Disclaimer: I borrowed Sun Copper on its way to its owner, I do not get to keep it unfortunately.
Personal preferences in audio gear will vary. This review is based on my own subjective experience.
If you prefer to watch a video review you can watch mine here
Pros –
- Amazing Note Weight
- Top Of The Line Layering and Separation
- Bass Texture Is Fantastic
- Solo Instrumentals Have Huge Emotion
- Soundstage Is Impressively Large
- Not Sibilant / Fatiguing
Personal Preference –
- Analog Fuzzy Resolution
Cons –
- Not An All Rounder; Too Warm For Some Genres
- Bass Gets Distorted At Times
Gaming:
Pros –
- Fantastic Imaging During Calmer Moments
- Large Soundstage Offers A Grand Experience
- Strong And Impactful Immersive Experience
Cons –
- Small Details Can Be Blunted Due To The Tonality Making Some Things Easy To Miss
- During Chaotic Moments Sounds Can Be Hard To Make Out
Build, Fit & Accessories:
Venture Electronics Sun Copper is priced at $598, overall I feel the build is very solid and one of the more premium feeling flatheads I have tried. The cable is fairly heavy and the bell shells are as well meaning these may fall out of your ear depending on the fit. it does come with some over ear hooks but a shirt clip or silicone wings would also be a welcome inclusion so that people have the most options to get the proper fit for them. You also get a nice metal tin to store it in as well as a couple packs of foams. You also get Venture Electronics Megatron DAC/AMP with the purchase.
Because It was just stopping by on it’s way back to the owner I was unfortunately not able to inspect or try any of these accessories. For me these fit quite well without any extras but they are large and heavy. I feel some people will need help one way or another and unfortunately being a different shape I can’t just recommend trying a budget version of this shell.
Equipment Used:
- FiiO Q11 on Windows and Android
- MusicBee on Windows 11 with FiiO ASIO drivers for local FLAC and DSD files
- Amazon Music Streaming
- CX31993 Dongle on Android
Test Tracks used:
Sound Quality:
Sun Copper as far as I am aware is using custom drivers that Venture Electronics has designed, I do not see any specs or info on their site or AliExpress store so I am unsure what they have or are using in it. Sun Copper excels at genres like Orchestra, Jazz, some EDM and some Solo Instrumentals like piano and violin, giving me some of my favorite performances I have heard in those areas. At the same time I find other parts of my library are not to my preference at all and the warmth of Sun Copper to be overpowering for modern metal and busier rock tracks often having distorted bass and off timbre. This is a very warm neutral that comes off with an analog resolution being a bit fuzzy
Bass
Sun Copper does an incredible job with sub and mid bass displaying impressive note weight and punch for Solo Instrumentals, Orchestral, EDM and Jazz. The warmth here also works well with older rock and metal that is generally a bit thinner than anything after the 2000s but once I started making my way into more modern rock and metal I often found the warmth and the bass to be quite overpowering and distorted effecting the overall timbre.
I wouldn’t say this is from bass bleed or congestion as instruments are still well separated and present, this is just the analog representation of Sun Copper. For my taste this tuning does not lend itself well to modern metal or rock for my preferences.
Midrange
The mids of Sun Copper are quite warm for the most part and make for a very rich experience in the previously mentioned genres it excels at. Instruments have quite good timbre with incredible detail and a lifelike naturalness and warmth to them.
Vocals
Vocals performances are great and have incredible timbre with possibly the best male baritone vocals I have heard to date. the exception here is again with modern metal and rock where I found the vocals to be quite veiled and recessed as the warmth of the instruments overpowers the vocals.
Treble
Treble is good although not to my preference overall. I feel like there is a bit of roll-off on the upper end so it doesn’t extend as much as what I am used to. I generally like the treble to be a bit brighter as well but there is still a large amount of warmth here.
Technicalities
The techs are definitely Sun Coppers strong suit offering top of the line layering and separation, exquisite imaging and a very impressive 3D sound stage that almost hits the same lingering ghostly notes as the TGXEAR Serratus. Sun Copper is very dynamic and detailed but definitely has flaws in resolution at times due to the analog fuzz causing it to sound distorted and throwing the timbre off.
Gaming Performance:
Sun Copper is at a premium price level and in theory I thought it would do very well in gaming. For immersive gaming this was true, however for games that rely on audio cues I found it fell short to most other options due to its tuning.
FPS Gaming:
Sun Copper has a incredible techs and a very warm sound signature, going into Escape From Tarkov I thought that this might be a great paring with the huge soundstage and amazing imaging and the warmer sound giving you heightened audio for footsteps or other noises in the game. Unfortunately Sun Copper upon actual testing let me down quite a bit and I found it quite hard to hear noises that typically stand out with other gear because of this warmth, the analog fuzz also gets in the way making noises less sharp and more blunted than with other gear. During calmer moments and hearing distant gunfire Sun Copper does feel massive, but when the action got close or started I found myself disappointed. Personally I wouldn’t be using this for more competitive FPS games.
Immersive Gaming
Elden Ring was a very rich experience that I enjoyed very much. Sun Copper is definitely really good at more immersive situations that are not incredibly chaotic. Melee attacks had pronounced weight to them and getting hit felt impactful, it was quite easy to immerse myself into Elden Ring just walking around or having boss battles with epic music playing. The warm tuning and amazing techs actually translated quite well for a more immersive gaming experience. If I owned Sun Copper I could see myself using it to play more Elden Ring or similar games for a very rich and immersive experience.
Comparisons:
The only other flathead I have tried in the price range is the TGXEAR Desolation Sound priced at $599 and tonally it is much more to my preference being a much better all rounder that I enjoyed everything I listened to on it. Sun Copper does techs a bit better and does some genres better than Desolation Sound. If you like warm sound signatures or the analog sound and find they play well with your library you may enjoy the richness and slightly better techs of the Sun Copper. For my taste and preference I would definitely be buying Desolation Sound for it’s reference neutral signature and more natural overall tonality with better clarity.
Conclusion:
Venture Electronics Sun Copper overall is quite impressive, it is a shame it clashes with my preferences. I am worried the warmth and fit might clash with others as well leaving me to keep TGXEAR Desolation Sound my default recommendation at this price point. But if you are looking for a flathead around this price and prefer a warmer or analog style sound signature with top tier techs Sun Copper would definitely be my pick.
You can purchase Venture Electronics Sun Copper from the VEClan website or on AliExpress.
Peace!
