Review : Fearless Audio Crystal Pearl – We are the crystal gems

Sound performance

For this review, I only used a few sets of sources: the new Cowon Plenue D2, the FiiO M6 (yes again and again) and the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label. I used FLAC files, in 16/24 bits and Spotify when it was possible.

Overall signature

So… How does the Fearless Audio Crystal Pearl perform? Quite good. Better than good to be honest.

Fearless states on their website : “Accurate vocal positioning, strong male vocals, warm and moist, natural and pure”. I’m alright with the first part but not so much with the “warm and moist” part. (moist?!)

Where the S6 Rui was a powerful bass house without any compromise on the definition, the Crystal Pearl is much more linear. Yes, the lows are a bit shy. Yes, it’s not THAT accurate, but as a daily driver, this could be the best choice available yet.

Why ? Because there are no real flaws. The sound stage is wide, distortion is minimal, and even after multiple hours of listening, I’ve never felt them lacking in any way. Clean sound + excellent dynamic range + no special gap or bump in their frequency chart = pure pleasure.

You know how much I like car comparisons, so here is one for Fearless. If the S6 Rui is the BMW M5 Competition kind of IEM, the Crystal Clear is the Mazda MX5. You won’t be overwhelmed by it but at the same time, it gives you pure pleasure at any given moment.

Voices are clean, helped by clear-cut transients, and from low to high I couldn’t fault the Crystal Pearl. “Hey Laura” from Gregory Porter was a good match, even if the lower end felt a bit shy, especially under 80Hz, but if you really want to find out how good they can sound : try Diana Krall.

Smooth Jazz or lazy pop sounds superb, and once again, you’d be amazed to hear how far little IEMs have evolved these past years. Stereo is great, layering is pin-point and with a good source, you could get a very, very pleasant combo.

The best match definitely was with the Plenue D2 from Cowon. I triggered the Bass Boost effect and you won’t believe how deep the Crystal Pearl goes. It felt denser, fuller and much more on point with my personal taste.

“I like big bass and I cannot lie”

The review continues on Page Five, after the click HERE or by using the jump below.

4.1/5 - (15 votes)
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A nerdy guy with a passion for audio and gadgets, he likes to combine his DAC and his swiss knife. Even after more than 10 years of experience, Nanotechnos still collects all gear he gets, even his first MPMAN MP3 player. He likes spreadsheets, technical specs and all this amazing(ly boring) numbers. But most of all, he loves music: electro, classical, dubstep, Debussy : the daily playlist.

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