9.4” is too high in the “Midrange” category when the timbre isn’t even perfectly organic or about a hundred other reasons. Folks, I gave it a 9.4 because it simply beats out other sets in my mind. Vocals are great, Instruments come across very nice and the midrange is a mix of musical and technical and I’ve grown to love it. The rest of the ratings I won’t budge on against iems ranging from $35 to $55 that I’ve heard with my own ears. Now, before you go getting yourself in a tizzy, just know, I haven’t heard every set in this range. This is only based on what I’ve heard and understand well enough to actually make a judgment. Granted, I feel as though I’ve heard most of them. So that’s it, the RQS is a very well accomplished iem that quite literally can stack up against any of them. For me personally, I’d only put the EPZ Q5 ahead of them and a couple others…depending on the day and my mood.

Conclusion 

To conclude my full written review of the Rose Technics QuietSea, I want to first thank the good people of HiFiGo. I also want to remind all of you that Hifigo quite literally has a massive selection of almost everything to do with audio. This isn’t a commercial, but I have spent so much time on that site and have purchased a ton of iems from them. Always easy, fast shipping too. Okay I veered off there but I’m back… HiFigo…Thank you. I also want to thank you, the reader, for clicking on the link and checking out this review. Always it means a lot and I truly hope it actually helps you to form an opinion. 

Other perspectives

Every review, without fail will have a paragraph in it imploring you all to not simply read my review and hit “buy now”. Please check out other perspectives and other thoughts about the Rose Technics QuietSea. People, we vary so much! No two of us are exactly alike. The same goes for thoughts on audio. We all don’t have the same library of music, the same likes and dislikes, we don’t all have the same gear which makes a huge difference and also, we haven’t all been down the same journey within audio. So please check out other reviewers and I do hope you are able to make an informed decision. That all said, please take care, stay as safe as possible and as always, God Bless!