PlusSound Allegro II Review: You’ll Be Lured
PlusSound has been one of the most consistent names in the American custom cable scene since 2012. If you’re into upgrade cables for earphones and headphones, I’m sure you’ve at least heard about them. Based in Los Angeles, PlusSound built a strong reputation through their IEM cable lineup and customization options before making the jump into their own IEM products in recent years.
PlusSound’s first debut IEM was the Allegro (or Allegro OG) in 2022, followed by the Volta and Sonora in 2024. Each of those carried their own character, and the community reception across the three was broadly positive. Now, celebrating their 13th anniversary, PlusSound revamped their IEMs line-up, including the launch of Allegro II – a fully revamped 2nd-gen flagship that addresses the feedback the original Allegro collected. Priced at $3,999 with a 13-driver quad-hybrid setup, let’s see how much further they’ve taken it.
The 13-Driver Quadbrid Earpieces: Inside-out Features
The earpiece design has gone through an appropriate evolution from the original. Where the first Allegro featured angularly designed shells shaped in a polygonal, edgy form factor, the Allegro II got all the edges smoothed out for ergonomic reasons. The design of the original is handed down through maze-like embossing for the body and wave engravings for the faceplates. The earpieces were frequently cited as being on the larger side, and while still are, the new shell fits a lot more securely and comfortably across a wider range of ears, thanks to the optimized nozzle and shell. The shells and nozzles are fully made of cryo-treated, polished aluminum.
On the inside, Allegro uses 13-drivers per side, sporting an 8-way, Quadbrid setup of 2DD+2BCD+8BA+1PL drivers. The bass is driven by two 10mm dynamic drivers in a push-pull isobaric design; this structure allows incredibly strong low-end control and impact while lowering the noise floor and air resistance. Two bone conduction drivers are tuned for sub-bass resonance and spatial imaging. The 8BA drivers contribute to mids and highs, and lastly, a single 6mm planar tweeter serves for the highs and ultra-highs. These drivers are housed in a precisely designed 3D acoustic chamber for accurate sonic presentation.
Packaging & Accessories
PlusSound put real effort into the Allegro II package in a way that offers a pleasant unboxing experience while keeping things practical. The Allegro II arrives in a neat, compact-sized packaging box. Inside sits a leather carrying case with the IEMs inside, with the rest of the accessories placed on the lower layer.
Included are the Allegro II IEMs, PlusSound’s Copper+ stock cable, a leather storage case, a leather earphone and cable stand, a leather storage pouch, a leather IEM bag, a leather cable organizer, a metal eartip card, a cleaning tool, a cleaning cloth, three sizes each of PlusSound silicone eartips and hybrid eartips, three sizes of Comply foam tips, a metal warranty card, a digital start guide, and a signed thank-you card.
What’s Included in the Box:
- ALLEGRO II In-Ear Monitors
- Copper+ Cable
- Leather Storage Case
- Leather Earphone+Cable Stand
- Leather Storage Pouch
- Leather IEM Bag
- Leather Cable Organizer
- Metal Eartip Card
- Cleaning Tool/Cloth
- PLUSSOUND Silicone Eartips (S,M,L)
- PLUSSOUND Hybrid Eartips (S,M,L)
- Comply Foam Eartips (S,M,L)
- Metal Warranty Card
The PlusSound Copper+ for the Stock Cable
As an upgrade cable company, PlusSound makes the Allegro II come with a custom-grade cable by default. The Allegro II comes with the PlusSound Copper+ cable, a quality cable with a balanced, warm sound signature that pairs well with the IEMs. Termination is done with a standard 2pin and 4.4mm balanced plug. In terms of handling, it’s well-built, soft enough for daily use, though it does have a bit more stiffness and weight than your most average stock cable or the very soft ones. Nonetheless, it’s good enough to use on the go. Hardware parts are finished with the usual PlusSound metal parts, with a special two-tone Y-splitter to match the color of the IEMs.
Next Page: In-depth Sound Impressions / How does Allegro II Sound?