Today, Thomas reviews the PLUSSOUND SONORA, which is a new high-end tribrid dual dynamic, quad BA, and dual EST driver universal IEM. It is priced at $2999.99.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links. I thank the team at PLUSSOUND for giving me this opportunity.
Click here to read more about PLUSSOUND products previously featured on Headfonics.
This article follows our current scoring guidelines which you can read in more detail here.
While PLUSSOUND is best known for its extensive lineup of custom cables, it entered the high-end IEM market with the ALLEGRO last year.
Building on that foundation, they have released two new IEMs in the VOLTA and SONORA, the latter of which we are covering today.
Thanks to community feedback, the shells of the SONORA have been tweaked and reworked to improve comfort and fit over the ALLEGRO. Along with the new shells is a meticulously tuned tri-brid driver configuration.
Handling the lows are dual dynamics in an isobaric configuration to remove distortion and limit resonances. Quad-balanced armatures produce the midrange while twin electrostatics, known for their speed and accuracy, handle the upper frequencies.
Given PLUSSOUND’s experience with cables, it should come as no surprise that one of their gorgeous Copper XL cables, custom-tailored to match the SONORA, is included.
Features
SONORA’s aluminum shells were manufactured through a 7-axis CNC machining process. This process is precise, permitting a complicated design, and is evident through the various textures covering the exterior of each earpiece.
Along with this machining process, the earpieces are polished, anodized, and then cryogenically treated to strengthen the surface and provide additional resistance to damage and scratches if dropped. These seem like complicated earphones to produce.
Inside, the drivers are inlaid within a 3D-printed acoustic chamber, a technology we’ve seen used in other premium products like those from Campfire Audio.
The 0.78mm 2-pin connectors used for the SONORA also have some interesting properties. They are made of tellurium copper and plated with rhodium to provide a level of conductivity well beyond what is standard in the industry.
While the included Copper XL cable already exists in PLUSSOUND’s lineup, the y-split has been curated to match the burgundy interior of the shell and trapezoidal patterning.
This earphone’s internal wiring is also special, using PLUSSOUND’s in-house, cryogenically treated Copper XS wiring. Every step of the SONORA’s wiring has been tailored to ensure the cleanest data transmission possible.
Design
Most brands aim for sleek, smooth designs that hug the ear and weigh next to nothing, but PLUSSOUNDS’ SONORA takes a different approach.
The bold shell design of the SONORA and its’ stablemates is unique in the current earphone landscape, and you’re unlikely to mistake them for anything but a PLUSOUND product.
While the SONORA has a blocky design, the edges are rounded off so they’re quite smooth in the hand. The gold faceplate is adorned with a small PS logo and a wavelet design, while the rear half of the shell is burgundy and contains a busy trapezoidal pattern.
Unpainted aluminum nozzles are present with three exit points for the tri-brid setup within. There is no protective mesh covering the holes so keep a watchful eye open for debris that could fall inside.
Sunken 0.78mm ports can be found on top of each shell. If swapping to a third-party cable, know the ports are not keyed to prevent accidental channel swaps.
Moving to the rear of each housing is a long, vertical vent. I appreciate the placement of these vents as they don’t pick up wind noise when using the SONORA outdoors.
While large, the SONORA’s earpieces aren’t overly heavy. At 8g per earpiece, with no tip installed, they’re in line with other premium products like oBravo’s Clio and the Campfire Audio Supermoon, but well under the hefty 17.1g of the Earsonics Grace Platinum.
The build quality is spectacular with properly aligned parts, an even paint job, and no excess glue leaking out anywhere. The seams between the halves of the shell are prominent, but that was clearly a design decision given the visibly tapered edges.
Comfort & Isolation
The low weight of the relatively large housings goes a long way to keeping the SONORA’s ergonomic shortcomings manageable.
The earpieces of the SONORA are large and deep, and once inserted still stick out from the ear. While somewhat rectangular, the edges are well-rounded so there are no sharp edges to irritate the ear or cause hotspots.
The lack of protrusions to help lock the earpiece in your ear is obvious in movement. I found the seal regularly breaking loose requiring frequent repositioning to rectify and can only imagine how much worse it would have been if the SONORA wasn’t as light.
The gorgeous Copper XL cable is to blame in my experience. The thick, heavy wiring tugs at the SONORA, throws off the balance, and fatigues the ear, though a deep sealing tip and the chin cinch help reduce this.
Isolation from the SONORA is better than I expected given the large vents on the rear of each housing. Taking the SONORA to a busy coffee shop, I only needed to raise the volume mildly to listen comfortably and nullify the sounds of people and clattering dishes nearby.
Fit is personal and the SONORA may slot into your ear perfectly, but I found them cumbersome and at their best when listening from a stationary position. They’re not uncomfortable, but they’re also not something I can wear for multiple hours at a time before taking a mandatory break.
Ear Tips
PLUSSOUND includes three styles of tips with the SONORA. The basic silicone tips are standard, single-flange wide bore tips that you have seen numerous times elsewhere.
They fit well with a reliable seal and sound nice with the SONORA. The wide bore keeps the bass presence down and helps the mids shine giving the SONORA a well-balanced presentation that doesn’t skew toward any specific tuning style (aka. basshead).
Comply tips are the foam option and are a welcome addition. While they will need replacing a few months down the road, they provide a good seal and are comfortable.
Their sound is also good, though they tend to increase mid-bass presence and reduce midrange clarity. It’s nothing extreme and they are ideal pick for use in noisy environments where the extra isolation they provide is needed.
If you’re familiar with Sony Hybrids, you’ll know that the Symbio W merges a silicone tip with a foam support beneath the flange.
Oddly, my SONORA demo included standard Symbio W tips in small and large, and in place of the mediums was another set of large tips with wider bore and a black, memory-rich foam tucked behind the flange. PLUSSOUND do ship S, M, and L sizes by default with the SONORA so mine was an anomaly.
I need a medium size, and luckily, had a set of medium Symbio W on hand. It’s a good thing too because they were my favorite set to use with the SONORA thanks to a reliable seal and nearly as good of isolation as the Comply tips.
I enjoyed how they sounded too, having a small increase in mid-range warmth and lower bass presence compared to the stock silicone tips. The soundstage is reduced as well, but it is minor which is an acceptable tradeoff.
Stock Cable
PLUSSOUND is known for its cables, so it should come as no surprise to anyone that the SONORA comes equipped with an altered Copper XL by default which alone retails for $749.99.
There are other options available when buying the SONARA should the XL prove to be too thick or heavy for you,
This cable was developed to accompany PLUSSOUND’s drivers and crossover with densely bundled, enamel-coated strands in two 18AWG wires. The outer sheath is extremely dense and about as flexible as a cable this thick can be.
Missing are traditional preformed ear guides. In their place, the sheath itself up near the 0.78mm plugs is shaped at a sharp angle and lightly curved to serve the same purpose.
The tellurium copper, rhodium-plated 0.78mm plugs, and the straight jack, are user-serviceable with accessible hex screws. That said, unless you’re well-versed in cable design and maintenance if repairs are required, I’d leave that up to PLUSSOUND.
The y-split has been customized to match the color and design theme of the SONORA, with a two-tone, black and burgundy paint job. The burgundy portion also contains a similar trapezoidal pattern found on the inner half of the earpieces.
A chin cinch is found just above the y-split. Cable noise is quite minimal, so it doesn’t help with that, but it does provide a more secure fit if slid up and tucked under your chin.
Lastly, this cable lacks color coding or L/R markings to help users determine which channel is which, and on this set, the hex screw is public facing while the PS logo is hidden. Hiding the logo seems like an odd choice.
Packaging & Accessories
Extravagance. This was the first word that came to mind when I picked up the SONORA’s unusually heavy box.
The exterior sheath features the Golden God, the SONORA, on the front with a small cutout for the PS logo on the box beneath. Obscured by moody lighting on the rear of the sheath, we see the SONORA’s burgundy buttocks and the trapezoidal pattern that covers the back half of the shell.
Sliding off the sheath reveals the PS logo in gold. The two halves of the box do not meet, with the space between them dominated by a thick line of gold.
Removing the lid reveals a thick piece of acrylic protecting everything underneath. Printed in gold writing is “Designed and hand assembled in Los Angeles, California, USA.”
Next up is PLUSSOUND’s leather storage case which contains most of the included accessories. Beneath it are a few more extras.
This is one of the most complete unboxing experiences I’ve had to date. While the packaging itself is basic and lacks the impressive presentation of something like I/O AUDIO’s VOLARE, the quality of the contents is second to none and should ensure you never need to buy anything extra to accommodate failings in the stock experience.
Click on page 2 below for my sound impressions and recommended pairings.
