7 Hertz Timeless Review

I have been hearing about the 7 Hertz Timeless for quite a while now, but have never gotten a chance to listen to them until now. If you don’t know, the Timeless is a planar IEM that only costs $219.99 for the 3.5mm version. It’s sort of a rarity for any planar audio product to be priced this way, and in doing so it appeals to more budget-friendly audiophiles of which there are a lot. There have been planar IEMs before, but not one like the Timeless. Is it worth the hype?

What You Get 

• Timeless planar earphones
• Metal case
• 1 pair of nozzle filters
• 3 sets of multicolored tips in three sizes
• MMCX cable

Look and Feel

The look of the Timeless is like no other IEM out there. Its housing is shaped like a quarter, and if you’re only looking at pictures of them you might believe that it couldn’t possibly fit in your ear. However, actually laying eyes on the Timeless, the style of its shell seems a lot more reasonable. Not only are they smaller than I had predicted, but they are also thinner. I expected a bit more weight from them, so I was surprised by how light they were. In the ear, they feel as natural as any well-fitting IEM. Their comfort varies, but it was easy for me to not find the circular housing too distracting.

Design

This is one of the rare IEMs to feature a planar driver, and the Timeless specifically isn’t playing around when it comes to its implementation. It uses a 14.2mm driver with a double-sided ultra-thin diaphragm, known to deliver a faster transient response with a more dynamic structure.

• Driver 14.2mm planar driver
• Impedance 14.8ohm
• Sound pressure level 104dB/1Khz
• Frequency response range 5-40000hz
• THD <0.2%/1KHZ
• Connector MMCX
• Nozzle diameter 5mm

Soundstage

These brands like Moondrop and Dunu always seem to surprise me with IEMs in this price range and I was expecting a similar level of quality when I first started listening to the Timeless. Thankfully, the soundstage was up to the impressive standard that I had come to know. Being that the Timeless quite hyped up for me, it’s easy to be disappointed by high expectations, but listening to the Timeless, and experiencing its vast soundstage, I felt a sigh of relief come over me. The soundstage here is exceptionally wide for the price and spaces itself coherently throughout the stereo field.

With the imaging, you feel like everything is placed where it should naturally be, but the spatial qualities are heightened by the extended depth that the Timeless is capable of. Separation is well communicated but the stacking of layers is what’s going to really impress. It’s the noticeable cracks in between the different sound elements that elevate the structure of the output, making further details shine all the more. From left to right, backward to forward, the Timeless has a great presence in its soundstage that provides you with a sound environment that feels like it is propagating more naturally. You can definitely feel the planar characteristics at play.

Low End

Some planar products don’t necessarily produce the most impactful bass but that isn’t the case with the Timeless. Here you get a gripping bass with a rich tonality that is sure to easily satisfy your low-end needs. It will give you the coloration that makes the frequency response all the more engaging, delivering a deep resonance in the sub-bass and expressive power in the mid-bass to keep the grove alive. You get a fun timbre that is completely exaggerated but entertaining for a wide selection of genres nonetheless.

Mids

The midrange doesn’t aim to excite like the bass does, but doesn’t fall into recession either. The frequencies lay themselves out as flat and balanced but don’t pop out with texture or smoothness. Instead, the mids here act as a bridge between the more colorized regions of the frequency response, still offering a fair amount of presence, but with considerably less drive. However, good detail remains intact, and instruments still appear well-identified in the mix. Clean vocals are immediately apparent, showcasing various points of complexity in the way they articulate their timbre.  Harmonies and instrumental layers are weaved back and forth with solid precision, keeping the midrange from leaning into the duller territory.

Highs

At the top end of the sound signature, the Timeless reproduces some wispy treble that perfectly accentuated its timbre. Much like a number of great planar headphones, the timeless gives you an airier sensation in the highs, veering away from brightness and piercing textures while still coating the treble in a blissful resonance that completes the top end. The details are clearly emphasized with just the right amount of gain. Certain instruments and effects have the ability to taper off with a shimmering quality that I couldn’t get enough of. This is especially apparent with reverb effects, as they can properly deliver a more substantial tail to the sounds it’s paired with.

Summary

I originally had some high expectations for the Timeless after all I’ve heard about them, and almost all of those expectations have been met in one way or another. Its sound signature has a ton of goodies that will keep you coming back to it, with its spacious soundstage, powerful bass, and colorful highs. Then when taking the price into consideration, there’s really no reason I can find not to buy a pair, besides the initial fit which might take some getting used to.

The 7 Hertz Timeless is available at Audio 46.