Current testing methodology is v1.2
May 6, 2023
Price not available
14 oz
The Raptgo Bridge is an in-ear monitor with five drivers on each side.
Raptgo is an audio company in China known for producing in-ear monitors.
The most notable sets you’ve probably encountered from this brand are the Raptgo GR, Raptgo Leaf, and their most famous set, the Raptgo Hook-X, which later went into a collaboration with HBB due to its success.
In this review, we’ll take a look at their newest product, the Raptgo Bridge – which sports an interesting set of drivers configured in a tribrid setup.
It features two Dynamic Drivers (DD), two Balanced Armature (BA), and a Piezoelectric Driver (PZT) assigned on each of their respective frequencies.
Many thanks to our friends at Linsoul for sending in a unit for review.
Raptgo Bridge
An impressive set with great aesthetics and superb sound.
TL:DR;
Featuring five drivers on each side, the Raptgo Bridge in-ear monitor offers a balanced bass response, a detailed midrange that’s clear and full sounding, and an excellent upper-end response.
Tuning filters and switches help shape the sound to suit your preferences, making for a very flexible sound.
All in all, with the build quality, sonic refinement, and quality, as well as the inclusions, the Raptgo Bridge is an excellent product that’s premium in its aesthetic and sound fidelity.
The Specs
- Driver: 2BA+2DD+PZT Tribrid
- Frequency response: 20-40,000Hz
- Impedance: 17Ω (Low gain), 34 Ω (High gain)
- Sensitivity: 105dB/mw (Low gain), 109dB/mw (High gain)
What’s in the Box?
- Raptgo Bridge earphones
- Semi-L type cable 3.5mm jack
- 12 x stock ear tips (S, M, L)
- Custom carrying case
- Tuning nozzles
- Tuning switch pin
Stuff I like
- Balanced bass response
- The detailed and clear midrange
- Amazing resolving power and great technicalities
- Tuning nozzles provide flexibility
- A snazzy carrying box
Stuff I like less
- None
Where to get it
Comparable products to consider
With a planar diaphragm driver and PZT driver, the Raptgo Hook-X is a premium set that offers excellent sound quality.
Design and Build Quality
The Raptgo Bridge comes in an all-metal shell.
The front has an intricate purple faceplate with a cool grill design. The design is novel and has a futuristic and industrialist vibe to it.
The faceplate has an ultraviolet sheen to it that changes into a bright purple under light – I love how it looks. The back has a smooth black matte finish that has crispy white decals on the side.
I love how they feel and despite the heft, they feel light on the ears. The included cable suits the design and isn’t prone to memory tangling, making it easy to wind up for storage.
Overall, I’m very impressed with the build quality of the Raptgo Bridge. It looks and feels like a premium product on every metric.
Driver Configuration
The Raptgo Bridge comes with a tribrid configuration.
While most conventional tribrids use a combination of DD, BA, and EST, the Bridge uses a combination of DDs and BAs but with a piezoelectric driver for the treble. The driver assignment is very interesting.
As opposed to the norm where each driver is evenly spread to handle each frequency band, the Bridge assigns its first DD to handle the bass and mids and its second DD to support upper midrange transitioning.
The two BAs are assigned to the treble and then lastly, the piezoelectric was added to enhance the presence region.
This makes for a total of five drivers on each side of the ear.
Raptgo then brings all of it together through a four-way crossover, which by engineering sounds painstakingly difficult but by sound is wonderful.
I like that they went with the piezoelectric again but with a different set of drivers. The piezo is perhaps one of Raptgo’s most notable driver choices when they launched the Hook-X with a planar and a piezo combo.
So far, the implementation of a PZT on the Hi-Fi market is scarce and those that have tried weren’t that well-received, except the Raptgo.
With the Hook-X and the Bridge, Raptgo seems to be building a niche that revolves around unique driver pairings that always include a piezoelectric driver.
Sound Tweaking
What makes the Rapto Bridge appealing to me is that it comes with tuning switches and tuning nozzles to complement it.
According to the brand, the first switch affects the high frequencies, while the second switch changes gain modes. Most of the tuning switches in the market are often gimmicky but thankfully, the ones on the Bridge work.
The first switch, or the “treble switch” as I call it, really does work and I say this like I’m convincing myself because I did multiple testing to make sure.
The upper end is naturally very resolving but flicking on the first switch improves this even more, making details seem like floating notes in the air that are somewhat apparent even with little to no effort – which creeps me out at times.
The second switch changes the setting from low gain to high gain. Low gain is measured at around 105dB SPL/mW and is converted to around 109dB SPL/mW in high gain mode. This increases the overall signal to about 3dB.
This does two things. The first is that it lets the Bridge sound louder across the board, and second, it lets you dance around with sensitivity to different sources.
The tuning nozzles also do what they’re designed to do. I’m unsure what kind of metals they used to alter the acoustics but honestly, I’m surprised the nozzles worked up to a very good degree.
The standard nozzle in black is more V-shaped sounding and it’s the default one installed on the Raptgo Bridge. Generally, I like to use this nozzle when listening to more vocal-centric songs.
The equilibrium nozzle in silver sounds more balanced. It sounds like I’m regurgitating what I read about the Bridge, but I’ve found that the equilibrium nozzle flattens the sound, making it more cohesive.
I usually use this nozzle when I play my J-pop library. I find that it gives me the most satisfaction when it comes to harmony as everything sounds more level and even.
The high-frequency nozzle in gold improves the perception of detail. It helps with definition, and I find that smaller notes and nuances surface whenever I switch to it.
The Bridge then becomes a dedicated Polyphia earphone, cranking Playing God to a whole other level of engagement. Let the headbanging commence.
Sound Quality
The Raptgo Bridge has a V-shaped sound signature that leans on the side of bright. It’s not a particularly warm sounding in-ear but it isn’t cold sounding either.
To my ears, it lies in the middle of the spectrum, which is very unique compared to other IEMs in my collection. I have either warm or cold sets, or both as with the case of the Senfer DT9, but nothing was quite in the middle like the Bridge.
I’d describe the overall tonality as bright due to its treble qualities. With regards to sound, the midrange is excellent, full of definition and details, replaying songs with great clarity and character. The bass is speedy and impactful and has good sub-frequency control despite a relatively moderate quantity.
It manages to sound tight and clean while still being fun.
All in all, the upper-end emphasis is apparent and yet it doesn’t sound overdone or particularly aimed toward treble heads.
The overall sound is like a perfectly stitched dress that’s made from intricate cuts of cloth. The sonics are tuned in a way that gives them superlative qualities that surprisingly meld perfectly with each other.
Bass
The sub-bass of the Raptgo Bridge has good depth but doesn’t present bass head levels of rumble.
Testing it with The Weeknd’s Starboy, the 808s sounded thick and weighty but lacked the enveloping sound an otherwise bass-heavy set would output.
I like this response as songs sound more balanced, allowing me to focus more on the overall picture without my attention getting stolen by the subfrequencies.
This isn’t to say that the bass is more mid-bass-oriented as the sub-bass manages to reach bass head levels of depth while maintaining tight control over the low end.
The mid-bass on the Raptgo Bridge has good impact, delivering punch and slam with good rhythm and speed. Kick drums are agile and have good elasticity, replaying with good tonality and timbre.
Overall, the bass is a very tailored response that strikes a good balance while remaining engaging and fun to listen to.
Midrange
The lower midrange of the Raptgo Bridge, with no switches active and with the standard nozzle installed, sounds recessed.
Normally, the upper midrange takes the limelight while the lower mids take some time the backstage. Initially, lower-pitched vocals were a little harder to hear, making male vocals sit behind female vocals in terms of fidelity.
After flicking on the high gain with the second tuning switch, the lower midrange improved and sounded more balanced. The standard nozzle still yielded a V-shape-dominated sound but on the equilibrium tuning nozzle, the sound became flatter and more balanced overall.
The midrange responds the best on the equilibrium nozzle, presenting good levels of presence on the lower midrange while transitioning nicely into the upper midrange, making everything feel more cohesive.
Generally, the midrange with either tuning nozzle sounds clear, well-defined, and detailed.
Oddly, despite its brighter inclination the midrange doesn’t sound thin. It still retains a good amount of heft to its body despite the lack of any influence of warmth.
Treble
After multiple hours of testing, I’ve concluded that the treble is definitely a strong point of the Raptgo Bridge.
Even though three drivers for the treble can seem like overkill, the upper end doesn’t sound strident or harsh, and it doesn’t evolve into sibilance either.
It sounds relatively smooth with a great amount of air and atmosphere about it.
The timbre and tonality are also stellar, giving the higher octaves of instruments a sonorous sheen with life-like qualities to them.
The definition in the treble notes improves with the use of the treble switch in conjunction with the high-frequency nozzle. I find it slightly enhances detail perception especially when I tip roll to a JVC Spiral Dots just to put a cherry on top.
Technicalities
The technical section of the Raptgo Bridge is no slouch either and if you think the tuning is overly engineered, you haven’t seen anything yet.
The instrument separation and layering are superb. No matter how many complex tracks I throw at it, the Bridge doesn’t seem to cave in and congest.
The instruments, vocals, and percussion are all in their respective lanes and never seem to clash. Sometimes I feel like they’re gliding over each other, and my ears just rejoice.
The imaging is also excellent, making it a relatively easy task to position instruments within the soundscape. The soundstage is 3D, confined in a moderately-sized sphere that extends spaciously in width, height, and depth.
It isn’t the biggest soundstage I’ve heard but it’s fairly realistic and comes close to maybe a medium-sized concert hall.
The transient response is excellent in its attack while decay is moderately paced and natural sounding.
Detail retrieval is a triple thumbs up if I ever had three hands. It was simply a breeze to appreciate tiny nuances in my music.
Normally I’d have to focus and dial in with critical listening but with the Bridge, it was simply a matter of hearing it.
Macro and microdetails are both done exceptionally well, making listening to music dynamic and resolving.
Conclusion
The Raptgo Bridge is a very complex in-ear that’s engineered exceptionally well with its meticulous design and acoustic tuning while also being equally capable technically.
Its greatest charm is its unique bright sonic character that’s easy to like. And while it may also be enjoyed by the average consumer, the level of fidelity it presents will definitely satisfy the discerning audiophile.
If you love a bright airy signature that sounds dynamic and natural with a titanic amount of affinity for detail, the Raptgo Bridge is a no-brainer.
Gavin is a college student who has a lot going on. From collecting IEMs and modding mechanical keyboards, to different hobbies like digital drawing, music mastering and cooking. It is safe to say he is a complete multi-faceted geek (and he's kinda cool too)
This post was last updated on 2025-02-06 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.