QoA Gimlet Review
QoA Gimlet Review
Introduction:
QoA has been established in 2019, which is a sister brand of Kinera. It continues Kinera’s technology and R&D experience and incorporates its own innovative ideas in the positioning of products. The company has released popular products like the Margarita, Pink Lady, Mojito and Vesper, which are named from famous cocktails.
The Gimlet has been created for target audiences who is looking for a competitive priced product with above average sound and build quality. The Gimlet is a great looking IEM that is equipped with a 10mm LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver that is located inside a solid metal housing. It comes bundled with a 4-core OFC Silver Plated Cable that has a 2-Pin connector interface. The Gimlet is available in two different color options, which are the one in Emerald Green and the one in Pearl White color.
Disclaimer:
I would like to thank QoA for providing me the Gimlet Universal IEM for review purposes. I am not affiliated with QoA beyond this review and these words reflect my true and unaltered opinions about the product.
Price & Availability:
The actual price of the QoA Gimlet is 59,00US$. More information’s can be found under the link below;
Package & Accessories:
The QoA Gimlet has a box with a premium appearance.
Inside the box are the following contents/accessories;
- 1x pair QoA Gimlet In-Ear Monitors
- 1x 4N 4-core OFC Silver Plated Cable with 2-Pin Connectors
- 3x pairs of Bass Enhancing Silicone Ear Tips
- 3x pairs of Balanced Silicone Ear Tips
- 1x Protective PU Carry Case
- 1x Some Print Material
Design & Build Quality:
The QoA design team created another beautiful looking In-Ear Monitor that has a premium looking and feeling appearance, which is made of solid metal material that that is available in two different color options, which are Pearl White and Emerald Green same like my review unit.
The faceplate has a circular metal plate located with the QoA brand logo on its surface.
Each monitor is equipped with a 10mm diameter LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver.
On the top of the monitor is the 0.78mm diameter 2-Pin female connector that offers a tight and secure connection.
At the inner surface of the monitor shell is the sound nozzle in gold color that has a diameter of 6mm.
Near the sound nozzle is a small opening that is dedicated for the 10mm dia. Dynamic Driver unit.
The QoA Gimlet comes with a 4N Purity Silver-Plated OFC (Oxygen-Free Copper) wire cable that has a soft insulation.
The 2-Pin connectors do have a fancy looking metal housing in gold color and do sport left and right color indicators.
The cable sports on both sides flexible ear guides, which offers extra comfort.
The cable is equipped with a metal chin slider in gold color and a transparent plastic y-splitter.
The 3.5mm Single Ended headphone jack has metal housing in the same gun premium looking gold color with the QoA branding on it surface.
Fit, Comfort & Isolation:
The QoA Gimlet is a relative small In-Ear Monitor with a comfortable shape that fits decent in to my moderate sized ear concha, it’s a bit heavy compared to monitors with a resin or plastic shell. The passive noise isolation of is on an average level that is sufficient for the use in environments such like a bus or train.
Technical Specifications:
- Driver Configuration : 10mm LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
- Frequency response : 20Hz ~ 20kHz
- Sensitivity : 108dB
- Impedance : 32Ω
- Cable Material : 4N Purity Silver-Plated OFC
- Connector type : 0.78mm Diameter 2-Pin Connector
- Headphone Plug : 3.5mm Single Ended Termination
- Cord length : 120cm
Pairing & Drivability:
The QoA Gimlet is a fairly efficient In-Ear Monitor that has an impedance of 32Ω and a sensitivity about 108dB. The Gimlet pairs pretty well with sources such like a USB DAC/Dongle, DAP or even smartphones and tablets.
Equipment’s used for this review:
IEM’s : QoA Gimlet
DAP&DAC’s : FiiO M11 Plus ESS, HiBy R6 GEN III, FiiO BTR7
Albums & tracks used for this review:
- Adele – My Little Love (Spotify)
- Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
- Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
- Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Sonya Yoncheva – (Giuseppe Verdi) II Trovatore, ActI (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- George Michael – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- B.B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
- Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Daft Punk – Doin’ it Right (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
- Lorde – Royals (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
- Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
- Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Gogo Penguin – Murmuration (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
- Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
- Otto Liebert& Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
- Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
- Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
- Rush’s – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
- Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)
- Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
- Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)
The Sound:
The QoA Gimlet has a pretty lively, energetic and entertaining overall presentation with a slightly warmer than neutral tonality. It has a mildly W-shaped sound signature that has a fairly fast and impactful bass response, slightly recessed midrange with good level of transparency and presence, while the treble range has a focal point that is concentrated to the lower treble area, which creates a good sense of clarity and definition.
The QoA Gimlet review has been written after a burn-in period of approx. 50 Hours. I have used the stock balanced silicone ear tips and the stock detachable cable that are included to the package.
Bass / Midrange / Treble / Soundstage & Imaging:
The 10mm LCP Diaphragm Dynamic Driver of the QoA Gimlet is offers a fairly fast, controlled and impactful bass response that is able to produce an efficient grade of subbass depth, extesion and rumble while listen to Lorde’s “Royals”, Massive Attack’s “Angle” or Daft Punk’s “Doin’ it Right” that is quite enjoyable to listen to. The tonality of the midbass is soft and musical, while the slam effect is pretty successful while listen to a wide variety of genres. It is not the most detailed midbass response that I have heard from an IEM at this price level. However, it offers a decent performance while listen instruments such like cross drums, trumpets or bass- and acoustic guitars that do have a natural warmth and musicality. The QoA Gimlet doesn’t have any remarkable issues in this area such like muddiness, mixings or a midbass hump.
The midrange of the QoA Gimlet has a pretty transparent and airy atmosphere. The midrange sounds slightly recessed when I do listen to instruments and vocals that is not overdone. The lower midrange shows a sufficient sense of depth and warmth, when I do listen to male vocals or instruments such like a guitar or viola. The clarity and tonality is decent in this area and meets my expectation from an IEM at this price level. The upper midrange is the main attraction of the Gimlet in this area. It is energetic, extends pretty well and offers a lot of information in in terms of macro detail. It sounds a bit too saturated and energetic for my taste, when I listen to female voices such like Edith Piaf or Sertap Erener. Instruments like pianos, violins or flutes are reproduced with good grade of presence and in a pretty lively manner.
The lower treble of the QoA Gimlet is the main actor of the treble area that is more pronounced and detailed compared to the upper treble region. The lower treble region sounds in general fairly detailed and controlled, while the extension is on an adequate level. The QoA Gimlet has an audible roll-off in the treble area that starts after the 6 kHz region. The upper treble region is less energetic compared to the lower treble & upper midrange regions, and shows a sufficient grade of airiness and sparkle while listen to percussions. Crash cymbals and Hi-Hats for example do have a moderate level of intensity and sharpness.
The QoA Gimlet has a fairly open and airy soundstage with good sense of depth and wideness. The separation of instruments and the vocals is maybe not class leading for its price range, but should meet the expectations for most listeners.
Conclusion:
The Gimlet is a quite esthetic looking In-Ear Monitor from QoA that offers a quite premium unboxing experience. The Gimlet seems to be created for target audiences who is looking for a competitive priced product with above average sound and build quality. I have enjoyed the mildly W-shaped sound signature and the lively, energetic and entertaining overall presentation.
Pros & Cons:
- + Entertaining Bass Tuning that is not overwhelming
- + Transparent & Lively Midrange Presentation
- + Smooth Treble Response
- + Design & Build Quality
- + Premium Packaging
- – Upper Midrange is a bit spicy/saturated for my taste
- – Upper Treble Roll-Off
- – Monitors are pretty comfortable but also a bit heavy
Thank you for the Read!
