7Hz Timeless x AE's Review

General Info/Comfort/Build

7Hz Timeless, a name that i believe no one who’s active in the Chi-Fi community wouldn’t know, it made a splash last year coming out with the first Chi-Fi Planar IEM, not just that, it also received a great deal of positive feedbacks (of course, there are bound to be some negatives as well as we all hear/perceive differently). Today, I have here with me the Timeless AE (A collaboration between 7Hz and a famous Aliexpress audio product store Angelears). This collab is basically a retune of the OG Timeless with a 3db boost on the sub bass, also it came bundled with a modular cable and a different shell colour.

Sporting exactly the same shell design as the OG Timeless, with the exception of a 2 pin port instead of mmcx, a change which I believe most will be happy with.

Gears used for this review

• Timeless AE in stock form (stock cable in 4.4 termination and stock eartips)

• Topping DX1 + iFi Zen Air Can

• Hidizs XO Dongle

• Sony Walkman ZX300 with MrWalkman’s Firmware

• iFi Go Blu in Wired and Bluetooth Mode

• Macbook Air M2’s 3.5mm port

Foreword

My review is solely based on what I hear via my equipment and I never consider my reviews to be objective in any way rather a subjective approach. Do take into consideration that everyone’s ear anatomy is not the same, so the psychoacoustics perception might be different as well, but i believe it will not stray too far

Sound Impression

Timeless AE is a L shaped tuned IEM to my ears, they are quite neutral with a bass boost of 3db over the OG Timeless, being a planar IEM, i did not hear any planar timbre on the Timeless AE, it could be the case of the 3db boost on the low end that helps to slightly smoothen to top end which in effect also cause the planar timbre to smoothen out. It has got a good note weight and full sounding to my ears. Let’s take a look at the breakdown on the frequency range:

Bass

• Bass on the Timeless AE is hard hitting, fast, and tight,especially satisfying when listening to Metallica’s track, Master of Puppets, Lux Aeterna

• Speed is good which is expected from a planar driver

• The bass has got a satisfying texture, especially evident on the double kick drum, very very pleasant experience which got my foot tapping along with it

• The sub bass rumble is nicely done on the music, i took a step further and played a trailer of Star Wars where the lightsaber fight scene and swinging the saber around produces a very ecstatic deep rumbles, and this is reproduced in a very “fun” manner listening to it via the Timeless AE

Mids

• The mids are a little forward, but not overly forward to the point where it’s on your face

• Male vocal has got a good texture to it, doesn’t sound thin or nasally, both Sam Smith and Zhao Peng’s vocal sounded very pleasant

• Female vocal such as Teresa Teng sounded sweet and has got texture to it, a slight boost on the upper mids will give the female a little boost, but overall, it is good

• Vocal positioning is not too laid back or forward, i would say it is just a few steps from your face

• No bass bleed from the mid bass to the lower mids, transition from the low to upper mid is also smooth and gradual rise, certainly not shouty at all

Treble

• Treble on the Timeless AE is very well done in my opinion, it is detailed, airy and also smooth at the same time, impressive

• The treble is non offensive and never sibilant, i have tried a wide range of music with it and even turned up the volume (for a short period of time of course), it remained easy on the ears all the time

• The smoothened treble response is due to the seesaw effect from the boosted low end which is audible to my ears

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is good, but it is more on a 2D presentation rather than a more 3D presentation

• Very good height, a little lacking in the depth and width hence the 2D presentation

• Imaging on the other hand is excellent, well layered and instruments can be pinpointed easily

Driveability

• Timeless AE is not hard to drive, it can be driven easily by most of the dongles out there

• It does however scale with better source and also power, i observed a better bass response in terms of control, dynamic, as well as soundstage when it is being fed with more power and also better source

• This is not to say that you need an amp to get the best out of it, rest assured that it is already great sounding right out the box, but amp it just to fully maximise its potential

Comparison

Dunu Talos

• Talos offers a more three dimensional presentation in terms of soundstage, but it can be a little artificial sometimes, as in a little too wide sounding

• Bass quality is equally good but in terms of quantity, Timeless AE packs more punch compared to Talos, hence a more fun and musical experience

• Talos offers a hybrid mode with a switch, but to my personally experience from Talos, the hybrid mode is too bright to my taste although it does offers even better resolution and also wider soundstage

• In terms of detail retrieval, Timeless AE pulls itself ahead of Talos even with Talos’s hybrid mode switched on. I say this because in most listening scenario, you are not able to listen with the hybrid mode switched on for more than 5 minutes because it gets very fatiguing (at least for my experience)

Tangzu ZetianWu

• ZetianWu’s presentation is overall a little laid back, warm with a slight elevation on the mid bass

• Once again, Timeless AE pulls itself miles ahead in terms of detail retrieval comparing against ZetianWu

• A very safe sounding set i would say compared to Timless AE which offers a bit more fun and details, I’m not saying ZetianWu is bad in anyway, it’s just that it is tuned differently and considering the price point it position itself at, it is good enough

Final Thoughts

There are plenty of Planar IEMs out there at the moment, i personally have tried several which i compared against the Timeless AE, i am someone who prefers versatility because i listen to a variety of genre, Timeless AE gives me the versatility because i consider it an all rounder which perform really well in most of my library, Metal, Rock, Hip Hop, Jazz, Live recordings and many more in its stock form (stock cable and stock eartips). To make things even better, using the Dunu’s S&S eartips offers a slightly wider soundstage compared to stock eartips, and also gives a little bit more energy on the top end if you find the treble on stock form is a little smooth to your taste. I am definitely recommending the Timeless AE without any hesitation to anyone who’s currently on the lookout for a very capable Planar IEM.

*I thank Ray and also Angelears Audiostore for sending over this in exchange for this review. All thoughts are of mine and I received no monetary compensation nor was I influenced in any way to produce this review.

Interested in getting a pair? Head over to Angelears Audiostore to grab one from the link below:
7Hz Timeless x AE - Non affiliated link