In-Ear Fidelity

SeeAudio Yume: Unboxing

Table of Contents

In case you can't read the subtext, it says "SEE through your ears".

Introduction

Let’s all welcome the newest kid on the IEM block: SeeAudio.

New to the international market, sure, but apparently (and don’t take my word for it) they’ve been making waves back in their domestic market. Currently SeeAudio’s lineup consists three models: the $170 Yume (also known as the “Anou” in other markets), the $1,100 Neo (sporting 10 BAs), and the $1,400 Kaguya (with 4 Sonion ESTs and 4 BAs). But for today our attention turns to the littlest brother with the biggest hype.

The Yume, as mentioned, allegedly got rave reviews within the Chinese community, which I assumed led to them branching out to the international market. SeeAudio themselves advertised that the Yume was tuned to the “Harman Target Curve@2020”, which is interesting because the last update I heard from Harman’s research for in-ears was in 2019, and even that was technically unofficial considering that it was just a smoothing of the original IE 2017 target. Anyways, I digress.

So, now one more chifi company sees the light of Sean and his olives. But adherence to Harman only gets you so far, and that’s even assuming they hit it in the first place. So now IEF answers the age old question: how good is the Yume actually?

Product page: https://www.linsoul.com/products/seeaudio-yume

MSRP: $170

Driver configuration: 2BA + 1DD hybrid

This Yume was kindly provided by Linsoul.

Non-audio opinions

My unboxing posts are pretty much the only times I’ll ever talk about build quality, accessories and the like. I’m not really the person to ask about these things as I don’t really care about them that much.

Accessories

  • Hard case
  • Tips

Cable: 4-wire round braid. A little on the thick side, but very pliable and with good skinfeel. A little tacky to touch though.

Connection: flush 2-pin. Would’ve preferred a recessed 2-pin connection, especially considering the space available for it.

Build: fairly standard resin build with a metal nozzle. No worrying structural concerns.

Fit: pseudo-custom. Comfortable for me, not sure for you.

Isolation: slightly above average. Would tolerate outdoors, but wouldn’t be my first pick.

Initial impressions

  • The Yume is, as I see it, the tonal benchmark for the sub-$200 price bracket.
    • Not strictly a Harman tuning (at least compared to IEMs like the AKG N400 or the Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus) but the slight deviations from Harman does make it that much more pleasant to listen to IMO.
    • For the more technical readers, the Yume isn’t the standard TWFK-DD hybrid. The Yume uses a more uncommon 29689-33518-DD setup, which would partially explain why it’s so different from most other 2+1 hybrids out there.
  • Bass emphasis is pushed a little too low for my liking which means the Yume is lacking impact, but not necessarily a dealbreaker if one is looking for a somewhat neutral tuning rather than a bass-forward one.
  • Treble extension is an issue, but forgiveable for the price.
  • Technicalities are the Yume’s biggest bottleneck: not the most resolving and can get noticeably “mushy” when it comes to overall definition.
  • May possibly join the Etymotic ER2 as an “anomaly” in the price range.

Measurements

All data has been uploaded to the Graph Comparison Tool.

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15 thoughts on “SeeAudio Yume: Unboxing”

    1. Dear SeeAudio, I have sent two emails to the SeeAudio email account regarding cosmetic issues with one of my earpieces. There has been no response or resolution in over a week. I would appreciate if you address my customer service concern.

  1. I’m just asking but those 8k peaks in measurements, are those true peaks or just some resonance? Because I especially sensitive to these region.

  2. thought you are going to hype this because of its harman curve characteristic. kxxs was also sucks in technicalities yet you praise it like hell

  3. Very interested to see how they stack up against the starfields. Ive been looking for an upgrade from TIN T2s and was pretty set on the starfields but im reconsindering now that these became available

  4. I am listening to the Yume right now. I cannot see how technicalities except for bass texture and rather thin male voices are less than anything thing I have under $300. Soundstage is wide and relatively deep. It even has height. A sound stage aspect not commonly found under $300. Instrument layering is excellent. If anyone is looking for a bright, “neutralish” IEM the Yume needs to be on your shortlist.

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