While most of my review on here are for IEMs I do actually have over 100 full-size headphones. It’s where I started my ‘audiophile’ journey with the Audio Technica AD-700 back in 2006, which I overly researched and had planned to be my one and only set at the time – oh how naïve of me. While I love my open backs I’ve also had a soft spot for closed backs and was very excited when Linsoul reached out about this pair! Like most people I’ve watched many of Zeos’s reviews and enjoy his enthusiasm for gear. I don’t always agree but I appreciate how much he loves this hobby.
The Serene arrives in a basic box, and comes with the headphone, a cable, and a little user manual. The cable is terminated in 3.5mm, I would have liked a 6.3mm adapter to be included but I have a lot of them so no big deal, the cable is a nice fabric covered one, for the price I was impressed. The headphones are black with some purple and I think they look great!
Build wise they’re pretty solid, I do get a little bit of crackling when popping them on my head (I assume the drivers) but once they’re on no issues. The pads are fairly deep and fit my ears perfectly.
I mainly ran these out oy my AK SP4000 paired up with the Cayin C9ii. I also used them from a few of my desktop setups (the Hifiman EF499/EF500, Sony TA-ZH1ES, and Topping A90/D90) and it worked great from all of them, I used my ‘portable’ setup as I was travelling a bit and needed to take these with me to get enough listening time in, they do need a bit of power to sound their best hence why I used the portable amp. You can use it without one, you may just need to turn your portable device up more than you normally would, and it won’t hit quite the same.
I also tried these directly from my macbook (and listening to them this way while I’m writing this), they sound good this way, just not as great as they do from a proper source.
For music, as normal, I ran through many genres with everything sounding at a minimum good, nothing was offensive to my ears.
Sound (these are based on my SP4k/C9ii pairing):
Bass:
The bass sounds full, snappy, and just overall great. It’s the standout feature of the Serene to me. Not sure I’d go as far saying basshead, as it isn’t overwhelming, however it’s certainly a bassy set and done extremely well.
Sorry by Röyksopp, one of my bass test tracks, sounds wonderful on the Serene. Not only are the vocals presented in a near perfect manner, but the bass that comes in at 1:45ish is beautifully textured, enveloping you in the track, as the track progresses the layering of the track is served up nearly as well as I’ve heard it. I’m not 100% sure on the price, but pretty sure these are under $199, and for that price you’re getting something pretty special when it comes to bass.
Mids:
Beautiful and relaxed. I got stuck listening to a lot of Jazz on these, which I do enjoy however I don’t generally listen to a lot of, but for whatever reason it just works so well with these. The horn and rhythm instruments sound very natural and pleasing and extended listens just kept me engaged. Vocals are also well done for the most part, favouring male over female for my ears. You’re not getting a perfect presentation of female vocals on all tracks, with a little amount of haze/grain around some at certain frequencies. Not a big complaint, just means it’s more of a ‘I’m going to sit down and enjoy my music’ set, rather than ‘I’m going to sit down and analyze my music’. Everytime I sat down with these I always had a smile on my face.
Treble:
The treble compliments the bass and the mids. It doesn’t do anything crazy and is what I’d call smooth. You don’t get crazy amounts of detail that you do on some planars, but also none of the downsides that come with some planars either. Daft Punk – Contact sounds great on this, with none of the ear splitting sounds that you can get on some sets. The bass presentation of the Serene also works extremely well with this track. You get all of the subtle sounds that you’d expect, they’re just not in your face.
Technical performance:
Soundstage and Imaging:
This has decent depth to it, with layers stacking up and each having enough air around them that they don’t fall over each other. Width is just past my ears. It’s a closed back so all in all I’d say the width is pretty standard and depth is above normal. If I were to draw it, which I won’t subject anyone to, it’d be an oval shape.
Detail & Resolution:
Decent. I’ve touched on it a little already, they’re not a crazy detailed level, but more than enough. I’d take the overall presentation of these at this price point, rather than something that has a crazy amount of detail but you don’t want to listen to.
Subjective thoughts:
This is a killer set at its price point (somewhere under $199). The biggest issue that some people would have is that they won’t be able to drive it properly and I imagine as people get this you might see some mixed thoughts, the majority to me would probably down to these not being driven properly. Listening out of a dongle, compared to listening to these properly amped, is like moving from a $100 set to a $1,000 set. When you’re listening to these properly amped they are a fantastic set at $100, $199, or $499. Everything I listened to on these just sounded great. They’re not a niche set; they’re just a great fun listen. It’s a set that does make me wonder why I spend so much money on more expensive sets, that’s not to say that these can go toe to toe with a kilobuck set, more so just that when I’m listening to them I don’t feel the need to reach for something else.
Overall:
I probably summed most of it up in my subjective thoughts, this an absolutely wonderful set, certainly my favourite collab that Zeos has done. If you like closed backs, have something that can drive it, and like listening to music… grab one!
Scorecard at under $199:
| Category | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bass | 4.8/5 | Full, snappy, and beautifully textured. Deep impact without bloat. The Serene’s standout feature. |
| Mids | 4.5/5 | mooth, natural, and slightly warm. Excellent with jazz and male vocals; minor haze on some female vocals. |
| Treble | 4/5 | Smooth and controlled with no harshness. Not the most detailed, but very easy to listen to. |
| Technicalities | 4/5 | Strong layering and imaging for a closed-back. Depth above average, with a cohesive, musical presentation. |
| Build/Design | 4/5 | Sturdy and comfortable with a clean purple-black aesthetic. Pads fit well; only minor driver crackle when adjusting. |
| Value | 5/5 | Scales impressively with proper power. Exceptional performance under $199 and a genuinely enjoyable listen. |
| Overall | 5/5 | A fun, musical closed-back that delivers rich bass and a relaxed, engaging sound. Easily Zeos’s best collab yet for my money. It gets a five based on value alone. |
Aussie Audiophile 
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