Oriveti Purecaster Review: Checkbox Design

Oriveti has been around for a while. They’ve released a number of IEMs over the years, with a few making a dent in the viciously-competitive IEM marketplace. They’ve recently developed a new premium sub-brand, called “bleqk”, which is an acronym for “Basic Line Exquisite Quality Kept”. Translating that into something more pedestrian, I believe that bleqk is Oriveti’s “premium basics” sub-brand. Oriveti has clearly put a lot of work into their inaugural models, and today I’d like to take a look at the Purecaster: an all-metal IEM featuring tuning filters, a performant dynamic driver, and a detachable modular cable.

*You can find the Purecaster for sale on the official Oriveti webstore for $149.*

About My Preferences: This review is a subjective assessment and is therefore tinged by my personal preferences. While I try to mitigate this as much as possible during my review process, I’d be lying if I said my biases are completely erased. So for you, my readers, keep this in mind:

• My ideal sound signature would be one with competent sub-bass, a textured mid-bass, a slightly warm midrange, and an extended treble.
• I have mild treble sensitivity.

Testing equipment and standards can be found here.

The Big Picture

Pros:

• Beautiful metal shells
• Soft and ergonomic cable
• Solid sub-bass extension
• Above-average layering abilities
• Great vocal intelligibly
• Strong treble and midrange texturing ability
• Organic bass tonality

Cons:

• Lacking bass emphasis
• Thin upper-register
• Black filter is too bright, sharp.
• Does not include foam eartips.

Key Specs

• Driver: 1x 12.2mm dynamic driver
• Sensitivity: 112.5db SPL/mW
• Impedance: 32 ohms
• Cable: 0.78mm 2-pin w/ modular termination (3.5mm, 4.4mm)
• Shell: CNC’d aluminum

Sound

The Purecaster comes with two different pairs of tuning nozzles: one black, and one silver. The black nozzles are quite bright, often sounding overly-stiff and sharp. They’re well-suited to those with age-related treble insensitivity or a subjective preference towards treble emphasis but, to my ears, the black nozzles are simply too hot for comfort. I spent most of my time using the Purecaster with its silver nozzles.

Equipped with its less-bright silver nozzles, the Purecaster is still pretty bright — but instead of aggression, you get air and lightweight energy. Thankfully, the Purecaster’s upper-treble is pretty well-controlled. It rolls off gently past 12KHz, allowing the IEM to breath without sounding artificial and metallic. The Purecaster’s mids are biased towards their upper-half, with the IEM concentrating emphasis around a 2–3KHz peak. By contrast, the Purecaster’s lower-mids are a bit recessed, pulling warmth out of the mix. The Purecaster’s bass, even with its silver nozzles, isn’t forward, nor is it very punchy. Instead, you get a “HiFi-styled” rendition of “look-don’t-touch” bass. It’s there, but only in the academic sense.

Fast, Controlled, and Organic Treble

The Purecaster’s lower-treble captures the edges of hi hats and cymbals well, modeling their decay organically. This is indicative of strong technical abilities, which lines up with the Purecaster’s overall strong layering abilities. It did a great job of capturing the pure, metallic textural fringes of the guitar and percussion in the intro of Give Me Novaccaine; Green Day, then continued to deliver strong separation throughout the track’s chaotic chorus.

Tracks with big, vast, and empty vibes like M83’s *Midnight City* take full advantage of the Purecaster’s spacious upper-register, projecting a sense of scale that’s not too common among single-dynamic IEMs. The Purecaster did a great job resolving the varied textures of that track’s electric synths, rendering them without becoming sharp or sibilant.

A Little Too Cleanroom

I appreciate what Oriveti is going for with this style of mids: a neutral-ish presentation that avoids warmth to capture the spirit of HiFi tuning. And for some folks, I’m sure that this approach works well! But I’m partial towards less-recessed lower-mids, particularly when listening to vocal-heavy tracks. Male vocals can sound on the thin-side, thanks to the Purecaster’s upper-midrange tilt, drying out tracks like *Get Stoned; Hinder.*

Brighter vocals, and especially those set on atmosphere-heavy tracks, sound great though. The lo-fi musings of back to friends; sombr streak off of the Purecaster’s drivers with a pristine clarity — one that is quite impressive given the IEM’s accessible price point. Albums with warmer mastering, like Simple Math by Manchester Orchestra, synergize well with the Purecaster’s cleanroom style of midrange, with the engineers mixing a nearly-perfect amount of depth into the instrumentation. *Pale Black Eye* off that album communicates a great sense of harmonic completeness with its muted electric guitars and deliberate drum slams, demonstrating how crucial it is that the Purecaster be used with synergistic tracks.

The Tight-Pursed Accountant of Bass

The Purecaster has a pretty restrained bass region. It’s tilted towards the sub-bass, leaving the mid-bass fairly flat. This means that the Purecaster is capable of the occasional rumble, but doesn’t punch much. The bass-heavy mix of *Derezzed (The Glitch Mob Remix)* manages to extract a satisfying degree of rumble, but doesn’t deliver much tactility with drum hits. Rock and alternative tracks are likewise fairly neutral, rarely delivering physical drum hits.

That said, its not impossible to come across a strongly-synergistic track, or at least one that lines up well with the Purecaster’s frequency response curve. It’s Nice to Know You Work Alone; Silversun Pickups, for example, delivers a pretty meaty rendering of its bass guitar and drums on the Purecaster, which makes for an immersive and deep soundstage.

Build

If there’s one thing that Oriveti knows how to do, it’s work with metal. This IEM is put together quite well, and its CNC’d aluminum shells look great. The solidity of the Purecaster also gives it an excellent hand-feel.

The top of the Purecaster’s shells host its 0.78mm 2-pin sockets. The sockets set in plastic blocks, which in turn are glued flush with the aluminum shell.

The Purecaster’s nozzles are also metal, and secure nicely to the threads cut into the main chassis.

Oriveti went with a well-constructed modular cable for the Purecaster. It features a simple 4-core chain braid and generous strain-relief. It includes metal finishing bits for the termination, Y-splitter, and chin-cinch, which again feel nice in the hand.

Comfort

Comfort is a metric that relies heavily on factors influenced by your individual ear anatomy. Mileage will vary.

I had no comfort issues with the Purecaster. It is fairly small and light, and its shell geometry matches up well with my ear. The included cable is likewise quite comfortable. It is reasonably soft while not transmitting very much in the way of microphonics. The Purecaster’s stock eartips are pretty comfortable, but produce an average seal for me.

Accessories

Inside the box you’ll find:

• 1x Semi-hard carrying case
• 1x 3.5mm termination
• 1x 4.4mm termination
• 1x 0.78mm 2-pin modular cable
• 6x Pairs silicone ear tip
• 2x Pairs tuning filter

I’ve got no real complaints about the Purecaster’s accessory package. The included eartips seal reasonably well for me, and are comfortable to boot. The Purecaster’s case is small enough to fit in a standard pocket, but spacious-enough to fit the IEM, spare termination, some eartips, and a proper USB-C DAC. I’d liked to have seen the Purecaster come with some foam eartips though, as its sound signature really demands a strong seal to get the most out of it.

Comparisons

Comparisons are selected solely based on what I think is interesting. If you would like me to add more comparisons, feel free to make a request in the comments below!

EarAcoustic Audio Genesis G318s

The Genesis G318s is a single-dynamic IEM from EarAcoustic Audio. The G318s costs $100 more than the Purecaster, coming it at $249. It features solid aluminum shells and a detachable 2-pin cable. The Purecaster has a braided plastic-coated cable with a modular termination, while the G318s features a cloth-coated cable with a fixed 4.4mm termination. I like the Purecaster’s cable and eartips more than the G318s’s, though the G318s has a more-spacious carrying case.

The G318s is a warmer, bassier IEM. Its focus is squarely on delivering comfort and energy without sounding too thick — essentially the inverse of the Purecaster. It delivers an elevated mid and sub-bass region, allowing it to kick and rumble with greater intent and depth than the Purecaster. While the Purecaster can rumble, it does so only on a select few tracks, making it less consistent in electronic genres. The G318s has a flatter lower-midrange and less-emphasized upper-midrange, setting its vocals more towards the center of the stage. The Purecaster has a brighter, more forward upper-register on the whole, allowing it to separate and articulate certain subtle treble-bound textures more-easily than the G318s. The G318s is no slouch in terms of upper-register performance, but the nature of its tuning makes it less likely to bring something subtle far enough in forward to catch a casual-listener’s attention.

Between the two IEMs, I’m choosing the G318s. Its tuning lines up better for my music library and tuning preferences. The extra $100 bump in price, while significant, is one I’m willing to pay to get extra flexibility and tonal completeness. If you’re focusing on price-to-performance, however, you’ll likely want to stick with the Purecaster’s cleaner and brighter tuning style.

NFAcous NM25

The NM25 is an aluminum-shelled IEM featuring a single dynamic driver per-side. It costs $199, making it $50 pricier than the Purecaster. Both IEMs use detachable cables, though the Purecaster’s is thicker and uses a flush connector rather than an extruded one. The Purecaster’s cable is also modular, giving you the option to utilize a 4.4mm termination, should you feel the need. The NM25’s cable is a fixed 3.5mm, but does offer a bit more comfort and ergonomics while on the move. The Purecaster includes a more-usable case that has space for a DAC, while also packing a better selection of stock eartips.

Both the Purecaster and NM25 are bright IEMs, but the NM25 is a bit brighter than the Purecaster, even with its black “treble” nozzles installed. The Purecaster has a similarly-forward upper-midrange, but has a lesser lower-midrange valley. The NM25’s bass is less emphasized than the Purecaster’s bass, and it doesn’t rumble with even a similar level of intensity to the Purecaster. The Purecaster’s mid-bass is likewise a little more-elevated than the NM25’s, delivering a bit more weight in deep string instrumentation and solo-piano performances.

Between the two, I’m selecting the Purecaster. For $50 less, you get better-balanced sound, similar performance, and improved accessories across the board. The NM25’s crucial lack of lower-register emphasis makes it less genre-flexible than the Purecaster, impacting its ability to render atmospheric weight in a variety of tracks that the Purecaster nails.

Melody Wings Venus

The Venus is one of my favorite IEMs. It packs a four-driver hybrid configuration in resin shells and costs $168. It also includes a detachable modular cable and comes with a USB-C termination that the Purecaster lacks. The Venus’s stock eartips aren’t anything too special, and are similar in quality to the Purecaster’s eartips. The Purecaster comes with a more-practical and better-protecting case than the Venus does, though the Venus’s case is easier to fit into a tight pocket than the Purecaster’s is.

The Venus is a warmer, more V-shaped IEM than the Purecaster. It features a slightly more-lifted sub-bass and more-substantial mid-bass. The Venus’s lower-mids are thicker and less-recessed than the Purecaster’s are, and it has a similar level of upper-midrange emphasis. The Purecaster has a less-forward lower-treble than the Venus, but picks up a lot of upper-treble energy that the Venus does not have. Both IEMs are quite performant, but the Venus manages to arranges cascading and contrasting layers of instrumentation with a level of care and precision that the Purecaster sometimes does not match. Beyond simple matters of separation and articulation, the Venus also manages to surface textures and tonal nuances more-frequently than the Purecaster.

If I were made to choose between these two IEMs, I’d go with the Venus. Its included USB-C termination, improved bass response, and better-alignment with my tastes make for a substantially more-immersive listening experience. That said, I don’t have a sensitivity to 5KHz or 8KHz emphasis — so if you’re not looking for warmth or are sensitive to emphasis in those bands, I’d recommend giving the Purecaster a try, instead.

Conclusion

The Purecaster is an IEM that sets out to deliver top-tier value-per-dollar. To that end, it is cloaked in high-quality aluminum shells and embedded with a great driver. That’s a solid foundation upon which to build an impressive experience — but Oriveti seems to have erred a little too far on the side of caution. The Purecaster’s sterile, cleanroom style of tuning delivers great performance, but at the cost of harmonic completeness and “fun”, for lack of a better word. I wish the Oriveti had instead made the Purecaster’s black nozzle a bass nozzle, rather than a treble one.

Oriveti’s goal of delivering simple, premium IEMs at an affordable price point in as admirable one — and I encourage them to continue to iterate while keeping this vision intact. While the Purecaster didn’t line up well with my preferences, it’s not far off from being something truly enjoyable!

Who This is For

• Trebleheads
• Dynamic-driver enthusiasts that want a clean, cool, and neutral IEM

Who This isn’t For

• Bassheads
• Those that enjoy warmth
• Listeners that prefer warm, organic tuning
• Those seeking traditional V-shaped tuning
• Those with a sensitivity to treble

As always, happy listening!