Since joining Head-Fi, the only experience I’d had with 1MORE was the constant praise of their Triple Driver IEM; before this review, I had no idea 1MORE made over-ear headphones. Therefore, when Zoe from 1MORE reached out to me about testing the MK801, I was more than happy to accept and was interested in seeing whether 1MORE’s other products could live up to the expectations that the Triple Drivers set. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the MK801 are $39.99 on Amazon, though they are quoted at $79.99 on the 1MORE website.

Packaging and Accessories:

The packaging for the MK801 was much nicer than I expected for the just-above-budget price point. Inside the 1MORE-branded box, the headphones sat in a foam cutout while the accessories - the cord, a soft carrying bag, and the instruction manual - came in a neat package at the top of the box.


Build:

These headphones are built exceptionally well. According to the Amazon listing, they are built with TR-90 steel; all I know is that I’ve never experienced headphones or IEMs before with such solid construction while staying so light, weighing about half a pound. A thin strip of steel around the headband allows these headphones to be incredibly flexible and form to your head. A thin band of silver metal (it doesn’t have the finish that the rest of the metal does so I don’t know if it’s the same) separates the headband from the ear cups; in my eyes, the construction of the ear pads is the best part about these headphones. Rather than an extendable headband, the MK801 have made the ear cups and frame separate pieces, attaching them with a slider that aesthetically looks very sleek while also making adjustments easier and more precise than on most other headphones.



The cord is also built better than most others I have experienced. I usually deal with budget headphones, so take that with however many grains of salt you want, but I’m very impressed with the attention to detail 1MORE put into this cord. It is Kevlar-wrapped according to 1MORE; I find that it is durable and does not bend or crimp easily. Additionally, it resists tangling; in the past two months, I haven’t had to undo one knot or jumbled section of cable despite probably not treating it as well as I should. The cord also has a 3-button media control with a microphone, made of what feels like the same material as the headphones. The middle button has slightly raised edges on both sides, making it very easy to find and change/pause/play my music without looking.



Fit/Isolation:

The MK801 are incredibly comfortable. Multiple reviews of these headphones mentioned that people found them uncomfortable due to the earpad not fitting all the way around their ears and giving them a headache after an hour or two; I don’t think my ears are any smaller than average but I haven’t experienced this in about two months of use. The soft cups fit all the way around my ears and provide a good layer of cushioning. The headband is also very comfortable and I honestly forget it’s there most of the time since it fits so well.



I’ve found that cans are generally worse at isolating than IEMs; these are no exception. I can hold conversations at a normal volume and hear the world around me if the volume isn’t cranked up all the way. However, there is very little noise bleed; wearing these feels more like I’m in a movie with an ever-present background song rather than struggling to hear my music more prominently than my surroundings or vice versa.

Sound:

Though I had high expectations for the MK801 due to the 1MORE name, I wasn’t ready for how good these sound. Notes come through rich and clear with more detail than I expected, leading to a wide yet intimate soundstage. My only qualm is sibilance - it only really shows on high vocals and cymbals but it’s a bit grating when the rest of the sound is very smooth and cohesive.

Bass:

The bass is exceptionally well-tuned. On almost every other pair of headphones or IEMs I own, bass this deep and rich is bloated and lacks either punch or bounciness. The MK801 is the best of all worlds, with strong bass and sub-bass that work in harmony rather than overlapping each other or bleeding into the mids. I tested bass with three songs and was impressed with them all:

Drunk in Love (Beyonce): The bass intro was pronounced but didn’t steal the show; it immediately turned the song into a banger while remaining light and punchy enough to provide extra detail beyond just a beat.

Sail (AWOLNATION): The song that forces most heavy bass to seriously bloat sounded incredible. Usually, budget headphones and IEMs have to pick between the thumping beat and the intense rumble, but the MK801 not only featured both but had some of the best balance between the two I’ve ever heard.

Fairly Local (Twenty Øne Piløts): The bass is the focal point of this song, so the balance between bass and mids is very important. The bass was loud and deep and punchy but didn’t overpower either the vocals or the other sounds in the song.

Mids:

The MK801 has some of the best-sounding mids of any pair of IEMs or headphones I own. Both male and female vocals shine through and sound incredibly realistic, more like a private concert than headphones. This is especially true for a cappella - these headphones are the best for a cappella of all headphones and IEMs I own.

Background mids also sound great and hold their own against bass and treble. The most impressive part of the mids, though, is their level of detail. Each instrument and individual sound comes through strong and distinct, leading to a cohesive blend of sounds rather than a solid wall of background. This is highlighted on songs like In One Ear by Cage the Elephant and Killer Queen by Queen but makes every song I’ve listened to sound better. On the other hand, sometimes songs with lots of intertwining parts can sound busy due to all of them being highlighted; while this may turn people off from the MK801 for complex songs, I actually don’t mind and am not considering that a true negative of these headphones.

Treble:

Treble is the one section where the MK801 fails to excel. Female vocals and high piano are very detailed and give good life to ballady or otherwise higher songs that sound lackluster on most budget headphones. They are light and melodic without being too airy, which I personally really like. However, there is more sibilance than I would like. It only happens on certain vocals and sharp highs like cymbals, but any excessive amount of sibilance turns me off from the song and the rest of the excellent sound.

Soundstage:

The soundstage is not the widest I’ve heard but makes up for it with incredible depth. Without the Samsung Surround Sound setting on, I can hear sounds in any range as long as they’re in front of me. Songs with a truly 360 degree sound (like All I Need by AWOLNATION) still sound much better than expected and much better than other headphones in this price range but aren’t quite up to the overall level of excellence of the MK801. The depth of the soundstage, though, blew me away. I can clearly hear the distinction between the foreground, midsection, and background; each has a strong presence and none overlaps or drowns out any other. This gives songs a sense of true stereo sound and life that I haven’t heard in any other headphones to date.


Final Thoughts:

1MORE outdid themselves with the MK801. I usually prefer IEMs; however, these headphones have changed my mind. They sound incredible, are built very well while being very stylish, and are some of the most comfortable cans I’ve ever worn. I really wanted to give them five stars but the sibilance on sharp highs held me back. I haven’t experienced any other 1MORE headphones or IEMs but finally understand the hype and could not recommend these more.

I would like to thank Joanna from InChor for sending me these IEMs. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the InChor Wood Earbuds (model M0, which I only found out after receiving them) can be found on Amazon for $21.99. The price has varied greatly since June and was $12.99 in mid-December. While there are InChor products on GearBest, these IEMs don’t seem to be there yet.

Packaging and Accessories:

The box the InChor IEMs came in is very simple. A plain brown cardboard box is held together with an InChor sticker. Rather than customizing the box, all of the information about the M0 appears on the sticker, which seems to me to be a very smart way to lower costs. It does give these IEMs a cheap feeling before I even open them, but at a maximum price of $21.99, they are pretty cheap.



Inside the box sits the carrying case, a 3.75”/10 cm felt square with an uneven flap over the top that snaps closed. I was unimpressed with this case; the uneven flap and inconsistent stitching doesn’t help the cheap feel I got before even touching the IEMs and the size of the case makes it slightly too big to fit in my pocket and awkward to carry with/on me.



The case holds the accessories that come with the M0 - two extra sets of ear tips, a shirt clip, and a small plastic cover for the 3.5mm jack.



Build:

The M0 are built well - most of the finishing touches are subtle but give these IEMs an edge over other similar generic wooden IEM builds. The housing for the 3.5mm jack and the splitter are both made of metal and have anodized surfaces to make them easy to grip. The cord below the splitter is made of braided nylon, making it resistant to tangles or knots as well as to microphonics, and hasn’t frayed or started to come apart through the entirety of my testing. The cord above the splitter is rubber and the right side has a plastic media control button, which has a stronger and more satisfying click than most others I’ve seen, and microphone.



The solid maple housing of the earpiece - branded with the InChor name on top - holds the metal nozzle. The housing does not surround it entirely but has a small circle covered in a fine mesh, making these the only open-back IEMs I own. The housing has a slight ridge just before the nozzle; this is meant to sit on the outside of the ear when the M0 are worn down to ensure a proper fit. Past the ridge is the nozzle itself; the metal lip at the end means you won’t have to worry about losing ear tips and it feels very sturdy. Overall, the build quality of the M0 far surpass my expectations for an IEM of this price point.




Fit/Isolation:

I prefer to wear IEMs over-ear, but these do not make it easy. The ridge on the housing is built for the M0 to be worn down; it still works when worn over-ear but I have to fiddle a bit to find the right position for the IEMs so the ridge doesn’t constantly rub against my ear.



The M0 are a bit big for my ears, which makes them comfortable to wear for short periods at a time, but not more than an hour or two of continuous use no matter which way I wear them. If the entire earpiece were 80-90% of its current size it’d be a perfect fit but as is, it’s a bit large.

These IEMs provide decent passive isolation. Due to the size issue, the ear tips don’t go as far into my ear canal as they could, letting in more outside noise than other IEMs I’ve used. With these, I can hear standout noises, such as my keyboard as I type this review, but a good amount of background noise is blocked.

Sound:

I don’t know whether this just affects my sample of the M0 or not but the sound is definitely tuned towards the left. Vocals and most of the background are stronger in my left ear than in my right, which does not happen with other IEMs when I use the same source. Personally, this pulls me back from the music and keeps me from fully getting into it, which makes me judge these IEMs possibly a bit harsher than I should.

Overall, the sound is very artificial. All parts have a slightly tinny sound to them that makes the music just distorted enough to sound cold and distant, as though it’s coming from a speaker about ten feet away from you. That said, the bass stands out due to its strong boost and, while it may be slightly bloated, helps warm up the sound as a whole.

Bass:

These IEMs have lots of bass and you can tell that’s exactly how they were supposed to be. The low end is incredibly powerful, both in terms of mid-bass and sub-bass. I can feel the vibrations of the sub-bass, especially on songs like Beyonce’s “Drunk In Love” and The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army”. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of bass, and having such a powerful sub-bass response appeals directly to people like me - borderline bassheads who listen mostly to pop and/or rock.

However, the mid-bass creates an incredibly steep V in the sound signature by overpowering and suppressing mids. I heard this best on a cappella songs like Pentatonix’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” - the bass voice was far and away the strongest (even more so than the vocalist) and I could easily pick out the soprano. However, I had trouble hearing the alto (during the verse) and tenor (during the chorus), even when I listened for them. The mid-bass bloats and bleeds very easily, becoming the focus (and loudest part of) a song even when it’s not meant to be.

Mids:

Mids are much weaker than I hoped they’d be. They recess behind treble pretty sharply and even more so in the presence of bass. On their own, mids are clearer than I expected given the overall muffled quality of the sound but are still very fuzzy around the edges and guitar strums and other instruments are not sharply defined.

Vocals should be the highlight of any song; however, in many of the songs that I used to test these IEMs, the bass was more prominent than the singer, drawing attention away from them. This affected male vocalists more than female vocalists and was especially prominent on songs with strong bass; however, even songs that do not feature strong bass, like Queen’s “Killer Queen”, fell victim. Vocals, both male and female, also blended with the background and I had trouble picking out where the voices ended and the background began.

Treble:

The slightly boosted treble is heavy and sluggish, failing to separate and distinguish individual notes on slow piano melodies. On the intro to My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome To The Black Parade”, the notes feel pounded rather than plucked and are missing that light feel that would make the highs multiple times better. It is easy to tell that these IEMs are tuned for as much bass as possible and did not try to maintain a level of treble to balance the sound out well.

Female vocals are distorted, as though they were recorded through a tinny speaker and then combined with the background. Like the background, they are also heavier than I would have liked, but remain accurate in terms of pitch and notes.

Soundstage:

The soundstage is unremarkable. It is around or slightly below average in terms of width and depth, providing a single conglomerated sound rather than individual parts adding to an overall sound. Both the background and vocals suffer from a lack of clarity, becoming mushy and losing details that would enhance the music.

Comparisons:

I decided to compare these IEMs to two KZ IEMs I have due to the heavy focus on bass of the M0.

vs KZ ZS3 ($8 USD):

The ZS3 are probably the closest IEM I have to the M0 in terms of bass. However, the bass - and the sound as a whole - is more refined and the mids and treble have more of a presence. The difference in detail is shocking and puts the ZS3 in a completely different category than the M0.

vs KZ ATE ($9 USD):

It’s not even close. The ATE are much more crisp all around. They have a strong bass - the mid- and sub-bass are not as powerful as those of the M0, but that allows them to avoid the bloat and bleed that the InChor IEMs have and instead offer a more well-rounded and balanced sound. Because of this, the treble sounds much better and less heavy. The ATE are also more detailed than the M0, providing a better soundstage and also better definition within each part. They are also more comfortable (the ATE are the right size for my ears but that will vary person by person) and I personally like the cord better on the ATE.

Final Thoughts:

If you want bass and only bass, these are the IEMs for you. However, the sound quality is not high enough to be used for anything else. These are a decent throwaway IEM to stuff in your pocket but they are outclassed by others half the price.

I would like to thank Liang from Doss for sending me the Doss ANC BE2 to test and review. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the Doss ANC BE2 is out of stock on Amazon and Doss Audio but is regularly $69.99.

Packaging and Accessories:

The BE2 (I don’t know whether the model name is actually ANC BE2 or just BE2 but I’m gonna pretend it’s the latter) comes in a pretty standard box - the front has a picture of the headphones and the model name while the back has specs and more in depth information. The box opens to reveal a fold-out user manual and a black hard clamshell carrying case with the DOSS brand name on it, which is sitting in a foam insert.



This carrying case (or, as DOSS calls it, “portable protective box”) is not small - roughly 7” x 6” x 3” - but is just large enough to fit the BE2 folded up and is much more portable than the box it came in. It is made of a hard but malleable material - I’m not exactly sure what it is - and the inside is coated with a soft, almost felt-like fabric. The top has a mesh pocket that takes up approximately ⅔ of the case and has a small pat of velcro in the middle of the elastic band at the top of the pouch. This pocket has a plastic bag inside that holds two cords - one aux and one micro USB - the only non-case accessories the BE2 comes with.




Build:

The BE2 are the most comfortable over-ear headphones I own. The soft leather earpads are over 0.5”/1.5cm thick, covering my ears completely and making sure that the drivers sit a comfortable distance away from my head. A thin metal band separates the ear pads from the housing, which is made of a hard black plastic. The headband has a thin layer of the same padding as the ear pads; this padding covers just over half of headband and stops at almost the exact point the headband no longer touches my head. The rest has no covering and is made of the same hard plastic.




A panel on the outside of the left and right housing feels more rubberized than the housing, which allows you to find them easier without looking. The ANC button is in the middle of the panel on the left housing. There is a small LED above the button that glows blue if ANC is turned on and red when the headphones are charging. The panel on the right housing has music controls - volume up/down on the top and bottom, song back/song forward on left and right, and pause/play/power in the middle. The bottom of the right housing has the aux input, micro USB input, and microphone.



The headband is also adjustable, allowing you to get the best fit possible. However, although (and most likely because) the BE2 folds to fit in its case, the housings cannot rotate telescopically. That said, they don’t need to rotate (at least for me) to secure a great fit thanks to the thick ear pads creating a great seal.

Fit/Isolation:

Thanks to the large ear pads, simply wearing these headphones provides a bit of passive isolation. This is nowhere near to the level of a decent IEM but still manages to make the background noises of everyday life a bit quieter.

Part of what makes these headphones so comfortable is that they don’t squeeze my head tight, instead relying on the ear pads to make a seal. However, this means that they fit well when I’m sitting in one place but tend to jostle and wiggle when I move around at any pace more than a slow walk.

Battery Life/Connectivity:

DOSS promised a cool 20 hours of playback time, which I assume is without ANC. Doing hybrid testing (both with and without), I got about 12 hours of playback; I can assume that if I didn’t use ANC I would get about 16 or 17 hours. These numbers also depend on volume and a host of other factors that need to be taken into account but you will definitely have a good life of multiple days of music playtime with these.

The headphones do take a while to charge fully - about 3-4 hours - but can provide over an hour of playback on less than half an hour of charge if you need to listen in a pinch. The LED on the left housing glows red when the battery is low and blinks while it is charging.

The BE2 has pretty standard connectivity - Bluetooth 4.1 with a range of just over 10m. When my phone is in my pocket, the sound never skips or hiccups.

Sound:

While playing music, these headphones give off a low but constant crackling sound. Because of this, I listen to all of my music on these pretty loud - once you go above a certain level (~70% max volume) the music drowns out the crackling. However, you can still hear it in between songs. If you like to listen to music at any volume lower than ~70% or if you like to listen to podcasts or anything else where there isn’t a wall of sound in the background, these headphones are borderline unlistenable. Even at higher volumes, I still heard the crackle on any songs that have spoken parts (especially musical soundtracks) or parts with a lack of constant background noise. Without the crackle, these headphones would have been multiple times better. With it, I don’t see myself using these.

Another problem I have with these headphones, albeit much smaller, is that they fade in after being paused rather than simply picking up where you left off. I understand why some people might like this feature - ensuring that music doesn’t start blasting in their ears out of nowhere when they play music - but personally it takes me out of the music and the extra few seconds it takes to fade in add to this effect.

Normally, I analyze the sound part by part; however, due to the crackling, it’s not only hard to pick out parts on songs with lots of treble (such as Adele’s “Someone Like You” and The Fray’s “Hundred”) but I wouldn’t recommend them for anything but loud music and ANC. That said, I was moderately impressed by the sound - the bass is rich and punchy without being bloated, the mids don’t distort even at high volumes and vocals sound clear, and the soundstage is excellent, providing over 180 degrees of sound. Highs are slightly boosted but often get lost to the crackling in treble-heavy songs.

ANC:

DOSS claims that the BE2 can block 90% of low frequency noise, which seems lofty but intrigued me. By playing Celestial White Noise, I found that while the ANC didn’t block all noise, it basically eliminated all lower frequency noise and left only the higher register. Similarly, this blocks out most background TV noise (for example, the boos of sad Jets fans), but I could still hear voices. These headphones would likely be good for airplanes for this reason, although I haven’t had the opportunity to test how effectively they can block up to 85 decibels of low frequency noise. Additionally, the ANC works even when the headphones are off, making them a better option

Comparisons:

In terms of sound, the BE2 loses to any other headphone simply due to that crackling. In terms of ANC, I don’t currently have any of my other ANC headphones with me for comparison but I can update this section once I have them with me again.

Final Thoughts:

These headphones were so close to being great. They are built well, pack a good battery life, have powerful ANC, and a nice sound to complement a better-than-average soundstage. However, the persistent crackling in the background whenever anything is playing renders these virtually unlistenable unless you blast your music. Lower volumes are out of the question and anything without a full sound that engages all registers is prone to be interrupted by crackling. That said, the ANC works incredibly well for lower frequency noises (as advertised) and I highly recommend them for use on a plane, bus, or any other form of long travel.


If it weren’t for the build quality and the ANC, I would give these 1 or 1.5 stars. However, they’ve earned 2.5 due to those two factors and those two factors alone.

I would like to thank Liu from Crabot for sending me two pairs of headphones to test and review. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the Crabot C3 can be found on Amazon for $24.99 or the Honstek website for $26.99.

Packaging and Accessories:

The Crabot C3 comes in a pretty standard box - thick cardboard with the specifications on the side and back - except the front is one large panel of clear plastic, letting you see the C3 from the moment you pick it up. The plastic panel comes off to “reveal” the headphones, which are sitting on a piece of cardboard with the headset held down under a cardboard cutout bearing the C3 model number and with two cutouts (into plastic rather than foam) for the earpads at the bottom.



The included accessories are very slim but nothing less than I expected, especially for a sub-$30 Bluetooth headphone. A flimsy-feeling micro-USB charging cable and sturdier AUX cable are held together with twist ties and sit next to a user manual under the plastic cutout that holds the headphones. The user manual is more detailed than most I’ve seen but, even so, I’m still underwhelmed by Crabot’s accessories - a small bag or carrying case would be nice, especially for these relatively small headphones.



Build:

The C3 look very plain but are built surprisingly well. At just 5.3 ounces, they’re incredibly light, but don’t feel cheap. The housing for the earpads is made of hard plastic; the panels on the housing and the headband are made of the same rubber-like material. This gives the headphones a sleek look overall with a black-on-black color scheme (with silver highlights on the headband). The plastic and rubber also feel different, giving these headphones a more premium feel than others I’ve tried that are over twice the price.



Though the headband is coated in a rubber-like material and not leather padding, it is still very comfortable to wear. It has the right amount of bend; I don’t feel like my head is being squeezed but it’s definitely not loose and the C3 barely move when I wear them. It is also adjustable and easily fits any size or shape head. The ear cups are thin and shallow compared to the other headphones I’ve tried but are still well padded.




The panel on the left housing has the Crabot logo and brand name; the panel on the right controls the music. In the middle is the power button that also pauses and plays; the volume up and volume down are on top and bottom, respectively, and audibly beep every time the volume setting changes, which is good for the short-term but can get pretty annoying pretty quickly; and the forward/back buttons on the sides skip or go back a song if pressed once and fast forward or rewind (between songs as well as in a single song) if held. The charging port, AUX port, and microphone are all on the bottom of the right housing.




Fit/Isolation:

The Crabot C3 are an on-ear headphone that feel like an over-ear. The ear cup is very defined but is also too small to fit around any adult human’s ear but rather sits on top of it. This provides decent isolation - not nearly as good as true over-ears but much better than on-ears with flat padding rather than ear cups.

These headphones are also incredibly comfortable. Due to their light weight, I can wear them for long periods of time without feeling stress on my head or neck, and they’re small enough that it’s easy to wear them around as well as outside. They fit snugly and barely move, even when I do. However, the pressure these put on my ears starts to hurt after about 45 minutes; if it weren’t for this pressure and slight ache, I might not even realize I was wearing these.

Battery Life/Connectivity:

The battery life and charging speed of these headphones are heavily advertised: it takes only 2 hours to charge these fully and they can run for up to 12 hours at 70% volume or 22 days on standby. I wasn’t able to test the runtime claims but after testing them for about two hours, leaving them for two weeks, and testing them again for two hours, they didn’t run out of battery. For a casual listener, this battery life is more than enough; for a more regular listener, this should last easily two days of constant listening. They also do charge incredibly quickly; from near-dead, they charged fully in just over two hours. Not exactly what’s advertised, but I wasn’t using a fast charger or the included charging cable (because honestly I don’t trust it).

The connectivity of these headphones also really impressed me. I usually leave my phone (my music source) on my living room table and walk into every other room in my apartment, going farther and farther one by one until the signal drops. Usually the Bluetooth starts sputtering in the second or third room I go into with slight hiccups and pauses. The C3 didn’t hiccup once no matter how far I got from it, whether I was in a straight line or through four walls. I then moved my phone into the the kitchen and walked to the farthest room in my apartment. Only then did it start to glitch, and only slightly. I haven’t had the opportunity to test many on- or over-ear headphones but these probably have the best Bluetooth connectivity of any of the ones I own.

Sound:

After being impressed with the build of the C3, I was expecting it to sound better. However, it sounds like a low-end Bluetooth headphone - no one part is worse than another by a large amount but the sound suffers from a lack of clarity and separation as a whole. Additionally, the sound signature appears to prefer tenor over bass on some songs, which doesn’t make sense given the low level of detail.

Bass:

The bass is strong but not too strong. The mid-bass is more powerful than the sub-bass but both have good presence. They come together very well to create a sound that is more punchy and bouncy than deep and rich, which works better for songs like The White Stripes’s “Seven Nation Army” or Halsey’s “Gasoline” than anything by Pentatonix or Hozier. That being said, these headphones capture sub-bass rumbles very well, especially on Evanescense’s “Bring Me To Life”.

However, unlike most other headphones I’ve tried, the bass recesses in the presence of strong mids and treble. It still maintains the same quality of sound and does not strongly distort but goes towards the back of the sound rather than filling it out and enhancing it.

Mids:

The mids are accurate and do not recess as strongly as I would have expected them to. These headphones replicate different instruments - especially guitar and piano - very well, but the detail is about what you’d expect for a sub-$30 headphone. That said, the mids do not distort in the presence of highs or lows and blend very well to create a well-rounded sound rather than sticking out or recessing completely into the background.

Vocals, on the other hand, sound a bit muffled. You can hear the low level of detail the strongest in the vocals - words and phrases sound connected and mushy rather than distinct. This affects different types of music differently - the slower the song, the more different words blend together - so depending on your musical tastes this could be a serious problem.

Treble:

Highs are muffled and a bit muddy, as though you’re hearing them through a speaker with a thin towel over it. Piano notes don’t stand out and blend into one another, which makes songs like Adele’s “Somebody Like You” and The Fray’s “Hundred” sound absolutely average. Treble is slightly boosted; this reflects in busy songs as high notes stand out more than the usual consumer-focused V-shaped sound signature. Additionally, the treble is recreated well - rather than all becoming mush in the background, you can hear which notes are supposed to be light and airy and which notes are supposed to be heavier or have more substance to them.

High vocals - tenors as well as female voices - suffer from the same problem as lower male vocals. Words are not crisp and distinct, making it hard to hear a clear separation between background and vocals, especially on songs where both are high. Female vocals sound better on songs in front of backgrounds that don’t heavily feature high notes, though. Surprisingly, there isn’t too much sibilance, which I was definitely expecting.

Soundstage:

The soundstage is nothing to write home about. I could hear all the instruments, even on very busy songs like Cage The Elephant’s “In One Ear”. However, the lack of detail means that they fail to stand out from one another, and I end up hearing a wall of a single sound with highlights on the left or right rather than a collection of individual parts coming together. The lack of depth of these headphones adds to this effect as well, further adding to the wall analogy.

Final Thoughts:

The Crabot C3 is a good sub-$30 Bluetooth headphone as a gift or if you care about budget more than anything else. However, for anything more than casual listening by an untrained ear, the lack of detail and clarity makes these fall flat.

Disclaimer: Although I received these headphones in exchange for my review, all opinions I put forth are my own and I always review as honestly and unbiasedly as possible.

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At the time of posting, the Elepawl EP6 can be found on Amazon for $65.99. It doesn’t look like they can currently be found elsewhere.

Packaging and Accessories:

The EP6 came with very basic packaging. It comes in a plain black cardboard box with a sketch of the headphones on the front along with the Elepawl logo and EP6 model number.



A leather carrying case with ELEPAWL embossed on it and a drawstring on the top right sits right below the lid; under that is protective foam with cutouts for the headphones and included AUX and charging cables. The user manual and a customer support card promising a free gift in exchange for an Amazon review (which made alarm bells go off in my head) sit on top of the foam.



Build:

These headphones have a more premium look than others I’ve seen at this price range. The black-and-silver color scheme is very sleek and the small metal pieces on the outside of the housing on each side add a nice touch.




The housing is made of plastic with small metal accents - a small oval in the middle and a rounded piece near the front (which makes it easier than the small lettering on the inside of the hinge to tell which ear is which, honestly). On the left housing, they are just for decoration; on the right, however, the small oval in the middle is the pause/play button and the rounded piece is the volume control. I’m not sure that these controls were built for ease of use - pressing volume up, which is on the bottom, skips a song, and pressing volume down goes back a song. To adjust the volume, you have to hold the buttons. The right housing also has the ELEPAWL logo prominently on it. The micro USB port is on the bottom of the left housing; the bottom of the right housing has the AUX port, the microphone, and the power switch, which has ANC and Bluetooth as separate settings. This means you can’t turn ANC on without also turning the headphones on, which is mildly annoying.



The ear pads are very well made - they’re covered in soft leather and are an inch and a half thick, which makes these headphones truly fit around my ear rather than on them. In the middle of the ear pad, foam that is startlingly similar to the foam the EP6 is packaged in covers the drivers.




The hinges, which are made of solid metal, rotate telescopically but do not fold, which makes them less portable than other headphones and makes it difficult to fit these in their carrying case. However, they extend in small enough increments to fit almost any head size and the flexible headband is very well padded, covered by the same soft leather that covers the ear pads.

Fit/Isolation:

The EP6 are incredibly comfortable. The thickness and padding of the ear pads makes them fit firmly around my ears without the headband causing them to push against my head too tightly. This creates a decent seal, and along with it, pretty good passive noise isolation. I can wear these for long periods of time without being uncomfortable. That said, they are a bit heavy; I usually wear them around my neck while I’m not using them instead of just keeping them on my head.

The ANC is weaker than I anticipated. I tested it by listening to “Celestial White Noise” through my computer at 80% volume, the equivalent of sitting inside of an airplane. Just putting these headphones on reduced the noise by about half; however, I barely noticed a difference when I turned ANC on. The ANC works better when music is playing - the difference in level of background noise was noticeable and not negligible - but is borderline not worth using without music.

Battery Life/Connectivity:

Packing an 800 mAh battery, these headphones promise an impressive 30 hours of playtime. It isn’t specified but I assume that figure is for Bluetooth playback without ANC - 30 hours seems way too generous to be the combined figure. That said, the actual battery life is still respectable and is easily over 20 hours. I would estimate I use ANC about 40-50% of the time while wearing these headphones and I have only had to recharge them once in the month or so I have owned them. They recharge decently quickly and have an LED on the bottom of the left housing that glows red while the headphones are plugged in and turns off when they are fully charged.

I generally keep my phone in my pocket or close to my person while using headphones or IEMs and these are no exception. The connection is very good within a close range - the music hasn’t skipped or dropped once. Elepawl doesn’t specify the maximum range of the EP6 but it seems like between 25 and 30 feet is its effective range.

Sound:

The EP6 has a serious bass boost that gives it a lopsided V-shaped sound signature. These headphones fall into the trap that so many other consumer-focused headphones and IEMs do: strong bass at the cost of clarity (especially in the treble) and mid-range presence. That said, the soundstage is better than expected, making it easy to get lost in the music, and the slightly elevated level of detail helps fight the problems the mid and treble face.

As expected, the ANC isolates the mids by reducing the bass; this makes vocals sound more natural and treble less muddled. I prefer listening with ANC for songs with lots of piano or heavy focus on vocals (especially a cappella) but without for pop songs or EDM. Unless otherwise specified, my descriptions of the sound are without ANC on.

Bass:

The bass is powerful to a fault. The sub-bass is smooth and accurate, allowing you to feel your music as well as hear it - no other headphone I’ve used and very few IEMs have been able to replicate the rumble in the beginning of Evanescense’s “Bring Me To Life” the way these did.. The mid-bass is punchy and percussive but very sloppy around the edges. It becomes bloated very easily - it did on almost every song I used to test these headphones that featured a bass line - and bleeds into the mids, making them recess.

I’m reminded of the KZ ZS3 when I listen to these. The bass of the ZS3 is tighter than the EP6 but both have strong basses that become the most prominent part of the music. They are also similar in terms of vibrancy but I would say the ZS3 has the better bass.

Mids:

Staying true to the V-shaped sound signature, the mids are recessed. In Pentatonix’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”, the tenor part prominently comes in after the bass; however, as the alto and soprano parts come in, it fades into the back and is much harder to hear. At lower volumes, the mids simply have less presence; at higher volumes, it is easier to hear them but the bleed from the bass distorts mid-range sounds.

The vocals, however, are a different story. Voices - especially male voices - come through with a surprisingly good level of detail. Despite the recession of the mids in the background, vocals stand out and are not strongly affected by the bass bloat. Neither male nor female vocals have large amounts of sibilance either. However, they sound a bit muffled - if I weren’t listening for it I probably wouldn’t hear it but it sounds like you’re listening to a reproduction of a voice rather than someone singing to you.

Treble:

Like the bass, the treble also has a slight boost. The best way to describe it is that it’s just there. It has no special qualities of its own - it’s not particularly airy, light, or soft - but replicates high sounds and female voices pretty well. Piano parts, like on The Fray’s “Hundred”, sound a bit muddy, but the intros to Bastille’s “Laughter Lines” and My Chemical Romance’s “Welcome to the Black Parade sound crystal clear.

Female vocals sound a bit distant but aren’t overly sibilant (which happens on many V- or U-shaped sound signatures). They also have good detail - I can hear Adele’s trills on “Someone Like You” but can’t get the micro-details that you might hear from a more audiophile-focused headphone. I wouldn’t recommend these headphones if you listen to mostly songs with female vocals but they aren’t bad for songs with lots of treble or high voices either.

Soundstage:

The EP6 has a wide soundstage with decent depth. Instead of sounding like it’s just in front of me, the music seemingly comes from all sides. Also, individual instruments are easy to pick out, even in busy songs like AWOLNATION’s “All I Need” and Cage The Elephant’s “In One Ear”. However, clarity is lacking; many of the instruments in the background bleed into one another and aren’t as defined or crisp as they probably should be.

Comparisons:

vs Tsumbay TS-BH05 (~$60 USD)

The TS-BH05 has hands down the better ANC. You don’t have to turn the headphones on to use it and it is stronger, blocking more noise without music playing. The bass on the TS-BH05 is also more refined. However, the sound quality of the EP6 has more clarity and detail overall than the TS-BH05 and is built better. If sound is more important than ANC, the EP6 is a better choice; if ANC is more important, the TS-BH05 is better.

Final Thoughts:

For under $70, Elepawl put out a pretty good Bluetooth ANC headphone. The build quality looks and feels premium, and though some of the functionality could have been better thought out, they are easy to use once you get the hang of them. The ANC is a bit weak to be used by itself; however, when used with music, it isolates incredibly well. The sound quality is also pretty good, despite (or because of, depending on your tastes) the V-shaped signature. These headphones are worth it for the casual traveler who wants to shut the world out of their commute, whether a bus or train or plane, but anyone looking for more than casual listening or who wants serious noise cancellation might want to upgrade.

Disclaimer: As noted in the “Build” section, the first pair of SIVGA SM002s that I got had a frail silver cable, which detached from the MMCX housing rather quickly. Rita from SIVGA was kind enough to send me another pair since they don’t sell the cable separately for now, and my review is on my experiences with the second pair I received that has two functional cables. You should keep in mind, though, that at least for now there seems to be slight quality control issues with the silver cable.

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I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. Though I’ve described budget IEMs as worth x times their price before, I’ve never been able to actually test IEMs in that price range. However, thanks to Rita from SIVGA sending me their SM002 Triple Driver Metal IEMs, I can finally report if, in fact, my budget IEMs match up to ones from this (much) higher price point.

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At the time of posting, the SIVGA SM002 can be found on Amazon for $138, or $110 if you get it in red. It doesn’t currently look like it is available from other sources.

Packaging and Accessories:

The SM002 came packaged very nicely. The box comes with a cardboard sheath featuring the SIVGA logo, a picture of the SM002, and a list of their features on the front and more detailed product specifications on the back. This sheath slides off to reveal a minimalistic black box again featuring the SIVGA logo, a sketch of the IEMs, and the SM002 model number on the front in silver.



The box opens to immediately reveal the user manual, a pretty standard four-page foldout with slightly stilted English and outlandish burn-in recommendations (“100 to 300 hours...at 6 to 7 volume level”). Under that is a layer of foam that covers the earpieces, which sit in individual foam cutouts, the two cables - silver and mic - and SIVGA-branded leather carrying case, which holds the rest of the accessories.



The carrying case opens by lifting a flap in front, which closes. It has solid panels on the sides and back under the leather, which allow it to keep its shape well, especially when stuffed into a pocket or bag. The inside of the case is covered with a soft fabric that protects the accessories inside - eartips to your heart’s content (clear silicone M, double flange M, silicone S/M/L, and Comply foam S/M) and a shirt clip.



Build:

The MMCX housing of the silver cable is the only major drawback of the SM002 that I’ve found so far. Ironically, the drawback is that it’s too strong - the housing is such a tight fit that the earpieces don’t detach easily from the silver cable. When I tried to switch cables, the cable detached from the MMCX housing rather than detaching from the earpiece, and I learned after that I am not the only person who had this issue. Rita from SIVGA was kind enough to send me another pair to continue my testing, but my current pair also shows serious resistance when I try to detach the SM002 from the silver cable. While I highly recommend using the silver cable as it sounds better, it’s important to keep in mind that if you use it, it’s very hard to switch to any other cable.

Though I was assured that SIVGA designed the SM002 by itself, it looks almost identical to the Magaosi K3 Pro, a highly regarded $99 IEM. The nozzle of the SM002 is a bit shorter if pictures of the K3 Pro are to be believed but other than that I can’t see any major differences in their design. They both have the same oval-shaped metal body, down to the same rounded indents on the top and bottom and identical placement of the dual external bass ports, and both even have identical silver lettering marking which ear is which in the same spot. More importantly, though, both have triple driver setups - two BA and one dynamic - and I find it hard to believe that those wouldn’t be identical as well. I have yet to get my hands on a pair of the K3 Pro for a more in-depth comparison of the two but if I didn’t know better I’d say whichever came out later is an exact copy of the other.



That said, the build quality is excellent. It looks like the metal body is made of two parts, which were then sealed around the drivers - I don’t know how SIVGA did it but they do not budge no matter how hard I try. The design is also very sleek; the indents on the metal body and the subtle positioning of the dual bass ports give the SM002 a “premium look”. I’ve been using them for about a month, and though I keep them in their case when I’m not wearing them, they don’t have a single scratch or blemish on them from the multiple times I’ve accidentally bumped into things or was a bit too rough when taking them out.



The two included cables come bundled together, though it is very easy to tell them apart. The silver cable is made of 4 conductors braided together; these split and two stay braided on each side after passing through the metal splitter. A metal chinstrap holds them together and can go all the way up to your chin given the lack of in-line microphone or controls. Near the MMCX connector, a piece of plastic is wrapped around the cable, which bends to ensure best fit around your ear. The strain relief on this cable is good, especially at the metal-and-plastic L-shaped plug.




The cable with the microphone is very similar but with a few key differences. Rather than individual conductors braided together, this cable appears to be made of two conductors in a spiral inside a plastic coating. The plug on this cable is straight instead of L-shaped but still has good strain relief on the plug, which has the SIVGA logo on this cable. The in-line microphone and control button prevent the chinstrap from going all the way up; other than those differences, the cables are built identically.



Fit/Isolation:

The SM002 are incredibly comfortable. The plastic coating around both cables allows them to fit and stay around my ears better than any other cable I’ve used, including my previous favorite cable, the KZ memory wire.

They fit like they were meant for my ears. Their shape - especially the flattened side of the oval that rests on the tragus of the ear - allows them to sit comfortably in my ear for long periods of time without hurting and it’s very easy to put them in and take them out of my ears.

These IEMs provide pretty good isolation - not the best I’ve seen but just the right amount, in my opinion. I can hold a conversation at a normal tone with these in my ears if there is no music playing; however, when music is on, even at a low volume, I’m quickly in a world of my own. I wear these on my daily commute and I never have to turn the sound above 60 or 70% to be completely isolated.

Sound:

I know that the phrase “these budget IEMs are worth X times their price” is thrown around a lot (and I’m guilty of it too), but the SIVGA SM002 blows every single budget IEM I’ve ever listened to out of the water. It sounds hyperbolic but when I use these I literally hear parts of my music I’ve never heard before.

These have a slight U-shape in their sound but are more balanced than any other IEM I’ve listened to. The sound is also very detailed and I can hear each instrument clearly and distinctly, which further adds to the experience. Rather than the very forward sound that many consumer IEMs offer, these are more subtle while still maintaining the integrity of the sound as a whole and provide a non-fatiguing sound that I can personally listen to for hours.

Bass:

The bass is rich and warm, acting as a complement to the rest of the music rather than being the main focus. The mid-bass and sub-bass both have excellent extension, providing a smooth sound you can both hear and feel. The SM002 does have a slight bass boost; however, rather than bleeding into the mids or becoming bloated in bass-heavy songs, the bass comes through with incredible clarity and vibrancy. The bass also has more detail than I’d ever experienced in a budget IEM, even bass-focused ones - I’d never heard the rumbles in the beginning of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” or the low violins in Hozier’s “It Will Come Back” before. More impressively, the bass does not overextend or bloat at high volumes but “fills the room”, so to speak, nicely.

Mids:

The SM002 has hands down the best mid-range I have ever heard. Vocals come through with such clarity and precision that I can hear details I never did before, down to the breaths Pentatonix take between phrases. They have a neutral presentation with a slight balance towards the lower end, which makes male vocals - especially baritones like Hozier and George Ezra - sound more natural than female vocals. That said, female vocals sound no less detailed or clear, just a slight bit colder.

Mids also have excellent presence in the background. Despite their slight U-shape, the mids do not noticeably recess, even in busier songs with lots of other parts. Rather than competing to be heard, the mids balance with the treble and bass well, making the sound well-rounded overall. This is mostly due to their excellent separation and micro-detailing - each instrument can be heard individually, which allows them to maintain their own sound rather than becoming a single mid-range or single background sound. I can distinguish guitar plucks from strums and can hear the subtle use of a wah pedal better on these IEMs than on any other.

Treble:

The treble on the SM002 is slightly boosted, which makes it stand out in multi-part songs and highlights piano ballads, especially with female vocals. Its slightly cold presentation takes some of the raw emotion out of songs like Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Edwin McCain’s “I’ll Be” but provides excellent clarity and balance. Unlike many other (budget) IEMs with similar sound signatures, the SM002 has minimal sibilance, which allows vocals and piano to come through evenly and smoothly. The boost does not distort the treble, even at high volumes, but it does become slightly harsher the louder it gets, especially on songs with lots of electronic high notes or cymbals like Skrillex’s “Bangarang” and Cage The Elephant’s “In One Ear”.

Soundstage:

While testing the SM002, I was listening to all of my music rather than my dedicated testing playlist when I heard some faint music coming from behind me. I assumed it was my roommate and turned around to tell him to turn his music down, since I could hear it with my own IEMs in. As the sound grew and a light piano line came in on my left (and I also saw my roommate wasn’t there), I realized that it was actually the beginning of AWOLNATION’s “All I Need” and that the soundstage on the SM002 is so expansive that the sound was coming from behind me.

The soundstage and detailing of the SM002 are better than every other IEM I’ve used to the point that I don’t know if it’s a fair comparison. I can truly say that these are the first IEM’s I’ve heard that have a full 360 degrees of sound, which, along with the incredible level of detail, provides incredible imaging. Every sound comes through clearly and I can pinpoint exactly where they come from - whether in front of me, on the left or right, and even behind me. With excellent separation, each instrument is distinct, but they all come together to give the most immersive sound I’ve ever heard.

Comparisons:

At the time of posting, these are the only IEMs I own that don’t firmly fall in the category of budget, so I don’t have any truly good comparisons. I plan on updating this review if I get the opportunity to test more IEMs in the price and/or quality range of the SM002 but for now I don’t think comparing it to budget IEMs would do it or them justice.

Final Thoughts:

I would call the SM002 my daily driver but somehow they managed to fit 3 drivers into this IEM. Despite the constant claims that many budget IEMs can compete up to X price range, these are head and shoulders better than any budget IEM I’ve ever listened to. The $138 offering by SIVGA looks eerily similar to the Magaosi K3 Pro, but I was assured they were designed independently. I haven’t listened to the K3 Pro but the incredible soundstage and detail the SM002 offers enhance the slight U-shaped sound signature, which I realized is my preferred signature after listening to these. If I didn’t have issues with the silver cable, I would have given these a full 5/5 and honestly think they belong on any sub-$150 IEM list.

Despite my love of IEMs, I’ve always been enticed by the improved sound quality and comfort that cans supposedly offer. Therefore, when Paul from Thorfire & More reached out to me to see if I wanted to review his Tsumbay TS-BH05 Active Noise Cancelling Bluetooth Headphones, I gladly accepted and was excited to see if the rumors about cans were true. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the Tsumbay TS-BH05 can be found on Amazon for $59.99.

Packaging and Accessories:

The most impressive part of the packaging of the TS-BH05 is the box. The headphones come in a sleek-looking package with an enlarged picture of them on the front and specifications on the back. This piece of cardboard, as it turns out, is a cover; lifting it up reveals the box, which has nothing but the Tsumbay name in silver on the front. The lid, held with a magnetic connection, lifts from the bottom to reveal the headphones.



The headphones come folded in a plastic cutout. Usually, the plastic piece lifts to reveal the accessories; however, Tsumbay decided to put the scant accessories - an aux cable, a charging cable, and a user manual - in a small cardboard box between the plastic cutout for the headphones and the larger box. An airline adapter and carrying case are advertised but are nowhere to be found.



Build:

The build feels cheap, but I don’t mean that as an insult. The entire body is made of plastic; the only metal on these headphones is a small strip on the slider. This makes them incredibly light - under half a pound - and they are incredibly easy to carry or wear around your neck for long periods of time. The all-black design looks sleek, and the only visible branding on these is the Tsumbay logo written in red on the headband just above each ear pad. These headphones have a pleasantly customizable fit - the headband bends easily, the ear pads rotate telescopically, and the slider is very smooth.

All of the controls are on the housing under each ear pad. On the bottom of the right is the micro USB input; on the bottom of the left is the microphone, AUX input, power button, ANC button, and volume controls. I would have preferred if the buttons were more spaced out or if more were placed on the right housing - due to their close proximity and identical feel, it’s very easy to accidentally press the wrong button. You can pause by pressing the power button once and skip/go back by holding volume up/volume down; however, it takes just a slight bit too long of a press for each.

Fit/Isolation:

These headphones are pretty comfortable. They don’t press against my head too hard but apply enough pressure to form a decent seal, which gives them above average passive isolation. The ear pads are large enough to fit over my ears without having to constantly adjust and they stay in place on my head and don’t move when I’m in my apartment or walking around.

Because these are my first noise cancelling headphones, I don’t have a setup to test noise reduction but I do have YouTube and 10-hour long white noise tracks. When my computer is playing white noise at approximately half of the maximum volume, the ANC alone kills half of that noise and ANC plus music almost completely isolates me. The ANC works well on my daily commute - I can still hear conversations around me but the background noise of the bus is muted very well.

Battery Life/Connectivity:

The TS-BH05 is advertised as having a 300 mAh battery, which is on the low end for Bluetooth headphones with active noise cancelling; however, that battery supposedly lasts for 25+ hours of playback or 15 hours of playback plus ANC. I got about 17 hours of use from a full charge, using these for music, noise cancelling, and both at the same time. I can’t speak to the exact number you might get from using these for solely one purpose; however, since I use them for both noise cancelling and music, I thought that my results would be a more accurate indicator of battery than Tsumbay’s claims. Luckily, they agree, and these come with a seriously good battery life, especially for a 300 mAh battery.

Sound:

The TS-BH05 are much louder when plugged in than over Bluetooth - I have to crank my phone up to full Bluetooth volume to get the same level as half volume when I have the cable in.

These headphones have excellent bass - it’s smooth, rich, and sounds very natural. However, the rest of the sound is not on the same level. The mids lack sharpness and tend to bleed into the bass, which gives the impression that they’re recessed. The highs are very prominent as well, but are muffled and slightly distorted. These have an above average soundstage and, overall, I would say an above average presentation due to stronger mids than on most consumer headphones.

Like all ANC headphones, you have to sacrifice sound quality for noise cancellation; these have strong noise cancellation, so the distortion is also strong. That said, the ANC simply makes it sound like you’re listening to music in a vacuum, with weaker bass and more prominent highs, but without sacrificing clarity or detail.

The descriptions of the sound my experience listening to these headphones without ANC.

Bass:

I seriously can’t state enough how much I like this bass. It’s punchy and vibrant, and the mid-bass and sub-bass have excellent presence and extension. The sound is rich and deep without drowning out mids or becoming fatiguing and has more balance and detail than most bass-focused IEMs I own.


Mids:

I really wanted the mids to be as good as the bass. However, they’re a bit closer to my initial expectations. The mids, unlike most consumer headphones, don’t immediately recess in the presence of bass or treble, which gives these headphones pretty good balance. However, they’re a bit fuzzy and lack definition, which makes them bleed into the lower notes. The background lacks crispness and male vocals don’t stand out from the background, leading to a singular mid-range sound rather than a clear distinction between the two.

Treble:

These headphones are definitely focused on the lower range. The treble is slightly muddier than the mids and is also slightly distorted, though I can’t tell which caused which. The blending between vocals and background is worse in the treble, which further compounds the problem. That said, high notes don’t recess and I can clearly hear them alongside bass and mids, which makes a nice balanced background even if the individual parts don’t sound great on their own.

Soundstage:

These headphones have a surprisingly good soundstage. Rather than trying to make the sound concentrate on the left and right, the TS-BH05 present a full range of sound that I can hear in front of me, around me, above me, and even behind me on some songs. This width and depth keeps the music from bleeding into a single sound, which I greatly appreciate.

Comparisons:

This is the first pair of ANC Bluetooth headphones I’ve owned, so I don’t have anything to compare it against yet. I plan on filling this section in if I get the opportunity to review Bluetooth headphones - especially noise cancelling ones - in the future.

Final Thoughts:

These headphones are great for taking on a plane or car ride where you don’t have to worry about them getting banged up or scratched - they’re lightweight, made of mostly plastic, and are cheap for Bluetooth ANC headphones. Having a carrying case would have made these a better deal for me, especially because they’re not supposed to just be worn in the house, but I still think the $59.99 price tag makes these a great value. The sound won’t blow you away (the bass will but the rest won’t), but for the price and the ANC these are pretty darn good.

I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. After seeing a few of my reviews, Edward from IEGeek reached out to me to see if I would review his EP001 IEMs. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the IEGeek EP001 can be found on Amazon for $19.99.

Packaging and Accessories:

The EP001’s packaging is about standard for an IEM in this price range. They came in a cardboard box that folded up to reveal the earpieces in foam cutouts while the rest of the cord sat wrapped up around a soft drawstring carrying bag, the user manual, extra small eartips, and a shirt clip. On the right, there were foam cutouts for large and small eartips; I don’t know why they chose to package the extra small tips separately instead of putting them with the other eartips but they did.




Build:

When you think of the words “generic IEM build”, these come to mind. Aside from the L-shaped 3.5mm jack, the design is completely forgettable. The cord is a standard rubber that leads up to a straight splitter with a small chin strap directly above it. On the right side is a microphone and a single-button control, which sits on a piece of plastic that shows the only IEGeek logo on the IEMs and is bulkier than most in-line controls. The earpieces are completely made of plastic, featuring straight nozzles; I’m pretty sure that even the spiral-like design on the back isn’t original. I can’t think of another pair that looks like these offhand but these seem like a mass-produced IEM that multiple companies put their brand on, IEGeek being one of those.



Fit/Isolation:

Because of their straight nozzles, these don’t fit in my ear as well as other IEMs I have. They aren’t uncomfortable but I can definitely tell I’m wearing them. The isolation is on the low end; I can hold a conversation with these in my ears and hear the other person perfectly.

Sound:

In keeping with their generic...everything…the sound is also a pretty standard balanced signature. These IEMs have surprisingly good detail and a decently wide soundstage but almost no separation, which makes sounds bleed into one another frequently.

Bass:

Bass doesn’t stand out but is definitely there. The mid-bass is punchy but not powerful; similarly, you can hear the rumble and thump of the sub-bass but can’t feel it. On certain songs, the mid-bass and sub-bass overlap and start to blend; it stands out on songs that feature both, like Sail. The bass should be enough for non-bassheads but fails to add anything to the music.

Mids:

Mids on the EP001 have better presence than on many V- or U-shaped IEMs but, again, are simply there. The vocals have above average clarity but sound like a prerecorded vocal track being played and not like you’re listening to a live performance. The mids don’t recess on multi-layered songs but fail to highlight either bass or treble, which makes them bleed into the other parts at the edges.

Treble:

The treble is slightly muddled; it is clear enough for casual listening but not suited for audiophile tastes. Once again, the best way to describe the treble - both background and female vocals - is as if you’re listening to prerecorded tracks rather than listening to the source directly. That said, the sound isn’t distorted but is simply not as bright as the treble you hear through other IEMs.

Soundstage:

The EP001s have a slightly above average soundstage; I hear both width and depth through these, especially on music with multiple overlapping parts. However, parts don’t blend together very well, leaving you with all the pieces of a song but none of the finesse; I picture it as the difference between an orchestra playing through a piece for the first time compared to the hundredth time.

Final Thoughts:

Many good IEMs are greater than the sum of their parts; the IPGeek EP001 are not. It is average in almost every sense of the word: accessories, build, and sound. These are perfect for carrying loose in your pocket when you don’t want to risk taking an expensive pair of headphones or IEMs out in public but are pushing the limit at $20. These are a good backup IEM but shouldn’t be at the top of any list and are easily outclassed by IEMs half the price.

EDIT 1:

LNuneek reached out to me and told me that the bass ports rattled when he tested the A320S. We tested and found that the bass port rattles on both of our pairs of speakers only when the bass port is blocked or when the source volume goes above ~60% with the volume maxed on the speakers themselves.

I hadn't noticed this before he reached out to me because I keep the speakers on my desk away from the wall and usually don't turn the volume up that high. Because the rattling does not affect the way I listen to music, I thought it best to mention this issue but not change my 5-star rating; however, depending on your listening preferences, you might want to take this rating with a grain of salt.

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I probably don’t need to say this because I’m on Head-Fi, I love listening to music and making it sound as good as possible on a college budget. After doing research and starting a small IEM collection of my own, I started posting reviews of some of them here. After my first few, Lucille from Archeer reached out to me to see if I was interested in their A320S speakers. I’ve had a total of one speaker for about three years - the DKnight MagicBox II - and was interested to see if I could upgrade from what was called (when I bought it) the “Best Sub-$100 Speaker”, so I accepted her offer.

Archeer is not just an audio equipment company but also makes outdoor goods, cellphone accessories, home goods, and other consumer electronics along with speakers, IEMs, cables, and microphones. I have worked with Archeer before and own their AH28 IEMs (I’ll update this with a review link once I write about them) and their monocular telescope; however, I had never worked with Lucille before. Additionally, despite my history with the company and receiving the A320S in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of this review, the A320S is $102.99 on Amazon, though I would recommend getting a second one as well.

When I received the package from Archeer, I thought the box was much bigger than it should have been. When I opened it, I found two A320S speakers instead of one - I thought Lucille had accidentally shipped me two. After reading the Amazon listing again (after initially being confused about the difference between the A320 and the A320S) and the very helpful user manual that came with the speakers, I realized that I had received a pair because they can pair with each other to create, as Archeer puts it, “truly wireless stereo”. The review I’m writing is about the pair of A320S speakers as a unit; you can find reviews for them individually on the A320 page.

Packaging and Accessories:

The packaging is simplistic but avoids unnecessary frills, likely reducing cost, while providing excellent protection. The speakers came in cardboard boxes with the Archeer logo, model number, and a small drawing of the speakers on the front. The boxes open to show the speakers, covered by a plastic bag and padded by a thick Styrofoam cutout on each side.




Behind the speakers are the accessories that come with the A320S - a drawstring carrying bag, the user manual, a 3.5mm audio cable, a micro-USB charging cable, and small plastic “feet” you can put on the bottom of the speaker to keep it from moving or sliding.



Build:

Right out of the box, I was struck by the looks of these speakers. They are minimalistic but very attractive and fit well on a table or a desk, which are the two places I keep them for the most part. The front is a bamboo panel with three cutouts for the two 5W tweeters and the 15W subwoofer. The Archeer logo is lightly embossed on the bottom right corner of the front panel but it is small enough that it’s easy to miss at first glance. Though the panels on my two speakers are different colors (one lighter and one darker), their design is identical and shows off the grain of the wood beautifully.



The back panel is made of the same bamboo; it has a small black bar across the top that has AUX and micro-USB inputs, a reset button (that I haven’t had to use yet), and a charging light. There is also a bass port on the bottom left.



The rest of the speaker is covered in a canvas-like fabric that is both aesthetically appealing and serves as a good damper for the ridiculous amount of bass the A320S has. Surrounding a blue connectivity light are printed logos of the usual buttons - power, pause/play, volume up, and volume down - as well as microphone that works surprisingly well. I was initially worried that the buttons themselves would be buried in the unit and wouldn’t have good tactile response but I was pleased to find I was wrong.



Connectivity and Battery:

The process to connect the A320S speakers was a bit difficult to figure out at first - turning one on at a time and setting them in pairing mode individually - but I’m pleased to say they function as one now, with the darker speaker being the left channel and the lighter speaker the right one. After the first time, they pair together automatically and work in complete tandem; both speakers respond when I adjust the volume or hit the pause/play button on one. They also pair to each other whether connected to my phone via Bluetooth or aux (though there is a constant low hum in the background when connected via aux). However, make sure they are on before connecting the aux cable - the speakers don’t work if you plug the cable in and then turn them on.

The A320S comes with Bluetooth 4.0, claiming a pretty standard maximum range of 10m/33ft. However, the A320S stands out from all other Bluetooth devices I have for one reason - the connection has yet to cut out, no matter where in my apartment I am. Even if I’m in a different room, they stay connected and I have yet to experience either speaker lag or hiccup.

I’m the kind of person who starts to worry when my phone battery drops below 50%, so a good battery life is very important to me. Each speaker comes with not one but two 4400mAh batteries, promising a 20-hour battery life at 50% volume. When these are on my desk, I lower the volume and they’ve lasted about 17 hours so far from a full charge; when I put these on my table I had to turn up the volume so they lasted for about 15 hours. The battery also doesn’t leak very much when it’s off (I always turn it off when not in use), unlike other speakers I’ve used.

However, the enormous battery life comes with a tradeoff; these take over 5 hours to fully charge (Archeer says 6.5 but they went a bit faster for me when I used a good wall adapter). You can use the speakers while they charge but Archeer recommends leaving them off, which I did.

Sound:

Either due to my focus on/fascination with budget IEMs or due to having only one speaker before this or due to anything else, I’d never truly had the out-of-head listening experience that I see so often described on Head-Fi. However, I can confidently say that listening to these speakers for the first time changed that.

The most impressive part - and the one that immediately stood out to me - is the stereo effect of the speakers and the soundstage it delivered. I first tested the A320S by sitting in a chair with a speaker on each arm, facing each other. I was immediately blown away by the clarity and detail of the sound, which seemed like it was coming from all around me rather than the speakers. I could clearly hear left from right, more forward sounds from more recessed ones, and could even pick out where individual instruments were coming from. The stereo effect lessened when I moved out of the direct middle of the speakers but was and is still strong no matter where I am in relation to them.

No matter where I put the speakers, the music fills the entire space. That’s mostly due to the powerful bass, which booms rather than thumps. Rather than fight for attention, though, the sub-bass and mid-bass complement each other nicely and give low-end sounds a rich, warm quality. The bass also has a level of detail I didn’t think was possible and can distinguish between a bass guitar and a standing bass with ease, which many bass-focused IEMs (and even my other bass-focused speaker) cannot do.

The outstanding detail of the A320S is even more present in the mids. I can clearly hear how hard a guitar was strummed and the force with which a piano key was pressed, which gives music a whole new level of clarity I hadn’t heard before. Similarly, vocals come through clear and bright; it sounds like I’m listening to them live rather than through a recording, especially when I can hear a singer breathe in between phrases.

After listening to bass-heavy songs and hearing the sheer power of the subwoofer I expected the treble to be distorted and recessed; I couldn’t have been more wrong. The treble is light and seemingly weightless, highlighting the detail of the sound. Despite the speakers’ v-shaped sound, the highs and mids blend together seamlessly. Female vocals also sound great, and when combined with the crystal-clear treble, stand out whether the song is a ballad or pop.


Final Thoughts:

Archeer did a great job with the A320S. These speakers are the best of all worlds - beautiful design, great connectivity, enormous battery life, powerful bass, crystal-clear mids and highs, a mind-blowing stereo sound, and detail I’ve never heard before from any other source. I can only think of one drawback of the top of my head - the charging time - but struggle to find any others.

I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. I found the BlitzWolf Graphene Earphones (model number BW-ES1) on multiple review sites as well as (prominently featured on) Amazon and decided I wanted to try them for myself. I reached out to BlitzWolf and they agreed to send me a sample pair in exchange for my honest thoughts. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

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At the time of posting, the BlitzWolf BW-ES1 are $23.99 on Amazon but can also be found for $11.99 on BangGood, $14.59 on AliExpress, and $15.99 at WalMart (with free shipping).

Packaging and Accessories:

BlitzWolf packaged the BW-ES1s in a nice-sized, sleek-looking box. The lid lifts to show protective foam surrounding the BlitzWolf-branded hard case and a branded sheet of translucent paper on top holding the user manual. The case is slightly larger than most and is just larger than my palm, which makes it harder than normal to lose in a bag or jacket but slightly too big for a pocket. One thing I really like about the case that I haven’t seen before, though, is the elastic strap next to the zipper to hold it down and keep it from flapping back and forth when the case is closed.





The contents of the case are less impressive than the box. Inside are the BW-ES1s, held by a branded velcro strap - branding seems really important to BlitzWolf. I haven’t even unwrapped the IEMs yet and I’ve already seen their logo 4 times. The only additional accessories are small and large ear tips. Given the attention to detail in the packaging, I would’ve hoped for (and partially expected) more ear tips but the ones that it comes with work just fine.



Build:

The build is pretty standard - sturdy-feeling rubber cord, straight (branded) plug, decent strain relief, a chin strap, hard plastic earpieces, and angled nozzles. At first glance, it’s hard to distinguish these from any number of similar-looking IEMs - I understand why BlitzWolf put its name on every possible surface of the BW-ES1s a bit better.



That said, I’m slightly disappointed by some of the design choices BlitzWolf made. I appreciate the inclusion of volume controls along with a microphone, but they sit on the splitter rather than on one ear, making it harder to control music without looking and harder to speak naturally into the microphone. Additionally, the buttons don’t have a very tactile response and I’ve accidentally pushed too few or too many times with these more than with other IEMs. Third (and this is pretty minor), because the controls are in the middle, there really should be “L” and “R” written on the earpieces because currently the only way to tell which ear is which is through trial and error or looking at the angle of the nozzles.



Fit/Isolation:

When I wear these, I have to choose between maximum comfort and maximum isolation. They fit deep into my ear canals and block out passive noise remarkably well, but doing so makes a ridge of the hard plastic earpiece rub against my ear, so I can’t wear them like that for very long. On the other hand, if I don’t push them in, they are incredibly comfortable and I could wear them for hours but let in more outside noise.

I prefer to wear these over-ear and find they have a better seal but they are comfortable either way. Additionally, I didn’t find microphonics to be much of a problem at all but like most IEMs wearing these over-ear reduces that.

Sound:

I don’t know exactly what effect the graphene dampers are supposed to have but whatever it is, it definitely works on the low end. The BW-ES1s have strong bass with remarkable detail and imaging for non-audiophile (read: treble-focused with no bass) IEMs. However, mids and highs sound tinnier the more a song focuses on high parts - these are made for pop with a pounding bass line. Additionally, the whole sound is very forward, which can be fatiguing to listen to for long periods.

Bass:

To describe the bass on these IEMs fairly I have to separate the sub-bass (the part you feel) from the mid-bass (the part you hear). The sub-bass is surprisingly good. It was made for the intro to Seven Nation Army and the hard thumping chorus in Drunk In Love and makes songs like If I Ever Fall In Love and Creep more fun to listen to. What truly makes it stand out, though, is that it’s subtle on songs that don’t feature a strong bass line and doesn’t change the balance of a song like Hallelujah by adding rumble where it doesn’t belong. The mid-bass, on the other hand, does exactly that; bloated is the best way to describe it. It’s great on songs that do have a strong bass line and highlights low male vocals along with guitar but can be stronger than mids when it’s not supposed to and distorts songs focused on highs.

Mids:

The mids are pretty good for a bass-heavy IEM; however, they start to get a bit fuzzy around the edges and lose clarity on mid-focused songs like Hallelujah and Rivers and Roads. It still sounds balanced but the crisp detail these IEMs have on other songs fades as parts start to bleed together in the background. That being said, the distortion of the mids can be hard to hear unless you listen for it and doesn’t stand out when mids aren’t the focus. Mids sound excellent on the a cappella songs I have and provide excellent balance on Queen as well as My Chemical Romance.

Treble:

Like the mids, the treble sounds best in the background. It was hard to listen to Somebody That I Used To Know and Hundred - the piano intros just sounded too tinny and artificial, which didn’t get better as the song went on since the vocals did as well. However, on songs that don’t heavily feature treble, it regains definition and sounds much better. Pop songs with female vocals sound excellent and even soprano parts of a cappella songs come through crisp and clear.

Soundstage:

The BW-ES1s have a simultaneously wide and flat sound. I use the analogy of an orchestra to picture an IEM’s soundstage; the BW-ES1s sound like every musician is in the first row and instead of sitting in the seats a reasonable distance away you’re standing directly in the middle of that row. I can clearly hear every sound and where it comes from (especially on Gasoline) but the sound as a whole is very forward and I can only listen to these for an hour or two at most before I need a break.

Comparisons:

vs KZ ZS3 (~$8 USD)

These two IEMs have a similar sound signature - a forward, bass-heavy “fun” sound - but the ZS3 blows the BW-ES1s out of the water. The mid-bass is less bloated without sacrificing sub-bass and the mids and highs sound much better and more organic. The biggest difference for me, though, is the depth the ZS3 has. The BW-ES1 has a wide soundstage but is very flat, which sticks out when comparing these IEMs side by side.

vs KZ ED9 (~$10 USD)

The bass on the ED9 blows the BW-ES1 away. Both have a strong bass with lots of thump; however, the ED9 has a stronger sub-bass that, paired with a more natural-sounding mid-bass than the BW-ES1, enhances bass-heavy music rather than dominating it. Both IEMs have a very forward sound but the ED9 also has depth that makes the sound richer and warmer rather than harsh and fatiguing. I would consider the ED9 a direct upgrade from the BW-ES1.

vs Rock Zircon (~$13 USD)

The BW-ES1 has a stronger bass - especially sub-bass - than the balanced Zircon. However, the Zircon beats the BW-ES1 on almost every other front: better mids and highs, deeper soundstage, a more natural sound, and the Zircon is much better for extended listening. I prefer the Zircons in term of comfort and isolation as well. If you prefer a bassy IEM to a balanced one then the BW-ES1 might be on your list but I can’t imagine another scenario in which I would pick them over the Zircon.

Final Thoughts:

The BW-ES1s were made for pop or anything that has a strong bass line but not much else. They sound better than their generic look and generic build would suggest but still lack clarity on mids and highs. These are good for short periods of casual listening but the sound is too fatiguing for anything longer.

I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. Hellen from DTFDTW was kind enough to reach out to me to offer me their “Wired Noise Cancelling Sport Earphones” - a rebranded version of the GEVO G3 IEM. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.


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At the time of posting, DTFDTW lists the GV3 for $17.99 on Amazon. Dtech-US also has them for $8.99.

Packaging and Accessories:

The packaging DTFDTW provided was extensive for a sub-$20 IEM, which I greatly appreciate. The GV3s came in a sleek-looking box that had a clear plastic front (so you could see them) and the IEM specifications on the back.



Inside the box, the GV3s rested in soft foam padding, under which a paper cutout peeled back to reveal the rest of the accessories.



The GV3s came with three sets of clear silicone eartips (small, medium, and large), a medium set of black silicone eartips, and a set of soft silicone earhooks as well as a shirt clip. However, the part that stood out to me was the carrying bag. The bag is made of a soft black fabric with GEVO branding in the bottom right and does not have drawstrings - instead, the top is made of two slap-bracelets (yes, like the kid’s toy) that stay in place and secure the GV3 and its accessories well.



Build:

The GV3s are built like a workout IEM with a nice black-and-red color scheme. The cord is made from strong rubber and can stretch and bend easily. The L-shaped 3.5mm jack and Y-split both have excellent strain relief and seem like they can withstand lots of wear and tear. There is also a chin strap right above the Y-split; however, it can only go up to the microphone and can’t actually secure under your chin.



The button control is very easy to use and clicks easily and the microphone is pretty clear. However, the button and microphone are placed so that they are right at the level of your mouth if you wear the GV3s down; if you wear them over-ear like I prefer then the mic is too high, which is slightly annoying.



The metal earpieces are round and pretty large. They say GEVO on the back, surrounded by a ring of red (keeping the color scheme) and clearly say which ear is which on the side. The nozzle is angled, which I like, and is thin enough to support a wide variety of tips that I have.



Fit/Isolation:

These IEMs are not very comfortable. The large earpieces do not fit well in my ears - the edge hits my ear very noticeably when I wear these down and still rubs against my ear but a bit less when I wear them over-ear. However, they fit into my ears very well and provide pretty good isolation. Even so, I can only wear them for about 30 minutes at a time at most, which kills their use as workout IEMs. Additionally, the tips sometimes stay in my ears when I take the IEMs out.

Sound:

Everything about the GV3s made me think they would be a workout IEM. However, they don’t sound like they would be good in the gym at all. They are mid-focused rather than bass-heavy and the lack of bass makes many songs (especially directional ones) sound uneven.

Bass: I was excited by the prospect of a booming bass when I put these in my ears. However, there is absolutely no sub-bass (the worst of any IEM I own at this time), reducing bass to being heard rather than heard and felt. This completely neuters songs like Sail and Gasoline, making them a weird experience for listening since one ear has the highs/mids and the other has very weak bass. The remaining bass is clear but just not enough, especially for a borderline basshead like me.

Mids: Mids are surprisingly strong and clear. Especially on a cappella arrangements and songs like Hallelujah where mids are the stars of the show, the GV3s shone. Male vocals especially stand out as strong, no matter the song. However, the mids often overpower the weak bass as well as whatever treble is present in a song.

Treble: The treble is better when it’s in the background and not featured heavily. Female vocals and piano intros sound muffled and blanketed, which stands in pretty sharp contrast to mids and bass. However, when the treble is one of multiple parts of a song rather than the focus, it is harder to hear its shortcomings. Still not great, but not as bad as songs like Someone Like You.

Soundstage: The soundstage of the GV3s confused me at first. It is decently wide but very flat with almost no depth and it is very easy to tell that music is coming through the IEMs rather than from a source in front of or around you. The soundstage makes the GV3s better for pop and music that highlights vocals over background than music with lots of intertwining parts like a cappella or classical music (to use an extreme).

Comparisons:

To be completely honest, I can’t think of any other IEMs to compare this to. Almost any comparison I make would focus on the GV3’s lack of bass and how the other IEM is better overall because of that. If people want I can try to make those comparisons but I don’t think it’s fair to repeat the same thing two or three times for different IEMs that I would recommend over this one.

Final Thoughts:

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, but actually isn’t a duck, it's the GEVO G3. The build, fit, and item description suggest this IEM is made for working out and exercising. However, it has no sub-bass to speak of and has probably the weakest bass of any IEM I’ve ever listened to, which neuters its usefulness for bass-heavy workout music. It has strong mids but the weak bass and muffled treble make this better suited for casual listening than for listening in the gym.

As far as I can tell, the JiES X6 is an IEM that is sold to other companies that then brand and sell them rather than sold directly to consumers. I can only find JiES on lightinthebox for $8.99; I bought them from a company named Vivreal on Amazon, who charge $13.99 for these IEMs.

Packaging and Accessories

Vivreal's packaging for the X6 is pretty bare, even by budget IEM standards. The X6 come in a large drawstring bag - too big to fit easily into a pocket - which also contains a user manual and extra ear tips.

The X6 is built surprisingly well. The cord is a rubberized coating over a braided cable both above and below the Y-shaped connector. The coating means that the cord is very strong and can handle a lot of bending and wear and tear but tangles very easily. The cord on the right side has an in-line button as well as a microphone. The 3.5mm jack is set in a hard plastic coating that has good strain relief directly below it.

Additionally, I don't know if this is specific to the X6s that I have or not but the cord smells distinctly like perfume, which I appreciate.



Fit and Isolation

I wear almost all of my IEMs over-ear, which these are built for. However, the fit of the X6 is awkward, making it sit on my ear rather than in it and making it impossible to get a good seal. They move around when I move and I have to constantly push them back into my ears so they don't fall out. Additionally, because it's impossible to get a good seal, they have horrible isolation.

Sound

These have possibly the worst sound I've ever heard. It's distant, muffled, and blanketed. There's almost no soundstage and it's impossible to distinguish between parts. I've bought a few pairs of $5 IEMs off the street and these are still worse.

Final Thoughts

These might be the worst IEMs I've ever used. The sound is frankly horrible and it's impossible to get a good seal with these. These aren't worth their asking price and aren't worth paying for at all. Avoid these at all costs.

I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. Chris from Senzer Audio was kind enough to reach out to me to offer me two Senzer IEMs, one of which was the S10. Despite receiving these in exchange for my review, all opinions expressed are completely mine and I always write reviews as unbiasedly and honestly as I can.

TL;DR: Incredible bass from such a small driver. V-shaped signature that features soft highs and great bass but recessed and slightly muffled mids. Great soundstage and detail and would compete with the "kings" of budget IEMs with better clarity.

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After posting pictures of the S10, B9Scrambler pointed out that these looked like the Advanced AcousticWerkes Q, a >$220 ICM (in-canal monitor). After doing a bit of research I found that they are almost carbon copies (the only major difference I saw was the shape of the rear vent) so I reached out to Chris. He confirmed that the S10s are modeled after the AAW Qs in terms of shape but might not have the same level of quality. I don't have a pair of the Qs and I doubt AAW will give me a sample to compare them to an ICM a tenth of the price of theirs so I will write about the quality of the S10s and update the review if I can test them against the Qs.

EDIT 1: Apparently, the S10 was supplied to Senzer by AAW. That explains the similarities and I've updated my final thoughts (I can't call the S10 a "Senzer remake" anymore).
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At the time of posting, the Senzer S10s are $27.99 on Amazon. This places them just out of range of being a true budget IEM but are still quality drivers for under $30.

Packaging and Accessories:

Senzer made just the right first impression with their packaging. A branded black box - branded with just the Senzer name in silver, a nice touch - opened to reveal the S10s sitting in soft foam cutouts.



The foam under the S10s lifts to reveal a branded soft drawstring bag, a user manual, and extra eartips. The S10 comes with medium black silicone ear tips attached and also has S/L black silicone, S/M/L clear silicone, and medium foam ear tips.



The cord is rubber above the connector and fabric below it, just like the cord of the AAW Q. Unlike the Q, however, the S10 has in-line controls on the right side - a microphone, media control button, and volume controls. The one thing different about these controls from most others I've seen is that media control button isn't in the middle of the volume controls but under them - a setup that looks identical to the in-line controls on the AAW Nebula One, which further cements the S10 as a budget version of an AAW.

The cord feels very durable and seems like it can handle being ripped out of my ears and carried (in its bag) in my pocket. When the S10s are worn down they have some microphonics issues but those can be easily taken care of by wearing them over-ear (which I find more comfortable anyway).

The plug is straight, which I generally like less than angled plugs, but is made of metal rather than plastic and has a bit of rubber under it which provides good strain relief.



Fit/Isolation:

I said at the beginning that these look like a knockoff of the AAW Q but I feel the need to stress again how TINY the S10s are. In fact, AAW calls the Q an ICM (in-canal monitor) rather than an IEM due to their reported size of "8.8mm in length, 6mm in diameter and weighs less than one gram per side". When I put these in my ears, I use one hand to make sure they are firmly in my ear canal - otherwise I don't get a good seal. Seriously, this is what they look like:



These ICMs are about 90% eartip, which is partially due to also being about 90% nozzle.



This structure may seem a bit strange at first (and it definitely did to me) but their compact size makes them one of the most comfortable things I have ever put in my ear, whether IEM or earplug. They fit snugly and, because they sit only in my ear canal, have incredible isolation. The passive isolation they give is enough to seriously muffle conversations around me and I can hear almost nothing else when I'm playing music, no matter the volume. These are also incredibly easy to wear and don't give me either fatigue or pain, even when I wear them for up to a few hours. I haven't tested it yet, but these seem like an excellent way to listen to music when you go to sleep.

Sound:

When I asked a representative at Senzer if the S10s were modeled after the Q, he said that they look similar but the quality is different. Unfortunately, due to the mostly glowing reviews of the Q that I read and my own tests of the S10, I have to agree. These truly have a V-shaped sound signature - with bass that I didn't think could come from a driver this size and emphasized treble - to a fault. Mids are recessed and often muddy, and the S10 as a whole has a great soundstage but suffers from a lack of detail and clarity. In my opinion, if Senzer could make the sounds sharper and clearer, these would be among, if not the best itself, the best IEM/ICM I own.

Changing the tips between silicone and foam on the S10 changes the sound signature significantly. The foam tips highlight bass and make it much more fun to listen to, but unfortunately do this at the cost of mids, treble, sound quality, balance, soundstage, and detailing. That's great if you just want to listen to a fun bass line repeated over and over with maybe some other sounds in there (I'm looking at you, EDM) but in any other situation you should favor the silicone eartips, which present a more balanced and detailed sound.

Every single IEM is going to sound slightly different in every ear. The shape of the listener's ear, the fit and amount of isolation, the shape of the IEM, the eartip material, the source, and the listener's ability to hear different frequencies - among other factors - can affect how an IEM sounds. The descriptions I put forth accurately describe the way I hear these IEMs but may not be accurate for everyone.

Bass:

Man, these have fun bass. It's loud, punchy, and has great thump and rumble to go along with strong sub-bass. I don't know how Senzer (or AAW for that matter) managed to fit that into an ICM of this size but as a borderline basshead I'm not complaining. These are the only pair of IEMs or ICMs I own that made me turn down the bass boost on my equalizer because it was just too strong. In fact, I had to check multiple times that I didn't have bass boost on while testing these because it's just that powerful.

The intro of Seven Nation Army sounds like it was made for these ICMs - that is, until the bass drum comes in. The bass is great in a vacuum but loses definition when other sounds come in and bleeds into them a bit as well. Even a song like Sail, which is famous for its bass-heavy intro, sounds fuzzier the more non-bass sounds interact with the bass.

Mids:

Listening to the Pentatonix version of Somebody That I Used To Know explained the S10's mids perfectly. The tenor comes in second, after the bass, and sounds fairly prominent and is as clear as these ICMs allow. However, as alto, treble, and beatbox come in, the mids are pushed to the back. They don't become more muffled or lose sound quality, like the mids of some other budget earphones, but simply go from the front of the sound to the back. The S10's major problem is that sounds don't play well with each other - mids again sound great in a vacuum but recess almost immediately when other sounds are introduced, which isn't helped by the power and bleed of the bass.

Treble:

Treble is pretty prominent and is neither too harsh (though it almost gets there on the intro of Hundred) nor sibilant but unfortunately sounds a bit blanketed. It sounds more like you're listening to a recording coming out of a car radio or speaker rather than listening to the original source. High vocals - both male and female - sound a bit better than background treble but not by much.

Soundstage:

If only they were clearer. The S10s have a surprisingly good soundstage (I sound like a broken record, but especially for a driver this small) and, despite the lack of clarity, I can pick up where each sound is coming from. Rather than sounding like I'm surrounded by the music, it sounds like I'm surrounded by a series of speakers, each of which is playing a different layer of a song, and the speaker for the bass is twice as big as the others.

Comparisons:

vs Rock Zircon (~$13 USD)

At first I thought the S10s could be compared to the Zircons if they doubled the bass, halved the mids, and took 1/3 of the clarity away. The soundstages, after all, seem similarly broad, and both have excellent imaging for the price. However, that description doesn't do enough to cover the differences between them. The S10s are a bass-heavy, fun ICM for casual listeners while the Zircons present a more balanced, clear, and detailed sound that makes all music sound better rather than highlighting music that highlights bass.

vs KZ ZS3 (~$10 USD)

I thought it would be fair to compare these fun, bass-heavy ICMs to the king of fun, bass-heavy IEMs, the KZ ZS3. However, the ZS3 blows these out of the water in terms of clarity and detailing. You can hear where more of the sounds are coming from on the S10s but not by enough to make up for the better treble, mids, clarity, detail, and overall balance of the ZS3.

Final Thoughts:

These are decent ICMs with incredible bass that would be great ICMs with incredible bass if they were clearer. However, they are uniform in their slight lack of clarity, which makes my ear adjust to their sound rather quickly and forget that they could be better until a treble-heavy song plays.

They are also built incredibly well - even though they're a copy of the AAW Q I still have to compliment their construction. The earpieces - which are mostly nozzle and smaller than the tips they come with - are made of metal but are also extremely comfortable and isolate incredibly well.

These are a good buy for a very casual listener and definitely geared towards bassheads; audiophiles should stick to the original Qs.

I recently began a quest to find the best IEM under $30. I started with the buying guide on r/headphones and haven't looked back. One IEM that kept popping up no matter where I looked - any of the assorted review sites I checked as well as Head-Fi - was the Rock Zircon. People sang its praises, claiming that a sub-$20 IEM provided clarity the likes of which I'd never seen before and that these could outperform any IEM under [insert price here]. I was skeptical about the overwhelming positivity so I decided to get a pair to answer the question I kept asking myself: could these be worth it?

Extreme TL;DR: Yes.

Slightly longer TL;DR: These are definitely worth at least their asking price. These are among the few cheap IEMs that have powerful bass and crisp treble without drowning out or muddling the mids. The soundstage and imaging is incredible for the price range, which are amplified by their above-average isolation. On top of all of that, they are easily the best-looking IEMs I own.

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At the time of this review, the Rock Zircon are $12.99 on AliExpress and slightly more on Amazon ($13.99 for white/$15.99 for black). Gearbest has them as well for $18.50 but if you can get them (legitimately) for cheaper then you should.

Packaging and Accessories:

For budget IEMs I've learned not to expect many accessories and the Rock Zircon are no different. They come in a pretty standard box that has pictures and specifications of the IEMs on it as well as some slightly broken English. The one thing different about the packaging for the Rock Zircons, though, is that the cutout through which you can see them is on the back rather than the front.



Also inside the box is a user manual and two extra pairs of eartips (small and large, the mediums come on the Zircons). I would've liked to see a carrying case included (especially because of the 3.5mm jack, but I'll get to that later) but that would likely have made these more expensive.



The Zircons are made of hard plastic, which feels very sturdy. The housing is a dark slate color with what looks like a small gold insert in the back, which gives it a very premium look and feel. Directly under each housing is a bit of clear plastic that provides strain relief (which the 3.5mm jack should also have) and tells you which ear it is.

I like the wing-tip design of the Zircons, which makes them comfortable to wear either over-ear or down for long periods of time without fatigue or pain.

The Zircons also have excellent isolation. They fit well and the ear tips comfortably go pretty far into my ear canal, which isolates noise passively even when I'm not playing music. I don't have to play music very loud to block out everything but jackhammers and sirens and these truly do put me in a world of my own when I'm listening to them.



The cable has two different sections: above the connector and below it. Above the connector, the cable is pretty standard rubber that feels smooth but isn't as tangle-resistant as some other cables I've seen. Below the connector, however, the cable is braided fabric. I personally like this setup - the rubber, which has to take more wear and tear, is stronger, and the braided cord cord feels better and is more tangle resistant.

The Zircons come with a single-button remote on the right side that has a microphone on the back. The microphone works very well and people have no trouble hearing me, whether I'm wearing the Zircons over-ear or down. The remote works very well for my Android (I haven't tested it on iPhone) and the button takes a bit more force to press than normal but provides a much more satisfying click than others do.



The only issue I have with the build quality of the Zircons is the 3.5mm jack. The jack itself is incredibly sturdy and takes slightly more force than normal to remove, which I personally like (it won't come out when I put my phone in my pocket and such). However, the hard plastic gives way to the braided cable with minimal protection around the joint. Because of this, the cable seems incredibly susceptible to fraying and I have to be careful with the joint any time I handle the Zircons.



Sound:

The Zircons have a V-shaped signature with surprisingly good mids. Where they truly stand out in my opinion, though, is their level of detail and imaging. Additionally, the Zircons are among the most fun of any IEMs I have to listen to and make music more interesting to listen to.

Every single IEM is going to sound slightly different in every ear. The shape of the listener's ear, the fit and amount of isolation, the shape of the IEM, the eartip material, the source, and the listener's ability to hear different frequencies - among other factors - can affect how an IEM sounds. The descriptions I put forth accurately describe the way I hear these IEMs but may not be accurate for everyone.

Bass: Bass is definitely the strong point of these IEMs. Both bass and sub-bass come through prominently and smoothly. The bass can best be described as "warm" and has a good amount of thump and rumble that doesn't become muddled on songs that heavily feature bass - like Sail and Seven Nation Army - when many other bass-focused IEMs do. The level of detail of the bass makes it even better. Even when the bass is in the background, you can hear the difference between a soft rumble and a gently pounding beat. On top of that, the bass remains clear even with bass boost turned up to 100%.

Mids: Unlike many other budget IEMs that have recessed and muffled mids due to a strong bass, the mids are crisp and clear. The detailing is excellent and makes sure that you hear the mid-range sounds along with highs and lows. Due to the V-shape of the sound signature the mids are slightly recessed but have the best balance of any budget V-shaped IEM I've seen. Mids come through warm and rich and fill out any song you listen to with the Zircons.

Treble: The best way I can describe the treble on the Zircons is "just right". They're neither too harsh, like someone is pounding the keys of a piano, nor too recessed. Highs have incredible detail and shine in piano-heavy songs like Someone Like You and Hundred. However, the treble gets slightly sibilant and muddled at higher volumes, which are only truly noticeable in songs with sections of isolated treble.

Soundstage: I read a great definition of soundstage somewhere that defined it as the answer to the question "How easily can you tell where each sound is coming from?" I used that definition to test all of my IEMs but the Zircons made me add another question: "How easily can you tell that the sound you're hearing is coming from an external source?" The Zircons provide a sound that truly seems like it's coming from all around you rather than through the IEMs. I was even a little bit surprised (for half a second) that the sound went away when I took them out. As I said for each section, the detail is excellent, and each instrument and each part has exquisite separation. Rather than just distinction between left and right, I can pinpoint where each sound comes from while wearing these, which gives the sensation that the music is being performed live in front of me rather than being played from my phone.

Comparisons:

At this time, the only well-known IEMs I have that compare to the Rock Zircons are from KZ, which says something about their quality.

vs KZ ZS3

The ZS3 has more of a focus on the lower end - it has stronger bass that is shown more prominently. However, the treble is still clear but strongly recessed. It also has very good definition but the sound is more towards the front and it loses the subtlety and complete scope of imaging that the Zircon has. The ZS3 is much more of a "fun" sound for bass-heavy songs and EDM compared to the Zircon, which is still fun but is more of an all-around experience and excels on softer and less in-your-face songs where the ZS3 fails to adjust.

vs KZ ZST

The Zircons and ZST have a very similar sound signature. The ZST have stronger mids and highlight vocals incredibly well but have a narrower soundstage than the Zircons. The Zircons also have a better (less harsh and sibilant) treble.

vs Granvela ED9 (rebranded KZ ED9)

The ED9 isolate better than the Zircons and are more bass-heavy. However, the Zircons have better balance and imaging, much better mids, and don't muffle at higher volume, which the ED9s do.

Final Thoughts:

These IEMs live up to the hype and may even be a bit better. For under $20, they provide the best imaging I've heard and have an incredibly balanced V-shape signature that makes the music fun to listen to. I was blown away not just the first time I used these IEMs but every time since. These are a must-have IEM whether you usually use budget IEMs or not and are the best value I've seen.