HUM reference: Simplicity at its best

HUM reference

Hum, as a company, is rather a company that perhaps spends more time researching on their future releases than releasing products. I think if I was to describe the people over at HUM; it has to be that they are a company composed of true hobbyist whose focus is experimenting, designing products rather than aggressively releasing a bunch of half-baked item, and market the hell out to spike up the sales.

I think HUM audio own website describe their design and sound philosophy better than anyone else could:

“HUM specialises in developing and producing audio gear that stands out in fidelity, detail and texture.”

They are a company who have a particular design philosophy and every product they release follows that philosophy closely. They believe you need not keep using more drivers in-order to achieve the design philosophy they adhere to. HUM believes simple is best, but that is easier said as simple is far from what they are doing. Arguably, they have one of the most advance crossover design in the industry, which mimics the same crossover design found on much larger speakers. It is this engineering aspect of their IEM that allows them to extract all that those tiny drivers has to offer. What they can extract from those tiny drivers, and just a few, is truly an eye opener and a proof that their design concept is not just a random marketing gimmick.

Packaging and Fit

Upon first look the packaging is rather not exciting, but perhaps it is more than what meets the eyes. HUM spend many months fine tuning everything about the HUM reference. From silicon tip size, to the silicon tip bore opening, to how far the tip should be from the IEM nozzle. They are so pedantic about it they include a pair of copper metals we can insert into the bore of the silicon to get the distance right.

As a result, HUM comes with three universal size double flange tips, all the same size. The cable included isn’t just some random generic cable; they include their Tara cable.
HUM was the first IEM maker that placed an important emphasis on including a high quality cable.

The housing isn’t the most comfortable. Coming from something like the Inear Stagediver SD2, everything don’t seem uncomfortable. I’m told the housing contributes to the sound, so for the time been what you see is what you get.

Sound Signature Style

The HUM reference is rather a power hungry beast. HUM doesn’t release any detail recording impedance, sensitivity. While you don’t need an amp or a powerful DAP, connecting them to one really opens the bass significantly. For this review I use Quloos QA361, Lotoo PAW Gold and Chord HUGO, with Chord HUGO providing the best pairing. The pairing provides a natural, non-fatiguing sound that challenge much larger, bulkier setups.

I first got to know about HUM when I first saw reviews about their Pristine monitor coming out. Sadly, because of fit issue, I never could fully appreciate them, however I got them, and I do hear why they have their cult following.

HUM advertises the reference as an IEM that produces an accurate and natural sound with no phase shift and an interference, ideal for mastering engineer and recorders.

Compared to Pristine, the reference is less dynamic but a lot more coherent and organic. I prefer it over the Pristine, as Pristine has a lot of treble detail, and its highly dynamic sound can fatigue in prolong listening session.

HUM reference is well balanced, having an excellent bass and treble extension. It is as natural sounding, besting my all-time favourite single balance drivers IEM (ER4S and Fitear F111) with ease. What I like about the reference is that its bass quality is very similar to the dynamic driver.

The piano notes is natural, it decays not too fast, so that a sense of their decay creates an emotion that takes us a step closer to a live performance.

For vocal performance, perhaps this is its weak-point, as the vocal lacks this warmth that I like. Listening to Nat King Cole, that buttery smooth, warm voice, is rather colder than what I’m used to. The vocal is slightly forward, just slightly, a head of the rest of the recordings. This makes the sound intimate, but not to the point it losses its reference quality.

This leaves me thinking HUM reference is ideal for orchestral recordings. Those string attacks, the big bass impact of the Timpani, they are all produced with excellent realism.

Listening to binaural recording, imaging is truly out of head, which was very interesting. I rarely get such an experience from IEM,  binaural recording out of head experience for me is something I sense mostly from headphone, with IEM just been mostly missed than a hit.

Listening to older, brighter jazz, one can hear the flaw in the recording, but the treble is never harsh. In fact listening to bright recording, I hear the brightness of the sound, the treble is never bright, or harsh. It is truly of a reference quality.

In terms of soundstage, to me the width and depth are both of equal distance. The soundstage is like a well placed studio monitors.

Perhaps the best thing one can do with HUM reference is pair it with a good source like Chord HUGO. That was the biggest improvement i sense, going into a balance connection didn’t improve sound as much as it did with HUM Pristine or other IEM.

Perhaps the most important accomplishment of HUM team is how well balance the reference is across different volume loudness. This IEM is ideal for low volume listeners.

Many times I’m forced to increase the volume louder than what I normally like to listen to as I find either the lower region or treble is lacking. But with reference the detail increase in a linear fashion as volume is increased, hence making it very suitable for late night listening in those quiet places.

Conclusion

Ignoring the fit issue as a single balance armature IEM this IEM does so many things right that it just hard to find faults. And as that, for a single balance armature, it is perhaps it is not cheap. But would we justify the price if the same sound was achieved by a 10 balance armature IEM?

Should we have an issue with achieving the same sound from one driver, and should we question the pricing of the IEM if its manufacturer wants to charge you the same price as those multiple BA? As a consumer, I always want the cheapest and best sounding IEM.