ROCKJAW KOMMAND Quick Review

ROCKJAW KOMMAND Quick Review

Thanks to ROCK JAW for the sample.

Brief:  Effortlessly grand with ear guides.

Price:  £120 or about US$180   N.B. currently going for just £99 somewhere

Specification:  Drivers: Balanced armature + 8mm dynamic, 3x Interchangeable tuning filters, Impedance: 16Ω, Sensitivity: 110+/-3db, Frequency response: 20 – 20000Hz, Cord Length: 1.2M, MIC with pause/play button – (iOS & Android compatible), Jack type: Gold plated 3.5mm

Accessories:  3 pairs of tips, 3 pairs of sound tuning filters, a shirt clip and a little baggy for keeping it together.  Pretty disappointed with the baggy.

Build Quality:  Very nice.  A combination of ebony surrounding the IEM and the rest being metal it feels premium and it looks premium too.

Isolation:  Meh. They sit shallow, the have a dynamic in them and 2 of the 3 filters have additional venting.  You’ll get by for normal out and about or on a bus use but you’ll be steering away from quiet classical pieces.  Not one you’ll want for Tube commutes or flights.  With music on though, still enough to obscure that car that’s about to hit you.

Comfort/Fit:  Err, well the ear guide just got in my way but with some fiddling I got it positioned so I could wear them up and fitting me well.  Once done comfort was great.  A bit awkward getting on and off but fine once set.  I’d have greatly preferred no ear guide.

Aesthetics:  They look pretty great.  Wood and metal scream fancy yet reserved. Tre posh.

Sound:  Adorable.  Yes you can alter the sound signature with the filters.  The silver is the closed and no high filter so its bass is more hard and punchily aggressive.  The gold is open and no high filter so, its bass is just like the blacks and its highs like the silver.  Both their treble is light and sprightly, being a BA it’s a hint over crisp and its extension trails off quite sharply once you get very high.  Still for a BA it’s got a good level of delicate refinement.  Mids tend to be a little over shadowed on the golds and by highs and bass on the silvers.  On the black though, they are more prominent and are lovely.  The bass is a hint soft and sumptuous, the highs are gently tamed and the mids become more noticeably creamy and flowing.  It’s not an attention grabber but I found it grew on me without me barely noticing and finding that I actually love it.  It’s just so effortlessly easy on the ear I was happily spending the whole day with it and finding myself reluctant to remove them.  It’s a beautifully organic and warmly natural feeling IEM and you could absolutely forget there is a crossover in them.  It’s all so beautifully and smoothly integrated.  I know on paper it’s not “better” than its competitors but I find I am enjoying this much more than its on paper attributes would suggest.  Tonally it pushes all of my buttons, I just love it.

Value:  Well it’s a bit costly, I’m sure you’re paying for its fancy construction, the filters and that ear guide.  So on paper others are “better” value.  However you do get a more probably sound sig match with the filters of your not 100% sure what sound is you.

N.B. I’ve just found them going for £100 to which I say, oh hell yes!

Pro’s:   Adorably sumptuous.  Look impressively premium.

Con’s:  The stupid ear guides.