Sound impressions
Tonality
This isn’t a sound that you waste on modern pop or dance music. When you listen to the R2, you can feel you’re gently but decisively been steered towards the classics, the all-time greats. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy pop music designed to score with the simple-minded, but you can hear a voice whispering that kind of poorly designed music isn’t worth the class that the SilverFi IEM-R2 eludes. However, this isn’t due to the craftsmanship and price of the R2, or to the fact that I know that Sezai listens to the soulful music of the greats himself. It’s based on its tonality, which can be considered a slightly mid-centric version of neutral. But the word that will immediately come to mind is ‘natural’. But natural sound in this case is not synonymous for neutral; this is a romantic kind of natural, an enhanced, more beautiful version of realism.
The R2’s presentation is fairly neutral, as notes are neither thick nor thin. There is slight inherent warmth, that essential ‘spring breeze’ kind of warmth that gives it a beautiful emotional touch, while at the same time refraining from being overly warm. The IEM2 for instance is a great deal warmer. Inherent in this case means that the midrange itself has a warmer tone, but the atmosphere itself is clean.
The R2’s bass is soft yet impactful, due to a slight emphasis of mid- over sub-bass, though mostly very linear. While I wouldn’t describe it as hard-hitting, sub-bass driven bass, it has a slightly warm tone and beautiful texture. Most importantly, bass resolution is very high, with excellent definition of individual tones as well as segregation of multiple bass lines. The midrange is slightly forward, and impresses upon listening. It is only slightly warm, and adds some depth to vocals. The result is a very natural, beautiful and emotional recreation of vocals. Its treble is smooth, a gentle touch in the presentation. It is articulate, but never too prominent, playing an important role in defining the overall naturalness of the presentation. On the other hand it isn’t overly sparkly either, and the reason I don’t tend to use the cable for treble-oriented music as pop, hip hop or EDM. No, this is a cable for classic rock, soulful jazz, or powerful vocals.
Technical performance
The R2 combines its beautiful tone with a highly capable performance; for starters, its separation is very good. The R2 has a clean stage, due to a combination of high resolution and clean atmosphere. Its tonality is slightly warm, but not in the form or warm air between the instruments due to the well-controlled mid-bass presentation. The IEM-R2 competes with my highest resolving cables, but combines excellent definition with a natural sound, rather than apparent clarity due to heightened treble. The tonality of the midrange is uncolored, but highly transparent. This means there isn’t any added form of artificial brightening to add clarity or an unnatural form of excitement. But the increasing lack of veil in combination with high definition, simply allows the beauty to shine through from the pureness of the music.
Matching
EarSonics S-EM9 10/10
The S-EM9 is a fantastic iem that always remains in my high rotation. With resolution, imaging and dynamics well above the TOTL average, it combines a highly technical performance with a somewhat dry midrange and slightly enhanced treble. Pairing the R2 adds a slight forwardness and warmth to the midrange, while softening its somewhat clinical treble. The result is a dynamic, smooth and natural sound. Outstanding for female vocals, and even more so for a little upbeat folk or classic rock. On the other hand, the smooth treble and natural sound misses a bit of sparkle for the genres I’m used to using the S-EM9 for: pop, fast rock or EDM. Still, taking all genres into consideration including jazz, classical, rock, and vocals besides pop and EDM, the S-EM9 sounds at its best.
Empire Ears Zeus-XIV 9/10
The highly resolving and mid-centric Zeus pairs outstandingly well with the R2; two somewhat similar presentations that add on to what the other is building. Zeus does what it does best even better, sounding smooth, beautiful as well as technically proficient. Its instrument timbre is exceedingly natural, and vocals sound both powerful as well as emotional. The reason that Zeus does not achieve full score is that its strong mid-centric signature remains unaltered; not a bad thing of course, but versatility remains Zeus-XIV’s weakness. Combining the Golden with Zeus for instance adds a bit of brightness, making its tonality overall more neutral and versatile. The downside of that pairing is the midrange does not achieve the smoothness of the IEM-R2 combination, and while the signature gains in excitement, the colored tonality in turn is less natural.
Lime Ears Aether 9,5/10
The Aether has a natural, slightly warm and very airy sound. I once described it as the ciem equivalent of the SilverFi sound, though ironically the Aether has a lower MRSP than the R2. The combination is simply beautiful; the Aether’s midrange has a natural tone, but much like the S-EM9, isn’t overly dense. The R2 adds a bit of thickness, while retaining that smooth and natural sound. The midrange gains from the outstanding resolution, while the treble remains fairly similar in its presentation and balance with the midrange, though sounding slightly more articulate. Overall, no drastic changes in signature due to their similarities, but the Aether sounds simply wonderful.
Rhapsodio Solar 9,5/10
The Solar pairing excellently with the R2 came as a surprise. Usually the Solar fairs best with a brighter/leaner cable to harness its powerful mid-bass, clean the mid-bass air up somewhat, and increase its midrange resolution; reasons why the Solar paired so well with the Wagnus Frosty Sheep. I suspected the Solar might be too warm to pair well with the R2. The pairing however was superb, demonstrating the R2 equally pairs well with warm/smooth ciems. The Solar’s stage is cleaned up noticeably, sounding airier with a more effortless separation; midrange resolution most definitely gets the required boost. The combination of warmer signatures didn’t prove an issue, and the Solar, much like the others, glowed with the R2’s beautifully natural tone.
