RaptGo Hook-X Review

Today I will be trying the RaptGo Hook-X IEM’s. This is personally my first experience with any this brand, so I’m excited to see how these perform. These IEM’s are equipped with unique planar and piezoelectric hybrid drivers that utilize bone conduction technology, meaning the produced sound waves resonate through the skull of the listener and directly into the inner ear. Sitting at a moderate $239, these IEM’s face plenty of market competition. Time to put them to the test, and hear for myself how they hold up.

What You Get

-RaptGo Hook-X Earphones

-0.78 2pin OCC Silver Plated Coaxial Shielded Wire & 2.5mm/3.5mm/4.4mm Plugs

-Earphones case

-10 Headphone silicone tips (Small, medium and large)

-Warranty card and instructions

Look and Feel

From the moment you slide open the tight fitting-top of the glossy, silver-grey packaging box, it becomes clear that these phones are going for a sleek, minimal and somewhat modern design. The earphone case is a smooth, semi-soft grey leather-like material that admittedly may be slightly too thick and heat retentive to comfortably fit in the pockets of a pair of jeans. In the same spirit as the packaging, the Hook-X’s have a cool and minimal housing design as well, and fit very comfortably into my ears with no fuss. The freckled grill on the back of the phones, detailed with a slender lining of steely-color, nicely incorporates the open-back technology into the aesthetic design and compliments the simple look of the rest of the housing. The silver plated wire feels insulated, firm and flexible, shimmering lightly when it hits the light. It is clear that serious thought went into the exterior materials, as nothing about these IEM’s feel or look cheap or fragile.

Design

The Hook-X utilizes a custom made 14.2mm planar driver driven by N52 magnets as well as a custom 18 layer double-sided PZT driver. An IEM with a hybrid driver? Certainly some unusual and exciting specs.

-Sensitivity (1kHz): 105dB SPL/mW

-Frequency range: 20 Hz – 40 kHz

-Impedance (1kHz): 15 ohms

Sound Stage:

With their open back design and thoughtful driver design, I expected the Hook-X to provide impressive staging and imaging. I’m happy to say that despite my expectations, I was still blown away, particularly by the sub-bass imaging. These IEM’s are fast, and rendered snakily-panned sub bass in electronic tracks, for example, with velvety smoothness. Overall there is a lot of natural breathing room between the frequency ranges. The Hook-X handles reverbs exceptionally well across all frequency ranges, never muddying or obscuring the overall composition of the mix. As far as IEM’s go, these provided an almost dizzying wideness that is uniquely experienced deep in the ear. This, along with their depth, layering, and responsiveness, made for an extremely immersive listening experience.

Lows:

I found the sub bass on these particularly surprisingly for any headphone, let alone IEM’s. Frequently, IEM’s that go for a low end approach can end up sounding a little swollen and imprecise which can detract from an immersive listening experience. This was not at all an issue here. The subs were shockingly smooth and fast, capable of deep punches without obstructing the rest of the mix. The physical sensation of their rumble is undeniable – “bone conduction” technology may sound like a flowery phrase right up until you experience the Hook-X vibrate your head from the inside out.   

Mids:

The stellar bass qualities of the Hook-X carries naturally into the mids. A nice growl extends itself smoothly but distinctly through the low mids, allowing electric basses to retain unique mix-specific qualities rather than being reduced to a big fat sin wave. On acoustic guitar tracks the low end of the guitar can be heard just as well as the strummy transients of the pick hitting the strings. Snare drums retain their low-mid impactful attack in a perfect ratio to their fast and crispy high-mid decay. Vocals retain a very natural timbre, with a slight but non problematic weight on their generally low-mid fundamental frequency.

Highs:

I will be honest here: the highs are perfectly fine, but didn’t leave as strong of an impression as the rest of the package. Most of the high frequency energy sounds like it is concentrated in the 3kHz-7kHz high-mid range. In this sense, hi hats, sibilance, and tom-tom skins come through with a lot of energy, but something like the decay of a ride cymbal doesn’t quite have the granular, misty quality that some brighter phones provide. This being said, the highs do not at all detract from the listening experience, and I am perhaps just trying to poke a hole in a pair of IEM’s that thus far seem flawless.

Overall

Let’s recap: a pair of open back IEM’s with unique planar-hybrid driver technology that can rumble your skull without sacrificing an ounce of precision for $239? What am I missing here? It is truly produced a premium pair of in ear monitors at a more than reasonable price point. The balance of relative affordability with such high quality makes the RaptGo Hook-X an incredibly appealing product.    

The RaptGo Hook-X can be bought at Audio46.