Sound Impressions
The Carats use a single 10mm Titanium Plated DLC DD to produce a somewhat v-shaped sound with tremendous cohesion, a commendably open soundstage & punchy bass.
Bass
Bass is probably the Carat’s most impressive aspect. Not only is it capably tight, but also goes quite deep with a feeling of weight behind it. Even bass texture is satisfying, avoiding being pillowy or insubstantial.
Yet JIALAI have decided to keep bass in check to avoid it overshadowing the midrange. There’s a nice balance here of enough bass to make things feel punchy, without deviating too far from neutrality.
Bass has a nice balance between sub bass and midbass, probably leaning towards midbass. Bassheads may be left wanting for quantity however.
Midrange
The problem with single-driver IEMs (regardless of cost) is a lone DD cannot cover the entire frequency range as competently as multi-driver hybrids. Every single-DD IEM I’ve heard has “gaps” in the FR where you can feel instruments aren’t being reproduced with same presence & fullness.
The Carats are no exception, and it’s the midrange that I notice this most. There’s a sense of thinness & lack of body here that’s easier to overlook on some tracks than others.
In return for the single-driver tradeoff is superb cohesion no hybrid IEM can match. There’s something special about single-DDs – they don’t effortlessly reveal every minute nuance like hybrids, but that cohesion lets my brain to relax as if less work is required to process what I’m hearing.
Treble
The Carats are fairly bright, right up until the upper treble where they tend to roll off quite a bit.
That brightness helps compensate for one inherent shortcoming of single-DD configurations which is poor technical performance, which boosting treble generally helps improve.
I wouldn’t say treble is dramatically high quality, but there’s no piercing upper treble which is nice.
Technical Performance
The Carats’ single-DD is very responsive by budget standards. It won’t keep instruments separated during busy passages quite as well as hybrids of similar value, but gets much closer than most single-DDs I’ve tried regardless of budget!
Soundstage dimensions are another area low cost single-DDs often struggle, but not here – the Carats boast a surprisingly wide stage, and even depth is quite good with impressive three-dimensionality.
Imaging is also very decent, probably helped by that boosted lower treble. Resolution is mediocre, but with only one driver that’s to be expected.
Dynamics are average, and I find instruments can sound smaller through the Carats than many hybrids.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging & Ergonomics
Page 2 – Sound Impressions & Technical Performance
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
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