Rolling Force Cosmos Review: Into the Mystique Euphoria
New brands come and go – some get immediately popular, or some take time to build reputation and popularity, and, the unfortunate ones, stay underground and eventually close down. Some only remain as DIY tier. Yet only a few of them, the truly prepared brands with the highest quality cables, survive this niche, competitive, and even vague market.
Today I’d like to introduce a Hong Kong cable brand called Rolling Force. They’ve been in the scene for a while but not for too long – perhaps only a few years? I first encountered this brand during the Fujiya-Avic JP show, which was just around when they launched the brand. I remember swinging by their booth with curiosity though unfortunately, my impressions weren’t as impressive as I’d wished back then…
What Force?! The Rolling Force.
However, for the 2024 Canjam SG, Rolling Force came back with a completely revamped line-up, products, and concept. I was more than surprised, not only because of their achievement compared to the past products but also because they were beyond good – it was mesmerizingly impressive. Rolling Force has brought to the table for us with three new cables; Suika, Diamond, and Cosmos. The Cosmos is the flagship of Rolling Force cables and is priced at $1799. And, Of course, the most impressive one was the Cosmos, so I just had to write a review about this. Let’s see how it sounds, and how/why it impressed me that much, and compare it with different IEMs and competitors’ cables.
The Includings / ConX connectors
Cosmos with a neat box that unveils the including once lifting the upper lid. The first thing that greets you is a good-sized leather carrying case, that is roomy enough to house larger earpieces but not to the point of having the earphones waddle around. Other than the carrying case, the rest of the included accessories are a pair of mesh bags, a complete set of Effect ConX modular connectors, a leather cable tie, and a metal warranty/RF member card.
Unlike the lower models of Rolling Force, Cosmos is terminated with ConX connectors as default. While you can still request to purchase Cosmos without the modular ConX connectors, Rolling Force claims that they’ve tuned the cable while intending the use the ConX connectors – so in case you were considering steering away from ConX connectors in concern degrading the sound quality or changing the sound signature, rest assured. In fact, going non-ConX may be steering away from what Rolling Force intended Cosmos to perform and sound like.
Just Like the Name: Wires Filled with Stars & Galaxies
Rolling Force Cosoms is a “tribrid” of flagship cables, being comprised of Silver-Gold-Platinum OCC alloy. RF states the cable wires are made with an “S-Z Multi Structure” Litz design, and a Type 2 Coaxial design with a spiral shielding design to maximize the flexibility and pliability of the cable. But before we talk about the usability and softness of the wires, I’d like to suggest all of us appreciate the looks of the cable – it’s gorgeous. Not easy to portray the mystique beauty of the Cosmos, though to live up to its name “cosmos”, the wires have a mystique blue color that also turns mildly purple depending on lighting and angles. The wires also have fine sparkly particles spread across the wires, as if resembling the far-distanced stars and galaxies in the cosmos.
Heading back to talking about handling the cable, Cosmos is a very soft cable. Flagship wires tend to be either stiff or heavy, or even both, though neither is the case for Cosmos. The wires are light and soft as an average 4-braid cable, making it easy to use and handle without causing microphonics or getting springy. Detailed cable specs of Cosmos are as below.
- Core Thickness: 23.8 AWG (main core) / 21.2 AWG (with shield)
- Wire diameter: 1.8mm
- Weaving Method: 4 Twist
- Core Structure: SZ Multi Structure Litz – Type 2 Coaxial with Spiral Shielding
- Core Material: Silver Gold Platinum OCC Alloy
- Shielding Material: Sliver Plated 5N LC-OFC
- Skin Material: Customized American SoftFlex PVC
- Suggested retail price (Retail Price): HKD $13800 (1799 USD)
- Warranty: One-Year International Warranty
- Headphone Plug: ConX, 2-Pin CM, MMCX, Customize
- Player plug (DAP Plug): 4.4MM BAL, Customize
- Length: 1.2M
The Sound of Cosmos: Sound Signature & Performance
Cosmos is a cable that adds another-level depth and tone color, making your initial custom cable or stock cable sound like they’ve been watering down your IEMs. A significant part of Cosmos is the bass. Cosmos has the power to make your IEMs’ bass hit top-notch performance. To be specific, Cosmos does a major tune-up for most aspects of the low range, including ultra-low extension, texture details, depth, and most importantly, the bass’ overall presence within the music.
This is perhaps one of the strongest bass-highlighting cables that I’ve experienced – but not in the way you’re thinking. Cosmos brings a strong, pitch-black, and thick tone of bass with great bass resolution, which leads the bass to be far more prominent than before. Yet the bass quantity changes are very minimal compared to the “presence of boost” that Cosmos brings for the low-ends. Because of this, the mids and highs don’t get bothered or smudged by the lows, as well as keep the timbre neutral as they were… or not.
The vocal and treble timbre also get a major improvement in several ways. The resolution goes up, showing better transparency and extending the trebles further and with finer texture. Vocals gain creamy tone, fuller body, and energetic dynamics that push vocals with more liveliness and agility. It doesn’t make the texture stiff or the tone shouty, though the upper ends feel like they’re getting packed up with more details and density – meanwhile showing separation and distinctive layerings.
Lastly, the soundstage. The above-stated elements eventually make Cosmos gain great improvements in depth, scale, and width of the headroom. Cosmos doesn’t make the sound bombastic but handles the sound respectfully to the IEM’s original sound signature. It achieves a significantly larger, immersive headroom. The upper-end vastness is already flagship-tier, yet the real power is that Cosmos adds extensive depth and grandness between the ultra-lows and mids. With no veiling or muddying up the scene, of course. That’s the magic of Cosmos’s sound presentation.
Next Page: Listening Cosmos with AME Raven / Noble Sultan Prestige