Bass
The bass you get from the SB-7 is top quality: it’s tight, fast, has great attack and has all the detail you can wish for. At the same time the two balanced armatures don’t deliver the kind of bass that will shake your brain. The presentation is neutral, with low impact but just enough to keep the overall presentation engaging and coherent.
The bass layering is good but the bass doesn’t reach down all the way, leaving the sub bass part almost nonexistent.
Mids
The mids, and the treble region for that matter, are the regions where the SB-7 really excels. You get great PRaT with excellent separation and great layering. The presentation of course still is neutral and linear but the SB-7 never sounds dull, boring or dry. The mids are musical and rich in detail (not warmth) and give you a natural, transparent, clean sound. The level of clarity is impressive.
Like with the bass the mids aren’t the fullest or heaviest but that isn’t what he SB-7 or high end audio in general is about. It’s quality over impact and punch and that’s the perfect description for the SB-7’s mids.
The upper mid level is the most energetic part and that makes the vocals really shine.
Treble
Treble is extended and has really good detail though the quality of your source will certainly have an impact on this. Misha tuned the treble in a way that it’s energetic yet never becomes harsh, aggressive or sibilant. You get great clarity and transparency and treble flows perfectly from the mids section.
If you like soft, rolled off treble with a peak near the lower treble frequencies, then this isn’t the treble you’ll like. The SB-7 offers so much more in this region and I can describe it best as a true high-end – audiophile – treble section. I regularly visit my friends at BelHifi to listen to some of the best 2-way setups in the world and the mids and treble section really sound like the best gear you can audition there.
Sources & Amplification
It’s almost impossible to describe the sound of the DB-7 with all the players, DACs and amplifiers I hooked it up to. It’s clear though that the SB-7 scales up nicely with a good DAC and amp but I again want to stress that the fit, even more so than in general, is crucial to get he best possible sound quality.
Desktop
The Violectric V281 is a warmer sounding solid state amp with more than enough power and that is audible through the SB-7, the only things I don’t really like is how the combo accentuates the treble region and for me the focus is too strong to really enjoy the SB-7. I prefer it with the tube driven AudioValve Solaris which gives it a fuller sound and adds a layer of smoothness. Bass is also fuller/bigger bodied and has more impact and just makes it a whole lot more relaxed to listen to with a softer high frequency region.
The Feliks Audio Euforia is another reference amp I really like, especially with the Focal Utopia. With the Euforia running on 7236 Tung Sol tubes and the golden PSVane 6SN7, the SPearphone SB-7 sounds a level up from the Solaris with a more precise sound, a more clear treble section and with the same type of bass.
My favorite desktop amp for the SB-7 is the Chord Electronics DAVE as it just elevates the SB-7 to the highest level with sublime bass, heaps of detail, well layered mids, precise and natural vocals and a clear, energetic yet easy to enjoy higher end. It’s simply beautiful. Costly, but oh so beautiful. The unit really shows what the SB-7 is capable of, and I actually look forward to hearing what Misha thinks of this combo.
Portable
The two most portable DAC/AMPs of the moment are also creations by Chord Electronics but they of course don’t manage to reproduce the technical level the DAVE does so effortlessly. The mini Mojo however matches up extremely well with the SB-7 and you get a full sound from top to bottom, bit a tight yet punchy bass and oh so musical mids. I didn’t expect his combo to work as it does, but it’s really a recommended setup for me.
The Chord Hugo 2 actually gets closer to the DAVE combo on a technical level and you get an even fuller sound than with the Dave, with more impact in the bass and mids region and a softer overall presentation. Don’t get me wrong, the SB-7 isn’t a bass canon and will never turn in to one. Layering, width and depth is really great and for me this combo is the most easy and musical to listen to as it is softest to the ears. Technically it’s not as strong as the DAVE, but this combo just scores very well on my enjoyment scale.
DAPs
The Astell&Kern SP1000 is my favorite DAP when it comes to Balanced Armature driven CIEMs so I really look forwarded to using the SB-7 with it. At the same time the SP1000 sounds very clear and has a small focus on the higher mids and treble region, so I wasn’t sure the synergy was going to be there. And coming from the Mojo and Hugo 2 combo, you just miss the body in bass and mids and especially the bass part didn’t impress me. Bass is tight and fast but there’s just no impact. Sure you get an extremely clear sound with a lot detail, precision and transparency, but compared to the Chord units, the body and musicality just is a bit lacking in this flat signature combo.
In that regard the softer, fuller and warmer Sony WM1Z is completely different and that is immediately noticeable with the SB-7. It’s still not at the Chord level but you do get a fuller and softer sound which is nicer and more enjoyable to listen to compared to the SP1000.
The new ColorFly U8 is somewhere in between both of these DAPs and it gives a fuller sound with a fuller bass but it also makes the treble and upper mids stand out more and I’m not liking this very much at this moment. All-in-all not a big hit without amplification in my opinion and that’s certainly something to take with you.
Conclusion
What an experience the SPearphone SB-7 has been. The SB-7 certainly is a one of a kind creation by a unique designer, that’s the least one can say.
Sound wise the SB-7 has a neutral, yet natural sound signature and the technical level it performs at is just very high. With the right source and amplification, the SB-7 will sound heavenly and for me that perfect match is with the Chord DAVE and especially the Hugo 2. Amplification do is needed to get the best out of it but once you’ve heard what it is capable of, you wouldn’t want it any other way.
The StereoPravdo SB-7 will never win a beauty contest or get an award for comfort but the SB-7 isn’t about that. Misha’s “No pain, no Gain” philosophy is what it is but if you can handle that you can be sure to get an incredibly good high-end sounding IEM with a sound signature you’ve never heard before. A technical marvel.
Well done StereoPravda.
