7Hz Legato's Review - Bring on that bass

 

General/Build/Packaging/Comfort

7HZ made a bang with their Timeless, a Planar IEM which triggered the waves of so called “Planar War” that subsequently, many brands releasing their own planar IEMs. We’re not here to talk about that today, today it’s about the Legato, which i believe will cause another “bang” in the scene, high dosage of bass is nothing new, but what makes the Legato special is despite having a large amount of bass, the bass reproduced is of high quality bass (good control, tight, non muddy), at the same time, it doesn’t compromise other range of frequencies that much (we’re talking bout the mids here).

The build quality of Legato is solid, the shell is made out of CNC aluminium, it has a solid feel to it and it doesn’t feel weighty. I’ve been using them for several hours straight and I don't feel any discomfort. The packaging of Legato is fairly straightforward, a card box containing a large carrying case which has the IEM and the cable stored within it, also two types of eartips provided (namely the 07 and 08), and replacement filter as backup in case you need to replace it next time, very thoughtful.

Gears used for this review

• Earmen Angel Dac/Amp

• Earmen ST-Amp

• Xduoo XA-10

• Macbook Air M2 3.5 Out

• iPod Touch 5th Gen

• Legato Stock cable and Moondrop Spring Tips

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

Putting on the Legato and hitting the play button on my foobar2k, the bass is what hit me first, and depending on which song you’re listening to, the subwoofer-like rumble comes alive when the track calls for. Legato is a warm sounding IEM, the timbre is natural to my ears and I can't really find any fault with it. It does have the vintage’s “flavour” to it. If you have heard vintage stereo speaker setup before, you’ll understand what I mean by that. 

Very good note weight across the frequency range

Let’s take a look at the break down below:

Bass

• Bass is the star of the show, quantity and quality, you name it, Legato has it

• Sub bass rumbles hard when the track calls for it, it has very good extension and it really goes deep

• Mid bass is punchy and has good slam to it

• Speed is quite good as it handles Metallica’s Lux Aeterna, Slipknot’s People=Shit quite well

• The note weight in this frequency range is very “flavourful” to my ears, thick sounding and every note is very impactful, i’m not a basshead but i do enjoy bass when it comes to good quality bass

• I would describe the bass of Legato as bass done right, the bass doesn’t invade the music when its not needed, but when the track calls for it, that’s when it’s showcasing its strength

Mids

• The mids are slightly recessed which is expected, but it can be mitigated by swapping the stock eartips to Moondrop’s SpringTips, it will push the mids forward a little without affecting much on the bass and treble

• Male and female vocal has good texture and weight to it, from Fei Yu Ching, Zhao Peng, Leonard Cohen to Anita Mui, Teresa Teng, Billie Eilish, they all sounded very good off Legato (This is based on my listening impression using Moondrop’s Spring Tips)

Treble

• Treble is smooth and non offensive, despite the amount of bass coming from the Legato, one would expect it to be dark sounding, this is not the case for Legato

• The treble has enough air and sparkles to complement for the overall musical experience

• Detail retrieval is not Legato’s strong suite but it is adequate

• It works in tandem with the low end providing balance for the strong bass 

Soundstage/Imaging

• Soundstage is deep and tall, with good width, it gives me a very good atmospheric kind of experience when listening to Toto’s Africa (Live), as if i am listening through  speaker instead of IEM

• Imaging is good but it does gets a little tricky for Legato when it comes to complex track, but then again, Legato is not going for technicalities rather than musicality, of course at the same time aiming not to sacrifice much of the technicalities

Driveability

• Legato is not hard to drive, mid range dongle will do the job just fine

• However, it does love power and it scales very well with amplification

• Personally, i preferred pairing Legato with Angel (ESS based DAC.Amp)

Comparison (SeeAudio x Z Review’s Rinko)

• The Rinko is another set touted as basshead’s set, hence this comparison is happening

• In terms of bass quality and quantity, Rinko is nowhere near Legato, Rinko is focusing on the mid bass rather than the sub bass, the rumble isn’t quite there but the mid bass is certainly punchy

• Rinko is slightly better in terms of detail retrieval due to slight emphasis on the highs, not to say that Legato’s detail retrieval is bad, it's good enough

• Soundstage on the Rinko is 2D-ish while Legato has got the atmospheric feeling on for the soundstage

• All in all, both are tuned differently and i would put it as Rinko is a modern sounding set while Legato has got the vintage flavour to it, if that makes sense

Final Thoughts

The Legato is something different and stands out on its own. The tuning is niche and there are bound to be some who like it and some who don't. You have to take into consideration that this set is not a set that’s aim is to excel in technicalities rather to provide the listener with engaging listening experience (musicality). I find myself reaching out for the Legato most of the time because when I hit the play button, I find myself engulfed in the music, not just by the bass but the overall frequency range. If you are searching for that kind of experience, Legato it is.

*7HZ Legato is being sent over for the purpose of this review. I thank LINSOUL for the opportunity. I am not influenced in any way to produce this review nor do I receive any monetary compensation.

Head over to the following link if you are interested in getting a pair!

7Hz Legato - Non affiliated