Today, I’ll talk about two interesting new arrivals in the earphone market. Intuaura has released two wired in-ear earphones: INTUAURA Luster (View) and INTUAURA Plume (Luna). In collaboration with ZACROS Corporation and a high-quality device supplier associated with Sennheiser and B&O, a dual-chamber acoustic system was created, and sound tuning was performed in these models with a single-driver dynamic transducer.
Declared innovations:
- A special high-end dynamic driver installed in the earphones (View) and borrowed from the Purple earphones.
- High-performance dual-chamber unit that enhances bass quality.
- Unique, hand-painted faceplates.
- Precision-machined enclosures that extend the range of sound.
Let’s see how these new products will delight us and how they will perform upon closer inspection.
Sound of INTUAURA Luster (View) and INTUAURA Plume (Luna) wired earphones
Overall perception: both pairs of earphones feature a 10 mm dynamic driver with strong N52 magnets. To enhance the sound, a new design with a dual acoustic chamber and a bass reflex tube is used. There is a general sound delivery in the earphones, but the tuning is different. The View is more balanced, while the Luna is bass-heavy.
Low frequencies
- Intuaura Luster. The low frequencies in the Luster are not deep and are well-controlled. They are moderately accentuated but have lingering fades, creating an effect of depth and weightiness. They do not dominate over other frequencies, ensuring a good balance.
- Intuaura Plume: The low frequencies in the Plume are more pronounced and rich, making them ideal for bass-oriented music genres. The bass is dense, powerful, and textured, sometimes dominating the midrange. It is accentuated but overly drawn out due to the lingering fades.
Middle frequencies
- Intuaura Luster. The midrange of the Luster is clear and warm, particularly good for vocals and acoustic instruments. A sound that aspires to natural tones, but with a flavor of synthetic sounds. It lacks brightness, the sound presentation is too flat. I found the sound lacking in naturalness and emotionality.
- Intuaura Plume. Intuaura Plume: similarly unemotional, but they may fall slightly short of the Luster in terms of clarity and detail. The vocals sound constrained and are sometimes overshadowed by the more pronounced bass..
High frequencies
- Intuaura Luster. The high frequencies are soft, relaxed, occasionally lacking in strength and without excessive sharpness. They are not clear, and there’s an impression that they have been overly trimmed.
- Intuaura Plume. The high frequencies in the Plume completely mimic their older model but with even more pronounced accents, less detailed, and slightly muted compared to the Luster.
Detail retrieval
- It’s not a strong point of these models. It exists to some extent but in a subtle form.
Soundstage
- Intuaura Luster. The soundstage of the Luster is not wide or deep, somewhat constrained within certain boundaries without exceeding them.
- Intuaura Plume. The soundstage of the Plume is significantly wider, thanks to its pronounced bass. It provides better orientation compared to the Luster, offering good spatial perception but similarly lacks detail.
Summary of the sound of the INTUAURA Luster (View) and INTUAURA Plume (Luna) in-ear earphones
INTUAURA Plume Luna
INTUAURA Luster View
- Intuaura Luster: Offer a balanced, almost linear, unemotional and distinctive sound with mediocre low frequencies, synthetic mids, and subdued highs. Add to this insufficient detail and a narrow soundstage. Who are they suitable for? In my opinion, for undemanding, novice audiophiles who prefer non-bass compositions and lean towards listening to vocal jazz and classical genres.
- Intuaura Plume: Feature more pronounced and rich bass frequencies, making them suitable for bass lovers. The midrange and tremble are inferior to the Luster in terms of clarity and detail. They are designed for beginner audiophiles who enjoy compositions that are rich in bass, such as electronic music and heavy, but not overloaded, heavy metal.
- Choice: In general, the choice between Intuaura Purple and Intuaura Plume depends on your sound preferences: Purple offers a more balanced and detailed sound, while Plume emphasizes bass and tremble, making them ideal for certain genres of music.
Game and movie sound:
A clear win here for INTUAURA Plume (Luna)
- Sound in games. Thanks to its decent bass, you get a sense of dynamics and drive.
- Sound in movies. Similarly to games, there’s a feeling of immersion in the atmosphere.
Intuaura Luster (View) score for sound:
- Sound for its price up to $500 – 7 out of 10.
- Sound for its price up to $1000 – 6 out of 10.
Intuaura Plume (Luna) score for sound:
- Sound for its price up to $500 – 7.5 out of 10.
- Sound up to $1000 – 6 out of 10.
Comparison with competitors
This market segment is quite broad, oversaturated, and competition in it is very tough. I had the opportunity to listen to the Bqeyz Wind, which, despite having a bone conduction driver in addition to a dynamic driver, is nevertheless indicative for comparison. The low frequencies are more energetic in the Wind and not as massive and lingering as in the Luna. The mids are more natural and organic. The highs are bright and airy. In short, the Bqeyz Wind almost completely outperforms both Intuaura models if you’re not a fan of bass, like me.
Design and comfort
The earphones arrive in different boxes with different designs on them. View is a more representative Google-inspired style, Luna has a weird AI generated anime girl on the front of the box.
They feel pleasant to the touch and are comfortable when worn in the ear. The sound tubes are properly oriented and fit snugly in the ear. I also noticed that there is no unpleasant membrane crunch when putting them on. The faceplates have unique, beautiful hand-painted designs: silver on black for Luna and gold on black for View.
Regarding the cable, I have no complaints about the cables included in the set; visually and during the review, they showed themselves in the best light. In Luna, there is an 8-strand silver-colored cable with a 3.5mm connector, and in View, there is a black 16-strand cable with a 4.4mm connector. Both cables have Intuaura branding on the Jack connectors, and clear markings on the 2Pin connectors indicating which side to connect to.
The View case is larger in size than the Luna case and more spacious. Both are dark gray with mesh and organizers for neat earphone storage. A good set.
There are enough ear tips, good in quality, and various in size. You can choose the ones that suit you from the set without resorting to third-party manufacturers.
Additional accessories in the set: plastic model cards and cloth wipes for cleaning the earphones, a stand for a coffee cup.
I gave identical ratings for design and comfort to both models:
Characteristics INTUAURA Luster (View): INTUAURA Plume (Luna): What’s in the box? Except for designer features, the kits are identical. First, I would like to mention the manufacturer’s attention to detail: lettering on the connectors indicating which side of the headphones, as well as on the headphones themselves; high-quality cable that you don’t want to replace; small details such as a cloth for wiping headphones and replacement sound tube meshes or organizer cases for convenient headphone carrying. All this creates an image of careful consumer attention. “And what about the sound?” you might ask. In my opinion, the sound is more interesting in INTUAURA Plume (Luna). The headphones are suitable for beginner audiophiles with a preference for bass sound and a pleasant (almost twice as low) adequate price. However, INTUAURA Luster (View) is overpriced and does not provide such discerning sound. So my choice is clear — INTUAURA Plume (Luna).
Summary of INTUAURA Luster (View) and INTUAURA Plume (Luna) dynamic earphones
