The product is top of the range that gratifies the all fundamental needs of people and also comes with its coherent design concept. However, the reality is that it is not easy to produce a product like that. Even with much effort, the result is often a failure. But there exist some cases out of the ordinary. So, I would like to talk about a product that possesses exceptional powers of perfection.








Specifications
· 24 AWG
· Flawless Monocrystal Bespoke Silver
· Maximus efficiency strand geometry ; Kevlar infused
· Cryogenically Treated
· Eletech Bespoke Solder
· Eletech Customised connectors and Y-split
· FlexiMax Insulation™ (patent pending)

Website: https://elementechnology.com


Eletech Plato upgrade cable, its package looks splendid and minimal. Its package box just seems like an ancient book. It’s really hard to tell whether a book or not if kept in a bookcase, so it’s like hiding a secret treasure box. There are 3 things inside of it. Exclusive nice-looking leather case containing a Plato upgrade cable, and a thick card-sized metalwork engraved with brand name logos.











The leather case is the circular type and has an adequate thickness, designed to grip with one hand and open and adjust the zipper easily. And, even when pressed with both hands hard, the case did not sink to less than 5mm, indicating that it is made strong. The zipper is YYK and can be held comfortably and adjusted smoothly by one hand. The case opens up to 115 degrees and can be bend back up to 180 degrees by force.


The back of the case has a single belt buckle and hook that make it easy to hang on any bags and trousers. The inside of the case is made of classy texture feeling suede, suitable storage size carrying a large-sized ciem and Plato upgrade cable together. There is a pocket, but it is not stretchy, so it is recommended to only store the plug of the cable. The case seems to be focused on accessibility for everyday use.




The design of Plato upgrade cable gives an atmosphere like looking at a beautiful sculpture. Its transparent sheath of the cable and the conductors shining in it like a jewel necklace. The texture feeling of the sheath is quite good when the cable is smoothly bent and held in hand. Plato’s splitter is reminiscent of an ‘Order’ column in ancient Greek architecture. It has a slight blend of streamline patterns that accentuate an elegant yet modern design. The splitter works as a weight, allowing stable use without shaking and microphonics when listening. Therefore, it seems that the length adjustable part has been omitted because it does not have to be there.


The 2.5mm BAL plug is tightly adhered to the device being mounted, completely removing the concern of shaking and breaking. There is no feeling of rehashing parts such as splitter and plug with different angular patterns in it, making it seem more luxurious. Minimal and clean Eletech logo imprinted on every housing part up to 2Pin socket connectors makes good design consistency.






The sound signature of Plato performed a propensity to match the name of the product. Its focus was thought to be on delivering more refined sound while maintaining the acoustic characteristics of the receiver and device. Especially, there exists a strong feeling of the surmise because it showed a neutral reverberation tone in middle and bass overall. That doesn’t mean that it performs dry and dull sound-signature. It possesses a smooth and moist elasticity as if the camera’s aperture is tightened to give a clearer image. Treble didn’t sound snappy or metallic. It gets glossily silky condensed and erupts splendidly. Fortunately, this sleek performance stably keeps the treble from reaching a provocative hiss level.


Actually, Plato is surprisingly rich in the details of bass. There is slightly accentuate reverb in the middle bass so that you can clearly hear the texture of playing percussion instruments like timpani, drum. I reckon that Eletech they focused on saving the details of the bass with minimal emphasis rather than increasing the sense of volume. Listening to the 2.5mm BAL and 3.5mm stereo-standard terminals by inserting a gender, I could see that the effort was greatly demonstrated. Even with the changing conditions of the phase of acoustic, Plato’s sound-signature did not nearly develop treble and middle differently changes only the depth feeling of the bass. Unless earphones with highly emphasized treble or far laid-back middle frequency or unstable tonal balance, Plato will fit most of the products. Especially, it fits the product with a flaccid treble or somber tonal atmosphere.







Eletech Plato, it can be strongly recommended if you want to try a little more treble detailed and hear the neutral textures of the middle and bass. It is designed with careful consideration for users, not only for sound but for all parts, including luxury leather case and unique package design as high-end grade products. I reckon Eletech Plato is a great product that I can personally recommend if you find a cable with a high degree of completion.








Disclaimer

Bigheadfiler Studio is not affiliated with Eletech. The sample (including the whole package) and the payment for the photography service(10 photos) are offered for making this article.

Bigheadfiler Studio has done our best to make articles practical and useful to the readers, made contents by free will without color. Please take the time and judge from the article whether this is honest.

All of the contents above are produced by Bigheadfiler Studio.
The copyright of the pictures above belongs to "Eletech."

https://www.bigheadfiler.com/60 [Bigheadfiler Studio]

After purchasing high-end grade in-ear monitors, a case or pouch comes with its package most likely. But, people do not use most of that kind of case and buy another 3rd party product for carrying their product. I also do that action many times. One of the reasons why this action occurs is that even if the case has a great appearance, it doesn’t fully protect the (c)iem or earphone practically. Like always, there are exceptions. This is one of the cases in which brands that have a good understanding of (c)iem or earphone’ protection and who are good at designing protective accessories are involved in designing packages. I’d like to deal with one of the examples here. ‘Hidition’ is my personal favorite in-ear monitor brand because of its accurate soundstage and stable sound-signature even with various environment. And, I was very excited when I heard that a new case in which collaborated with a famous leather case brand ‘Dignis’ will be released from ‘Hidition’. I got an opportunity to get it and try it before launching it worldwide. After three months of use, I am still fascinated by this product.




The collaborated product is based on the iem leather case called ‘ARMIN’, one of Dignis’s existed products. It is all the same as the original one except for one single feature. It is imprinted with a name logo in the Korean cursive style. I reckon it looks more unique because written in Korean cursive, and the leather case is pretty coveted one if you are a Hidition (c)iem user. Users who have already experienced Dignis ARMIN case probably perceive what purpose of its design. It is a large version of ARCA case for a storing thick upgrade cable and an (c)iem together. ARCA is the appropriate size when carrying a (c)iem and a thin (stock) cable, but difficult to keep safely a cable together with 4.4mm BAL plug or thick conductors from bending stress.

ARMIN case (Hidition collaboration version) essentially solved the issue by enlarging its space capacity and adding a newly designed insertion. It has enough space for not only a thick upgrade cable, but also a small DAP and a Bluetooth receiver. If you have any type of bag that can hold the case, it is comfortable for everyday use. The issue with ARCA of being dented in by pressing the top of the lid is also solved by adjusting lid size and partition heights. The partition is easy to adjust by detaching so that easy to store large-sized in-ear monitors.




Its leather parts are slightly glossy and have a dark complexion that creates a heavy atmosphere. I reckon it would be weak on scratch because it feels slightly soft on the outside, but after three months of using it, I found small flaws but no noticeable. If purchasing Violet, Viento-R and NT-8, the collaborated Dignis leather case will be included in the package. In other models, it can be purchased as additional orders. If already own Hidition (c)iem, can purchase it separately from local dealers in each country. Storage capacity and design are far better than existing Hidition's hard cases. I fully recommend having this leather case if you are Hidition user.






Disclaimer

Bigheadfiler Studio is not affiliated with Hidition. The above contents are produced for showing Hidition's case to internationals. The case sample (including universal-fit) and the payment for the photography service(3 photos) are offered for making this article.

Bigheadfiler Studio has done our best to make articles practical and useful to the readers, made contents by free will without color. Please take the time and judge from the article whether this is honest.

All of the contents above are produced by Bigheadfiler Studio.
The copyright of the pictures above belongs to "Hidition."

To make high sales and profits in the market, product perfection is significantly essential. However, in reality, it is challenging to offer products to the market that makes popular public image and give satisfaction to high consumer involvement, all together. So, most manufacturers make rational decisions by produce products with minimally acceptable quality. However, there always exist exceptional cases in every area. Let me talk about one of the manufacturer brands who care about both.



‘Mobifren’ has always been with the history of Wireless earphones in Korea. They released small Bluetooth transmitters compatible with smartphones in 2009 and already had technology high enough to be doing S.Q.A. (Software Quality Assurance) services to Samsung electronics. Not long ago, they put some items on Amazon to enter the North America market. Fortunately, I have a great chance to try one of the products and introduce them to internationals for the first time. The product is named as ‘Flex-L Air’ (MFB-NB7100A).






Specifications >

Product name: Flex-L Air (MFB-NB7100A)
Type: Semi-opened enclosing
Bluetooth: version 5.0 (MSTS, LDAC, Apt-X, AAC)
Consecutive talk time: 9.5 Hrs
Music playtime: 7 Hrs
Stan-by time: 14 Hrs
Charging port: Micro USB
Additional Feature: Sweat-Proof,
Built-in Vibration motor
Weight: 23g
Released in 2018

Made in Korea

Official Website: https://www.mobifren.com/?locale=en



❖ Notice: Before using Mobifren ‘Flex-L Air’ wireless earbuds, it is strongly recommended to update the latest firmware.
The latest firmware link:https://www.mobifren.com/support/download_firmware.php)




‘Flex-L Air’ is not of the TWS (True Wireless Stereo) type, so it is easy to be misunderstood as an anachronistic product. ‘Mobifren’ is said to have found that many consumers who prefer neck-band wireless earphone products still exist in the market by statistic research. Flex L series was designed to meet these consumers by incorporating the latest technologies to respond to the results.

The first thing that appeared to me was its high durability endures in a variety of Life-Cycle patterns. Its neck-hanger is made of shape-memory alloy, so that does not be twisted or changed at all. I kept ‘Flex-L Air’ in a pouch the size of folded the one-dollar bill (USD) in half for about five days and found that its shape was perfectly restored without any problem. Rubber or Silicon sealing protections are used in each part to prevent signal disconnection. All of the enclosed housings except flexible parts are made of anti-allergy treated metal, which gave the overall impression of being firm and safe.








One specific thing about the difference compared to existing neck-band wireless earphones is that ‘Flex-L Air’ is a semi-opened type and has a design familiar to the public. These two significant features provided a unique experience that was different from other existing products used in the past. ‘Flex-L Air’ is pretty similar to Apple Airpods. If you have any interest in earphones like that and have used them, probably will know what the earbuds of this design give you.


Ambient conditions outside of earbuds can be monitored easily by its low noise attenuation. When not in use, both earphone units can be dropped on the chest and stuck to each other with magnetic function, or only one unit can be hanged on the ear. Like TWS earbuds, there is no need to repeat the action of removing units from the case and storing it.









It has high-intensity vibration in the hanger, so it’s easy to recognize and will rarely miss telephone calls. Overall, ‘Flex-L Air’ wireless earbuds do not require users to use rigorous methods, as shown. This intuitive design is very convenient for people who are busy in various situations. However, it is not comfortable in every way. Its application for the smartphone called ‘Mobifren SM’ is limited in some functions when connecting with Apple devices. (refer to Comparative table of available functions sheet) The limited codec support of ‘Apple Devices’ gives some negative effects on sound quality, which will address in detail below.










❖ Tested in an environment with AptX codec supported and default EQ setting.


Actually, this product may not be very attractive to you just by looking at specs and design. But there is a hidden critical weapon lurking inside of ‘Flex-L Air’. Even though it is a wireless product, ‘Flex-L Air’ also offers an impressive sound quality that is no less than a wired product of the same price. When you try it the first time, its bass might give the depths of heavy textured feeling by wide dynamic range.

This heavy bass does not mean strong and tight damping with darky feeling just like other wireless products. The natural expression of reverberation attenuation and delay resembles the opened-type earbuds. Its bass has a bit rough and dense reverberation so that there was no uncomfortable listening to classical or jazz with wind instruments. On the other hand, this will give dullness of listening to music genres with numeric instrument sessions.


Overall, mid-frequency is slightly compressed than treble and bass, so that it gives a bit more wideness of soundstage. Mid-frequency shows a bit of airy sound-signature and hard feeling reverberation that expresses clear stage images. Its treble sounds quite similar to mid-range does but there was no hiss on its treble at all. ‘Flex-L Air’ didn’t give any irritated distortion or hiss through overall sound-signature. Although the expressions of mid to treble and bass showed different moods, the two performed distinctive sound tuning that blends excellently well.


Unfortunately, this distinctive and impressive sound is suppressed by the limited codec support (Only AAC) of ‘Apple Devices.’ This limitation can be dramatically improved by connecting the application ‘Mobifren SM’ for smartphones. However, there still exist firm compression on overall frequency by narrowed dynamic range, so that bass and treble get more inaccurate. I strongly recommend using a device with Apt-X codec supported.






Epilogue...

‘Mobifren ‘Flex-L Air’ was released in mid-2018 to the public in South Korea and become a popular product from audiophile to the public. Many consumers kept said that it is designed to be easy for anyone to use while providing excellent functionality and also has detailed sound performance that is sought out by audio enthusiasts. I agree with these comments, as well. If you want to enjoy the experience mentioned above, give a try with Mobifren ‘Flex-L Air’ wireless neckband earbuds.









Disclaimer

Bigheadfiler Studio is not affiliated with Mobifren. The above contents are produced for showing Mobiren's 'Flex-L Air' to internationals. The sample (Flex-L Air) is offered for making this article.

Bigheadfiler Studio has done our best to make articles practical and useful to the readers, made contents by free will without color. Please take the time and judge from the article whether this is honest.


All of the contents above are produced by Bigheadfiler Studio.

Thinking of ‘Hidition', what product comes to your mind? ‘NT-6', ‘NT-6Pro', ‘NT-8', ‘Violet'… Those of you who read this article probably mention these high-priced ciem products in your mind. Before launching a new product ‘Violet (11 BA drivers ciem)' in public, I already had experienced it with one week. Also, I had experienced to write a review article about ‘NT-8' ciem and iem officially. In the meantime, I found something really awkward.
(Hidition NT-8 review is here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/hidition-nt-8.23121/ )


There is no one talks about the entry models of ‘Hidition’ in public. Definitely, ‘NT-1’ does. I had an excellent opportunity to review the flagship product ‘Violet' officially, but I wanted to address something easily accessible and significantly valuable to more people. I managed to reject the temptation of ‘Violet' which made me insane by its amazing and great sound-performance so that chose to review ‘NT-1’. I will let you know here why made this decision.

‘NT-1’ was released in 2011 and has been only sold in South-Korea until 2018. Even with the release of higher specifications products, ‘NT-1’ have not changed the sound design and only its design options have been added. One more exciting thing is that the most popular product in South-Korea is ‘NT-1’, not ‘NT-6’ or ‘NT-6pro’. Audiophiles, sound engineers or musicians who like the flat sound-signature have chosen this entry model exceptionally many times and have always compared it to Etymotic’s older ER4 series.


‘NT-1’ has received much praise from South-Korean users as it is called Custom in-ear monitor version of ‘Etymotic ER4-S', as it uses Knowles ED-series BA drivers and maintains out-put power reliably in a variety of acoustic environments. Even since the price is lower than ‘ER4 series', many have bought ‘NT-1' a lot as a replacement. Actually, ‘NT-1’ has some similarities with the older version of ER4 series, but Hidition told me that its experience and intent they want to give users is entirely different from ‘ER4-S'. I also agree after having experienced it in real life.







In first impression, I had to double-check 'NT-1' ciem because I couldn't believe that performs overwhelming stable acoustic details of mid-frequency. Under 500 USD priced ciems included with customized faceplate design never shown like that before. Its mid and treble frequency have neutral-colored sound-signature, and a little bit dried reverberation. Its FR graph measurement and actual listening of mid and treble nearly perform like Etymotic ER series. This comparison is because why many listeners or owners of Hidion ‘NT-1’ ciem always keep mention that it is a custom-fit version of ‘Etymotic ER4'.

In the actual FR measurement graph, it shows sharp peaks at around 11kHz, but in real listening, it feels significantly weaker than what is seen on the date. Thanks to this characteristic, its mid and treble did not show any compressed of muffled feeling and the quality of the percussion instrument was appropriately expressed to distinguish between the texture and the residual, so that could not feel the lack of musical mixing, video work, and monitoring. This characteristic also helps you can enjoy listening to music looking for mid and treble details.






While working on this article, I found that there was a big difference in the bass which affects to overall sound-signature between Hidition ‘NT-1’ and Etymotic ER4 series, so that is why I had to admit that these two are separate as an entirely different product, as the engineer said. It has emphasized at around upper base slightly gives weight to overall sound-signature of mid and bass and more natural reverberation so that able to distinct to tell the location of the stage where percussion or wind instrument are played more comfortable than expected.


However, ‘NT-1’ couldn’t express the remnants of the instrument in detail, like a super high-end priced ciem product costing more than 1,500 USD. It didn't do the perfect job of expressing deep bass detail, but just only one single balanced-armature driver of it was able to capture most of the expressions delivered in the music, so that couldn't find a shortage of in-ear monitor to be used in professional areas.


The ultimate strength of ‘NT-1’ is flexible and stable output to operate in a variety of acoustic environments. It requires slightly higher output power than can be seen in the spec, so except that the volume needs to be set higher than the typical situation, a stable listening with less output noise can be achieved even in poor acoustic environment settings. In Mini-XLR, 2.5 BAL, or 4.4 BAL terminal, distortion of mid and treble didn't sound easy. Bass varies clearly and widely depending on the stable output, and in almost all environments covered with its spec, distortion or noise does not occur either in mid and treble.







‘NT-1’ basically has universal-fit and custom-fit versions over than at least 85 colored designs. Although Hidition said they tuned as much as possible to make sure that there is no gap between universal-fit and custom-fit version, there’s a lot of difference between them in actual listening. So, unfortunately, I don’t think they are the same product.


Compared to custom-fit, Universal's decreased sense of volume on bass reduces a lot of details, and its accentuated peaks on 11kHz sounds stronger, giving a brighter and lighter overall. It’s a good thing if the characteristics of universal-fit version suit your taste, but since want a more refined detail of treble and bass, the price difference between the two shapes is only 50 USD, please check the tone of the overall sound-signature feeling through the universal-fit version and make sure to order the custom-fit version.


The custom-fit version can apply to almost all designs currently available on the market and have a unique and exclusive design called ‘Texture Art'. ‘Texture Art' is based on the users' desired basic design and is said to be randomly designed with an artistic sense of 17 years skilled designer in Hidition depending on the nature of the material. I wanted to get my custom-fit version as possible, so that didn't request any select option and just ordered plain black-matte colored faceplates.

(You can see examples of ‘Texture Art’ following this link: http://hidition.co.kr/artist, They are going to update English text descriptions and more designs soon.)


All of Hidition products are shaped to go deep inside the ear canals, but it has been used for more than four hours to show a stable fit. I wanted to use the third-party upgrade cables I have, so ordered 2pin socket type at this time. When placing an order, please note that it can be built with the desired connectors.




Hidition ‘NT-1’ has shown high performance and output power reliability even though the entry model, but it has also demonstrated amazed all-rounder uses in professional devices environments and personal listening. It's a bit disappointing for Universal-fit version, but I think it's the most recommended in an appropriate method of purchasing you can get for less than 500 USD, even if adding custom-fit and custom art design option. It is expected to be used as the best product for professional acoustic engineers and musicians who want a high-performance and low-priced in-ear monitor.












Disclaimer

Bigheadfiler Studio is not affiliated with Hidition. The above contents are produced for showing Hidition's NT1 to internationals. The 'NT-1' samples (including universal-fit) and the payment for the photography service(4 photos) are offered for making this article.

Bigheadfiler Studio has done our best to make articles practical and useful to the readers, made contents by free will without color. Please take time and judge from the article whether this is honest.


All of the contents above are produced by Bigheadfiler Studio.

The copyright of the pictures above belongs to "Hidition."

I didn’t know even ‘Variphone’ brand name until I met official staff members in person by chance. After visiting their main office in Belgium and see all of happening in there, just realized that they already have top-class manufacturability level in in-ear monitor field. So why aren’t they known to the public even with their high-leveled manufacturability? First of all, their main project focuses on preventing hearing-loss field and has produced customized-fit earplugs for 30 years to the government (military, police, firefighting) in their local country and manufacturers in international.

Also, they have a relationship that distributes and manufactures ‘Westone Labs’ earphone products in Europe. I guess that is why they didn’t have many chances to come into the world with their earphones. I was lucky enough to experience all of the earphone lineups at ‘Variphone’. Considering the parts of their existing products in the factory, they were totally different than heavy and dark sound-signature I had expected. Today, I’d like to talk about one of their lineups, ‘Go2Rock’.






I chose a pair of ‘Go2Rock’ with transparent shells and basic logo plate design. As you know, transparent shell design shows inside of in-ear monitor clearly and easily see how to reach to high manufacturing quality. The reason is that I wanted to see the results of Variphone’s special way of making it. They do 3D-Scanning user’s ear impressions, 3D-printing with Acryl, and trimming details based on the 3D-Scanned data. This process is difficult to perfect, no matter how good the equipment is, without fine detail and skill. Therefore, I wanted to know how much technology they’ve been building for 30 years.

As expected, Variphone didn’t let me down. Go2Rock’s acrylic transparency was quite high, and its shell was thick enough to fit Balanced-Amature drivers in proximity and reduced to a minimal area, making it smaller than any other customized in-ear monitors. Even with acrylic, it seems very durable to use in daily life.

Its nozzle length is much shorter than other customized products. Its design is expected to push the internal drivers back as far as possible and ensure the bore’s length. Thankfully, this doesn’t cause reduce sound attenuation level even with short nozzles. Its nozzles are shaped in size little bit larger than user’s acoustic meatuses in ears and its shells are welly curved to closely stick to antitragus, triangular fossa, and inter-tragic notch, so that presents high attenuation and comfortable fit. The entrances of bores are horn-shaped so that ear-waxes can be easily removed by a cleaning tool included in the package.





The conductor quality of its stock cable included is not good enough to affect the sound quality, but it is very comfortable to use in every situation. The most distinctive feature is the ear-guides’ splendid length, which is shorter than the standards, which allows the back of the pinna to tightly wrapped and flexibly moved even in rough activities. If you bend them once when wear, don’t have to adjust again unless its form changes.

If received ‘Variphone’ iem products, you will see one single interesting item in the container box. The interesting item is cable-tie made of silicone, which is flexible enough not to damage the conductors of Variphone stock iem cable, and it also acts as a desiccant because storages a small and flat silica gel cylinder into the middle hole. Unfortunately, 3rd-party product thicker than the stock cable are built in a small space that cannot be contained properly.




Sensitivity: 109 db SPL @ 1mW
Frequency response: 18 Hz - 20 kHz
Impedance: 75 Ohms @ 1 kHz
Driver setup: 1 x low BA driver, 1 x high BA driver, Crossover 2-way
Features: Replaceable cable
Average attenuation: 28 dB

Made in Belgium


Official website:
https://www.variphone.com/en/ears-variphone-custom/go-2-rock


Go2Rock is designed as a stage monitoring in-ear monitor so that the overall sound tuning is focused on the functionality to check stereo-image and output stability. In order to focus on monitoring the background music sessions, some portion of frequency belonging to vocals is deliberately tuned to be laid-back in the soundstage. Fortunately, the reverberation in the frequency is lightly textured so that the sound-signature delivers clear stereo images and does not cause the masking phenomenon to other sessions strongly.


However, if you raise the sound volume to a higher level to listen to a vocal’s stereo image, it can easily reach the peak level around 7kHz area and expose to the microphonic, making difficult to monitor the high-frequency details. So, if looking for the more natural stereo image and soft sound-signature with Go2Rock, you should listen in a little lower sound volume level than usual so that the frequency around 7kHz is within the proper dynamic range.


The impressive part is that Go2Rock allows enough harmonic sound expression in the bass even with two balanced-amature drivers. The 100Hz band is inflated to the point where can draw a stereo image even if the deep-bass is not perfectly represented and the tone of the bass is a bit darky and heavily textured. These are not inflated enough to cause masking instrumental sessions each other. But, if sound volume is not in approximate level and reaches high, the bass will be inflated strongly and twist sound details.





Another thing is that although some of the frequency is offset by outside noise with a lot of low-bass in the stage, the sound-signature is strongly inflated around 100Hz area, which helps enough details to monitor the bass and drums without any problems. With this inflated gives a feeling of adding weight to the overall sound-signature, which can be dry and dull as a whole, so that listeners can enjoy listening to music as well.

Actually, for enjoying listening to music, Go2Rock is a tricky iem that fits only a few genres of music. Setting the peak level of vocal can give a bland impression as if the overall sound-signature is flat and the treble seems suppressed, so it is not suitable for flashy concertos or provocative musical instruments that require dramatic expression. Go2Rock goes really well with calmly recorded music genres. Especially, I think it suits New Age, R&B, and Jazz.

If you have Go2Rock, the first thing you should try is changing the stock cable to 3rdparty product. The stock cable has not high conductor quality so that if you use with any upgrade cable in the current market, you will see much improvement on treble and mid-range details. And, with 2.5 Bal and 4.4 Bal terminal, it turns more generous with the dynamic range of treble and bass so that you can turn sound volume level more upper which makes vocal come out a little bit closer and its sound-signature seems more welly blended.

Go2Rock is easily exposed to white noise (output noise) to high output-power devices even with high impedance. There is no same issue in normal wires receiver for stage or DAPs. But if expose high output level like headphone amplifier, it happens. Its stereo image is affected by the quality of the output source and the more stable SNR, the more overall sound-signature sounds clear and accurate dramatically. I’d like to recommend matching devices with light portable power rather than high-powered environments such as headphone amplifiers.



Conclusion

Go2Rock is an entry-level custom product of Variphone’s iems. lt is designed the convenience for users with diverse situations in great detail. Even with only 2 BA drivers, it gives high-quality stereo image so that Go2Rock can be recommended for professionals in videography and sound-engineering. Also, it has a chesty bass atmosphere in the sound-signature so that can enjoy listening to music as well. Go2Rock gave me the potential expectancy of the higher-level models in Variphone lineups such as 6 BA drivers model ‘6 Without Limits’. If you are looking for an entry-level custom in-ear monitor with the perfect fit and clear stereo image, Go2Rock is the one in your shopping list.




This Go2Rock is purchased by Bigheadfiler Studio.


Photos by Bigheadfiler Studio

The first moment I met DitaAudio crew members was in Portafes 2017 Tokyo Japan audio show. All of the members are wearing classy fascinating black suits and white shirts with their company logo initialed. The products they exhibited were also as refined as they were.

Unlike other brands, all of DitaAudio products have their own common unique feature. Its terminal has four-pin connector fixed with threaded aluminum cover. With the stock termination plug components (3.5 mm unbalanced/ 2.5 mm balanced / 4.4 mm balanced), users can match with any kinds of the latest audiophile portable devices.

Another feature is that they are using one single transducer against the current market trend. According to DitaAudio engineer’s saying, a single dynamic driver can sufficiently express the audible frequency range and the natural sound-signature required by the earphone. That’s why ‘DITA’ brand name is capitalized from the sentence called ‘Dynamic Is The Answer’.



The actual appearance of the two products, Twins Fealty and Fedelity matched the initial prototype seen in last Singapore Canjam 2018 except cable color. Its diagonally protruded nuzzles covered by felt filters with sharply CNC machined aluminum unit housings. They are designed by the identically sized matte and the gloss materials together like its title ‘Twins.’

They have attachable 2 pin connectors DitaAudio independently manufactured which can use with third-party cables. However, if you are using third-party cables, they will look unnatural and cause damage to the joint because of its trapezoid shapes, so that it is recommended that use only stock cables. The stock cable has a recessed socket shape 2pin connectors and is not compatible except for Ditaaudio brand products.









They are well made so that didn’t cause any damage to ear canals because of sharply CNC worked edges of aluminum unit chambers. However, the rear housing of the 'R' and 'L' marking on both sides of chambers protruded out significantly compared to the total length of the nozzles, so it’s a little bit uncomfortable to wear. Therefore, it is the better way to use one size larger ear-tips than usual or using a third-party to extend its nozzle length.


The cables are not twisted to the trends today, so their flexibility seems to be off, but they are designed to be sturdy enough, and the heavyweight Y-splitter serves as a safety load reduces the tangle or microphonics problem. The shape of the long round metal barrel is presumed to have a built-in impedance circuit to control the sound propensity.
















Fealty gives a bright V-shaped sound-signature as its silver-colored housing. Its middle and high frequency present silky and cool ambiance, and around 5kHz is emphasized, that make high-hat and violin natural with airy and silvery feelings. There is less emphasis on the middle than the treble, so stage expression is drawn like streamline so that there is a bit the laid-back of the midrange. But, actually this laid-back is so exquisitely tuned that it does not sound unstable. Therefore, its vocal expression is not awkward. However, even with around 100Hz sound has heavy ambiance, under the focused point have less catchy ambiance details so that overall sound-signature seems pretty bright and light impression. So, it is suitable for a band composed of light and bright instruments or a recorded sound source of a slightly higher dynamic range.


Even though its sensitivity and impedance are not that high, Fealty requires a high-powered output environment than the general earphones in the recent market. It is recommended that using with the stationary system or highly powered DAP products together. When using in low-powered products(like smartphones), the treble seems to be losing control and exposed to sibilance. Even if changing to a balanced terminal in low-powered devices, its sound becomes unnatural because the vocal laid-back becomes worse and the stage does not feel the reverberation. When the proper output condition is met, the entire treble’s ambiance gives a smooth, spacious and clean stage image. If pay attention to this point, I think that Fealty can be an excellent product. It requires high output conditions like headgears but does not easily be exposed to the output noise, there will be less stress for matching with output noise issue.












Fidelity is the same in Fealty’s appearance except for its color, but the sound-signature is completely different and Overall sound-signature is a little calm, heavy, and darky W-shape. Especially in the midrange, near 800Hz and 3kHz is emphasized, so that the mainly recorded session of music is drawn in close imaging position and the other sessions sound surround it. Due to the strong stage image of mid-range, the overall stage width seems to be relatively narrow, but the overall reverberation of the sound-signature is not muffled, and it does not sound lacking in spaciousness because of natural bass ambiance.

The treble is less emphasized compared to the mid-range and has the sufficient dynamic range. Even with the calm sound feeling, it expresses the bright tone because of the speedy response characteristics. Its bass has a light reverberation as a whole and a neutral tone tendency. Unfortunately, it does not have a fast response characteristic, so it is difficult to get the details of the sound when listening to fast-moving sound sources such as dubstep or EDM. Since there is a feeling that the roll-off becomes sharp at around 6 kHz, the airy impression is insufficient compared to the Fealty, but there is a feature that does not choose the source genre because it shows stable high-sound performance.

Fortunately, Fidelity has a less demanded output power than the Fealty. With a low-output or poor-quality device, the high-frequency range is too bright like fealty does, the details are blurred, and the bass volume is reduced. However, it is easier to use it with less difficulty when matching with a technically designed device for the sound field. With a 2.5mm balanced terminal, the response characteristics of the midrange get faster, and the ambiance feeling of mid-range becomes brighter so that it performs pretty well in the fast-moving sound sources. But, it is necessary to pay attention to the matching with the 4.4mm balanced that the middle sound is laid back little bit.







The above contents are produced for showing "DitaAudio" to the public. I was offered by the product supports.

Bigheadfiler, I have done my best to make reviews practical and useful to the readers, and also made contents by free will without color. Please take time and judge from the article whether this is honest.

All of the contents above are produced by Bigheadfiler.

It has not been very long since I met ‘Hidition’ directly and began to get close to each other. Since bought Hidition NT-6pro iem 5 years ago, it has been difficult to get close to them because I have not had any chance to get in touch because they have not had any external activities or special events in recent years. After contact with them, I found out that the image of Hidition that I knew was entirely different from that of the real. They are brand that puts more emphasis on customer needs than anyone else.


Hidition, meaning of ‘High Digital Communication’, is a company based on the hearing-aid business that aims to communicate with customers with high unique technology. In 1994, they joined the technical team of the hearing aid manufacturing company. And they acquired a utility model rights license for custom-fit earphones in 2001. Therefore, including research and development term, Hidition is a 17 years old in-ear monitor brand. They are the only manufacturer in South-Korea that has been producing custom earphones for more than 10 years. Now, in 2018, they released new two products after 3 years.


They started their business with the concept of a product that can hear the sound while protecting users’ hearing and then created a flagship product like 'NT-6' in the past, but as time went on, ‘Hidition’ discovered that many audio-enthusiasts had their individual product preferences. They realized that there would be a lot of challenges in achieving the sound and design of a preference propensity. They have spent more than two years doing a questionnaire-survey on audio enthusiasts and specialists and gathering that data trying to get the products that consumers really want.




Their universal-fit iem series, which have been spending so much time and born, are intended to inform more people of the unique sounds of 'Hidition'. The 'NT-8', born out of 'NT-6', is manufactured with more expanded dynamic range and richer harmonic expression, released in two types, custom-fit and universal-fit version.


The most significant initial difficulty in creating universal and custom models was to reduce the "sound changes due to material’s medium and sound-insulation" caused by these two design differences. It was a huge issue to achieve it correctly for them, and they poured all the technical power into reaching the approximate value which is why the product line was released later than expected. As a result, the consumer price of the custom-fit and universal-fit model are said to be almost same level.


Both universal and custom formats allow users to define customizing the color and design of the housing shell and plate, and they can choose between '2pin' and 'MMCX' type connectors, designed for use with 3rd party upgrade cables. The new design 'TEXTURE' plate art, which was launched with this new product line, is customized with natural materials such as wood, marble, and seashell according to user's requirements.





I was able to use Universal-fit and Custom-fit of ‘NT-8’ iem at the same time for more than one months. The biggest surprise was that the apparent finish level was significantly better than before. The first thing that came into my eyes was that the shells were made transparently without bubbles, and the seams between the plates and shells were as clean as they were hardly visible to the naked eye. Also, the art colors of the plates are well developed and clear even when enamel coated once more.


Unlike other universal-fit products, the universal has a long triangular shape, and its connectors are stuck out. By projecting the connector separately, the overall housing design can be made smaller, and the stress between its cable and connectors minimized while using it. ‘Hidition’ said that the nozzles are designed to be longer to maximize the contacted surfaces of the ear-canals and deliver the sound more appropriately.


Thankfully, unlike the uncomfortable concern because of long nozzles’ length, it was settled pretty well on my ear canals. The reason why the nozzles are designed in this way is for making a comfortable fit considering the protruding connectors and its bulged shells. However, there was one inconvenience point. Because of the protruding connectors in its design, when using with upgrade-cables which have long connector covers, the joints are quite long, making them uncomfortable to wear. Users who want to order a universal-fit version and try to match with an upgrade cable afterward, please be aware of this beforehand.




When ordered custom-fit version of NT-8, I was surprised to hear that three designs could be put in one single unit at the same time, because there have been few cases of putting two colors into the one single housing shell before. I wanted to know how much Hidition's technology level is, so I selected three arts that seem to be the most difficult. Then, the result is as shown in the picture. It has a fine resin coating on its surface, and it shines like a glass globe, and its color is bright and sharp.


Since the custom-fit units do not have a difference in appearance compared to conventional products, compatibility with 3rd party upgrade-cables is expected to be satisfactory. Also, its nozzle entrances of four bores are dented so that it is not irritating to the ears. Although they are deep fit into the ears, the surface areas in which the products touch into the ear is extensive and its weight is light, they can be used in everyday life without inconveniences.


Its stock earphone cable called 'KH2' cable is made of 7-core silver-plated conductors and is available in a total of 25 patterns using five colors insulation (black, white, red, blue, transparent). I applied a blend of transparent and blue color pattern for my custom-fit units. Even though using the resilient cloths, it is not disturbed by microphonic, but because of the stiff feeling, sometimes it was inconvenient because its ear-guide parts are not fixed well to my ear when sitting and listening occasionally.


It has a 3.5mm plug designed for smartphone bumper cases, and its Y-splitter is designed from Hidition's own and can adjust up over the top of its ear-guides. By tightening its adjuster to the top of its ear-guides, the earphone units are prevented from hitting each other when storing. This feature allows users to quickly store the iem in a container.






Specifications

Name: NT-8 (New Tears 8)
Type: Custom/Universal
Driver: 8 Balanced Amature drivers
(4way / 4 Bass, 1 mid, 1 treble, 2 upper treble)
Frequency Response: 10-19,500 Hz
Sensitivity: ~110dB(1kHz)
Impedance: ~16.5 ohm
Isolation: -26dB
Warranty: 1 year

Made in South-Korea



NT-8 is the successor to the 'NT-6' model and has some part of the sound-signature characteristic of ‘NT-6Pro’ model at the same time. Although it has the flat sound-signature that was the biggest advantage of the previous product, NT-8 seems to be a V-shaped tone with a very light bend when actually listening because of some emphasized parts of frequency. The middles and treble spread in the middle of the listeners’ head evenly, and the bass is heard around the behind widely without any muffled.


The response characteristic of the middles and treble is high-speed even with the dense degree of reverberation on the treble, and the tone of the middle is close to achromatic and has a characteristic that it changes into a bright feeling as it goes up to the higher frequency. Since the instrument sessions are separated and heard one by one and rolling-off smoothly glassy apart, NT-8 did not miss the detail of the second half of the electric guitar and high-hat drum’s pyrotechnics of "Led Zeppelin's "Dazed And Confused".


As the reverberation of upper-bass is emphasized, it shows a slower response compared with the middle and treble. It is emphasized enough not to muffle bass details, so there was no significant difficulty in enjoying music or distinguishing instrument sessions. NT-8 could get the accurate ambiance detail easily because the bass had a tone close to achromatic, but it might sound plain and dry for the users to enjoying to the bass.



Actually, compared to a custom-fit, universal-fit version still has a limitation with the brighter lighter feeling of overall sound-signature due to a little bit attenuated emphasis on reverberations at the bass. But, I am really amazed by their design concept that these can be judged to be the same. Looking at the bigger picture, they have no significant difference with actual listening except the matters.


Hidition recommends using their stock ear-tips when using Universal-fit products. They help to deliver the intended original sound by pulling the position of the bore entrance as close as possible to the eardrum. If have a third-party product that meets these prerequisites, users can use it properly. In fact, the use of the products without the feature has changed the characteristics of the treble so that it sounds harsh and irritating.


The NT8 shows stable output performance free from output noise, while the overall sound-signature is not easily distorted even when exposed to various device environments. The output stability of the equipment used together shows the difference in detail with the upper-treble and low-bass. I would recommend matching to the source-device that has a DAP (Digital Audio player) level output and the chesty smooth sound-signature.









Claimer

The above contents are produced for showing Hidition's NT8 to the public. I was offered by the product support and the payment for the photography service.

Bigheadfiler, I have done my best to make reviews practical and useful to the readers, made contents by free will without color. Please take time and judge from the article whether this is honest.


All of the contents above are produced by Bigheadfiler.

The copyright of the pictures above belongs to "Hidition."




P.S.






Hidition, they now changed NT8 stock cable which is called 'KH3' from 'KH2'
8 6N-OCC silver plated copper conductors wired.

To be a specialist in one field, must be unique and different than others. 'Acoustune' is an earphone brand of Japanese company 'DICS' which produces 4.4mm balanced Pentagon terminal which is internationally accredited.

This company developed a special driver called 'Myrinx' designed as a human artificial tissue close to the eardrum, producing a variety of earphone products ranging from the HS1004 to the current lineup. Let me introduce HS1551cu, a representative product of this company.

HS1551cu, its package is quite impressive. 8 pairs of ear-tips in a separate plastic case, an exclusive leather case for earphone and a leather cable tie, and a hard-carrying-case for them all. The accessories are all set for practical use so that you will not have to buy additional.







The gold-colored chambers of HS1551cu's earphone bodies are made of brass and have each one ‘Mirinx’ drivers. The backs of the chambers act as a handle, so you can hold HS1551cu tight when you wear or when you disconnect its cable. The MMCX connector terminal can be matched with various upgrade-cables and not loosened easily due to its high-quality finishing.

The cable which I have used is old-version, is difficult to wear due to their thick thickness and stiff insulators. But now, have been improved to give more flexibility and thinner thicknesses so that can wear HS1551cu easier. Even with these improvements, its bores are short and the red shells surrounding its brass chambers are large, may not be worn easily for some users.










HS1551cu tends to be warmer sound-signature than colder. The impression of dense and deep reverberation from the bass and the expression of sharply smooth mid and treble make this tendency stronger. The middle and lower range of the mid-range is emphasized, and the vocals and the instrument played in the main are pulled forward, and other sessions show around, so it has a good performance of listening to music as well as other media such as video contents.


Because of its bass which has a dense reverberation like small particles jammed together with strongly emphasized on lower-bass, it delivers a tightly packed ambiance. It will give a nice appreciation by the exquisite harmonious combination of the brass instrument and the bass drum reverberation details in a song Moanin’ from ‘Art Blakey and The Jazz Messenger’. However, due to the strong reverberation emphasis and slow response characteristics of bass, there is a limit to catch up the bass details of fast bass.


There is a strong roll-off in the upper-treble. Because of this feature, the overall sound-signature is slightly suppressed and gives a gentle propensity, but the dynamic range is wide enough so that doesn’t blunt the clarity or sound darker. Even though with a dynamic driver type diaphragm, the detail of the midrange is good. It has less reverberation and faster response-characteristic than the low frequency so that it has a moderate temperature and gives a clear sound expression. So, you don’t have to be tricky about choosing music genres regardless of vocal’s voice-tone.









Depending on the quality of the audio source, the variation of bass detail is very large. In a low-quality performance or less power device environment, the change in middle and treble is not that severe, but the bass response changes unstably, making the impression that the bass is cluttered and distorted. If you want to hear more clear bass detail when using the 1551cu, should consider improving the audio system.


As a company that designs 4.4mm balanced terminals, it performs well on devices with 4.4mm balanced terminals. Its dynamic range of the bass gets extended so that make overall sound-stage more natural and wide. If want to do that, I recommend matching it with Acoustune’s upgrade-cable called ‘ARC03’ (MMCX to 4.4mm BAL).


Usually, it suits some upgrade-cables which shows strongly emphasized mid and smooth treble. But, most of the cables show bad results, Since the midrange’s phase is unstably changed when using balanced terminals, it sounds awkward to hear, so upgrade-cable matching is quite tricky.







Claimer

I am Bigheadfiler. Yes. I am Big Head guy reviewer from South-Korea. My first language is Korean and I am still learning how to write in English. Please understand if see any missing sentences or words. All of the contents are written and taken by me. Thank you.

The in-ear headphone is offered by ‘Acoustune’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

In the recent film industry, 'Marvel Studio' works are popular in the world, among which the 'Avengers' series has attracted a great deal of attention. 'Avengers' is a team of Super-heroes from 'Marvel Comics' worldview. Each member of ‘Avengers’ has their own powerful abilities and rally to defeat powerful Billons. 'SoundzAid' is like a super-hero team in the South-Korean earphone industry. Because they are a custom in-ear monitors company that was established by gathering technically skilled producers in various fields.


Mr.Kim, the representative of 'SoundzAid', wanted an in-ear monitor which is less prone to distorting sound and practical for actual use in various system environments and took many years to actualize it. 'SoundZaid' has created the 'Marbling' art design on the entire shells of the earphones, which emits a dreamlike atmosphere that seems to be spread the oil paint over the surface of the water, drawing public attention in South-Korea. Let me introduce their new product 'Magnolia'.







Package

Magnolia
Foam ear-tips (S/M/L)
Leather cable tie
Cleaning fabric
Cleaning brush
Outbox(buffer)



The name 'Magnolia' is said to be derived from the movement of the magnolia petals. In addition to the designs shown in this article, ‘Magnolia’ can be added a variety of colors and custom art designs, as well as the most famous marbling art, and has a custom-fit option to your ears.

Its package box is made of hard paper and small enough to be wrapped in both hands. It is treated with a sponge buffer, with three pairs of ear-tips, an earwax cleaning-tools, cleaning-fabric and a leather cable-tie, all of which are essential for practically any earphone use. This sponge buffer can be put into a container which is often used for in-ear monitor products such as 'Pelican 1010' case, and all other contents can be stored in together.




'Magnolia' is made of the translucent black acrylic materials, you can see the big parts inside. Its MMCX connectors are conically shaped and designed to fit various custom cables to the housing without jamming. Even its large internal parts and size, its overall shell units are pretty light to use. It is designed not to fall out easily of the ears because it gives a great bend to the part of the auricles that touch, but because the bores are short compared with the shells’ size, I recommend using one size larger ear-tips than usual.

The containing cable is made of 7N OCC silver-plated copper wires and covered with Teflon tubes in twisted. The Y-splitter, MMCX connectors, and 3.5mm stereo terminal are molded with transparent synthetic resin to make the contents visible. There was no microphonic but, the upper part of La Y-splitter is stiff so that it was not easy to wear.










Spec

Frequency Response: 10-20,000 Hz
Conductor: 2 dynamic drivers (2way)
Sensivity: 101dB @1kHz
impedance: 36 ohms
Cable: 7n OCC silver plated.



When you listen to Magnolia, you will get the first impression by the strong and dense textured bass. And then, will realize the special surrounded soundstage created by this bass. Even though there are a lot of hangovers and slow response on its bass, it has been tuned to harmonize the sounds of the entire band without affecting the other area. Thanks to it, it shows well-optimized sound-signature not only for music listening but also for media. However, if you want to catch fine detail and striking texture in the bass, its resolution may be a little disappointing because of the heavy reverberation.

Even though the middles and trebles are sounded from one step backward the bass, they are well separated from the low-range. As go up to the above band, the response characteristics become faster, so you can hear the clear mid-range even with the strong bass music. The mid-treble is narrowly brightly emphasized before exposing the sibilance, so it can express the natural texture of strings or snare drum. However, it is difficult to analyze the expression details of the high-treble instruments.

The biggest strength of ‘Magnolia’ is that you don’t have to worry too much about the output-noise even when exposed to the powerful output environments like the stationary systems. In addition, even when connected to the source device or the Bluetooth receiver whose output status is unstable, it shows less effect of the overall sound-signature, so it is stable enough to be used into the pro-system. When connected to a balanced output such as 4.4mm or 2.5mm, the bass reverberation is reduced, but the bass dynamic range has been extended to give you a more spacious feel.









Epilogue

'SoundzAid Magnolia' is an American sound oriented product, and it has a strong bass performance that does not degrade the detail of the middles or the highs. Even with unstable output environment, it showed a pretty stable sound-signature. If you want an in-ear monitor product which is stable in various environments, 'Magnolia' will be a good partner.








Claimer

I am Bigheadfiler. Yes. I am Big Head guy reviewer from South-Korea. My first language is Korean and I am still learning how to write in English. Please understand if see any missing sentences or words. All of the contents are written and taken by me. Thank you.

The iem is offered by ‘SoundzAid’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

EffectAudio LionHeart upgrade cable, its package is made of black matt paper materials and included with a black leather carrying case and black colored card of guarantee. The guarantee card assures of using official Pentagonn 4.4mm balanced terminal. EffectAudio recently aligned with Japanese company ‘DICS’ which produces Pentagonn terminals, so that they are now one of companies can use Official Pentagonn terminals.


Its carrying case is designed with slightly glossy thick black leather and seems very classy. However, it can only storage one single Lionheart cable because of small space. Many usually prefer to a upgrade-cable and an earphone put into case together. So, it is not really practical to use for carrying to outside except for long period storage.







Wires twisted in gold and silver, transparent insulators on top of them, and pink coloring in subtle from a distance. No one would tell this cable is not sophisticated. The terminal, Y-splitter and connectors are covered with CNC-machined aluminum housings in high standard, with EffectAudio logo engraved on, making the luxury feel stronger.


Lionheart is made with UP-OCC gold-plated copper wires (EAGold Plated Copper) and UP-OCC silver copper wires (EASilver Plated Copper) together. Recently, a lot of earphone custom cables have been produced as Hybrid method in which twists materials with two different characteristic wires. However, they usually do not design products like LionHeart. Effect Audio has a differentiating strategy for earphone cables.






Specs
Connector: MMCX
Terminal: 4.4mm Blanced Pentagonn (Official)
Conductor: EAGold Plated Copper & EASilver Plated Copper
Insulator: EA UltraFlexi

Package
LionHeart Upgrade-cable
4.4mm Pentagonn Guarantee card
Carrying leather case

Website
https://www.effectaudio.com/iem-heritage-series/lionheart-preorder.html


The Heritage Series, LionHeart upgrade-cable is aiming for a musically completed sound than a numerically perfect. Especially, its sound-signature characteristic can be found by the changes in the treble. Around 7kHz is intentionally emphasized, making the hi-hat performance and female vocals sound airier and elastic. This helps to easily tell inner details of playing the piano and scrapping off the snare drum with a brush in the beginning of a song 'Angela' of 'Falado de Amor' album labelled in japan 2003 by 'Stefano Bollani Trio' without any masking effect.




There is a deep in the lower midrange, so that the soundstage is little bit expanded, and vocals seems to sound one step forward because of hearing midrange and treble except lower midrange clearer, with earphones which focuses on mid and bass’ harmonics. The harmonics emanating from the middle bass emit strongly in a dark tone, giving the powder a feeling of scattering in the air. This gives the fun of a unique saxophone’s harmonics from a song “Syeeda's Song Flute” by “John Coltrane” that sounds like ringing in listener’s head.







LionHeart is well suited for products which have heavy midrange and bass, and calm treble. This doesn’t mean the lack of high frequencies, is about have a polite ton treble with welly sufficient dynamic range. Most systems employing 4,4 mm balanced terminals tend to expand the dynamic range of low frequencies, so even with a little overdamped upper-bass, there is less-masking or no severe distortion. However, please pay attention to matching with gears having the balanced output, due to performing unstable and awkward when the midrange performance is poor.







Claimer

I am Bigheadfiler. Yes. I am Big Head guy reviewer from South-Korea. My first language is Korean and I am still learning how to write in English. Please understand if see any missing sentences or words. All of the contents are written and taken by me. Thank you.

The Cable is offered by ‘EffectAudio’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

Speakers is a medium to convert the electrical signal into the physical waveform that people can hear. The way speakers are designed and made have a big effect on their sound-signature. Earphones also has almost same design-concept with speakers and can be thought of as the microcosm of technological integration in acoustic field. To be productive, they must be sturdy, easy to handle, and have good appearance. Especially, it is not easy to raise the perfection of the product which satisfies both sound and design at the same time. 'CampfireAudio Andromeda' in-ear headphone can be one of the best solutions in the current Head-fi market.




Accessories
1x Pair Andromeda earphones
1x Silver Litz cable with exclusive MMCX connectors and memory wire
1x Leather carrying case
3x Pair Comply Foam tips (S, M, L)
3x Pair memory foam tips (S, M, L)
3x Pair silicone wide bore tips (S, M, L)
1x Owner’s manual


When you first get the "Andromeda", you will be surprised at the extremely small size of the package box and its overly rich composition. The container case inside of the package is made of thick dark brown leather, so that it does not get crushed even by the external impact. Its copper-colored zipper and lambs-wool lining looks classy and gorgeous. There are label pins, cleaning tools, 3 kinds ear-tip sets in the package. Also, a warranty and product manual with unique art design.




The emerald-colored Zirconium blasted aluminum shells and the silver bolts fixing it emit the beauty of gem stone, while simultaneously feeling the cold mechanical atmosphere. Overall, the shell's color is delicately anodized and the detail of the nozzle or connector is made to a high standard. However, it is expected that there can be a cumbersome fit due to the short nozzle compared to the size of the units. I recommend using a Spin-fit ear-tips contained in the package, or one-step larger ear-tips than usual.



The bundle cable is made of silver-plated copper Litz wires and a polished aluminum Y-splitter. Using flexible sheathing and twisting the wires tightly, there is no worries about microphonic. The MMCX connectors are made of beryllium plated, so that durable enough to be firmly fixed and welly compatible with even other brand products. It is really good to see, but due to the polished material on the Y-splitter, there is a matter that it is easily scratchy. The ends of ear-guides are not warped well, which made uncomfortable to wear.








Specifications
Frequency Range: 10Hz-28kHz
Sensitivity: 115 DB SPL/MW
Impedance: 12.8 Ohm @1kHz
Cable: Silver Litz cable, MMCX connection


'Andromeda' knows how to make people enjoy music. The most notable advantage shows in the expression of the sound-stage. The stage is drawn in a wide circle around the listener, and the reverberations of each session spread out towards the audience. Of those, the mainly mastered session sounds a slightly little bit ahead. As if, 'Andromeda' gives the impression that it is playing music only for one person. Thanks to this, even if the harmonics of the certain range are recorded too much, the details of each session are not easily burred, which helps to enjoy more diverse genres of music. However, it may give difficulties if need to professionally monitor the location of sound-stage.


The harmonies of mid-range and treble are dry, densely reverberant and have a bright tone. The sibilance is exposed to some extent, but it rolls off quickly before reaches the level of fatigue, so the harmonies of cymbals, string instruments, and female vocals are heard airy and comfortably. This sibilance may be emphasized strongly on the sound source which its high dynamic range is recorded unstably. Among the ear-tips in the package, Spin-fit ear-tips welly keep the tone and detail of the sound-signature stably.



If the sibilance is still annoying, using the marshmallow memory-form ear-tips enclosed. With this memory-foam ear-tips, can reduce the irritating part of the treble. But because they tend to blur the details of the bass by boosting at mid-low bass, you should make decision on choosing the ear-tips depending on the sound-source environment.


The amount and reverberation of bass is richer than mid and high range. There is an emphasis on 100Hz, and the roll-off attenuation of the deep bass is strong, so can feel the drums and the bass strings’ texture well. However, with the fast response feature, the weight of bass seems to present deficiency of bass depth.


Due to ‘Andromeda’s low impedance and high sensitivity, very sensitive to output noise. It is better to match the low output devices such as portable music players than the stationary systems. I’d like to recommend that you listen with a well recorded sound-source because it catches the noise flow of the sound-source easily. And because the response characteristics of the mid-range are largely changed according to the cable matching, it is better to use it with cable products with neutral sound-signature.






Claimer

Hello, I am a South-Korean reviewer named 'Bigheadfiler'. My first language is Korean and I am still learning how to write in English. Please understand if see any missing sentences or words. All of the contents are written and taken by me. Thank you.

The CampfireAudio Andromeda was offered by ‘Campfire Audio’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

[Specfications]
Frequency response: 10Hz~ 23kHz
Sensivity: 103dB
Impedance: 16 ohm
Connectors: 2Pin ciem sockets

[Package]
Galaxy v2
Pandora Dwarf upgrade cable
Silicon ear-caps (S/M/L)
Container hard case


[Usage time]
290Hrs+




'Rhapsodio v2' units are wholly made of brass material from its chambers to the nozzles without connection except 2pin connectors and nozzles. Its color is like a dark silver reminiscent of titanium. Its units’ size is bigger than general iems and weight is heavy. The nozzles including enclosures are 6mm in diameter, and its insides are protected by wire meshes, which can use common-size ear-caps, but it will get a bit tough. On the sides of the chambers, there are anti-static stickers developed by ‘Rhapsodio’.


Its actual feeling of fit is heavy, but it does not give any pain to the ears because the unit chambers’ surface touches the ear canal widely. The connector of units is a 2pin ciem socket and suitable for matching with various custom cables. Overall, ‘Galaxy v2’ has a rough finish, but there has been no problem that directly affects the sound in actual use for nearly two months.





The "Pandora Dwarf" upgrade cable is included with the package. It is made of 6N OCC litz wires, the 2-pin male connector and Y-splitter covered with aluminum and carbonate materials. The enclosed ear-caps are designed by ‘Rhapsodio’ directly in the form of a thin bell-shape which swinging when equipped, that is quite similar to ‘Spin-fit’ ear-caps. Using them with 'Galaxy v2', reduce long-fitting fatigue by dispersing the weight pressures on the wall of the ear canals.







The most prominent part of "Galaxy v2" sound-signature is the strong harmonics texture in the treble. When you hear a new ‘Galaxy v2’, treble harmonic particles are uneven and rough, so seems to cause masking phenomena and unstable sound balance.

Therefore, the manufacturer recommends doing burn-in more than 200 hours. As the work is done, the harmonic particles of the high frequency get smoother and wet. Also, the mid-range and mid-bass are more emphasized. As a result, the overall tone of sound gets calmer, and proportion of mid-range and bass become more noticeable like bubbles rise to the water surface. Therefore, the overall sound balance becomes more stable.

After this change, the high-frequency sounds is like a lot of thin strands of thread are condensed into one line and spread a strong energy. This characteristic is evident in "La ronde des Lutins op.25" of "Antonio Baccini" played by ‘Itzhak Perlman’. The main violin playing at the beginning of the music is very resinous, feels like as rosin powder is scattered and bumping in the air.







The reason for these is that the instrument or vocals recorded in the main sounds lay-back in one step and the rest is the representation of the stage drawn in front of it. When you increase the volume of the sound to hear the proper volume of the main instrument, the weight of the treble will increase. When the dynamic range of the sound source is not recorded enough, high-band will be distorted as if being pressed. I recommend that listen to a sound source with good recording quality.

Its bass has very thin and deep harmonic characteristics. There was a highlight in the vicinity of 100Hz, so there is no problem with enjoying the solo of the bass or cello. If want to get more bass feeling, the manufacturer recommends using it with their "Copper Wizard" upgrade-cable.

With this upgrade cable, the harmonics of the bass will thicken, and overall sound signature presents darker and more massive. And the position of the midrange is pulled forward by one step and makes the duet part in Whitney Houston & Mariah Carey's ‘When you believe’ is more prominent. At the same time, the stage is shown narrower than before.

Galaxy v2 has affected the bass detail and the harmonic texture of the mid-range, depending on matching devices. As the signal-to-noise ratio of the mid-and-high range is stable, the harmonics of middles are softened. I would recommend matching the portable digital audio players with a neutral tone because you have heard output noise in an overdrive environment than a portable audio device.









Who am I & Claimer

I am Bigheadfiler, Head-fi product photographer and free-writer from South Korea. Having a partnership with 'Premium Headphone Guide Korea' magazine.

English is not my first language. So, Please understand even if I can not express the correct English sometimes.

The 'Rhapsodio Galaxy v2' was offered by ‘Rhapsodio’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

Thank you for reading my post!

If you look inside of ‘HS1501 AL’ package, probably make a smile of satisfaction. You can see a refined aluminum container, which contains ‘HS1501 AL’ unit and its cable separately. And contains a glossy dark-brown leather carrying case containing a Velcro type cable-tie and a leather one as well. Also, there are all different 8 pairs of ear-caps too.





The HS1501's silver-colored chamber containing its driver is design of aluminum, and its blue housing is made of stainless steel metal. The handle on the back of the chamber is CNC machined, which is helpful in picking up the unit and plugging into ears. The nozzle size is general size(4mm) so that compatible with various 3rd party ear-caps. The screw parts of the housing connection feel a little bit bumpy, so may be inconvenient to wear depending on the shape of listeners’ ears.



The bundle cable is crafted of oxygen free copper wires (made in Japan) and covered with thick lubber insulation, which gives a feeling of firmness and good durability. This feature can cause difficulty on first use and give microphonic. Thankfully, wearing it in over-ear is much helpful for reducing microphonic. The HS1501 adopts the MMCX connectors and is well compatible with 3rd party custom cables.







Mainly Tested Devices
Apple iPhone SE
Samsung Galaxy S8
Sony NW-WM1A
Cowon Plenue D
Hifiman Megamini
Chord Hugo
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Zoom H4n sp

Hours of Use
84Hrs



HS1501’s sound signature is like W-shaped with emphasized treble and bass. The harmonic of the mid-range and treble is bit textured and expresses in bright-colored. The upper treble is slightly exposed to sibilance without listening fatigue so that HS1501 sound cymbal, snare, guitar, and even female vocal’s feeling of textures quite naturally. With the music source intentionally mastered in high dynamic-range, its sound doesn’t cause stronger sibilance, but the details of the middles are clumped and become unclear for monitoring.


The harmonic of bass is dense and thick, and shows rapid response characteristic. This feature reminds that heavy mass things explode diffusively and fade away fast. And HS1501 helps to hear the harmonic texture of the brass instrument and feeling of drums’ hitting, because of boosted mid-bass. The reverberation of the mid and deep bass is rolled off quickly and had little impact on the overall sound tone and less masking. However, the detail of the bass is unclear for sorting ground-notes because the mid-bass is emphasized excessively.


HS1501 expressed stable stage performances with one step close main instruments right in the center and the rest of the instruments playing properly around. Even if a lot of brass and percussion instruments with heavy harmonics, the main instruments in the center didn’t cause unclear imaging. With this advantage, it helps not to leave the mastering intention of the music source and listen to the various genres of music.





If increase the volume above a certain level, the low-frequency and high-frequency’s reverberation reduces, and their harmonic strongly condenses and emits. So, the main violin and orchestral bands of ‘Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1’ give breathtaking harmony which is like competing against each other. Even though the composition is complicated orchestra performance, HS1501 presents enough liveliness to the listener.


The HS1501 is designed for portable audio devices, from smartphones to portable digital audio players (DAPs). The tonal range of sound-signature according to devices is not large. But still, the better output stability of the device offers more headroom on mid and bass, so that listeners can get more detailed and richer expression of harmonics and imaging. When connected to the balanced (2.5mm or 4.4mm) output terminal, the stage moves backward two steps and gets widened, and the texture of the overall harmonics becomes smoother.





Claimer

Hello, I am a South-Korean review named 'Bigheadfiler', and working as a Free-photographer and Free-writer with 'Premium Headphone Guide Korea' Magazine. My first language is Korean and I am still learning how to write in English. Please understand if see any missing sentences or words. All of the contents are written and taken by me. Thank you.

The Acoustune HS1501AL was offered by ‘Acoustune’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

Spec
Driver: 2 Balanced Amature
Frequency Response: 20Hz-15.5kHz
Sensitivity: 110dB-SPL @1mW
Impedance: 20Ω @1kHz
Noise Isolation: -26dB






Contents
VS-2 with cable
Slicon Earcaps S/M/L
Double-flange silicon earcap
Comply Memory-Foam eartip
TRS convertor(stereo)
Carrying Case
Cleaning Tool






VS-2 has only 3 colors combination of black, silver, and red that exactly reminds 1950s classic cars. Its exterior design is not only looking good and also expertly made for actual use. Especially, through enough groove space on the small housing-shells contacting earflaps, VS2 can easily block the external sound and be tightly placed into the ear-canals. With these advantages, it gives comfort fit with less-pain, even when the user moves roughly.





VS2 has ciem 2pin connectors so that is able to be replaced with third -party custom cables. However, few of cables which have oversized 2pin male connectors are not compatible because plastic 2pin female socket is designed to insert into the inwards. Bundle cable is made with flexible materials and its 3.5mm stereo plug has thin size, so can listen to any devices comfortably. And its Y-split has a simple design to adjust fitting smoothly.









Main Tested environment
Apple iPhone SE
Samsung Galaxy S8
Sony NW-WM1A
Cowon Plenue D
Hifiman Megamini
Chord Hugo
Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
Zoom H4n sp


VS-2’s harmonics of low-treble and extreme-highs are slightly dried and omitted, and upper treble is emphasized so that sounds like a mountain rising to the center of fundamental frequency. As these reasons, it has an unusual harmonic structure with a clear sense of tempo in strings or percussions. With music sources which have a narrow or unstable headroom, VS2’s imaging of treble gets unclear and easily reaches peak level, especially in woman vocals’ vowels, so that users can monitor the condition of music sources more in detail.

Overall the soundstage of VS2 performs small range but is opened so that does not feel any restraint. Instruments and vocals belonging to treble and midrange are located at the center of soundstage, and the others present around the location. Because the intentionally the treble is emphasized, stringed instruments showed the issue of having a majority in the soundstage. But still has enough performance to tell the flow of the whole sound signature.

As the middle-midrange to lower-midrange, the harmonics are expressed in more dried condition, so that the midrange is rolled off faster than the treble and shows more detailed response characteristics. Even though the sound signature is emphasized in the highs, the details of the vocals' scratching voices and the sounding instruments in the midrange are not masked and presents clearly. VS-2’s bass rolls off quickly at the center of the emphasized harmonic and its deep-bass is little bit boosted. So, it has enough fast response characteristic for listening to bass hitting in indoors and outdoors.





'VS2' has high sensitivity and low impedance, so it can easily drive the volume and dynamic range, even if using with smartphones. However, devices with excessively strong output or week signal to noise ratio can easily be exposed to output noises. Recommend matching with a stable device that can secure headroom, especially in the treble.


When matching with third-party cables, the sound change usually takes place at the upper-high frequency. Using with cables giving attenuation of treble harmonics or emphasizing low-bass make the treble tone more natural and smooth. Unfortunately, in balanced input environments of 2.5mm or 4.4mm, unstable phase structure occurred and midrange and bass are separated in an awkward way.






Disclaimer

Hello, I am a Head-fi product reviewer named 'Bigheadfiler' in South Korea. This review may not be perfect because it is English translation by me. I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

The 'VS-2' was offered by ‘Clear Tune Monitor’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

Photos and review by Bigheafiler

Hifiman Electronics is an audio manufacturer established in New York, USA in 2007 and is one of the few places that can produce headphones with magnetic planer driver. It is also introduced in "TIMES" magazine and has a high level of technology that earns good reputations from famous audio commentators. Hifiman, has focused on producing headphones for the past a decade, now challenges in-ear headphone market, which has been showing great growth in recent years.


Specification of ‘RE800’ is pretty gorgeous. Brass housings are treated with 24K pure gold and new diaphragm technology called 'Topology diaphragm' is implanted on ‘RE800’. The 'topology diaphragm' is nano-coated on the surface of diaphragms, which can suppress distortion more than usual dynamics-drivers, while still providing a wider dynamic-range and headroom than amateur-balanced drivers. At the same time, it is possible to output the expression of the sound more uniformly.



The enclosures of both housings are made smaller than regular earphones in the same price range. Thanks to the reason, ‘RE800’ is possible to wear with over-ear-way too, so that people who have even small or big ear-canals use it more easily. Nozzles are the most common size (4 mm diameter), and the entrances are tightly covered with wire mesh. The single ducts beneath it reduced vibration of the diaphragm (Cracking sound when plug into canals) and air pressure in the ears.


The cable is covered with a soft black cloth over silver-plated wires, and seems really simple likes ordinary earphone cables. The Y split and the cable slider are also plated with pure gold over brass materials, with brand and product model names engraved back and forth. The 3.5mm stereo input plug is made in a long and heavy-weighted with 'L' shape. There is some clearance in front of the plug, so no problem when using together with a smartphone or a portable audio device with thick cases.


In particular, a single full-range silicon ear-tips are unique in that those are a single mass and has a layer like a double flange silicone ear-tips. The contained ear-guides provide good grip to prevent the ‘RE800’ from flowing down when mounted with over-ear way. The pouch has a pocket inside. However, it is still unfortunate that earphone is not completely protected against scratches or damage.









Main Tested environment
Hifiman Megamini DAP
Sony NW-WM1A/ NW-A35
Cowon Plenue D/P1/P2
Astell&Kern AK70/240/380/SP1000
Chord Electronics Hugo
Samsung Galaxy S8+
Mackbook Air 2015
iPhone SE


Music reference
Classical, Jazz, New Age


Usage time
34 Hrs



The "RE800" showcases emphasis on harmonic of the treble and bass. The presentation of sounds clearly is located from the center of the listener's head and width of soundstage is not opened than the shoulders. Even though midrange tends to be laid back a little because of the emphasized high and low frequency, there was no suppression or obtuse feeling due to the clear stage image.

The bass particles are as micro-powder like flour and the roll-off response is linear and slowly decays. This feature delights listeners by explosion of intense bass, which sounds among even a lot of string-instruments in the orchestra as like as dust-explosion-characteristic.

Thanks to the bass that resonates reliably without excessive distortion, even if the low-bass is emphasized, it does not give the listener fatigue. The smooth texture of the bass and natural expression is to be of great benefit in expressing the sounds of analog instruments, but in electronic music, bass instruments possibly tend to overlap one another.
The midrange is warm and reverberant, allowing you to feel clear harmonic texture of vocals, pianos and classical guitars, and is heard one step laid back giving calm and clear tendency. The reverberation is evenly distributed to the upper and lower middles, and catches the sharp expression of female vocals as well as male’s.




The "RE800" has sheen, airy, and textured sound-signature on treble so that can play sound-sources with fast and rhythmical string instruments without any awkwardness. The lower treble has reverberation with moisture texture, and expresses well a feeling of emptiness after a violin string ringing well. Also, vivid and lively in female vocals as well.

Depending on the enclosed ear-tips, it can be transformed into four different sound-signature. The Bi-flange silicone ear-tips reduce the amount of mid-bass, gives you a more-sheen harmonic tone at treble, and the full-range silicon ear-tips pull the middle forward and inflate upper-bass. The Tri-flange ear-tips give flattened sound tone on middle and treble, and more condensed sharper bass. The memory foam ear-tips suppress the representation of the middle and treble, also emphasize the mid bass, making the overall sound-signature softer.

It has a resistance value of 60 ohms and requires high volume in light output devices such as smart phones. If you do not secure the proper output, occurs sibilance at the upper midrange easily, so that recommend matching with devices having a stable output volume level. "RE800" is recommended to use with DAP called ‘Megamini’ makes the passive midrange more clear and accurate, and gives the bass more natural and hitting.






Conclusion


"RE800" not only shows high-quality appearance with pure gold plating, but also a natural bass and treble performance while showing a resolution comparable to that of multiple BA with a single dynamic driver. Small size and simple design have shown the benefits of comfort and practicality. If interested in in-ear monitor with luxury look and natural sound performance, "RE800" will be a good choice.








Disclaimer

Hello, I am a Head-fi product reviewer named 'Bigheadfiler' in South Korea. This review may not be perfect because it is my 6th English translation. I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

The RE800 was offered by ‘Hifiman Electronics’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.

If want something and make it own, should be clear about and understand the interests related. For that process, you have to spend time. Furthermore, by investing a lot of effort, you can be recognized in one area as a professional.


Luca Bignardi, who runs Big’s Studio, is a sound engineer with four Grammy Awards in Latin. He says that earphone for consumer should implement sound over what is actually heard, above numerical. Now, I would like to showcase 1More E1010 in-ear headset he tuned.






When opened the E1010 package, you are probably in admiration for splendid components. Starting with a black natural leather case, from 3 pairs of memory-foam ear-caps, 5 pairs of silicone-tips, 6.5mm stereo gender, air-jack and aluminum cable clip. Everything you need to use E1010 is just in one place.


The appearance of E1010 is designed to the users, along the aircraft's jet engine. The aluminum housing looks like a titanium metal by low tone colored. Compared to ordinary earphones, it is a fairly heavy, but the weight reaching ear canal is dispersed so that it can be worn stably. And the nozzle tubes are much larger in size than normal (4mm), so it may be difficult to fully integrate them with 3rd party earphone tips.






To prevent cable disconnection, black rubber shields are added at the cable’s Y-split and 4-pole input plug. The wires are made of stiff material with dark green, red, and gold-colored oxygen-free copper wires covered with translucent black cloth. Microphonic noise is not exposed, but please be careful to store or use for not giving stress to the cable.


Since the microphone is highly sensitive and omnidirectional, it can deliver a clear voice to the other party. And the attached 3 buttons are possible to control playback and volume, and are compatible with all smartphones with Android and iOS.









Specification

Type: in-ear
Driver: 3 BA + 1 DD (Hybrid)
Weight: 18.5g
Cable Length: 1.25m
Wire Material: OFC
Plug: 3.5mm stereo(4-pole)
Frequency Range: 20~40,000Hz
Impedance: 32
Sensitivity: 99dB
Rated Power: 5mW


Package

In-ear Quad driver headphones
9 ear tips set of silicone ear tips of various sizes
Magnetic clasping traveling case
Leather storage case
Dual prong airline adapter
Matching shirt clip

Tested Environment

Galaxy S8+
iPhone SE
Sony NW-WM1 A/Z
Astell&Kern AK70/300/380
Cowon Plenue D/1/2
Chord Electronics Hugo
Macbook Air 2015





The overall sound signature of the E1010 seems V-shape, with a particularly strong emphasis on bass. The soundstage is drawn one step away and linear so that gives unique perspective. Due to such characteristics, audible sibilance or dip of the middle and trebles formed is suppressed, which brings about a calm and smooth.


The upper bass is thicker and darker, the lower bass becomes thinner and has lesser reverberation. Bass’ roll-off is slow in the beginning and accelerates in the backward direction., so the bass instrument’s riff gives off strong hits. Overall image of the bass is held on one step above the middles, so can hear more clear vocals as masking phenomenon is suppressed.


The midrange is captured behind two steps and is drawn farther than the others. The roll-off is pretty linear that seems little texture. This can be eased using the enclosed memory-form-tips. Using the form-tip, you can pull a note step and get stronger damping so you can hear the piano's notes more clearly and brightly. However, the stage may become a little narrower as some of the mid-bass is suppressed.








The treble is drawn as slender and has low-level reverberation that sounds more still. Upper treble is little bit emphasized, so the snare of quartet jazz band expresses the scratched expression and the harmonics of the hi-hat more realistically. However, the strong expression of the violin or the high sound expression of the piano may feel plain or dull.


The E1010 provides a pleasant environment without noise even when exposed to a device with strong output or unstable signal to noise ratio. With higher output power, roll-off of bass gets slower and the middles goes more backwards. It is recommended that use devices with light power output and wide dynamic range, because this phenomenon can give restrained middles and highs.






The 'E1010' has provided smooth music experience, even when it is not a matching environment with a professional sound system. If you want to feel the calm and spacious sound signature with stylish appearance, I think 'E1010' will be a good partner.









Disclaimer

Hello, I am a Head-fi product reviewer named 'Bigheadfiler' in South Korea. This review may not be perfect because it is my 5th English translation. I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

The E1010 was offered by ‘0dB’ Korean audiophile community and ‘1More Korea’. The content of the review has been written without any restriction because the authors' freedom is respected.




==

“EM Audio” in-ear brand had involved and experienced in development and production with high-end iem and hearing-aid companies for 8 years. From the lowest numbering “EM2” to “EM6”, every “EM series” provide with customization options for plate design, shell color, and logo in hundreds pattern. And purchasers are able to choose one of the patterns and select universal or custom fit option.







Every EM series’ package contains aluminum case, air jack, 3.5-6.5mm stereo converter plug, cleaning-spray, cleaning-tool, and 3 size(S/M/L) silicone ear-caps. Contained metal-cutting aluminum case is filled with rubber buffer which helps protect receiver. There is a manual-guide that introduces how to treat and care “em2” iem.









“EM2” is built with two balanced-armature drivers and two-way passive crossover design. Two different colored dampers are implanted along two sound tube roads and the ends of the roads are joined together, so entrance of nozzle is wide and easy to expose dirt. In order to prevent this matter, fore-ends of the ear-caps are designed Narrowly than nozzle size. Even if the wax of dust enters, since the exposed entrance is short and wide, it will be easily solved by scraping and cleaning with enclosed cleaning tool.

Weight of receiver units is lighter and smaller than other typical size custom iems. These advantages help people use it comfortably without any feeling of irritation. It adopts 2pin iem connector type and is compatible with other custom cables. The connector of the unit is made elaborate so that difficult to distinguish unless you look closely at the borders of the connectors and housing shell.





EM series’ iem cables are produced with twisted silver-plated copper wires come in two colors, black and clear. Slider and stereo plug of cable is molded with flexible PVC material that assists preventing from physical disconnection. And need to be careful about not to break the part between the receiver unit and the cable connector when it is housed in the case because the ratio of the cable is larger than the unit.








Specification
Type: Universal/Custom fit IEM
Driver: 2 BA (2 way)
Frequency Response: 20Hz~20kHz
Impedance: 21Ω
Sensitivity: 113dB @1kHz
Cable length: 1.35 m (4.4 ft)
Noise isolation: -26dB


Package contained
EM2 Unit
Silver-plated copper cable
Silicon ear-cap S/M/L (each)
3.5 to 6.5 mm Converter
Aluminium metal case
Cleaning Spray/Tool
Airplane adapter
User Manuel


Test environment
Sony NW-WM1A /NW-WM1Z
Astell&Kern AK70/300/380
Cowon Plenue D/1/M/S
Chord Hugo DAC
iPhone SE, Galaxy S6
Macbook Air 2015





The overall sound tuning focus of ‘EM2’ is in the representation of the mid-range. The sound pitch of mid is tuned slightly higher than typical, which aids not to mask the bass. Also the response of mid is pretty linear so that not shows excessive sibilance or dip.

The low-range is heavier and darker than other range that intends whole frequency seems to be closely packed. This feature does not really show muffled bass. However, the response of bass is slower than middles or highs therefore hard to catch up sonic details minutely.

With upon those effects, vocal and piano can be heard clearly and closer than other instruments. The heavy bass performs wide imaging so that makes amusing and dynamic ambience for listening to music.

Due to weighted middles and bass, high-range seems to have a lack of expression in overall frequency. But enough to show high hat details or string instruments’ riff because of suitable low-range volume.





Because of impedance and sensitivity of EM2, there was no difficulty in securing volume gauge on any devices. Depending on the device matching, the awkward phase difference may occur slightly in the higher part of the mid-range. If use a device with stable output, this part will be relaxed and the whole sound tone will be balanced without stimulation.


If still have the same matter, use another ear-caps not covering nozzle entrance. Since “EM2” is designed as a portable audio concept target, it is recommended to match without additional portable amplifier or stationary class source device with strong output.





Many want to have customized content that gives themselves and identity for good price. ‘EM2’ has a number of design customization options to suit such market trends and a level of sound quality at the same time. If you are a listener looking for your personalized design iem with proper price, I think “EM Aucio EM2” will give a lot of pleasure.







DISCLAIMER

Hello, I am a Head-fi product reviewer named 'Bigheadfiler' in South Korea. This review may not be perfect because it is my third English translation. I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

This iem sample is rented by EM-audio's Korean official distributor 'Soundstream'.
Korean translation of this content is also posted in
"Premium Headphone Guide Korea" vol.19 Magazine.

The review is written without any constraints.



Photo & Review by Bigheadfiler 2017

Intro.


Ceramic is the most familiar material for humanity and requires many touches. This material obtains by applying high heat to raw natural particles, starting from ceramic cups to glasses, cements, optical fiber and synthetic diamonds.

It is also resistant to sudden temperature changes, does not pass through electricity, has good corrosion resistance. However, is usually broken easily. ‘Zirconium Oxide’ which improves this weakness is 8 times stronger than plastic, but it is known as a hard material to process.

The Scotland company ‘RHA Audio’ has been recognized by the US ‘Apple’ for its production philosophy, and as a co-operative company, it has delivered in-ear headphones to Apple stores around world since 2011. Now 2017, they released new ‘CL-1’ in-ear headphone using ‘Zirconium Oxide’ for high-end head-fi users.








Exterior


The exterior design of ‘CL-1’ is optimized for audiophiles using a dedicated portable DAC-amplifier ‘DACAMP L1’, or an audio system for headphones. The unit's housing is made of non-oxidizing zirconium metal, which has a stylish appearance is reminiscent of titanium and has a ruggedness that does not break easily even when dropped.

Both unit houses have their logos and model names engraved on the front and back, and there is a black wire mesh duct next to the RHA logo. The nozzle part is fabricated in the shape of a whirl of aluminum metal on the wire mesh filter separately. The nozzle tubes are 4mm caliber size, so a variety of ear-tips are available for listening with.












The 'CL-1' employs a sMMCX proprietary connector, so you can alternate between a 3.5 mm stereo braided oxygen-free copper cable and a 4pin mini-XLR balanced silver core Ag4X cable. Compared to the existing MMCX method, it is more tightly coupled. The length of both cables is same about 1.5 m (59 inch) and is recommended for use with stationary systems.

The outer shell is made of high-quality material that does not adhere to dust, has good flexibility and has not been exposed to microphonic. Since the position of the Y-split point is below than normal earphones, recommend using the cinch up.

Unlike other brands of cable ear guides, spring and wire are included. The unit is firmly fixed enough to float in the air, so if you put it well behind your ears, the weight of the unit will be well dispersed, helping you to enjoy your music for a long time.









The silver core cable is designed separately for 4pin mini-XLR terminal of 'L1 DACAMP'. It is designed to be removable by pushing the black button at the top like the regular XLR. The copper cable’s polarity of 3.5mm stereo terminal is made long so that it can be connected smoothly to a portable device with thick case.

CL-1 package includes silicon ear-caps, double flange silicone ear-caps, Comply Tsx-200 memory-foam ear-caps, clothing clip, carrying pouch, and 3.5 to 6.5 mm stereo converter. The 3.5 to 6.5 stereo converter can be screwed onto the copper cable. There are two small storage compartments inside the dedicated pouch, but it is narrow space for even basic components for CL1 use.









Specification

Driver: CL Dynamic + Ceramic Plate
Frequency range: 16-45,000Hz
Impedance: 150 Ohms
Sensitivity: 89dB
Rated/ max power: 10/ 50mW
Weight: 14g

Warranty: 3 years


=======================


Interior


Overall sound signature of ‘CL-1’ pretty is analogous to weak V-shaped, with more weighted-on highs. Overall soundstage shifts two steps forward, that doesn’t make recessed layering of middles. Spatiality is expressed as if the instruments are resonating from the center axis of the listener, so that sonic brings a feeling of being opened and not confined.


Due to the feature of trebles having liquid and taut texture, in beginning of ‘Paganini Caprice No.5, Op.1’, ‘CL-1’ does not miss the long stretches of violin strings, helps to blow out intensely. Since lower highs have no tail and are expressed in dry state, the scraping expression of classical guitar strokes sounds natural. But, the detail of the snare or high-hat may sound lifeless.


While the reverberation becomes richer with lower frequency on middles, roll-off response speed is constant. Also, the middles are warmer and thicker than treble that make piano note or vocal belonged more like flat. The bass is relatively warmer compared to middles and highs, and as its band reaches upper band, it is heavier and roll-up speed is faster, so that the sonic details can be more expressed. The texture from harmonics of the brass and bass instrument represented in the sound source blow pretty well without filtration.










With mini-XLR terminal of RHA DACAMP L1, ‘CL-1’ shows deep-bass naturally boosted and trebles analytically revealed. The whole sound stage is laid-back by two steps, dynamic range and width get bit bigger. That allows instruments to be more precisely positioned so that do not overlap each other. However, “ah” vowel coloration is caused because of rapid roll-up on upper midrange.

If use the enclosed double flange silicone ear-cap together, the presentation of midrange moves one step more forward and the trebles get thicker to sound a stronger string instrument representation. Comply Tsx-200 Memory-Form including CL-1 package makes upper midrange and overall trebles closed, and lower bass smother, thus creating a soft sonic imaging ambiance that allows you to enjoy more genres of music.

'CL1' has a 150 ohm high impedance and a low sensitivity of 89dB. If the required output environment is not reached, trebles and middles of ‘CL-1’ will present wiry and tizzy sound. Strongly recommend matching it with a dedicated amplifier 'DACAMP L1' or stationary audio system capable of driving low-efficiency headphones, as has required fairly-high input-power.







DISCLAIMER

Hello, I am a Head-fi product reviewer named 'Bigheadfiler' in South Korea. This review may not be perfect because it is my third English translation. I appreciate your understanding. Thank you.

The 'RHA CL-1' in-earheadphone posted on review was provided by 'RHA Audio'. And 'DACAMP L1' sample was rented by Korean RHA official distributor 'Sovico AV'. This review has been written without any restrictions as respect author's autonomous decision making.




Photo & Review by Bigheadfiler, 2017

 
 
 
 
 
 Michelle is made in higher level of exterior design by 3D-printing technology and hand craft than previous Siren series. This feature definitely appears from the nozzles tilted by about 10 degrees than normal iems helping users to insert stably and deeply into canals and get comfortable fit. However, you might use smaller size ear cap because of the long-length nozzle compared to housing body.
 
 
 
 

 In JHaudio dedicated leather case, there are small, medium and large size 1 pair each of ear caps and a nozzle cleaning tool. Those bundle ear caps have smooth feel, be not exposed to dirt and cover 1/3 of Michelle’s nozzle entrances.  When using 3rd party ear cap products or not, I recommend that you need to manage with nozzle cleaning tool included. The reason for this work is that the big nozzle entrance is easily exposed to foreign bodies.
 
 
 
 
 
 Michelle is made in higher level of exterior design by 3D-printing technology and hand craft than previous Siren series. This feature definitely appears from the nozzles tilted by about 10 degrees than normal iems helping users to insert stably and deeply into canals and get comfortable fit. However, you might use smaller size ear cap because of the long-length nozzle compared to housing body.
 
 In JHaudio dedicated leather case, there are small, medium and large size 1 pair each of ear caps and a nozzle cleaning tool. Those bundle ear caps have smooth feel, be not exposed to dirt and cover 1/3 of Michelle’s nozzle entrances.  When using 3rd party ear cap products or not, I recommend that you need to manage with nozzle cleaning tool included. The reason for this work is that the big nozzle entrance is easily exposed to foreign bodies.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 There are 2.5mm balanced and 3.5mm stereo cables can connect Michelle’s units by detachable 2 pins connectors. Those cables are designed with silver-plated copper wire flatted and wrapped around Kevlar fiber string for improving durability. Also, those have L type jack plugs that can be used for various mobile devices like smartphones. Left(blue) and right(red) indications are revealed in the inner part of the cable’s connectors can easily distinguish them.
 
 The intertwined cables based on 3 signal wires are made with Kevlar fiber that have strong elasticity and not easily come loose. The cables’ Y-split and jack plug are covered with flexible robber in slim size which help to reduce touch noise. The cables’ length is about 4.9 fts (150cm) longer than general iems. This feature is probably useful for plugging into stationary device or laptop.
 
You can replace with 3rd party cables by Michelle’s 2 pin connectors. However, the connectors are designed to be more narrow than recent version of 2pin that not compatible with some 3rd party products. And they may be weakened so I hope that do not change cables frequently if possible.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

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Specfication
 
Type: Universal fit IEM
Driver: 3 BA (3way)
Impedance: 18 ohm
Noise isolation: -26dB
Cable: 1.5 m (silver-plated Copper)
 
 
Component
 
Michelle IEM unit
2pin to 3.5mm stereo cable
2pin to 2.5mm balanced cable
Leather zipper case
Silicon ear-caps S/M/L (each)
 
 
Test equipment
 
Astell&Kern AKJr/XB10/AK240SS/AK70/AK300/AK320/AK380
Cowon Plenue D/M/M2/1/S,  Fiio X3ii/ X5ii, Sony ZX100
Apple Macbook Air 2015/ iPhoneSE/ iPhone7
LG V20/ G5, Samsung Galaxy6/ Galacy7
Chord Hugo
 
 
 
 
Recommend Environment
 
  Digital Audio Player
Astell&Kern AK70/ AK300/ AK380
Cowon Plenue D/ M2/ S
 
 Ear-caps
Spinfit CP100, ROJET RX-04 Memory-foam
 
 Music Gerne
Classic jazz, New Orleans jazz
Blues, Folk Rock, R&B, Soul
 
 
 
 

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 If you own or know about previous JHaudio Siren series, Michelle probably shows unexpected sound tendency. Unlike the previous sound tendency which had focused on mastering quality to catch finely the sound drawn on the stage with heavy tone, Michelle concentrates on expressing sensibility of instruments’ harmonic overtone characteristics.
 
 Overall sound imaging is drawn from little bit close to the listener’s forehead and similar with listening in first seat from the stage. Intensively mastered sessions in mid-range perform closely, and other remains lay back. This performance is more noticeable with simpler instrument composition and reduces masking with mid and low-range.
 
 The tonal balance of mid-range is quiet liquid that provides to feel the sounds of vocals, guitar strings, piano keyboards touch musically. The response is a little bit slow unlike other BA products and give difficulty to catch fast harmonic such as synthesizers and electronic guitars. It optimized at analogue instruments not digital.
 
 The slow roll-off in the high-range aids sound stage little bit widely, on the other hand, the tonal balance of high seems to be stuffy. Therefore, unable to feel harsh strings’ harmonic overtones that indicate just like shortage of high frequency. In sound source focused on mid and low, probably does not give uncomfortable with monitoring. However, you might have trouble with finding details of high such as classical music based on strings. 
 
 The damping that occurs to bass is like the bass guitar riff, blows strongly and roll off rapidly. Thanks to clamed and deeply heavy tone of low, Michelle has fine performance with wind instruments playing. Otherwise, not suitable for electronic bass expression.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If Michelle’s deafened high and excessive low is burdensome, recommend to listen with third party ear-caps. The originals are designed to prevent ear waxes and obstruct nozzle tube passages. This concept may form extra resonance and distort some parts of high and low. This phenomenon can be improved by replacing the ear-caps, which not covered nozzle entrances and need to be a little bit stiff. Even so, some are not mounted properly owing to thick and long length nozzle.
 
 Attached 2.5 balanced cable extends Michelle's bass range more widely bringing out more natural bass texture and sound field. As the volume of the bass is expanded, the proportion of mid-to-high is reduced. If you’d like to control emphasis on the bass, just try to change ear-caps shaping brighter treble.
 
 One of the most attractive features of Michelle is that when it is used in various equipment environments, the tone of tonal balance distorts not that much. There remain some differences with bass volume and high resolutions, thus suggest matching with neutral or brighter sound devices better than heavy.
 
 If without evident output structure defect, possibly listening to music smoothly on smartphones or laptops. However, for stationary products and wireless amplifiers that have far higher output power than portable digital audio players, it subjects to white noise easily. So, need to connect devices directly without additional equipment.
 
 
 
 

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Conclusion
 
 Michelle is the entry product of JHaudio released at the intermediate price targeting users using portable devices. Even without the collaborated brand Astell & Kern products, it is able to feel highly qualified sound imaging and the stable midrange without large undulation in various device-matching environments. Unlike the previous series, it adopts with 3D printing technology and raised the housing design quality to the high level. Give it a try with Michelle if you want to experience sexy design, concentrated sound on mid& bass, and JH audio brand.
 
 
 
 
 

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This content also is posted in
"Premium Headphone Guide Korea" vol.16
magazine in Korean language.
This review is written without any constraints.
 
But, Michelle is a personally purchased product by myself.
I did not receive this from any manufacturers.
 
This is my first English review.
Please understand even if I do not
express audiophile words accurately.
Thank you for reading this.
 
 
 
 

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