Oi! mates, I would like to present another product review article for this month and this one is from ZIIGAAT. I previously did a product review on this audio brand and in my opinion, I find it quite a performer for its price as it is also quite a budget-friendly one that gives a good sound quality.



If you are curious about what the word ZIIGAAT means as it sounds more like a random salad letter but there's a meaning to this. It means Zero-in on Ideas, Innovate, Growth and Achieve All Together (it is quite a wordy one) and it seems that it is also this audio company's philosophy on pursuing audio excellence.




This is ZIIGAAT Cinno, this is their entry-level offering with a hybrid driver configuration. This model has a standard set-up consisting of a single dynamic driver and 4 balanced armature drivers which make a total number of 5 drivers (in my own speculation, Cinno was supposedly to be name “Cinco” which means “five” in both Spanish and Portuguese cardinal number as it pertains to a number of drivers that were implemented inside). The dynamic driver is a 10mm dual-chambered with a LCP diaphragm which will be solely responsible for lows while the rest of the frequencies will be handled by “custom” balanced armature drivers. These drivers were connected into a passive crossover network to deliver a more cohesive and harmonious sonic quality.



The drivers were encapsulated in a modified UIEM-style acrylic resin shell chassis whose size is quite compact that it offers a better fitting and comfort into my lugholes with its lightweight. The choice of its size is ergonomically well-thought out on how it rests well into my ear canal to give the best secured fitting and to achieve a good noise passive isolation. The overall design of the shell appears to be more minimalist with a company logo printed on its faceplate.




This set uses a 0.78 bi-pin connector as it is more of a standard where you can interchange it with other third-party cables easily. Speaking of its stock cable, this one one is actually quite good for its asking price as this one has a 2-core silver-plated copper wirings that were insulated with PVC coating and its termination plug is a standard 3.5mm single-ended that underwent a gold-plating process for better resistance on corrosion and better conductivity.



The product packaging of ZIIGAAT Cinno is rather spartan with bare-bones inclusion inside. It was packed in a small box with a theme design that harkened back to the 80's theme.


Here are following contents inside the box:


● Pair of ZIIGAAT Cinno IEM
● Stock cable
● Extra 2 pairs of ear tips of different standard sizes.
● Warranty certificate



On power scaling, this set can be amplified by devices with decent power output like smartphones and tablets but you need to crank a bit of a volume level just to add more amplitude scale to sound more fuller with better dynamics.



As for tonality, The ZIIGAAT Cinno has a sonic profile of having a mild u-shaped sound in a warmish-balanced tuning which gives us a taste of musical analogue-ish vintage sound. In my ears, there's a slight emphasis on lows, a linear yet a tad warm midrange and an even and smooth treble response.




LOWS/BASS:

It appears that bass response of this set is quite well-balanced as it presents both sub-bass and mid-bass equally on the overall sound of its frequency spectrum. It has punchy, lucid and cleanliness on its bass response where it has a good rumble and reverberation on its sub-bass that were produced by instruments such as synthesisers, drum machines and low tone bass guitars.

Mid-bass appears to have an ample texture and is somehow well-controlled as it gives some adequate note weight on bass kick drums, bass guitars and bass-baritone vocals. Bass kick drums have a thudding and rumbling albeit there are some instances that they sound a bit hollow, bass guitars seem to have resonant and sombre sound on them on fretting, slapping or strumming on its strings, and then on bass-baritones vocals appears to have a decent depth as their voices have some rumbling and resonant but it has a less darker tone and weight on it.


MIDRANGE:

While it appears that the midrange presentation is quite linear and just a little bit recessed, it has a warmth and ample texture that will benefit mostly on male vocals and some instruments like brasses. But I also noticed that it is also less energetic, insufficiently bright and lacks liveliness to the point its sound lacklustre that affects the expressiveness and intensity on most type female vocals, strings and woodwinds.

As I mentioned that it will be more appealing to male vocals as baritones have smooth and warm sound on them with decent depth on volume while tenors, depends of a some certain subtypes have rich, dense and emotive that will beneficial on dramatic tenors and heldentenors, but on spinto, lyric and leggiero tenors sounds less brighter, ringing and dazzling that was part of their distinctive timbre, and then on countertenors, they have a tender and graceful voices but it sounds less affectionate and appeal. On females vocals, contraltos have rich and lushness on their vocal quality while the mezzo-sopranos have a quite too smooth and velvety sound on their vocal but like the countertenors, it is lacking of emotion and less expressive sound. The soprano vocals seems the particular vocal type that take the hit on how this set was tuned, while it sound decently on dramatic sopranos as they have an emotive, sweet and rich vocals on them, but on lyric, soubrette and coloratura sopranos, they sound a bit subdued and lethargic as they definitely lack of gleaming and shining qualities on them.

As for instruments, the brasses have an ample density and warmth on their tonal colour as trumpets have full and substantial sound on them while the horns have rounded and ponderous sound, and trombones have solid and tense and yet in some cases, it has softness on their notation attack. Percussives like snares, tom-toms, field drums and kettledrums, a shuffling sound on snares, a warm and resonant sound on tom-toms, a sonorous yet sombre sound on field drums and a dull and mellow sound on kettledrums. Woodwinds like piccolos, concert flutes and clarinets sounds less brighter, too soft and melancholic respectively while strings like guitars and violins, they sound too warm and buttery as it lacks of crisp and ceiling sound on the guitars and a less vibrant and austere sounding of violins. Meanwhile, pianos' sound somehow has a balanced tone but less expressive and a bit less engaging sounding.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

It appears that upper-mids up to the presence in the treble region are attenuated and a bit smooth and too relaxed sounding that its sound borderline dark that some vocal definition and instrumental attacks sounds a bit distant, dull and lacks finesse. In other words, it sounds too safe that it wont give us more engaging and crisper sound but somehow its intended tuning will be more friendly towards treble-sensitive folk out there as it doesn't have some edgy, sharp and piercing sound that harshness and sibilances are practically devoid.

On the brilliance part of the treble region, sparkle is quite inadequate and the airy extension seems rather modest as it somehow affects the tonal colour of some instruments. Cymbals strike sounds soughing and lustrous while hi-hats lose some of its sizzle and buzzing sound. Glockenspiels sound rather lustrous than brilliant that they should sound while celestas have too soft or glassy sound on them.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Overall, it has an average to above average sound/speaker stage size as I perceive a good height and depth while a moderate wideness from left to right as it gives me fairly middling headroom.

While it presented me a concave-like presentation on stereo imaging as I was able to estimate the positioning of vocals and instrument but not the most accurate way to be discernible as I struggled a bit . Another thing that I should address on this set regarding of technical aspect is the layering, while it has a decent separation of instruments, the layering is a bit vague and less refined as it projects a rather two layers than usual 3 or more tonal and frequency arrangement that will affect the playback quality of some complex multi-instrumental tracks like orchestras or jazz that they might sound muddled, disarrayed or distorted.

Somehow its hybrid driver seems to have a good cohesive performance; it delivers a fast, precise and crisp sound. Meanwhile on resolution capabilities, while it has textured and good tension on macro-dynamics but on micro-detailing aspect, it is quite a bit blunted as it wasn't able to extract much of nuances and intricacies of infos from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

SIMGOT EM6L

● Like the Cinno, It also has five (5) hybrid driver set-up as it consists of one (1) dynamic driver and four (4) balanced armature driver set-up. The difference are that this set has a shell made of metal chassis and it uses a QDC-type 2-pin connector. It appears that it has better accessories but it is quite more pricey.

● EM6L follows a usual popular tuning that most sets have in this price range, the Harman target curve. It has more sub-bass focus tuning just like a typical Harman tuning, a leaner, cleaner yet a bit dry midrange and an accented upper-mids to presence part of religion that gives for crisp, brighter and detail on some female vocals and instruments and a bit airier treble extension compared to Cinno.

● As for technicalities, EM6L has some similarities with Cinno in terms of performance but stereo imaging is somehow superior to the former and it has even better separation, though layering capabilities on both sets are comparable.


TANGZU FU DU VERSE I

● Another hybrid driver IEM that is also comparable with the Cinno as it has also a acrylic resin shell but the difference was that FU DU has a lesser quantity of drivers as it has one (1) dynamic driver and two (2) balanced armature drivers and also it has a metal alloy faceplate. And also, FU DU has more inclusions and it has better stock ear tips to choose from.

● FU DU has a U-shaped warmish-balanced tuning similar to the Cinno but it has more texture, more depth and even warmer tuning. It has more body on its bass and midrange as it has more authority and impactful bass response, warmer and lush midrange. In treble response, despite smoothness and relaxed treble response, it appears that it has a bit more elevation on the upper-mids but the treble air appears to have modest extension just like the Cinno.

● On the technical side, FU DU has a similar technical performance with the Cinno from sound/speaker staging, stereo imaging, separation and layering. Though on resolution capability, FU DU have more solid macro-dynamics and a tad better micro-detail retrieval than Cinno.


As I will deliver a final verdict about this product, it appears that ZIIGAAT has a different approach on how this set will be marketed in an even more tighter and competitive portable audio market. While most and current IEMs in under $200 that still aligns with popular tuning curve that is too familiar due to its safe tuning and became a bit more stale, ZIIGAAT offers a set with an alternative tuning which sounds somehow balanced with good musicality and more engaging that a treble-sensitives folk will surely enjoy although it will probably appealing to most experienced audio enthusiast out there due to some inherent lacklustre aspect on its intended tuning.

ZIIGAAT Cinno is now available at LINSOUL, check out the unaffiliated link that I have provided below.

★★ZIIGAAT CINNO - LINSOUL★★

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: ZIIGAAT CINNO
IMPEDANCE: 32Ω
SENSITIVITY: 107dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (4) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*


P.S.

I am not affiliated to ZIIGAAT nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KAREENA TANG from LINSOUL for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

“I will share all of this with you whenever you wish.”

~~Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and proponent of Fermat's Theorem.


Pierre de Fermat was a mathematician and lawyer in 17th century France, he was the one who formulated a number theory called Fermat's Theorem and law of refraction on light rays named Fermat's Principle. His other contributions to the field of mathematics and physics are probability, expanding the application of Cartesian geometry and optical applications.



The SIMGOT revolution is still going strong up to the present on how it dictated last year's portable audio scene as it presents some of the best products that many audio enthusiasts are willing to accept. The EA500 is the testament that you will get an excellent set with good tonal and technical performance at entry-level pricing. And now what I have here is their latest offering at over $200/£160 segment.



This is SIMGOT EA1000 Fermat, it's a single dynamic driver with passive radiator as its supporting implementation. SIMGOT already did implement this configuration before on their EA2000 which is a midrange set. The EA1000 uses the latest generation of dual chambered, dual magnetic dynamic driver with newly-developed composite materials of its diaphragm made of SDPGDT (sputter deposition purple gold diaphragm technology) which is more rigid and better elasticity to deliver a more responsive and deeper bass response along with improved dynamic range and shimmering and crisper high frequencies. The 6mm passive radiator will enhance deeper pitch and darker tone due to better stimulation on resonance effect as it traps those sound pressures.



The drivers were in a solid aluminium alloy with a detachable tuning nozzle as SIMGOT offers three distinctive tuning. The surface of the cavity base shell of this set has a mirror finished surface while its faceplate was laminated with glass-like material to give that classy and elegant look. There are two vent holes in the cavity base part that allows it to escape some excessive air pressure generated from its high-performance dynamic driver. SIMGOT continues to use a proven interlocking mechanism on this set which is a standard 2-pin connector.



The stock cable of the SIMGOT EA1000 is of a high quality as it is a 2-core Litz OFC silver-plated copper that will assuredly deliver an unadulterated audio signal without any distortion and interference that will affect the sound quality. The termination plug is a gold-plated 3.5mm SE to ensure better conductivity and improvements of its corrosion resistance.



As for fitting and comfort, despite that this set shell chassis was made of solid metal alloy, it really rests well into my lugholes without any discomfort or wear fatigue. The passive noise isolation is excellent as it was able to block some noises from the outside due to good sealing.



The product presentation of SIMGOT EA1000 is quite impressive as it gives us some of the best unboxing experience and how the contents and accessories are well-organised inside.




Here are the following contents that were included inside the box:

• Pair of SIMGOT EA1000 Fermat
• Stock cable
• 3 pairs of vocal silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• 3 pairs of balanced silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
• IEM storage case.
• extra 2 sets of tuning filter nozzles.
• Spare filter rings
• Paperwork like user's manual and warranty card.

Power scaling and amplification-wise, with an impedance rating of 16Ω and sensitivity of 124dB, SIMGOT EA1000 is indeed an easy to drive that even a smartphone or tablet with decent power output will be able to amplify it properly. With a decent power output, it utilises a full and dynamic sound that this set is capable of.



To determine its tonality, since it has a detachable tuning filters nozzle, it offers a variety of U-shaped sound profiles that usually aligns with Harman-style of tuning with some deviations.


(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to him)

Silver nozzle with red ring is more of a typical Harman target curve that we accustomed with, while the silver nozzle with black ring is SIMGOT's in-house tuning which is a based of a modified Harman target curve and then on golden copper nozzle with white ring is SIMGOT's latest in-house tuning that somehow rectifies some shortcomings of those tuning target curves to sound more balanced and engaging.




LOWS/BASS:

The bass response of this set is quite well balanced on both sub-bass and then mid-bass given my aversion and criticism in most Harman-style of tuning. While it has good sub-bass presence as I discerningly get its rumble and reverberations from instruments like low tone bass guitars, synthesisers and drum machines, the mid-bass is quite well-bodied on its texture as it delivers a slam, authority and punchy lows which might attribute due to the implementation of passive radiator to give a deeper and darker tone.

Bass guitars sound more sombre and resonant while bass kick drums have eerily and thudding sound, and then on male vocals, bass-baritones seems to projects a decently woolly and dusky vocals but still not deepest nor the darkest tone that I really want but for Harman-type bass response, this is quite satisfactory to my ears.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of the EA1000 are quite recessed in the overall frequency range but it has clean, transparent and energetic sound that will be more oriented towards female vocals, strings and woodwinds.

Male vocals particularly on baritones and heldentenors appears to sound a bit lean in my liking as it loses some volume and depth as they sound a bit too smooth, less warm and lack of richness. Tenors have bright and dazzling sound as it is more beneficial to leggero and lyric-type tenors. On females vocals, contraltos apparently has lack of texture and finesse as they sound less hefty and less husky sound while the mezzo-sopranos have tender, golden and fiery sound, and then on sopranos, they quite sound very expressive and captivating as they sound shimmering and crystalline.

In regards to how instruments sound with their respective timbre and tonality, strings such as guitars have a crisp and bright sound and violins have lively and vibrant sound. Woodwind instruments like piccolos, concert flutes and clarinets have a brilliant, silvery and lively sound respectively. On brasses, trumpets have brilliant and penetrating sound, horns have clear and metallic sound and trombones have sinister and dramatic sound. As for percussions, snares have sharp and precise sound, tom-toms have resonant but a tad less warm sounding, field drums have hard and majestic sound and kettledrums have resonant and a bit dry sound from it. Pianos have a balanced to tad brighter tone that makes them sound emotive and exciting.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this set is quite energetic and shimmering especially on silver coloured black ring nozzles and silver coloured red ring nozzles. The upper mids and presence part of the treble region are quite elevated on its overall tuning as it gives more definition on female vocals and sharper attacks of instruments. It is also noted that in some instances that some female vocals might sound a tad shrill and shouty but at least the sibilance was kept under control and harshness is barely minimal to none to be bothered with.

On crashing cymbals, it sounds bright and metallic while the hi-hats are a bit too bright with its distinctive buzzing and breathy timbre. Glockenspiels sound shimmering and brilliant, then on celestas, they have this particular “heavenly sound” as its sounds quite glistening and bright. It has a good sparkle and fairly airy treble response for a dynamic driver set with passive radiator.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

As for its technical aspects, it appears that the EA1000 has an above average sound/speaker proportions, as it has above-average lateral span, just a decent height and reasonable depth as it is just give me a moderate size headroom as I've experience a more cavernous soundstage from other sets.

The stereo imaging gives me a concave-like soundscape where I can locate precisely the positioning of instruments and vocals in well-separated and well-arranged layers of dynamic and frequency tones from each element. To my surprise, this set is quite capable of handling some of the most complex, multi-instrumental tracks that I'm throwing out on this one.

Coherency of its drivers is quite excellent as it managed to deliver a fast transient response without any distortion or out of phase issues as it performs consistently. Resolution capabilities of this one is fairly competent as it has a good note texture on the macro-dynamics while it has sharp micro-detailing to extract some nuances and detail from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

ORIVETI OD200

● Probably one of the closest competitors in the market. While it only has a single dynamic driver, it was a beryllium-coated one and it has its own proprietary acoustic pressure technology to support its performance. Just like the EA1000, it has a detachable nozzle system and is also encased in a solid metal alloy chassis, although the OD200's stock cable is a modular one.

● As for tuning, since OD200 also has a detachable tuning nozzle just like EA1000, this set offers two types of tuning, a mild U-shaped sound and a warmer U/V-shaped. Bass quality and quantity on OD200 has more authority and impact but it has slight bleeding across the midrange (silver nozzle mode). Midrange is a tad more warmer and more textured on OD200 in silver nozzle mode that will be beneficial for male vocals, some percussives and mostly on brass section. The treble on both tuning modes on OD200 seems quite different but they all display a merely modest airy extension which makes the EA1000 have more refined treble response.

● Technicality-wise, they are quite comparable but in certain cases, OD200 has a less refined separation and layering aspect, then its micro-dynamics seems to be less detailed but at least, OD200 has a bit more solid macro-dynamics.


DUNU FALCON ULTRA

● A solid offering from DUNU and like the EA1000, it also has a metal chassis and a detachable nozzle tuning system but the difference was that it has only a single dynamic driver and it has their own airflow damping system to improve its dynamics and punchier and solid low frequency. It also has modular cable and offers a lot of types of ear tips to choose from. And also, unlike EA1000, this one has a MMCX-type of connector which is either love or hate.

● Regarding its sound profiles, since this also has detachable tuning nozzles it offers two distinctive tuning, a warmer U-shaped and a bit brighter U-shaped sound signatures. Bass response appears to have a consistent texture and preciseness while a bit lean yet transparent midrange on the blue nozzle while the gold nozzle has some warmth on it and then on treble, blue nozzle filters seem to have more sparkle and shimmer while the gold nozzle appears to have a more smoother and balanced sounding.

● As for technicalities, it has an above average sound/speaker stage but if I compare it closely to EA1000, it has a bit more height. Stereo imaging presents an almost 3D-like presentation within my headroom and it has a good separation and layering. On the resolution aspect, while it has solid macro-dynamics, I noticed its micro-detailing definition seems less sharp.


TANCHJIM OXYGEN (Demo)

● This set is actually one of my most favourite single DD sets under $300 dollars. Like the EA1000, it has a solid metal shell chassis and uses a dual-chambered dynamic driver with CNT diaphragm. But it doesn't have a detachable nozzle tuning filters

● Oxygen has a mild U-shaped sound signature as it has presence of its sub-bass while it is a punchy and articulate mid-bass but compared to EA1000, it will sound a bit less texture. Midrange is well-balanced with clean, energetic and good clarity to give more emotive and expressiveness on vocals and strings instruments. Treble has a good sheen on it with sufficient brightness and has a good airy extension for a single DD set.

● Technicalities-wise, this is not the strongest aspect of the Oxygen as it has an average to above average sound/speaker stage and a more intimate stereo imaging. On separation and layering, if I compare it to EA1000, the Oxygen shows its age that it has less defined layering capability but still it has quite satisfactory capabilities on separation of instruments. On resolution capabilities, it has solid macro-dynamics and good detail retrieval but compared to EA1000, it has less sharper definition.


As I conclude my review about SIMGOT EA1000, This one truly reckons the current state of the IEM segment in under $300/£235 on how this set performs well. The performance of its high dynamic driver along with its well-implemented passive radiator truly defines the tonal and technical performance of this set that will probably change the dynamics of IEM game in the current portable audio market. If you want to experience a prelude to the Mid-Fi/midrange level of sound quality, this set is probably one of them.

The SIMGOT Revolution keeps going on and will continue to strengthen its grip in the IEM market.


SIMGOT EA1000 Fermat is currently available in SIMGOT official online store, LINSOUL and PENON. All links provided below are guaranteed non-affiliate ones.


■ OFFICIAL STORE

■ LINSOUL

■ PENON

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: SIMGOT EA1000 FERMAT
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 126dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 10Hz – 50KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78mm)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): 1 DYNAMIC DRIVER + 1 PASSIVE RADIATOR


Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to SIMGOT nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to FIA LAM of SIMGOT and Obed a.k.a @kesobie for letting me to join the SIMGOT review tour here in the Philippines. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

Yvain or Ywain is one of the prominent knights of King Arthur and part of the fellowship of Knights Of The Round Table. He is also known as the Knight of the Lion and known to be an adventurous person as he is enthralled with chivalric exploits like saving a lion from a dragon that earn its loyalty and companionship as they both defeat giants, demons and other knights.


What I have here is a latest IEM model that carries the name of that Arthurian character. This is HiBy Yvain, it's an all-balanced armature driver IEM that was encapsulated in a composite shell chassis with a modular cable set-up. This model somewhat to be more of an affordable version of HiBy Crystal 6 Mk.II in which I did a review a few months ago.



Regarding its internal components, it has four balanced armature drivers sourced from reputable audio solutions like Knowles and Sonion. The BA woofer which will be use solely on bass is a Knowles one which will give a deeper bass response, while a dual set-up full range BA is a custom Sonion in which gives more natural tone, exceptional detail and crisper sound on vocals and instruments, and then on the HF BA tweeter, it uses the latest generation of Knowles “Hi-Res” tweeter for shimmer, clarity and more airy extension on tonal colours on specific instruments.



Aside from using premium balanced armatures, it also implemented a 3-way electronic crossover for better separation and more precise tuning on its overall frequency range along 3-way channel passive acoustic chamber that connected to each balanced armature driver to lessen any distortion and interferences on its sonic performance.



These internal parts and components were encased in a composite shell chassis and it has a modified UIEM-type design to give a comfortable wear and better noise isolation in our lugholes. The cavity base part of the shells are made of hypoallergenic resin material which underwent a 3D-printed process while the faceplates are made of CNC-milled aluminium alloy with a laser-etched print of a lion on the surface. The Yvain uses a 2-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism which is a standard on aftermarket cable upgrade and also known to be the most stable and reliable type of connector among audio enthusiasts.



The stock cable of HiBy Yvain is a 2-core litz-type OCC pure copper wiring which is insulated with PVC coating for low distortion, less resistance and clarity of sonic output. This cable is also a modular one that we can choose either 3.5mm SE or 4.4mm balanced.



Since this is a review touring unit, there is no packaging box but it only has high quality IEM storage which is quite large and spacious for an IEM.

Here are the following contents inside of Yvain's IEM case:

● Pair of HiBy Yvain IEMs
● Modular stock cable
● 4.4mm balanced adapter
● Three (3) pairs of balanced bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
● Three (3) pairs of memory foam ear tips in different standard sizes.



HiBy Yvain is actually an easy to drive set that scales well even to devices with a decent power output. With proper amplification, it will sound quite vivid and full range that it will encompass the whole frequency spectrum.



As to determine its tonality, HiBy Yvain has a balanced-neutral sound profile as it has a tad tighter yet linear low frequency response and then more emphasis on midrange and high frequencies to have that detail, shimmering and airy response.




LOWS/BASS:

The bass response of Yvain is quite tight, precise and incisive for a woofer BA that is prevalent to IEMs with neutral sound signature. It has an adequate sub-bass presence as it has some reverberations and fairly deep sound generated from synthesisers, low tone bass guitars and drum machines.

Mid-bass quantity of this set is somewhat sufficient as it gives a decent note weight on bass-focus instruments and some male vocals. Bass guitars have resonant and rasping sound while bass kick drum have thudding and a bit rumbling sound from them on every hit, and then on bass-baritone vocals, they appear sound natural though not that dark tone and volume that I expected due to its neutral bass type of tuning but still it has dense sound on them.


MIDRANGE:

This is probably one of the strongest assets of the Yvain as it is well-textured, transparent and clean sounding as it gives a natural tone on both vocals and instruments to sound more engaging, emotive and engaging to our ears.

Male vocals seems an ample warmth on them as baritones have smooth and lush sound, while tenors have strong, clear and dazzling sound on them from heldentenors up to leggero tenors, and then on countertenors, they have these smooth, tender and bright sound on them that we are quite familiar with. On female vocals, contraltos have those distinctive rich and smoky sound from them, mezzo-sopranos have golden and velvety sound that really captivates my ears and sopranos sounds very gleaming and quite a crystalline one due to some emphasis on the midrange up to upper midrange to give that energetic tuning.

As for instruments, strings like guitars and violins have a bright, crisp and vibrant sound on them while on the woodwinds like piccolos, concert flutes and clarinets, they sound clear, ethereal and dramatic respectively. On brasses, trumpets have rounded sound, while horns have resounding and full sound and then on trombones, they have eruptive and penetrating sound. As for percussive instruments, snares have hard and precise sound on them, tom-toms sound quite rich and resonant sound, field drums have full and sonorous, and then on kettledrums have resonant yet mellow sound. Pianos seems to have a well-balanced sound as it has both an enough warmth and at the same time, it has a bright tone.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this one is somehow smooth and it has ample brightness to give definition and detail on female vocals and instrument attacks due to slightly accentuated upper mids to the presence part of the treble region. Sibilance is well-controlled and not a hint of strident and jarring sound.

As for instruments, cymbals sound rather lustrous and soughing while hi-hats have those particular shortened buzzing sounds. Glockenspiels have bell-like and lustrous sound on either mallet or keyboard-type ones that give more liveliness in the percussive mallet section in an orchestra, and then celestas have sweet and mellow sound to give that distinctive resonance sound. The brilliance treble has a satisfactory sparkle but the airiness is rather moderate on treble extension.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

The HiBy Yvain presents a quite spacious headstage within my aural sphere as I really perceived a wide lateral width span, fairly tall height ceiling and good depth of distance from front to rear. Its stereo imaging projects a concave-like stereo presentation where I was able to pinpoint the exact location of instruments and singers. It has a good separation of instruments and well-organised layers of tonal and frequency tones in a sonic canvas.

The cohesiveness of multi-BA configuration has a fast transient response that these drivers are quite competent to deliver a crisp and clear sound output. Resolution capabilities of this set is excellent as it has a solid macro-dynamics but the micro-detail retrieval seems to have a less sharper definition but at least not blunted or too soft.


PEER COMPARISONS:

SEE AUDIO BRAVERY RED

● Like the Yvain, it is also an all-BA driver configuration and it also uses premium balanced armature drivers like Knowles and Sonion. The modular stock cable was provided by a premium cable maker, Hakugei. The inclusion of this one is quite plentiful for a set in this price range.

● As for tonal aspect, The BRAVERY is more of a warmish-neutral sound as it has punchy bass response, textured, ample warmth and detailed midrange and then, a smooth and quite airy treble extension.

● Regarding its technical aspect, it has an above-average sound field dimensions, an atmospheric stereo imaging with good separation and well-organised layers of frequencies and dynamic tones of each instrument and vocals. It has excellent resolution capabilities as both macro-dynamics and micro-dynamics are well presented with solid dynamics and good detail retrieval.


AUDIOSENSE DT600

● Another set with an all-balanced armature drivers set-up in a solid, medical-grade resin shell chassis in a UIEM-style form factor. All of its balanced armature drivers are made of premium Knowles drivers and it uses a MMCX connector as its detachable mechanism. AUDIOSENSE included a high quality Pelican-like IEM storage case and it has many types of ear tips to choose from.

● DT600 is a neutral sounding set and if you use an impedance adapter, it will give a more U-shaped sound signature. It has punchy and precise bass response, a transparent, clean and energetic midrange, then a smooth and sufficiently bright treble quality.

● Like the Yvain, The DT600 has excellent technical capabilities like a fairly spacious sound/speaker stage, good stereo imaging as I was able to locate the placement of instruments and vocals along with good separation and layering on them. It also has a good macro-dynamics and a sharp detail retrieval as it extracts some nuances and subtleties from the played audio track.


As I conclude my review about this set, it appears that HiBy delivers a very competent set with reference tuning that will please the ears of both casual and critical listeners along with its remarkable technical capabilities. The Yvain is an IEM that truly deserves an accolade to be one of the best sets out there. If you are looking for a neutral sounding set with good clarity and quite detailed at under $250/£200, then this is indeed a perfect recommendation for you.

HiBy Yvain is now available at HiBy's official online store, check out the link below:

LINK: https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-yvain

And also check out my reviews of other HiBy products.

● HIBY R6 PRO II
● HIBY CRYSTAL 6 MK.II
● HIBY R3 II




SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: HIBY YVAIN
IMPEDANCE: 23Ω
SENSITIVITY: 116dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78mm)
PLUG TYPE: MODULAR 3.5mm, 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (3) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVERS


Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to HIBY nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to JOSEPH YEUNG for providing this unit for HIBY review tour here in the Philippines. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

“Music is like a dream. One that I cannot hear.”

~~ Ludwig Van Beethoven, German pianist and composer during Classical period.


HiBy is an audio company that is well-renowned among audio enthusiasts around the globe for the quality of their products as they release some of the best DAPs in the market. They released recently a midrange one which was HIBY R6 PRO II and that product truly blurred the lines of between midrange and TOTL flagship as that DAP performs like a flagship albeit it offers less power output compare to its competitors when it comes to amplification capability to drive some of the power-demanding planar cans.



And now what I have here is HiBy's latest entry-level DAP, The HiBy R3 II. This device is a successor model of both R3 Pro Saber 2022 and R3 Pro Saber regular but this set has some improvement and substantial upgraded features that differentiate itself from its predecessors.



The HiBy R3 II has a small form factor that makes it a very portable device that is pocket-friendly that you can carry it anywhere to listen to hi-fi quality music. With a 3.2 inches touch screen LCD display in an aluminium alloy frame that was reinforced with toughened, scratch-resistant glass in both front and back. At the left panel, there is a micro-SD slot to expand your memory capacity to store more audio tracks. And in the right panel, there's a RGB LED indicator for status and sample rate indicator, volume knob which gives us a precise and granular volume control, button keys for play/pause and forward/back commands which are quite tactile to push.



At the bottom part, the output interfaces of different types are located there, and these are 4.4mm balanced output, USB type-C port and 3.5mm output jack. The 4.4mm balanced became more standardised as it replaced the less reliable 2.5mm balanced and it was rated at 3.5 Vrms that it can deliver a maximum output up to 380mW at 32 ohms which is quite sufficient to power up those power hungry earphones and probably, some cans. Its 3.5mm single ended output at 1.9 Vrms that can reach a maximum output at 112 mW on a 32 ohms load. As for its type-C port, it support USB2.0 and USB 3.1 protocol that can support a bandwidth up to 10 Gbps, and aside from being a charging port for replenishing battery power, it can be used as a USB DAC/amp dongle for your computer and even mobile device as it can decode up to 32-bit/384Khz PCM and up to DSD256. You can even use a dongle to bypass the built-in DAC of this device.



On its internals, it equips a dual ESS DAC, the ES9219P model which is one of the reliable mobile DACs in the market due to its performance for delivering high power output, low noise and pristine audio quality with low power consumption. Another component that was implemented here dual crystal oscillators for accurate clocking for variable sample rates, lessens any chances of jittering and reduces phase noise to have a better accuracy and delivers a more analogue sound. On its wireless features, it has a wi-fi module that is rated at 2.4G for seamless connectivity via Wi-Fi hotspots for streaming music or OTA updates for this device and a two-way 5.1 bluetooth version that which improves its connection while reducing latency on other wireless devices and also it can be used as a bluetooth receiver. It supports some basic and advanced bluetooth codecs like SBC, AAC, aptX (transmission only), UAT and LDAC. This device furnishes an Ingenix X1000E processor which has lower power consumption and can do basic computation and processing operation and its CPU speed was rated up to 1.0 GHz and it also fitted out with a 2000mAh battery that can give up to 15 hours of playback time.



On its 3.2 inches LCD with a screen resolution of 380 * 480, the R3 II gives a decent crisp and fairly detailed visual interface. It has a Hiby OS based on a Linux system as its software that can do some decent task commands via touch navigation or swipe gesture on its screen. At the home UI, it has minimalist tile presentation on its built-in application like Music, Stream media, Wireless, Book (E-book reader), System and About. If you do right drag gesture, you will access the music UI with album pic of an audio track that was presently playing and basic control functionality, and in pull down gesture, there we can access shortcut menu the software volume level, some wireless connectivity, output mode and gain mode (it will activate automatically if there is an aux connection on its output interfaces) and playing command options.



Here are the following subcategory menus under each application:

Music

● All

● Files

● Albums

● Artists

● Genres

● Album Artist



Stream media

● Tidal

● Qobuz



Wireless

● Bluetooth

● Wi-Fi

● Hiby Link

● Import Music via Wi-Fi

● DLNA

● AirPlay



Books

● Scanning

● Books

● Favorites

● Files

● Recently readed



System

● Language

● Brightness

● Backlight time

● Theme color

● Font size

● USB working mode

● USB device mode

● USB current limited

● USB DAC feedback

● Time setting

● Idle timer

● Sleep timer

● Battery percentage display

● Standby

● In-line remote

● LED indicator

● Double tap to wake up

● Button operation when screen off

● Shortcut menu

● Screensaver setting

● Screen rotation

● Restore factory settings

● Firmware update

● Certification information



Since this is a HiBy device, it has its vaunted proprietary MSEB which is their advanced parametric equaliser that will be tailored and adjusted for our specific tonal preference and perceived sound field adjustments for our listening enjoyment. And also, aside from MSEB it also has a basic EQ too in which it offers more simplified adjustment on specific frequency range.




The product packaging of HiBy R3 II is quite minimalist but it offers a lot of inclusion, here are some of the following contents inside.

● HiBY R3 II DAP

● USB-C cable

● Clear plastic case

● Screen protectors

● Warranty card

● User manual




Regarding its sonic profile, HiBy R3 II has balanced-neutral tuning as if all parts of the frequencies are evenly presented in a sonic spectrum.


The following IEMs that will be used for testing:

● HiBY Yvain

● HiBY Crystal 6 Mk.II

● LETSHUOER EJ07M

● LETSHUOER EJ09


LOWS/BASS:

It delivers a sufficient punch and good sub-bass presence on the set which sounds quite clean and well-segregated. On the sub-bass part, there's a perceivable rumbling and reverberations coming from instruments such as low tone bass guitars, synthesisers, drum machines and other sub-bass focus instruments.

Mid-bass will have an ample texture and volume on the note weight on instruments and a few male vocal types, particular bass- baritone vocals.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange part is quite well-presented across all over its frequency range as this device is able to project forward vocals while maintaining a neutral, transparent, clean and reasonable texture, neither too lean nor an exaggerated beefy one. Male vocals somewhat seem to have enough warmth and depth on its note weight just to sound more organic and engaging, while female vocals have sufficient vividness and energy on their voices to sound ethereal and sweet.

Instruments seem to sound natural as each specific instrument's timbre appears to sound correct, perhaps quite clean and balanced tone. Strings have vibrant and reasonable brightness on guitars and violins, percussive instrument have resonant, a tad warm and rich especially on snares, tom-toms, field drums and kettledrums, brasses have brassy and full sound on trumpets, horns and trombones and last but not the least, the woodwind instruments like piccolos, concert flutes and clarinets have sufficient airiness and graceful sound on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this device projects a well-balanced, smooth and non-offensive tuning on this part of the frequency range. The upper-mids appears to be rounded as it tames down some accentuated peaks to lessen any chances of sibilance and harshness which make it more pleasant to listen especially for treble sensitive folk. It has sufficient crispness and definition for instruments’ attacks and vocal emphasis.

Brilliance part of the treble region seems to have a decent airy extension with adequate sparkle for some treble clef-focused instruments.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Its overall technical capabilities appear to be very competent for an entry-level DAP. The sound/speaker stage dimension can project a quite spacious sound field with good stereo imaging as it is able to pan out good separation of instruments and vocals, then a well-delineated layering aptness on this device.

It is also quite resolving on both macro-dynamics and micro-detail retrieval capable of delivering a good note texture and note ends on the macro-dynamics while a fairly sharp detail definition on micro-detail retrieval as it extracts some nuances and subtleties of information from an audio track.

As I conclude my assessment of this product, It seems that HiBy has continued to diversify its products as it reaches across the audio market from entry-level to flagship models where each product has its own specific offering to cater the needs of audio enthusiasts based on performance and value for money proposition. And HiBy R3 II is one of the products that HiBy truly offers that paradigm of performance and value for money that will appeal most of the budget-conscious audio enthusiasts seeking for.

If you are looking for a DAP that offers portability and sound quality performance at an affordable price, this device definitely fits the bill.


HiBy R3 II is currently available in HiBy's official store. Check the unaffiliated link below.


LINK: https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r3-ii


For more HiBy products, check out my previous reviews on their products.


■ HIBY R6 PRO MK.II

■ HIBY CRYSTAL 6 MK.II

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to HIBY MUSIC nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to JOSEPH YEUNG of HIBY MUSIC for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"There is no art without Eros"

~~ Max Frisch, Swiss Playwright and Novelist


Eros is a Greek god of love and sex and his name itself means desire. He is one of the 8 Erotes that serves as retinue to Aphrodite, the goddess of lust, love, pleasure and beauty. He is the husband of Psyche, the goddess of the soul that takes the form of a beautiful woman with butterfly wings on her back.



Effect Audio is a Singaporean-based audio company that was founded in 2009 by Suyang, an electrical engineer during his university days. With his innate workmanship on crafting some cables that are capable of delivering a superior sound quality, a certain audio solution company, Crystal Cables based in the Netherlands that is also renowned for their premium and bespoke line of cables and also loudspeakers, did recognised Suyang's workmanship that leads into the development of the renowned "Crystal Cables Piccolino" that brought them into fame across the audio community. Their main focus on their specific audio solutions is to manufacture premium high-quality cables that exude value-for-money options for discerning audiophiles in which this part of the segment is considered a niche product in a portable audio market. They are pursuing a flawless sound quality with some audio engineering backed by their research and development team on their mastery and expertise on some metallurgical properties of materials that will be implemented on their cables.

This is my third review on a cable product and this one is part of the three models of Effect Audio's Signature Series on their premium cable line-up . Once again, I would like to inform my readers in advance that this is my purely subjective take on this product, and my analysis on this one might be lacking and inadequate so take it with a grain of salt.



As I mentioned again, I'm still staying sceptical that cables will drastically change the sound profile of an IEM transducer and it was proven with my testing that in most cases in won't work like that but rather you take some consideration on source pairing as it has some noticeable changes, but I still believe that a cable made of high purity material that underwent some complex process will deliver a good power output due to some factors on passive electrical components like impedance, capacitance, inductance and conductance of certain materials. Once again, in ideal conditions, cables will absolutely have zero impedance. A voltage that was produced and generated by amplifiers will simply drop off across the impedance of transducers like IEMs, headphones and even loudspeakers. So if the constant impedance of cable stays flat, so the resistance of the transducers will also stay flat.

As it was stated in the heading above, This product model is christened Effect Audio Eros S. The third model of the Effect Audio's Signature Series line-up serves a flagship offering as it is more pricey than both Ares S and Cadmus due to its more premium material that were used on this cable. This one is a successor model of the previous Effect Audio Eros II that was released around 2016.




PRODUCT PACKAGING:

Like the Ares S, the product packaging of Eros S really exudes a premium and elegance as how its packaging box was presented and also, on how the cable was organised on its compartment cardboard inside.



Here are the following contents that you can find inside the packaging box:

● Effect Audio Eros S cable

● Leather cable organiser

● Polyester cable pouch

● User's manual

● Booklet catalogue




FEATURES & MATERIALS:

The Eros S is an 8-core cable in a 26 AWG set-up. Its wire gauge appears quite a bit leaner on its texture compared to the Ares and it is a bit rough on its texture. Besides its striking difference with other cable models, it still retains a supple, flexible and less prone to entanglement. Each wire was insulated in a matte-like coating material in a grey colour scheme.



The materials that were used in this cable were UP-OCC (Ultra Pure - Ohno Continuous Casting) Pure Silver Litz and a Pure Copper Litz Hybrid. As I mentioned in my previous statement in the Effect Audio Ares S review regarding the OCC process, OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) is a complex casting process that greatly reduces the annealing issues and almost eliminates the possibility of grain boundaries on silver by specific heated mould in order to draw a single mono crystal in a specific length of up to 125 metres. Other benefits of OCC process on silver is that it offers better resistance against oxidation and impurities that might ruin the electrical signals, low electrical resistance, flexibility and fatigue resistance without diminishing conductive characteristics, better and faster signal transmission that will deliver a clear, transparent and uncompromising sound quality. Meanwhile on the Litz wires, it is a multi strand wires that were individually enamelled with polymer and it used in electronic application to carry AC frequencies as it reduces the increase in resistance of wires due to some effects that will impede its conductive performance such as skin effect and proximity effect, thus it will deliver a transmission signal without distortion and it said that it will deliver a more accurate sound. With the combination of metallurgical properties of hybrid cable configuration, this will truly deliver a more refined and even more versatile performance on delivering signal transmission to have a better power output without any distortion.


The Eros S features a septuplet multi-size core bundle that each individual wire uses a Litz build that is variable for each specific thickness on its threads. These wires were braided and weaved tightly to have an ample tension in the overall structure of the cable. Its earhook guide seems less flexible compared to previous models but it seems alright to be worn behind my ears. Other components on the cable such as receptacle connectors, splitter and sliders are made of aluminium alloy and these components underwent either brushed or polished process to give a more premium look on its overall aesthetics.



The termination plug on what I've got is a 4.4mm balanced one and it was made of brass that was plated with rhodium. Any alloys that were rhodium-plated will have a better tensile strength and excellent resistance against tarnishes, scratches, dents and corrosion while maintaining a lustre surface. On its electrical properties, it has an excellent conductive material due to its high resistance on oxidation with its high tolerance properties that can handle both high amperage and high voltages just like all platinum metal families. Upon ordering this cable, you can choose any termination plug that will be implemented on its plug socket.



Another unique feature that all Effect Audio has is its proprietary Con-X system where you can replace the choice of connector interface on either 2-pin or MMCX which makes it more versatile and will cover all the basics on pairing it with your IEM collections. Good job, Effect Audio in this innovative approach!



From Effect Audio's recommendation, it is said that Eros S will improve some of its technical aspects like wider sound/speaker stage, more defined layering, and a transparent and accurate sound.


PAIRING DEVICES:

I pair this cable with some of my neutral sounding sets that I currently have. Here are the following IEMs that I'm using to test the Effect Audio Eros S:

● LETSHUOER EJ09

● LETSHUOER EJ07M

● HIBY CRYSTAL 6 MK.II

● SEE AUDIO Bravery Red

● KINERA IDUN GOLDEN

● BQEYZ Winter

● AFUL PERFORMER 8

● AUDIOSENSE DT300




My source devices that I'm using to conduct this test.

● LG V20

● LG G7

● LG V50

● QUESTYLE M15

● HIDIZS S9 PRO+ Martha

● TRUTH Shio

● HIBY R6 PRO II




Android Apps:

● HIBY Music App

● Neutron App


SOUND IMPRESSIONS:

On how I conducted my test on other Effect Audio cables, this cable was also tested along them as I include it during my A/B testing phase for 5 hours at daily basis every night in 10 days straight before I going to my bed as I do some IEMs and source swapping, there is very minimal to none improvements that it really changes the overall sonic profile. But there are subtle audible improvements on some of its technical aspects that I will share some infos.

When I paired it to a more analytical or brighter source, pairing the Eros S with the EJ07M, HiBY Crystal 6 II and AFUL Performer, these sets give me a perception that it is somehow improves the spaciousness of sound/speaker stage, a subtle separation of instruments and more delineated layering on the said IEM models that I've mentioned, I even try it to other sets with less refined layering like ORIVETI OD200 (black nozzle mode) and BQEYZ Autumn but I don't hear any improvements as their layering aspect is audibly the same to my ears. I paired it with warmer sources like the SHIO dongle, there is no improvement of its either tonal or technical capabilities at all.

Due to the excellent metallurgical properties of the hybrid material configuration of its cable. The Eros S will definitely deliver a crisp, clear and transparent due to rapid signal transmission.


To summarise my assessment on Effect Audio Eros S, this cable truly represents the premium and its bespoke quality that Effect Audio defines themselves as a company as it delivers a phenomenal performance that some cable sceptics might have some second thoughts about their viewpoint on correlation between cables and IEMs.

As I conclude my review on this product, the Effect Audio Eros S is the epitome of premium and luxurious cable and if you are an IEM enthusiast that has a substantial collection and a financially stable individual, I will suggest that you should try one out.


EFFECT AUDIO EROS S is currently available on Effect Audio's official store online.

LINK:
https://www.effectaudio.com/signature-series/eros-s


SPECIFICATION:

MATERIALS: UP-OCC Pure Silver Litz, Pure Copper Litz, Rhodium-plated Brass (Termination Plug)
WIRE CORE BUNDLE: 8-core
WIRE GAUGE SIZE: 26 AWG
LENGTH: 1.2M
TERMINATION: 4.4mm Balanced


P.S.

I am not affiliated to @EffectAudio nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to @JordonEA of Effect Audio for letting me to be part of Effect Audio Review Tour Philippines. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"Sound. Design. Perfection"

~~Effect Audio

Cadmus is a Greek hero of a Phoenician origin. He is the brother of Europa who was abducted by Zeus that takes the form of an aurox bull. He was advised by an oracle from Delphi not to pursue his sister anymore and was advised to follow a cow where he founded the city of Thebes. He is also the husband of Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, her name is also the personification of symmetry and order.


Effect Audio is a Singaporean-based audio company that was founded in 2009 by Suyang, an electrical engineer during his university days. With his innate workmanship on crafting some cables that are capable of delivering a superior sound quality, a certain audio solution company, Crystal Cables based in the Netherlands that is also renowned for their premium and bespoke line of cables and also loudspeakers, did recognised Suyang's workmanship that leads into the development of the renowned "Crystal Cables Piccolino" that brought them into fame across the audio community. Their main focus on their specific audio solutions is to manufacture premium high-quality cables that exude value-for-money options for discerning audiophiles in which this part of the segment is considered a niche product in a portable audio market. They are pursuing a flawless sound quality with some audio engineering backed by their research and development team on their mastery and expertise on some metallurgical properties of materials that will be implemented on their cables.



This is my second review on a premium cable. Once again, I would like to address in advance that my subjective review and analysis on this one might be inadequate and sounds inexpert on this matter and it should be taken as grain salt but I'll try to deliver some of my observations and findings on this cable as much as I can.


I'm sticking to my position as a “cable sceptic" as I need more data that will back-up that cables will drastically change the sound quality of an IEM transducer. But cables made of high quality, high purity materials will deliver a better power output due to some factors on passive electrical components like impedance, capacitance, inductance and conductance of certain materials. As a matter of logic regarding this matter, In ideal conditions, cables will absolutely have zero impedance. A voltage that was produced and generated by amplifiers will simply drop off across the impedance of transducers like IEMs, headphones and even loudspeakers. So if the constant impedance of cable stays flat, so the resistance of the transducers will also stay flat.



What I have here is Effect Audio Cadmus, this product model is part of Effect Audio's Signature Series along with Ares S and Eros S, and this cable model serves as a middle ground between those cable models. Effect Audio is well-aware that some audio enthusiasts have its preferences on choosing a cable and some basic knowledge on certain properties of a material will “improve” some certain parts of the frequency range.




PRODUCT PACKAGING

The product packaging of Cadmus indeed exudes a premium and elegant presentation on how the packaging box was presented and how the cable was organised on its compartment cardboard inside.



Here are the following contents that you can find inside the packaging box:

● Effect Audio CADMUS cable

● Leather cable organiser

● Polyester cable pouch

● User's manual

● Booklet catalogue





FEATURES & MATERIALS:

The Cadmus is a 4-core cable in a 24AWG set-up. Its wire gauge appears quite substantial on its texture while maintaining a good flexibility, suppleness and resistance on entangling due its proprietary EA Ultra Flexi Insulation which is a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) - type insulation coating to protect and hold the wires together, and also to contain electrical current. The EA Ultra Flexi Insulation supposedly has a better resistance against abrasion and offers more stability on electrical properties.



The materials that were used in this cable were UP-OCC (Ultra Pure - Ohno Continuous Casting) Silver Plated Copper Litz. OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) is a complex casting process that greatly reduces the annealing issues and almost eliminates the possibility of grain boundaries on copper by specific heated mould in order to draw a single mono crystal in a specific length of up to 125 metres. Meanwhile, regarding Litz wiring , it is a process whereby individual insulated magnet wires either braided or in twisted turn into having a uniform pattern, it was designed to minimise skin effect that will be detrimental that affects the conductive process on delivering electronic signals. It was usually applied on devices for high frequencies; this one is also used on both television and radio equipment, sonar and radar equipment, communication equipment and even transformers. So what will be its benefits on audio quality? Theoretically, it will give more emphasis on treble frequencies while preserving some nuances and detail and lessens inference noises.



The benefits of OCC processed on Silver-plated Copper in Litz weave format that it offers better resistance against oxidation and impurities that might ruin the electrical signals, low electrical resistance, flexibility and fatigue resistance without diminishing conductive characteristics, better and faster signal transmission that will deliver a clear, transparent and uncompromising sound clarity without distortion .

Like the Ares S, The Cadmus also features a dual geometric design pattern that features a septuplet Multi-size Core bundle. These wires were braided precisely and well-woven to have an ample tension in the overall design of the cable. Its earhook guide appears to be flexible to be worn behind my ears for long listening session. Other components on the cable such as receptacle connectors, splitter and sliders are made of metal alloy, specifically aluminium and these components underwent either brushed or polished process to give a more premium and classy look on its overall aesthetics.



The termination plug on what I've got is a 4.4mm balanced one and it was made of brass that was plated with rhodium. Any alloys that were rhodium-plated will have a better tensile strength and excellent resistance against tarnishes, scratches, dents and corrosion while maintaining a lustre surface. On its electrical properties, it has an excellent conductive material due to its high resistance on oxidation with its high tolerance properties that can handle both high amperage and high voltages just like all platinum metal groups. Upon ordering this cable, you can choose any termination plug that will be implemented on its plug socket.



Another unique feature that all Effect Audio has is its proprietary Con-X system where you can replace the choice of connector interface on either 2-pin or MMCX which makes it more versatile and will cover all the basics on pairing it with your IEM collections. Good job, Effect Audio in this innovative approach.



As stated by Effect Audio, it is said that The Cadmus will give a tighter and dynamic bass response, improve resolution and clearer and airier treble feedback.


PAIRING DEVICES:

I pair this cable with some of my neutral sounding sets that I currently have. Here are the following IEMs that I'm using to test the Ares S:

● LETSHUOER EJ09

● LETSHUOER EJ07M

● HIBY CRYSTAL 6 MK.II

● SEE AUDIO Bravery Red

● KINERA IDUN GOLDEN

● BQEYZ Winter

● AFUL PERFORMER 8

● AUDIOSENSE DT300



My source devices that I'm using to conduct this test.

● LG V20

● LG G7

● LG V50

● QUESTYLE M15

● HIDIZS S9 PRO+ Martha

● TRUTH Shio

● HIBY R6 PRO II



Android Apps:

● HIBY Music App

● Neutron App


SOUND IMPRESSIONS:

In my initial test as I'm doing A/B testing for 5 hours at daily basis every night in 10 days straight before I going to sleep as I do some IEMs and source swapping, In some tests, it seems that the sources has something to do with pairing of this cables and IEMs.

If I put this cable along with an IEM in neutral or bright-neutral sources, the improvements of treble response, clearer resolution, a tad transparent midrange and some marginal attenuation on the bass response that makes it a bit more rumbly are quite audibly noticeable to my ears. But on warmer sources like Shio dongle, I didn't notice any improvement on certain frequencies at all. I did this test on LETSHUOER EJ07M, Performer 8, BQEYZ Winter, HIBY Crystal 6 and BQEYZ Wind.

On resolution capabilities, due to good conductivity and high quality of the materials used in this cable, The Cadmus will surely deliver a crisp, clear and transparent sound due to rapid response of its signal transmission.


As I conclude my review and put up a conclusion about this product, Effect Audio Cadmus is indeed an excellent cable for discerning audio enthusiasts who want to add a classy and sophisticated look on their IEMs as this cable is quite eye-pleasing to behold. With some marginal improvements on its frequency range to be noticeable depending on pairing a proper source if you do a concentrated and critical listening mode, this cable did a good job for its specific use and with its slightly increased price compared to the Ares S is somehow justified in my opinion.



EFFECT AUDIO ARES S is currently available on Effect Audio's official store online.

LINK:
https://www.effectaudio.com/cadmus


SPECIFICATION:

MATERIALS: UP-OCC Silver Plated Copper, Rhodium-plated Brass (Termination Plug)
WIRE CORE BUNDLE: 4-core
WIRE GAUGE SIZE: 24 AWG
LENGTH: 1.2M
TERMINATION: 4.4mm Balanced

P.S.

I am not affiliated to @EffectAudio nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to @JordonEA of Effect Audio for letting me to be part of Effect Audio Review Tour Philippines. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"Sound. Design. Perfection"


~~Effect Audio


Effect Audio is a Singaporean-based audio company that was founded in 2009 by Suyang, an electrical engineer during his university days. With his innate workmanship on crafting some cables that are capable of delivering a superior sound quality, a certain audio solution company, Crystal Cables based in the Netherlands that is also renowned for their premium and bespoke line of cables and also loudspeakers, did recognised Suyang's workmanship that leads into the development of the renowned "Crystal Cables Piccolino" that brought them into fame across the audio community. Their main focus on their specific audio solutions is to manufacture premium high-quality cables that exude value-for-money options for discerning audiophiles in which this part of the segment is considered a niche product in a portable audio market. They are pursuing a flawless sound quality with some audio engineering backed by their research and development team on their mastery and expertise on some metallurgical properties of materials that will be implemented on their cables.


This is actually my first product review on premium cables. I would like to address in advance that my subjective review and analysis on this one might be lacking and inexpert in the viewpoint from more experienced audio enthusiasts that specialise in this field, so I would send my apologies in advance.



To be honest, I'm on the part of the spectrum to be considered a "cable-sceptic" as I'm very doubtful that cables will drastically change the sound quality of an IEM transducer given my long journey as a portable audio enthusiast. And I consider the cable as niche part of the whole system of an IEM, but I believe that a good quality cable made of high purity material will deliver a good power output due to some factors on passive electrical components like impedance, capacitance, inductance and conductance of certain materials. To be exact, in my limited comprehension and rationale regarding this matter, in ideal conditions, cables will absolutely have zero impedance. A voltage that was produced and generated by amplifiers will simply drop off across the impedance of transducers like IEMs, headphones and even loudspeakers. So if the constant impedance of cable stays flat, so the resistance of the transducers will also stay flat.




What I have here is Effect Audio Ares S, this product model is part of Effect Audio's Signature Series along with Eros S and Cadmus. With my initial journey on the portable Hi-fi audio enthusiasm, I actually encountered their brand with their previous models, Ares II and Maestro if my memory serves right in a local Hi-Fi store here.


This product is supposedly a successor model of the previous EA Ares II. And its namesake is based on a Greek god of War that Effect Audio also put a naming scheme on some product line-ups based on the personalities in Greek mythology




PRODUCT PACKAGING:

The product packaging of ARES S indeed exudes a premium and elegant presentation on how the packaging box was presented and how the cable was organised on its compartment cardboard inside.



Here are the following contents that you can find inside the packaging box:

● Effect Audio ARES S cable

● Leather cable organiser

● Polyester cable pouch

● User's manual

● Booklet catalogue




FEATURES & MATERIALS:

The Ares S is a 4-core cable in a 24AWG set-up. Its wire gauge appears quite substantial on its texture while maintaining a good flexibility, suppleness and resistance on entangling due its proprietary EA Ultra Flexi Insulation which is a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) - type insulation coating to protect and hold the wires together, and also to contain electrical current. The EA Ultra Flexi Insulation supposedly has a better resistance against abrasion and offers more stability on electrical properties.




The materials that were used in this cable were UP-OCC (Ultra Pure - Ohno Continuous Casting) Pure Copper. OCC or Ohno Continuous Casting is a complex casting process that greatly reduces the annealing issues and almost eliminates the possibility of grain boundaries on copper by specific heated mould in order to draw a single mono crystal in a specific length of up to 125 metres. Other benefits of OCC process on copper is that it offers better resistance against oxidation and impurities that might ruin the electrical signals, low electrical resistance, flexibility and fatigue resistance without diminishing conductive characteristics, better and faster signal transmission that will deliver a clear, transparent and uncompromising sound quality that Ares S truly offers.



The Ares S features a dual geometric design pattern that features a variety of stranding design along with several parts on a bundle. These wires were braided precisely and evened to have an ample tension in the overall design of the cable. Its earhook guide seems to be flexible enough to be worn behind my ears. Other components on the cable such as receptacle connectors, splitter and sliders are made of metal alloy and these components underwent either brushed or polished process to give a more premium look on its overall aesthetics.



The termination plug on what I've got is a 4.4mm balanced one and it was made of brass that was plated with rhodium. Any alloys that were rhodium-plated will have a better tensile strength and excellent resistance against tarnishes, scratches, dents and corrosion while maintaining a lustre surface. On its electrical properties, it has an excellent conductive material due to its high resistance on oxidation with its high tolerance properties that can handle both high amperage and high voltages just like all platinum metal groups. Upon ordering this cable, you can choose any termination plug that will be implemented on its plug socket.



Another unique feature that all Effect Audio has is its proprietary Con-X system where you can replace the choice of connector interface on either 2-pin or MMCX which makes it more versatile and will cover all the basics on pairing it with your IEM collections. Good job, Effect Audio in this innovative approach.



According to Effect Audio, it is said that Ares S will give a more punchy and dynamic bass response, smooth vocals and will add more warmth to the sound.


PAIRING DEVICES:

I pair this cable with some of my neutral sounding sets that I currently have. Here are the following IEMs that I'm using to test the Ares S:


● LETSHUOER EJ09

● LETSHUOER EJ07M

● HIBY CRYSTAL 6 MK.II

● SEE AUDIO Bravery Red

● KINERA IDUN GOLDEN

● BQEYZ Winter

● AFUL PERFORMER 8

● AUDIOSENSE DT300



My source devices that I'm using to conduct this test.

● LG V20

● LG G7

● LG V50

● QUESTYLE M15

● HIDIZS S9 PRO+ Martha

● TRUTH Shio

● HIBY R6 PRO II



Android Apps:


● HIBY Music App

● Neutron App


SOUND IMPRESSIONS:

In my initial test as I'm doing A/B testing for 5 hours at daily basis every night in 10 days straight before I going to sleep as I do some IEMs and source swapping, there is no drastic improvements that it really changes the whole sonic profile but there are some subtle emphasis particularly in the bass and midrange section that I observably notice if I did some concentration on my critical listening mode but like I said, it wouldn't change the sound profile of an IEM, if there is, it will a very marginal one to be noticed audibly.

But there is an unexpected outcome of this assessment which until now, I can't fathom how to explain this one on how that it happened. When I put the EJ07M with Ares S cable in a balanced output in a warmer source DAC/amp dongle , The TRUTH SHIO, it truly add some warmth on it that emphasis the midbass and midrange to have more texture and volume on its note weight that makes EJ07M to sound closer to warmish-neutral sound, same with BQEYZ Winter and KINERA IDUN GOLDEN. In my speculation and analysis, it seems that on this matter that cable pairing is also something to do source matching.

On resolution capabilities, due to good conductivity of the material, The ARES S will deliver a crisp, clear and transparent due to rapid signal transmission.


To summarise my assessment about this product. Effect Audio Ares S is the first model and the most affordable one of their current Signature Series. And this will also serve as the latest introductory model of their current line-up of cables if you are interested in delving more on their products.

As I conclude my review on this product, the Effect Audio Ares S is indeed a premium cable that will be a good accompaniment for your IEMs as it will be an attention grabber on how it was crafted like a work of art. Will I recommend this one? If you have an extra dosh and want your IEMs to look more elegant at a reasonable price, then I will definitely recommend this one.



EFFECT AUDIO ARES S is currently available on Effect Audio's official store online.

LINK:
https://www.effectaudio.com/ares-s


SPECIFICATION:

MATERIALS: UP-OCC Pure Copper, Rhodium-plated Brass (Termination Plug)
WIRE CORE BUNDLE: 4-core
WIRE GAUGE SIZE: 24 AWG
LENGTH: 1.2M
TERMINATION: 4.4mm Balanced

P.S.

I am not affiliated to @EffectAudio nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to @JordonEA of Effect Audio for letting me to be part of Effect Audio Review Tour Philippines. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

ORIVETI is a Hong Kong-based audio company that specialises on engineering and designing HiFi earphones for both sophisticated and casual listeners. They are a company known for striving innovation on their products since the introduction of the Primacy series in the mid-2010s.



As I did a review on their ORIVETI OD200 before, I have another set from them and this one is their latest model for the entry-level segment. This is the ORIVETI OD100, like the OD200, it has a single transducer configuration IEM but its form factor is quite different as it uses a cylindrical bullet-type shell casing rather than a typical UIEM-style shell chassis.



The driver that was implemented here is a 9.2mm dynamic driver with DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coated diaphragm. DLC materials are known to have a tensile strength, resistance to wear and better friction that makes the membrane more responsive to deliver a more robust bass response and bright treble response with good clarity and better resolution on sound quality.



The drivers were encased in a CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell chassis in a cylindrical bullet-style form factor for durability and better protection on transducers. The shell design actually reminds me of TINHIFI T2 and its derivatives that makes it more minimalist yet elegant, and these shells underwent some treatment to make it more hypoallergenic so that allergic reactions in ears will not occur. ORIVETI did a good job on using a 2-pin connector for its interlocking mechanism as it is the most stable and proven to be more durable among the connector types.



The stock cable of OD100 is somehow of a good quality on how it was built as it is quite sturdy, supple and flexible without any microphonic issues at all. It is made of silver-plated copper wirings grouped into 4-core sections and on its end, it has a gold-plated 3.5mm termination plug.



When it comes to fitting and comfort, the OD100 provides a good sealing as it isolates some external noises from the outside surroundings and it sits well into my lugholes without any issues as I can wear them for a long listening session due to its rounded and smooth surface. You can wear them in either in an typical IEM fashion or let it hang like an earbud (just replace the cable with no guiding ear hooks).



As for product packaging, ORIVETI OD100 is quite loaded with accessories and how it was well-organised and presented inside on its square-shaped box. The illustration and product specifications on box cardboard casing are well exhibited and printed pretty well.



Here are the following contents inside of ORIVETI OD100's packaging box:

● Pair of ORIVETI OD100 IEMs

● Stock cable

● Oval-shaped zippered IEM storage case

● 3 pairs of white-coloured narrow bored ear tips in different standard sizes.

● 3 pairs of black-coloured wide bord ear tips in different standard sizes.

● 3 pairs of memory foam ear tips in different standard sizes.



The ORIVETI OD100 fares well on power scaling and amplification as it is easy to drive and it will also benefit other better sources with better power output to amplify this set in a more dynamic and full-range sounding.



Regarding its tonality, this set has a U/V- shaped (depends on ear tips, more of a V on white-coloured and memory foam tips) sound profile. It has more noticeable elevation on both low frequency and high frequency, while the midrange is on the neutral presentation across the frequency spectrum.


(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to his effort)


LOWS/BASS:

The bass quality is undoubtedly one of the highlighted frequency ranges here. It has a punchy and tactual bass response that will be quite satisfying to hear in some bassline tracks but this one will be still considered as lacking to most basshead stalwarts.

It more focuses on the mid-bass than the sub-bass but on the latter, we will still feel a rumbling and reverberating response generated by instruments such as low tuned bass guitars, octabasses, synthesisers and drum machines from certain genres like, electronica, synth-pop,rock, Rn'B and old school hip-hop. Mid-bass appears to have more texture to give that slam and thump in general bass response of OD100. Bass kick drums have some sort of authoritative impact on them as they sound pounding and full with some hint of resonance, bass guitars have its roar as it sounds broad and rasping while cellos have warm and sensuous sound with a dark tone on them. Bass and bass-baritone vocals have a heft, rumbling and sufficient depth on their vocals as they sound dense and dusky to my ears.


References:

Bass Kick Drums

● Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks
● Marduk - The Blond Beast
● Dark Angel - Death Is Certain (Life is Not)

Bass Guitars

● Metallica - Motorbreath
● Sister Of Mercy - Lucretia My Reflection
● Primus - My Name is Mud

Cellos

● Yoyo Ma - Bach cello suite no.1
● Strings section on Mozart's Ein Kleine Nachtmusik
● Apocalyptica - One (Metallica cover)

Bass & Bass-baritones

● Bryn Terfel
● Andrew Eldritch
● Barry White


MIDRANGE:

The midrange on this one is fairly recessed on the overall presentation of its frequency range. But due to mid-bass emphasis that added some warmth and texture on its note weight, it makes vocals sound more natural particularly male vocals, a ponderous sound on brass instruments and a bit resonant and round sound on some percussives. Female vocals appear to have an ample sheen on their voices and strings have enough crispness but it seems that they sound less energetic, less vivid and a bit smoothen but they are still able to convey an expressive and pleasing sound.

On male vocals, baritones are quite organic and have an almost accurate tonal colour on them as they sound lush, rich and smooth sound from milder and sweet on light baritones to lyric baritones, and then on a steely, fuller and smooth vocalisations on kavalier baritones, verdi baritones and noble baritones. Tenors have these brassy, dazzling and spiciness on their vocals on delivering some thrilling high notes on male vocals and shimmering timbre whether it is leggero, lyric, spinto, dramatic and helden tenor types. Countertenors have their tender, sensitive and smooth vocals that I noticed that it sounds a bit more of a contralto rather than mezzo-sopranos that they have similar range and sound characteristics to my ears. On the other hand, female vocals have diverse tonal responses that affect the timbre and tonality of their respective voice quality. Contraltos sounds well-modulated as they have a rich, husky and smoky sound on them, Mezzo-sopranos have fiery, velvety and warm sound on them as they give that luscious vocals on my ears, and then on sopranos, some soprano types like soubrette, lyric and dramatic ones have a silky, crystalline and silvery vocals on them but on the coloratura sopranos they sounds a bit limited on their range and energy as they sound less glimmering to execute their florid vocal passage that reaches the limits of a human voice.

As for instruments, strings like guitars, harp and violin sounds have a sufficient crisp and glint sound on them as acoustic guitars are sound between buttery and balanced with an ample sustaining sound, harps have blurring and splashing sound, and then violins have introspective and lustrous sound in them. On percussion, tom-toms have a warm and ringing sound on them, snares have a hard and clattering sound on every stroke, field drums sound sonorous and a bit boomy, and kettledrums have a booming and powerful sound. Pianos have warmish-balanced tones that make them more pleasant to listen to. Brass instruments like trumpets, horns and trombones, trumpets have full and rounded sound while horns have warm and velvety with a tad muffled sound while trombones have full and dramatic sound. On woodwinds, flutes have rich and mellow sound, piccolos have delicate and graceful sound, clarinets have warm and round sound and saxophones sound earthy and mild with their distinct reedy sound.


References:


Baritones

● Eddie Vedder
● Dmitri Hvorostovsky
● Robert Merrill


Tenors

● Robert Plant
● Placido Domingo
● Luciano Pavarotti


Countertenors

● King Diamond
● Philippe Jarrousky
● Andreas Scholl


Contraltos

● Kathleen Ferrier
● Tracy Chapman
● Annie Lennox


Mezzo-Sopranos

● Cecilia Bartoli
● Dolores O' Riordan
● Sharon Den Adel


Sopranos

● Diana Damrau
● Tarja Turunen
● Allison Krauss


Instruments

● Eagles (Live, Hell Freezes Over) - Hotel California (Guitars)
● Felix Ayo/Vivaldi - Summer III. Presto: Tempo impetuoso d'Estate (Violins)
● Jethro Tull - Living In The Past (Flute)
● George Michael - Careless Whisper (Saxophone)
● Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Wagner - Die Walküre (Trumpets)
● The Specials - A Message To You Rudy (Trombone)
● The Ventures - Hawaii Five O (Drums)
● Yiruma - River Flows In You (Piano)


HIGHS/TREBLE:

It seems that OD100's treble is more on a balanced side as it has acceptable brightness on it while maintaining a smooth response. It has accented upper-mids that gives definition and attack on vocals and instruments, clarity is rather decent as nothing to scoff regarding the lucidity of its notes. Sibilance is well-controlled and not a hint of harshness although there are some instances that some female vocals might be shrill to some treble-sensitive folk out there.

On the brilliance part of the treble region, it has a satisfactory amount of sparkle but the airy extension seems to be on the modest side. Cymbals strikes have a glistening sound while hi-hats have a shortened buzzing sound with their distinguishable chick-y sound. Celestas have a shimmering sound and glockenspiels sound bell-like and lustrous.

References

● Celtic Frost - Visual Aggression (Cymbals)
● Ottoman Mehter - Ceddin Deden (Cymbals)
● Cologne New Philharmonic Orchestra/Tchaikovsky - Dance Of The Sugar Plum (Celesta)
● Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France/Saint-Saëns - Danse Macabre, Op. 40 (Glockenspiel)


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

The sound/speaker stage appears to be rather moderately spacious as it has an above average width span from left to right, an average height reach with satisfactory depth from front to rear that gives me an acceptable spatial dimension within my perceived headroom.

Stereo imaging is a bog-standard two-dimensional stereo presentation where I can perceive the placement of instruments and singers in a soundscape but not in the most accurate way. Separation is decent but its layering aspect appears to be more of an average as it performs not-so well defined on determining the arrangement of the tonal and frequency layers of specific instruments in a sonic canvas. It appears that it can take some complex tracks but for orchestra tracks, it is quite challenging.

Coherency of its driver seems to perform pretty well as it is quite responsive to deliver a fast transient response and well-done decay. Resolution capabilities are more of a mixed bag on this set as it has quite solid macro-dynamics in its note density but its micro-detail definition is a bit blunted to extract some nuances and details from an audio track that I consider as inadequate.


PEER COMPARISON:

TINHIFI T2 DLC

● Both OD100 and T2 DLC are closely similar from DLC dynamic drivers up to the shell form factor, but T2 DLC's stock cable is of a lesser quality compared to OD100's good quality and more supple cable.

● T2 DLC is more of a U-shaped sounding set that it focuses more on sub-bass, a clean, transparent but leaner midrange and then, brighter, energetic and a bit airier treble response. Technicality-wise, T2 DLC have similarities with OD100 in sound/speaker stage, imaging, , layering and coherency but on microdynamics, This set is a bit way better than the OD100.


DUNU KIMA

● Another set that also has a DLC dynamic driver and it was enclosed in a metal alloy shell. Unlike OD100, its shell form factor takes more of typical IEM-style and it has a bit more inclusions of accessories like adapter , cleaning tool kit and more premium ear types.

● KIMA has a mild U-shaped sound signature that sounds almost neutral and well-balanced sounding. It has more focus on mid-bass than sub-bass but compared to OD100, its bass response sounds tighter and less texture on the mid-bass, a clean, neutral and slightly more energetic on the midrange, and last but not the least, the treble response sounds quite a bit bright with good sparkle but the airy extension is rather modest. On technical capabilities, it has an average to above-average sound/speaker stage, but it has a 3D-like stereo field presentation on its imaging, good separation and better layering. It has a bit better resolution capability.


SIMGOT EA500

● Considered as the gold standard of a single DD IEM in under $100 and a forefront of SIMGOT revolution which is happening this year. It also has a DLC dynamic driver and is also encapsulated in a solid metal chassis. It has a detachable nozzle with tuning filters on it.

● As it has detachable nozzles with tuning filters, it offers two types of sound signatures based on Harman target curve in which all of them are U-shaped sounding. The black one is an in-house SIMGOT tuning based on Harman target curve while the red one is more of typical Harman target curve tuning. The black one has a more solid bass, clear and detailed midrange, bright and crisp treble at the expense of instances of sibilance, while red one is more sub bass focus, a leaner and cleaner midrange and smoother treble response it sounds less detail, less vocal definition and less airy treble response. On technicalities, it has better technicalities especially in part of separation and layering, and resolution capabilities are a bit better as it has solid macro-dynamics with a bit sharper micro-detail retrieval definition.


As I conclude my assessment on this product, it still comes to my thoughts as to what will be the relevance of this set given the stiff competition against the established sets in the under $100/£80 segment? If we observe properly, the majority of the sets in this particular price range are following a certain popular tuning target curve which makes them so common nowadays that they become stale and less appealing as they sound too safe as they are just conforming with this particular type of tonality in the audio market. And ORIVETI OD100 is trying to be a standout set among its peers as it is flouting that established kind of sound profile that permeates on some sets nowadays that ORIVETI as an innovative company will disregard that kind of notion by simply offer an alternative tuning, a tuning that will be likeable for both casual and audio enthusiasts if they just want an enjoyable and engaging on a fun and musical type of tuning.


ORIVETI OD100 is now available at ORIVETI's official online store, check out the unaffiliated link below that I've provided.


LINK: https://www.oriveti.com/product-page/oriveti-od100-single-dynamic-driver-hifi-iem


Also, check out my previous product review on their ORIVETI OD200.


● ORIVETI OD200

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: ORIVETI OD100
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 105B
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78mm)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER


Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to ORIVETI nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to MARCO of ORIVETI for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

The word ZIIGAAT is quite strange for us as it is just like some nonsensical word that came up randomly. But the truth was it has something to do with the core tenets of the said audio company. ZIIGAAT is an acronym of Zero-In in Ideas, Innovate, Grow and Achieve All Together (that's quite a wordy one). Their mission-vision as a company is to harness the synergy of both audio quality and the advancement of audio technology for all audio enthusiasts to help to reach their pinnacle of audio experience with some support of innovation and ideas that they provide, and also their goal as a company is to become one of world-renowned audio company which is quite ambitious endeavour on their behalf.



ZIIGAAT was previously part of a bigger OEM/ODM company that specialises on audio technology solutions just like the origins of some audio companies out there, until they decided to step out and became an independent one.

And I have here one of their inaugural product models, The ZIIGAAT Nuo (looks like a misspelt word to me of a Spanish first cardinal number, Uno). The Nuo is an IEM with a single dynamic driver configuration. The driver that was implemented here is a 10mm dual chambered dynamic driver with LCP (Liquid Crystal Polymer) diaphragm whose properties have better tensile strength and elasticity for faster movement response on the membrane that will deliver a clearer, more precise and better resolution of the overall sound quality.




The driver is encapsulated in a composite shell chassis consisting of acrylic resin on its cavity base which has an opaque black colour and its faceplate is made aluminium alloy. Its ergonomic shell design takes a modified UIEM-type form factor as it has less protruding stabilising fin on its cavity base. The overall aesthetics appears to be quite minimalist and its shell proportions are of a medium size with a white print of the company logo and model name on each channel part of the shell chassis. As I observe it closely, the faceplate appears to be quite similar to TANCHJIM Oxygen, which I really liked when I auditioned for it in 2019 . It has a vent hole in the part where the dynamic driver was situated as it releases excess air pressure inside generated from the dynamic driver. As for its detachable mechanism, the Nuo has a 0.78mm bi-pin connector that is proven and more stable, and makes it easier to do some cable swapping.




In regards to its cable, The ZIIGAAT Nuo's stock is probably one of the best stock cables of an IEM in under US$25/£19 segment as it is of a good quality, resistant against entanglement and no microphones at all. The cables are made of oxygen-free silver-plated copper wiring in a 2-core configuration that were braided to achieve better flow of electronic signal and eliminates any chances of microphonics. At its end point, it has a gold-plated 3.5mm SE termination plug.



When it comes to fitting and comfort, The Nuo offer a very comfortable wear to my lugholes as it rests well on the ear canal. It has a decent isolation that it able to block some unwarranted noises from the outside surroundings.



As for its product packaging, the ZIIGAAT NUO is rather straightforward in that fashion as it has a square box with some design and prints looks straight from the 80's. The inclusions are pretty basic just to be simply used.



Here are some following contents included in the packaging box:

■ Pair of ZIIGAAT NUO IEM transducers

■ Stock cable

■ Three (3) pairs of ear tips of different standard sizes.

■ User's manual/warranty card



In terms of power scaling and amplification, this set is pretty easy to drive with 32 ohms and 117dB, it can scale well to any power output from any source from smartphones to desktop-type headphone amplifiers. This set is able to deliver a vivid and full-range sound that encompasses the whole part of the frequency spectrum.



To determine its tonality, ZIIGAAT Nuo has a U-shaped sound signature which I can classify as "Harmanish" as it has more focus on the low end part on the low frequency and some emphasis parts of the upper-mids and accented presence part on the high frequency.


(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to him)


LOWS/BASS:

Given of my familiarity with Harman-style of tuning (I approximately owned around 30 sets with the similar target tuning curve and tested and audition about 50 sets from ultra-budgets up to TOTL) that it focuses more on the sub-bass presence than the mid-bass which I highly criticised this type of tuning as I find it lean, unnatural and "too digital" sounding in my liking.

But ZIIGAAT seems to deviate slightly from a typical Harman bass shelf as it adds a little bit of texture on the mid-bass just to give an ample note weight on instruments and vocals to deliver a punchy, precise and zappy bass response. Bass guitars sound more resonant, bass kick drums have rumbling and bit hollow but at least it was able to play back some of the fast double bass kicks from extreme metal tracks and bass-baritones have those rich and resonance voices but i also noticed that its less darker tone, less intense and lack of depth.


MIDRANGE:

Midrange recession is certainly perceived on the overall tuning of this set. It has ample warmth, a balanced texturing on its note weight and energetic quality on them that will be more beneficial towards mostly female vocals, strings and woodwind instrumentation.

Male vocals are somehow smooth, pleasant, fairly lush on baritones while the clear and ringing sound on tenors' voices have and then countertenors have that tender and glossy sound from their falsetto vocals. Females vocals like contraltos have plush and husky vocal qualities but its depth and volume are somehow inadequate, while medium and high vocal range like mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, mezzo-sopranos sound fiery and tender as they sound euphonic with their expressive vocals, whereas the sopranos have those bright, metallic and shining vocals that it was able to project from dramatic sopranos up to the coloratura sopranos although the later might sound too energetic that they sound too shrill and sharp in a long run.

On instruments, as I mentioned that strings and woodwinds will sound more highlighted on this set, guitars have midrange-y and crisp on its sound on every plucking of its string, violins have full and introspective sound on them, piccolos sounds more intense and penetrating while flutes have a bright and soft sound on them, and then both clarinets and saxophones have warm and earthy sound on them. Brasses like trumpets, horns and trombones, they sound brilliant, mellow and soft respectively. On percussives, snare drums sound sharp and bright, toms-toms sound a bit hollow yet resonant, field drums have sombre sound and kettledrums or also known as timpanis have dry and resonant sound on them. Pianos' sounds seem to be balanced with just added brightness on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of this one seems to be on smoother side although there is an emphasis somewhere on the upper-mids to presence that gives a more energetic and vibrancy on female vocals that might an issue to some treble-sensitive folks out there but this will give a more crisper and definition on some percussion and rhythm instruments' attack. Sibilance is somehow kept under control but sometimes I noticed some hints of it particularly on sibilant-laden tracks.

On the brilliance part, sparkle is evidently present but it is intense and over sizzle that will affect some instruments' timbre and the airy extension has a moderate range for a single DD. Cymbals sound glistening and shimmering while hi-hats have a shortened buzzing tone with their distinctive chick-y sound. Celestas have bell-like and glistening sounds and glockenspiels have lustrous and striking sounds.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Its sound/speaker overall dimensions seems to on average to above-average on width span, have a measurable height ceiling and it a decent depth on how it projects me front to rear depends on variable amplitude of fundamentals of frequencies and harmonics as it presents me more frontal. Therefore, it gives me fairly moderate headroom and my head shadow seems to be that I'm at the centre point at perceiving soundscape.

Stereo imaging seems to have a typical two-dimensional stereo presentation as I was able to panned out the positioning of instruments and vocals in both channels, but not the most pinpoint manner to locate each element precisely. It has a decent separation of instruments and layering appears to be not so well-defined on its tonal and frequency layer on how they are arranged in sonic canvas but it seems that it has a decent playback with some complex testing tracks.

Coherency of its driver is quite impressive as it performs quite fast and responsive. It has satisfactory resolution capabilities with good macro-dynamics and its micro-detail retrieval is passable as it can retrieve some nuances and subtleties of information from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

TINHIFI C2

● Like Nuo, it is a single DD IEM and it also has a 10mm LCP driver but it was encased in aluminium alloy shell structure with some mecha-like aesthetics on its overall design. It has more inclusions of eartips but Nuo has better stock cable.

● As for its tuning, both C2 and Nuo shared a similar sound profile which is U-shaped but the difference was that the C2 has more energetic, crisper and shimmering upper-mids up to brilliance treble. On technicalities, they are quite alike in most cases but the differences are that the C2 has a tad better on layering definition and a bit sharper on its micro-detail retrieval.


7HZ ZERO II

● While it has similar driver configuration and material composition of its shell chassis with the Nuo, it also has some contrasting features like its dynamic driver consists of composite materials and its shell design is more angular and edgy. It also has more ear tips inclusion but its stock cable is quite inferior compared to Nuo's.

● As for tonality, the Zero II has a mild-U sound signature which makes it more balanced sounding compared to the Nuo. It has a bit more sub-bass rumble, less recessed with similar warmness but has a semblance of transparency midrange presentation, and then smooth and a tad refined treble response but it has a modest amount of air and less sparkling compared to Nuo. On the technical side, As they are quite similar in most aspects but sound/speaker depth is a bit more immersive on Zero II but its layering, it has less definition as it struggles a bit on more complex multi-instrumental tracks.


TRUTHEAR HOLA

● Another single DD IEM with LCP diaphragm on its dynamic driver. It has similar shell design too albeit its shell chassis is made of 3D-printed polycarbonate plastic which feels cheap to hold and touch them. At least it has a good quality cable and it has more accessories to offer and it has a storage bin too.

● Hola is also a U-shaped sounding set and compared to Nuo, it has more emphasis on the sub-bass but a bit leaner mid bass, a more noticeable recessed midrange presentation and a tad leaner note weight for vocals and instruments, and then a smooth and a bit relaxed treble response with meagre air and adequate sparkle. On technicalities, Hola is pretty average as it has an average sound/speaker stage on width, depth and height, two-dimensional stereo imaging, less refined on layering and less capable on resolution dynamics.


As I end my assessment and put up a conclusion on this set, It seems that ZIIGAAT did a good job on their inaugural product models as Nuo and other incoming models will probably have some bright opportunities on them given how this set performs satisfactorily. For sure that there are some downsides to this one like no IEM case and sparse amount of inclusions but I think that they will address these drawbacks in the future releases of their products. If you are a starting audio enthusiast who wants to experience some Harman-ish style of tuning with some flare on it, this set is a strong contender that I can recommend.



ZIIGAAT NUO is exclusively available on LINSOUL, you can check the unaffiliated link that I have provided below.

LINSOUL: https://www.linsoul.com/products/ziigaat-nuo

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: ZIIGAAT NUO
IMPEDANCE: 32Ω
SENSITIVITY: 117dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*


P.S.

I am not affiliated to ZIIGAAT nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KAREENA TANG from LINSOUL for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"You have to be odd to be the number one."

~~ Theodor Seuss Geisel a.k.a. Dr Seuss, American author and cartoonist.

Let's talk about TANCHJIM, TANCHJIM is a Chinese audio company that was founded in 2015 in Nanning, Guangxi Region in the southern part of mainland China. The word “TANCHJIM” means Angel Jim as it is stated on the logo of the company that was printed on the shells of the TANCHJIM Oxygen. As I mentioned about Oxygen, I've actually tested around 2019 that on the first audition, I was really impressed by its well-balanced and almost neutral sound quality and became one of my favourite single dynamic driver sets up to this day.



This is actually my second review of their latest product line-up in the budget-level segment as I did a review on TANCHJIM TANYA DSP a few months ago. What I have here right now is the TANCHJIM ONE, like the TANYA DSP, it is also a single dynamic configuration but the difference that it has a detachable mechanism where you can replace the cable with other types of cable with bi-pin receptacle which makes it more available for source compatibility particularly on termination plug.



The driver that was implemented in this set is a 10mm dynamic driver with a diaphragm made of composite materials consisting of Polyurethane (PU) and Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) which are both thermoplastic polymers but offer different properties. With such a combination of their respective properties. PU offers a durable and flexible material while the PEEK has better tensile strength that will support it. Consequently, these materials will give very fast vibration and reaction on its overall to deliver a more rounded and throbbing bass response with better layout on other parts of the frequency range to achieve a clear full range sound while minimising some chances of distortion.



The drivers are enclosed in a bullet-style shell chassis made of composite materials. The shell structure consists of cylindrical shape cavity base aluminium alloy and half of it up to the nozzle is made of polycarbonate plastic. Its overall aesthetics give minimalist and well-compacted ergonomic design that really fits well to almost all types of ear sizes. Unlike the previous Tanya, TANCHJIM One has a detachable mechanism of 0.78mm 2-pin connector which extends the duration of usage on this set or choose a third party cable that suits and complement this set.



The stock cable that was included along this set has a USB type-C termination on its end and it also has a built-in DSP chip for audio decoding that can support up to 24-bit/96Khz PCM. On its stock tuning of DSP chip, it has a modified Harman target curve that TANCHJIM's espousing on which is a U-shaped sound on its sonic profile, and it has an HD microphone that also supports in-line control. The cable itself is made of o oxygen-free silver-plated copper wiring that was sheathed with PVC material for smooth, less microphonic and resistant on entanglement.



When it comes to fitting and comfort, TANCHJIM One gives me some of the comfortable wearing experience on how it sits well to my lugholes although I noticed that there is some minor driver flex that I've encountered for every insertion. It has a good passive noise isolation as it manages to block some noises from the outside surroundings.



The product packaging of TANCHJIM is rather basic with a rectangular box with a product illustration at the front while at back, some fine prints of basic specification and factory address. But it has a substantial amount of inclusions that covers the basic usage of this set.



Here are some following contents that were included inside of its packaging box:

■ Pair of TANCHJIM One IEM transducers
■ Stock cable with USB-C connector with DSP chip.
■ Three (3) pairs of wide-bored ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ Three (3) pairs of narrow-bored ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ Felt cloth IEM storage bag.
■ Paperwork like a user's manual and a card with QR codes.



As for its power scaling and amplification, in DSP type-C connection, it is quite power efficient that it will deliver a full-range sound with good amplitude scale. Same with 3.5mm SE mode, this set is really an easy to drive one that a decent output from device sources like smartphones and tablets are fairly enough.



In regards to its tonal aspect, TANCHJIM ONE has a warm U-shaped sound signature in both DSP mode and in analogue connection whether single ended or balanced mode. It has more emphasis on low frequencies and high frequencies while midrange is one a more neutral presentation.


(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to him)


LOWS/BASS:

The bass response on this set is quite punchy, slamming with good authority on it due to its mid-bass oriented low frequency presentation. There was some slight presence of the sub-bass as I faintly felt those reverberations and resonance from sub-bass focus instruments like drum machines, low tone guitar and synthesisers.

Mid-bass is well-textured with some nice body on it as it give a hefty roar and growl on bass guitars sound menacing and weighty while bass kick drums have pounding and resonant sound on them although I noticed in some fast double bass drumming on an extreme metal tracks, they sound a bit sluggish but I still fine it as capable enough. On bass to bass-baritone vocals, it gives some full tone, booming and guttural sound on these particular vocals but here are some observable slight nitpicks, I notice that it produces a very minimal to no vibrato on some bass vocals and lacks a darker tone on it. And also, its bass response occasionally smudges a bit on the midrange.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of this one is quite recessed but due to some bass bleeds, it warms up a bit to give a richer and more dense texture notes on vocals and instruments while maintaining some clarity, evenness and energy.

Male vocals did benefit the warmth on the midrange as baritones have plush and rich vocals especially on dramatic, kavalier, verdi and heldentenor types have brassy, emotive and power on them as I listen to spinto and dramatic types like Luciano Pavarotti and Carlo Ventri. Countertenors have tender and smooth vocals as they project their falsettos. Meanwhile on female vocals, contraltos have a husky and lushness on their vocals, mezzo-sopranos have smooth, warm and rounded voices on them, and sopranos have creamy and satiny sound which will definitely work well with soubrette and dramatic type ones.

Instruments sound organic and engaging on this set especially on percussive and brasses. Strings like acoustic guitars have a buttery to midrange-y sound on every plucking of its strings while on violins, they sound full and lustrous to my ears that I wish a bit of brightness just to convey more emotion on every bow string grips. On woodwinds, piccolos sound a bit delicate and sweet which should sound at least bright in nature, while concert flutes have richness and mellow sound on them, and both clarinets and saxophones have sonorous and melancholic sound on them. Brasses like trumpets, horns and trombones have warm, full, ponderous and round sound on them respectively. On percussives, snares and tom-toms have hard, resonant and precise sound, while field drums have full and booming sound, and then on kettledrums, they sound booming and powerful. Pianos appear to have a warmer tone on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

Treble response on this set is quite smooth and relaxed as the upper-mids and some presence treble are just slightly accented just to give a decent attack on both percussive and rhythm instruments and enough clarity. I hear not a hint of harshness nor sibilance on this one but at it also have some drawbacks on this one like less shimmer, less crispy and less highlighting on details but at least it doesn't sound dull at all.

It is also quite noticeable that it has a modest amount of air and less sparkle. Cymbals have a soughing and undulating sound while hi-hats have their correct timbre with their familiar "chick" sound. And both celestas and glockenspiels have a lustrous, velvety and bell-like sound.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

On how this set projects its soundstage and stereo imaging, its overall sound/speaker dimensions is on average size as it has median width span, decent height ceiling but it has good depth on it that gives an almost congested feel within my perceived headroom.

Its imaging presentation projects a typical two-dimensional stereo soundscape as I was able to perceive the placement of instruments and vocals in both left and right channels but not in the most accurate way. It has fairly decent separation but the layering is somewhat not so well-defined on how the stacking and arrangement of each frequency and tonal layers of sound from specific instruments and vocals as in some case that it tends to sound shambolic to my ears especially on some complex musical composition from some music genres like jazz and orchestral ensemble.

As for its driver coherency, It seems that its composite diaphragm is able to perform well but as I mentioned a while ago on how the bass kick drum performs a bit sluggish compared to some of its competitors. And so, I consider its driver performance as moderately responsive. As for resolution capabilities, it has very solid macro-dynamics as I definitely hear quite solid notation attacks and note ends of its note texture but its micro-detailing definition is rather a bit blunted in my opinion but for its asking price, I would rather accept this shortcoming.


PEER COMPARISONS:

TANCHJIM TANYA DSP

● Another TANCHJIM product that is also in the budget entry-level segment. Like the One, it's a single dynamic driver but its on smaller diameter that it was considered as a micro-dynamic driver and was encapsulated in a bullet-style all-aluminium alloy casing. It has a non detachable USB type-C connector with DSP chip and it is susceptible to microphonics.

● As for tonal profile, like the One, it also has a U-shaped sound signature and with warmth on it. It has more sub-bass presence but a less textured mid-bass compared to the One, similar midrange presentation but a tad leaner texture and depth and a bit brighter treble but like the One, it has meagre treble extension. As for technicalities, they are quite very similar in all aspects from sound field dimensions up to the resolution capabilities.


TINHIFI C0 ELF

● TINHIFI"s latest bullet style IEM in the budget segment and like the One, it also has a single dynamic driver albeit its diaphragm is a titanium-coated PU material and it was encased in a solid aluminium alloy. Also, it has a detachable 2-pin connector just like the One.

● The C0 ELF has a V-shaped sound signature but it follows a TINHIFI's previous in-house sound which is on the brighter side of tuning. Compared to the One, it focuses more on the sub-bass as it bass response sounds more rumbly than authoritative, more recessed midrange but it has more crisper and energetic sound on vocals and instruments, and then on treble response, it sounds more brighter as it has more crisper and better detail definition and it has more sparkle and air though I still consider its airy extension as modest. Technicality-wise, it has average to above-average size of its overall sound field proportion, two-dimensional stereo imaging, good separation and noticeably better layering and the last but not the least, it has a solid fundamental on macro-dynamics and sharper definition on micro-detail retrieval.


It seems that once again, TANCHJIM releases a solid product that aims at casual listeners who want to try a well-rounded and versatile tonal performance that gives a pleasurable listening experience to them. With its feature that we could do some cable swapping with some cable of our choices and also, if you want to experience the TANCHJIM's in-house tuning as to hear a little bit of tuning from the all-time great Oxygen albeit it's a tad more coloured sounding, I will recommend this set without hesitation at all.

TANCHJIM One is now available on major audio distributors like LINSOUL and HIFIGO. Also, if you are situated in the Philippines, you could purchase this set locally via JYS+ Audio on Facebook. All links are guaranteed non-affiliated ones.



LINSOUL: https://www.linsoul.com/products/tanchjim-one

HIFIGO: https://hifigo.com/products/tanchjim-one

JYS+ AUDIO (Philippine distributor of TANCHJIM products): https://www.facebook.com/JYSAudio?mibextid=ZbWKwL


Checkout my previous review of a TANCHJIM product:

● TANCHJIM TANYA DSP

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: TANCHJIM ONE
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 126dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 7Hz – 45KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: TYPE-C
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*


P.S.

I am not affiliated to  TANCHJIM nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to TANCHJIM & JYS+ AUDIO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"When one's expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have."


~~Stephen Hawking, British theoretical physicist and cosmologist, Author of A Brief History of Time.


7Hz is an audio company that made some game-changing moments that shifted the landscape of the audio market in 2021 with their highly successful model, 7Hz Timeless. This year is also the release of 7Hz Legato which is also gaining some cult following from audio enthusiasts who want a different take from usual Harmanish U-shaped sounding IEMs that keeps flooding in the market recently and want to experience that analogue-ish hi-fi sound from vintage speakers.



And what I have right now is their latest offering in the entry-level segment, The 7Hz Zero II. This model is actually a collaboration project between 7Hz and Crinacle, a well-known YouTube personality that specialises on audio engineering and a professional in this particular field. They have had some previous collaboration projects before and this makes the 7Hz even more reputable and a trustworthy audio company in the eyes of audio enthusiasts.



7Hz Zero II is a single dynamic driver IEM and it is a follow-up model from the previous Zero (I don't have one so I can't share my thoughts on what's the difference between these models). It has a 10mm dual chambered dynamic driver with a diaphragm made of composite materials like polyurethane and a thin metal alloy sheet. The dynamic drivers are quite nimble and responsive , capable of delivering a deep and slamming bass response while having a good articulation of its notes, crisp and clear sound on other parts of the frequency range.



The drivers are then encapsulated in a composite shell chassis with unusual angular design but I don't have any ergonomic issues in terms of fitting them. The cavity base of the shell is made of acrylic resin and it was reinforced by a stainless steel faceplate that underwent some treatment process to achieve its finish on its surface. Its overall design cues remind me of some robotic parts that give its Mecha-inspired look along with a copper-coloured faceplate that really matches well. It uses a proven 0.78mm connector on this set rather than usual QDC-type bi-pin connector which are prevalent to other units in the same price bracket.



As I mentioned regarding its angular design of its shell on how it was in terms of wearability, I don't really encounter any major issues when I snug it into my lugholes as it is really comfortable to wear in a long listening session and even my daily physical activity. It offers a good passive noise isolation as it is able to block some unwanted external noises from the surroundings I'm into.



The stock cables appear to have parallel wirings that are insulated and the wires are made of high purity oxygen-free silver plated copper that are woven and winding to have more firmness and better transmission of the audio signals. On its end, it has a gold-plated 3.5mm SE as its standard termination jack.



The product presentation of 7Hz Zero II is quite elementary and its inclusions are pretty bare bones, but at least it pretty takes all the basics on using this set.



Here are the following inclusions inside of its packaging box:

■ Pair of 7Hz Zero II
■ Stock cable
■ 6 pairs of multi-coloured narrow-bored ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ User's manual



As for power scaling and amplification performance, 7Hz Zero II is indeed an easy to drive set that devices like smartphones and tablets which have a sufficient power output to drive some low impedance devices are enough to amplify this set with its dynamic and fullest sound quality.



To determine its tonality, 7Hz has a mild U-shaped sound profile with a hint of warmth that gives me that almost "warmish-neutral" tonality as how all frequencies were presented in a sonic spectrum in an almost linear delivery into my ears. This type of tuning is indeed a rarity in this particular price range at all.


(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to him)


LOWS/BASS:

The parts of low frequencies are equally presented in the overall sound as both sub bass and mid-bass were conveyed evidently across the sonic spectrum. It has a punchy, precise and clean bass response.

There's a discernible rumbling and reverberations generated from sub-bass focus instruments like synthesisers, octabasses, drum machines and low tone bass guitars. Mid-bass has an ample texture and density on its note weight, albeit it's a bit lucid and inadequately dark pitch on how it plays into my lugholes. But they are more of a minor issue that I'm quite finicky about but at least it has a fairly texture mid-bass that doesn't bleed too much across the midrange. Bass guitars have resonant and less weighty sound on them while bass kick drums have thudding and rumbling sound on very strike on its head drum, and then on bass baritones vocals, they have a wool-like sound but due to its lucid nature, it has less depth, less broad and darker tone from their distinctive voices. But this kind of bass response shares a similar response with "neutral" sounding sets that I've tested and I'm also a neutral-head so give this one a high mark.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of this one is noticeably tad notch but it maintains an adequately textured, warmth with sufficiently vivid sound and a tinge of transparency on it. These characteristics will have its versatility on projecting some vocals will sound more closer to its intended tonal colour while the instruments sound more natural on how they deliver their attack and its variable notations.

Male vocals are fairly texture and depth with some warmth on it to give a more organic sound. Some baritone vocals sound very beautiful and engaging as light and lyric types have these mild, sweet and mellow sound characteristics from them. Tenors, particularly on leggero and lyric ones have sufficient bright, warm and dignified sound that really mesmerises me. Countertenors have a tender, smooth and graceful sound on them that it also happens that they also share similar vocal traits with mezzo-sopranos.

As for female vocals, they sound quite pleasant, expressive and emotive that makes them even more engaging to listen to their hypnotic voices. Contraltos have ample lush and richness on their voices although I'm still looking for more depth to their vocals. Mezzo-sopranos sound smooth, tender and radiating on their vocals. Sopranos vocals have its shining, gleaming and silkiness that it will be more beneficial for dramatic and soubrette types but due to this set's inherent smooth tuning, it might affect some timbre on coloratura sopranos with their high pitch vocals as it dampens a bit on energetic sound but in exchange, it will deliver more smoother and a non-shrilling vocals.

Instruments sound relatively natural and it has some lushness on them. On strings, guitars sound a bit buttery and midrange-y on every plucking of its strings while violins have lustrous and sweet sound on every grip on its bow strings. Woodwinds instruments like piccolos, flutes, clarinets and saxophones, piccolos have delicate and graceful sound, flutes have mellow and ethereal sound on every blow on its mouth hole to generate those distinctive note and pitch, clarinets have warm and velvety sound and saxophones have sombre and bit hollow sound on them. As for brass instruments, trumpets sound magnificent, horns have a velvety and warm sound and trombones have rounded and soft sounds on them. Percussives instruments like snare drums, tom-toms, field drums and kettledrums, snares have shuffling yet clear sound while tom-toms have warm and resonant sound, field drums sounds quite full with a hint of sombre on them and kettledrums have orotund and resonant sound. Pianos have sounds so well-balanced as it has a sweet and rich sound on them with sufficient brilliance on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble response of Zero II is definitively smooth and balanced one as it has a gradual elevation on the upper midrange and a somehow a noticeable dip on the presence part of treble region thats gives a smooth, non-sibilant and devoid of harshness which will devoid any harshness and jarring sound. Despite that tuning in the treble section, it is able to give an enunciated attack of instruments especially on percussives and keeping a good clarity.


It has an enough sparkle and the airy extension of this set is on the modest side. Cymbals have an adequate shimmer and soughing sound while hi-hats were accurately depicted as a distinguishable shortened buzzing sound. Glockenspiels' sounds have a bell-like sound on them and Celestas have those mellow and lustrous sounds to give that "heavenly" vibe tone.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

On how I perceived its sound/speaker stage and its stereo imaging, it has an average to above-average size as it has a wider than the usual average width on some IEMs in this particular price range, decent height ceiling and depth distance in my headroom. And as for imaging, it projects a typical two-dimensional stereo presentation where I can decently locate the placement of instruments and singer(s) in both sides of stereo channels. It has a good separation and layering capability is rather decent on this one for its price. In some complex multi-instruments tracks that I've usually played to do some testing, there are some instances that it tends to struggle a bit on projecting all instrumental elements in my hearing.

It has very coherent performance on its capable composite driver as it is quite snappy and it has faster transient response on it. It has a good resolution capability as decent detail retrieval and solid macro-dynamics that has a substantial impacting notation attack.


PEER COMPARISONS:

TINHIFI C2

● This product from TINHIFI, like the Zero II, has a dynamic driver with composite diaphragm but different material composition and it was encapsulated in a mecha-inspired shell chassis. Both sets have similar inclusions as C2 has also a lot of spare ear tips.

● C2 has a bright U-shaped sound in contrast with Zero II which is on the "warmish-neutral" side of tuning. C2 has a tighter and incisive bass response that focuses more on the sub- bass than mid-bass. It has more recessed midrange but it is crisp and energetic tone and a tad brighter treble response that cymbals sound a bit splashy and noticeable shouty female vocals. On the technical performance, both sets have almost similar performance but C2 has a sharper definition on micro-detailing.


SIMGOT EW100P

● This set has a 10mm LCP dynamic driver and it was encapsulated in a composite shell chassis just like the Zero II but it takes a shape like a fin of a shark and teardrop-shaped metal alloy faceplate. It has less number of ear tips included inside and its stock cable looks more sophisticated but still on the lean side.

● EW100P is a U-shaped sounding IEM that follows a Harman curve tuning. It has more sub-bass focus bass response as it has rumbling presence and a bit hollow mid-bass while its midrange is more recessed on present and sounds leaner but it is quite energetic that is good for strings, woodwinds and some female vocals. Compared to Zero II, it has more emphasis on the upper mids to have more crisper and more definition on instruments and percussive attacks. On technicalities, EW100P has smaller soundstage dimension and its micro-detail retrieval is rather average on how it barely extracts some nuances of information from an audio track, but the rest of technical performance is quite close.


TANGZU WAN'ER SG

● This set, like the Zero II, has a single dynamic driver configuration and it was encased in a polycarbonate plastic shell with geometrical lines and design cues from Tang dynasty era. It uses a PET diaphragm on its single DD while its choice of connector is a QDC-type connector and its stock cable is braided .

● Wan'er SG somewhat shared some similarities with Zero II in terms of tonality but I will point out the difference that sets them apart. It has a warm U-shaped sound profile as it more slam and punchy bass response with more solid mid-bass texture but it has noticeable bass bleed on midrange, a bit recessed midrange presentation but due to its more warmer tuning, it gives more texture and volume on some vocals and a more organic sounding instruments. It has similar treble response as it is also smoother and pleasant for treble sensitives but it has less sparkle and its airy extension is rather unexceptional. Technicality-wise, both sets have similar sound/speaker stages and also share a typical 2-dimensional stereo panning, but the separation and layering, Zero II is a bit better as it has more spacing on instruments and its layering is also more noticeable. On resolution capabilities, they are trading blows as Wan'er SG has more solid macro-dynamics while Zero II is a little bit better on micro-dynamics.


As I end my assessment on this product, I've just witnessed the evolutionary process and tonal refinement of the entry-level sets as it is apparent that the sound quality of a midrange set from the last decade will be carried through in a more budget-friendly and affordable set like the Zero II. 7Hz Zero II is definitely a worthwhile set that is truly a monumental effort from both 7Hz and Crinacle that they were able to bring a more mature and well-refined sound quality to the masses. Job well done, 7Hz!

7Hz Zero II is now available at LINSOUL, check out the unaffiliated link below that I've provided.


LINSOUL: https://www.linsoul.com/products/7hz-x-crinacle-zero-2


Also, you can check out my review of their previous product release.

● 7Hz LEGATO

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: 7HZ X CRINACLE: ZERO II
IMPEDANCE: 32Ω
SENSITIVITY: 108dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*


P.S.

I am not affiliated to 7HZ nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to KAREENA TANG from LINSOUL for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"What is music for? It's to make you feel good"

~~Sebastian Bach, Ex-vocalist of Skid Row.

ORIVETI was one of the first audio brands that I've encountered in the midrange segment. It is actually an old brand and now they are somewhat reintroducing themselves again to the current audio community. Their Primacy series sets were the one of the few hybrid midrange sets that I've demoed before in a popular Hi-fi store here in my locality around late 2017.



ORIVETI was established around 2015 and they are a Hong Kong-based audio company that specialises on engineering and designing on both earphones and headphones as they have an extensive experience on producing these devices in a very meticulous approach. As I aforementioned about their popular product models, the Oriveti Primacy sets were the testament of their engineering and tuning prowess.



What I have here right now is their latest product model, The ORIVETI OD200. OD200 is a single dynamic driver IEM which has a notable feature as it has an interchangeable tuning nozzle system similar to BGVP DMG, SIMGOT EA500 and current HIDIZS’ sets. Regarding on its driver, ORIVETI implemented a 9.8mm Beryllium-coated dynamic driver which is known to have faster transient response, some improvements of its perceived sound/speaker stage, clear and articulate sound reproduction. Aside from a capable drivers, ORIVETI also implemented their self-developed acoustic pressure technology based on aerodynamics and airflow, The DAD (Dedicated Airflow Distribution) system. The DAD system is to optimised and regulate the air flow within its acoustic cavity, it has an acoustic tube that was interconnected between front to rear acoustic chambers as it regulate and dispersed well the air flow generated from high performance BE-coated dynamic driver to reduce listening fatigue and decreases the chances of distortion on its clear and articulate sound reproduction.




The driver along with its proprietary technology was encased in a CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell chassis with an ergonomically designed and modified UIEM-style form factor that assures its durability while giving a better fitting and comfortable wear to its user. It has a British Racing Green colour which I'm quite familiar as it was used on some sports cars’ colour scheme like Jaguar, Aston Martin and Lotus (it also happens that I'm also a fan of super cars too). As I mentioned a while ago, it has interchangeable nozzle tuning filters that are made of brass, and Oriveti adds a pair of nozzle tuning filters which have a silver-coloured finish. This set has a 0.78mm 2-pin connector for more stable connection and ease to do some cable swapping.



Its stock cable is quite excellent as it is a modular one and its overall quality is quite remarkable. It has 8-core OFC silver-plated copper wires which is somehow sturdy, well-braided and quite supple to touch and hold. Since it has some modular features that makes it more flexible to all types of audio jacks, ORIVETI is gracious enough to include 3 types of termination plugs; 3.5mm SE, 2.5mm balanced and 4.4mm balanced, and all of them are gold-plated to ensure better conductivity and resistance to corrosion.



When it comes for wearing and comfort, despite its all-metal construction, The ORIVETI OD200 is fairly balanced on its weight that I was able to wear it for a long listening session. It even offer some of the best noise isolation as it really seals well into my lugholes that I barely heard some external noises from the outside surroundings.



As for product packaging, The ORIVETI OD200 has a rather large square-shaped packaging box but inside, all contents are well-organised and most of its accessories are compartmentalised in a drawer. This is probably one of the most impressive unboxing experiences I've ever done on a product of such calibre.



Here are the following contents inside of its packaging box:

■ Pair of ORIVETI OD200 IEM transducers
■ Modular stock cable
■ Pair of interchangeable nozzle tuning filters (Silver)
■ Leather IEM case
■ 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm and 2.5mm balanced termination plugs
■ 3 pairs of silicone ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ 3 pairs of memory foam ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ Cleaning tool kit



As for scaling and amplification, this set is definitely an easy to drive one that a decent power output from sources like smartphones, tablets and laptops are able to amplify it. But putting on better sources like LG devices, DAPs, USB dongles and desktop amplifiers, The OD200 will sound even more vivid and full-sounding that it encompasses across the sonic frequency spectrum.



In regards of its tonal qualities, since this set has a detachable nozzle system that its nozzles offers different types of tuning, here are some of the description for each nozzles:

Black-coloured nozzles - it has a mild U-shaped sound signature that has more emphasis on upper-mids up to the brilliance part of the treble region to give that almost neutral-ish-bright kind of sound. (The Dunu S&S somehow makes it more bright-neutral sounding)

Silver-coloured nozzles - This makes this set sounds more warmer U to V-shaped sound profile as it has more emphasis on between midbass to the midrange while attenuates the upper-mids and presence part of the treble region.



(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to him)

LOWS/BASS:

The low frequencies are indeed prominent on this set in both nozzle tuning filters but they have different takes in terms of quantity.

Black Nozzle

It has a tight, thumpy and precise bass quantity while maintaining a decent clean and separation on its overall response. It gives me a rather satisfying bass feedback as it has an ample texture on its mid-bass and a noticeable presence on the sub-bass region.

I discerningly felt fairly some rumbling and reverberations coming from sub-bass focus instruments like synthesisers, drum machines and low tone bass guitar. Mid-bass is reasonably well-balanced on its note weight that will affect the timbre and tone of some instruments and male vocals, particularly bass-baritone ones. Bass guitars have resonant and sustaining sound on every fretting or slapping of its strings, Bass kick drums sounds rather tight and thudding than broad sounding, then on bass-baritone vocals, they have less heftier and guttural sounding as it should be but at least they have some depth and "espresso-like" on their voices.


Silver Nozzles

This mode makes the OD200 more mid-bass focus as it really gives more texture and density on that particular part of the low frequency range. But there are some drawbacks as I noticed that there is some tad bass bleeding across some parts of lower midrange that gives less cleaner bass response but it adds some warmth to its overall sound.

On instruments, bass guitars sounds more earthy, rasping and have weight on them, bass kick drums have more sonorous and thunderous sound on every attack, and bass-baritone vocals sounds more prominent on this setting as it has more fuller, deeper and darker tone as they have dense and wool-like sound.


MIDRANGE:

Depending on tuning nozzles, it offers different midrange presentations, but both of them share the same characteristic, well-textured with a tinge of translucency.

Black Nozzles

It appears that this mode gives more emphasis on most female vocals and some instruments like woodwinds and strings to have more brilliance and energy. When it comes to female vocals, contraltos have less lusher and husky sound but it still has that smokiness on their voices, mezzo-sopranos have velvety and fiery sound on them that leaves me euphonic and insouciant. Sopranos have metallic and shimmering on them which are quite favourable to lyric and coloratura types of soprano voices on how they reach their highest possible pitch with their florid vocal passage.

As for instruments, for strings ones like guitars, violins and harps, guitars have these crisp, bright and ceiling sound on every plucking on its strings while violins have metallic, bright and lively sound on every grip and motion on its bow strings, and then harps have their metallic, sharp and blurring sound on them. Then on woodwinds, piccolos have bright and clear sound on them while concert flutes have brilliant and rich sound. And then on clarinets have lively sound and saxophones have reedy sound.


Silver Nozzles

On this mode on how the midrange of this set is tuned, it makes it more warmer, more natural sounding and well-textured sound that will be favourable to male vocals and instruments, particularly percussives and brass while it somehow lessens the brilliance and zestfulness on some female vocals, strings and woodwinds. On how the male vocals sounds like, baritones have those smooth, warm and rich sound from as light and lyric baritones have a sweet and mild velvety sound, kavalier baritones have those steely and deep sound and Verdi and dramatic baritones have a bit darker tone and richer sound on them. Tenors have those brassy and dazzling sound on them as leggero tenors have their light and clear sound, lyric tenors have its gracefulness yet strong vocal characteristics, spinto tenors have a heftier and spicier sound, dramatic tenors have ringing sound and both dramatic and heldentenors have its powerful rich and emotive sound from them. Countertenors have a tender and smooth although it has bit more warmth on them and Contraltos seems to have a more tonally accurate on their timbre on this sound as they have a rich and husky that these vocal type should sound like.

As for instruments, on percussives, snare drums have hard and penetrating sound, tom-toms have warm and resonant sound, field drums have booming and sonorous sound and kettledrums have deep and booming sound on every strokes hitting on its vellum. When it comes to brass instruments, trumpets have dark, full and "heroic" sound on them, horns have warm, full and sonorous sound, and then on trombones have solid, hard and full sound that really complements withs strings and woodwinds. In some instruments like guitars and violin, they sound buttery, midrange-y and a tad mellow sounding in my liking.


On pianos, on the black nozzle, they sound warm and richer tone while on silver nozzle, it has an added brighter tone on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

Black Nozzles

It has more emphasis on the upper-mids and presence of the treble region to give that more bright and energetic sound. It has more crisper, more resolving with well-defined percussive and rhythm instruments attacks, and also more emphasis on female vocals. But there are some slight issues that I should address, female vocals have some tendencies to sound shrilly and a tad piercing due to that accented upper-mids, so treble-sensitive folk should take caution on this one. At least, it doesn't sound harsh and sibilance is kept under control.

Cymbals have a bright and glistening sound while hi-hats have a buzzing sound albeit a tad exaggerated. Glockenspiels sound brilliant and shimmering on either mallet type or keyboard variant, and then celestas have more glistening and golden sound on them. It has a good sparkle but its airy extension appears to be modest in my opinion.


Silver Nozzles

Compared to silver nozzles mode, this is a bit dampened due to perceptible attenuation on the upper-mids and presence treble but it gives more balanced and smoother treble response which will be more acceptable to treble-sensitives folk out there due to its less aggressive type of tuning. It has less shimmer, less crisper and less sharper definition of details.

On instruments, cymbals sound rather lustrous and undulating while hi-hats appear to have a more correct timbre on this nozzle as it has that shortened buzzing sound. Celestas have lustrous and mellow sound on them to give more colour and effect on the overall sound particularly on orchestra ensemble. Then on glockenspiels, they have more lustrous sound than having a bright timbre. On the brilliance part of the treble, it has a modest airy extension while its sparkle seems to be lessened on its overall tuning.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Overall, It has an above-average size on its sound/speaker stage as it has a decently wide on its perceived lateral span, good height reach and fairly balanced depth from front to rear that it gives me a moderately spacious headroom within my aural sphere.

It projects a concave-like presentation on its stereo imaging as I was able to locate the location of instruments and vocals in a projected soundscape but not in a very pinpoint means. The instruments and vocals separation is somehow decent but the layering isn't that well-defined. It presents me as relatively arranged in just two layers of distinct tones of instruments like the placement of guitar and bass are in one layer instead of having its own tonal and frequency layer. But in contrary, this set don't sound congested nor muddled in the mix; it is capable to play some of the complex tracks like jazz or orchestra.

Coherency of the driver is quite excellent on how it delivers a faster transient speed while handling decay. That's indeed a good characteristic of beryllium-coated dynamic drivers.

Resolution capabilities of this one is pretty balanced, it has a solid macro-dynamics and micro-detailing seems quite decent but its not the sharpest one to extract more nuances and subtleties of information from an audio track. The silver nozzle will somehow improve its sharpness due to more peak in the presence part of the treble.


PEER COMPARISONS:

Moondrop KATO (Demo)

● Like the OD200, it has a single DD and is also enclosed in a metal casing with a mirror-like finish. It also features a detachable nozzle and it has another pair nozzle that gives slight changes on its tonality. The stock cable is not a modular one but it has some good qualities on it like thickness and flexibility.

● As for its tonality, its follows a VDSF target curve, which is somewhat a variant of Harman target curve in which I find it less natural and certainly not a neutral sounding that I really want. To my ears, almost all VDSF-tuned set that I've tested are lean U-shaped sounding that plays well on specific modern genres like current J-Pop, K-pop and some acoustics which focus on more digitally processed female vocals. It has more focus on the sub-bass while attenuating the mid-bass texture, a lean and linear midrange then more emphasis on the upper mids and presence treble to give that "clean" sounding, its doesnt have enough sparkle and treble air is rather limited, the brass nozzle have rather marginal change on its overall sound quality as it is added slight warmth on it but still it sounds lean to my ears.

● On technicalities, KATO isn't that impressive at all, it has an average to above average sound/speaker stage, rudimentary imaging, decent separation but its layering isn't that well-defined. Its resolution capabilities are way too smooth that it has less firm on macro dynamics and its micro-detailing appears to be blunted.


TANCHJIM OXYGEN (Demo)

● Probably, it is still the most premier single DD set in under US$300/£240 segment. It has single DD with a diaphragm made of graphene and it was encapsulated in a stainless steel shell chassis. It doesn't have detachable tuning nozzles but it has good quality cable.

● As for sound signature, it has a mild u-shaped sound signature that has well-refined tonality. It has a balanced bass response as it has a good presence of its sub-bass rumble while having an ample texture mid-bass, it has a balanced note weight on its midrange as it has a sufficient warmth while having a smooth bright sound for vocals and instruments. It has proper sparkle and shimmer on its treble response.

● As for technicalities, both Oxygen and OD200 have similar performance. But sound/speaker stage size of Oxygen falls on average to above average which makes it a bit intimate but it has better layering definition than OD200.


BQEYZ AUTUMN


● BQEYZ's flagship single DD set, it uses a large dynamic driver and it has a unique magnetic tuning vent on as its main core feature. It was also enclosed in a solid metal shell and its a high quality stock cable but it isn't a modular one.

● With its unique magnetic tuning vent, Autumn offers three types of sound signatures, balanced-neutral, warm u-shaped and treble-focus u-shaped. This makes the Autumn more versatile sounding as it offers different types of sound profile. If I compared the treble-focus u-shaped mode of Autumn to the black nozzle mode of OD200, it has more presence of subbass while maintaining a good texture on its mid-bass, midrange of Autumn is a tad recessed compared to the OD200 but both have bright and energetic sound but on treble response, the Autumn has more sparkle and even more air on its brilliance region.

● On the technical side, The Autumn is way more superior compared to OD200, it has a very cavernous sound/speaker stage as it has very spacious span from left to right, impressive height ceiling and impressive depth. It projects 3D-like stereo imaging where I was able to locate the placement of instruments and singers in almost pinpoint manner. Layering aspect isn't the Autumn's strongest asset as they have eerily similar features to OD200 but separation is a bit better. On resolution capability, the Autumn has a better detail retrieval.


To sum up my review on this set, ORIVETI OD200 is the latest offering from Oriveti's new product line as they try to revitalise themselves in an even more competitive portable audio market that we have right now. They introduce some uncommon features like detachable nozzle, new proprietary technology on the airflow of its newly design acoustic chamber and a modular cable.

As I put my conclusion on my assessment of this product, ORIVETI OD200 is definitely a good set that an audio enthusiast should really try on how versatile this set was as it offers two distinctive tuning for both casual and fun listening or for immersive critical listening. Will OD200 be included in my recommended list for single DD? absolutely it is as it has a good build quality, working tuning nozzles, modular cable and a lot of inclusions and some refinement of its tonality to have clear and natural with acceptable technical performance for its price.


ORIVETI OD200 is now available at its official store, Check out the unaffiliated link that I have provided below.

LINK: https://www.oriveti.com/product-page/oriveti-od200-single-dynamic-driver-hifi-iem

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: ORIVETI OD200
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 108dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 0.78mm 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm, 4.4mm, 2.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*


P.S.

I am not affiliated to ORIVETI nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to MARCO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

Amplifiers are one of the main important devices in a Hi-Fi audio component system as it is the one which will increase the scale of audio signal either on voltage or current mode that will deliver a proportional amount of amplitude signal on its output. Amplifiers are also a type of electrical network that has a circuitry that delivers specific power gain mode to transducers.



FOSI AUDIO is an audio company that specialises in audio solutions by manufacturing these high quality devices like amplifiers, pre-amps, DAC/amp dongles, speakers and other accessories for the improvement of audio quality at affordable price for budget-conscious both audio professionals and audio enthusiasts alike.



This is my first time to do a review on a desktop type amplifier and this one is quite different to older types of amplifiers that I'm accustomed to as it has a smaller form factor, more compact and supports wireless connectivity.



This is FOSI AUDIO MC101, it's a 2-channel Bluetooth stereo amplifier for speakers. It has built-in volume unit (VU) for displaying visual representation of the signal level from sound output and its overall aesthetics gives a distinctively vintage-look that harkens back to 1960's to 1970's Hi-Fi stereo system era. Its overall build is quite solid and very compact that it will suit better for a confined space.



Since this device supports bluetooth connection, it has a detachable Bluetooth antenna and its version was rated at 5.3 which can optimise a channel selection for a stronger, better speed and stable connection compared to the previous generation of bluetooth versions and theoretically, it can reach up to 200 yards for its broadcast range. So in regards to concerns of connectivity and compatibility to other devices with bluetooth connectivity, this device will seamlessly connect them without any issues. But there is one concern that should be addressed about the limitation of its bluetooth supporting audio codec, it can only support standard lossy ones like SBC and AAC, so advanced bluetooth audio codecs such as Apt-X, Apt-X HD and LDAC are out of question on this one.



Aside from wireless input, MC101 also offers an analogue interface solution via RCA connection for better high fidelity audio quality in analogue input. At the rear part of this device, there is line-in connection for audio and video, pre-out 3.5mm jack, 4 RCA output jack for both left and right channels on speakers, a DC 12-24V Power input and Bluetooth antenna which is also a detachable one.



At the front part of MC101, besides with elegant-looking, copper-coloured VU metre, there are two knobs at the left part, a bass knob with rated gain up to ± 12dB and a treble knob with gain o ± 6dB. At the right part, there is a toggle switch for Power/Input solution and a volume knob which was coated with copper colour accent. The overall build quality of this amplifier is quite sturdy and well-crafted as it has CNC-milled aluminium alloy chassis along with its exquisite vintage aesthetics on it.





On its internal components, MC101 uses a dual Texas Instrument TPA3116 which is a stereo efficient, digital amplifier power stage that is capable of driving speakers up to 200W in mono. This amplifier chip also employs an advanced oscillator that utilises a multiple frequency option to circumvent any potential signal noise interferences and it has short-circuit and thermal protection as it minimises any possibility of overvoltage, undervoltage and DC protection. This device is a class-D type of amplifier that is more efficient compared to linear amplifiers and better heat dissipation as it delivers a dynamic voltage swing into a fixed load.



Here are the contents inside of FOSI AUDIO MC101's packaging box:


■ FOSI AUDIO MC101 bluetooth power amplifier.

■ 4.5A/24V power adapter

■ Instruction manual



On how I test this device, since I only have a TRONSMART BANG MINI as its speaker through aux mode and it was connected via bluetooth connection on my devices like LG smartphones and HIBY R6 PRO II DAP. And so, I consider my testing method this one is rather limited as it doesn't fully utilise its full potential like connecting it on better bookshelf monitor speakers or using more analogue sources like turntables or desktop CD players.



Overall sound quality of this device seems pretty fine as it has a mild U-shaped with a balanced-warmish tonality as it has sufficient punchy bass response and with an ample warmth while maintaining a clean and well-textured sound on its midrange that will beneficial for the natural tone and timbre on vocals and instruments, then a smooth and balanced with good asounding of its treble response.

It is noted that the bass and treble knobs are positioned at 12 o'clock, so it's up to the users' discretion on how they will adjust its fine tuning on low and high frequencies based on their preference.

Its power output is fairly loud enough to deliver a power output on my Tronsmart Bang Mini speaker that really fills up in small room to have a full range sound.

Since this is my first review on an amplifier device, there will be no product comparisons for this device.

As I conclude this review, as I observe the evolution of amplifiers, Class-D type of amplifiers became more powerful while still retaining their power efficiency just like Fosi Audio MC101. With an added Bluetooth feature, using this amplifier will be more convenient to use due to its flexibility as it offers different modes and is easy to configure that will save time for setting up this set with other devices. This is truly a well-crafted amplifier that exudes some vintage vibe with the elegant and luxurious feel that it will be a good centrepiece to display it a living room. To whom will I recommend this device? Well, if you are budget-conscious audio enthusiast that looking for an affordable amplifier with good build quality and powerful enough to deliver a substantial power output on a basic speaker set-up, I will definitely recommend this one without hesitation at all.



SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: FOSI AUDIO MC101
OP/AMP CHIP: TEXAS INSTRUMENT 2x TPA3116
OUTPUT POWER: 100W x2 (Maximum load)
INPUT MODE: BLUETOOTH, RCA
OUTPUT MODE: SPEAKER OUTPUT + PRE-OUT
SNR: 100dB
DYNAMIC RANGE: 100dB
THD: 0.003%
BLUETOOTH VERSION: 5.3
BLUETOOTH AUDIO CODEC: SBC, AAC
CONNECTION RANGE: Up to 210M
VOLTAGE RATING: DC 12V-24V

P.S.

I am not affiliated to FOSI AUDIO nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to FOSI AUDIO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"Such sweet compulsion doth in music lie"

~~John Milton, English poet and intellectual.


EPZ Audio is one of the newest audio brands emerging from China and releases some products that garner some good reputation from audio enthusiasts due to the overall good quality of their products either its sound quality or build quality. But take note, they were once part of a company that specialised in acoustics engineering, product designing and both software and hardware development. This company also provided some manufacturing expertise and R&D to produce 3D-printed moulded resin shell IEMs to some brands too.



I did a review on their EPZ Q5 and I find it somehow pleasant to use it on a casual listening session. And what I have here is another product and this one somehow did receive an accolade from the prestigious award-giving body for audio/visual products from Japan, VGP.



This is EPZ K1, a hybrid driver IEM with 1 dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature driver set-up. Its dynamic driver is a 9.2mm dual-chambered configuration with composite diaphragm capable for high output and better acoustic performance on low frequencies. The custom BA driver (either made by E-audio or Bellsing) will give a more clarity and better resolution on midrange and high frequencies.



Then, these drivers were housed in a 3D-moulded resin shell chassis, and this resin is of a high quality as it was sourced from the EU, specifically Germany and it is dermatologically-tested material. It takes a UIEM-style form factor to give a better sealing to achieve that 26 db noise isolation rating. The faceplate of this set has a black colourway with carbon-fibre pattern and brand logo printed in gold colour. Unlike the Q5, the K1 uses a standard 0.78mm 2-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism on detaching cable.




Its cable is a 4-core OFC silver-plated copper wirings that were twisted for better signal transmission and less microphonics, and the variant that I got for this set has a built-in mic and button for receiving & ending calls, and also for play & pause commands. On its termination plug, it uses a standard 3.5mm SE and it was gold-plated for corrosion-resistant and better conductivity.



Regarding its fitting and comfort, The UIEM-style contours of its shell is quite smooth and it rests well into my lugholes and was able to achieve a good noise isolation that EPZ claims on their ad marketing of this set. Job well done! EPZ.



With its product packaging, The EPZ K1 has a larger than usual rectangular packaging box and its content presentation inside was somehow well-organised.



Here are the following contents inside the packaging box:

● Pair of EPZ K1

● Stock cable

● Three (3) pairs of black-coloured flat ear tips in different standard sizes.

● Three (3) pairs of black-coloured double-flange ear tips in different standard sizes.

● Ear tips tray

● Felt cloth storage bag

● Paperwork like instruction manual, Q.C card, postal card with Q.R. codes and warranty card.




In amplification and power scaling, it appears that EPZ K1 is quite easy to drive and device sources such as smartphones, laptop and tablets are able to give a proper power output on this set. With sufficient power output, this set sounds dynamic and able to encompass the whole frequency spectrum to achieve that full range sound.



This set has a U-shaped with a tinge of brightness on it as it has more emphasis on both low and high frequencies and a tad neutral midrange on the subjacent presentation.



LOWS/BASS:

The low frequency is pretty accented here in this set as its bass response is quite authoritative, deep and thwacking. It seems that it has a more prominent presentation on the mid-bass rather than the sub-bass itself that will give a volume on some instruments and vocals.

It has a decent presence of sub-bass as I was able to hear some faint reverberations and rumble sound from instruments like synthesisers, low tone guitar, drum machines and octabasses. Mid-bass on this one has an ample texture to give more body and acuteness on bass-focus instruments and a certain vocal type. Bass guitars have a weighty, earthy and rasping sound on them on every plucking of its strings on either fretted, fretless or slapping techniques as I enjoy listening to John Paul Jones, Steve DiGiorgio, Cliff Burton and Patricia Morrison of The Sisters of Mercy. Bass kick drums has a tad thunderous, thudding and sustaining sound on them as I was able to enjoy John Bonham's authoritative bass kicks on When The Levee Breaks, Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo on their rapid double bass drumming and Marduk's Fredrik Widigs on his bass kick drum on The Blond Beast. Bass-baritone vocals have sufficient depth and dark tone to have a guttural and dense sound as I'm delighted to listen to some artists with these type of vocals like Peter Steele, Barry White, Louis Armstrong and Andrew Eldritch.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange frequency on this one is a tad notch in the overall presentation in frequency spectrum, but it has sufficient warmth, clear and energy to give a density note weight on vocals and instruments.

Male vocals has a texture and depth to add more focus on baritones, tenors and countertenors. Baritones have plush, warm with good smoothness on them while tenors have brassy and metallic sound in them, and then on countertenors, they have a tender and a bit glowing sound on their vocal qualities. Meanwhile on female vocals, they have these lush, vivid and energetic characteristics albeit there are some instances of having a little bit of shrillness and screechy particularly on high pitch vocals like sopranos. Contraltos have sufficient depth and lushness for rich, smokier and hefty vocals. Mezzo-sopranos have a smooth, warmer and fiery sound on them with their distinctive florid and rapid vocal passages of their upper tessituras. Sopranos have a shining, gleaming and metallic sound as I'm please on listening to them either in operatic or in modern music format.

Here are some sample artists on specific vocal types:

Baritones - Jimi Hendrix, Scott Weidland, Eddie Vedder, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Robert Merrill

Tenor - Ronnie James Dio, Robert Plant, Justin Timberlake, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti

Countertenor - King Diamond, Daron Malakian, Robert Gift, Andreas Scholl, Philippe Jaroussky

Contralto - Annie Lennox, Tracy Chapman, Toni Braxton, Anggun, Ella Fitzgerald

Mezzo-sopranos - Andrea Corr, Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac era), Sharon Den Adel (Within Temptation), Dolores O'Riordan, Cecilia Bartoli

Soprano - Mariah Carey, Alison Krauss, Tarja Turunen, Diana Damrau, Olga Pereyatko

Instruments on this one sounds quite natural with some added brightness on some instruments like strings and woodwinds. On strings, guitars have crisp and ceiling sound on them as I hear clearly in every pluck of its strings, and the violins have a vibrant and metallic sound on every stroke of its bowstrings. Woodwind instruments like concert flutes, piccolo, clarinets and saxophones have a bright, clear, penetrating and reedy sound respectively. As for brasses, trumpets have an intense and stately sound on them, while horns have warm and metallic sound on them, and then on trombones, they have a brassy and tense sound on blaring its notations. On percussives, snares have sharp, metallic and shrill sound, tom drums have warm, full and ringing sound on them, field drums have sonorous and a tad boominess on its tonal colour, and then , kettledrums have their deep and heavy sound on every rebound of its drum strikes. Pianos have a quite balanced sound and it has a warmth and bright tone on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The general treble response on this one is quite bright and energetic due to some noticeable peaks on the upper-mids and presence part. Those prominent peaks able to give a more precise attack of percussive and rhythm instruments and a better vocal definition. It also boost some presence of detail, clarity and crispness of its overall sound quality but there's a catch, it has some observable tinny and a tad shrilliness but somehow it managed to control the possible instances of sibilances and I don't hear any jarring sound that might be detrimental to listening experience.

It has a good amount of sparkle and a sufficient amount of air on its brilliance region. On some instruments, cymbals have shimmering and sizzle sound while hi-hats have its distinguishable chick sound which is a shortened buzzing tone. Celestas have bright and glistening sound on their long resonating notes and glockenspiels have a piercing and shimmering sound on them either on keyboard format or in a mallet-type.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

EPZ K1 projects a decent and quite proportional sound field size in which I consider it as above-average. It has fairly significant width span from left to right, good height reach and depth from front to rear that it gives me reasonably spatial head room with my hearing perception.

Stereo imaging projects a rather two-dimensional presentation and somehow I was able to track the placement of instruments and vocals decently across its soundscape. Surprisingly, it has good separation and quite decent on organising some layers of frequency and instrumental tones that will give a better playback on more complex tracks like orchestras and jazz.

The cohesive performance of its hybrid driver configuration is excellent as the dynamic driver is capable of delivering a fast transient response that really syncs well with its balanced armature driver to deliver a more homogenous and coherent sound. Resolution capabilities is quite competent as it has solid macro-dynamics and has decently sharp definition on micro-detail retrieval on how it managed to extract some nuances and subtle details from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

CVJ NAMI

■ Like the K1, it has the same driver configuration as it also has 1 DD + 1 BA set-up but it was encapsulated in a composite shell chassis made of polycarbonate plastic and metal alloy shell. It also has tuning switches for more sonic profile options and it has a better stock cable.

■ As it features tuning switches, it offers a variety of tuning profiles that makes them more versatile but it is still leaning towards a v-shaped sound signature. The "high definition mode" of this one will be the closest one to be compared with K1 in tonal basis. Then it has a similar bass response as it also has sounds punchy and incisive, midrange presentation is more recessed but it has more vibrant, bright and energetic sound for female vocals and string instruments. It has also a bright treble response but compared to K1, it's even more shouty and prone to sibilance. On technical aspects, it has an average sound/speaker stage, a typical two-dimensional stereo imaging and decent separation but less refined layering capability.


CVJ MEI

■ This set is also a hybrid driver set-up but it has additional BA which is a Knowles driver that solely handles the midrange to some parts of treble. It also has toggle tuning switches and its shell chassis is made of lightweight aluminium alloy. Its stock cable isn't that impressive at all and it uses a QDC-type 2-pin connector.

■ As it has tuning switches that offer different types of sound signatures, CVJ MEI appeals to be more versatile. This one will be set in 1 DD + 2 BA mode and will be compared to K1, the bass response is less punchy but its texture is quite sufficient to give an ample body on some bass-focus vocals and instruments, it has similar midrange presentation but it has energy and crisper sound, then on treble, its is even more shimmering and sparkling with better airy extension but there are some instances of jarring and prone to sibilance. On technical attributes, MEI has an average to above average soundstage size, decent layering and separation and good cohesive performance of its hybrid drivers. It has fairly good resolution capabilities, that it has solid note weight and texture on its macro-dynamics while its on micro-dynamics, it able to extract some decent nuances and subtleties and details from an audio track.


TANGZU FU DU Verse 1

■ TANGZU's first hybrid driver IEM, it has 1 DD + 2 BA and it was encapsulated in a 3D-printing resin mould shell chassis with CNC-milled aluminium alloy faceplate. And it also has better accessories too as among its inclusions, it was supplemented with more premium ear tips and a bit better stock cable.

■ As for its tonality, the FU DU has a U-shaped, warmish-balanced tuning on it. It has borderline boomy bass response, a more warmer and well-bodied midrange which will be more beneficial to male vocals and brass instruments, and a smoother and relaxed treble response. In overall tuning, this set sounds more analogue-ish that reminds you of some vintage cans and speakers. As for its general technical performances, it has an average sound/speaker stage dimensions, a typical linear two-dimensional stereo imaging, decent separation and layering and decent resolution capabilities as it has a good macro-dynamics and acceptable detail retrieval.

As I summarise and put up a conclusion on this set, this hybrid driver set from EPZ is quite impressive for its price on both tonal and technical performance. If some audio enthusiasts are looking for an enjoyable and engaging sounding set with a premium looking shell at just under US$50/£40, this is one of the sets that I can simply recommend without hesitation.



Here are some unaffliated links if anyone interested to buy this set:

★★AMAZON JP★★

★★ALIEXPRESS★★


And you can check out my first review of an EPZ product:

● EPZ Q5




SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: EPZ K1
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 110dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm,
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER + (1) BALANCED ARMATURE DRIVER

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*



P.S.

I am not affiliated to EPZ nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to TEAM EPZ for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"In music the passions enjoy themselves"

~~Friedrich Nietzsche, German philosopher and philologist, author of The Birth Of Tragedy, The Gay Science and Beyond Good and Evil.


As the second phase of the battle of the planars still going on and many new entrants are trying hard to win some hearts and ears of the audio enthusiasts, LETSHUOER is one of the most active and resilient audio companies out there and they are now acclaimed as the veterans of this particular competition of planar sets in the audio market. With the release of S12 regular and S12 PRO in the first phase battle of the planar sets, they were able to gain and manage to hold a substantial ground in the audio market up to this day that makes these products as one of the most successful planar IEMs in the audio enthusiast sphere.



And now, LETSHUOER release a successor model and they add some interesting features on it, knowing the core philosophy of their company, they are striving for innovation and improvement on their every product releases.



This is LETSHUOER S15, one of the latest IEMs with a planar magnetic driver in the audio market. According to LETSHUOER, this set uses a 3rd generation of planar magnetic driver and it shares similar size with the previous generation of the said type of driver which are measured at 14.8mm diameter. Aside from the latest generation of planar magnetic driver, they also implemented a new technology on this one, the 6mm R-sonic Passive Filtering Module which supports the performance of the planar magnetic driver. The R-sonic Passive Filtering Mode isn't a typical passive radiator as its working principle is quite a contrast in technical sense. It employs a membrane that functions as a filter that corresponds with the amount of pressure inside our ear canal to make it more comfortable for long listening sessons and less ear fatigue due to a reduced pneumatic pressure generated from the drivers. The module itself is quite adaptable as it has a semi-opened chamber that works in tandem with vent ports on its shells as it able to adjust itself from the volume output of sound pressure level, either it is in active or in idling mode. Thus, this system will also help the longevity of the active driver by minimising the possibility of wear and tear through lessening the constant movements of its diaphragm as planar magnetics are known to be very sensitive. For more technical details about this technology, just click here.



One of the benefits of this technology on its overall sound quality is to deliver a more resonant effect and at the same time, a deeper, richer and even darker tone on the lower octaves notes on vocals and instruments with a noticeable improvement of some of its technical aspect. Another implementation that LETSHUOER putting on this set is the dual acoustic with filter crossover for smoother transition of its frequencies for better balance sound.



The driver along with its proprietary components were encased in a composite shell chassis. The cavity base part of the shell is a medical-grade resin that was moulded via 3D-printing process done by HEYGEARS while its faceplate is a CNC-milled aluminium alloy that underwent a sand-blasting process to give that matte-finished surface. The contours of its shells are oval-shaped and they are medium-sized. There are two vent holes on its cavity base that will serve as an exhaust for excess air pressure from its acoustic chamber that was generated from the fast and uniform motion of planar magnetics. The overall design aesthetics of its shells is quite unusual as its faceplate has some angular and sharp patterns that reminds me of a claw of a raptor or a fang of a snake. Like all of their previous products, LETSHUOER continues to use a proven 0.78mm 2-pin connector for this set.



When it comes to wearing, The S15 is quite comfortable as it rests well into my lugholes with any issues at all. It has an excellent passive noise isolation as it manages to block some unwarranted noises coming from the outside surroundings.



In regards of its stock cable, The cable is of a high quality and it is also fairly thick with its braided 2-core monocrystalline silver-plated copper. This cable is also a modular one as we can interchanged its termination plug for different types of audio jack interface. There are 3 types of termination plugs we could choose from, either its a 3.5mm SE, a 2.5mm balanced or 4.4mm balanced, all options are available for its intended usage.



The packaging box of LETSHUOER S15 is quite large and how it was presented inside during the unboxing phase is remarkable as the inclusions are well-organised and the majority of the contents are in a drawer compartment.



Here are the following contents inside of LETSHUOER S15's box:

■ Pair of LETSHUOER S15 IEM transducers

■ Stock cable

■ 3.5mm, 2.5mm and 4.4mm termination plugs

■ Circular IEM storage case with rubber-like coating

■ Three (3) balanced ear tips in different standard sizes.

■ Three (3) vocal ear tips in different standard sizes.

■ Paperwork like instruction manual, warranty card and Q.C. stub.



Regarding its amplification and power scaling, S15 can be driven by sources with decent power output like smartphones or tablets but we will definitely noticed its lack of dynamics and snappiness on its overall frequency range. Amplify it with proper power output and this set will give a fullest range of its sound with a vivid quality on it.



As for its profile on its tonality, LETSHUOER S15 has a mild U-shaped sound signature with an accent of warmish-balanced tonality on it. It has a slight emphasis on low and some parts of high frequencies while maintaining a well-balanced midrange.


(The graph was provided by @baskingshark , thanks to his effort for measuring this set)




LOWS/BASS:

For a planar set, the bass quality of the S15 is quite impressive and with the implementation of R-sonic Passive Filtering Module does even further improve its bass definition that a very few planar sets are able to match its performance. The bass response of this set is indeed punchy, precise and snappy with good control and maintain a clean sound.

Both sub-bass and mid-bass are equally laid-out in the low frequency range to give a well-balanced sound while having an authoritative bass quality. There's a discernible sub-bass rumble and reverberations coming from certain instruments like low tone bass guitars, drum machines, synthesisers and octabasses. Mid-bass have suitable texture to give a more well-bodied sound on instruments and vocals. Bass guitars sound broad and resonant while cellos have warm, full and stately sound on them. Bass kick drums have sonorous, thudding and rumbling sound and it is capable of delineating the tones of fast double bass of some extreme metal tracks. Bass-baritone vocals sounds well-rendered on this one as they have these deep, resonant and rumbling voices to give that dense and wool-like sound.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation of this set is noticeable a tad indented in the overall frequency range spectrum but it still maintains a well-balanced and fairly textured to project vocals and instruments in a most natural and tonally accurate manner.

Both vocals, either male or female are well-bodied and eloquently presented, as male vocals are well-modulated while female vocals have luscious and euphonic sound of them with sufficient energy on them. On baritones, the lighter ones like light baritone and lyric baritone have a mellow, sweet and smooth sound, while deeper ones like kavalier baritone, Verdi baritone and dramatic baritone have steely, richer and warmer sound respectively. Tenors vocals whether its a leggero, lyric, spinto, dramatic and even a rarer type one, the heldentenors have agile, bright, dazzling, ringing and emotive sound on them. Countertenors too have a graceful, warm and tender sound on them as I was able to enjoy listening to their falsetto voices on hitting their highest note. And then on female vocals, contraltos are able to project their distinctive vocals which sound smoky, husky and rich, while mezzo-sopranos have a musky, fiery and sensitive sound on either lyric or dramatic type. And then sopranos, this set is capable to deliver their typical sound characteristics like coloratura sopranos have a bright and tangy sound of their high velocity vocal passage while soubrette and lyric soprano vocals have bright timbre with added sweet and a hint of rich sound, and then dramatic sopranos have richer and deep resonant emotive vocals on them.

As for instruments, on string ones like guitars and violins, guitars have a balanced and fundamental sound with added articulation and crispness on them, and violins have lively, vibrant and eloquent sound on every grip and stroke in its bow strings. Then on brasses, trumpets have substantial, full and vivid sound while trombones have tense, brassy and powerful sound, and then horns have warm, resounding and intense sound on them. Woodwinds like concert flutes, piccolos, clarinets and saxophones, flutes have silvery, rich and mellow sound, piccolos have a clear and intense sound on them while clarinets have its velvety and warm sound, then on saxophones have a reedy and sombre sound on them. On percussive instruments, snare have precise, hard and bright sound, field drums have dark, sombre and full sound on every stroke, tom-toms have a warm, rumbling and orotund sound on them, and kettledrums have heavy, deep and resonant sound on them. Pianos seem to have warm, full-bodied sound while maintaining a well-balanced tone on them.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

For those who are quite familiar with the typical planar sound on the treble register, this set's treble quality is quite different compared to its peers. It manages to tame down and control those too energetic, prickly and sizzle sound that we usually encounter on planar magnetics whether it's an IEM or headphones. Therefore, the overall treble response of S15 is smooth and well-balanced while having a properly quantifying sparkle and good airy extension. In my hearing, there's an observable highlight on the upper mids and presence part that gives a well-executed percussive and rhythm instrument attack and an emphasis of projecting vocal articulation. The accented presence gives some crisper, detail and clarity of sound.

As for instruments, cymbals have a bright, shimmer and resonant sound while hi-hats have a shortened buzzing sound on them. Glockenspiels have brilliant and lustrous sound and celestas have silvery and sweet sound that gives those heavenly or aristocratic ball court vibe on their distinctive monotone sound.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Given that this is a planar set, it will have an excellent technical capabilities and S15 did inherent those qualities. It has a quite spacious sound/speaker stage as it has a fairly wide span from left to right, good height ceiling and impressive depth distance between front to rear that within my headroom, it gives me an impression of roomy and sizable auditory spatiality. This gives me an excellent head shadow on how I perceived it.

Stereo imaging projects an atmospheric and 3D-like presentation where I was able to locate the placement of instruments and vocals, and all of its elements are well-separated with considerable gaps and spacing on each other while it was placed in well-defined and precise layering of tones and frequencies in a black background of its sonic canvas. This incredible aspect will let you enjoy listening to some of the most complex multi-instrument tracks like jazz, movies scores and orchestras that you definitely hear a clean, articulate and well-furnish sound.

Coherency on this one is on a excellent mark as planar magnetic drivers are known for its precise, fast transient response and well-handle decay and this set have those qualities at all. Resolution capability on this is one is quite remarkable as it has a solid fundamental on macro-dynamics while having a clear, sharp definition on its micro-detail retrieval as it was able to extract some nuances and detail infos like note ends and notation attacks from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

LETSHUOER S12 PRO

■ This is S15's supposedly predecessor but it is way much cheaper, it uses the same diameter size of planar magnetic and it was encapsulated in an all metal alloy shell. Like all LETSHUOER products, it has a good amount of accesories and it also has a modular cable.

■ Tonality-wise, S12 PRO has a bright U-shaped sound profile which makes it tonally contrasting to S15's. It has a tighter bass response with less textured mid-bass, a more noticeable notched midrange but it sounds more transparent, crisper, a bit more energetic sound particularly on high octave female vocals and instruments like strings and woodwinds. And brighter and shimmering treble response with some occurrences of sibilance. In technicalities, S12 PRO sound/speaker stage size is more of an above average when it compares to S15 which has a bit wider sound field and has a less solid note on macro-dynamics, the rest of technical aspects are very similar after all.


AUDEZE iSINE 10 (Demo)

■ This is probably the first planar magnetic IEM from AUDEZE and it has an unusual shell chassis design that reminds me of a spaceship. It has a semi-open back design and it houses a larger 30mm first generation planar magnetic driver. To be honest, when I tested this one a few years ago, I've struggling to get a better fitting of it.

■ iSINE 10 is definitely a V-shaped sounding IEM as I vividly remember how it sounds. Compared to S15, It has a tight and hollow bass response, a very recessed and lean midrange that also give some odd timbre and tonality on vocals and instruments, particularly female vocals and some percussives, and harsh and peaky treble response that might be a problematic to treble-sensitives. Technicalities-wise, due to its semi-open back design, its projects a wider soundstage compare to S15 and it also has a good stereo imaging, separation and resolution capabilities but power scaling on this one absolutely nightmare on this one as this is definitely hard to drive that you need a desktop-grade DAC/amp amplifier just to drive this set properly.


AUDEZE iSINE 20 (Demo)

■ This was the most pricey planar magnetic IEM that I've tested so far, it still follows the design philosophy of its predecessor, The iSINE 20 also employs a 30mm planar magnetic driver and like the iSINE 10, I'm also struggling to find a better fitting on this one.

■ iSINE 20 is still a V-shaped sounding one but compared to iSINE 10, it is a bit more refined. It is a sub-bass focus bass response and bit lean mid-bass, a recessed midrange but at least it has bit warm to have a semblance of an ample texture and density on its note weight but there some instances that its timbre and tonality sounds really odd to my ears especially to female vocals sounds too shouty or a bit nasally and too much ceiling and lingering sound on acoustic guitars and somehow a smooth treble response that it dulls the shimmer and crispness on it and even subdues the airy extension. The technical performance of this set is somehow excellent just like its predecessor but I also noticed its less sharp definition of its micro-dynamics resolution. This set is also hard to drive too like the iSINE 10's so the best option is to use the Cipher cable for its built-in DSP decoder but it is specifically built for iPhones with lightning port and I don't like iPhones personally.


To summarise my review on this device, LETSHUOER S15 is indeed an upgrade from the previous S12 in terms of tonality and some technical capabilities. It really differentiates itself from its predecessors like implementation of new technology and different design aesthetics which is beneficial for better sound quality, more tonal balance and better fitting ergonomics.

As I end my assessment of this, here are some questions that really float in my thoughts. To whom is this IEM for? Is the price hike from the previous model is justified? Why did it decide to ditch an all metal shell design and choosing a composite shell one?

Here are some logical answers that I can share, the first one is if you look for a well-balanced sounding set with excellent technical capabilities, good resolution capabilities with a bit fun, engaging and enjoyable sound factor, LETSHUOER S15 is the set you are looking for. Second one is the increase of its price, With a working proprietary audio technologies that LETSHUOER developed and were implemented inside of the S15 and a bit better modular stock cable, its asking price is somehow justified in my opinion given my exposure of some older planar IEM models that were even more expensive but its tuning is quite atrocious, and last but not the least, LETSHUOER seems aware on some reported condensation issues on all-metal shell IEMs especially if you live in a temperate locality and using a newer composite shell design will minimise those issues at all.

I hope that you really enjoy reading my review on this set.

LETSHUOER S15 is now available at LETSHUOER'S official store. You can check the unaffliated link that I've provided below:

★★LETSHUOER S15 - OFFICIAL STORE★★

Here are my previous reviews on other LETSHUOER products:


◆ LETSHUOER GALILEO (First impressions)

◆ LETSHUOER CADENZA 12

◆ LETSHUOER EJ09

◆ LETSHUOER CONDUCTOR (First impressions)

◆ LETSHUOER D13

◆ LETSHUOER S12 PRO

◆ LETSHUOER EJ07M

◆ LETSHUOER DZ4





SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: LETSHUOER S15
IMPEDANCE: 30Ω
SENSITIVITY: 106dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2M
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm, 2.5mm. 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) PLANAR DYNAMIC DRIVER + (1) PASSIVE FILTERING MODULE

Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*



P.S.

I am not affiliated to LETSHUOER nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to IVY GAO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"Music is the melody whose text is the world"

~~Arthur Schopenhauer, German Philosopher during Romantic Period, Author of "Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung". (The World As Will and Representation)



Kiwi Ears recently released a lot of models and all of them have diverse driver configuration from single dynamic drivers up to quad drivers set-up. And now, they are now releasing an IEM with planar magnetic driver and they are really eager to introduce it in an even more competitive audio market.



This is Kiwi Ears Melody, Kiwi Ears' first IEM with planar magnetic driver. Planar magnetic drivers in a small form factor became readily available and many audio companies are taking its potential performance and implementing it with their products. Planar magnetics have different principles compared to dynamic drivers and balanced armature drivers, it is a magnet that is suspended in a thin flat diaphragm with some wires embedded on it and it will react responsively via electromagnetic signals which makes it even more sensitive compared to traditional dynamic drivers. Planar magnetics drivers are known to have a consistent motion and agility that gives them a faster transient response and even more precise sound.



The planar magnetic that was implemented on Kiwi Ears Melody is 12mm of a diameter which makes it one of the smallest sizes in this type of driver. The drivers were encased in a medium-sized UIEM-shaped composite shell structure consisting of 3D-moulded acrylic resin on its cavity base and a metal alloy material alloy on its faceplate. The faceplate has a Kiwi Ears logo printed on it and I find it appropriate and fits well on its overall aesthetics. Like all Kiwi Ears products, Kiwi Ears Melody uses a 0.78mm 2-pin connector as it is more logical and proven to be more stable.




Fitting and comfort of this set is excellent as it rests well into my lug holes and gives me a good passive noise isolation due to its good sealing that blocks some unwarranted external noises from the outside surroundings. I can certainly wear them during long listening sessions and even during my daily physical activities.



The stock cable of Kiwi Ears Melody is of 4-core oxygen free copper wirings that were braided to ensure durability and better signal output. On its end, it has a 3.5mm termination plug that was gold-plated for better conductivity and resistant to corrosion.



The product packaging of Kiwi Ears Melody appears to be elementary and minimalist with basic inclusions inside of its small packaging box.



Here are the following contents inside the box:

■ Pair of Kiwi Ears Melody IEMs
■ Stock cable
■ 3 pairs of balanced bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ 3 pairs of wide bore ear tips in different standard sizes.
■ Instruction manual



Regarding its power scaling and amplification, it is given that planar magnetic drivers need more powerful output from its sources to generate more electromagnetic signals to its transducers and this set appears to be in that case too. But once this set is amplified properly, it delivers a more dynamic and full range sound that benefited from the performance of its driver.



To determine its tonality, Kiwi Ears Melody has a V-shaped sound signature which is quite warm sounding for a planar set which is quite uncommon.




LOWS/BASS:

This is the most prominent part of this set's frequency range. It is unusual to encounter a planar bass which sounds quite authoritative, borderline boomy and impactful bass response. In my lugholes, this is definitely a mid-bass focus bass response as it has a quantity of texture on it to give more body on certain instruments and vocals. I even thought this one sounds like inbetween good quality dynamic driver and vented Sonion subwoofer balanced armatures that I have in my collection.

There's a decent sub-bass presence as I was able to felt some grumbling and reverberation from instruments in some genres like old school hip-hop, RnB and synth-pop. These sub-bass focused instruments like low tone bass guitar, synthesisers, drum machines..you name it. As I aforementioned regarding of its mid-bass quantity, it definitely gives more volume and texture on some instruments and male vocals, particularly bass to bass-baritone ones. Bass kick drums have a full, thunderous and pounding sound to give more authority and tactility, while bass guitars have a weighty and mighty sound on how it roars and growls, and cellos have a thick and dark sound on every motion of its bow string or plucking. Bass and bass-baritone vocals sound quite deep with dark tones on them to have a guttural, resonating and voluminous sound as I enjoy listening to Andrew Eldritch, Bryn Terfel, Louis Armstrong, Barry White and Peter Steele.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange is definitely recessed on its presentation on the overall frequency spectrum. But despite its recession, it has a warmth and well-bodied texture to give an even more broadness and density on its note weight on vocals and instruments but there are some caveats on which I will expound later.

This type of tuning will give more emphasis and definition on vocals mostly baritones, some tenors and contraltos but on some tenors, countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos, they might sound less expessive and less energetic as there are some instances that they sound lethargic and a tad dull in my liking. On baritones, it appears that it favours more on Kavalier baritone, Verdi and dramatic ones as they sound steely, richer and fuller respectively. Light and lyric baritones appear to have too warm, a tad less mellow and too rich sounding on its intended tonal colour. As for tenors, it seems that spinto, robusto, dramatic and heldentenor types fares better on how this set was tuned for them as their voices have more weight, ringing, rich and deep sound while on higher pitch tenor vocals like lyric and leggero sounds too warm and less brighter that it sounds less spicy, hefty and dazzling. Contraltos sounds very prominent on this one and somehow natural albeit there are some instances they might sound too exaggerated on their intended timbre and tonality as they have a distinctive husky, rich and lush sound. Countertenors, mezzo-sopranos and sopranos will sound less engaging and bright sounding as countertenors and mezzo-sopranos have less tender, too velvety and too "coppery" sounding that these vocal types should sound lighter, less warmer, sensitive and smooth as their vocal characteristics intended to sound like. Then on the sopranos, they have less brighter, quite monotone and less gleaming sounding as if that they have almost the same range and pitch with mezzo-sopranos which shouldn't sound like that. Despite this shortcoming on correlation of its tuning and its effects on its timbre quality, we will still be able to enjoy them as they sound fruity and luscious to our ears.

When it comes to instruments, it looks that brasses and most percussives will sound more natural and on The Melody than strings and woodwinds which I will describe later on. On brasses, all of them have substantial darker timbre for a planar set as the trumpets have full and warm sound while horns have full and resounding yet occasionally it has this ponderous tone that lingers, and then on trombones, they have these rounded, brassy and solid sound. In regards of percussive instruments particularly snares, toms, field drums and kettledrums, there's a hardness and sharpness on sound of snares, tom-tom drums have warm, full and resonant sound, field drums have booming and sonorous sound on them, and last but not least, kettledrums have a deep and substantial sound from them. Pianos have a rather a tad warm and richer tone that sounds akin to German antique pianos. On string instruments, guitars have a rather warmer and buttery sound while violins have less vibrant sound as they have this solemn and lustrous sound. As for woodwinds, concert flutes have rich and mellow sound, piccolos have graceful sound on them, clarinets have sonorous and warm while the saxophones have sombre and forceful sound.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

Due to the prominent and more emphasis on the low frequencies, it appears that it balanced out the peaks on upper-mids up to the presence part of the treble region that the treble response appears to have a smooth and quite well-balanced while maintaining a sparkling and airy treble extension. Sibilance are well-controlled and harshness is nigh to impossible on how this set was tuned. That emphasis on the upper-mids will give more precise attack on instruments particularly on percussive ones and a bit of vocal articulation.

Cymbals have a full and resonant sound with a good amount of sizzle while hi-hats have a correct timbre as it has a shortened buzzing sound. Glockenspiel have some lustrous with a hint of glistening sound, and celestas have a sweet and velvety sound on them.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

Its overall sound/speaker stage proportion appears to be above-average as it has a fairly wide span on its vertical axis, has a sufficient height reach and incredibly immersive depth which gives me a rather moderately spacious headroom within my aural sphere.

Its imaging projects an ambient 3D-like stereo presentation where I was able to pinpoint decently the positioning on instruments and vocals on its sound field. It has good separation of instruments and vocals with well-defined arrangement of frequency and tonal layers which makes them able to play the most complex tracks without being congested or disorganised sounding at all.

Coherency of its planar magnetic driver is quite excellent as it was able to perform a fast transient response with good control on decay. It also has a commendable resolution capability as it has a solid macro-dynamics with good micro-detailing as it was able to extract some details and nuances like note ends and notation attacks from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

KEFINE KLANAR

■ This set is somewhat a competitor of Kiwi Ears Melody as both sets were also released at the same time. Klanar has a larger planar magnetic driver and it was encapsulated in an aluminium alloy shell chassis and surprisingly it has a smaller form factor. And also, Klanar has storage case while the Melody doesn't have one.

■ Both sets have similar tuning as Klanar also takes a V-shaped sound signature albeit its sounds a bit more balanced than the Melody. It has a more balanced bass response as sub-bass is more present and a rather ample mid bass. Midrange is definitively recessed on this one but somehow, it has fairly balanced texture and apparently has a more transparent sounding. Treble response of both sets are quite similar but the upper-mids of Klanar is quite more emphasised. On technical capabilities, both sets are similar on soundstage, imaging, layering and coherency performance. On resolution aspect, Klanar has a tad less solid macro-dynamics but it has more sharper micro-detail retrieval compared to the Melody. Klanar is a bit more easier to drive though for a planar set.




KZ PR1 (Standard/Balanced variant)

■ KZ's first foray on planar magnetic IEM and was considered as the cheapest planar IEM in the market. It uses a smaller planar magnetic driver like the Melody and it was encased in a shell chassis made of composite materials. both of them are packed with rudimentary accessories but the KZ PR1 stock cable is of a lesser quality compare to the Melody's better stock cable.

■ PR1 is also a V-shaped sounding set but compare to the Melody, it has less authoritative and incisive bass response, a noticeable more recessed and even leaner midrange but it has brighter and energetic sound that will be benefiting to female vocals and string instruments then a more prominent and peaky upper-mids that there are some instances of mild sibilance and has less snappier crashing on cymbals. On technical capabilities, compared to Melody, it has less spacious sound field but it has similar imaging, layering and separation. On resolution capabilities, PR1 is a bit inferior as it has less solid macro-dynamics and less sharper micro-detail retrieval capabilities. It is also noted the PR1 is even harder to drive as it requires more power output to sound more dynamic.




HIDIZS MP145

■ HIDIZS' first planar magnetic IEM product and it uses a larger planar magnetic driver. It has a rather humongous solid shell chassis made of aluminium alloy and it has detachable nozzle filter system. Like all Hidizs products, it has a lot of accesories like variety of ear tips, other detachable nozzle filters parts and even an IEM storage bin.

■ Due to its detachable nozzle filters, MP145 offers a variety of sound profiles from warm L-shaped sound signature up to bright U-shaped ones. The red nozzle tuning filter mode which has warm L-shaped sound signature is the closest comparison to the Melody in terms of tonal aspect, while the Melody is quite more authoritative and has more slam on its bass response compared to the MP145 (red tuning filter mode), but overall, MP145 sounds more balanced as it has sufficient bright and energy for female vocals and for instruments like strings and woodwinds while maintaining smooth and evened treble response. Technicality-wise, it has a tad wider sound/speaker stage dimensions compared to the Melody but the rest of technical aspects are similar to one another. On power scaling, this is quite astonishing as the MP145 is somehow a bit more easier to drive compared to the Melody despite its larger driver.




To summarise my review on Kiwi Ears Melody. This is one of the latest planar sets at under US$100/£80 thats offer a rather unusual tuning for planar set which is quite bassy and it managed to tame down some "planar sheen" timbre which are usually associated to the majority of planar magnetic sets available in the market.

As I conclude my review on this set, Kiwi Ears Melody will probably stand out among the planar sets out there due to its tuning philosophy which make truly a peculiar and "The Unlike One" compared to its peers. If you searching for an planar IEM with more fun and engaging factor in an affordable price, simply checkout this set and you will absolutely feel its uniqueness of sound quality.

Kiwi Ears Melody is now available at LINSOUL, you can check out the unaffiliated link below.


★★ KIWI EARS MELODY - LINSOUL ★★


Also, check out my previous reviews on other Kiwi Ears products.


● KIWI EARS CADENZA

● KIWI EARS QUARTET

● KIWI EARS QUINTET




SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: KIWI EARS MELODY
IMPEDANCE: 18Ω
SENSITIVITY: 102dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 2-PIN CONNECTOR (0.78mm)
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) PLANAR MAGNETIC DRIVER


Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to KIWI EARS  nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to MS. KAREENA TANG of LINSOUL for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more."

~~George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron, English baron and an influential poet during the Romantic period.


Martha was the last surviving species of her kind. She was a passenger pigeon in captivity and these birds were supposedly endemic in North America but due to over-hunting and deforestation, their population became declining rapidly and the last known passenger pigeon in the wild was shot.




USB DAC/Amp dongles became a staple and a must have contraption for a portable audio enthusiast. HIDIZS was one of pioneers in the portable audio industry that released some of the best DAC/Amp dongles in the market like S3 Pro, S9, S9 PRO and XO. The release of the original S9 in 2020 was one of the pivotal moments of the portable audio industry that truly defines the mobile hi-fi experience at a reasonable price.



As I mentioned many times in some of my reviews regarding my grievances on the removal of headphone jacks on smartphones due to some initiative effort of a certain tech giant that up to this day, I don't have a respect on that company given that the founder was an avid audio enthusiast and a known audiophile. But everything that happens regarding this unfortunate decision has its own silver lining and some entrepreneurs in the portable audio industry take advantage of that opportunity and USB DAC/Amp dongles were one of the few innovations that were developed. (Yeah, yeah…Audioquest Dragonfly series were the first USB DAC/amp dongles but it was specifically used for laptop or PC application as far as I know and doing it with mobile phones is rather complicated and a bit of hassle as you need an adapter on it)



What I have here right now is the latest evolution of HIDIZS S9 series, The S9 PRO+ : Martha. The S9 PRO + is the follow up model of the previous flagship USB DAC/amp dongle, S9 PRO. The difference between the previous and the current generation of S9 PROs, the current one has key buttons for volume control and play/pause, implementation of some digital tuning filters, a more compact form factor and the ditching of 2.5mm balanced output to the more stable 4.4mm balanced output which is now the current standard.




On the physical aspect, S9 PRO + : Martha has a more compact size compared to some other DAC/amps in the current audio market. Its overall construction frame is made of aluminium alloy (probably a 2024 series) which are aviation-grade and are known to have a high tensile strength and also has excellent fatigue resistance properties for better durability. It underwent a CNC-milling process to ensure robustness yet lightweight build. It has some angular contours on its sides that reminds me of some hypercars and there's a HIDIZS logo RGB LED indicator for determining the digital tuning filter mode, sample rate and audio file format.




Here are the following corresponding colour coding:

SAMPLE RATE

■ GREEN - PCM 16-24 bit/ 44.1 - 96kHz, DoP 88.2kHz
■ BLUE - PCM 24-32 bit/ 192kHz, DoP 176.5kHz
■ RED - PCM 24-32 bit/ 384kHz, DoP 352.8kHz
■ WHITE - PCM 24-32 bit/ 768kHz, DoP 705.6kHz
■ YELLOW - DSD 64/128
■ PURPLE - DSD 256/512


DIGITAL TUNING FILTER EFFECTS

● GREEN/Anodizing fast roll-off (Default Filter) - Slightly forward vocals, extended high frequencies with reduced resonance.

● BLUE/Linear phase fast roll-off - Enhanced analytical capabilities, delivering a clean and crisp sound.

● YELLOW/Linear phase slow roll-off - Enriched harmonics, full low frequencies, and a natural reverb.

● PURPLE/Minimum phase fast roll-off - Balanced and moderate sound.

● WHITE/Minimum phase slow roll-off - Clean sound with a forward position.

● RED/Hybrid fast roll-off - Soft and smooth sound with enhanced detail.

● N.A./ Brick wall - Excellent dynamics and strong presence.



The internal part of HIDIZS S9 PRO + uses similar components with its predecessor as it uses a flagship ESS DAC, The ES9038Q2M but HIDIZS claimed that they made some improvement on it like improving the SNR and a lower THD noise rating for better detail and accuracy of its sound reproduction. This gives a substantial upgrade over its predecessors when it comes to performance parameters. Aside from implementing a proven Hi-Fi DAC, it was also connected to HIDIZS latest generation of their audio processing circuitry architecture consisting of newer independent headphone amp, USB interface processor and POP sound cancelling for more accurate sound reproduction while retaining a natural, tidy and detailed sound. And another thing that I should mention, HIDIZS also implemented several digital tuning filter effects for more sonic ambient options and optimising the best possible effects of sound quality. On change its digital filter effects mode, press the two key button and check if there's a change of colour on its LED indicator. But to be honest, the changes of its tuning filter effects are rather marginal as if you can't hear some changes unless you do more meticulous critical listening which takes some time to figure out the subtle changes.


On its analogue output interfaces, it has the standard 3.5mm SE and a 4.4mm balanced which is quite a new implementation on a HIDIZS product. The 3.5 SE has maximum output of 130mW + 130mW, while the 4.4mm balanced output can reach up to 180mW + 180 mW which makes them quite powerful enough to power some of the hard to drive cans out there and all IEMs of any driver configuration and earbuds will be properly amplified. All the said output measurements are in the ideal load conditions of 32 Ohms.



The product packaging of HIDIZS S9 PRO + is rather minimalist and elementary as it includes some accessories just simply to cover the basics of its usage.




Here are the following contents inside of its packaging box:


■ HIDIZS S9 PRO + DONGLE

■ Detachable type-C to type-C short cable

■ USB type-A adapter

■ Hi-res sticker

■ Paperwork like Q.C stub and warranty card.




As for connectivity, This device is quite versatile in both software and hardware aspects. On the software side, this device works well on some of the most popular operating systems platforms like Windows, Linux, MacOS, Android, iPadOS and iOS, and some applications and programs with USB Audio output support. Meanwhile on the hardware, this device can be used on smartphones with either Android or iPhone, laptops, tablets and desktop PC as long as they have type-C connector or USB type-A port.



In terms of tonality and sound quality, HIDIZS S9 PRO + has a balanced-neutral sound signature that deviates a bit compared to the previous generation of S9 Pro which was more energetic and a tad brighter sound.


IEMs and headphones that were used to test this device:

● BQEYZ WINTER

● BQEYZ WIND

● SEE AUDIO BRAVERY RED

● AFUL PERFORMER 8

● AFUL MAGICONE

● THIEAUDIO HYPE 2

● LETSHUOER EJ07M

● LETSHUOER EJ09

● KEFINE KLANAR

● KIWI EARS MELODY

● KINERA IDUN GOLDEN

● SENNHEISER HD600

● AUDIO TECHNICA M40X



LOWS/BASS:

It depends on tracks and also pairing with headphones and earphones, This device can deliver a tight to punchy bass response that is quite precise, fast and clean in which neutral bass should have.

On the sub-bass part, there's a mild presence of rumbling and reverberation enough to be generated from sub-bass-focused instruments like low tone bass guitars, drum machines and synthesisers. Mid-bass has an ample texture and depth to give an enough heft on some note weight on some instruments and male vocals. This dongle will be able to deliver a raspy and resonant sound on bass guitars, a precise, sustaining and thudding bass kick drums and a sufficient deep resonance and intensity on bass-baritone vocals.


MIDRANGE:

The midrange presentation on this device delivers a neutral, transparent, with just enough warmth to give a balanced texture and tidy to give a sufficient lush, rich and natural sound on vocals and instruments.

Both male and female vocals have fairly texture on its note weight as male vocals have an ample density, depth and volume for baritones up to countertenor while female vocals will able to project an articulate and clear voices with its lush, tender and silky sound whether it is a contralto, mezzo-sopranos or soprano.

The instruments here sound very lucid while maintaining an organic sound with their distinctive tonality and tonal colour. Strings like guitars and violins have enough bright, crisp and vibrant sound, while brass instruments like horns, trumpets and trombones have velvety, full and intense sound respectively. On woodwind instruments, concert flutes have ethereal and airy sound, while piccolos have brilliant and graceful sound and then on clarinets and saxophones, they have a sombre to brilliant sound depending on note registers. Percussives like snares, toms, field drums and kettledrums, snares have clear and sharp sound, toms and field drums have resonant, sonorous and venerable sound, and then kettledrums have deep and rumbling sound. Pianos seems to sound very natural and its tone are quite even and balanced with good warmth and sufficient bright sound.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

The treble quality that this device was able to gauge a well-refined treble response as they have an enough brightness on the upper-mids up to presence part to give a well-precise and articulate attack of percussives and rhythm instruments, a well-rendered vocal definition on vocals and crisper and delineated sound. Its airy extension is commendable as it is quite well-extended with a good sparkle on its harmonics.

In some instruments, cymbals have a crisp and shimmering sound, hi-hats have shortened buzzing and sizzling sound, celestas have a bell-like and gleaming sound and glockenspiels have lustrous and shimmering sound.


OVERALL TECHNICALITIES:

HIDIZS S9 PRO + is capable of projecting a wide sound field with a good height ceiling and immersive depth on its sound/speaker stage. It is also quite competent in its separation capabilities as it is able to separate and each element has its spacing to be determined while its finesse layering is well-organised and pretty articulate in a sonic canvas.

It has a fairly sharp micro-detail definition as I was able to hear some nuances and details like vocal ends, strumming, plucking and striking on instruments that were extracted from audio tracks.


PEER COMPARISONS:

HIDIZS S9 PRO

■ This is the predecessor model of S9 PRO +, it has a longer frame and like its successor, it also has a colour-coded LED sample rate but it didn't have advanced digital tuning filter effects. It uses an identical ESS DAC but the S9 PRO has a typical "Sabre glare" characteristic which I will explain later. There's no hardware key buttons for play/pause or volume level keys. It has a 2.5mm balanced output jack which is quite outdated for today's standard.

■ It has a balance-neutral sound profile with added brightness on it which some audio enthusiasts will recognise as a typical "Sabre glare" . Compared to the S9 PRO, This one has a tighter bass, more energetic yet dry midrange presentation and noticeable more shimmering and crisper treble response. Technicalities-wise, both devices have similar capabilities but due to its sound profile. S9 PRO has a bit more sharper micro-detail retrieval.


TRUTHEAR SHIO

■ TRUTHEAR's inaugural USB DAC dongle and unlike the S9 PROs family, it has a flagship-level dual Cirrus Logic DACs, CS43198 which has a bit more powerful output that can drive some planar cans. It has almost similar size with the S9 PRO but it has a faux-hardbound leather on its covering. It has 4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm S.E. on its output interfaces. It has hardware key buttons for volume level, stop, play and gain mode.

■ As for tonality, SHIO has a warmish-neutral sound signature which makes it more musical and analogue-ish tuning. Compared to S9 PRO +, It has a similar punchiness on its bass response but it has texture on the mid-bass, it has a tad more textured and warmer midrange and less airy and sparkling treble response as it sounds a bit smoother and relaxed sounding. As for its technicalities, Both sets have similar performance like projecting a wider sounder, good layering and separation but it appears that SHIO has more solid macro-dynamics but less sharper micro-detail definition.


As I put a verdict on this product, HIDIZS proves that they are one of the audio companies that are willing to take some feedback from its customer base and try to implement some improvements of their next product releases. HIDIZZ S9 PRO+: MARTHA is definitely an improvement over the S9 PRO with more refined tuning and added more features on it to make this USB dongle DAC more appealing for today's standard and it delivers such performance when it comes to tonal and technical qualities.


HIDIZS S9 PRO+ : Martha is now available in HIDIZS official online store, you can check out its unaffiliated link below.


★★HIDIZS S9 PRO PLUS - OFFICIAL STORE★★


For more HIDIZS product reviews, just click the links below:


■ HIDIZS S9 PRO

■ HIDIZS XO

■ HIDIZS MS5

■ HIDIZS MS3

■ HIDIZS MP145

SPECIFICATION:




Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to HIDIZS nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to MS. ZOIE HELLO for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate her generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe"

~~Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism


As planar magnetic technology on IEMs keeps evolving since the introduction of Audeze iSine 10 in the mid-2010's, it still has its limitations particularly on power scaling to drive these sets properly. But with the introduction of USB Dongles DACs for smartphones and DAPs with better power delivery on driving these types of IEMs, it also has some development by miniaturisation of its parts to be more compact and requires less power output.



This product I have here at my hand will be the main context of this review and before I introduce its features and sonic qualities, I'll introduce the company who crafted this set. KEFINE is one of the recently established audio companies in Mainland China and its name is a portmanteau of "Ke" which is the name of the proprietor of this company and known to be passionate about music and the also a Hi-Fi enthusiast, and then, on the other word, "Fine" is taken from the word "Refine". The word itself shows a dedication of releasing a well-refined product that will be more appealing for budget-conscious audio enthusiasts out there.


This is KEFINE's inaugural product release, The KEFINE Klanar. The Klanar is one of the latest generation of planar magnetic IEMs in the market and its asking price is one of the affordable out there too. It has CNC-milled aluminium alloy shell which are well-precise on its design ergonomics up to its acoustic chamber for better sound reproduction with some emphasis and masking of certain frequencies. The shells were underwent to anodising process to give matte finish on its surface with a simple embellishment of the KEFINE logo on its faceplate to give a rather minimalist yet classy look and it's overall sizes are rather smaller and slimmer compared to the previous IEMs with similar transducer-type that I have encounter so far.



The planar magnetic drivers that were implemented on this set is a 14.5mm and it was constructed with some components like N55 neodymium magnet and Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) diaphragm for more fuller and potent bass response while maintaining a natural and detail sound on other frequencies.



KEFINE did implement a 2-pin connector on this set that makes it easier to do some cable swapping especially if you want to change the termination plug for balanced output. This set has stock cable of good quality, it has 4-core with two types of wires, OFC litz copper and silver-plated copper litz that were braided for better signal transmission to give a more clear and transparent sound. On its termination plug, it uses a standard 3.5mm SE which was gold-plated for less corrosion and resistant to tear and wear.



Speaking of its product packaging, KEFINE Klanar is rather minimalist on how it was packed and the inclusion are rather enough for this set.



Here are the following contents that are included inside the box of KEFINE Klanar:

■ Pair of KEFINE Klanar

■ Stock cable

■ Canvas fabric zippered IEM case

■ 3 pairs of wide-bored UV ear tips of different standard sizes

■ 3 pairs of narrow-bored silicone ear tips of different standard sizes




Given that this set is a planar magnetic IEM, we will expect that it needs more power output to amplify it properly but to my surprise, this set is a tad easy to amplify from my devices whether it is my LG phones, DAPs or USB DAC dongles. Although, it still needs some power output for more dynamic and vivid sound that a planar IEM should have.



As for its tonality, KEFINE Klanar appears to have a V-shaped sound signature as it has more prominent bass while having a notch yet maintaining a tad warmth and balanced texture on its midrange and just a little bit of emphasis on the treble part of the frequency range while having smooth response.


(Graph was provided by @baskingshark , credits to him for his effort)


LOWS/BASS:

This is the most prominent part of the frequency range of this set; it delivers a punchy, deep and fairly tactual bass response that few planar sets are able to match. Both sub-bass and mid-bass are somehow equally presented on the low frequency spectrum.

Sub-bass of this set has a perceivable physicality of rumbling and reverberations in some tracks like synth-pop and old school hip-hop from certain instruments like synthesisers, low tone bass guitars, drum machines and octabasses. On the mid-bass part, it seems that it has a fairly texture note weight on them but there are some instances that it has some lack of darker tone that make it more consistent but overall, it's a good one for planar sets.

On how it sounds, bass guitars have a rasping and bit dull sound while bass kick drums have thudding and gloomy sound. And then bass-baritone vocals, they have depth and volume though I feel that it's a bit hollow and like I mentioned before, that inherent less darker tone to give that distinctive guttural and heft sound.


MIDRANGE:

Initially, just by analysing its sound profile, the midrange of this set is absolutely recessed on its presentation but in a good way that it maintains a balanced texture, transparency and detail. It gives sufficient note weight on vocals and instruments, although in some instances, I somewhat hear that tad leanness in my opinion.

In vocals, particularly female ones, they somehow sound vivid and sweet as they captivate me. Contraltos have a smoky sound though I am still looking for more lush and richness of their vocals that I'm accustomed with. Mezzo-sopranos have that smooth and "coppery" sound that I really enjoy while sopranos have creamy, light and sweet which suits better with soubrette, lyric and dramatic types of soprano singers, but on coloratura types, it's a bit lack of energetic and shimmer to project those high note extension for vocal passage. Meanwhile on male vocals, it only has enough texture just to give some volume and density and hint of warmth on baritones and tenors. Baritones sounds a bit too smooth and less lush sounding on my ideal timbre on them while tenors have a bit tender on my preferably tone but at least it has some clear and metallic sound that somewhat fare better lighter tenor vocals like leggero and lyric. Countertenors have similar characteristics with mezzo-sopranos but it has some graceful and tender sound from them.

On instruments, it seems that they sound quite natural with good detail and clarity as I myself enjoy listening to instrumental tracks. Strings like guitars and violins, they sound in neutral tone with just a little bit of gleam as guitars sound balanced and tad dry while violins have a sensuous sound with just a hint of metallic on them. As for brass instruments, trumpets have the intense yet stately sounds, horns have metallic and resounding sound, and then on trombones, they have a dramatic and concise sound as I listen to some orchestra or ska tracks. On woodwinds, piccolos have a rather light and graceful sound in contrast on its ideal bright and brilliant tonal colour that it should have, concert flutes have mellow and filigree sound, and last ones are clarinets and saxophones and they sounds mild, velvety and sombre. Percussive instruments especially on snares, tom-toms and field drums, have clear, resonant and venerable sound characteristics respectively. Kettle drums have a mellow and velvety sound and pianos have an even and balanced tone to its encompassing note range.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

This is one of the few exceptional planar sets when it comes to treble response. It is so smooth and well-balanced that it manages to tame down those "planar sheen" characteristics that we usually encountered on IEMs with similar transducer type. It has an accentuated upper mids just to give an ample note attack of percussive and rhythmic instruments and vocal definition and some dips on the presence part of the treble frequency to avoid any harshness or controlling sibilance while maintaining a smooth and pleasant response.

Cymbals have a lustrous and soughing sound while hi-hats have its distinctive chick sound as it has a shortened buzzing sound. Celestas have sweet and mellow sound, while glockenspiels have some glistening and lustrous sound from them. It has an ample sparkle and moderate airy extension that will somehow satisfy some listeners who want treble quality and quantity, and also a safe recommendation to treble-sensitive folks.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING AND OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

In general, on how I perceived its overall sound field dimensions, The Klanar has an above-average wide span from left to right, good height reach and immersive depth from front to rear as it gives me a fairly moderate head room within my aural sphere.

On stereo imaging, it projects a concave-like presentation of its stereo field where I was able to pinpoint a placement of instruments and singers on its sonic spatiality. It has a good separation of elements while having an adequate definition on its tonal and frequency layers that delivers a more harmonious and cohesive performance.

In terms of coherency, planar magnetic drivers are no doubt very coherent and have a fast transient speed to deliver a crisp and clear sound. Resolution aspects on this set are quite competent in both macro-dynamics and micro-dynamics as it has good homogenous note texture while having decently sharp definition on detail retrieval from an audio track with its detail infos and nuances.


PEER COMPARISONS:

LETSHUOER S12 PRO

■ Like the Klanar, it uses a larger planar magnetic driver and is also encapsulated in a metal alloy shell chassis albeit it's a bit large. It has modular cable and more included accessories on its packaging box.

■ As for tonality, S12 PRO takes a more U-shaped sound signature which makes it more versatile sounding. It has tighter and penetrating bass response, less recessed midrange with crisp and brim with shimmering sound on vocals and instruments, and a brighter, vivid and energetic treble response.

■ On technical capabilities, S12 PRO has a bit of an edge in few aspects, it has a bit wider on its lateral sound field and a sharper detail definition. But it is more prone to "planar sheen" timbre unlike the Klanar which manage to suppress it a bit. Also, it's a bit harder to drive compared to the Klanar.


HIDIZS MP145

■ This is another IEM with a similar driver that has large planar magnetic, although it has an even larger shell with unusual design cues. Like all current generation of Hidizs IEMs, it has a proprietary detachable tuning nozzle for more tuning versatility.

■ As I mentioned regarding its detachable tuning nozzle system on MP145, it offers a variety of sound profiles from a warm V-shaped to bright U-shaped that makes this set more of an all-rounder. It has more punchy and tactile bass response especially red tuning nozzle mode, a warmer and lusher(red tuning filter set-up), even and more balanced texture (rose gold tuning filter set-up), and a tad brighter and energetic (silver tuning filter setup) on its midrange and almost similar smooth treble response with Klanar in red tuning filter set-up or more sparkling and airier brilliance treble on both rose gold and silver tuning filter set-ups.

■ Regarding its technical capabilities, MP145 has similar performance with the Klanar in sound/speaker stage, stereo imaging, separation etc. But MP145 has bit sharper definition on detail retrieval and like Klanar, it has less "planar sheen" timbre.

As I summarise my review on KEFINE Klanar, this sets is indeed a product that truly signifies the development of planar magnetic IEMs within few years as KEFINE was able to deliver a more refined product that will be more budget friendly for audio enthusiasts who wants a good build quality with good tuning and competent technical capabilities. For sure that this type of tuning might not suited to some adherents of neutral and almost uncoloured tuning but its feat on its miniaturise engineering marvel on how a large planar magnetic driver was able to fit on such a compact form factor will make this set even more impressive to hold. If you are looking for an affordable planar IEM, this set is highly recommended to you then.





If you are interested to purchase this set, here's are the following unaffliated links:

AUDIO 46: https://audio46.com/products/kefine-klanar

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKZ71VP3/kefine+klanar/

LINSOUL: https://www.linsoul.com/products/kefine-klanar

HIFIGO: https://hifigo.com/products/kefine-klanar

ALIEXPRESS: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1103187464?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.5e8evTTsvTTsR
m

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: KEFINE KLANAR
IMPEDANCE: 16Ω
SENSITIVITY: 105dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 40KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: 0.78 2-PIN CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm, 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) PLANAR MAGNETIC DRIVER


Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to KEFINE nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to Mr. Collin Yang for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

"Music is life itself"

~~Louis Armstrong


The portable audio market is now populated with myriads of audio companies since its renaissance from the previous decade due to globalisation. And some of these products became more accessible to the people who wants a product that is cheap and affordable yet it could give a good performance for its asking price. The rise of Chinese audio companies shouldn't be ignore of their presence in audio/visual market segment as they became a force to be reckoned with.

About this audio company that produces this set to be featured on this product review, EPZ became an independent company in 2019 and under their portfolio, they have an over a decade of extensive experience on research and development and manufacturing process as they were once part of OEM company that was a technology-based that produces and supply certain acoustic parts and some hardware components to other audio brands. They specialise on acoustic technology and 3D-printing processing that became staple factor and feature of their products.



This is EPZ Q5, its their latest model for the entry-level segment. It has single dynamic driver and it is of a fine quality as it has a circumference of 10mm with a diaphragm made of ceramic carbon nano that makes unusual to be implemented in a product in this price range segment. With this type of driver, it offers a better tensile strength and quite fairly light that it is able to deliver a more responsive sound vibrations with lower distortion for richer, more accurate, better resolution and coherent sound quality.



The drivers were encapsulated in a medical-grade, skin friendly resin shell housing which underwent via 3D-printed process that was meticulously design for better performance with its acoustic chamber that will handle the resonance and able to dampened and releases some excessive air pressure from the sound waves generated from it. If we look upon its design cues, we will instantly notice that it takes some inspiration from other established audio brands like Meze, Westone and Shure. On its faceplate, it has a similar aesthetics with Meze Advar while on its cavity base, it takes some form factor from Westones and Shure IEMs albeit it has a thicker stem on its nozzle. EPZ uses a MMCX connector as its interlocking mechanism for better flexibility and proper ergonomic design on its shell chassis.



As for fitting and comfort, EPZ Q5 sits comfortably well in my lugholes that I don't experience any discomfort during my long listening session or even on my daily physical activity. It has a good passive noise isolation as it was able to block a substantial amount of noise coming from the outside surroundings. There is one thing that I should address on this, in a stock eartips with balanced bore, there's a slight driver flex on every insertion to my lugholes but when I change its stock ear tips to other types of stock ear tips which are smaller and with flatter profile, I don't experience it anymore.



Regarding its stock cable, it has a 2-core of mono crystalline silver-plated copper wiring that were insulated in a clear PVC coating with a gold-plated 3.5mm termination plug at its end. Upon ordering this product, you can choose a termination plug of your choice either a 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm balanced or 2.5mm balanced.



As for its product packaging and its unboxing presentation, it has a black-coloured square-shaped box with a copper hue on its print to give that elegant and minimalist design cues. The presentation itself on how we will open is quite unique as it has split-style opening although the execution of its functionality is pretty flawed due to lack of clearance of some of its proportion that causes some minor obstruction.



These are the following contents that we will find inside:

■ Pair of EPZ Q5 IEMs

■ Stock cable

■ Oval-shaped zippered IEM storage case

■ Three (3) pairs of flat ear tips in different standard sizes.

■ Two (2) pairs of balanced bore ear tips in different standard sizes.

■ Paperwork like Q.C. stub and instruction manual.



Power scaling-wise, this set is pretty easy to amplify that we only need a decent volume level from our multimedia portable device sources like smartphones, tablets and DAPs. A medium amplitude level in a normal gain mode will be enough to deliver a dynamic and a full-range sound that was quite satisfying to our hearing.



When it comes to its tonal aspect, EPZ Q5 has a U to V-shaped sound profile depends on the ear tips that I'm using as they have some noticeable variable sound output particularly on some emphasis of its bass presence and upper-mids. This tuning is quite uncommon nowadays and yet it is quite a pleasing sound that has a warmth on it and at the same, it has an energetic sound.


(This graph was provided by @baskingshark , thanks to his effort)




LOWS/BASS

As I mentioned about its warm and energetic tonality, some part of its warmth quality is in the low frequencies as it has a little emphasis on mid-bass part but it is still on the balanced side of tactility and on the punchy side. And this is not definitely a basshead's bass quantity as it doesn't have an enough slam, volume and depth to have that boomy sound.

It has a good sub-bass presence as I evidently felt those reverberations and rumbling sound from instruments like synthesisers, octabasses, low tone bass guitars and drum machines from the tracks of my favoured music genres like synth-pop. old school hip-hop, RnB and classic rock. Mid-bass has a substantial texture to give a bit more body on bass guitars, bass kick drums, cellos and bass-baritone vocals.

Here are some of the sound characteristics of each instrument and vocal in regards to tonal colour.

Bass guitars - resonant, sombre and has a decent weight on every pluck of its strings.

Bass kick drum - sustaining, resonant and thudding sound. Capable of projecting a fast double bass kick drums from extreme metal tracks.

Cellos - warm, rounded and lustrous sound. Its notation is usually range mainly on bass clef.

Bass-baritone vocals - simply espresso-like as it maintains a balanced sound but it seems that it has a less darker tone and not depth enough.



MIDRANGE:

No matter what I do some ear-tip rolling on this set, It still has a noticeable recessed presentation in this particular frequency part on how most instruments and vocals were presented in the mix. But at least, it doesn't sound too lean as it has some semblance of texture on them while maintaining a translucent, clean and crisp sound.

It is given that EPZ Q5 favours more on female vocals and instruments like strings, woodwinds and some percussives. Male voices sound fairly decent on this one as it has a enough note weight to give depth and density to their vocal qualities though a tad leaner in my liking.

Here are some of my observations of sound characteristics of each vocal types and instruments:

Vocals:

Baritones - they have smooth and velvety sound which is more suitable to light and lyric baritones which have milder and sweet tone, while the more deeper ones like Kavalier baritone, Verdi, dramatic and noble baritones, they are quite a tad mellow, and less powered sounding in contrast of their natural timbre and tonality but it has a sufficient depth and volume.

Tenors - they have a dazzling and spiciness sound. Lyric tenors like Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras will have their distinctive warm, shimmering and graceful sound. Lightweight or Leggero tenors fare even better on this set. Spinto and dramatic tenors have those ringing and emotive sounds but their tones were less darker and a tad lighter.

Countertenors - they actually sounds great in this one has it has tender and coppery sound on this set as I enjoy to listen Andreas Scholl, Philippe Jaroussky, King Diamond of Mercyful Fate, Daron Malakian of System of a Down and Geddy Lee of Rush.

Contraltos - As they have these husky and smoky vocal qualities but I also noticed that they have somewhat lack of richness and lush vocal texture as it is borderline to be a lean sounding as I listen to Anggun, Annie Lennox and Toni Braxton.

Mezzo-Sopranos - They have a tender, fiery, light and glowing sound that makes them more captivating and comforting to listen.

Sopranos - Due to the energetic nature of this set. It gives a more expressive and brighter vocal quality of this particular voice type. Dramatic sopranos have powerful and more emotive with sufficient texture, lyric sopranos have some fullness with added brightness on them, soubrette sopranos have its tender and sweetness on their vocal characteristics and coloratura sopranos have a silvery and shimmering sound as they execute their agile vocal passage.


Instruments:

Guitars (acoustic/electric) - They have a crisp, bright and a more emphasis on presence tone.

Violins - Bright, metallic and shrilly sounding on every bow strokes.

Trumpets - Brilliant, vivid and penetrating sound characteristics.

Trombones - Metallic and intense sounding.

Flutes - Penetrating, clear and bright sounding

Piccolos - Intense, brilliant and light sounding.

Field drums - Hard, sonorous and penetrating sound on every stroke.

Snare drums - Sharp, precise and dry sounding.

Kettle drums - Deep, resonant and mellow sound.

Pianos - they sound bright, clear and lively.


HIGHS/TREBLE:

EPZ Q5's treble response is on the brighter side as it has a noticeable upper-mids and presence range boost to give a sense of clarity and detail, sharper attacks of percussion and rhythm instruments and better vocal lucidity but at expense of having an occasional shrilly and tad piercing at the vocal tails. Sibilance is somehow well-controlled and jarring was kept minimal.

For a single DD set, it has a good amount of air and is well-sparkled on its harmonics. Cymbals have a shimmering, metallic and sizzling sound while hi-hats has rather bright and buzzing sound. Glockenspiels have shrilly and penetrating sound and celestas have a glistening and glassy sound from them.


SOUNDSTAGE, IMAGING & OTHER TECHNICALITIES:

This is one of its strongest assets and it is quite uncommon to see a single DD set with good technical capabilities especially in the entry-level segment. it has an above-average size of its overall dimensions which give me a moderately spacious head stage as it has fairly natural wide span, a good height reach and satisfactory depth and distance between from and row.

As for imaging, it projects a concave, two-dimensional stereo presentation as I was able to panned out the placements of instruments and vocals in a sonic canvas. Separation is good for single DD as all the elements have a good spacing on each other and it also decent layering of frequencies and tones of each instrument and vocals in the mix that even some of the complex tracks are well-played and it doesn't sound congested and disorganised.

It has an excellent coherency of its driver performance as it was able deliver a fast transient response and a very crisp and clear sound output.

Resolution capabilities is quite remarkable as it has solid note texture along with sharp definition on retrieving some nuances and detail from an audio track.


PEER COMPARISONS:

QOA GIMLET

■ GIMLET has a 10mm LCP driver and it was encased in a metal alloy. Its shell design has a UIEM-style form factor and also has a classy look like the Q5 (even the colourway of both sets are similar). This uses a proven 0.78mm 2-pin connector as its interlocking mechanism.

■ As for tonality, GIMLET has a warmish, mild u-shape sound profile. It has more punchy and tactual bass response, less recessed and more warmer and lusher midrange, and then on treble part, it has more smoother and less brighter response and treble air is tad limited. As for technicalities, it has a good sound/speaker stage but imaging and layering isn't particularly impressive compare to Q5.


TINHIFI C3

■ Like the Q5, C3 is also a single DD albeit its dynamic driver is made of composite materials. It was encapsulated in an acrylic UIEM-style resin shell and it uses a 0.78mm 2-pin connector as its detachable mechanism.

■ TINHIFI C3 has a U-shaped sound signature which follows a Harman target curve with some slight modification particularly on the low frequency to make it a bit warm. It has good sub-bass presence while maintaining a substantially textured mid-bass. It has a tad recession on the midrange but still fairly balanced as it has an ample warmth while maintaining a crisp and glint quality. It has a noticeable boost upper-mids while maintaining a smoother treble response although it has a meagre treble air compared to Q5. Technical capability-wise, If I compare both sets, Q5 is a bit more refined between them but C3 was able to perform pretty decently as it has a good sound/speaker staging and up to par separation and layering capabilities.


SIMGOT EA500

■ EA500 is a phenomenal set on its own right and it was considered as the "gold standard" of proper implementation of a good single DD set. Its shells chassis are entirely made of metal alloy and it has a detachable tuning nozzles for different sound profile to choose from.

■ As for tonality, EA500 offers two types of tuning, a more familiar typical Harman tuning and a SIMGOT "in-house" tuning that these sonic profiles align with a U-shaped sound. On the Harman tuning mode, it has more emphasis on sub-bass and a less textured mid-bass, a leaner midrange which sounds less expressive and lack of emotive on vocals and less airy and a bit dull treble response. The SIMGOT tuning mode is a bit more texture, more dynamic and very vivid sound but at the expense of slight sibilance. On technicalities, both EA500 and Q5 are quite comparable in that matter as they can trade blows on one another especially in resolution capabilities. EA500 has a more solid macro-dynamics while Q5 has sharper definition on detail retrieval.


As I conclude my review on EPZ Q5, despite of soms controversies that thrown at this set due to its uncanny resemblance of a certain product from a more establishes brand, EPZ did a good job on this set on how they tuned this one to have engaging sound which is likeable enough for casual listeners who wants an engaging and fun sounding and a budding audio enthusiast who wants a clarity and details with capable technical capabilities for their listening leisures.

This set is definitely a good recommendation for listeners who want a more coloured tonality as it has an sufficient warmth while having a bright sound.


This product is now available in EPZ Official Store on ALIEXPRESS, there's an unaffiliated link down below.

Link :

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805604304671.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt

SPECIFICATION:

MODEL: EPZ Q5
IMPEDANCE: 26Ω
SENSITIVITY: 109dB
FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz – 20KHz
CABLE LENGTH: 1.2m
PIN TYPE: MMCX CONNECTOR
PLUG TYPE: 3.5mm, 2.5mm, 4.4mm
DRIVER UNIT(S): (1) DYNAMIC DRIVER


Some Tracks Tested: ( * = 16-bit FLAC, ** = 24-bit FLAC, *'* = MQA, '*' = DSD, *'= .WAV)

Alison Krauss -When You Say Nothing At All *
Jade Wiedlin - Blue Kiss**
Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks **
Mountain - Mississippi Queen *
Queen - Killer Queen **
Guns N' Roses - Patience *'*
Eric Clapton - Tears in Heaven '*'
Sergio Mendes- Never Gonna Let You Go '*'
Pearl Jam - Daughter **
Roselia - Hidamari Rhodonite *
Assassin - Fight (To Stop The Tyranny)*
Celtic Frost- Visual Aggression *
New Order - Blue Monday *
The Corrs- What Can I do (unplugged version) *
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child *
The Madness- Buggy Trousers *
Metallica - Motorbreath **
Mariah Carey- Always Be My Baby *
Destiny's Child - Say My Name *
Malice Mizer- Au Revoir *
Mozart - Lacrimosa *
New York Philharmonic Orchestra - Dvorak- Symphony 9 " From the New World." *
Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold (Sting cover)*
Michael Jackson - Give In To Me *
Exciter - Violence and Force *
Diana Krall - Stop This World **
Debbie Gibson - Foolish Beat *'*
The Sisters of Mercy – Lucretia My Reflection**
Suzanne Vega – Luka **
Lauren Christy – Steep *
Ottoman Mehter - Hucum Marsi *
Diana Damrau - Mozart: Die Zauberflöte*
Type O Negative - Black No.1 *
Felix Ayo - Vivaldi: Presto **
Three Tenors - Nessum Dorma *
Mercyful Fate - Witches' Dance *

P.S.

I am not affiliated to EPZ nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to EPZ for providing this review unit. I truly appreciate their generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.