MMR – Gae Bolg Review

MMR Gae Bolg

Sound Classics

 

The most impressive part for me is the lower region. Bass is smooth and full and comes delivered with good impact. Bass is tight and fast and it has real good body when called upon. Bass reaches fairly low with a nice sub bass presence. Bass has good detail and never overpowers or runs into the mids, it’s really enjoyable and engaging bass.

I would say it is quality over quantity but the the Gae Bolg surely isn’t bass shy. I think 95% of listeners will love this bass. Bass-heads will probably want more, but in general i really think bass is spot on for a whole lot of IEM users.

The mids share the same amount of body and they’re incredibly musical. They sound full and have a warm presentation and smooth delivery. The mids are rich and they have a lovely timbre as well as an excellent note extension. The upper mids are bit softer and less present (2k-4K dip) and  they have those engaging, energetic and more forward placed Vocals. The bass and mid part are in balance and have that linearity MMR is referring to.

The treble section is soft in general, with an elevated lower treble part. The highs in the Gae Bolg are very easy going and unfatiguing. Treble is smooth with touch of warmth, and they come with just enough energy to keep that very musical character. Treble isn’t the most extended and it isn’t spicy, but soft and musical on the ear. Big treble fans for their taste will probably find the Gae Bolg a bit too laid-back and lacking in the energy and extension department.

MMR Gae Bolg

In short (TL;DR): the Gae Bolg is most impressive in the bass and mids, with a warmer, smoother and full presentation. The Gae Bolg is gentle on the ears and easy to like because of its musicality, bass impact, mids richness and vocal presence.

Sources

The MMR Gae Bolg is easy to drive and none of the sources I tried it with had any difficulty driving the Gae Bolg. Even better, it easily sounded very well with most of the sources I hooked it up to.

With the Luxury & Precision P6 you get lovely body with a smooth and warmer delivery. The P6 and Gae Bolg combo is musical, easy on the ears and very addictive.

Same goes for the Lotoo PAW 6000 combo, though the bass here is bigger in presence. Bass here isn’t as tight however so this will not please everyone. Sub bass and bass layering is really good here though, and you get a rich, smooth bass. The mids and treble with this DAP are also smooth, warmer and full. Again they’re very easy to like. At the same time the energy on top in this combo isn’t the best, mostly because the PAW 6000 isn’t the strongest player in this area either.

I really liked the Gae Bolg in combination with Cayin’s N6ii and E01 module, which delivers a perfect mix of musicality, precision, clarity and energy. Vocals are great, the mid timbre incredible and the top part even sounds energetic and exciting. This combo has a little less warmth, body and smoothness, but the clarity and energy here are the best. If this is more your preference and not a smooth, warmer on, then the Cayin N6ii/E01 is the DAP to go for.

MMR Gae Bolg

Lately I’ve also been going back to a full stack with an oldschool setup: The iPod Classic, CypherLabs Algorhythm Solo and CyperLabs Duet amp. With this setup you tonality-wise get a mix of the previous sources all together. Great body, tight full (low) bass, lovely mid richness, excellent layering/depth, good clarity and sparkling energy on top. If you still have this stack around somewhere, do certainly try listening to it with the Gae Bolg, as the synergy is incredible.

And this brings us to the last DAP of this review, the Astell&Kern SP2000. Did you know we yesterday awarded the SP2000 with our 2020 Product of the year award? Anyway, with the SP2000 you get the best possible technicalities from the Gae Bolg. Great separation, extension and detail retrieval. The amount of body and bass is lighter here but everything is presented in a more clay and certainly musical way. If the smooth, warm and soft character of the Gae Bolg isn’t really for you, I advise to try it with the SP2000 as you’ll get great clarity, excellent precision and top level technicalities, even with a an energetic top end.

Comparisons

I don’t have many Multiple BA driver universal IEMs of this price range in my collection, but the 3 I want to compare the Gae Bolg to are the EVE20, the Rai Penta and the ES5. The source used for this comparison is the Luxury&Precision P6.

The Vision Ears EVE20 is a 6 BA-driven universal design equipped with the following config: two low, two mid and two high. What immediately strikes you compared to the GB are the higher level of clarity, the wider sound stage, the lighter amount of bass and body in general. The EVE20 has a lighter tuning, where the top end is further extended and where the overall clarity is higher. Compared to the Gae Bolg, there is almost no warmth or smoothness here, though the EVE20 also is very musical. A very different tuning. Comfort-wise the EVE20 is also smaller and it fits my ears a bit better better. The EVE20 has a shorter nozzle with a filter at the end.

MMR Gae Bolg

The Earsonics ES5 is even smaller in size and the comfort compared to the GB and EVE20 is a lot better. The ES5 features 1 low, 2 mid and 2 high balanced armatures and the tuning is neutral and more v-shaped. The ES5 has great clarity, good body and full bass but less so than the Gae Bolg. The mids compared to the GB are light. The ES5 has less warmth and smoothness than the Gae Bolg and it sounds more energetic from top to bottom. ES5’s top extension, clarity and very energy. Basically the opposite from the Gae Bolg.

The Meze Rai Penta is the best fitting and most comfortable of all of these universal IEMs. The Rai Penta comes packed with five drivers in a hybrid setup. You get four custom made Balanced Armatures and one big, classic Dynamic Driver. I like the spacious and open presentation the Rai Penta has, it isn’t as intimate. The note extension and decay in the Rai Penta is really nice and you here of course get the typical dynamic driver bass. A lot of people don’t like the Rai Penta but I really like it’s vocal forward tuning and energetic treble tuning. Body-wise the Gae Bolg is bigger in bass and mids, and it sounds fuller than the Meze, even though the vocals are similarly pitched.

MMR Gae Bolg

Conclusion

The MMR Gae Bolg is a beautiful new monitor with an exceptional design. This for sure is one of the most gorgeous looking universal IEMs on the market.

Sound wise it sounds full with a good amount of bass and mid thickness. The delivery is musical, smooth and warmer and with the softer treble it is incredibly easy to listen to. With the top level, more forwardly presented vocals, the MMR Gae Bolg is engaging and addictive to listen to.

I’m sure there’s plenty more to come from MMR, and we look forward to that.

MMR Gae Bolg

4.2/5 - (89 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

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