Pros:
-warm mid centric all-in lushness tonality
-vocal specialist
-dense, wide, forwards and enveloping male and female vocal
-beautiful violin tone, bodied and vibrant with thick air
-creamy, free of spike tonal balance
-different tuning
-good note weight
-dense mellow punchy mid bass
-beautiful, comfy and small design
-very good single ended cable
Cons:
-guilty pleasure warmth
-muddy bass with rolled off sub bass
-dark resolution
-treble roll off (lack of sparkle and crispness)
-vocal specialist mean niche tuning (be aware and this become a Pro)
-average soundstage and imaging
-bass distortion at loud volume
TONALITY: 7.8/10
TECHNICALITIES: 7/10
SOUNDSTAGE: 7.5/10
IMAGING: 7/10
MUSICALITY (subjective): 8.2/10
CONSTRUCTION: 8.5/10
ACCESSORIES: 9/10
SOUND VALUE: 7.5/10
INTRO
Kotori audio is a IEM cable maker company from Singapore that began to make their own IEMs 4 years ago with the release of their first single dynamic driver IEM called Dauntless. I’ve reviewed the Dauntless and consider them very good technically, with excellent resolution and speedy attack, and an analytical treble centric tonality that delivers vivid musicality.
Today I will review their second attempt at an IEM making call Vampire. The Vampire uses a single full range balanced armature from Knowles and its tuning tries to achieve a smooth musicality ‘’devoid of any harshness’’ for long listening pleasure.
Priced 100$, the Vampire has taken a long time to be carefully tuned for a tonality ideal but a unique looking design too, which is quite eye-catching.
Let’s see in this review how ‘’haunting’’ the Vampire can sound and if a single knowles BA can achieve a full and engaging musical experience.
CONSTRUCTION & DESIGN
Construction is good, it use soft and thick plastic that seem molded in one piece, has no gap or imperfection, is quite small with long enough nozzle for deep insertion. 2pin connector aren’t embeded and most cable will work apart QDC. Back plate is eye catchy and elegant. The fit is ergonomic and comfortable since the IEM is light and smooth.
The included cable is very good, though i would have prefer balanced termination.Its a silver plated copper cable with 2 core, it’s thin and soft, flexible and free of microphonic and has this fancy cable splitter i find quite appealing too.
The packaging is very elegant and include good quality accessories that are all well thinked for proper pairing with the Vampire. The eartips are very nice, it’s similar to Sony EX11 eartips im very afound of and for once the right one to use with the IEM you buy (something that IEM companies should be more cautious about). The included carrying case is exact same as the one included with Hifiman Svanar, so i can confirm it’s a good quality case inclusion for budget IEM.
I did enjoy the french quote written inside the box too, since i’m a french canadian that wasn’t expected at all and it can be loosely translate like this: ”Tell me, mysterious man, what whisper of the night has call you under the soft moonlight?”
All in all, nothing to complaint about both built and accessories quality.
SOUND IMPRESSIONS
The tonality of Vampire is a mysterious and colored one, it sits between warm neutral, mid centric and balanced dark V shape. It’s all focused on lower mids to feed an overall mid centric musicality that focuses on vocal presence, density and release in a wide enveloping way.
It’s a fully rounded tonality too, with sub bass and upper treble roll off, so you’re really into the main music scene with Vampire, it wants to be cozy yet highlight the vocal and main instrument of your music to trigger emotional response-magnify yet sugar coated way.
It got this analog euphonic vibe too, when musicality was about presence coloring and ‘’anti-colding’’. Think about an old tube or solid state amp with LOUD button press ON. We aren’t in high fidelity reference sonority seeking here, it’s all about music sensuality.
The bass is warm, punchy and dark, chunky and physical. It’s very weighty, not crisply defined nor clearly rounded. Cello sounds lush and vibrant, energized in air density and scooped in clean release. Double bass feels perhaps a bit too meaty and lacking proper natural extension, yet you will enjoy its energy and bulbous presence.
The bass struggles a bit more when it comes out hard hitting bass tracks, which Vampire is not appropriate for, i’ll never listen to electronic, IDM, Drum & Bass with those, it’s not their ‘’philosophy’’.
So, when bass hits, it can be a bit mellow and boomy, at very high volume it can go muddy-distorted, but this is very common on single BA IEMs.
Sub bass is rolled off and warm, when rumble happens it’s concentrated in sustain which makes tactility boosted yet creamed.
These aren’t basshead material, mid bass punch while there is mellow and euphonic, it’s there to feed the lower mids first and foremost.
These mids are very warm, but very lush and focus on both vocal presence and fullness. The sweet coloring might affect clarity, cleaness of definition, as well as amplifying sustained intensity of instrument and vocal.
This intensity boost works better for vocal and saxo, any wind instrument will take the lead of the show, giving the greatest sense of immediacy and captivating presence blossom to the listener. Some might feel the vocals are a bit over-forwarded, but due to the buttery nature of mids their no harsh shouting, it’s more a well balanced warmed loudness of vocal, saxo, trumpet.
Breathy vocal will get very thicken, it’s quite appealing and add a sense of naturalness that don’t shock the ears, it’s not edgy, in fact, intelligibility isn’t the best due to euphony going on, so here it’s more the tone than texture that is extracted actively.
These aren’t sharp nor very detailed mids, sound info gets lost in the mix, euphony glues musicality together in a well done manner.
Those are for sweet vocals lover, not for cold or edgy bright mids lover, it excels with vocal as well as instrumental music that don’t have too much impact release.
The piano is not earning the presence boost of vocal and wind instruments, it goes all warm and tone color, so the Vampire are very nicely tuned even mid range wise. It’s meant for simple music.
The treble is dark and rolled off, there is no sparkle or authoritative snap to be found. It’s very safe and buttery. Percussions sound thicker, warmer and darker, but the energy is there and there is no metallic shine or splashing, it’s very damped in aggressive spikes.
It’s well balanced within this sound signature that seems to want the listener to focus on mids lushness. You’re not deconcentrated by over forwards treble, there are near no micro details, it’s a permissive treble that can do good with bad recording since it damp hissing and noise artifact.
Most energy of highs come from lower treble, this had a bit of bite and energy to guitar, with a soften attack lead and shorten release that don’t go airy or sparkly.
The soundstage is quite wide, average tall, not very deep. It feels like a wide mono speaker in front of the listener.
Imaging is average, it’s foggy and minimaly resolved, you can’t use those for monitoring nor can sharply position instruments unless duo, but even that i’m not sure.
SIDE NOTES
Since these are single balanced armature, the Vampire are capricious in terms of source. Its impedance is rather high at 50 ohm which means you need proper power to open up soundstage and awaken dynamic, then veen if sensitivity is average at 112db we have a rather problematic distortion level of 0.7% above 100 db of volume loudness. This mean these are more thinked for listening at safe level, for some 90db is plenty loud anyway, so i settle at 95db for me, I mean: thanks Kotori for preserving my hearing health, yet, it’s bass impact DB that create distortion in bass region when big kick hit or slam or rumble. This is to be noted for those listening very loud and widely since it’s not a defect but a balanced armature limitation.
Then the included eartips and cable are plenty OK to deliver the full sound potential of those Vampire.
COMPARISONS
VS FINAL B2 (1BA-300$)
B2 is notably brighter, crisper, less colored with warmth, thinner and more neutral with a greater focus on treble.
Vampire is bassier, warmer, darker and more mid centric. Bass is rounder, darker in texture, more meaty and weighty yet less well defined and way more euphonic.
B2 sounds more open and airy, it has better clarity and transparency, more forward and fatiguing upper mids and less lush and thick and creamy vocals. Technical performance is superior though bass is more rolled off, dry and prompt to distortion at high volume.
Soundstage is wider and taller with Vampire, while notably deeper and cleaner with B2.
Imaging going to B2, better resolution and faster transient response for proper layering make it easier for positioning while lotta sound info gets lost in the mix in dark foggy’s spatiality of Vampire.
While their no doubt technical performance of B2 is superior in term of attack speed-control, resolution, treble extension and imaging, the Vampire offer smoother, warmer and more mid centric and laid back musicality that will most likely charm more the vocal lover, as well, less spicy treble and less shouty upper mids make it less fatiguing.
VS KBEAR NEON Pro (1 knowles BA-50$)
Neon is more neutral, bright and crisp.
The bass has lighter impact and note weight, it’s thinner, a notch more textured in presence and don’t have any rumble or impact sustain extension like the bassier, lusher, more vibrant, dark and thick bass of Vampire, which bleed notably more into lower mids, feeding them some thickness. Vampire packs more punch, has a rounder yet more colored bass response. Bass instruments have more forwarded presence and underline how bass less and lean is Neon low end.
Mids are more open and airy, more transparent and detailed yet again thinner and a bit colder as well as leaner and more recessed with Neon. Vocalists are both lusher and more forward in full yet warmed presence with the Vampire. This can make busy tracks more mushy and dark in rendering yet the focus on mids is greater and don’t scoop as much the lower mids, the mix of presence of mids is more forward-warm.
Then the treble has more air and crispness with Neon, it’s not as thick and crunchy, we have higher amount of micro details and better transparency. Vampire has darker and foggier treble, not as spacious in separation nor as clean.
SOundstage is about the same width with both, a notch taller with Vampire and notably deeper and cleaner with Neon.
Imaging is superior with Neon due to more air between instruments and layers.
All in all, Neon Pro is more technical but not as cohesive in balance, the bass and vocal are very thin and lean, which make everything but lower to upper treble sound recessed and cold. I don’t find any musical pleasure in Neon Pro, so in that regard Vampire is surely superior.
CONCLUSION
The Kotori Vampire might not be the IEM with the most treble bite and air, but under the moonlight of an overall dark signature the vocals shine like no other and are the main attraction of this niche warm sounding IEM.
The Vampire is in fact the complete polar opposite of the Dauntless which was vividly bright, and to deliver such bodied and impactful bass with a single knowledge BA is something to celebrate, though with a pinch of guilty pleasure.
Kotori seem to have precise musicality when it comes to tuning, the choice of single balanced armature was very audacious and I would not suggest those to audio enthusiasts that listen at very loud volume since some transient distortion issues will happen when their big bass impacts.
Though limited in term of technical performance, the refreshing bassy mid centric to warm neutral L shape tuning is very musical with the right music, from folk to soul to slow pop, rock and R&B with main focus on singer, the Vampire deliver male and female vocal in all their lush splendor, and they aren’t afraid to over shadow rest of sound info in the soundscape so the listener can get fully immersed in wide and dense vocal presence.
Recommended if you know why you buy those!
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PS: I want to thanks Ray Tan from Kotori for sending me this review sample in exchange of an honest review.
You can order the Vampire for 100$ directly from official Kotori audio website here:
https://kotoriaudio.com/collections/earphones/products/vampire-iem
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