Revonext QT5 Review – Get Your Steampunk On!

Pros:
– Striking shell design
– Excellent sound for the price
– Premium build quality

Cons:
– Thin cable gets tangled easily
– Large nozzles may cause fit issues with small ear canals
– 7kHz peak might bother some people

INTRODUCTION

Revonext is a Swedish company (located in Stockholm). They have a dedicated manufacturing facility in Dongguan, China. They’ve been making audio products for over 10 years, but usually as an ODM for other brands. They recently started offering earphones under their own company brand, starting with the QT2 and followed up by the RX8 and QT3.

Their products have always been excellent from a build quality standpoint, but sound-wise they’ve been a mixed bag. Let’s see how the Revonext QT5 stacks up.

You find more photos of the Revonext QT5 on this blog HERE.

SPECIFICATIONS

Drivers: 1xDynamic, 1xBalanced Armature per side
Crossover: Yes
Impedance: 16ohms
Weight: 24g
Sensitivity: 105dB
Frequency: 20-20,000Hz
Cable: 2-pin, removable, 3.5mm 90-degree plug, mic and no-mic versions available
IEM colors: Copper, Gunmetal
Tested at: $20
Purchase link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32979413866.html

PACKAGING

The Revonext QT5 comes in a black cardboard box with full color graphics. The IEM shells are mounted in a foam layer, providing protection during shipping. The accessories (cable, spare eartips, and paperwork) are located underneath a cardboard lid.

ACCESSORIES

The included eartips are all silicone type – smooth silicone tips (translucent smoke color, single flange, medium bore). The included sizes are SML (M is pre-installed), and the silicone is a medium stiffness (not too soft but not too hard.

The cable is a 2-pin removable design (it looks like 0.75mm), with copper conductors in a 4-wire ‘rope’ style braided configuration. The Revonext QT5 is available with and without an in-line microphone (mine being the no-microphone version). The microphone version has a single control button, providing music and phone call control (but no volume control). The plugs that attach to the IEMs have clear L and R indicators.

The cable itself is pretty thin, but then again many stock IEM cables are. It’s replaceable, so if you don’t like the stock cable it is an easily issue to resolve. The 3.5mm end is a 90-degree L style plug, with good strain reliefs at the 3.5mm end. The Y-split has no strain reliefs, but the cable does have a functional chin slider. This is critical to eliminate cable microphonics and to keep cable tangling to a minimum. The cable also has pre-formed ear guides, which are secure yet soft and flexible.

BUILD

The Revonext QT5 has a very original and striking shell design. The shell is made of a zinc alloy, which gives it a hefty and premium feel. The most prominent feature is the circular grille, which combined with the 3 stainless mounting screws gives the QT5 a very steampunk-inspired design. It comes in 2 finishes – copper and gunmetal grey. 

As mentioned above, the QT5 feels substantial – no cheap plastics that feel like they’re going to fall apart after a few weeks of use. The QT5 shell is devoid of sharp surfaces, with all edges rounded and smooth. It’s very comfortable to wear, even for extended periods. The overall fit and finish is excellent, with no mismatched seams or odd gaps.

In addition to the channel indicators on the cable, the QT5 shells have pronounced channel indicators. This makes it a snap to attach the cables. Simply match up the R on the cable with the R on the shell, and the L on the cable with the L on the shell and you’re done! Good job Revonext!

The Revonext QT5’s nozzle is 6mm wide, which might give people with very small ear canals trouble. The nozzle itself is made of translucent grey plastic, which is a feature I’ve personally never seen on a metal IEM. It allows a clear view of the single BA driver in the nozzle. There’s also a retaining lip on the nozzle, allowing the eartip to stay securely on the IEM nozzle with little risk of falling off or staying behind in your ears while removing the earphone.

SOUND

The gear used for testing included: Radsone EarStudio ES100, xduoo X3 (with Rockbox firmware), iPhone SE, and FiiO E12A Mont Blanc headphone amplifier. All testing was done single-ended (not balanced).

The Revonext QT5 has an overall slight V-shaped sound tuning. It was easy to drive directly from a phone, although I did notice it required a higher volume without an amp than with. I am skeptical of the manufacturer’s 16ohm rating, and I suspect it is actually higher. The bottom line is the QT5 works fine with just a phone, but if you have higher powered sources available use it. 

Bass

The Revonext QT5 has good low end extension and weight, without boominess or bleed. The low end is very linear. Sub-bass is on tap only when present in the music, vs being artificially boosted to overpowering levels like Beats or Rock Zircons. Bass on the QT5 isn’t ultra-detailed, but it has a clean and natural presentation.

Midrange

Midrange on the Revonext QT5 is my favorite part of the overall sound signature. Vocals (especially male) are spacious, realistic, and natural sounding. There’s nothing worse than your favorite artist’s vocals sounding unnatural and ‘off’. The QT5 has none of that. The midrange has excellent clarity and resolution, with no bleeding from bass registers. Upper mids are slightly accentuated, which give extra body and presence to acoustic guitars and vocals. I know a lot of people dislike too much upper midrange. If you’re one of those people, you can rest easy knowing that the QT5 isn’t completely overdone in that area. It’s simply a slight bump that’s done very tastefully. 

Treble

Treble on the QT5 is detailed, with above average clarity, good extension, and no sibilance. The BA driver is matched well with the dynamic driver, as the natural tonality I liked so much in the midrange carries right over throughout the treble region. This provides a consistent and coherent presentation to instruments that have wide dynamic range. On many budget hybrids, you can actually tell that there are different drivers, with the dead giveaway usually being the BA driver sounding ‘off’. Not so with the Revonext QT5 – if someone told you this was a single dynamic IEM, you’d believe them. My only complaint about the QT5’s treble is a sharp peak at 7kHz. It only becomes evident with instruments that hit that 7kHz spot, such as some cymbals, certain violin or trumpet notes, etc. In the grand scheme of things, this is a very minor niggle, and doesn’t detract from an otherwise excellent earphone.  

Isolation

The isolation (inwards) and sound leakage (outwards) is above average, which I attribute to the QT5 zinc alloy shell.

Soundstage

Despite what the circular rear grille might imply, the soundstage is average in both depth and width. Imaging and instrument separation are both good, particularly the separation which is impressive for a single hybrid earphone. I’ve heard worse instrument separation on some 4 and 5 driver earphones, so kudos to Revonext.

CONCLUSION

The steampunk-inspired Revonext QT5 has head-turning good looks, as well as the sound performance to back up its bold design. The build quality and overall fit and finish is typical of earphones many times the price. The stock cable is thin and tangles easily, but if you don’t like it the problem is easily remedied with hundreds of available 2-pin upgrade cables. I liked the original Revonext QT2, but it was sibilant and I knew it could be improved. The Revonext QT5 is that improvement, being a noticeable upgrade over the QT2. So if you have the QT2, do yourself a favor and upgrade to the QT5. 

DISCLAIMER

I would like to thank our friends at Miss Audio on Aliexpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32979413866.html) for providing the Revonext QT5 for my independent review.