Linsoul RAPTGO Hook-X 14.2mm Open Planar Diaphragm Driver + PZT Driver HiFi in-Ear Earphone with Detachable 0.78 2pin OCC Cable for Musician Audiophile

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Leaving the vocal region alone, even a heavy synth beat will mostly be isolated and not blurred. While this may cause drowning out of details, easier strums of bass guitars can still be heard with an expected bite. My first impressions of the Hook is that it actually has a mid-range that reminds me of the softness and lower-resness of Aftershokz, which I have listened to recently within the last couple weeks. That said, its a pleasant sound, maybe too smoothed over, and missing exacting detail and edge. It's tonality is for the most part fine, it just presents sound a little softer and different. I wouldn't call this hi-res audio for some reason, but this is just my initial impressions after about an hour of listening. These are very comfortable to wear and the color of the cable is really nice. Connectors are also swappable. vs. EST50. EST50 has an edge in treble, vocals, soundstage width and height. Hook-X owns the imaging. DAPS:-- Shanling M5s, M6pro 21, FiiO M15, M11pro, Cayin N3pro, Sony NE-MW1A ,Sony zx507, A55, Hidizs AP80 Pro,Shanling M0 Pro, Shanling M6 ULTRA, Shanling M3X What I mean is "The HOOK" had the kind of sarcasm attached to anything you could imagine being 1/2 Planar 1/2 Piezoelectric! You know all great ideas are met with doubt until they work out. The car was at first laughed at, the airplane, ridiculous at first.

The Raptgo Hook X HBB is a fresh breath of air in this IEM world invade with Harman and DF neutral tuning and offers a muscular musicality that doesn’t bet on one specific frequency range and delivers full-bodied dynamic for bass, mids, and treble. So I have had this for roughly two months now, and can honestly say I am past the honeymoon period and my verdict has landed: These are spectacular.

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First, is the already mentioned planar driver measuring 14.2mm in diameter. With a thin ribbon in between two N52 magnets, it is tuned for impactful sub-bass and used for its wide frequency range. While all previous Raptgo monitors like the GR-40CP use Knowles balanced armatures, the Hook-X is their first IEM to use a combination of planar and piezoelectric drivers in a hybrid configuration. The Hook X HBB nail both musical balance and wow effect technical performance and merit to be applause for that. It's slightly bright, without problematic peaks, harshness, or sibilance, so smoothly bright we can say where lushness meets brightness with appealing bass warmth basis. Cables - Some In-ear monitors will come with removable or detachable cables that let you upgrade, or change them in case of any accidents. Some IEMs come with a fixed cable, which is not removable by design.

The Hook-X has a pronounced lower treble peak which can create an excessive sizzle to high-frequency percussion like cymbals. This can be mostly tamed with the use of foam eartips. There is a faint but distinct sense of oversharpening to transients in the lower and mid-treble, which is a timbral inaccuracy inherent to piezoelectric drivers. With that said, it is much less severe than on other IEMs with piezoelectric drivers I’ve used in the past. The Hook-X has very good upper treble extension, which combined with the semi-open design, creates a spacious soundstage. The Hook-X also has excellent instrument separation. Imaging is quite good as well, which is useful for gaming. CABLE: I feel it needs to be emphasized how lovely the cable is! This is my first time using a cloth cable, so that may partly why it feels so different to me. However, it can't be understated, the cable is SOFT and it has perhaps the least amount of microphonics out of any cable I have tried. This is honestly my favorite cable, even up against more expensive ones I own. I ended up trying to find where these were sourced, and the cable alone costs about 50 dollars, without the multiple determinations which this one comes with. Very good value.

And while I can’t confirm the complete tuning variations between the different colored tips, I found the white and green ones closer to one another. The white has the same pleasing mids but with a slight boost in the treble area, while the green is slightly more relaxed in the bass and lower treble. The TONALITY of the Hook X HBB can be summarized as a balanced W shape with a lively and weighty dynamic. It's this kind of IEM that magnifies the best part of bass, mids, and highs and can offer a versatile performance that is never boring, unlike safer tuning that over-tamed energy of our beloved music. Much like the HOOK-X......... Arthur Brown was an unknown, but formed upon the grassroots of culture. It was his apparent strangeness that caught hold, and the wild juxtaposition of elements in-which his fame somehow formed?

Midrange​The midrange of the Hook-X does have good body and a little warmth carried over from the low-end. Mids sound forward as a whole and have good clarity. Notes have a crispness to them, and resolution is above average to me. Still the speed and separation of the midrange is quite good without losing that emotional tilt to my music. The midrange has an engaging quality to it, more so than the hi-res Timeless. Instead, the Hook has a more expressive and smoother and more moving presentation. The Timeless is a great set but for me the Hook-X fits me better. The case provided by Raptgo for the Hook-X is elongated shaped and is decently sized to carry accessories with it. Proudly representing its beginnings, it’s marked by the brand insignia with 2019 for its year of establishment. Sound Impressions I could very well be accused of being too myopic choosing another TRON song..............so be it. Truly though the RAPTGO HOOK-X are in their element. I simply like the way the low end is presented. The fact that it has dimensions of tone. This is why we are here, at Head-Fi anyway. To experience this stuff the way it was meant to be heard. Because when well done, it’s all in the details. Then the drums again from the beginning are used. But they are actually the same drums used in other places. Just the fact that the drums are used in the song previously “Arena”............should be of no surprise. It’s as if these songs where cut up from a larger musical presentation, that in fact this whole thing all runs together like some giant live show! And not only that but “Arena” (the song prior) has the same DNA. There is a method here. A repeated theme with the drums. Still none of that takes away from the unique experience “Rinzler” is. The fact that this song has a pace emphasis where there is a give and take. Some kind of breathing is going on. It’s alive!I haven’t had the opportunity to test out every planar driver out there, however of those which I have tested, the Raptgo Hook-X sounds the most complete to me. This is a dynamically balanced approach. A balance is nothing new for Planar iems, in fact the Timeless has a good balance across the spectrum. What I hear different is the overall dynamics and a more engaging or even emotional tilt towards the music in my library. Heftier note weight also. You could even say a smoother presentation I suppose. That is debatable though. I don’t have the Timeless in hand to directly compare the two so even mentioning it isn’t really fair. The soundstage itself is pretty wide. The height is also pretty tall. Not your average chi-fi but it's not fixed. Depth is available too but generally it's not that deep. Note weight in the treble area has body to it. At least that’s what I hear. Cymbals crash and not splash. Granted cymbals also play a lot in the upper mids but the decaying crash is not tizzy, but more focused. Instruments in my library never sound harsh or peaky. The extension of the Highs rolls off on a pretty nice downward slope to capture most information well. Percussion and even strings residing in the upper areas sound as they should with enough vibrancy for me. Iron man - The sound at the beginning is hard to make sound great, great drums, and cymbals, and if done right it feels like an old-school band.