Review - 7Hz Legato

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TLDR version on YouTube: TDLR - 7Hz Legato

The 7Hz Legato have been sent to me by Linsoul in exchange for the publication of this review. As usual, Linsoul have not requested anything specific and I will aim to be as honest and unbiased as humanly possible in this review, however, it is always good to consider the fact that these IEMs have not cost me anything.

You can find the Legato via Linsoul here: https://www.linsoul.com/products/7hz-legato

As with all the links I share, the above is a non-affiliate link.

To avoid being repetetive in my reviews, you can find all the info about how I create the reviews, equipment used, how I receive the products and how to interpret my reviews by visiting: About my reviews

Intro..

While I haven’t had a chance to try all of the IEMs by the brand, I have tried a few (I believe this is the 5th set from the brand that I have reviewed) and except for the Eternal, the remaining sets have all been good performers in their respective price ranges.

In the case of the Legato, we are looking at a dual dynamic driver which comes in, at the time of creating this review, at just over 100€ on Linsoul. This means that, while not an extreme budget IEM, we are at least looking at a set that is budget friendly.

The Legato uses a 12mm DD for the bass range, while opting for a 6mm DD for the mids and treble ranges. This is not the first time for this driver configuration but it is still a driver combination that interests me, as a fan of dynamic drivers, allowing some freedom between drivers to focus on their respective frequency ranges. So let’s see if 7Hz have made it worth the price.

Presentation…

The Legato arrives in a box showing the IEMs on the front and a breakdown of the internals on the back. Inside this box we find a large storage case, very similar to the one included with the 7Hz Dioko, a planar set of IEMs that come in at around the same price.

Inside the storage case (which could be called a transport case but there is no way you are fitting this in your pocket), we find the IEMs with the cable attached, a decent selection of silicone tips, a user manual and 4 sets of spare filters and grilles.

It is not extraordinary to receive spare filters with IEMs (although it is not really common) but I do think this is the first time I have received both spare filters and grilles.

The included tips are nothing extraordinary either but I found the transparent ones to work for me and that is what I have used throughout this review.

Build and aesthetics…

The Legato features CNC’d aluminium shells that look a lot heavier than they are. The nozzles protrude quite a bit from the shells, allowing a deeper fit with smaller tips in my case. Together with the rounded edges of the shells, I find them to be quite comfortable even for long listening sessions, without feeling any discomfort or them becoming tiring.

As far as aesthetics, these are the most “normal” looking 7Hz IEMs that I have seen to date. In a dark grey, almost gunmetal, colour and a textured faceplate, they look elegant and are not prone to showing every last fingerprint like some other smoother metal finishes. The are quite a bit smaller than models like the Timeless, Eternal or Dioko, and are far better looking (in my opinion of course) than the "toyish" like build of the Zero.

The included cable is also good, both in build quality and looks, matching the IEMs rather well. All in all, I find them to be well built, good looking and comfortable, so I can’t ask for more in the build and aesthetics category.

Sound…

All tracks mentioned are clickable links that allow you to open the reference track in the streaming service of your choice (YouTube, Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, etc.)

Moving on to how the Legato sound, let’s start with the usual look at the graph comparing them to my personal preference target as a reference:

Now, starting off with the subbass, there is a lot. In fact, there is a lot of bass in general, boosted all the way to where we meet the lower mids. Although there is a lot of quantity, the Legato actually do a decent job of keeping the bass section under control, dealing well with fast moving lines and not becoming overly slow or sluggish in their response to bass heavy tracks.

However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t too much bass for my personal tastes, I’m afraid that there is far too much for me. The subbass is actually ok and I find it enjoyable on tracks that have a lot going on in those lower ranges (I’m sure you can guess my reference track at this point) but when we move into the midbass, it is just too much for me to enjoy it regularly.

I did have a few sessions where I felt like some EDM and enjoyed the result in the lower ranges but these were not the usual occurrence. With music that I listen to more regularly, featuring instruments rather than electronic samples, I found the midbass to be overwhelming.

My usual test of “Crazy” was not as bad as on some other “less capable” sets but even the clarity and speed of the Legato driver was enough to stop me from getting that feeling of nausea from the excessive reverb in the low end of the guitar.

Moving into the mids, I feel that there is a distinct lack of presence. In the lower range of the mids this is due to the wall of bass that proceeds them, but even in the higher end of the mids, there is just not enough to bring vocals forwards and make them stand out. On tracks like “Shot Me Down” by David Guetta, I found it a struggle to appreciate the voice (although the bass rhythm was pretty impressive).

In general the mids are just not present enough, leaving the center of the frequencies to sound rather dull in my opinion.

Moving into the upper ranges, there is again not quite enough presence to add some light to what I feel is a rather dark and bass centric tuning. I feel there is a lack of air and brilliance that is needed to clean things up a little. Cymbals are too dull, pianos are lacking life and, although they do avoid any sibilance, I just feel that the driver that deals with the mids and upper ranges could use a few extra dB to compete with the lower driver.

This also makes for rather a small soundstage, with placement of images that is not really very good, mainly because of that lack of air and brightness. It’s not terrible as far as soundstage but it is below what I have come to expect as average for a set of IEMs.

Conclusion...

If you are looking for a set of IEMs that offer a rather dark and bass heavy presentation, then I think that the Legato could be something very interesting. They can be very impressive in the low ranges, depending on your music taste.

However, the lack of mids and upper ranges is something that makes them not fit well with my personal tastes or personal music preferences, meaning that they are not a set that I would reach for except on specific occasions.

With 7Hz I have found that I don’t have a middle ground with them, out of 5 sets I have tried, 3 I have found to be very good and the other 2, well, let’s just say that they are not my thing. But that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy them, if your tastes fit the sound I described, then give them a try!