Sound Quality
The 7Hz Legato has a dark-sounding character, with a good body and smoothness. It has a very definitive bass, musical mids, and a smoothed-out treble. It has a rather slow, bass-oriented warm/dark presentation, which is nice for certain genres and not so nice for others.
Overall, the tonality side is quite good with a very nice timbre. There’s good texture in the sound as well, and it has that soft and smooth approach which makes it enjoyable with softer recordings. The presentation is somewhat “creamy” and liquid.
Bass
The bass of the Legato is heavy, impactful, and dark. The bass quantity is high, but the texture and rumble are missing a bit, making this bass presentation quite definitive but rather hollow at the same time. On the other hand, the overall quantity is surely much more than neutral. This is a big, heavy, and dark bass that lacks some texture but it certainly doesn’t lack any definition.
The mid-bass part is very dominant while the sub-bass is on acceptable levels. This mid-bass focus is also felt in the lower mid-range section, where the sound is quite thick and bold. In the end, this particular presentation can be appealing to certain people, whose favorite music is electronic or popular mainstream tunes. However, instrument-heavy tracks can bring some problems, especially in complex parts, where this heavy bass overshadows the rest.
Mids
The mid-range, once again, is dark sounding with apparent warmth. Because the upper bass is so dominant, it mostly affects the lower mids, and that prevents that area to shine. So the definition and clarity in the lower midsection are penalized. Moreover, the mid-range lacks some clarity overall as well. The upper mids manage to sound better than the lower mids, but that doesn’t change the lack of resolution and definition in the mids as a whole.
The positive side of the mid-range is that naturalness and tonality. I found the mid-range to have a very satisfying and lifelike timbre, which is great to hear from an IEM that costs this little money. I usually praise the mid-range tonality of full DD IEMs, so that is the case here too. If only it had some more definition and clarity.
Treble
The treble in the Legato is quite subdued to be smooth and easygoing. But again, that comes with the cost of losing some clarity and definition, just like what happens in the mid-range.
The situation in the treble is even more extreme in that perspective. At least the mid-range still has some definition to an extent, but the treble is cut so much that you can’t quite hear any shimmer, sparkle, or detail. So, to me, this is the weakest area of the 7Hz Legato. If you seek a sparkling, highly detailed, and definitive treble, you should stay away from this one and look elsewhere.
Perhaps this is a good trait when playing games or watching movies, where you hear gunshots or explosions occasionally. But from purely a music perspective, this overly-tamed and extremely polite treble presentation carries a problem for clarity and presence.
Page 1: About, Packaging, Design, Build, Fit
Page 3: Technical Performance, Comparisons, Conclusion
