SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko Earphones Review – The Siren with the Subwoofer

First Impressions

The unboxing experience of the SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko was just sublime. It comes in a cardboard box with some anime graphics on the front, which you’d normally see with Chi-Fi brands. However, the contents are more than make up for this simple packaging.

Upon opening the box, you’d see the earphones nicely presented in a plastic mold. Below it is the carrying case which contains the cable and the ear tips. 

The Rinko looks gorgeous in the photos that I saw online. I don’t know why I expected it to be an all-metal build, but it reminded me quite a bit of the Moondrop Aria. It has a nice matte finish with crisp white text inscribing the words ‘Rinko’. 

Overall, I like its simple and minimalist look.

Build Quality

Regarding the build quality of the SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko, its shells are made from a 3D-printed material, while the lower housing that nestles the drivers is of smoked black polycarbonate. 

Despite not being made out of metal, the earphones appear sturdy. I didn’t fully expect to like a 3D-printed shell but honestly, it feels substantial enough that the irrational man stays in his box and drinks tea.

The cable is great and wraps up well, but I find switching to an aftermarket cable always gives me the exact rigidness I want. Nonetheless, it’s a pretty nifty cable at its price point. 

Overall, I’m pretty happy with the build quality of the Rinko.

Fit and Comfort

The fit of the SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko is generally good, especially with the Render ear tips.

The Render tips are a rather novel kind of ear tip in the market but they’re just foam sandwiched in between an inner layer and outer layer of silicone. I find that they give an identical seal as foam tips and they’re quite comfortable as well. 

I wouldn’t say that it has the most comfortable shape but they fit nicely and don’t cause any discomfort. There’ll be no “I need to take a break because it’s starting to hurt” kind of episodes.

Passive noise isolation is decent and you get a lot of noise filtered out when wearing them. Queueing up some music turns everything quiet and that’s when you know that isolation is good. 

Overall, the Rinko satisfies both of the metrics that serve crucial roles in the wearing experience.

Sound Quality

The SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko serves up everyone’s favorite signature: the V-shape. And although V-shaped sets have been plaguing the Chi-fi world for so long, the Rinko sets itself apart somehow. 

There’s no bass bleed and while many sets can do this, what they fail to produce is an unprecedented amount of clarity, which is very apparent in the Rinko’s midrange. 

The graph of the Rinko shows that it does this by doing wide band boost at 2 and 4KHz. In doing this, it cuts through the huge bass shelf. 

As you’d expect, the lower mids sound a little scooped, placing lower vocals a little farther in the soundscape. All isn’t dreadful though as the substantial amount of pinna gain gives upper vocal harmonics force and power. This dynamic works and while I’m a fan of full-sounding lower mids, I’m not averse to this kind of presentation. 

Meanwhile, the treble is well-extended and tuned in a way that presents the upper air registers with an ethereal quality to them. I doubt I can describe a similar experience to the Rinko at this price range. 

Aside from being fun, it’s undeniably unique as well. 

Bass 

The SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko’s low end is just monstrous. It’s not an L-type of approach where the bass cascades down on everything but for a V-shaped signature, the bass just wows you. 

The subfrequencies are visceral, giving you what seems to be rumble with a tad of texture. I tested it out using a sine wave sweep from about 10Hz to 200Hz and it immediately growls at 10Hz whereas other sets only start to pick up at 30Hz. 

The amount of sub-bass is devious. Make no mistake, this isn’t for the faint of heart. 

“Time” by Hans Zimmer completely enveloped my ears as reverberations emanated from every direction. I was completely absorbed in the music. This is generally true for anything from Hans Zimmer, but it’s a whole new experience for me. 

This sub-bass would be perfect for movies as well, especially ones directed by Michael Bay, pending they have enough explosions to make the cut. This gives you an unparalleled amount of immersion. There’s just something about the sub-bass that feels like you have your head against a 10-inch subwoofer. 

The mid-bass on the other hand compliments the sub-bass by kicking as hard as it can. The impact is powerful and lands swiftly. The kick drum on “OHMAMI” by Ocean Atlantic proves this as it was authoritative and unrelenting. 

The bass drops were tactile and it’s almost impossible to stay still as you listen. This presentation is very robust albeit having some creases in refinement. 

The bass can sound a little frayed and despite the speed, it’ll sound just a tad imprecise. Who cares though, we take what we can get and ride into the dawn!

Mids

The lower mids of the SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko are recessed. Initially, they were too distant for my liking, but not to a level that makes the lower mids sound missing. I do think that the lower midrange puts in a good effort. 

“Heart to Heart” by Mac de Marco retains much of its note weight even though it situates the vocals farther on the stage, turning the experience into something of a live performance, which I adore. 

The upper midrange fits my preferences injecting just an ample amount of energy and sizzling into female vocals and upper vocal harmonics. The pinna gain is done boldly which surprisingly gives expression and character without evolving into glare. 

There’s a significant dip over at 6KHz, taking away dynamism from transient hits. Stick attacks feel less involved and merely “show up” without imparting any sense of tactility. This makes percussion imaging come across as a little vague and imprecise. 

I love the interplay of drums and how they tie the music together. I like hearing them sweep from left to right, popping up like tiny fireworks that make me dance. The Rinko doesn’t do well to elicit that feeling.

Overall, the midrange offers yet another unique experience fraught with high energy, expressive vocals, and clarity. 

Treble

The SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko’s upper end has to be some of the best presentations at this price range. The mid-treble frequencies display great clarity, and the upper octaves sound is amplified with vibrance whilst introducing no sibilance at all. 

The extension is superb and it highlights my favorite thing about the treble: the air region. The Rinko’s graph shows a precise boost at 13 and 16KHz. Correlation doesn’t mean causation but to my ears, it doesn’t matter. 

The upper treble moves an immense amount of air leading the experience into something ethereal. Blackshape’s newest song “X” reflects this, rendering the song into something of an orchestral performance. 

If you love an airy presentation, the Rinko will hand you an oxygen tank.

Technicalities

Areas most notable in the SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko are its staging and imaging ability. The stereo image is very wide and renders depth equally good. The imaging flaunts a 3D presentation, calling upon sound at every cardinal point around the listener. 

The separation is excellent, making “Plot Twis”  by NIKI very immersive and fleshed out. The resolution is very focused and for the price, it also puts up a good fight in terms of resolving ability. The attack stumbles a little bit with the 6KHz dip, but I find the decay to be very natural. 

Overall, for the price, these are some excellent technical chops even with some minor flaws.

Genre Synergy

There’s great synergy with more modern genres than traditional ones. I find that techno, J-[op, R&B, and hip-hop fit better with the SeeAudio x Z Reviews Rinko’s presentation more so than metal or rock. 

If you don’t mind slightly more passive transients, then it detracts from my earlier statement and handles metal and rocks easily. Orchestral music and live music also fare well with the Rinko and it can give you a very immersive and life-like experience.

Conclusion

The SeeAudio x Z Reviews  Rinko is something you wear when you want your blood flowing and your head banging. It’s easy to forget with all the consideration for technical ability that despite these additives, what we’re after is music enjoyment. 

The Rinko is tuned to be unapologetically fun. It never tries to overly impress or win you over – it just sounds really fun. At its price range, it gets a solid recommendation.

This post was last updated on 2024-12-08 / Some images from Amazon Product API & some links may be affiliate links which may earn us a commission from purchases.