Yanyin Rosemary : Review

Introduction

See that my review unit doesn’t have the same default purple color shell listed on some audio shops. My unit actually called Sorry Audio Rosemary. Sorry Audio is a DIY IEM brand from China (yes, when translated into English, the brand name is called Sorry). As far as I know, Sorry Audio is being sold outside China with the Yanyin brand (same case with Audio Lokahi/Aur Audio Storm). So both of them should sound similar.

MSRP : $809
Driver Configuration : 1DD + 8BA

Tonality & Technicalities

Personally, I never owned/listened to a TOTL IEM for a long time to make a legit TOTL comparison, so I will focus on describing its tonal characteristics rather than clashing Rosemary to other TOTL IEMs. 

Yanyin Rosemary has 2 switches, the first switch boost bass & lower mids, the second switch boosts the mid-treble region. With that configuration, Rosemary has a total of 4 tunings. I will start with what I think sounds the best first.

11 setup: Overall tonality I would describe as neutral-warm. Vocal presented with a more thick note and heavy presentation. Has very great vocal texturing, perhaps one of the best that I have heard, portraying grain & vibrato vocals spot on. Less satisfying on high-pitched female vocal, but still good vocal nonetheless. Bass has medium slam & decay with slightly sustained impact. The Treble is slightly roll-off at the lower part and its extension, providing a relaxed treble while still retaining some sparkle. The overall presentation is warm & grand.

00 setup: Signature can be described as mid-centric while still on neutral variation. The overall presentation becomes clarity-focused instead of smooth listening from the 11 switches. The vocal becomes less weighty, creating a more airy and clear vocal sound. Favors more high pitch vocal, opposite of 11 switch which favors weighty vocal. Has more clarity with less vocal texture. Bass takes a seat back with treble. Bass impact has less slam and sustains, with similar decay. While treble emphasis subdued down from 11, 00 setup feels airier than 11 setups. For me, 00 tonality is balanced but kinda lacks identity, caused by middling clarity-focused tuning mixed with a fairly laidback treble.

10 setup: Warm, more comparable with its 11 setups. What differs with 11 is exactly what the graph portrays, just less treble emphasis. Resulting downgrade in the perception of detail & treble sparkle. Less engaging but more suitable for relaxed listening.

01 setup: Brighter & more detailed setup from 00. Treble changes are more apparent than changes from 10 to 11 setup, perhaps caused by the contrast of less bass & lower-mids quantity. Unlike 11, 01 can be fatiguing for long listening sessions.

From my mid-fi ears, technicality-wise, it passes well enough to be in the high-level bracket. Has a good bass response and exceptional vocal texture. Little slouch on its resolving ability, relatively when compared to good mid-fi IEMs or other TOTL IEMs that I try. Other technicalities metrics such as detail, imaging, and separation were good too, nothing wrong. 

Wrap Up

• Personally, I prefer 11>00=10>01 setups
• Has significant changes from the first switch, with all of them in good tonality range. Unlike some other nozzle changing/switches gimmick.
• While I think it was a great IEM, it has some cons for me
  • Treble extension was not great on all switches.
  • I can’t say vocal on 01 / 00 fully sounding natural, has some nasal sensation going on. Very minor gripes, but it is there.
  • More of a relaxed listen. While bass has good response & dynamics, somehow overall signature lacks excitement factors.