ARTPICAL Raphael — Wings On A Budget

 

General / Packaging / Build / Comfort
The Raphael is ARTPICAL's most accessible IEM to date. And to my ears, they didn't cut corners on the looks to get there.

The box is small and minimal. Much smaller than the flagship boxes from the same brand. Inside you get a zip-up carrying pouch with a suede-like finish, three interchangeable plugs (3.5mm, 4.4mm and USB-C) and six pairs of eartips. Three grey bullet-style tips and three translucent white wide-bore tips. Fairly standard stuff. The pouch feels nice but it's snug. Apart from the IEM itself, you can fit a small dongle DAC and that's about it. Purely nitpicking here.

The shell is the star. Three colourways are available: White + Red, Black + Gold and the Pink + Silver I have on hand. The outer layer is high-transparency resin, and the intricate inner structure doubles as the rear venting for the dynamic driver. You can see fine tubes running under the connector socket. This is ARTPICAL's multi-layer 3D printing process, and it looks like two layers of wings wrapped around the internals. Very fitting for an archangel name. The front cavity is CNC-machined aluminium alloy with an anodised finish, and the printed rear shell locks into it.

Driver-wise, it is a single 10mm dynamic driver with an LCP composite diaphragm and PU surround. 32Ω and 101.1dB/mW.

Comfort is decent, with a few caveats. The shell is medium-sized, not small for a single DD. The cymba concha area is fairly full, so if you have shallower ears you may feel some pressure there. The metal front cavity sits snug in the concha. For medium to large ears it stays stable and secure. The nozzle is short and medium in thickness, so tip swapping is easy. There are two vents, one on the metal cavity and one under the connector socket. Passive isolation is decent and I didn't get any driver flex or pressure buildup. Side-sleeping with these is not a good idea, the resin shell is a bit thick for that.

The stock cable is silver-plated OCC copper, 4-strand, and the 2-pin socket accepts both flat and raised pin cables. It's moderately thick and soft, but it does self-tangle a little. Purely nitpicking. The interchangeable plug system is screw-lock with a keyed groove. The USB-C plug has a built-in DAC chip that decodes up to 384kHz / 32-bit PCM. No inline mic though.

Gears Used for This Review

• Aune S18 Evo DAC

• Aune S17 Pro Amp

• Burson Conductor Stellar

• FiiO M33 R2R

• xDuoo Link3

• FiiO K17 R2R

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
The Raphael has been through approximately 30-40 hours on my burn-in rig before any serious listening. After that, the treble settled slightly and the bass became a little more controlled. Nothing dramatic, but noticeable.

Overall tonality is a slight warm with a lively, vivid edge. Think warm lower half, energetic upper mids into treble. Not neutral, not dark. It sits in that energetic, rock-friendly lane. It is a funalytical kind of tuning, fun in the low end and a touch analytical up top.

I did most of my listening with the stock wide-bore white tips first, then rolled a few others. Tip-rollers will find the treble responds to tip choice more than you would expect.

Bass

• Quantity: Medium to slightly above medium. Thick and full, but not basshead territory.

• Speed and control: Elastic and well controlled. Slipknot's People = Crap! and Duality gave the kick drum a solid punch, and the double bass kept up without turning into mush. Attack is quick, decay is moderate with just a hint of lingering.

• Sub-bass: Extension is decent. Billie Eilish's Bad Guy has enough rumble to register, but it isn't chest-rattling.

• Bleed: The bass doesn't bleed into the mids at all. And that is impressive for this price. The low end has weight and looseness in the good sense, relaxed but never sloppy.

• Texture: Slight forward tilt for instruments with fundamentals in the lower mids. Cello and bass guitar feel full-bodied.

Mids

• Vocal positioning: Picture the artist about 3-4 steps in front of you. Close, but not in your face.

• Female vocals: Faye Wong 王菲 has good clarity and a nice touch of added brightness. Sibilance is slightly retained on harsher tracks. It's audible but never painful.

• Male vocals: This is where the warmth pays off. Zhao Peng 赵鹏 has that chesty weight and the lower midrange feels full without turning muddy. Na Ying 那英 sounds dense and confident.

• Body and texture: The Raphael leans toward texture over razor-sharp note outlines. Vocals have a slightly larger mouth size and breath sounds are a bit elevated in the mix.

• Instruments: Strings like violin and guitar have somewhat larger imaging, with bowing and plucking details coming through. Brass has good presence. Woodwinds sound natural.

Treble

• Character: Slightly on the brighter side. Energy is concentrated in the upper mids to lower treble transition.

• The peak: There is a noticeable peak in the ultra-high region. On most tracks it's fine, adding air and sparkle. On some recordings, it gets a touch sharp. Borderline shouty on certain tracks. This is my main gripe.

• Cymbals: Bright with a mild metallic character. Harshness is kept in check for the most part.

• Extension: Decent for a dynamic driver at this price, with roll-off starting slightly early but not too fast.

• Fix: Tip rolling helps. A slightly narrower bore tip tames the peak without killing the clarity.

Soundstage / Imaging

• Width and height: Medium-sized stage with a decent sense of height. Nothing that gives you a hall like effect, but it's not 2D-ish either.

• Depth: Slightly more pronounced than width. The staging leans a little oval.

• Imaging: Vocal and instrument separation is good. Hans Zimmer's Why So Serious kept the orchestral layers readable, and YungBlud's Zombie Live from Bludfest had a convincing crowd presence.

• Detail retrieval: Fairly good for a sub-US$150 dynamic driver. There's a noticeable analytical lean, so small details come through without being thrown at you.

• Dynamics: Good punch and decent transient response. Fast electronic tracks with heavy drum transients can feel a bit crowded, but nothing breaks.

Driveability

• USB-C stock plug: Surprisingly usable. The built-in DAC chip has enough juice to push it to a good listening level. The sound is warm and a bit more relaxed. Vocals get extra mouth size and breath sounds come forward a little.

• Xduoo Link3 (balanced): Definition of note outlines becomes more focused. Warmth is reined in slightly, and forward mouth sounds are reduced. Vocals and strings sound more refined, and bass feels closer to what I expect from a high-rigidity dynamic driver.

• FiiO M33 R2R: The R2R signature adds a smooth body to the mids. A good match if you want to lean into the warm side, though I would avoid pairing it with anything too cold. Cold sources make the treble peak more prominent.

• Aune S18 Evo + S17 Pro: Pitch black noise floor. The Raphael scales a bit, with cleaner bass control and a slightly wider stage. But the three-band balance stays essentially the same. It doesn't transform into a different IEM.

Entry level or mid range dongle will do just fine, but a proper source will get a bit more out of it. And at 101.1dB/mW, it needs a little more push than the ultra-sensitive stuff.

Comparison
vs Juzear x KOTO Nebula (US$129.99, 1DD + 3BA + 1 Micro-Planar)

Build and ergonomics: Both are gorgeous, but in very different ways. The Nebula has the iridescent Phantom faceplate that glows in different light angles, and it weighs only 6.1g per side. The Raphael is the bigger, denser piece with that wing-like 3D-printed structure and metal front cavity. The Nebula is lighter and easier for smaller ears. The Raphael feels more premium in hand, but you notice it more in the ear. Both come with 3.5mm and 4.4mm plugs, but the Raphael adds a USB-C plug on top. The Nebula's cable is a 6N OCC silver-plated 400-core, which is very good for the asking price. The Raphael's cable is decent but softer and tangles a bit more.

Bass: The Raphael has the fuller, warmer, more elastic low end. Bass is thicker with more body. The Nebula uses a MACCD carbon composite DD and goes for definition and fast decay, with a sub-bass emphasis but not much sustained rumble. If you want weight and slam, the Raphael wins. If you want tight and quick, the Nebula.

Mids: Both are vocal-friendly, but they get there differently. The Nebula is a vocal-forward tuning with prominent upper mids, and it shines on female vocals, J-pop and J-rock. The Raphael is warmer and thicker, with more chesty weight for male vocals and hard rock. For Zhao Peng and Na Ying, I reach for the Raphael. For Faye Wong, the Nebula's cleaner upper mids are hard to ignore.

Treble: This is where the Nebula runs circle around the Raphael. The micro-planar tweeter gives it a bright, airy, spacious top end without the peak I get on the Raphael. The Raphael's treble is fine for most tracks, but it has that peak that bites on certain recordings. The Nebula is cleaner and better extended.

Soundstage and technicalities: The Nebula's 4-way crossover and five drivers give it a wider, more three-dimensional stage with better layering. The Raphael's stage is decent, but it's a medium-sized, slightly oval presentation. The Nebula wins on technical performance, plain and simple.

Verdict: These two are aiming at different listeners. The Nebula is the better technical performer, and for pure vocals, ACG and staging, I would personally go for the Nebula. It is also cheaper. But the Raphael has the warmer, thicker, more energetic tuning that suits rock, hard rock and male vocals, and it has the more unique build plus the USB-C plug for when you don't have a dongle. If I could only keep one, I would go for the Nebula. If your library is heavy on rock and you want that bass weight, the Raphael is the one.

Final Thoughts
The ARTPICAL Raphael is a characterful IEM that doesn't compromise on craftsmanship. ARTPICAL brought their complex 3D-printing tech down to a much more accessible price, and it shows. The shell is gorgeous, the plug system is versatile, and the tuning is lively, warm and rock-friendly. Bass is thick and clean, vocals have body, and technical performance is solid for the asking price, It isn't perfect. The treble peak is the one real letdown but only occasionally on certain tracks. Recommended? Yes if you're willing to spend a bit of time to tip roll to tame the top end peak if you are sensitive to it.

The ARTPICAL Raphael was sent over by ARTPICAL for the purpose of this review. Big thanks to the ARTPICAL team for the support and opportunity as always.

Head over to their store if you’re interested in getting a pair:

Official Site - Non Affiliated

Raphael Store Link - Non Affiliated