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A new challenger appears, and he’s a brave one. Step into the ring with the Fearless Audio S6Rui, a six-driver earphone with an accomplished mainstream tuning, hoping to capture your heart, mind, and wallet. My dad introduced me to professional wrestling (watching, not participating) to instill that violence doesn’t solve anything. And he’s correct, after more than 30 years they’re still at it, when a round of civil discourse could resolve things amicably. They love their fists, theatrics and spandex, so what can I say? A prevalent storyline in pro wrestling is the top guy holding new talent down, and it gets more obvious when 50-year-old Hulk Hogan is still winning matches against younger, fitter competition. That’s why the New Blood storyline stuck with me, when the new guys banded together to fight the established, older superstars. This was riveting drama of the highest degree. Eyeing the Torch. Chinese Hi-Fi, of Chifi, is dominated by a few brands, with names like HiFiMan, FiiO, iBasso, qdc and Dunu often bandied about. A few up-and-coming brands plan to usurp or at least disrupt the established order. Step forward Tin HiFi, BGVP, Moondrop and Fearless Audio, stalwarts of the new world order. For the last year or so they have generated some serious buzz with exciting products that sound great and are priced reasonably. Six Shots at Fame. Today we look at one of Fearless’ mid-tier models, the S6Rui. Comprising, you guessed it, six balanced armature (BA) drivers per side from Knowles and Sonion, the S6Rui harmonizes the sound via a 3-way crossover and 2 sound tubes. Unique to Fearless is their divided ear mould pressure processing (DPP) technology. DPP promises a more comfortable fit with better sound insulation compared to their peers. Each S6Rui is painstakingly handmade, and available in universal and custom form, with a host of customization options available to awaken the hidden designer in you. Prices start from $389 for the basic options, but I gotta say, some of their faceplate designs look pretty dang good. The S6Rui can be purchased through Linsoul. I’d like to thank Lillian of Linsoul for the review sample, and the seamless communication in making this review possible. Equipment Used: DAP IEMs Fearless Audio S6Rui. FiiO FH5 FiiO FA7 Albums Amber Rubarth – Scribbled Folk Symphonies. Bon Jovi – Cross Road. Ed Sheeran – Divide. Fleetwood Mac – Tango In The Night. Linkin Park – One More Light. Meiko – Playing Favorites. Pet Shop Boys – PopArt. Prince – The Gold Experience. Take That – The Circus. The Eagles – Hell Freezes Over. Technical Specifications. Driver: 6 Balanced Armature (1 Sonion Dual Bass BA Driver, 1 Knowles Mid-Frequency BA Driver and 2 Knowles Treble BA Driver) Sensitivity: 113dB/mW. Passive noise reduction: 26dB. Impedance: 20Ω Freq. Response: 15-20000 Hz. Connector: 2pin 0.78mm. Plug: 3.5mm. Packaging and Accessories. Have you ever been extraordinarily late to a dinner party? So late that most of the food has been finished, but your bestie (who arrived early) piled on a bit of everything onto your plate so you won't go hungry? That was the exact feeling I had while unboxing the S6Rui. Fearless' packaging has undergone a few revisions based on earlier reviews, but man, what I received seemed like leftovers. It's not to say the presentation is horrible. A neat, white cardboard sleeve with the perplexing quote "Classic Never Ends" emblazoned in front greets you. Opening that up, you get a proper Chinese slogan (translated as "may you fearlessly march forward") with a nice leatherette, cuboid case in periwinkle blue. It's a semi-hard, magnetic snap-on case with pleasing aesthetics, but I doubt it will withstand the rigors of daily usage. Crumbs. Besides the case, you get the stock cable, 4 pairs of silicone ear tips in various sizes, a metal warranty card disguised as a spiffy membership card... and that's it. IEM, cable, tips, case. We're talking about bare-bones, bare-minimum, bottom-barrel stuff here. I'm looking at the thesaurus for words with similar meanings to "basic", but I think you get the picture. Not the best way to fearlessly march forward, and completely unjustifiable at $389. Design and Build Quality. As mentioned before, you can go absolutely nuts, or flat-out bonkers with the customization options for any Fearless IEM. The S6Rui I was sent has clear, transparent shells, and has a pristine charm to it. Like looking into a skeleton watch, I can see how my S6Rui ticks. From the OCD-like driver arrangement to the neatly-nested internal wiring, crossover units and sound tubes, nothing is hidden as I take a good, voyeuristic look inside the uh, insides. Fearless Audio IEMs are assembled with enormous care and pride, with the model name engraved on a BA driver in each earpiece. The alignment of each component is nearly symmetrical when you compare left and right earpieces, which is frankly, ridiculous. The transition from faceplate to shell is seamless, and the earpieces are completely free of bubbles. They are immaculately built, and go a long way in justifying the asking price. Cables. Very little information was released about the stock cable. The only thing I know for sure is the cable is made of 8 wires of Ohno Continuous Casting (OCC) silver plated copper. It's definitely a step up from conventional cables in terms of wire count and material used, affirming the notion that Fearless Audio caters to the serious audiophile. Ooh. The cable looks to be built in-house with some good quality parts. The connectors and Y-split look handsome in chrome and silver, while the braiding is tight. For the most part, the cable is a joy to handle. Even with its 8 wires, the cable is soft and coils easily. More importantly it holds its own shape and doesn't unfurl itself, known as the dreaded memory effect some thick cables are prone to. Just Vanilla. Currently, the cable is only available with the 3.5mm jack, with no option for balanced connections. Looking at the price tag, I’d love to see more options available for the jack, since many IEM junkies would dabble with 2.5mm or 4.4mm. On the whole, this silvery slithery snake is well done, but for one downside mentioned below. Fit, Isolation, and Comfort. Stuffing BA drivers into an acrylic shell is akin to packing clowns into a Mini, ie. no mean feat. The S6Rui with 6BAs translates to medium-sized earpieces, while the angle of the nozzle helps maintain a good fit and seal. Given the sparse variety of ear tips provided, I'm glad this amorphous blob adheres to my ears pretty well. For people with smaller ears though, try before you buy. You may need aftermarket tips for the best fit. Once you get a good seal though, say hello to comfy county. The earpieces are lightweight and ergonomic, conferring tranquil enjoyment in your own blissful world. They isolate quite well too, negating about 80% of outside noise. The stock cable, while well-built, weighs them down, and is frankly a bit of overkill. If you switch them out to regular 2 or 4-wire cables, you'd be swinging your head like a shampoo commercial. Sound Quality. How do you create a hype train? To the best of my knowledge, you wow as many early listeners as possible and let word-of-mouth do the rest. A bit of enhanced bass here, a sprinkling of treble sparkle there, gobs of detail and loads of fun, among others. The S6Rui generated some very positive buzz because of its tuning, and it's easy to see why. Let's analyze the sound further. Overall Sound Signature. Fearless Audio's S6Rui follows a classic tuning template, the V-shape. Like a novice painter relying on tried-and-tested color combinations (navy/gold has never let me down), you can't go wrong. The V-shape is vivid, vibrant, full of youthful vigor, and even voluptuous, attractive and arresting to the ear at first listen. And it's not just your conventional boosted bass, boisterous treble and buried mids, no. S6Rui is deceptively well-tuned and gives every part of the sound spectrum space to shine. The details are with the devil, so they say. The bass is undoubtedly elevated for some pulsating fun, as is the treble for some exciting ear-tickling. The mids though, stay where they are and are not recessed. Bass, mids and treble meld together to deliver you a coherent, musical experience that's hard to dislike. Listening Conditions. Critical listening was done after 75 hours of burn-in. The S6Rui might be Fearless, but I’ll show them who’s boss. Burn-in did not produce significant sound changes, but I believe the concept of fear has been properly introduced to both parties. The main review rig is Sony’s NW-WM1A Walkman modded by Project K, using the stock cable. Bass. Extra large and in charge, big and fabulicious, the S6Rui delivers a visceral, meaty bass that fills the room. The bass will not be fat-shamed, not today. Ever the attention grabber, it turns heads figuratively and literally, with physicality that will surprise you. The sub-bass rumble reaches for the throat, while the midbass punch and authority are worthy of a dynamic driver. The bottom-end extension is nigh-on impressive, as are the dynamics, impact and slam. If this sounds like a wrestling match maybe it is. If you’ve ever come away disappointed with an expensive monitor with a polite bass, have I got good news for you. The S6Rui plays extremely well with modern genres, with a genuinely exciting bass that sets pulses racing. Full Bloom. Notes are lush, thick and full-bodied, with a sharp, on-point attack or lead-in followed by a warm, well-rounded bloom. While it scores full points for getting the basics right, it loses slightly in the technical departments. Bass speed, detail, layering and resolution are found wanting, while the repeated, unadulterated onslaught might lead to bass headaches. Consider yourself warned, but the S6Rui bass is truly pleasing to the basshead’s ears. Mids. Ask any teenager what they’d like to be when they grow up, a whole lot of them...