Introduction
My first run-in with SeeAudio consisted of their entry-level Yume IEM. The Yume sported a remarkable tonal balance, quite possibly the best I'd heard for its respective price point. But it came with one glaring flaw: technicalities. Notes on it were quite blunted; ultimately, I found that the Yume fell out of favor with my ears. But presently, SeeAudio has released the Bravery, a humble 4BA configuration. The question that is no doubt at hand is whether SeeAudio can maintain the excellent tonal balance that characterized the Yume and bring the technicalities of the Bravery within parameters commensurate with its price of $280. Read on to find out.
This unit was sent to me for review by HiFiGo. As usual, what follows are my honest thoughts and opinions to the best of my ability.
Tangibles
Does jamming in a bunch of waifu goodies supplement for accessories? Debatable, but I'll give the Bravery a pass here. You have the same friction-fit, hockey puck case that comes with the Yume. Not the greatest quality case, but it'll get the job done. SeeAudio has also opted to include Azla Xelastec ear tips which is a solid step in the right direction.
I want to love the included Hakugei cable because the tactility of the para-cord and the hardware feels quite premium. Unfortunately, a cable that looks pretty and feels well-built is no substitute for one that actually works in practice. To this end, the Hakugei cable is quite microphonic and the ear hooks themselves loop awkwardly around the ears. I ended up just swapping it off for my Dunu DUW-02 cable after listening for a couple hours.
Sound Analysis
The frequency response graph below was taken off of an IEC-711 coupler. There is a resonance peak at roughly 8kHz and, as such, measurements after this point should not be considered entirely accurate. Please follow the link below if you'd like to compare the Bravery to the other IEMs that I have graphed.
The overall tonality of the Bravery is clearly inspired by the (in)famous qdc Anole VX. One can consider it a warmer, more mid-bassy interpretation of that IEM which, for me, means a slightly south of neutral signature. But one could probably get away with using a number of other descriptors, as I've seen U-shaped, V-shaped, and W-shaped used too. Anyways - the qdc Anole VX is distinctive to me as being remarkably solid for it tuning and, simultaneously, for being just as boring. I do feel that the Bravery mitigates this impression to some extent with the presence of some extra mid-bass. This smoothens the transition into the midrange which is remarkably solid and sports a slight lean toward the upper-midrange.
I'm not going to explore the bass or the midrange too closely otherwise because they don't need much comment. The only thing that really matters to me is that the Bravery hasn't escaped what I like to call the "VX curse". Treble on the Bravery sports something of a lower-treble recession followed by strong amounts of presence at 7kHz. This lends to a loss of stick impact and an overly strong emphasis on the crash and sparkle of percussive instruments that can come off as slightly fatiguing - especially on more treble-intensive tracks. That said, the Bravery definitely has some pretty commendable treble extension for this price point. Generally, it's also by no means gritty in decay; instead, it mostly suffers from the plasticky, weightless quality that characterizes most BA IEMs.
Technical Performance
The Bravery's technicalities are good, but they're also not great. So the good: It's certainly no Yume. Transients are relatively sharp on the Bravery, and I do find it to have a decent sense of layering. By this, I mean that instruments have a good sense of distinction without smearing into one another on more complex tracks. Where the Bravery excels most, though, is in a "whole is greater than the sum of its parts" sense. It really makes no glaring mistakes in terms of what I would index for on cursory listen, and it's pretty coherent for a 4BA setup.But to reiterate, the Bravery's not great for technicalities; this becomes readily apparent in A/B with my $300 benchmark, the Moondrop Blessing 2. The dynamic ability of the Bravery is unremarkable, succumbing to the flat, upwards-compressed quality that plagues most BA setups. Listening to the cadence of Sawano Hiroyuki's "Tranquility," for example, abrupt shifts in loudness sound noticeably more distinct and impactful on the Blessing 2. I also don't find the Bravery to be a particularly detailed IEM; it sounds like a lot of nuance is missing that makes me gravitate toward the Blessing 2 despite that IEM's flaws. What I'm getting at is that the Bravery puts on a strong showing on cursory listen, but ultimately comes up more empty-handed when pressed for more latent intangibles. Really, that's to be expected for an IEM of this price point.
The Verdict
And that in mind, the Bravery is a pretty easy recommendation. It doesn't do a whole lot wrong and it gets a whole lot more right. But for an IEM called the Bravery, ironically, it's also a really safe IEM - almost too safe. I want to see more. I want to see SeeAudio step out of their comfort zone and take their game to the next level. Sure, they've nailed the fundamentals of a good IEM, but there's a lack of character to stuff like the Yume and Bravery that keeps these IEMs from touching established greats like their Moondrop contemporaries. Then again? Maybe asking for more in the sea of mediocrity is being unfair.
You can purchase the Bravery here from HiFiGo: https://hifigo.com/products/seeaudio-bravery
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