Disclaimer
– This is my own personal unit and all opinions are original ideas, hence there’s zero influence and external opinion.
– No EQ or filter presets are used throughout the writing period.
Introduction
With the majority of audio enthusiasts increasingly chasing the trend of the mainstream Chi-Fi market lately, I have turned my interest to find IEMs among the cracks and nooks of the used audio market. Until, I came across a hybrid IEM from a brand called Dressage. With a slightly skeptical feeling and the absence of a frequency response graph, I took the opportunity to buy a pair. I must say, it is a rather risky purchase. However, as the proverb say, fortune always favors the brave.
With that, I would like to introduce Dressage DS4+2. An IEM introduced back in 2016 and sold at a price of almost a whopping $600 (HK$4680) at DMAG Hong Kong. However, it can also be found at a much lower price depending on the worldwide balanced armature demand and promotions, based on the info I personally acquired from one of Dressage representatives.
Without any further delay, let’s get into the review!
DRESSAGE, WHO ARE THEY?
I personally never heard of Dressage before, although it was once mentioned on Head-Fi. So, it was quite difficult to get the information regarding brands that has less exposure to foreign markets such as Dressage. Therefore, most of the info I could find online as mostly unrelated or directly translated from Chinese/Japanese websites.
Dressage or “DS” as people in China would recognize them, was a brand that has been venturing in the audio market since 2014 according to one of the sources and is based in Hong Kong. They specialize in producing CIEMs for the high-end market although they did also offer some affordable models.
In addition, Dressage is quite well-known among audio enthusiasts within China and some in Japan as well. They have also produced several CIEM models, which are able to compete with CIEMs from big brands such as QDC, Fearless Audio, etc. For example, the DS EX3SE, DS 14T^3, DS E12^3 are sold starting from $1100 up to $2600 and apparently those models were among the top sellers and TOTL IEMs from the company.
Unboxing Experience
It can be said that the presentation is complete and fine to its details yet straightforward. The packaging on this DS4+2 felt similar to unboxing an IEM that costs around $300 and above. As you open the box, you will be greeted with all the necessary accessories, for example a faux leather casing, a 1.2 meter 4 core OFC copper cable that was built like a stock cable that can be found in every $20 IEM, it was slightly stiff and thin with a mediocre cable memory, so to be honest it was pretty much underwhelming. In addition, there are 12 pairs of generic silicone eartips, a drawstring mesh pouch and the IEM itself.
Specifications
Driver : 10mm LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm, 10mm Titanium diaphragm, dual Sonion 33AP007, single Sonion 2389 and single Knowles RAD-33518
Impedance: 24 Ohms
Sensitivity : ±110 dB/SPL
Frequency Response: 10Hz-20kHz
Cable: L-plug 3.5mm to 0.78mm, 1.2 meter 4 core OFC copper cable
Build/Comfort
To start things off, the overall design of the DS4+2 is quite large, yet it weights almost nothing. Inside the shell of this IEM, there are a total of 12 drivers, with 6 on each side housed in a carefully crafted resin enclosure.
All of the drivers as in this IEM can be purchased online at a much more user-friendly price. But take it like painting masterpiece, a professional painter can reproduce the work from scratch. However, the personal touch of the original artist itself is not something that is easy to replicate.
As we move on, there are some small air bubbles trapped inside the resin but they do not significantly affect the structure nor the look of this IEM. While the rest, this DS4+2 has a solid and neat build without any rough surfaces or edges. Although, the shell of this IEM is quite wide, but the DS4+2 has a very comfortable and light fitting, as well as a long nozzle that provides relatively deep insertion. The passive sound isolation is also good, the ambience sound can still be heard because there is a vent hole on each side of this IEM.
Testing Equipment
– Apple Music/Spotify + Local files via HiBy Music > Letshuoer DT02 DAC/AMP dongle (1 Vrms@32 Ohms and 2 Vrms@300 Ohms)
– Notebook
– Smartphones
Power Requirements
The DS4+2 has a sensitivity of 102 dB/SPL, this IEM is easy to drive using a smartphone or a low-power dongle and is quite sensitive as well to humming/white noises. By using the Letshuoer DT02 dongle, I’m only required to press once or twice on the volume button on my phone to get it to comfortable listening volume.
Even so, I prefer to use the DS4+2 with an amplifier/dongle that has a volume wheel instead of a volume button. However, I don’t use the Aune X7s in this review. This is due the output impedance is rated too high at 10 Ohms which is likely to change the frequency response of this IEM.
Initial Impression
Initially, the DS4+2 had a piercing sound (might I say on par with some Beyers, cough) and was quite aggressive when I first received this IEM. You can say, I felt a little regretful at first, so I thought this IEM definitely needs some time to burn-in which might help.
Similar to medicines, it is advisable to shake prior eating to evenly distribute the active ingredients.
To my surprise, after completing a full burn-in session of 15+ hours or less. The DS4+2 sounds a lot smoother and much tolerable to listen, sibilance were still persistent but it sat between a fine line of being tame or noticeably annoying. Even when paired with the wide bore TRI Clarion eartips. Yes, you read it right, among the spiciest and most sibilant eartips in the current market other than the Moondrop Spring.
Low Frequency
In short, the DS4+2 offers a vigorous, mature and controlled bass, like an athlete who has a slim and fit body yet remarkably agile. Same goes with the DS4+2, it has a nimble, tight bass response with a body and bass quantity that is balanced between a warm, full-bodied rich bass and a lean, softer much polite bass. This results to a bass timbre that is slightly warmer, also I could not find any mud in this IEM that could effect further frequencies. The sub-bass performance handled by the LCP driver, provides a textured, detailed bass rumble and in terms of layering was also very good. The bass rendition in the song Would? – Alice in Chains for example, although the bass guitar does not have a thick and rich notes, this IEM were still able to provide a clean, very detailed presentation and a satisfyingly engaging in terms of bass texture delivery throughout the song.
Even so, the entire bass spectrum on the DS4+2 was not the most dynamic nor does it has an entensive transient, slow bass decay like most other IEMs that shares a V-shape tuning. Finally, to complete the low frequency aspect, the mid/upper-bass which is handled by the titanium driver easily delivers a powerful, tactile bass attack and strong dense impact. For example, the songs Angel – Massive Attack and Hunter – Björk gives an impression which every bass impact was anticipated with a rapid slap on a concrete wall.
Mid Frequency
For midrange quality, this IEM performs really well, although sometimes it’s a bit blurry or hazy depending on the music/genre and the type of eartips used. In addition, there is minimal colouration which gave a slight hint of warmth into the midrange and vocals are also presented at a moderate distance, not intimately close nor too far recessed. However, what I really liked about the midrange on the DS4+2, was how this IEM easily provide an immersive experience, a little warm with the colouration and smoothly handling heavy vocals like in Come Away With Me – Norah Jones and A Poem Titled You – Taeyeon.
Effortless, is the word that can be expressed, in terms of the articulation of each word inside the lyrics was clearly heard, although the resolution of vocal grain for example the emphasis on raspy, musky, breathy vocals and etc was not so noticeable. In fact, the DS4+2 also handles acoustic tracks very well, exhibiting an almost organic timbre even though there was only a slight BA timbre. For example, in the song Don’t Speak – No Doubt and Mediterranean Sundance – Al Di Meola where the acoustic guitar tone has a melodious, euphonic and highly detailed tone, each strum has enough bite and each tapping sound on the body of the guitar was clearly heard.
High Frequency
Speaking of treble, DS4+2 presents it with a tone that is a tad bright even for a treble head and slightly aggressive as well. But in terms of treble quality, this IEM produces a clean, vibrant and very detailed presentation with moderate resolution. The timbre on this DS4+2 is a little unnatural, due to the slight BA timbre, so occasionally it could sound glassy/tizzy. Meanwhile, the treble extension on the DS4+2 is quite good which provides an airy experience without exhibiting any harshness.
Anyway, back to the aforementioned sibilance that persists on the DS4+2 even after burn-in. Well, although it has undergone proper burn-in, it does gave the IEM a much tame and pleasing treble, sibilance is much tolerable which could be possibly further decreased. With that being said, this indirectly causes this IEM to be unsuitable for genres such as J-Pop, Metal, Rap/Hip-Hop and some Electronic as well. Furthermore, sometimes the treble on these IEMs will sound a bit splashy, especially with certain eartips such as the stock eartips, Sony EP-EX11 or similar.
I found that eartips such as Azla Xelastec, JVC Spiral Dot and E Pro EP01 Horn-shaped work very well to maximize the treble quality of this IEM in addition to reducing the sibilance effect without affecting treble extension in any way, and even increasing the clarity, as well as forwardness in the midrange. Changing the cable to SPC (Silver Plated Copper) or Pure Silver such as NiceHCK 4N LitzPS/LitzPS-Pro also helps to refinening softer treble tone, provides a wider soundstage and airiness compared to stock cables that use pure copper which sounds a lot aggressive and harsh.
Technical Ability
Technically speaking, the DS4+2 has a relatively wide and tall soundstage in terms of width and height, yet could only presents frontal stage at a normal depth. Next, detail retrieval which is the ability to display microdetails, subtle nuances in the song on this IEM was crystal clear. For example, the sound of an airplane at the beginning of the song Hotel California (1976) – Eagles, and also the word “Shoot me” by John Lennon in Come Together – The Beatles are clearly displayed even at low volumes. That’s being said, the DS4+2 has left me feeling unsatisfied with its mediocre imaging, some of the drum beats in theDrum Improvisation – Jim Keltner seem inaccurate. However, the separation and layering for this IEM was merely decent and a bit congested, especially on songs that have various elements such as Cindai – Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza and Timbres – Yosi Horikawa.
Meanwhile, in terms of dynamic range, the DS4+2 presents a wide dynamic range. For example, in the Ultimate Headphone Test – ABYSS Headphone, which the sound of a drum and a bell are played simultaneously as much as 7 counts, but only the sound of the bells will become quieter. Hence, from a scale of 7 counts, the DS4+2 was able to produce 6 out of 7 counts clearly.
Conclusion
Overall, the DS4+2 was a blind buy that had me wielding a double-edged sword because there are some attributes about this IEM that I am personally interested in. For example, in terms of bass response, where as someone who likes bass that is more towards DF-neutral, but at the same time wants something that is more exciting, this DS4+2 delivers that experience very well. In addition to that, the midrange and its ability to capture microdetails as well as subtle nuances was also the reason I fancy this IEM.
However, due to its shortcomings, the DS4+2 is not an all-rounder, versatile IEM and requires further investment to find the suitable eartips to fix some of the caveats. But rest assured, if you are a fan of Rock/Alternative Rock, Orchestra, Pop, R&B and some Electronic artists such as Daft Punk. The DS4+2 will execute the task very well, although realistically there are plenty IEMs that can perform better considering that this is an old set and most IEMs within the $500 range nowadays are tuned much better.
Regardless, it was a unique experience to be able to listen a well-crafted IEM from brands that are rarely heard of to the outside world such as Dressage. With that also, marks the end of my review this time, hopefully everyone thoroughly enjoyed my sharing and till next time!
Test Track
- A Poem Titled You – Taeyeon 44.1kHz
- Anesthetize – Porcupine Tree DSD256
- Come Away With Me – Norah Jones 192kHz
- Angel – Massive Attack 44.1kHz
- Mediterranean Sundance – Al Di Meola DSD256
- Hunter – Björk 44.1kHz
- Hollow (16 bit Remix) – Björk 44.1kHz
- First Love – Hikaru Utada 44.1kHz
- Artemis – Lindsey Stirling 44.1kHz
- The Only Exception – Paramore 44.1kHz
- The Sound of Muzak – Porcupine Tree DSD256
- Motherboard – Daft Punk DSD256
- 添迷不悔 (Zhi Mi Bu Hui) – Faye Wong DSD256
- Cindai – Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza 44.1kHz
- Don’t Speak – No Doubt 192kHz
- Keroncong Hybrid For Bidadari – Pot Amir 44.1kHz
- Would? – Alice in Chains 44.1kHz
- Brother – Alice in Chains 44.1kHz
- Timbres – Yosi Horikawa 44.1kHz
- Poster Child – Red Hot Chili Peppers 192kHz
- Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers 192kHz
Pros:
- Vigorous, mature and masterfully controlled bass
- Gorgeously crystal clear and highly detailed midrange and vibrant highs
- Spacious soundstage with plenty of airiness as well as competently deliver amazing level of microdetails and subtle nuances
- Comfy, secured deep insertion while still weighs almost nothing
- Premium yet simple, straightforward packaging
- Ample amount of accessories, solid carrying case as well
Cons:
- Requires considerable amount of time to burn-in, hence be patient…
- Sibilance issue that still persists even after burn-in, despite being tolerable (well, at least for me)
- Requires further investment to get proper eartips and cable, to further enhance its quality
- Cheap feeling, flimsy cable
- Expensive, peculiar pricing as well
