Comparison.
The comparison was done using Karma with a stock copper cable, stock Azla Origin eartips, and SP4000 source, volume matched in every comparison. As mentioned in the intro, I only heard Quill Audio Satin a year ago when I borrowed it for review; thus, it makes no sense to mention it here, since relying on memory would be misleading.
Karma vs UM Mest MK2 – For a long time, Mest MK2 held the crown as one of the best price/performance IEMs. While it used to be priced a little higher, I often see it on sale at Musicteck for a price close to Karma. Both IEMs have holographic-level imaging and a similar soundstage depth, but the width and height advantage goes to Karma here, creating a more rounded soundstage. These two also have some noticeable differences in sound tuning. While Karma is closer to W-shaped balanced, MK2 is U-shaped tuned due to its elevated sub-bass and mid-treble. Their bass quantity is not too far off, with a deeper, extended sub-bass and punchy mid-bass. The difference here is that, regardless of eartips selection, MK2 bass usually stays relatively the same. In contrast, Karma with narrow-bore eartips can have mid-bass as punchy as MK2, or be more rounded and bloomy with wider-bore eartips. Another thing I noticed: the rumble of Karma has a more velvety texture. Both of their mids do exhibit a neutral, natural, detailed tuning, but Karma lifts its upper mids to give you more forward emphasis, instead of hiding behind the treble like in MK2. With treble, these are almost polar opposite, where Karma has a noticeably more natural, relaxed treble, with hardly any emphasis on lower treble and more presence in mid-treble. At the same time, MK2 gives you more revealing lower treble and more energetic mid-treble crunch. It’s almost like Karma takes MK2’s treble peak and shifts it into the upper mids. I think anybody who appreciated the bass tuning and naturalness of the mids in MK2, but wanted a more natural, relaxed treble extension without sacrificing detail resolution and keeping a big soundstage expansion, will find Karma a worthwhile upgrade.
Karma vs UM Mest Jet Black – With JB scaling down the bass and treble relative to MK2, some of the sound changes compared to Karma were predictable. Here, JB has a more balanced tonality, with a reduced bass impact across both sub-bass and mid-bass regions. Actually, JB itself places more emphasis on sub-bass than mid-bass, and the overall bass weight feels more neutral relative to Karma. Its mids are also more neutral, less colored, more transparent, and even a little colder in tonality when compared to warmer, smoother, more natural Karma mids. Again, Karma has more upper-mids emphasis to bring vocals and some of the instruments more forward. When it comes to treble, JB is less aggressive than MK2 but still more revealing, with more crunch in mid-treble. At the same time, Karma keeps it naturally revealing and more relaxed, delivering a smoother upper-frequency extension. Both have a rounded, expanded soundstage with holographic-level imaging. And again, for those who felt that JB took a step back in bass emphasis (relative to MK2) and still had a bit too much revealing mid-treble, Karma will make a good upgrade path, despite JB being about 50% more expensive.
Karma vs Vision Ears VE10 – I know, I’m stepping up in price, over 3x more than Karma, but as soon as I started listening to Karma, VE10 tuning was the first thing that popped into my head. From a technical perspective, VE10 has a rather narrow soundstage, with more depth/height, while Karma’s soundstage is much wider, and its imaging is more holographic and less intimate than in VE10. When it comes to tuning, there are really just a few noticeable differences. Karma has more lift in the sub-bass and a little faster mid-bass impact, which gives its bass more depth and punch, while VE10 has a more rounded, laidback presentation of the bass. Both have a fuller body, warmer, naturally tuned mids, but VE10 has more coloring and thicker tonality, while Karma has more resolution and better layering. When it comes to the treble, they are nearly identical, with main emphasis on mid-treble, non-aggressive, relaxed, and naturally resolving. With Karma, you can get a little more sparkle when switching to narrow-bore eartips. If you enjoy VE10 but would like less-sensitive IEMs with a bigger soundstage, more tactile bass response, and higher mid-range resolution, Karma would get you there.
Karma vs Forte Ears Mefisto – I added this comparison after a few people asked me about it, especially because they were curious how their bass compares. You do need to keep in mind the Mefisto’s much higher price. First, let me start with a technical performance comparison: both offer holographic-level imaging, but Karma spreads the L/R expansion more widely. With tuning, the biggest difference here is in the treble, where Mefisto is much brighter and crisper. As a result, I often have to lower its listening volume, which also makes the bass sound more neutral relative to the treble. When you raise the volume to match the low end of Karma and Mefisto, they have a very similar bass quantity, with Mefisto bass having much faster punch, while Karma has more depth with sub-bass texture and rumble. Their lower mids are neutral and not too far off, but the upper mids are more forward in Mefisto, and, again, its treble (Mefisto) is much more energetic, which makes its tuning more revealing. In comparison, Karma is more natural, smoother, and with a lot more relaxed, natural treble. I wouldn’t call one an upgrade or a downgrade of the other. They are just two different flavors of ice cream, with Mefisto being great for treble-heads and hi-res-heads. At the same time, Karma is great for those who like a smoother, more natural performance with greater bass depth and texture, more musical mids, and relaxed, resolving treble.
Source Pair-up.
In each of these source pair-ups, I was using a stock copper cable and Azla Origin eartips. Karma IEMs are relatively easy to drive.
A&K SP4000 (Advanced DAR enabled, HDM enabled) – a more balanced W-shaped sound signature, with a smoother, natural, detailed tonality, deep rounded bass, clear, natural mids, clear, relaxed treble, and huge holographic soundstage.
iBasso DX340Max – I hear an improvement in imaging, especially noticeable in how vocals are positioned and spread in space relative to other instruments, making them stand out. The tonality is more reference, less colored, still natural, but more revealing. Also, there is more crunch and airiness in the treble.
Hiby RS8ii – I started by switching Turbo on and off. I found that Turbo off gave the sound a more natural tonality while still maintaining reference-quality detail retrieval, with really good layering and separation of the sounds. The sub-bass was digging deeper, and the treble had more airiness, which helped layer the sounds, with “air” between the layers. RS8ii is a more revealing source, but here, it still let Karma remain natural without exaggerated treble energy.
Cayin N8iii – I started with Solid State mode, Hyper on and Power Mode P+, but with Hyper/P+, the upper frequencies were crisper, and I wanted to go back to the more musical, organic tonality, so in Solid State I had both of these off. But once I switched to Tubes-Classic mode, Class A+ amp, and kept Hyper off and Power mode on P, I couldn’t go back to any other mode. This particular pair-up was oozing with natural, musical details and a high level of resolution,
L&P P6 Pro – Very similar to SP4k, just with a touch more clarity in mids.
NiPO A200 Pro – This tuning reminded me a lot of SP4000 and P6 Pro, very similar.
L&P W4 – This pair-up was a bit surprising, since I expected a sound similar to what I would get with P6Pro, but instead it was much more revealing in the mids and treble. I mean, it’s all a matter of personal preference, but lower mids were south of neutral, and treble gained more crunch, becoming brighter and more revealing.
iBasso DC Tonfa – This is a new R2R dongle from iBasso that I’m in the middle of testing, and it actually reminded me a lot of the 340Max pair-up, with expanded imaging, less coloring, more revealing tonality, and more airiness in the treble.
Overall, I found Karma to pair up well with all the sources; nothing really stood out as “bad” pairing here. And again, I want to emphasize that Karma owners should pay more attention to the eartips rolling rather than cable or source rolling.
Conclusion.
Lately, there has been a new trend in which some well-known brands are introducing budget-level IEMs (relatively speaking) at a fraction of the price of their flagship releases, sharing some of the same tech without cutting too many corners down by the same “fraction” factor. I’m trying to avoid saying “punches above its price point,” but that is essentially what it is. Not sure if this trend is intended to introduce audiophiles to a brand in the hope of the upgrade to their flagship products, or the other way around, for the owners of their flagships to get a cheaper version for everyday use. But the release of the Karma IEMs seems to be something else, and more unique.
According to Quill Audio, Karma was created as an expression of gratitude: “We took everything we learned from Satin and built a new IEM that is more refined, more mature, more accessible.” I’m not going to say that Karma is better than Satin, since they have different tunings, as I recall from a distant memory. Opinions on what is considered better are highly subjective anyway. But it felt like the level of new-tech design, and even tuning, in Karma took the next step beyond Satin, while also making it more affordable. I guess it’s their way of earning good karma toward their upcoming flagship, which I’m also very curious about.
To bring the spotlight back to the IEM of today’s review, Karma delivers a very tastefully tuned W-shaped (or mildly U-shaped) sound signature with an impressively holographic soundstage and imaging usually found in more advanced multi-BCD driver designs. The bass is deep and textured, with plenty of weight and impact, without exaggeration, and it can even satisfy picky audiophile bassheads. Its natural tuning of the mids and relaxed presentation of the treble will not muddy the sound or obscure detail retrieval. Instead, you will be surprised by a level of natural clarity and resolution, as long as you are not craving higher levels of micro-detail or crisp definition. The bass and the soundstage were the highlights of Karma’s tuning to my ears, and the pleasant, natural tuning of its mids and treble was icing on the cake, making it a more enjoyable, non-fatiguing listening experience. Now, the waiting begins to hear their next flagship release!
