Forte Clarity: Soprano - Hi-Resolution Sapele Wood in-Ear Headphones

Rarely do I give such a low score on my reviews. Then rarely do I change my mind abut an IEM. The reason for the initial score was that these IEM's were very bassy, with a v-shaped sound. That wasn't my cup of tea. Then I let them burn in a bit longer than I have many of my other earphones, and changed the stock tips. I went with a short stem, wide bore tip, and the high resolution timbre and instrument separation really opened up. While still bassy, the focus of the bass was less sloppy and more punchy as time went on. The soundstage is still adequate, if not a tad underwhelming, but still, what happened with the Forte Soprano was this became a fun headphone with some technical prowess, and sub woofer bass. The mids are still not in line with the bass, and just slightly behind the treble, but not by much. So after some long listening sessions and reconsideration, I changed my rating from a one to a four. Not bad at all for a $20 headphone. Salutations.

This is my second pair of Forte and I love them both. I'm no audio expert and most of my listening is using mobile/tablet... but even then, the audio quality is such an improvement over the low to mid-range quality headphones that I've used in the past. It's amazing! Once you try, there is no turning back... sound is so crisp and rich in details that I dumped all of my other headphones (they sound so dull now.) Last, while you can probably get even better sound, I'm pretty sure it'll cost you a LOT more. So for me, Forte is the best bang for the buck.

Tested with Fiio x3 II player.Highs: at first it sounds very bright and crisp – way to bright for my taste. After 50 hours burning the highs set on place. Later I changed the stock eartips to bi-flange with narrow bore – the highs are softer with it.Mid: very good. Vocal and instruments – all sounds outstanding. Its no way V shaped sound – mids are very good, clean and clear, not recessed at al., I can hear all details and smallest nuances same as with my KEF M500 headphones, which are well-known for their phenomenal perfect mids.Bass: just perfect, really. It’s not like this weak ‘audiophilic’ bass, what you can hear from some BAT drivers – it’s full, strong and fast bass with nice quality subbass. But nothing like this stupid booming as on these… Ok, you know it… :) The bass is on similar level as on ATH CKR9 or Bowers & Wilkins C5, just better. Actually the name ‘Soprano’ is a bit questionable in this case. Very masculine Soprano. Maybe it’s Tony Soprano from well-known Sopranos family?Soundstage: not the biggest, but above that what you can expect from IEM.Detail and separation: perfect. This is side effect of bright sounding – you get the perfect details but in the same time you can expect some sibilance on some records.For what is the best: all kinds of vocal, classical, instrumental, jazz, pop, dark electronic. Actually – they are almost universal, but just for high quality records. From Miles Davis to Michael Jackson, from Neil Peart to Arvo Pärt – all it sounds perfect, vivid and full.By the way - the best sound I get when paired my Fiio x3 II with old but gold headphones amplifier ‘Electric Avenues PA2V2‘ – the highs now are a bit softer, sound in general became warmer, and the bass remained the same just even more mid-bass punch.It's a bit to early to speak about cable durability, but I really hope about it.Great work, Cyberdrive!

This wasn't for me. It really pulls out the high ranges (painfully so for me). If you like the upper ranges in music this is great, but if you are like me and respond better to the lower ranges then get the Forte Clarity: Bass.

These are great head phones for the price. The bass is a little weak but they have great clarity. I have been using these almost daily a two years and they have held up great.

There is a layer of static like most standard headphones (you probably won't regularly notice it unless you're particularly picky, idk. But now you might since I mentioned it hehe), but otherwise they're pretty good headphones. They look pretty nice, too.

it fits well and the sound it good. I originally rated this item 5 stars. It lasted 3-4 weeks, then it broke. If you rub the wire within 15" of the earphones, you hear the rubbing sound. Not very good it you're walking or moving.

The audio sounds clear and makes my music sound better than any other earphones that I have owned. I definitely recommend getting.