The SoftEars Cerberus ranks #224 out of 297 total In-Ear Headphones for sound quality. See all Headphones rankings for every top pick.
Brand: SoftEars
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#224 SoftEars Cerberus: $2,099.99 HiFiGo eBay
Pros: A seven driver hybrid with a dynamic woofer, four balanced armatures and two electrostatic tweeters, tuned with a warm, relaxed balance. Across seven hobbyist measurements on squig.link, bass sits within a decibel of target from 60 to 200 Hz and sub-bass stays within 6 dB down to 20 Hz, so low notes keep their weight. The subdued top end suits listeners who find most in-ears fatiguing. Its 5 ohm impedance and 104 dB per 100 mV sensitivity mean a phone drives it easily.
Cons: Treble runs about 4 to 6 dB below target from 3 to 16 kHz, with a 9.8 dB dip near 6.1 kHz, so cymbals, string texture and vocal consonants sound dim and distant. The 64 Audio A12t rates higher for slightly less money. A preference score of 64 from crinacle and a 2.9 dB standard deviation point to an uneven overall response.
| Back | Closed |
|---|---|
| Built-in Microphone | No |
| Connection | Wired |
| Deviation From Target | 2.89 dB standard deviation |
| Driver Type | Hybrid (1 dynamic + 4 balanced armature + 2 electrostatic) |
| Drivers | 1 x dynamic + 4 x balanced armature + 2 x electrostatic |
| Form Factor | In-ear |
| Frequency Response | 10Hz - 80kHz (Manufacturer specified) |
| Harman Preference Score | 64 (measured by crinacle, via AutoEQ) |
| Impedance | 5 ohms |
| Sensitivity | 104 dB/100mV |
| Sub-bass Extension | Within 6 dB of target down to 20 Hz (-3.4 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Tonal Tilt | -0.11 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
EQ preset to match the Harman target
Set a preamp of -6.5 dB, then add these filters in any parametric equalizer (Wavelet, Equalizer APO, Peace, or a player with parametric EQ). Calculated by AutoEQ from its measured frequency response.
| Filter | Frequency | Gain | Q |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low shelf | 105 Hz | -0.1 dB | 0.70 |
| Peak | 7,728 Hz | +6.5 dB | 0.79 |
| Peak | 262 Hz | -2.4 dB | 0.44 |
| Peak | 1,896 Hz | -2.8 dB | 1.34 |
| Peak | 62 Hz | +4.2 dB | 0.67 |
| High shelf | 10,000 Hz | -0.0 dB | 0.70 |
| Peak | 4,226 Hz | -2.4 dB | 5.45 |
| Peak | 5,402 Hz | +2.0 dB | 4.97 |
| Peak | 989 Hz | +0.8 dB | 3.73 |
| Peak | 662 Hz | -0.4 dB | 2.16 |
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